Chapter 194: Peeves: Master!
Dylan's shoes touched the ground, making no sound whatsoever.
"At this hour… where would Peeves be?"
At this moment, his figure was completely shrouded in shadow. After dealing with the Dementors and the Boggart, he had emerged from his suitcase. Ron and Harry were already asleep. So, Dylan wandered through the Hogwarts corridors, under curfew, searching for Peeves.
Just then, a peculiar cackling sound floated from the end of the corridor. Dylan raised an eyebrow.
Found him!
He followed the sound, stopping at the door of a storeroom filled with old brooms. A steady thump-thump sound came from inside, through the cracks in the door – a bit like something farting.
Besides that, there was a rhythmic clacking of broom handles against each other – he had no idea what bizarre marching tune it was, but it sounded truly awful.
Dylan looked left and right. With a flick of his wand, a Silencing Charm enveloped the area. Then, he kicked the door open. It swung inward, revealing a fluorescent green furball.
Peeves was currently perched on a broomstick, using a branch he'd picked up from somewhere to jab furiously at an old rubbish bin in the corner. The bin's lid opened and closed rhythmically with each jab, making a clapping sound.
Dylan's sudden entry startled Peeves greatly.
"Who—" All sounds ceased abruptly as Peeves whipped around. He'd expected it to be one of the professors. Instead, he saw someone even more terrifying than a professor.
—The air!
"Who's there?" He suddenly remembered the "air" he'd faced last time he was causing mischief. That fellow had given him such a beating his mother wouldn't have recognized him! And now, it was a blob of air again!
Peeves shuddered, quickly dropping the broomstick he was riding, and shot up to the ceiling, watching the doorway warily.
Suddenly, Dylan revealed himself. Peeves jumped again.
"It's you! Were you the one who beat me up last time? How dare you sneak out after curfew? I'm telling Dumbledore!"
In truth, Dylan had had a few minor run-ins with Peeves during his first year. But later, he got so busy he naturally had no time to bother with the prank-loving poltergeist.
Just then, Peeves pulled out a screaming whistle. If blown, that whistle could wake up people two floors away. Perhaps the sound wouldn't reach the dormitories of the four Houses, but it would certainly attract Filch.
Seeing this, Dylan simply smirked and gave a casual flick of his hand. Peeves was about to bite down on the whistle when he found himself biting into something soft — the whistle had turned squishy?! He looked down to find he was biting a banana.
"Hey!" Peeves angrily snapped the banana in half. "You cheated! Why doesn't your magic even have a spark?!"
"Why would I need a spark to deal with a troublemaker like you?" Dylan chuckled, his gaze lingering on the poltergeist. "If I were to take you away, given the daily chaos you cause in this school, I doubt anyone would notice if you went missing, would they?" Dylan's voice echoed leisurely.
Peeves's eyes widened again. "What do you want to do?" Feeling the little human wizard's gaze lingering on him with ill intent, Peeves gradually retreated, until he was huddled in the corner of the ceiling. "I'm telling you, if I disappear, everyone will notice immediately!"
Dylan slowly pulled a glass bottle from his pocket. He had already put the other two Non-Beings into his dimensional space. At this moment, he didn't want to waste any more words on Peeves.
It would be better to simply capture him now. Perhaps it would even trigger some new achievement. Once Peeves was safely contained in his space, with ample time and room, he could teach the poltergeist a lesson about what to say and what not to say when he eventually emerged. That was Dylan's real plan.
"Come on in. You know it's curfew. Don't make me stay out here too long — we should all be considerate of each other, for my sake and for yours."
But Peeves glared at Dylan, his expression exaggerated. "You're going to put me in that bottle? How is that good for me? I don't want to squeeze into such a tiny place! I'm Peeves!"
"Calm down, calm down," Dylan smiled. "It's because I know you're Peeves that I have to do this."
Dylan wasn't going to waste any more time talking to the poltergeist. He simply flicked his wand. Instantly, a burst of magic erupted. The light was invisible.
