"Some things matter more than love."
Helena Ravenclaw was always, always in her mother's shadow, as far as she could remember.
Her mother, Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the Founders of the first safe haven to magical children. Rowena Ravenclaw, the renowned witch who built a castle with moving floor plans. Rowena Ravenclaw, the brilliant inventor who created quite a few well-known charms. Rowena Ravenclaw, the extraordinary woman who created The Sorting Hat and The Diadem.
"Some things matter more than love."
There was a time when she had admired her the most — her mother was like the brightest candle in a room full of darkness. Helena was a parched desert soaking up all the words, the knowledge, the wisdom that her mother brought to her like a rainfall after a century. She loved learning, she too wanted to create masterpieces that will be remembered by generations to come, that's why she was sorted by the hat in Ravenclaw and she had expected to thrive there.
"Some things matter more than love."
Unfortunately, reality was not so rosy. She learned, nay, she excelled in her studies — absorbing everything like a sponge and leaving her peers and seniors far behind her.
Then, the whispers started.
"It's Rowena's daughter, that's only to be expected."
"Like mother, like daughter!"
"It's in her blood."
"As expected of Ravenclaw!"
"Now if she created something new, that would be extraordinary."
No matter what she did, no matter how hard she worked — it didn't matter. Her success, her efforts, everything was attributed to her blood and her lineage.
She didn't matter.
Her self didn't matter.
And her mother? She didn't even notice.
So drunk she was in her success, she didn't even notice her daughter slowly being gripped by the Deadly Sin of Envy. She didn't notice her daughter slowly descend into self-deprecation, self-hatred and inferiority complex.
When she finally noticed, it was too late.
It was a particularly tough problem she was stuck in, a spell that can help alter one's appearance temporarily without the need for potion. It was an advanced Glamour charm but she couldn't get the final step to work. It would help the wizards to safely roam outside as it also included the clothes, unlike Polyjuice which only altered one's appearance.
She knew she would be able to solve the problem if she was Rowena. That's exactly why she couldn't bring herself to ask her.
Instead, she asked for the diadem.
And Rowena refused.
Without even a second thought.
Years and years of rage, hatred, fury, jealousy — everything burst forth. Sharp and deadly words flew around, words that if had been expressed years ago, might not have been lethal. But like wine aged with time, so did resentment.
And then the woman had the gall to tell her that she was doing it for her own good, she was doing it out of love.
As if.
"Some things matter more than love," Helena spat, refusing to call the woman her mother anymore. "But you know all about that, don't you?" she continued, feeling a vindictive pleasure with the increasing pallor of the other witch's face.
"You don't understand —"
"I don't need to," Helena smiled humourlessly.
She left and she took her mother's prized possession — the one thing she cared for more than her own daughter — never to return.
"Some things matter more than love."
THC/The Houses Competition.
House: Slytherin
Class: DADA
Category - Characters.
Prompts:
Category prompt — Helena Ravenclaw.
Additional prompt — [Speech] "Some things matter more than love."
Word Count (Total, in google docs) 601.