The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 100: The Dead Man's Banquet

After Nick knelt down, the atmosphere in the Room of Requirement became very strange, and Hermione covered her mouth with her hands in surprise.

Ryan felt his hair stand on end at this moment. After all, according to Eastern sayings, making someone older than you kneel down to you would shorten your lifespan. How much lifespan would be shortened for someone like Nick, who was 500 years older than you.

Not to mention that this is the UK, Nick's action looks too much like courtship, and Hermione may have thought of it in the wrong way.

In order to save his image, Ryan quickly said to Nick: "Sir, if you need my help, please tell me directly. Don't be like this. I can't bear such courtesy."

Nick also seemed to be agitated just now, but he came to his senses after Ryan said that. He stood up and said, "I'm sorry, I scared you just now. But I really need your help with something important."

After saying that, Nick pulled his ear and pried his head off. Ryan then heard Hermione's gasp from behind, and he himself felt a little uncomfortable in his stomach.

At this time, Nick said: "Look, I was hit on the neck by a blunt axe forty-four times. I wanted it to be clean and neat more than anyone else. But it's a pity that I was ostracized even after I died because of a little bit of skin. Do they suffer more than me after losing their heads?"

Ryan saw Nick's face light up, probably because he felt angry.

"They haven't suffered as much as I have, but they excluded me because of their complete head removal. So--" At this point, Nick took a breath to calm down and said, "Ryan, I just saw that you have the ability to inflict wounds on us ghosts, so I would like to ask you to help me cut off the remaining skin."

Ryan felt a little confused after hearing Nick's request. After all, cutting off a person's neck, even if it was just a ghost's neck, was a bit too exciting for him.

So he said to Nick: "You know, in the East, it is a very unlucky symbol to completely separate the head from the body. In ancient times, even when beheading, the executioner would try to leave a little skin. So do you want to reconsider it?"

"I've been thinking about this for almost 500 years." Nick said in a low voice. "You don't have to worry about those things. After all, this is Britain, and the situation is different in different places. Just think of it as helping a friend."

"This." Ryan looked back at Hermione in panic, hoping to get some advice from her. Hermione was also frightened by this strange request. She twisted her hands together in front of her chest and stared at her shoes, not knowing what to say.

After a long silence, Hermione finally raised her head and said, "I think the adjective 'almost headless' is too bad for a ghost, and Nick has endured this humiliation for almost five hundred years. Ryan, if you can help him, please try your best to help him. After all, he is the ghost of our Gryffindor."

Well, it seems that Hermione has made a strong argument. Ryan thought about it after listening to it, and finally made up his mind. He looked up at Nick who was staring at him with uneasy eyes and said:
"Okay, I can help you. But you can't tell anyone about this."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I swear on the name of Lord Porpington."

Ryan nodded, and let Nick hold his head with both hands and lift it up, then took a deep breath, muttering that he was a dead man. Then he raised the calamus sword and swung it hard at the place where the skin and flesh were connected.

The flesh was severed, and Nick used too much force with his hands and threw his head into the ceiling.

Perhaps because he had just become a completely headless Nick, Sir Nick looked a little clumsy in manipulating his body. It took him a while to adjust and successfully put his head on his neck. But Ryan could see that Nick was in a very good mood now, and the brightness of his entire spirit was much brighter than before.

After dancing in the air for a while, Nick finally remembered Ryan. He floated in front of Ryan and said excitedly: "Thank you for helping me fulfill my wish for hundreds of years. I will remember your kindness. You are my friend forever."

When Ryan finished his work for the day and prepared to leave the Room of Requirement with Hermione, Nick asked Ryan to keep this secret for him temporarily, because he wanted to make a splash at his own party.

On the way from the Room of Requirement to the library, Hermione asked Ryan curiously, "Are ghosts very different from us in many ways? At least I don't think normal humans would have such strange requests."

"The books I read say that most ghosts are the same as they were when they were alive, but it does not rule out the possibility that some ghosts have their own obsessions after death. It is obvious that Nick's obsession is his neck, so he made such a strange request." Ryan shrugged and answered.

Time passed quickly, and Halloween came. The Great Hall was decorated with bats and carved pumpkin lanterns. Everyone was rumored to have invited the Skeleton Dance Troupe to perform.

"Ha, I really can't understand why you want to go to such a cold and damp place. You know, the food at the Halloween party is much more sumptuous than usual." In front of the door of the hall, Ryan and Hermione were about to go to the dungeon classroom. Ron, who was standing next to Harry, said to them.

"You only know how to eat. You don't understand the beauty of gaining knowledge." Hermione replied, then pulled Ryan towards the underground classroom.

On the way, Ryan took out the talisman paper he had drawn in advance and gave it to Hermione: "It's not good for the living to be with the dead for a long time. With this, you won't be affected."

"Is this the magic rune of the Celestial Empire? It looks completely different from our ancient magic runes." Hermione said as she stuffed the talisman paper into her pocket.

Tiny black candles were lit in the corridor, emitting a blue glow. Ryan felt that the atmosphere Nick created here was closer to Halloween than in the auditorium.

With every step they took toward the underground classroom, they could feel the temperature getting lower. Fortunately, the talisman paper was also activated at this time, blocking the cold air from the body.

The sound of fingernails scratching a blackboard echoed in the corridor. Perhaps this was the music of the dead.

When they arrived at the classroom door, they saw Nick dressed up and standing at the door to greet the guests.

"Welcome, my dearest friend." Nick took off his hat and bowed. "Please come in. Thank you for your help. I think today's banquet will be the most grand banquet in the UK in the past three hundred years."

The temperature in the basement was even lower. Ryan and Hermione could even breathe out white air when they opened their mouths. On the makeshift dance floor in the open space of the classroom, hundreds of ghosts were crowded together dancing the waltz. On the stage, a group of ghosts were making noises with musical saws. The blue light from a thousand candles in the chandelier on the ceiling illuminated everything clearly.

"This is more like the real Halloween in the wizarding world than the banquet in the hall." Ryan heard Hermione say excitedly beside him.
(End of this chapter)