Peeves saw nothing, assuming the little wizard couldn't even cast a proper spell. While sighing in relief, he was about to mock him and find an opportune moment to escape the cramped room.
However, he suddenly felt an invisible force wrapping around him.
"What's happening? What is this?! What did you do to me!!!" Peeves instantly panicked. He felt this power acting on him, making him completely unable to resist!
Peeves's limbs flailed wildly, suspended in mid-air, but his movements grew smaller and smaller. He was clearly bound by some force.
"Come here. Don't make me say it a third time." Dylan lifted his wand and gently hooked it back. The bound Peeves instantly flew towards Dylan.
"Wait! Hey! I'm Peeves of Hogwarts! You can't take me away! Without me, Hogwarts will—"
Before Peeves could finish his sentence, Dylan had already aimed the bottle's opening at him.
Whoosh!
Peeves was sucked into the glass bottle by Dylan. He corked the bottle again. Dylan held up the glass bottle and shook it. The bottle rattled as the Peeves inside was shaken into a blurry shadow.
"Right, time to head back."
Dylan planned to discipline Peeves for a bit and see if it would earn him an achievement. If so, great. If not, he intended to continue teaching Peeves what he should say and what he shouldn't say tomorrow.
In truth, Peeves wasn't wrong. Unlike Boggarts, which were found everywhere, or the numerous Dementors, Peeves was almost a defining, iconic non-being of Hogwarts.
If he went missing for a day or two, no one would care; in fact, they'd probably be relieved that he'd finally quieted down. But if he were gone for too long, someone would definitely notice. And causing unnecessary trouble that would disrupt Dylan's studying and reading was something he disliked.
Transforming into a shadow, and using Coal Ball's ability, Dylan returned to his dorm. He quickly slipped back into his trunk. This time, he didn't go to the small cabin, but directly to the isolated island he used for storing corpses and Dementors.
The seven Dementors, who had just managed to see Dylan off, saw him appear again. Their dark forms twisted, but they didn't dare to delay, immediately gathering and forming a line.
Dylan waved a hand at them. "Alright, clear off. I have other things to attend to now."
At this, the seven Dementors were overjoyed. They dispersed. —It felt like this situation was almost becoming a fond memory for them.
Dylan took out the glass bottle and released Peeves.
"Where did you take me?" Peeves's body was like a crumpled piece of paper. After finally squeezing out of the glass bottle, he floated in mid-air, stretching his form and shrieking at the top of his lungs.
On the desolate island, perhaps sensing Dylan's will, dark clouds roiled. —This world was his. Naturally, it would subtly change according to his desires. He was the absolute king of this world.
Salty sea winds carried waves that crashed against the jagged rocks around them. Peeves looked left and right, his transparent limbs trembling slightly.
A moment ago, he had been in a Hogwarts storeroom. It felt like less time than it took Snape to relieve himself, and he was suddenly out over an ocean! Could this little wizard even Apparate?!
How was that possible?! Dumbledore would never teach a third-year wizard such a spell!
At this moment, Peeves's familiar Hogwarts Great Hall tables, moving staircases, and cursing portraits were all gone without a trace. In their place were endless grey-blue waters and a few twisted, withered trees on the isolated island.
—He even saw Dementors?!
"Hey! Are those Dementors???" Peeves stared at Dylan in disbelief. "Run, quick! Those are Dementors! Didn't Dumbledore tell you not to provoke them?"
"You even brought me here, you're truly wicked, you little wizard! Do you want me to deal with these Dementors? Merlin's beard, you're even dumber than Voldemort!" Peeves stared at the grey figures in the distance, his eyes practically rolling into the back of his head.
His curses hadn't even landed before he flew to Dylan's side, transparent hands flailing wildly. "Go! These things aren't something your pathetic spells can handle! —And don't count on me!"
