There are many Hogwarts ghosts
But the one that I find most fascinating is the Grey Lady aka Helena ravenclaw in this video
I'm going to explain the life of the Grey Lady and on top of that
explain how to become a ghost in the Wizarding World
I'm also going to throw in some of my own opinions and theories for certain parts of her life. So let's get started
Helena was born in the late
900 and was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw one of the four founders of Hogwarts
She of course had a lot to live up to as her mother was one of the most respected witches of all time
Her mom created Hogwarts some time before Helena turned 11 with Godric Gryffindor
Helga
Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin each founder had their own house that favored the qualities that they found most important for Rowena
It was wit cleverness and intellect the qualities that she saw in herself because her mother was so busy with the school
She didn't have much time to pay attention to Helena
Which led to some resentment toward her mother?
Rowena along with the other founders got a special item that meant something to them Helena's mother had a diadem that made the wear
Increase their intelligence most likely enchanted by Rowena herself
Helena was one of the first
Generations to go to the newly founded school and one of the few generations to be there when the four founders were actually running it
Themselves she was of course sorted into ravenclaw house, which came as no surprise to anyone during her time at Hogwarts
She was taught by the four founders including her mother
Complicating the relationship even more by adding a teacher-student dynamic on top of everything else while at school
She met a Slytherin student the Baron a boy known for his hotheadedness
He fell in love with Helena, but Helena did not share the feelings rejecting him on multiple occasions
He continued to pursue her despite this Helena always lived in her mother's shadow and was always compared to her
She of course never lived up to the great witch that her mother was this led the Helena doing something?
Drastic something that would help her become more clever and more important than her mother. She stole Rowena's diadem to increase her intellect
She then ran away from the school from her mother and from life as she knew it
She was ready to start a new life a life where she would outshine her mother her mother never admitted that the diadem was gone
But pretended that she still had on top of that
She hid Helena's betrayal from everyone even the other founders of Hogwarts. Her mother eventually fell ill
Despite Helena's betrayal Rowena still wanted to see her daughter one last time
She sent the Baron to find her
the man that even after all of these years
Still loved her daughter the Baron saw this as an opportunity to reunite with the love of his life
Helena's plans of a new life fell short of what she had expected
She had stayed hidden in the forest in Albania. That would later be known as Scotland while there
She was figuring out her plans when the Baron found her
Helena heard him coming and hastily hid the diadem in a hollow tree and the
Albanian forest the Baron told her to come with him reaching out a hand to the woman that he loved
Hopeful that she would reciprocate the feelings and take his hands but Helena refused the Baron got angry and did something that he would regret
for the rest of his life
Furious of Helena's refusal jealous of her freedom. He raised his knife and stabbed her in the chest
Blood spewed from Helena and got all over the Baron
He was a crazed maniac until he realized what he had done the woman
He loved laid dead in front of him the blood on his hands as he looked down at her lifeless body
He was overcome with remorse. He took the bloody knife that had claimed his love and used it to stab himself
The two lay next to each other dead
Both Helena, and the Baron chose to become ghosts when they died
But how do you become a ghost according to nearly headless Nick very few Wizards
Choose this path to become a ghost
Wizards and witches leave an imprint of themselves upon the earth to walk paly where they're living selves once trod
Nearly headless Nick told Harry that the reason he stayed behind was because he feared death Nick states. I am neither here nor there
Meaning he is neither dead or alive
He's not truly alive on earth as he chose a feeble
Imitation of life nor does he know the secrets of the afterlife or what happens to you after you truly die?
