Helena Ravenclaw was no stranger to Draco Malfoy, the wizard who had recently caused no small amount of trouble.
More precisely, there was hardly anything in Hogwarts that escaped her notice.
Despite the arrogant, indifferent front she had put on in front of Draco and the others, she had in fact seen everything long ago.
Even their arrival had been within her expectations.
In some ways, Helena Ravenclaw was rather like Dumbledore, quietly watching from the sidelines as events unfolded...
As for Helena Ravenclaw knowing about him, Draco did not think it was mere polite conversation.
"You know about me?"
Helena Ravenclaw floated expressionlessly in front of Draco...
"That's right. When you rode that dragon, I saw you from this tower."
"When you fought that diary, I was in the Chamber of Secrets too."
"The battle with the Thunderbird, and even your recent break-in at the professor's office. I know all of it perfectly well."
"..."
"..."
This sudden confession made Draco frown deeply. He had never expected that everything he had done over the years had been witnessed by a ghost.
Even if this ghost did indeed bear the great Ravenclaw name, it was still difficult for Draco to accept all at once.
As if noticing the grim look on Draco's face, Helena Ravenclaw said calmly, "Ever since that incident, no one has been able to deceive me about anything that happens within Hogwarts. But that is all."
Those words explained both that she was not as all-knowing and all-powerful as he might have imagined, and that she had no intention of spreading anything about Draco.
Understanding the meaning hidden in her words, Draco's expression eased slightly. At the same time, he realized he had underestimated these ghosts.
Or rather, the ghosts who had been able to remain were not as simple as most people imagined...
But what exactly was that incident?
...
While Draco fell silent in thought, Hermione, standing nearby, refused to give up and continued asking the question that had just been interrupted.
"We're trying to defeat the Dark Lord. If you care about everything in Hogwarts, then you have to tell us everything you know about the Diadem."
"Although the Diadem grants wisdom, I doubt it can help you defeat the one who calls himself the Dark..."
"I'm not interested in wearing it myself. It's just..."
At that point, Hermione suddenly did not know how to continue.
Was she supposed to say that her mother's heirloom had been turned into a Horcrux by Voldemort?
Just as Hermione hesitated, Helena Ravenclaw suddenly spoke in a low voice, her tone faint and distant.
"I stole the Diadem from my mother."
"You... what did you say you did?"
"I stole the Diadem. I wanted to become wiser and more renowned than my mother... so I fled with it."
Although they did not know which of Hermione's words had struck a nerve, Draco and the others were not foolish enough to interrupt her.
Helena Ravenclaw's translucent body flickered in and out of sight...
"They say my mother never admitted the Diadem was missing. She kept pretending it was still there. She even hid the loss from the other founders of Hogwarts, and hid my terrible betrayal as well."
Helena Ravenclaw's voice had no rise or fall at all, yet Draco and the others still seemed to hear a trace of bitterness and pain in it.
"Later, my mother fell ill. Gravely ill. Although I had done something unfilial and treacherous, she still desperately wanted to see me one last time. She sent a man to find me, a man who had loved me for a very long time, though I had rejected him. My mother knew he would not give up until he found me..."
"He found the forest where I was hiding. I refused to go back with him, and he flew into a rage. Baron had always been short-tempered. He hated me for rejecting him and envied my freedom, so he stabbed me to death."
"Baron... you mean?!"
"Bloody Baron, yes. After he came to his senses, he was overcome with remorse. He picked up the weapon that had taken my life and killed himself. So many centuries have passed, and to atone for his sins, he still wears shackles to this day... Of course, he deserves it."
Hermione, who had never expected to hear such a hidden secret, blinked curiously.
"Then what about the Diadem you stole?"
"At the time, I heard Baron stumbling through the forest toward me, so I hid it. It remained there afterward... hidden inside a hollow tree."
"A hollow tree? What kind of tree? Do you still remember where it was?"
"In a forest in Albania. A very desolate place. I thought it was beyond my mother's reach."
Albania?!
Hearing that place name, Draco felt a terrible premonition. He stared hard at Helena Ravenclaw in front of him.
"You... you've told this story to someone before, haven't you?"
Though he had not held out much hope, unfortunately, Helena Ravenclaw still nodded under Draco and the others' disappointed gazes...
"I... I didn't know... He... was very charming. He seemed... very understanding... sympathetic."
"..."
There was no need to ask who Helena Ravenclaw was talking about.
It was certainly the young Voldemort.
At that time, he had learned the Diadem's hiding place from Helena Ravenclaw, then turned it into a Horcrux.
And judging from Helena Ravenclaw's remorseful expression, she had likely guessed the outcome afterward.
Perhaps it was precisely this chain of mistakes that made Helena Ravenclaw stop trusting anyone.
That also explained why she had treated Draco and the others with that attitude earlier...