The appearance of this ghostly lady drew surprised looks from the Ravenclaw students nearby, as if she were someone who should not have appeared here at all.
Draco even noticed that quite a few of them looked at her with obvious confusion, as though they didn't recognize her.
But Draco was certain that this ghost was Ravenclaw's house ghost.
Penelope's expression made that much clear, and she was the first to say the ghost's name aloud.
"The Grey Lady."
"Mmm, little Clearwater~"
Her voice was languid, with a faintly seductive note to it. Though her features were no longer very distinct in her ghostly form, her voice alone was enough to suggest that she had been a great beauty in life, the sort pursued by many wizards.
Even the grace in her every word and gesture was not something an ordinary family could have cultivated.
Still, more than the sound of her voice, Draco cared about her identity.
The four house ghosts.
Nearly Headless Nick of Gryffindor, the Bloody Baron of Slytherin, the Fat Friar of Hufflepuff, and the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw before him.
Because of their existence and the records left behind about them, they had come to be known by those titles.
But the fact that she was one of the four house ghosts was not what caught Draco's attention.
As a Malfoy, he naturally knew certain things most people did not.
Strictly speaking, it was not some great secret. It had simply faded with time and been gradually forgotten.
In truth, the Grey Lady was not her real name in life.
Before becoming a ghost, her true name had been…
Helena Ravenclaw!
That's right.
This ghostly lady not only bore the illustrious Ravenclaw name, she was also the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself, one of the founders of Hogwarts.
Even so, that was no reason for her to stand in his way, nor any excuse to keep staring at him so intently.
...
Just as Draco was considering whether he ought to walk straight through her or keep enduring the awkward silence and wait for her to explain herself, the Grey Lady, whose full attention had remained fixed on him, finally spoke.
"I knew your grandfather, young Malfoy."
Though Draco had no idea what her purpose was, nor what sort of connection she had once had with his grandfather, his response remained impeccably polite.
"A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Madam Helena Ravenclaw."
With one hand over his chest, he gave a slight bow.
To outside eyes, it may not have looked remarkable, but it was in fact a flawless, old aristocratic greeting, so perfect that no one could have found fault with it.
What others thought was hard to say, but standing so close, Penelope had the strange feeling that she was watching a prince step straight out of a storybook.
Elegant, and utterly composed.
Then, in the very next second, every witch and wizard who had heard Draco's words froze.
What had he just said?
Helena Ravenclaw?
Not the Grey Lady?
And that Ravenclaw… was it the Ravenclaw they all knew?
Once Penelope realized the implication, she stared at the Grey Lady in shock. Apparently, this was the first time even she had heard this secret.
And in her surprise, Penelope failed to notice something else.
She had instinctively accepted Draco's words as true. She had not found them absurd in the slightest.
Though what followed from the Grey Lady more or less confirmed it.
"Ravenclaw… that was such a long… long time ago… Time… I'm beginning to forget…"
Anger, daze, hesitation, and even a hint of guilt.
It was hard to imagine so many tangled emotions contained in such a short murmur.
But from those whispered words alone, it was clear that Draco had addressed her correctly. At the very least, he had clearly shaken her.
Penelope looked from one to the other.
She had many questions, but now was obviously not the time to ask them. More importantly, this mysterious Ravenclaw lady had no intention of paying her any attention at all. Her gaze remained fixed on Draco.
"Slytherin has produced another outstanding wizard."
Draco noticed that when she said this, her eyes seemed to drift, ever so slightly, toward the bronze door knocker.
That made him frown.
"So, you noticed. Yes, that is my… forget it. I was merely curious."
"..."
She gave Draco no chance to respond. After leaving behind that cryptic remark, the suddenly appeared Ravenclaw ghost rose straight through the ceiling and vanished before everyone's eyes, as though she really had only come to take a look.
And aside from Draco and Penelope, who had been close enough to hear her, none of the others caught that last sentence.
It had to be said, the ghostly lady's behavior was utterly baffling.
...
Once that brief interruption with the Grey Lady was over, Draco finally entered the Ravenclaw common room.
The moment he stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the magical starry sky overhead.
It was obviously not painted. The dome above was filled with real, bright stars.
Tap.
Together with the deep blue carpet beneath his feet, that starry ceiling gave the place an atmosphere so open and serene that it was enough to make one feel instantly at ease. And with an entire wall lined with bookshelves, it was the kind of room that made you want to lie down on the carpet and read for an entire day.
Not only that, the common room even had a private library. Though it could not compare with the Hogwarts library in size, it was said that the number of books it held rivaled it.
That alone made it rather attractive to Draco.
But even more than that, what truly caught his eye was the white marble statue beside the door leading to the dormitories.
That was…
Noticing where Draco was looking, Penelope dutifully took on the role of guide.
"Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of this house."
"Ravenclaw… then that diadem…"
"No. That's only a replica."
"So it really was lost."
Following their gaze, one could see that the statue wore a silver crown set with sapphires.
But just as their conversation implied, that crown, which resembled a silver eagle, had long since been lost…