Jthomajba, yes. I do have a ship planned, but that will come in later…
Elizabeth walked out of her History of Magic lesson one Friday afternoon, happy to be finished with her lessons for the day. She still had two more feet of a Transfiguration essay, work on that spell in Charms, and she needed to get started on chapter fourteen in her Defense book….. She was so preoccupied with her various assignments she had completely forgotten about the moving staircases patterns.
The staircase she was on started moving to the left, startling Elizabeth out of her thoughts. Clutching her books to her chest, she gripped her hand on the railing. It stopped moving, leaving Elizabeth stranded on the floor she knew held the Ravenclaw common room and dorms. Figuring that she had no other choice, she got off the staircase and walked down the corridor.
Reaching the entrance of the Ravenclaw dorms, Elizabeth smiled fondly at the familiar statue of an eagle. She had watched her Aunt Rowena enchant it, breaking a block of stone into the beautiful statue. Elizabeth studied it for a moment, reminiscing over her memories of her former life. She turned to leave and find her way back to Minerva's quarters when she saw in front of her, "Helena?!"
Elizabeth stared, having a similar face of shock when she saw the Baron's ghostly form. Helena stared back at her, equally surprised at the sight in front of her.
"Elizabeth? Is that really you?" Helena asked, her words barely above a whisper. "It's me." Elizabeth said with a grin. She ran to Helena to give her the biggest hug she could muster, only stopping when she realized she couldn't. Helena looked at her with sad eyes, clearly thinking the same thing.
"Why are you here, Helena?" Elizabeth asked. "Why would you not move on? Be with everyone else?" Elizabeth asked. Helena looked away. "You seem rather different. You used to be so conversive and friendly. You were always so happy, showing off your magic or talking." Elizabeth noted. Helena turned around, facing away from Elizabeth.
"I could not move on." She said to the empty air. "Why not?" Elizabeth asked. "Because, because… I couldn't leave without you." She said. "Wait. I thought everyone thought I had died in the duel." Elizabeth said. "We were not sure if you were alive or not at first, but after your father, my mother, and Helga assessed you, they all said you had died. Salazar took you that night. We never saw him again, and realized he took you with him as a way to hurt us even further. Your father had been declared the winner after you saved him, and he was quite angry that muggleborns would be allowed in." Helena explained. "So you, and my family, and everyone else never learned what had happened to me? They never knew?" Elizabeth asked, her voice breaking. Her poor family…..
Helena nodded. "I grew sick a few years later, and decided when I died I would stay at the school. I would still be around for my family, and get my education. I knew I couldn't really leave them, not after what had happened to you. After the founders and your family passed on, I made the choice to stay at the school until I got answers about what had happened to you. I thought it was only a matter of time."
"It's been a thousand years. You've been waiting for a thousand years?" Elizabeth asked. Helena nodded. "Well, if you know now, will, will you leave?" Elizabeth inquired, afraid the answer would be yes. He had just gained someone so important to her back into her life. She couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye.
"I shall not leave. I have grown accustomed to this life, and I only just got the answer I have been looking for, though not completely. Speaking of which, how are you still living?" Helena asked, floating over to a window to look out at the Hogwarts grounds.
Elizabeth told her the story, ending with the announcement. "It was made a few days ago. Oh, and I met some of the other ghosts, the Fat Friar and Sir Nicholas. They are very friendly. Did you know the Fat Friar used to be a monk? Though he had to explain to me what that meant. It sounds quite interesting." Helena smiled. "They are good friends of mine. Just last October I attended Nicholas's 500th deathday party. He was quite proud of it, though I think I dampened it by saying I was over 700." Helena said with a smile. "Why didn't you say you were over a thousand years dead?" Elizabeth asked. They were now sitting, Elizabeth had her back resting on the wall holding the windows, while Helena hovered over the floor across from her. "Because then they would realize I was there when the school was founded. They don't even know my last name. Here, I am just Helena to the Friar and Nicholas, and to everyone I am the Grey Lady." Helena said. Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "Hasn't anyone figured it out yet?" she asked. "No one ever has. And if no has for over a thousand years, I don't think they ever will." Helena stated.
"Well, I suppose that makes sense. And living without your famous name, that doesn't sound bad at all. I dread what will happen when I start attending school here. If I start here in the fall." Elizabeth said. "I believe you will. My mother always said you had great potential." Helena reminded. Elizabeth smiled. "You really think so?" she asked. "I know so. And I'm a Ravenclaw, so I cannot be wrong." They both laughed at that.
After Elizabeth promised to keep Helena's identity a secret, and that she would visit her frequently, she went back to her guardian's quarters. When she entered, she found Minerva on the couch, looking rather worried. "Is something wrong?" Elizabeth asked. "Oh, Elizabeth! You startled me. Come here, I need to tell you something important." Minerva said. Elizabeth obeyed, and sat next to her guardian.
"Elizabeth, there is a very dangerous man on the loose. His name is Sirius Black." Minerva told her. "Who is Sirius Black?" Elizabeth asked. "Twelve years ago, at the height of the First Wizarding War, he was supposedly on the Light side. But, on the night Harry Potter became the Boy-Who-Lived, it was revealed to everyone his allegiance was to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Minerva explained. "So he betrayed you?" Minerva nodded.
"You learned about the Order of the Phoenix, correct?" Elizabeth nodded. "Then you know myself and many of the professors and former students of Hogwarts were in it. One of them was Sirius Black. Harry Potter's parents were also in the Order." Elizabeth nodded, showing she was following.
"The Potters were being pursued by You-Know-Who, so they set up a very complicated charm on their home, called the Fidelius Charm." Minerva went on to explain what the charm was and did.
"Sirius Black was made the Secret-Keeper, as he was James's closest friend. And, he betrayed them. He was the reason Lily and James Potter were killed, orphaning their son. And after he committed that horrendous action, he went to a muggle neighborhood, and with one spell, killed twelve muggles and one wizard." Minerva recalled. "That's awful. Who was the wizard?" Elizabeth asked. "Peter Pettigrew. Oh, we all didn't expect much from him, I even thought it'd be a miracle if he graduated. But, knowing what I do now, poor Pettigrew was a hero. He must have known he wouldn't survive the encounter, Black was so powerful and he was anything but." Elizabeth put an arm on Minerva reassuringly.
"You must promise me you will not do anything foolish. No more wandering about the castle at night alone, and no more wandering between and after lessons alone." When Elizabeth protested, Minerva told her, "I want to ensure your safety. Black's family were all in Slytherin except for him. When he turned his back on the Light, he joined the Death Eaters, an all Slytherin group. With that announcement being made, Black will surely know soon if he does not yet know you have Gryffindor blood running through you. If given the opportunity, he might go after you to prove his loyalty to the Dark." Minerva warned. Elizabeth nodded. "Alright. I won't walk around on my own anymore. But why are you so sure he'll come here?" Elizabeth asked.
"Because the Dementors in Azkaban say that in his sleep, he talks of Hogwarts."
Yes, Helena's story was a complete lie. She didn't tell Elizabeth the truth because, well, that'll come in much later. This story will be nice and long.