Cassius had learned long ago that Helena Ravenclaw was capable of being patient.
He had also learned that Helena Ravenclaw was capable of being extraordinarily impatient when something genuinely mattered to her.
Tonight was apparently the latter, as Helena could only be described in this moment to be hasty.
He had barely been waiting outside the room for ten minutes when the door finally opened.
"Cassius?"
He turned, and for perhaps the first time since meeting Helena...
He had absolutely nothing to say, the ghostly Grey Lady was gone but in her place, standing before him was a young witch.
Her dark hair fell naturally around her shoulders, framing a face that carried the unmistakable features of Helena Ravenclaw, but without the translucent pallor that had defined her existence for centuries.
Though the process of growing her a new body only got it close, like the statement says 'a footprint, looks like a boot.'
When looking at something or even someone using a rough mold to work out of, the end result would be different from reality.
Helena as a ghost looked quite a bit older than the 17 year old self she was back when she was killed.
Perhaps it was her own self image of herself, the reflection of the soul taking form.
Desiring to be more mature, to be every bit the witch her mother was.
She had chosen to wear a simple set of dark robes beneath a winter cloak, with a pair of comfortable boots replacing what previously was her exposed pale white feet upon the floorboards.
Helena spread her arms, as he continuned to gaze at her speechless.
"Well?"
Cassius blinked, "You look..."
"Sexy?"
"... I was going to say presentable."
She narrowed her eyes. "Only presentable?"
"Fine... you look very cute, alright, but if you try and get me to call you sexy i'm gonna have to bonk you on the forehead for trying to have me hit on a newborn." Cassius responded sticking his tongue out childishly at the end.
"Mmm, fine then i accept this compromise, besides everyone loves a cuty newborn."
Cassius shook his head. "Ready?"
His words cutting through the playful atmosphere that had been building.
Helena looked toward the room one final time, almost looking like she would dive back inside and change her mind going for something... else.
But then her expression softened, and she turned to him, "Yes."
Cassius smiled at this, raised his wand in hand and with a quick flick of his wrist the remaining contents of the bags, along with the hospital gown itself shot out of the room and quickly pulled themselves into a simple small purse that no doubt had the undetecatble extension charm upon it as the bag, only big enough to hold a simple wallet, had just had dozens of outfits stuffed inside of itself without even bulging out even a little bit.
Once the clasp was closed he handed the simple purse over, and after leaving his hand outstretched towards her.
After shouldering the purse, she looked at his hand, smiling a little as she did, before she took it.
This time, however, there was no Apparition, like when they first held hands to get to Hogsmede.
They were already within Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts stood only a short distance away, barring any apparition onto or even out of school grounds.
Having vacated the room, the two hand in hand head down the hall, down the stairs and eventually within a short walk had left the inn behind and the two began walking through the snowy village together.
Helena's pace was slow at first, her newborn body had only labgrown muscles and her own memory of how to move had long since been lost and needed to be retrained.
It was equally slowed due to Helena's own insistance to experience everything now that she was finally back to life.
The feel of the cold on her face, the wind through her hair, the warmth of his hand in hers.
Even poking her face into the windows of some of the shops, but each time Cassius was patient treating this like an escort mission or more accurately Babysitting.
Eventually they left the village and continued toward Hogwarts castle.
The castle in the distance grew larger with every step.
Helena stared upward, her eyes becoming misty, as a single word slipped almost imperceptibly out of her mouth, "Home."
Cassius himself said nothing just tightened the grip of his fingers around her own hand.
She had spent centuries wandering those halls as a ghost, but even before that she had walked those grounds and halls as one of the very first classes of students to be raised without fear or persecution by the growing muggle threat brewing across the european world.
Even as they were well into the school grounds no teacher, groundskeeper, or even headmaster came out to greet them.
Within his head, Cassius couldnt help but wonder if as a false life, Helena had simply been ignored by the castle wards, or if those very same wards knew her for what she truly was.
A student of the school and as such allowed full access to the castle and as such not worth raising any alerts or alarms to her mere presence within.
When they finally reached the main doors that led directly to the grounds, Cassius was surprised to find that the doors were actually open and a figure was there waiting for them.
But as they got closer, his worry instead turned to glee.
The figure was not whole, instead being ethereal and tinged with blue, a sign of the waiting greeter being one of a ghostly nature.
And upon reaching the door, being cast of the light spilling out from within, and feeling a touch of the warmth within the castle.
We came upon and met with Lady Draconis.
She was the true founder of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, not only that but she was also Helena's maternal grandmother.
Beside her floated an enormous ancient book.
Even just at a glance Cassius knew exactly what this was, this was the famous tool of the british isles, created by the founders or perhaps Lady Draconis herself to identify Magicals and give the staff and magical community a full tally of children who would need their protection, and then later on, children who needed to be protected from themselves, and finally who needed to be stopped from exposing the secret hidden in plain sight, this was The Book of Admittance.
Helena stared, her real eyes finally laying upon her grandmother, who was wearing a pleasant smile only seen when she occasionally glanced at Cassius doing something unheard of.
"Grandmother."
"My little raven, so good to see it was a success then."
Helena's eyes immediately became wet, she took a step forward instinctively as if she was going to give her grandmother a hug, but she was stopped unable to advance as her hand was still held by Cassius unwilling to let go.
"I..."
Lady Draconis raised one hand to stop her. "You need not explain. I already know more than you think."
The ancient witch giving the pair a once over with her steely eyes, but the smile never leaving her face.
"While unconventional to say the least, this is an acceptable match, but you must understand his fate is to be shared do you agree to this term Helena?"
Cassius himself was surprised to see he was all but being excluded from the converastion as if his own input on if he wanted that kind of a relationship with Helena, or even any of his girls was not one of his own making or choosing.
Back when he first got to this world, or even when he first got placed into the house he had indeed thought about how great having a Harem would be, why wouldnt he, he was a guy afterall.
But now, more than three years in of living exclusively with girls, all of whom who suspiciously seemed to be growing affection for him at a shocking rate, had him thinking quite the opposite about how great a monogamous life would be.
Of course if he chose that route, there would be hell to pay to say the very least.
Lady Draconis herself had constantly reminded him about his need to produce numerous offspring to ensure the continuation of his line, and at the same time sow the seeds of the next generations magical leadership.
But as the two were speaking as Cassius drifted into his own thoughts, The Book of Admittance floated forward, stopping only when it was before the two of them, its massive cover opened.
Pages began turning. Slowly at first. Then faster.
The swishing of pages sounding more like watercrashing from a waterfall.
Then pages stopped, and a mostly blank page appeared before them, mostly because only a handful of names presently existed upon it, glancing quickly at the names, he was at first surprised to see these were the name of new first years.
Only his shock was surpassed the very next moment as a quill materialized out of thin air, its tip practically dripping with ink, as it slowly dragged itself across the parchment of the book.
Letter after letter being scrawled, but in the end it was clear a new name was being written down as a new admitance to the school.
Helena leaned forward to get a closer look as she had spied it was her own first name that had been written, but in the next moment her eyes widened at what came next.
Helena Draconis.