Deadly Desire by x_GinnyPotter_x
Chapter Notes: Hello all! This story is outside my norm, but I hope you like it nevertheless! Don't forget to tell me what you think - I'd really like some opinion on this one.
Darkness settled over the forest with such a sudden absoluteness it was as though there had been no time spared for the sunset. Even so, a cloaked figure did not slow their pace. Birds were startled by the sudden movement and fled from their trees. A lone wolf howled in the distance. One might have feared it had been the howl of a werewolf, but the wiser knew to only to double-check the moon. Tonight, it was but half full, and thus werewolves were no threat. That did not mean, however, that there were not other dangers within the darkened woods.
Helena moved quickly, stopping only when her robe snagged on a low-lying branch. Though she had been there some weeks, the forests of Albania seemed no more familiar than when she had first step foot in them. Under her fine cloak she clutched a tiara – though she knew it was no simple head decoration. She also knew the shame that had come with her possession of it.
Helena had grown up with the most brilliant witch of the age as her mother. Rowena’s smarts, and her position as one of the founders of a school, had made her well known and impossible to live up to. As a child, Helena was aware that her mother was smart, but she did not understand just how much so. She herself was quite intelligent, and thus was chosen to be taught by her mother when she was old enough to attend Hogwarts. Yet as she grew older, she learned just how truly brilliant Rowena Ravenclaw was. Everyone expected her to follow in her mother’s footsteps, to display unmatched intelligence she ought to have inherited. And yet, though she was indeed one of the smartest in the class, she was not unmatched. There were a small handful of other students that seemed to excel just as much, and possibly even more than she.
Then there was the time she had first been locked out of her own tower. It was almost unbearable to have to wait for a classmate to come along and answer the question that had stumped her, and have to see them shake their heads at the disappointing daughter of their most brilliant Headmistress. It wasn’t that she was not smart, only that she was not the amazing intellectual everyone had expected her to be. By the time she graduated, Helena had become so frustrated with her inability to meet the unjust standards set for her at birth, she was thrilled when the time came to leave the school.
Helena had remained living with her parents for a time after graduation, simply because she had no where else to go and it was custom for girls to reside in their parents house until they married. Helena, however, was particular about the subject. Though she knew she was not as brilliant as her mother, she still took pride in the fact she was smarter than most. She also thought herself rather attractive, and had yet to meet a man she felt deserving of her affection. Even so, there were those who desired her nonetheless. The Baron was one such man. Ever since school, he had shown interest in her; and now that they had graduated, his attempts to gain her affection doubled. What was worse was her mother approved of the Baron and thought he would make a fine husband.
How could the most brilliant witch of the century be so ignorant? The Baron was haughty, stuck-up, and had the most dreadful temper. He had studied under Salazar Slytherin, Helena’s least favorite of her mother’s co-founders – but he was wealthy. Oh yes, the Baron had gold to be envied and a respectable family. But Helena had no interest in him. It tried the Baron’s patience, and her mother often tried to convince her to give him a chance. It only vexed her more. Helena Ravenclaw was not going to marry a man simply because he had gold, not when they were as conceited and ill-tempered as the Baron.
While she continued to deny the Baron’s attempts to win her over, Helena still felt the pressures of never being smart enough. She was jealous, in short; jealous of her mother’s talent and her standards. Helena also knew of a diadem her mother had made and kept safe at all times. It was an immensely powerful object that could give the wearer unimaginable knowledge. Helena wanted that knowledge more than anything. Her desire for it consumed her, haunted her for weeks until she could take it no more. It had always been her mother in the spotlight, Rowena who was the brilliant one; didn’t she deserve a chance? Longing to be, for once, more clever than her mother, Helena slipped into her mother’s chamber one night and stole the diadem. But fear for what she had done overwhelmed her and she knew she could not stay, for her mother would demand its return. So she ran.
Helena had never known the freedoms of the world, only the confinement of her home and Hogwarts. Now, she not only had freedom but unmatchable knowledge, which opened her eyes to wonders she had never even contemplated before. Ideas came to her left and right, every small thing that had once been unexplainable was explained, and there was no question she could not answer. It was wonderful, yes, but with the knowledge of the good came the knowledge of the bad. She suddenly knew of horrors she had not been able to comprehend before, and they scared her. She also became increasingly paranoid about her mother coming after her, forcing her back into her life of confinement – not to mention the punishment she would receive should she be caught with the stolen diadem. Helena quickly found her way to a rural part of Albania, but off from contact with everyone in her former life.
