Hogwarts’ John Wick

Chapter 578 578: 578: Helena and The Secret Chamber

The Grey Lady was sitting in the courtyard.

She did not know what she was thinking about, lost in thought.

For ghosts, endless life made time move very slowly, yet at the same time, decades passed in the blink of an eye.

She stared at one corner of the courtyard.

It seemed as though the laughter she once shared there with her mother still lingered.

Back then, she would tirelessly ask:

"Mother, what is the most precious thing?"

The witch so brilliant that even Slytherin had once marveled at her would smile, gently stroke the girl's head, and softly reply, "Exceptional wisdom is mankind's greatest treasure, Helena. And you are your mother's most precious treasure."

Yes, exceptional wisdom was mankind's greatest treasure.

Helena had always remembered those words.

Just as her mother had wished.

Ravenclaw students were meant to possess intelligence above all others, and as the daughter of the supremely wise Ravenclaw, Helena had been raised toward that goal since childhood.

As she grew older, Helena's mother gradually drifted further away from her.

Rowena Ravenclaw pursued wisdom, while Helena chased after Ravenclaw's fading figure.

But the more she chased, the more she realized she could never catch up.

She wanted her mother to look at her instead of the countless magical books.

For that reason, Helena worked even harder and forced herself to become outstanding.

She would often gaze at Ravenclaw Tower, hoping her mother would turn her attention toward her.

But that desire was selfish and foolish.

Helena gradually began to change. She became sensitive.

Sensitive toward Ravenclaw, because as Ravenclaw's daughter, she had to be intelligent.

At last, one day, in order to surpass her mother, she stole the diadem that Ravenclaw treasured most.

Helena hid herself away. She left Hogwarts and concealed herself deep within the forest.

She believed her mother would hate her and despise this shameful daughter.

The Grey Lady shifted her gaze away from that corner, her eyes empty.

It was as though she could still see the sword that had pierced her to death.

...

"Helena, come back with me. Ravenclaw is ill. She's gravely ill!" Barrow had chased her all the way to Albania.

Helena looked at the man and sneered. "I'm not going back. I'll prove it. I'll become wiser than her."

"She wants to see you," Barrow said. "She's calling your name."

"Lies!" Helena screamed. "She sees me as a disgrace!"

"She would rather hold those unreadable books than stroke my hair."

It was jealousy.

Helena clearly understood her own emotions.

Once, she had regarded her mother as her entire world, yet her mother's pursuit of knowledge had already surpassed her love for her daughter.

Barrow said heavily, "You must come back with me, Helena."

"Come back. I will always love you."

"I do not love you," Helena replied coldly. "Nor will I go back. I would rather die here."

"Helena!"

"Shut up. Your love is as lowly as a worm crawling through the dirt."

Helena turned to leave.

But the sword pierced through her body.

The irony was that Helena became a ghost.

And she remained within Hogwarts.

The very place she had refused to return to.

As for Ravenclaw, she died from that grave illness.

For some reason, that brilliantly wise witch of supreme intellect never left behind a portrait.

She hid all her knowledge within a secret chamber.

The Grey Lady searched for it countless times, yet she could never find that chamber.

She still wanted to prove that she could become wiser than her mother.

It was a form of revenge.

The seed had already been planted the moment Ravenclaw immersed herself completely in knowledge.

Too much time had passed.

For ghosts, that was cruel.

Your death. Your regrets.

They would replay endlessly through the passing years, never fading away.

The Grey Lady prepared to leave the courtyard.

"Do you need any help, my lady?"

Someone stopped her.

The Grey Lady turned around and frowned. "Why are you here? Aren't you a student?"

This was the first time the Grey Lady had seen a student openly violating curfew.

John walked over, smiling beneath the moonlight. "I wanted to ask you something."

"I will not answer you." The Grey Lady turned as though preparing to leave.

"About Helena Ravenclaw," John said.

The Grey Lady stopped.

She turned back to look at John.

"You're Helena, aren't you?" John walked toward the Grey Lady. "Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter."

"How did you..."

"It wasn't difficult to guess." John stopped walking.

From the Bloody Baron's concern toward the Grey Lady, combined with the story he had just heard, the truth had already been laid bare.

Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, the ghost of Ravenclaw House, was the Grey Lady.

"The diadem Tom Riddle obtained came from you, didn't it?"

At the mention of Voldemort, Helena became highly agitated. "He deceived me!"

"I trusted him so much!"

An emotional Helena let out a scream.

That handsome wizard from back then had tricked her and caused Ravenclaw's diadem to disappear.

It was the last thing her mother had left behind.

"Shh..." John placed a finger against his lips. "I understand you, Helena."

He comforted Helena as he said, "You always wanted to gain greater wisdom than your mother and prove yourself to Rowena Ravenclaw."

"That's impossible," Helena said as she floated upward.

"No, you can do it." John looked at Helena and said, "But I need you to come somewhere with me."

"What are you trying to do?" Helena asked warily.

Once upon a time, the wizard named Tom Riddle had spoken to her in the same way.

Scumbag.

Seeing her vigilance, John spread his hands helplessly and said, "You're a ghost. I can't exactly do anything to you."

"But there's somewhere you'll definitely want to go."

Looking at Helena, he said, "Ravenclaw's secret chamber."

"No, that's impossible." Helena refuted him instinctively.

But John said confidently, "Trust me, Helena."

Helena looked at his face and replied stubbornly, "If you want to prove how clever you are, then I'll accompany you to the end."

John smiled at her obvious contradiction.

He walked into the castle, and Helena followed behind him.

"This is the path to Ravenclaw Tower."

"Yes. Perhaps intelligent people have the hardest time finding that place."

John led Helena to the painting.

Seeing the painting, Helena turned her head away and sneered. "Where is this secret chamber you spoke of?"

"Right there." John pointed at the painting. "That is the secret chamber."

"Impossible."

"How long has it been since you last paid attention to this painting?"

John said calmly, "Probably not since the moment you drove your image out of it."

Helena's expression darkened as she mocked, "Ravenclaw would never care about something unimportant."

"No matter how intelligent someone is, they still might never find it." John shook his head slightly. "Helena, you really are arrogant and conceited."

Feeling insulted, Helena was just about to flare up when she saw John walk over to the painting.

He knocked on it and listened carefully to the sound.

"It's hollow behind this."

"What?"

Helena floated over as John stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe a password will open it. Do you know any passwords?"

"No!" Helena snapped irritably. "You can try those famous words you saw."

"That makes sense." John nodded and said, "Exceptional wisdom is mankind's greatest treasure."

The painting did not move. John tried several more phrases, all of which failed.

"Greedy plunderer," Helena suddenly said. When she noticed John looking at her, she replied in embarrassed anger, "That's Ravenclaw's hidden meaning."

"Well, it seems even you have no solution, Helena." John shrugged.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the portrait frame opened, revealing a tunnel leading deep inside.

John blinked.

The password was Helena?

So he smiled at Helena and said, "Even the smartest person wouldn't have found it."

Helena herself looked stunned by the password.

She had never imagined that Rowena Ravenclaw would use her daughter's name as the password.

At that thought, she fell silent.

"Perhaps Ravenclaw did not value you as little as you believed."

John stepped into the opening and asked Helena, "You can come inside, right?"

"Yes."

Helena floated in after him.

Beyond the opening stood row upon row of bookshelves bathed in a soft glowing light.

"Look at this," Helena said with mixed emotions. "Her pursuit of knowledge."

Even in death, her mother had still been pursuing knowledge.

But John frowned, staring ahead blankly.

His system had not given any notification.

This was not Ravenclaw's true secret chamber.

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