Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/The Grey Lady

The Grey Lady Female Translucent Translucent Rowena Ravenclaw Ravenclaw House Overview The Grey Lady is the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower. In life she was known as known as Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of the House's founder, Rowena. Role in the Books Deathly Hallows Although initially reluctant to do so, the Grey Lady helps Harry with information about the lost Ravenclaw diadem, which has been made into a Horcrux by Lord Voldemort. We discover through their discourse that she was, in life, Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter Helena, and had stolen the diadem through jealousy, later hiding it in Albania. Harry correctly determines that it had been retrieved by Voldemort, and stored in the Room of Hidden things (an aspect of the Room of Requirement), most likely on the same day he asked for a job. As part of her story, we learn that the character who became the Bloody Baron went to Albania, where Helena was hiding, to ask her to return to see her mother before she died. When she refused, the Baron, angered, killed her. Strengths As Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, we can assume Helena would have been possessed of some intelligence. She certainly had the singleness of mind to travel to Albania to hide something, which must have taken some planning. Weaknesses We will note that she carried some envy for her mother from her actions. She also appears to be slightly imperious and aloof, initially with her interactions with Harry. She was, like so many others, not immune to the charms of Tom Riddle, the only prior student she had confided in. Relationships with Other Characters The Grey Lady apparently stole the Diadem from Rowena Ravenclaw out of jealousy. We are not told why she refused to return, though we can safely guess that it was either fear of retribution or remorse. She indicates that the Bloody Baron had been in love with her in life, but whose affection she had spurned. He was eventually her killer, and she feels he deserves his miserable ghosthood. She is not above talking with other ghosts such as Nearly Headless Nick, but she is hesitant to divulge information to non-Ravenclaw students. She does eventually do so to Riddle, and, of course, Harry. Analysis The Grey Lady's brief appearance in Deathly Hallows answers many questions, not least of all who the Ravenclaw ghost isǃ Through her conversation, we get information about her past, the history of the diadem, and a clue to where it might be. This is important, because as a Ravenclaw she is privy to such information, whereas somebody like Nick would doubtless try to help, but be less qualified to do so. Other characters get a mention tooː Riddle comes back into the story, having charmed her into giving him the information. We even get some extra information about the Bloody Baron, not necessary to the plot, but certainly a welcome piece of trivia. Throughout the saga we have not had a lot of information about Ravenclaw House. Helena's story here, and our visit to the Ravenclaw common room later on, put this House briefly into focus. Questions Why was Helena jealous of her mother? What was the significance of Albania? Who else later visited there? Would Helena have been intelligent, witty and beautiful like her mother? Why didn't Helena return to her mother before she died? Greater Picture The reader almost never encounters the Grey Lady - she does not even get the cursory mentions that ghosts like The Fat Friar do, nor is she even mentioned at Nick's Deathday Party. She does make an appearance in the film adaptation of the first book, but remains unnamed. That she is thrown into such sharp focus for a short time is surprising, but not unwelcome. Our contact with the Grey Lady is brief, but significant. From what we can tell, she appears to be a typical Ravenclaw - educated, well-spoken, clever and even a bit imperious. We will note that we learn of the circumstances of her death - a single stab from the Baron, and Harry sees the wound, too - which adds to our knowledge of the ghosts.