"So how can I help you?" Julian asked, careful not to reveal that he knew who she had been in life.
"I sometimes forget my identity is not well known anymore," the ghost said, chin lifting. "I am Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, and sister to your ancestor."
Julian blinked, then rubbed the back of his head. "Well, now I'm a bit stuck, because I don't really know how I'm supposed to introduce myself anymore."
Helena paused, considering him. "What were you called before you found out?" she asked evenly.
"Nicholas Iron," Julian answered.
She fell silent again, thinking. "What about Nicholas I Ravenclaw?" she suggested.
Julian let the name sit in his mind for a moment, testing how it felt, before nodding. "That'll work for public events and business talks. Though I'd rather just be called Julian."
...
He studied her with a narrowed look. "Why are you being so nice to me anyway? Everyone says you're usually a bit standoffish."
"Hmph!" Helena said, the sound sharp with contempt. "They are not family. You are. It's entirely different."
'Alright, so she's arrogant,' Julian thought with a mental shrug. 'Fair enough, I can't exactly throw stones.'
...
"You still haven't told me why you're here talking to me," he pointed out calmly.
Helena looked briefly taken aback, then laughed. "Despite the side content, you still held onto the main point. Yes, you are certainly related to me."
Then her expression shifted into something more intent.
"To answer your question, I spent a long time assuming someone like you simply did not exist. Your ancestor was my younger sister, and she was born a Squib."
...
"My mother was quite distressed," Helena continued, voice carrying an odd edge of old memory. "So distressed that she hid all information regarding my little sister's birth. One day, shortly after she was born, Mother took her away."
Helena's mouth tightened, and her tone turned oddly light, as if she was speaking around something uglier.
"And then she returned without her. I never asked what became of my sister. I simply assumed Mother left her in the woods somewhere to die."
She looked at Julian with bright, almost eager focus. "You can imagine my surprise, discovering she survived long enough to continue our family line."
Julian was unsettled by how animated she seemed. The Grey Lady he had heard about was supposed to be quiet, distant, and heavy with sorrow.
"You seem relieved," he said cautiously. "More than that, you seem… happy."
"Tsk tsk," Helena chided, amused. "No need to coax answers out of me when you could simply ask."
Julian sighed. "Fine, fine. Way to take all the fun out of it. I'm trying to figure out why you're so much more cheerful than everyone says you usually are."
"Oh," Helena said simply, as if the answer was obvious. "The thing I regretted most from when I was alive was that the family died out with me. But thanks to you, that regret is gone. I have other regrets, yes, but that was the biggest one."
...
"I see," Julian said slowly. Then he lifted the signet ring. "And this doesn't really give me anything, does it?"
Helena looked at the ring with a brief, nostalgic softness before her usual pride returned. "Quite the opposite. Mother made sure to strike a special arrangement with those foul creatures so our vault would never be reclaimed by the goblins. It would remain active indefinitely, in case someone like you ever appeared."
She let out a small chuckle. "The greedy little things must be furious that an heir existed the whole time right under their noses."
Then her expression sharpened. "Be careful around them. They will try to trap you in some clever, shifting deal, all so they can drain the vault for themselves."
...
"And there's more," Helena added, voice turning casual again. "You need the ring to find our family home. Mother placed wards so that only the current lord or lady, bearing that ring, could locate it unless they were already keyed into the protections."
"After a thousand years, that house has to be rubble by now," Julian said, skeptical.
Helena laughed, proud and certain. "As if Mother would allow time to ruin what was hers. No. She tied a self maintenance enchantment to the ley line beneath the island, keeping the house in perfect condition no matter how many years pass. I helped set it up, I will have you know."
"Wait," Julian said sharply. "Island?"
"Yes," Helena replied, as if that was the simplest detail in the world. "If you bring me a map of England, I can point out where it is. Or I could go with you over the summer and show you myself."