Rowena Ravenclaw was a witch who lived in the tenth century and one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was the mother of Helena Ravenclaw\, who is also known as the Grey Lady, the Ravenclaw's official ghost. However, her identity remains a secret that only Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter are aware of.
Background[]
Along with Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Godric Gryffindor, Rowena founded the school of Hogwarts with her fellow friends. She and all the other founders, however, were all at odds with Slytherin, who wanted to only teach those of pure blood families. However, they never agreed with his ideology and firmly believed in teaching witches and wizards born of different heritages.
Rowena's daughter, Helena, was the first generation fostudents to attend the school when it was ran by its original founders. Rowena grew estranged with her daughter, who grew jealous of Rowena's cleverness. When she was still in school, Helena stole her mother's diadem and ran away to Albania. When Rowena was fatally ill, she asked for the Bloody Baron to bring Helena back to see her daughter one last time. However, the young Helena refused to go with him and his advances. In a fit of rage, he killed her before realizing what he had done and killed him for payment. Rowena was never able to say goodbye to her daughter and died of a broken heart.