Chapter 214: The Madman Who Climbed Out of Azkaban!
After eating their fill, the pumpkin lanterns in the Great Hall suddenly extinguished in unison. Neville, beside Dylan, shuddered.
"What's happening...?"
"Don't worry, it's a show," Dylan whispered.
Neville nodded, reassured.
At that moment, icy mists began to rise from the cracks in the marble floor. The flickering flames on the candelabras eerily leaned to one side. Countless twisted shadows danced on the walls.
Then, several translucent silver mists drifted out from behind tapestries, gradually condensing into the figure of a tall-hatted old ghost. With a gentle tap in the air, hundreds of eerie blue will-o'-the-wisps gathered around the pumpkin lanterns. A pale blue light descended from the ceiling, illuminating the entire Great Hall like a moonlit graveyard.
Then, dozens of ghosts emerged from beneath the students' long tables, dancing a medieval courtly dance in the aisles. The most sensational was Nearly Headless Nick. His head dangled precariously from his neck, connected only by a web of sinew.
"Ladies and gentlemen, behold!" Nick's voice buzzed in his hollow chest.
As he narrated, the air in the Great Hall began to warp, and a classical song, sung from an unknown source, grew more impassioned. Time seemed to rewind a hundred years.
The young wizards from the four Houses gasped and laughed, watching Nearly Headless Nick being pressed onto the chopping block by an executioner, as a gleaming axe descended. The music echoing through the Great Hall reached its crescendo.
Naturally, Nick was unharmed — he was already nearly headless, after all. The axes wielded by the other ghosts clearly couldn't sever his head again; it stubbornly remained attached to his neck.
Nevertheless, this visually and dramatically charged performance undoubtedly pushed the atmosphere in the Great Hall to a fever pitch. The young wizards' cheers were deafening, like a boiling pot.
Dylan nodded silently. Whose idea was this? Having ghosts perform a musical? And having someone who was beheaded relive their own death? Absolutely brilliant.
The ghosts bowed in mid-air. The candles in the Great Hall re-ignited. The applause from all the young wizards was prolonged and deafening. Hermione excitedly tugged at Harry's sleeve. Ron forgot to put the pumpkin pasty in his hand into his mouth. Even Neville, beside Dylan, had a flushed face and was clapping enthusiastically.
"Wow, that was so thrilling! Good thing we don't have beheadings anymore."
Dylan glanced at Neville. He suddenly remembered that when he was doing some experiments earlier, he needed some creature heads. So he'd lopped off a few Cornish Pixie and Goblin heads.
Dylan nodded. "Yeah, now it's just getting your brain sucked out by a Dementor."
Neville's expression stiffened, and his smile became forced. "That's... quite scary too, huh."
After the Halloween feast officially concluded, students from all four Houses began to leave the warm Great Hall. Nearly everyone was uplifted by the festive atmosphere of the Halloween banquet — each and every one delighted.
Moonlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled shadows along the Gryffindor Tower corridor. As the Gryffindor students prepared to return to their common room, they suddenly discovered something was terribly wrong.
Dylan walked forward. The corridor was packed with people, no one entering the common room.
"Hmm? This..." Dylan suddenly realized that some plot point seemed to have begun. He couldn't help but pinch his forehead. "Such a joyful day, and no one can ever have a moment's peace." He had planned to go back and get some good rest, to take a break from studying and researching today. He hadn't expected that after finally preparing for a short holiday, he'd immediately run into trouble.
"Excuse me! Coming through! Excuse me! Please move aside, let me pass!" Percy's voice cut through the clamor from the back. He pushed his way through the crowd to the front of the corridor. Dylan didn't push forward, instead standing with Neville at the very back of the line.
Neville looked nervous. "What's going on now...?"
Dylan shrugged. "I think someone might have snuck into Hogwarts while we were at the feast."
Neville gasped, "What?!"
Dylan shook his head. "Don't panic yet. Let's see what the professors say when they arrive."
