The moonlight, soft as a veil, fell gently upon the Astronomy Tower.
"You feel so familiar to me, as if we met a thousand years ago."
Helena glided close, her pearl-white ghostly form floating with an unmistakable intensity, her melancholy eyes fixed on Adam.
"So it was you watching me from the castle on the first day of school?" Adam instinctively took two steps back, his back almost pressing against the stone wall behind him.
Helena nodded seriously, her eyes swirling with complex emotions, a mixture of sorrow and pain. Her gaze lingered on Adam, as if she were remembering the past. "I felt it then, that something about you is very similar to my mother."
"Especially when I noticed that every time you saw me, you'd clutch at your face..."
Adam spread his hands helplessly, his eyes wandering as he looked around the Astronomy Tower, looking a bit jumpy.
"What are you looking for?" A flicker of confusion crossed Helena's face, and her gaze followed his to the empty tower, her tone laced with curiosity.
"Oh, nothing, sorry..." Adam cleared his throat awkwardly, his hand resting on his sleeve, repositioning his wand to be more easily drawn.
A moment later, he cautiously asked again, "Sister Helena, is that Ravenclaw in your name the one I'm thinking of?"
"You're starting to feel even more familiar..." She gave Adam a thoughtful look, her fingers tracing the stone railing, her voice low and mournful. "Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts. I am her daughter."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted to the distant night view of Hogwarts, and the sorrow on her face deepened, memories engulfing her like a tide. "The last time I saw my mother was on this very Astronomy Tower. She was using a crystal ball for divination."
"The last time?" Adam asked, not understanding.
Helena nodded sorrowfully, seemingly lost in her grief. It took her a while to speak again. "Would you be willing to listen to a story from a thousand years ago?"
"Of course, if you don't mind telling it."
Her gaze softened a little. She sincerely thanked him, then spoke in a gentle voice. "It's the story of a foolish girl. From the moment she was born in this magical castle, she was surrounded by a brilliant halo."
"From a young age, no matter how ordinary her actions were, she was always showered with praise and flattery. If she simply peeled an apple for someone else, she was called kind-hearted."
"But she never felt there was anything wrong with this flattery; in fact, she enjoyed it."
"Until one day, she discovered that when she was away from the glory her mother provided, all those voices disappeared."
Helena's sorrowful and melancholic aura grew thicker here, and her voice became a bit low. "Unable to find the reason, she became increasingly anxious, until she discovered a magical diadem that could bring wisdom and enlightenment."
"The foolish girl believed that the diadem was the true source of her mother's great achievements, so she stole it without permission."
"She wore the diadem and traveled far, but she never managed to accomplish anything like her mother."
"Until she heard her mother had sent someone to find her, she became terrified, and hastily fled into a forest where she was ultimately killed."
"Only later did she realize her mother wanted to see her one last time before she died."
Adam suddenly spoke, his tone serious. "You're wrong."
Helena turned her head in anguish, but before she could speak, he interrupted her again. "No matter how angry Professor Rowena was, she would never have sent someone else to find you. She would have gone to find you herself."
"Then she would have fiercely pinched your face, or perhaps grabbed you by the collar and thrown you a good distance away."
"But in the end, she couldn't help but soften, and she would have scowled and asked if you were hurt anywhere."
Helena stared at Adam in pain, clutching her face in agony, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "Thank you... Adam..."
"What you just said, it made me feel like I was back a thousand years ago, by my mother's side."
She raised her hand to wipe away her transparent tears, and the inexpressible grief that had enveloped her calmed down in that moment. "I'm almost tempted to believe that you truly are my mother's favorite little apprentice, but sadly, she never had any. She always said that they were just her students."
"No wonder the portraits in the castle always talk about you; they say you have some of my mother's spirit."
Adam scratched his head self-consciously. "Maybe they're just mistaken."
Helena paused slightly, "But I think you're more like another elder I knew."
"Huh?" Adam looked up in confusion, his expression open and innocent.
Helena looked at him and couldn't help but say with a sigh, "Uncle Godric Gryffindor... didn't his hat ever mention it to you?"
"WHAT!?" Adam's face changed, and he said in disbelief, "How could I be like that guy?"
He remembered every time he traveled to the Otherworld recently, a certain shameless red-haired man would always appear out of the shadows and give him a sharp flick on the backside with a small twig. Every time he ate a snack, the man would do the same thing as the first time they met: bully the younger boy and steal his Chocolate Frogs, even forbidding Ariana from helping him.
