Helena drifted down the hall, lost in deep thought. She was remembering her mother. This was a topic she usually tried to avoid. In the hundreds of years since her death, she had already had all the time she needed to contemplate the past. She had already forgiven her mother for being a controlling, insufferable, know-it-all. After all, she needed the diadem to lord her brain over others. But that wasn't why Helena was thinking of her. She was thinking about older memories. Being a young girl, walking in the woods with Rowena. Her mother named each plant Helena grabbed in her clumsy toddler fingers. Whenever Helena correctly called them by their latin name, her mother patted her head and gave her another sweet to keep in her pocket. She always walked back to the castle with two full pockets, but Helena remembered more fondly the way her mother smiled in approval at her daughter's burgeoning prodigy. Those walks and looks became fewer and fewer as Helena grew older…
Thwack! "Watch where you're going Lady Tinkle-Toes!" Peeves hefted the large club in his hands to get a better grip. It had flown straight through her head into the stone wall behind her. Before she could give Peeves a resentful look and float away, Baron popped out of a flower painting nearby. When he saw that Helena was the one being bothered by Peeve's foolishness, a glint appeared in his eye resembling a tiny candle flame. Oh great, Helena thought. Peeves is toast now.
"Peeves. Drop that this instant. I say it is time for the council to convene. We are discussing you this evening." Peeves gulped and dropped the club at once, landing on some poor first-year gryffindor. Baron Raised one brow in reproach. "C-Coming my liege. My apologies for any inconvenience I have caused you." He bowed so deeply that he tumbled forward in a somersault then started cackling.
Helena began to float away. "Do not apologize to me. you owe an apology to Lady Ravenclaw for your impudence." Peeves must have sensed that he made a grave error because his apology almost held a hint of sincerity. "My dear Lady Ravenclaw, t'was a simple mistake, er- I am most sorry for insulting your honor. YOUR GRACE-" She looked back impassively to see Baron dragging Peeves through the wall as he clawed at the stone, knocking down three large portraits. She heard Filch curse below.
She hated when Baron stood up for her like that. As if anything he did now would make up for what he had done. A few nights ago, she had told her tale to a restless Ravenclaw third year who could not sleep. The girl had informed Helena that Baron was a "Nice Guy". As Helena ruffled in indignation at the girl favoring her murderer, she had clarified the slang for her. Baron was a guy who tried to act like a good guy, going out of his way to do unsolicited acts of service for her. But when faced with rejection, his affection had turned to rage. That was exactly the case. She had seen many simpering idiots in the halls of Hogwarts with the same inclination. Once she had witnessed Ginny Weasley, a Griffindor, hexing a spurned suitor. While it was a respectable effort, Helena had sympathized enough to offer her some pointers to improve her delivery. Now the girl was a real force to be reckoned with.
Helena supposed she needed to attend this council meeting. Usually she got away with ignoring them, but Dumbledore was rumored to be making an appearance at this one. She slowly made her way over to the dungeon where Nick held his death day parties. The room was already packed with ghosts mingling, chatting, and some brooding in corners. She came to stand by Moaning Myrtle. "Hello there Lady!" Myrtle turned to flash a juvenile grin at her. "Long time no see! Hey I was thinking. You and I are two of the only young girls haunting this castle. Whaddya say we have a sleepover? Well we wouldn't sleep of course, more like hang out all night. It would be great, we could hang out in the prefect bathroom pipes and watch cute guys, then we could go chase the lake squid-"
"No." She drifted through the conference table to the other side of the room, far from Myrtle. She spotted Peeves squirming in the grip of Baron and Nick on either side of him. Conversation ceased as the door swung open. Dumbledore waltzed in with his hands open wide in welcome. He smiled around at them and announced, "Why hello, my most wise and translucent colleagues. Thank you for inviting me here today. Let's get started shall we?" He took a seat, and each of the four house ghosts followed suit. Helena ignored the longing puppy looks that Baron tried to discreetly send her, as he was directly across from her. Dumbledore and the others began entailing all of Peeve's infractions from the past month. There were many of them, some more creative than others. All pathetic and poorly thought-out. At the fifty-second account, she heard Dumbledore read out, "Super glued all the first-year Ravenclaws to their beds between the sheets. Then tickled their noses when they were too restrained to itch them. Now really, Peeves-"
"Where did you even get such a muggle item? A stick-it-to-them charm would have been much more permanent and effective. I suppose you really are just an untalented idiot." Her remark caused everyone to turn to her in surprise. After all, she made a point to avoid speaking most of the time. Peeves looked at her contemplatively. Then he decided on blowing a wet raspberry in her direction. She wiped away a drop of his green saliva from her cheek. Baron tightened his grip on Peeves, making him squeal. "Very true, thank you Grey Lady. Now then, that brings our total to eighty-eight infractions in the month of January. I must say I am proud of your restraint, but you are still far from desirable levels of mischief. Let's bring it to a vote. Will Peeves stay and receive punishment, or shall we finally cast this crude bimbo from the premises, forever to wander and haunt the town of Hogsmeade?" There was much muttering around the room. Helena laughed to herself when she heard someone say, " - might do him good to go out there. I doubt the Haunted Shack ghost would put up with him. Maybe it would suck him into the shack for a hundred years and be done with it." Were they really dense enough to not know the secret of the whomping willow? The mediocrity of their intellect continued to astound her. She noticed Baron looking at her again. He seemed to be grinning at their remark too. He always was a sharp one, as much as she loathed to admit it. After all, they had been friends once. She decided not to let her narrow smile slip as she met his eye. As pale as he was, he seemed to brighten a bit at the attention.
Nick cleared his throat and said, "All in favor of expelling Peeves, raise your hand." As much as she disapproved of Peeve's deeds, she recognized the worth of his role in the castle. She for one would be voting in his favor. She was surprised to see Baron pointedly raising his hand. He was focused on Dumbledore, but he did glance at her sideways. Couldn't help himself she supposed. At least he was growing a spine and making his own decision, even against her choice. Nick then called out, "Raise your hand if you want Peeves to remain and receive punishment." She and several others raised their hands, putting the vote very close. Ultimately, it was decided that he would stay. Dumbledore proceeded to describe his punishment, "Peeves will be sentenced to helping the Ravenclaws study for exams in their common room for one hour each school day. They were the main object of his antipathy this month, so I think it's fitting. However, it will only do to have the Grey Lady here and the Bloody Baron enforce his cooperation. What do you all say?" Peeves erupted in a vehement, "NOOoooOooOOO!" He flung his head around and around in a three sixty twist until he resembled a screw. Helena Felt a slight amount of color enter her face. Or maybe it was just her imagination. But she did not comment, because she knew he was right. Peeves hated anything close to academia, and it was her house. Plus, Peeves only minded Baron and Dembledore so one of them would have to be there. Baron looked at her hesitantly, as if he was asking whether she deemed it appropriate for him to intrude on her domain. Finally, she answered Dumbledore with a simple, "Very well Dumbledore." Turning to Baron and Peeves she added, "I will see you both at three o'clock tomorrow." She rose to leave and flew through Dumbledore out of spite for his idea.