A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 714 The Mischievous Ghost Takes Action

On an autumn afternoon, Hogwarts Castle was gloomy and stagnant, like a pool of still water.

Ruby came back once, and then disappeared again. I heard that she ate a lot of food in the cafeteria before she left.

In the Gryffindor common room, the fireplace crackled, the leaping flames trying to dispel the damp chill in the air.

Harry and Ron huddled in the chairs by the long table, more like they were sinking into them than sitting, like two lifeless rag dolls.

A thick textbook on the history of magic lay open before them, with several sheets of parchment beside it. An ink bottle was open, and a quill lay casually to the side, its ink long since dried, as if it hadn't been touched in a long time.

The two of them barely started doing their homework.

For many days in a row, the two of them seemed to have lost their souls, shrouded in a visible aura of decadence that made it hard for anyone to approach them.

Harry's mind replayed the public execution he had suffered at the Quidditch pitch that day, each word like a dagger piercing his heart: "Mr. Potter, in light of your extremely violent and irresponsible behavior, I hereby declare that you are permanently banned from Quidditch."

The "permanent ban" was like a towering, cold mountain range to the north of the castle, pressing down on his chest and making it hard for him to breathe.

He couldn't help but think of his fire crossbow, the broom that had once brought him countless moments of freedom and joy, which now seemed to be emitting a silent lament in the box in his dormitory.

The sky, the wind, the exhilarating feeling of chasing the Golden Thief... everything seems so distant, so unattainable.

In comparison, Ron's condition was not much better than Harry's, and was even worse.

His face was as pale as paper, with heavy shadows under his eyes, and his mouth opened and closed from time to time, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

Now he stubbornly believes it's all his fault, that he wasn't so useless on the field...

This deep sense of guilt clung to him like vines, making him lose his appetite, suffer from insomnia, and even his favorite chicken legs lost their appeal.

Across the table, Neville and Seamus huddled together, whispering to each other. Their voices were so low that those nearby could still vaguely hear them, as if they were plotting something momentous.

"Have you heard? What happened this morning?" Seamus's eyes sparkled with barely suppressed excitement. "On the stairs, Pikachu pulled off a big one!"

Neville nodded vigorously, his round face flushed, and he said with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, "I heard that Peeves somehow got hold of a jar of Honeydukes' stickiest almond syrup, and even heated it up. Then... then while Umbridge was giving a lecture, he jumped out from behind her armor, grabbed her hair, and poured the whole jar of syrup over her head!"

Umbridge, covered in syrup and screaming in agony, stumbled and crawled toward the school infirmary. However, because it happened so early, not many students witnessed the scene.

Harry's lips twitched very slightly. He was one of the students who had witnessed the scene, including Peeves pulling Umbridge's hair. Recalling it, the boulder in his chest seemed to crack slightly.

"She was furious!" Seamus almost burst out laughing, but he held it back, his shoulders twitching. "Her screams nearly ripped the castle roof off!"

"Waving his wand, he chanted at least ten banishing and binding spells, but Peeves—you know, Charles said he had some kind of wave-particle duality, so those spells were completely useless against him at that time!"

"He did somersaults on her head, throwing candy, all over her hair, while singing his own made-up songs!"

“Professor Umbridge,” Neville said carefully, using a respectful title, but his tone was utterly disrespectful, “she has absolutely no control over Peeves. Filch is jumping up and down in frustration, but to no avail.”

Dean, who had just finished his paper on Transfiguration, looked up and joined the discussion: "I heard that Filch was actually making things worse?"

Neville asked in surprise, "Is that so?"

In their minds, Filch had always been the professors' lackey and should have sided with Umbridge, who was strict in managing discipline.

"You might not know this, but Filch and Charles actually have a very good relationship," Simon said mysteriously.

Everyone looked like they suddenly understood. Although they didn't know when the two of them had gotten together, they believed that Filch was speaking up for Charles. Dean continued, "I think Peeves is only afraid of Bloody Barrow. Every time Barrow appears, he immediately runs away."

“That’s not necessarily true.” Neville’s voice was even lower, with a mysterious air about sharing top-secret information. “I heard something from my grandmother, which she supposedly overheard from a ghost when she was in school.”

"Pee-pee is afraid of Barrow, but that's just an act."

"And so does his fear of the headmaster. Whoever actually sits in the headmaster's seat at Hogwarts, Peeves will act like he's afraid of them."

"It's an ancient balance, or a contract."

"Anyway, that's why successive headmasters have tolerated Peeves causing trouble in the castle."

This idea was novel, and everyone listened with great interest.

Harry never imagined that Peeves, the lawless boy who dared to tease even the professors, might have such a deep unknown hidden behind his behavior.

This gave him a slightly more vague understanding of the mysteries of this ancient castle.

“There are even earlier legends,” Neville continued, his round eyes widening. “It is said that many, many years ago, Peeves was afraid of a student.”

"It wasn't an act; I was genuinely scared. I would avoid that student whenever I saw him."

"A student?" Seamus raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Who is it? So powerful, able to subdue Pikachu?"

Dean asked somewhat nervously, "Is...is it the mysterious person?"

Neville shook his head and said, "Those were students my grandmother and we heard about when we were that age, definitely not the mysterious person."

"However, no one knows who it is. It is said that the legend is so ancient that the name has been lost."

"Maybe it's just a made-up story."

Lavender, who hadn't been very enthusiastic about the conversation, was fixing her hair in front of a small mirror when she suddenly interjected, "Petty is actually quite afraid of Charles."

“Remember last year in the stairwell, Peeves tried to hit someone with his helmet, and Charles glared at him and said something. Peeves muttered something and slipped away without even looking back.”

“Yes, Charles…” Ron finally spoke, his voice hoarse, “If only he were here.”

Perhaps Charles will find a way to counter Umbridge and lift Harry's Quidditch ban.

Percy had said that Charles had a good relationship with the higher-ups at the Ministry of Magic, and that he might actually be able to help.

Everyone sighed subconsciously, feeling envious.

Although Charles was suspended from school, Black said he was currently researching a very powerful magical theory somewhere, and Professor McGonagall even asked Hermione if Charles had made any research progress recently.

Most importantly, in last week's divination class, Professor Trelawney gave Charles a reading, saying that there were three women around her.

This isn't a school closure, it's clearly a vacation.

Just then, the portrait hole was pushed open, and Hermione returned, pouting.

(End of this chapter)