School and Theme: Ilvermorny and Artefact Incidents
Main Prompt: (emotion) fear
Additional Prompts: (first line) This was not a good idea. In fact, it was possibly her worst idea yet., and (object) cursed necklace
Year: 2
Word Count: 2,515 words
Warning for revenge plot gone wrong!AU. Also character death, and slightly out of character. I'd like to thank those who beta read for me. They are ClaireBear1982, and Claude Amelia Song. Thank you both so much for your help with this story!
This was not a good idea. In fact, it was possibly her worst idea yet. That included the time she'd stolen her mother's diadem and taken into the Albanian forest. But this idea took the cake and ate it too as the children nowadays would say.
Helena Ravenclaw had been stewing on how to get her revenge on the Bloody Baron for killing her. Seeing as they were both dead she couldn't really do anything harmful to him. He couldn't be killed again but her heart still festered with a need for revenge. Her heart was hungry with it ever since she'd been killed and became a ghost.
The cold forest air sent shivers down Helena's spine. She looked around to make sure that no one had followed her there although she was pretty sure no one had . But one always needed to be sure. Especially when one had stolen a priceless family heirloom and was set on hiding it.
A sigh of relief left her mouth when she saw she was alone. The girl wiped her brow as she looked towards the hollowed out tree she'd chosen for her hiding place. It was perfect! Especially since her mother wouldn't think to search in such a place.
"I just have to put you into your little hiding place," she whispered to the diadem as she wrapped it gently into a piece of cloth, "and then all my problems will be gone."
Helena placed the wrapped diadem into the hollowed out trunk, covering it with some leaves that had fallen from the nearby trees. She needed to convince herself that this was going to turn out alright; that she could be as smart as her founder mother.
The sound of crunching leaves made her jump. Had she missed something? Was someone following her?
"Who's there?" She called into the forest, trying hard not to let her fear show. "I know someone's here ."
The sound continued, while Helena's heartbeat rose dramatically. Not only was she alone in a strange country but she was alone in a strange country while being followed by a possible killer.
The foliage rustled in the nearby bush and when it felt like her heart could no longer take the suspense a sweet little deer walked out.
She was about to pet the deer when something, no, someone more sinister walked out from the other side of the clearing. She recognised him, of course. They've been friends all their lives. . His father and her mother before them had been friends too.
"Thank Merlin I've found you, Helena," the dark haired dark eyed Baron said, in the same charming voice he had used to convince her mother to marry them. "When I heard of your disappearance along with your mother's diadem; I thought of the worst possible outcome."
"Of course you did," Helena replied dryly before she could stop herself. She had seen how dark and twisted he'd become. He wasn't the sweet child that she remembered from her childhood. In her mind, he'd become more like his father than anything.
"Where is your mother's diadem?" he asked, watching the opal necklace that lay against her chest. "I was hoping to find both yourself and the diadem."
"How would I know where the diadem is?" She tried her best not to look towards the tree or give any indication of the fact that the diadem was hidden there. She didn't want it to be found. She wanted to be rid of it.
"If we find it," Baron Gregor Slytherin murmured in her ear, "we could be smarter than your mother even." A dangerous smile gleamed on his face. "Tell me where you hid it, Helena. Tell me and together we can become greater than our parents."
"I don't know where it is," she insisted, greatly distressed by the words he was saying to her right now. "I don't and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. The power of the diadem is a curse."
"You stupid little…" he raised his wand in anger at her as a scream of fear escaped her lips. But he was angry. Angrier than Helena's ever seen him. She saw his lips moving but the words were distant.
"Baron…" She called him trying to stop his spell, but it was too late. Helena saw the green curse coming towards her, but her mind froze; there was nothing she could do. However, a second before she died, the instant the cursed hit her, all her anger and hatred towards her one time friend went into the opal necklace around her neck. She cursed the necklace so that whoever would pick it up would l feel the same fear that she did before Death claimed her.