But Helena’s bliss did not last long. After a time she began getting the feeling someone was pursuing her, so she went deeper into the undeveloped areas of the country. Then one night she saw him – the Baron. What on earth was he doing here? Even with the diadem she could not know the answer, but she felt certain her mother must have sent him. The Baron’s desire for her certainly would have given him the incentive to search for her, but Helena had no desire to allow herself to be found. She now fled through the forest, knowing her pursuer was closing in. Panting, Helena knew she could not be found with the diadem. Looking around, she spotted a nearby tree with a hollow interior. Wrapping the diadem in her scarf, she placed it into the depths of the tree, where it could not be seen. She would return for it as soon as she could, but for now, it was much safer not to have it.
Her delay had given the Baron time to catch up with her. She ran again for a minute or so, until she suddenly froze, stiff as a stone. The Baron had stunned her. After a moment she was able to remove the spell, but now the loathed man was just beside her. “What do you want with me, Baron?” Helena spat, furious with her captor.
The Baron narrowed his eyes, clearly not pleased with this unfriendly reception. “Your mother is dying,” he stated solemnly in his deep voice, looking rather undisturbed by this information. Helena froze, though this time not from a spell. Dying? She had never been immensely fond of her mother, but she would never have wished her dead. Helena looked uncomfortable as the Baron spoke again.
“With her fading breath she pleads for you to come to her side, so she may see you once more,” he said, now gazing at her intensely.
Guilt consumed Helena; no, she could not face her mother, not even on her death bed. There was too much shame, she felt certain her mother wanted only to reprimand her before the life left her body, to tell her how embarrassed and ashamed of her she was. What a failure of a daughter she had been, to have turned to stealing her most prized possession.
“I will not,” Helena stated after a moment, looking determinedly back at the Baron. His eyes flashed.
“You will, for I have given her my word that I will return you to her. In exchange for this service, she has also promised me your hand. Surely you know what this means to me, my dear.”
The Baron spoke lightly, but Helena could see the resoluteness in his eyes. So, this was why had had pursued her so fervently!
“This only gives me more reason not to return with you,” Helena spat back; disgusted by the man’s audacity to assume she would consent. “I have gained my freedom and I shall not relinquish it willingly, or else I would not have evaded you as long as I have. Surely you must know this, Baron – I have no desire to be your wife, nor see my mother again.”
“Enough!” shouted the Baron, his temper exploding. “Enough of this refusal; you will return to your homeland and you will be my wedded wife, do not make me result to force!”
Helena was not frightened, only incensed. “You impudent man! How dare you threaten me! I am not a slave, to be ordered around and do as you please. You dare not lay a hand on me, Baron; I will not stand for it!”
“I dare not, eh?” screamed the man, his eyes wild with fury, his self-control abandoned. He darted forward and seized Helena by the shoulders, shook her violently, and then slapped her across the face. “Your freedom has made you arrogant; do not speak to me that way!”
Helena was stunned, but did not cower. Holding a hand to her reddened cheek, she narrowed her eyes and spat in the Baron’s face. “Hypocritical monster, how dare you - !” Helena began, but the Baron howled in fury and his hand flew; this time not to Helena’s face, but to his cloak. From its dark folds he withdrew a silver dagger; Helena saw its glint in the moonlight just before she felt it stab into her chest. She gasped softly as an expression of surprise mixed with the hatred on her face, and then went limp in the Baron’s arms, never to see the light of day again. The Baron was still enraged, and it took a moment for his action to register in his mind.
As Helena’s limp form dropped from his arms to the ground, the Baron dropped his dagger in anguished shock. He looked at her body, and the single blood wound just above her breast in terror. What had he done? His temper abated at once and remorse consumed him; he had just murdered his only love. He stumbled backward a few steps, unable to take his eyes off Helena’s corpse. Her gray eyes stared up at him, still mingled with anger and surprise. He could not bear it; moving in a trance-like manner, he picked up his dropped dagger, staring at the blood stained upon its blade. “Oh Helena, how can I live with this?” he cried loudly, looking up at the heavens speckled between the trees. “What endless punishment I deserve for this hideous crime, taking you precious life with my own hand? Alas, there is no punishment fitting enough, but I can not bear it. No, I will take my life along with yours, so to not endure the endless torment of a wretched man!”
With this, the Baron turned the blade of his silver dagger toward himself, and began ripping at his person relentlessly. His cries echoed around the forest but no soul was around to hear them. The man stabbed madly at himself, panting and bleeding, until he fell to his knees in the forest floor. With quivering breath, he closed his eyes and plunged the dagger directly to his heart, dealing the fatal blow. His corpse fell next to that of Helena, and the forest fell silent once more.
Some hundred miles away, Rowena Ravenclaw took her final breath.