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"Sorry! Hagrid."
Watching Hagrid dash into the forest, Rey felt a pang of guilt.
Hagrid was a good man, someone who gave his trust unreservedly to those he considered friends.
Rey had lied to him. The "shadow" flashing through the forest didn't exist.
He needed to get back to the school, and this was the only way he could think of to bypass Hagrid. He hadn't expected Hagrid to rush off after the "vampire" just to ensure his safety while he went to find Dumbledore.
In Hagrid's eyes, Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world. As long as Rey was with him, he would be safe.
Rey took a deep breath and started running toward Hogwarts.
He sprinted up the slope, crossed the stone corridor, passed the Herbology greenhouses, and jogged through the familiar grounds of Hogwarts.
"Hi, Rey MacFusty! It's so good to see you're okay. Haven't seen you for over three months—you've grown a whole head taller!"
Nearly Headless Nick floated through a wall and bumped into the jogging Rey.
Rey didn't answer. He turned a corner and vanished. He hadn't even heard Nick's voice; his mind was entirely consumed by nervous tension.
The tension of seeing Helena.
---
Morning at Hogwarts was vibrant, with students already moving through the castle.
Although most didn't know Rey personally, thanks to Nearly Headless Nick's gossiping, the students who were awake quickly learned that the boy running through the halls was Rey MacFusty, the Ravenclaw student who had gone missing last term.
"Which came first, the phoenix or the fire?"
Rey ran up to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room, only to be greeted by the familiar riddle.
"The fire came first; the phoenix is reborn from the flames," Rey answered quickly.
He was in no mood for riddles, but he had no choice. The door knocker wouldn't open just because he was having a bad day.
"I regret to inform you, that answer is incorrect."
The eagle-shaped knocker's smug voice rang out, sounding as if stumping a student gave it immense satisfaction.
"Then the phoenix came first, because fire appears during nirvana."
Rey changed his answer. The common room was right behind this door. He didn't know if Helena was inside, but he desperately wanted to check. His patience was wearing thin.
"No, no! You are a clever Ravenclaw. But cleverness does not mean lacking conviction. As a Ravenclaw, how can you change your stance so casually? You should think carefully about your previous answer and use your logic to convince me."
When a person is anxious, everything seems to conspire against them.
Maybe this is wrong, maybe that is wrong.
Now even a bronze knocker was giving him a hard time. Its lecturing tone disgusted Rey to the extreme.
"Please let me in. I really don't have the patience to argue with you right now."
Rey took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to explode, trying to keep his voice controlled.
"I regret to inform you, this is my duty..."
"Enough!"
Seeing the knocker was impervious to reason, Rey roared, interrupting it. He pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at the bronze eagle.
If the knocker kept pestering him, Rey wouldn't hesitate to blast it off the door entirely.
---
Creak!
The door opened. The eagle knocker didn't argue about phoenixes or fire anymore; unexpectedly, it let him pass.
"Thanks!"
Muttering a perfunctory thanks, Rey pocketed his wand and prepared to enter. As he took a step forward, he ran into Penelope Clearwater and Agnes Greengrass, who were coming out.
The knocker hadn't opened for Rey; it had opened to let the people inside out.
Both Agnes and Penelope were holding Transfiguration textbooks, presumably heading to class.
"Rey!"
"Rey MacFusty!"
Agnes and Penelope exclaimed in surprise, one after the other.
"Hi, Agnes."
Rey walked past them. The two girls stepped aside in their surprise.
Without saying much more, Rey greeted them briefly and walked into the common room, his eyes darting around searching for traces of Helena.
"She's not here... not here!"
Rey scanned the room and muttered softly, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. The tight knot in his chest loosened.
Helena wasn't here. That might mean she was still alive and simply not at Hogwarts.
Agnes stood there, mouth agape. Rey's appearance was a massive surprise. Just last night, she and Helena had been talking about him.
Helena had even asked for his name. She never expected him to return the very next morning.
"Rey, what are you looking for?" Agnes asked immediately after recovering from her shock.
She could tell Rey was anxious, so she suppressed her curiosity, hoping she could help.
---
Was Helena at Hogwarts or not?
This question could be easily answered by Agnes standing right in front of him.
Rey turned to look at Agnes, suddenly afraid to ask.
Afraid that Helena had already become a ghost. Afraid of any bad news regarding her.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Rey finally spoke. "Do you know Helena?"
As he asked, Rey watched Agnes's face closely, hoping to read the answer before she spoke.
"Helena Ravenclaw? Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw?"
Agnes rattled off Helena's three identities. Although Rey hadn't seen the ghost, surely he knew of her? Agnes was puzzled as to why Rey would suddenly ask about her.
After speaking, she saw a flash of pain cross Rey's face.
Agnes caught that fleeting expression of agony. She immediately stepped forward, concerned. "Rey, what's wrong?"
Rey didn't answer, sinking into a silent stupor.
After a long while, he slowly said, "Agnes, do you know where she is? Can you take me to see her?"
Helena was a ghost who preferred quiet solitude. She rarely initiated conversations, so even Ravenclaw students seldom saw her around Hogwarts.
Yet, the first thing Rey did after his sudden return was look for her?
Agnes had no reason to refuse. They were good friends, and Helena was her good friend too.
"Yeah. Follow me."
Rey lost his earlier frantic urgency, his expression turning dim. Agnes took his hand and led him out of the Ravenclaw common room, leaving a stunned Penelope behind.
"Helena didn't escape her fate. She became a ghost after all."
Thoughts swirled messily in Rey's mind as he let Agnes lead him.
The long stone corridor, the spiraling stairs upward—Rey knew this path all too well.
Once upon a time, he had held Helena's hand just like this, walking to the top of Ravenclaw Tower.
It was at this time of day, too, that they had overlooked the vibrant grounds of Hogwarts from the tower top, talking about a future life in the modern world.