Her time since she'd been killed had been full of dreadful ideas about revenge which couldn't be carried out. That was until now. Until she'd found the perfect plot. All she needed was a little help and she was sure she'd found it in the caramel haired, amber eyed boy sitting at the table. He was an avid studier. She knew it from watching him come into the library day after day. He always sat alone, his friends rarely came with him, and he always had his nose in a book of some kind. He would be the perfect one to help her with her revenge.
She approached the boy, glad that his friends were nowhere in sight. Clearing her throat to get his attention she waited patiently. She'd waited this long for her revenge on the Bloody awful Baron, another few minutes weren't going to kill her.
The boy sprang up, startled and looked at her, fear clear in his amber eyes, as he tried to hurriedly hide the cover of his book. "Can I help you?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound less fear filled and more normal.
"I sure hope you can," Helena said, a reassuring smile stretching her features. "I've heard that you are a very bright boy, Mr. Lupin. Is it true?"
The boy nodded, in a somewhat timid manner, telling her that she could call him Remus instead of Mr. Lupin. He joked about how Mr. Lupin made him think he was in some kind of trouble when he's not.
"Well, there is something you can help me with, Remus," she said,eyes downcast. "But I don't think you'll agree to help. It could be very dangerous."
The chivalrous nature of a Gryffindor came shining through, proving that Remus truly belonged in the house he was sorted into. He was willing to help her out with her problem because he wanted to, not because of the danger.
"Don't you want to know what you will be doing?" Helena asked. Any Ravenclaw would have asked what was wanted. That was why she considered the Ravenclaws to be the better house but that was also why she hadn't gone to them. She wanted someone who was willing to help her and not just because she was the founder's daughter.
"What do you want me to do?" Remus asked.
"I need you to get something for me," Helena said in a whisper. "Something very important. A family heirloom, if you will."
"Where can I find it?"
"It's hidden in the room that will give a person whatever they desire," she said. If he was clever enough he'd figure out what room she was talking about. "It's wrapped in purple silk and should be easy to see. Bring it to me and don't unwrap it."
"But you're a ghost you can't hold things, can you?"
"Let me worry about that."
She floated away before he could change his mind. She'd been waiting for far too long for her revenge and she wasn't going to wait any more because some child lost his nerve. Plus it wasn't her that was going to end up holding the thing. Not if her planning was over towards the young Slytherin boy, who'd just entered, her smile became even bigger. This day was starting to get even better. This boy could make the potion for her and be there to douse the Baron with it when the time came. She floated over to the boy hoping beyond hope that this would be as easy as getting Remus to agree to help.
It wasn't until later that Helena found out how horribly terrible her plan really was. After all it did hinge on a teenage boy not being curious about what was wrapped up in a cloth. She should have known better than to trust he wouldn't look. A girl would have been better at keeping her curiosity at bay or at least she thought they might.
As the gasps of fear and the sudden screams of terror assailed her ears she knew that something was very wrong. She floated along the corridor in the same direction that the sounds of terror were coming from. That was until she got to the space just outside of the Great Hall.
Several students were surrounding something, or someone; gasping and pointing. The ripple of whisper went through the crowd like a wave upon the sea.
"Make way for the Headmaster," Arthur Weasley, the Head Boy called out. "Make way." He motioned for the crowd to part but no one listened.
Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore gently moved people aside to get to the heart of the problem. She followed after them, going through the students who wouldn't get out of the way. She had to know what was going on. This could very well affect her plan for revenge on the Baron.
"Professor, what's happening?" one of Remus's friends, Sirius Black, asked.
"What's this?" another one of them, the smaller, rounder boy, Peter Pettigrew asked, going to pick up the necklace that lay partially wrapped in Remus's hand.
"Don't touch it," Dumbledore said hurriedly. "It very well may have played a part in what has befallen, Mr. Lupin." He told the boys standing closest to Remus, James Potter and Sirius Black to help Madam Pomfrey get their friend to the Hospital wing. He then picked the opal necklace up by the cloth and gently rewrapped it so that it could no longer harm.
