Chapter 305: Close Heart
Adolescence—beautiful, confusing, and often ridiculous.
Even for a young wizard, those impulses were still human.
Alexander had meant to nudge Harry's curiosity, nothing more.
A single harmless thought — the crown — slipped into Harry's mind as he slept, meant only to redirect his attention toward the marble statue in the Ravenclaw common room.
Alexander expected Harry to wake up, remember the statue vaguely, and perhaps look at it later.
Instead, Harry's mind sprinted ahead on its own.
From the next bed — barely two meters away — Alexander watched Harry's thoughts tumble like dominoes:
Qiu Zhang… Quidditch… impressing her… wisdom… Ravenclaw Diadem… statue… mother… treasure… destiny… love…
Alexander lay there speechless.
He had no idea how Harry managed to take "crown" and turn it into "find ancient treasure to get a girlfriend."
So this is puberty, Alexander thought numbly. He's becoming like Ron… though honestly Ron's imagination might actually be better than this. Or maybe he's just hungry… that would explain everything.
Harry, meanwhile, had already dressed and bolted out of Gryffindor Tower with the frantic determination of someone about to uncover the secrets of the universe.
And impress a girl while doing it.
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Ravenclaw Common Room — 7:30 a.m.
A few first-year Ravenclaws, already awake because of their house's habit of early rising, whispered nervously as Harry Potter strode in.
"That's Harry Potter…"
"Peeves keeps bothering us because of him!"
"So it's true he scares Peeves?!"
Harry ignored them. His entire focus was on the alcove by the dormitory entrance.
He was so intent on the statue that he nearly walked straight through Lady Grey's chest.
He jerked back, remembering that icy sensation of passing through Nearly Headless Nick.
"Sorry! I didn't see you," Harry said quickly.
Lady Grey floated in silence, cold and distant — dignified like a snow-blooming plum.
Her gaze was fixed on the white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, carved with such precision that even stone seemed to carry an air of intelligence and quiet pride.
"Is she your mother?" Harry blurted, the words escaping before he realized it.
Perhaps it was because of Qiu Zhang.
Perhaps because he desperately wanted to find the Diadem.
Or perhaps because Helena's resemblance to the statue made the truth obvious.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
Lady Grey's eyes narrowed, her expression unreadable.
Then her lips twisted into a bitter smile.
"Another student coveting the crown."
"Another one?" Harry leaned closer. "So you really are Ravenclaw's daughter? Your name is… Hermione Ravenclaw?"
Lady Grey stared at him.
"Hermione? What a ridiculous name."
Sleeping peacefully in Gryffindor Tower, the real Hermione Granger sneezed loudly.
Harry lowered his voice and whispered, "You are the daughter of Ravenclaw, aren't you?"
Lady Grey's translucent cheeks seemed to flush ever so faintly — not with color, but with embarrassment.
It was clear she had realized what Harry was doing.
"How—how dare you?" she stammered, losing her composure for the first time in decades.
Her mind flashed back — more than forty years — to a handsome boy who had spoken gently, stolen her trust, learned her secret…
And then abandoned her.
He was back now.
And he still had not come to see her.
A faint mist gathered in her spectral eyes.
Harry softened.
"I just wanted to know your name," he said quietly. "That's all."
Helena blinked, surprised.
Really? Just that?
"…Really?"
"But you are much uglier," she added suddenly, her expression turning sharp again. It was the very same mocking half-smile as the one carved on the marble statue.
Harry flinched.
But then… he saw it.
A flash of warm sunlight seemed to pass through her expression — something bright, brief, and heartbreakingly gentle.
Harry's heart skipped a beat.
For a moment, Qiu Zhang's silhouette blurred in his mind.
Students were now leaving the dormitories, chatting as they passed by.
Harry didn't notice a single one.
He was staring at Helena Ravenclaw.
"I think I've found something more beautiful than the Ravenclaw Diadem," Harry whispered, cheeks turning red.
Qiu Zhang? Who was that again?
The stirring sensation inside the room grew stronger — a faint magical vibration pulsing from the statue.
But Harry barely noticed.
All he could see was Helena.
"Can… can I call you Helena?" he asked quietly.
Helena's lips curved.
"Very well."
She saw herself reflected in him — the same anxious, hopeful girl who once stood before Tom Riddle.
And just as she spoke—
Crack.
A sharp sound echoed across the common room.
The stone crown atop the statue fissured.
Something ancient awakened.
(End of Chapter).
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