Meanwhile, Percy, after expertly elbowing his way through the crowd, scanned the surroundings with an annoyed expression. "Why are you all standing around instead of going in? Don't tell me you've all collectively forgotten the simple password, like 'dung bomb explosion'."
Percy's gaze shifted to the entrance, which should have been guarded by the Fat Lady. "I'm the Head Boy, please cooperate—"
However, before he could finish speaking, the moment he squeezed to the front of the portrait, he froze.
"This, this..." Percy's teeth chattered slightly. He stumbled backward, his voice suddenly becoming sharp, almost cracking. "Go—go find Professor Dumbledore! Quick!"
Percy's words acted as a trigger, causing the crowd in the corridor to suddenly recoil. Dylan stepped to the side. Neville, shrinking back, still poked his head out, peering forward. He couldn't see clearly. He then stood behind Dylan, rising onto his tiptoes. In the fleeting moments as the crowd shifted, he saw that the Fat Lady, who should have been smiling, was now a scene of utter destruction.
—Crooked, claw-like tears marred the canvas, revealing rough burlap beneath peeling oil paint, and the shattered frame swayed gently on the wall.
"Oh, my God! What happened?!" Neville's eyes widened in shock, and a strong sense of fear suddenly surged within him.
Dylan calmly reassured him, "Don't be nervous. I think an intruder tried to enter our common room, but the Fat Lady refused, and then they did something incredibly cruel to her."
Neville froze. He turned to look at Dylan.
But...?! An intruder tore the Fat Lady to shreds like this, and then hid in their dormitory! You call this 'no need to be nervous'???
Neville's body began to tremble. If someone could tear the Fat Lady's portrait apart, how vicious must they be? —Could it be some evil beast?! Neville wanted to retreat with the flow of people. He was terrified that if he stayed, a monstrous, terrifying beast would burst out of the Gryffindor common room and devour them, helpless students, one by one, bleeding them dry.
—No, Dylan wasn't that weak. If he stayed with Dylan, he should be fine... Thinking this, Neville again shrank back, hiding tightly behind Dylan, with no intention of slipping away with the others.
But as he looked at the empty portrait frame, the fear in his heart remained. "Oh, Mother of God, the Fat Lady couldn't have..."
Dylan shook his head. "Look closely, there's no trace of the Fat Lady in those pieces of canvas on the floor. And the portraits at Hogwarts have their own unique worlds." Dylan paused, thinking of the professor portraits he'd asked the professors to help him create. Cultivating a truly human-like portrait was a long, painstaking process. Dylan wasn't in a hurry. "So I think the Fat Lady might have hidden inside another portrait."
"Is that so...?" Neville looked at the ragged pieces of canvas. The edges of the canvas showed tears from sharp claws and teeth, as if from a beast. But in the remaining canvas, the Fat Lady was indeed nowhere to be seen. Realizing that the Fat Lady seemed unharmed, Neville couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from afar. Dumbledore's silver beard floated rapidly in the night. The hem of his long robes created a whirlwind, quickly bringing him to the Fat Lady's portrait frame. With a light tap of his wand, several brilliant blue flames erupted from its tip, then floated in mid-air, clearly illuminating the mess on the floor.
Professor McGonagall also arrived. Since something had happened to Gryffindor, as Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, she had naturally been informed by the Gryffindor students. She had arrived in a rush, her pointed hat askew. Professor McGonagall gripped her wand tightly, her gaze alert as she scanned the surroundings, ensuring no unexpected incidents occurred.
Dumbledore looked at the savage claw marks on the wall, a cold glint in his glasses. Soon after, Professor Snape and Professor Lupin also arrived. Professor Snape, cloaked in black robes, remained hidden in the shadows, his thin lips beneath his hooked nose pressed into a tight line. Professor Lupin knelt down, using his wand to pick up a shred of canvas.
"Doesn't look like an ordinary attack spell."
Professor Snape sneered. "Clearly, this is either dark magic, or..." He paused. "A monster has snuck into the school."