Helena didn't see what happened next because her guilt had carried her away from the scene of the crime. She floated and floated, unaware of where she was going. She didn't realize where her path had taken her until she was standing at the bottom of Remus's bed.
"Why is he not in St. Mungo's?" she asked Madam Pomfrey.
"They are sending the first available healer over to pick young Mr. Lupin up," Madam Pomfrey told Helena. "Most don't want to deal with a person in his condition."
"What condition?"Remus seemed perfectly well to her. A bit pale and skinny but healthy like any other normal teenage boy. She watched him for a bit. Looking closer she realized that the boy was covered in healed scars.
"I'm not at liberty to say," Madam Pomfrey said. The healer then went off to fix some potion that she thought would be helpful for Remus's situation.
Helena stayed until the boy's friends showed back up. They all seemed so distraught and she knew they would want their privacy before the boy was sent to St. Mungo's. She left the raw ball of fear and guilt making her want to set things right.
That's when she thought of it. The potion the Slytherin boy, Severus, had made. She could use the potion on herself and become corporeal for a few moments.
She was sure that Madam Pomfrey had sent James, Sirius, and Peter away by now. She didn't want Remus to be by himself. She could at least give him someone to keep him company for a little while or until he was sent to St. Mungo's.
It was a lot harder to get Severus Snape to agree to use the potion on her instead of her intended target, the Bloody Baron. She pulled at every heartstring the boy could possibly have. She used every tactic her own mother would have used. Finally in the end, Severus agreed.
The cold splash of the potion against her ecto skin sent shiver through her long dead body. Faltering she reached out a hand to the wall. Then the shock took over. She gasped and looked at Severus.
"It worked," they both breathed out in shock.
Helena could feel the course of blood through her veins once more. She could feel the rush of wind through her hair as they stood in the corridor where she'd told Severus to meet her. Her dark brown hair flowing once more alive. Or corporeal at least.
She was just about to turn and head back to the hospital wing when Severus called out to her, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Don't forget the potion only last for a few hours," he said. "Two to be exact. So make the most of your time."
She nodded as she once more made her way back to the hospital wing and to Remus's bed side. Cursing herself for having made that stupid necklace cursed in the first place. She was more afraid than she'd ever been and that included the day she had died.
Opening the hospital wing door and walking silently to Remus's bedside, she sat down in the chair next to him. His face seemed even paler now and she prayed she hadn't done something that couldn't be reversed. She was so lost in her thoughts and watching Remus that she hadn't realized when he'd opened his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Remus whispered.
"I'm so sorry," Helena whispered. "I didn't…." She stopped herself before the lie could leave her mouth. She knew perfectly well what would happen to anyone who touched the necklace. She'd just been hoping he'd use his better judgement. "I...I...I'm just so sorry, Remus."
When she looked towards the boy to see what his answer would be, she found him sound asleep again.
She went back to her vigil again. Staying with Remus all night, even after she'd turned back into a ghost. She stayed with him until the healers from St. Mungo's came to pick him up the next day.
"He should be alright in a few weeks time," one of the healers said. "We've already got our best people working on cracking the curse from the description Professor Dumbledore gave us of it."
A sigh of relief left Helena's lips as she floated back to the library. She had been petty and cruel towards everyone involved in her plot. She'd almost cost that poor boy his life too. That wasn't her. That wasn't the Helena Ravenclaw her mother had raised. She wondered when in her multitude of years she'd turned this cold but couldn't pinpoint the answer.
It had not been a good idea to go through with her plan of revenge. In fact, it truly was actually her worst idea to date.
Also for a few things over on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Dueling Lessons: Notable Duels in History Task 5 - Write about a plan backfiring.
Insane Prompt List: 943. (Title) What Time Doesn't Heal
Pairing the Character: Remus/Helena Ravenclaw (The Grey Lady)
I hope you all enjoyed What Time Doesn't Heal as much as I enjoyed writing it.