Written for: QLFC, Season 11, Round 4 - write about someone making a promise they don't intend to keep.
Position: Tutshill Tornados Beater 2
Optional prompts: (word) tragic, (word) haunt, (emotion) suspicion.
Word count: 1222
Warnings: Allusions to canon character death.
I do not own Harry Potter.
He was different from the rest.
All the others that had come searching out the Grey Lady over the centuries had been boastful, cruel, or simply misguided. They had sought the legend of the 'Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw', for power, fortune or knowledge, not knowing that it only brought pain. It had only led her to her own tragic end, nothing more.
Helena knew that it was often whispered around the castle that she only really spoke with Ravenclaw students, assisting them in their endeavours should they have need of her. By also haunting only the most remote parts of the castle, it meant that many never bothered, or at least never believed that they stood much of a hope of getting a response. If she consistently ignored their requests for answers, they soon lost interest and left her in peace. That is how she had existed for centuries; keeping her silence and her secrets as the mystery surrounding her life sunk into myth.
But he was different.
The Slytherin boy with dark hair and eyes sought her out one dull evening. The clouds had gathered outside and the light was low, with dark shadows cast on the walls as he had made his way over to her. The expression he wore was kind, intrigued and charming.
He apologised firstly for never having addressed her before and said he had talked to all the other ghosts that inhabited the castle. They spoke highly of her, he had said, and she had found herself drawn in immediately. His sincerity seemed genuine, his curiosity exciting. She said nothing, as usual, but unlike any other time, wondered if he would return.
He did, of course, though at first, his visits were always brief.
He would seek her out every few days, only speaking for a few minutes before leaving Helena to her solitude. She did not return his conversation for several weeks until one visit from him had changed her mind.
He seemed upset that day, less composed and more flustered than she had seen him before, and it was then that she opened her mouth. She asked him what was wrong.
He had looked almost startled, as though he had never expected his efforts would result in a response. But he had spun her a tale about some deceit he had fallen for, just as she was now falling for his. He had been vulnerable and open, and it had touched the coldness nestled within her. They had connected that day, more than Helena had with anyone before, either living or dead.
He came back even more frequently after that.
They would talk often; he would ask questions about the last nine centuries, what had been her favourites to witness and why. How did it feel to see such change over time? Seeing generations of students come and go through the halls, watching fathers and sons, mothers and daughters follow each other into the castle each year.
Helena had never known anyone like it before. Someone who seemed to truly wish to know her thoughts and understand her perspective. She was flattered by his attention and the care he seemed to show her. She had opened up, little by little, beginning to tell him her tale of that dreadful time, so long ago.
Which had made it all the more easy for him, one afternoon in the early spring.
The sun had cast a bright orange glow over the horizon and the birds were singing their goodnights to one another in the trees. He'd found her in a courtyard, a spot they had often met in before, watching the setting sun over the lake. They exchanged a few thoughts before resuming the tale she had been telling during a previous exchange.
"Where did you flee to when you ran from here?" His voice was soft and calm.
"I travelled far onto the continent," Helena replied, still staring out at the still water as the sun dipped below the horizon. "I wanted to get as far as possible from here. I made it to Albania, I believe it is now called, before… he caught up with me."
"The Bloody Baron?" he asked, hanging on her words, looking at her silvery form.
"That is right. When I heard him coming, I knew… I knew I would not escape."
"That is a fate no one should have to endure," came the reply, as the boy hung his head.
"At that moment, I believed that too," she replied, her translucent hands clasping each other in front of her. "Which is why I hid the Diadem. I thought that it was the author of my fate, a curse upon anyone who touched it. I wanted to make sure that no one else would come into contact with it and be a victim of the same fate."
"What could you have done at such a moment?" he asked, appearing to be hanging onto each word.
Helena offered a small smile as he turned to look at him properly.
"I hid it," she said quietly, having never before revealed these details to another soul. "I found a hollow tree nearby, so I placed the Diadem inside and used a charm to cloak it as best I could."
He looked thoughtful and remained quiet for a moment.
"Do you suppose it's still there?"
Helena tilted her head in thought.
"I think it is likely… As I recall, I was deep in the forest at the time, I do not believe many would have strayed that far. Though, many years have passed and I wonder how much has changed."
"Someone should go and get it," he declared quickly, beginning to pace the stone floor, his eyes moving fast from the walls to the floor.
"I do not believe-" Helena started, a slight panic beginning to build within her as a little glint of suspicion rose within her that she was making a terrible mistake in trusting this boy over all others.
"To destroy it!" He interrupted, coming to a sharp halt in front of her. "You are right, no one else should suffer the misfortunes you did. The temptation should be removed from the earth forever. I could do it."
Helena's fear abated slightly as she took in his words. He must care, she had thought, he understands what I have been through and does not wish to have it repeated. She was unable to leave the castle, unable to do what she knew must be done to prevent anyone else from falling prey to the seductive powers of her mother's Diadem, but there was someone here who understood her views and could do something about it.
"Helena," he said, his voice earnest as he gazed up at her floating form. "I promise that I will search until I have found and destroyed it for you."
It was not until later on that she realised that in trying to right past wrongs that day, she had instead assisted an act which would lead to tragic consequences for all witches and wizards.
From the moment he re-entered the castle with the Diadem which he had not destroyed, but rather defiled, she vowed to keep her silence once more.
Her failures would continue to haunt her in the same way she now did the castle.