Helena couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. The sorrow that had surrounded her seemed to dissipate a little as she said, laughing, "Now you look even more like him."
She watched Adam run to a corner of the Astronomy Tower, a gloomy expression on his face, repeatedly looking at his reflection in a polished crystal ball. She felt her spirits lift, and a nostalgic look came into her eyes.
"That was probably the most carefree and happy time of my life. The four of them would often have tea right here. Uncle Godric would always lend me his sword sheath to play with, finding new ways to make me happy."
"...Oh, and the spot where he sat seems to be right where that crystal ball is."
Hearing this, a look of disgust immediately came over Adam's face, and he quickly moved away from that spot. "Can't I be like Madam Hufflepuff instead?"
Helena's lips curled into a smile, and she nodded seriously. The two of them stood in a standoff for a while, but she never saw a look of disappointment on Adam's face.
Helena sighed in a disappointed tone before saying softly, "Aunt Helga was so gentle. Even if she saw through my little jokes, she would thoughtfully play along with me."
"But you have one thing that is very much like her. Maybe that's why the Sorting Hat put you in Hufflepuff."
Adam looked up curiously. Helena didn't leave him in suspense, and said with a smile, "The way you treat others is very similar to her. You both have a soft spot in your heart."
"That little Ravenclaw girl," Helena pointed towards the greenhouses in the distance, "I often see her there."
"She always wears a patched-up robe, but she works so hard. Every time I see her, she's helping Professor Sprouts water the plants and pull weeds."
"She also stands near the Owlery from time to time, eagerly hoping for a letter back from her family."
Helena turned to look at Adam, her voice softer, and continued. "I heard the other students mention that her mother is in the intensive care unit at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and she doesn't even have the strength to lift a finger."
"While I don't know what kind of power the quill you sold her has, I can see that she's genuinely happy now."
Adam mumbled stubbornly, "But I really just wanted that scarf."
Helena smiled without saying a word, turning to look at the castle, the smile on her face never fading.
"That..." Adam looked like he had something to say but couldn't quite get the words out. Helena couldn't help but lean closer to him, wanting to hear him better.
"What is it you want to say?"
"I'm actually Professor Rowena's apprentice."
Helena stared at Adam's very serious face, and burst out laughing. "Uncle Godric was very fond of jokes like that."
Adam immediately became anxious and said loudly, "I really am Professor Rowena's apprentice! You have to believe me!"
"Alright, alright, I believe you..." Helena said with a childishly soothing tone, laughing. If ghosts could touch physical objects, she might have reached out and ruffled his soft hair.
Adam was on the verge of tears, sulking against the railing. He looked at the bright moonlight covering the tower, then suddenly remembered something. He turned abruptly and rummaged through his small pouch.
Helena watched his actions curiously, asking, "What are you looking for?"
"Something that can help you, and also confirm my theory." Adam excitedly held up an object, showing it to Helena. When she saw what it was, her cheeks instantly turned red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears.
"N-no... that won't do... at least not until you're a bit older."
Adam looked at her in confusion and said with great seriousness, "Hold this ring, it will guide you toward what you desire most in your heart."
"Oh..." Helena's head drooped in disappointment. Looking at the ring, she said dejectedly, "Even if you were really going to give it to me, I couldn't take it. Ghosts can't touch physical objects."
"Just think of it as a way to confirm my theory," Adam stressed again.
Helena cooperatively held out her hand, and in the next moment, the ring landed steadily in her palm.
She stared at the ring in a daze, and Adam quickly reminded her, "Think of Professor Rowena! Hurry!"
Helena nodded blankly, and the ring in her palm suddenly burst with an extremely dazzling white light. A strong pull from the Otherworld came through, the space around them gradually solidified, cracking into countless fragments, and everything around them began to blur.
A familiar, exquisite cottage appeared before them, and a woman sitting by the lake, drinking tea, looked up as if sensing something. When Helena saw the woman's face, her body trembled violently, and she whispered in painful shock, "Mother..."
Just then, a pillar of light suddenly erupted from the Forbidden Forest in the distance. The ring resonated with the light, and their frequencies began to sync, interrupting the pull from the Otherworld.
At that very moment, a few terrified screams echoed through the castle.
"He's gone!"