chapter 180 part 1
Chapter 177: William, the Ghost Deceiver
Halloween Eve is the happiest day for children—trick or treat.
'That's how it should be, right?'
William thought, feigning indifference as he walked. 'But why am I going to a ghost's Deathday party?'
Due to the unsettling environment, all sorts of messy thoughts he usually ignored began to surface in his mind.
'Speaking of which, are ghosts and spirits the same kind of being?'
This sudden thought made him instinctively grab his wand. The trusty companion that had worked so diligently since his release from prison emitted a faint warmth, announcing its presence.
This warmth gave William the leeway to control his expression. He popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth—if his judgment was correct, the Dungeons Classroom should be just ahead.
The thought had barely surfaced for three or four seconds when a low, grating noise emerged. It was a sound that made one's scalp tingle, a hair-raising screech like fingernails on a blackboard.
Such a sound was clearly not something a normal human could get used to. The two students who had been following behind hurried to catch up, obviously frightened.
As for the two fast-walking children at the very front, they had practically evolved into sloth-like creatures, sluggishly ending up just three or four steps ahead of William.
"We're almost there. It must be a musical instrument."
William spoke up to steady the children, who were already spooked before they had even arrived.
With his wand in hand, a little noise wasn't enough to scare him—he'd had the good fortune of playing a Water Organ once and knew that some musical instruments in this world did not follow the paths of the mortal world.
In fact, it was indeed a musical instrument, because after just a few more steps, William saw the host standing at the doorway of the Dungeons Classroom, enjoying the background music.
"Professor, I'm so glad you could come!"
The ghost at the door, called Nick, removed his hat and bowed in greeting. "And of course, thank you all for coming to visit. Welcome… welcome…"
---
"My goodness, it's as cold as a cellar in winter in here!"
Ron, walking at the front, exclaimed in a low voice.
A cloud of white mist formed in front of him as he breathed, proving his point.
'If only it were just a cellar…'
William forced himself to stay alert, grumbling internally as he observed his surroundings.
The environment in the Dungeons Classroom was even worse than he had imagined—the magically enlarged classroom was packed with milky-white, translucent ghosts. Just as the Fat Friar had told him, ghosts who normally hid in unknown corners would gather together today.
But the number of ghosts gathered today far exceeded William's expectations. Several hundred ghosts crammed the classroom, a daunting sight to behold.
'A gathering of ghosts can actually change the temperature,' William thought, looking at the white puff of his own breath. 'The knowledge of the Wizarding World simply overturns common sense. The few scattered ghosts I've met never gave off this kind of feeling, not even an illusion of it.'
By the blue light of the thousand candles on the chandelier above, William scanned the ghosts.
As beings closest to the deceased, these ghosts spent most of their daily lives trying to kill time in any way they could. Today was likely one of their few joyous occasions. They swooped and glided wildly, dancing the Waltz to the sound of nearly thirty instruments making that blackboard-scraping screech.
'Has death even weakened their response to stimuli?'
'Can ghosts die?'
...
"Professor, can we walk around?"
Harry's quiet question startled William from his thoughts. He looked down at the four curious students and nodded his approval.
"You may, but don't split up. If any chaos breaks out, I'll be able to find you immediately."
Ghosts couldn't cast spells. To a wizard who had already drawn his wand, they weren't much of a threat. Even if the children with William wandered a little far, they wouldn't be in any danger.
Besides, the questions William was about to ask weren't suitable for students to hear. Heaven knew how many curses the Dark Lord had placed on matters concerning himself; even signing an appointment letter could get one entangled in a curse.
With permission granted, the four split into two pairs and began to wander around curiously. With a professor accompanying them, the once somewhat frightening feast had become all the more exciting. For students of their age, this novelty was simply irresistible.
'I need to find the Fat Friar and have him introduce me to the ghosts I want to question.'
He decided to act immediately, especially since the current environment wasn't exactly friendly to him.
But this wasn't an endless, tormenting rainy season, after all. Though he found it unpleasant, William frowned and managed to find the Fat Friar who had recommended he come, the ghost of Hufflepuff House.
"Professor William, you're here!"
The Fat Friar, who had been conversing by a table, floated up happily upon seeing William, his lower half sinking into the table.
The scene left William a bit dazed—do ghosts pretend to sit by half-squatting?
"Yes, I've come as promised."
William squeezed out a smile.
"Wonderful, wonderful! I was afraid you wouldn't come after the Diadem was found, Professor."
The Fat Friar passed through the table, looking delighted. "Honestly, Professor William, it's incredible that you were able to give the Grey Lady the courage to move on."
"She found it herself. I just said a few useless words."
"You're too modest, Professor. Could we speak over to the side? The music here is too loud."
The Fat Friar began using a more respectful tone; clearly, he was very interested in the topic of moving on.
---
"And that's how it was. The Grey Lady left behind a single sentence and then turned into light."
William briefly recounted the events of that day.
"That's fantastic."
"What?"
"I said that's fantastic, Professor."
The Fat Friar had a look of longing on his face. "You may laugh, Professor William, but I've been preparing to ask about this for a long time. Aside from preparing for Sir Nick's feast, this is all I've been working on. Even today, I was still wondering how I would get to see you—I really thought you wouldn't come, Professor."
'It's been over a month. Do ghosts have all the time in the world?'
Before William could reply, the ghost of the Fat Friar began speaking to himself. "The Grey Lady got what she wanted, and then she could summon the courage to move on. This story is so beautiful, it's almost like an epic..."
He stared at William earnestly, but soon grew dejected.
"It's no use for me. I can't do it. I doubt I'll ever have the courage to move on now."
The friendly ghost had clearly fallen into a state of withdrawal. He stared blankly at the ceiling without another word, bringing the conversation to a standstill.
"Um, Fat Friar, have you run into some kind of difficulty?"
William asked, choosing his words carefully.
"I never became a Cardinal. So many years have passed—I'm afraid even a posthumous appointment is out of the question..."
The Fat Friar's reply was full of sorrow. "I went to The Church right after graduating from Hufflepuff. Healing the sick, performing stage magic, leading the populace in prayer... everyone in my parish was devout, no one lost their faith because of injury or pain, but I was executed..."
He looked sorrowfully at the sky. "Professor William, I'd like to be alone for a bit. I probably won't be able to move on in this lifetime..."
A Hufflepuff graduate becoming a priest…
For a moment, William didn't know what to make of that.
"Um, Fat Friar, have you seen the Bloody Baron?"
Seeing that it was now impossible to have this withdrawn clergyman make any introductions, William, who could no longer stand the awful environment, cut straight to the chase.
"The Baron? The Baron has been in a bad mood lately, but I did see him today—he should be over there by the barrel in the corner of the feast, right?"