"Either way, I think we should catch the culprit as soon as possible," Professor Lupin said, standing up.
Dumbledore's aged voice rang out, carrying a rare tone of authority. "She must have hidden in another portrait. We need to find her to understand exactly what happened."
Dumbledore turned. "Minerva, inform all professors to search the common rooms of every House."
"Severus, check all secret passages."
"Remus, gather the Night Watch Birds to patrol the towers."
"Filch, search every painting in Hogwarts. I want you to find the Fat Lady's whereabouts as soon as possible."
Old Dumbledore looked at the trembling students, a flicker of worry in his eyes. His tone softened slightly. "Children, return to the Great Hall. Until the professors have investigated, I cannot permit you to leave."
A chilly wind, carrying a few scraps of canvas, swirled through the corridor. Suddenly, a grating cackle echoed. Peeves darted out from around the corner of the corridor, his translucent body glowing eerily. He then hung upside down above the students' heads, swinging back and forth, his eyes darting quickly.
"Heheheh~ What a lively crowd! I thought a bunch of little goblins were fighting here."
Upon seeing Peeves, Dumbledore raised a hand, signaling the agitated students to quiet down. "Peeves, perhaps you'd be willing to share what you've seen?"
Old Dumbledore's tone was calm, but Peeves' exaggerated expression softened slightly when facing him. He was about to speak when the corner of his eye caught Dylan standing by a wall, arms crossed, silently watching him. Peeves' expression stiffened slightly.
Dumbledore looked at him with some surprise. He was about to turn his head to see whom Peeves was looking at. However, Peeves immediately averted his gaze and quickly said, "Poor beautiful lady, she was so scared she darted into the Summer River on the fifth floor. She's probably whimpering behind a willow tree right now."
Peeves chuckled, though his laughter sounded somewhat strained. "Her blush was painted on like a ghost—more ghostly than me!"
Dumbledore turned his head back, only to see a crowd of students. After a moment, he spotted a composed Dylan among them. Dumbledore paused. He turned back, his gaze once again falling on Peeves. Peeves, who had been laughing awkwardly, clapped a hand over his mouth and feigned a cough when met with Dumbledore's gaze.
"She's truly pitiful, her clothes were torn to shreds."
"Did she mention what the attacker looked like?"
Peeves nodded. "Of course. He wanted to come in, she didn't want him to come in, so he got angry and tried to tear her apart!"
"Oh! How cruel! And such a dreadful temper!"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Who exactly was it?"
Peeves had been hanging upside down in the air. Seeing that Dumbledore seemed serious, he dared not joke around any further. He flipped right-side up, facing Dumbledore directly. Then he flailed his hands, making strange, guttural sounds.
"The great monster! The madman who climbed out of Azkaban—Sirius Black!"
Peeves wildly flailed his hands, as if imitating Sirius tearing the canvas. "He tore the portrait more thoroughly than I tear up homework! Maybe I should learn from him!"
Dumbledore watched him silently. Peeves snapped back to reality and quickly added a disclaimer: "Of course, I never tear up anyone's homework."
After hearing this answer, Dumbledore swept his wand. Instantly, a voice echoed, seemingly encompassing all of Hogwarts.
"Tonight, Hogwarts will be lit by Shield Charms through the night. Children, go to the Great Hall. Someone there will tell you what has happened."
"But, do not be afraid."
"Remember—courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the triumph over it!"
As his words faded, Dumbledore instructed Professor McGonagall to lead everyone to the Great Hall first. Dylan naturally followed the flow of people. He noticed that old Dumbledore didn't seem to react with any surprise to Peeves' answer.
Neville was now sticking close to his side, like a protective charm—though this particular charm seemed to need protection from the person it was supposed to protect.
As he walked, Dylan turned his head to glance at Peeves. The poltergeist instantly shrank his neck, then vanished in a flash.
Dylan and Neville, along with the rest of the Gryffindor group, poured back into the Great Hall. The food from the feast had all disappeared, but the Halloween decorations remained.
....
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