So, why did Helena and the Baron choose this path? We don't know for sure
But I do have a theory Rowling said that most witches and wizards that choose to do this often have unfinished business
I think that Helen has unfinished business was getting out of her mother's shadow and being known as her own person
Beyond her last name. She also wanted to outshine her mother. She knew that her mother didn't go this route when she died
She died, but Helena wasn't done
She found a way to beat death to stay alive to live longer than her mother this to her could be perceived as her being
more clever than her mother the
She always aspired to first clinging to the diadem and now clinging to life on earth
This also gave her a chance to start a new life without her mother
It was like a second chance, but why did the Barons choose this path? again, we don't know for sure
But my theory is that he chose this
Simply because Helena did he wanted to be with the love of his life as long as possible when he did this
however
He did not foresee how they would die, which pretty much ruined all of his plans for the future as a ghost
She and the Baron both became ghosts of Hogwarts each getting a nickname
Helena was named to the Grey Lady and the Baron was named the bloody baron
this was because his clothes were stained with the blood from Helena's murder and his
Suicide the Baron bound himself in Chains as an act of penance for ever punishing himself for the biggest mistake of his life that haunts
Him every day, Helena became Ravenclaw's official ghost and the Baron became slytherins official ghost
But sue had little to no contact with one another the Baron gave Helena space knowing that he had lost her forever
Most everyone in the castle for centuries to come never knew how the two died nor why the Baron was covered in blood
Nearly headless Nick when asked about why he was covered in blood said in a fearful voice
I never asked Rowena's diadem was also lost
Helena was the only one who knew of its location and it was deemed the lost diadem of Ravenclaw as years passed
No one associated the Grey Lady with Helena Ravenclaw and many forgot who she really was or knew of her
Ancestry. The only other person that knew was the bloody baron
I think it's safe to assume but she liked it better this way because she was no longer
Compared to or in the shadow of her mother which is all that
She ever wanted to be free of her last name being the ghost of Ravenclaw
Many students and teachers asked her if she knew anything about the lost diadem guilts welled up inside her every time she was asked this
Despite that. However, she told them that she didn't know anything as a ghost
Helena was known to be quiet to most of the school, but she often talked to ravenclaw students
She was particularly useful if they were lost or if they misplaced something in the 1940s
Helena was approached by a boy named Tom Riddle who would later be known as Lord
Voldemort riddle was an evil child hell bent on world domination
But more importantly how on conquering death past being a ghost
He planned to split his soul and create Horcruxes doing this meant that he could potentially live on forever
He was looking for objects that had great worth one of the objects
He wanted to pursue was Ravenclaw's diadem when he approached Helena
He used his charm flattering her and making it seem like he understood her and sympathized with her
He got her to reveal her true identity and her ancestry as the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw for the first time
He then got her to tell him where she left a diadem riddle was the only person that she had ever
Confided in he eventually went to get the diadem when he finished school and later brought it back to the castle
He hid it in the Room of Requirement unde announced to Helena
Helena deeply regretted telling riddle the location of the diadem after finding out who he became and what he had done to it
Helena continued to be the quiet but helpful ghost to ravenclaw students wall at Hogwarts one Halloween about 50 years after her
Interaction with Riddle, she attended nearly headless next five hundredth deathday party
she along with hundreds of other ghosts enjoyed the party and the mouldy food that they couldn't eat but could merely walk through to
Almost taste it Helena attended Albus Dumbledore's funeral along with the other Hogwarts ghosts
She and the others were barely visible in the bright sunlight scene only when they moved
Shimmering in the gleaming air the following year before the Battle of Hogwarts
Helena had a chance for redemption
After allowing riddle to the file the diadem she talked to Harry and he became the second person to find out who she really was
And to hear of what she had done with the diadem before she died
Harry
used that
Information to find and destroy the Horcrux along with the diadem which crumbled the pieces in his hand after it was exposed to fiend fire
After the battle Helena joined in the celebration of Voldemort's death
She was glad to see him go after he had so evilly
Manipulated her and after what he had done to her mother's diadem Harry agreed not to reveal her true identity
To anyone and she continued her quiet ghostly life as the Grey Lady
Thank you so much for watching guys
If you enjoyed this video make sure you hit that subscribe button to help grow the channel
You can follow me on social media links are in the description and look out for more great videos on the way