Peeves tried to urge Dylan away. Just then, the seven dark figures, wrapped in putrid cold, pressed closer. These Dementors, seeing Peeves approach their master, assumed this newcomer was trying to harm Dylan.
Although they didn't particularly wish their master well, they also knew that this newcomer, in terms of strength, seemed even weaker than they were! And he certainly couldn't pose any threat to their master!
So, rather than watching him attack their master and doing nothing, they might as well rush over and fawn a bit. Perhaps their master would be pleased and stop tormenting them!
The black holes beneath the Dementors' hoods exhaled visible despair. Peeves was about to tug on Dylan's robes when he saw the foremost Dementor suddenly accelerate!
Its decaying claw brushed past his ear. The seven Dementors successively floated behind Dylan. Seven hollow eyes simultaneously turned to him. The chilling sensation of all joyful memories being sucked away instantly enveloped his entire being.
—No, he definitely didn't want to forget how to prank people!
Peeves no longer bothered trying to drag Dylan away, scrambling backward, his transparent, fluorescent green body shaking like a sieve. Even colliding with the rocks behind him, he didn't bother to cry out in pain, instead yelling immediately.
"Mercy!" Peeves hid behind a twisted, withered tree three meters away. He huddled down but didn't forget to poke his head out and shout. "I was just passing by! Don't hit me! We're all kindred spirits! I absolutely did not mean to offend you! There's a human here, go eat him, go eat him!"
—The saying goes, 'better a dead wizard than a dead poltergeist.' There was no other way. Why had this damn foolish little wizard brought him here to deal with these Dementors? He couldn't beat these evil things!
This little wizard was truly asking for trouble! A good poltergeist couldn't dissuade a doomed human. Let this little wizard become food for these Dementors! He had to get back quickly and tell Dumbledore about this!
Listening to Peeves's racket, Dylan, who had initially felt a slight positive impression of Peeves for trying to lead him away from what he thought would be a Dementor attack, now narrowed his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Not bad at all." Dylan's voice drifted over.
Peeves heard his chuckle. He waited for a long time, not seeing the Dementors make any further moves, and couldn't help but be puzzled. He cautiously peeked his head out, only to see the seven Dementors standing behind Dylan, like seven obedient henchmen. The entire poltergeist froze in place.
"This…"
Suddenly, he realized something. Had this human wizard somehow subdued these Dementors? Peeves remembered the scene of this human wizard controlling him and stuffing him into a glass bottle. The entire poltergeist suddenly floated up from the ground and zipped in front of Dylan.
"Great King! Forgive my ignorance, I didn't recognize you. So, you're a Dementor disguised in the human world…" Peeves's eyes darted back and forth, but he couldn't come up with a suitable adjective. "You can even disguise yourself as a human? I wonder if I have a chance…"
Dylan smirked again, cutting off his rambling. "Of course you have a chance."
Dylan waved his wand. "Erebus Nexus!"
Black mist surged from his wand, instantly engulfing the entire sandy beach.
It's over!
This master, why did he suddenly transform again?! No, couldn't he have given a heads-up to us fellows before transforming?!
Run!
The seven Dementors fled in panic towards the sky.
In the black mist, hundreds of crimson eyes opened sequentially. These eyes had no whites; their pupils swallowed light like abysses. Every blink was accompanied by the grating sound of fingernails scraping metal.
The moment the incantation left Dylan's lips, Peeves, seeing Dylan clearly, felt as if his very soul was being pierced by countless steel needles! The black mist seemed to coalesce into a giant hand, squeezing his neck.
In a daze, he seemed to see a writhing mass of flesh deep within the black mist, with countless tentacles sprouting faces, each screaming in death throes. Those tentacles suddenly pierced his body, a hundred times more painful than being disciplined by Dumbledore!
"I was wrong, Master! Please! For the sake of us not being human—" Peeves's voice was sharp enough to shatter seashells, his transparent body beginning to twist and melt uncontrollably. "Please! Don't use that spell again! I'm willing to submit!!"
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