Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 102 Unicorns and Ghosts
After entering October, Hogwarts experiences the heaviest rainfall of the year. Just how much rain?

To put it simply, Celen actually ran into his pet cat Tom in the common room.

It's really rare. Xilun thought this cat had already made its home in the Forbidden Forest. He didn't expect it to still be willing to come out. It must have been unable to stand the continuous heavy rain these past few days.

Since it was a rare occasion to see it, Xilun went over and ruffled its head. It was round and chubby, and seemed to have gotten even fatter than last year.

"Is the food in the Forbidden Forest this good?" Celen pinched Tom's belly again, and then got a solid slap on the arm.

"Fine, if you won't let me touch you, that's fine. You're so stingy." Xiren stood up and left the common room.

In the hallway outside, Oliver Wood was chatting excitedly with several Quidditch players.

"I just asked Professor McGonagall, and she said we can apply to use the Quidditch pitch after Halloween!"

Wood's eyes were shining as he spoke, and while other teams were also excited, none were as exaggerated as him.

To be honest, training in this kind of weather is torture. They saw how miserable the Hufflepuff team was during training yesterday, covered in mud and water, and half of the players caught a cold because of it. This morning, they were covered in white smoke wherever they went.

That was a stimulant prepared by Mrs. Pomfrey, which was very effective for colds, but the side effect was a bit embarrassing—white smoke would always come out of her ears.

Fred and George felt lucky not to have to train in this awful weather, but hopefully it won't rain all the time after Halloween.

It's hard to say, after all, this is the last weekend before Halloween.

Xilun didn't disturb them. He stayed close to the wall and carefully went downstairs towards the library.

For some reason, Celen was a little nervous, and the closer Halloween got, the more nervous he became.

He thought of the lost diary again; it was hard to say whether it was still in Hogwarts Castle.

At first, he actually had doubts about Lockhart because Lockhart's behavior was too abnormal. Who would have thought that he would still be so popular among students after so long since the start of the semester?

Furthermore, Celen thought of something else: Lockhart was also in Flourish and Blotts when the conflict occurred, and it's possible he took the diary.

So Xilun specially found an opportunity to take his black diary to him for an autograph.

This diary was given to him by Hermione on the train. It has nothing to do with Horcruxes; it's just an ordinary, Muggle-made diary with a black cover. It was also a gift from Mr. Granger to thank him for speaking up for him.

However, judging from its appearance alone, it is quite similar to the Horcrux Diary, which is not surprising, since Riddle's diary is also a Muggle product, and this one might even be the same as Riddle's.

So while Lockhart was signing his name, Siron kept observing his expression, trying to see surprise or astonishment.

There was nothing there. Lockhart's expression didn't change at all. He readily took the diary and signed his name with the exquisite peacock quill pen.

Xilun then casually asked him if he had a habit of keeping a diary.

“I spend six hours every day replying to my admirers’ letters; these are my best diary entries,” Lockhart said.

Siren also asked Harry, who also hadn't heard any strange noises... Everything in the castle seemed normal.

Xilun also made it to the second-floor library without any problems and sat down at the familiar oak table.

It's worth mentioning that because he often piled books several feet high, many students who frequently visited the library got to know Xilun and would subconsciously leave that spot empty.

But actually, Xilun didn't really like this location; it was too close to the window and a bit noisy.

The main reason is that there were too many people the first time he came to read, and this was the only empty seat. After that, Mrs. Pince took the initiative to put the books he borrowed on this table... Now this place has almost become his reserved seat.

Three hours later, Siron got up and went to the auditorium for lunch.

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have agreed to his proposal."

"But I've already agreed."

Can I take it back?

"Don't say that. Sir Nicholas has helped us a lot. Harry certainly can't do that."

Hearing the name sound familiar, he walked into the Great Hall and saw Harry and his two friends standing at the door talking.

"It is indeed you."

“Oh, Siron, it’s rare to see you outside the library,” Harry said.

“I always need to eat,” Celen said. “What were you talking about just now?”

“Don’t even mention it,” Ron sighed. “Harry promised Nick, who was almost headless, that he would attend his 500th birthday celebration.”

"Death anniversary celebration?"

“Nearly Headless Nick invited me,” Harry said.

Since Snape's confinement, Harry had lost his appetite for a long time. Last night, he was so hungry that he went to the common room to find something to eat, and that's where he met Nick, who was almost headless.

Nick told Harry the location of the kitchen and how to get in.

When Harry returned after eating, the two chatted, and Nick casually mentioned the anniversary party. To express his gratitude, Harry said he would love to attend.

But he regretted it a little afterward.

Ron told him that the anniversary celebrations were usually held in the underground classrooms, and he had a phobia of underground classrooms, so he would avoid them except when he was in Potions class.

“It’s okay, I can go to the anniversary party by myself,” Harry said, forcing a smile. “I promised to go alone anyway.”

“What are you saying?” Ron said immediately. “How could we possibly let you go with so many ghosts by yourself? You’re definitely going to go together… Oh, that’s terrible. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

Ron's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Malfoy, who walked in from outside, with utter disgust.

Malfoy was similar.

"Damn Weasley..."

"What, do you want to spit out slugs again?" Ron deliberately took out his wand and shook it slightly.

Malfoy's eyes immediately turned red, and his gaze towards Ron seemed to spit fire. Fortunately, Professor Sprout happened to walk in from outside at that moment, and the two separated.

Ron was still not satisfied and grumbled, "It's all because of Malfoy. I'll make him eat slugs again sooner or later. It would be even better if I had a leech curse."

"Do you want to be locked up by Snape again?" Hermione glared at him, annoyed.

"Let's continue talking about the anniversary of death. I bet very few living people have ever attended one. It might be a very strange experience."

“Then you’re wrong. The ghost party isn’t really that amazing,” Celen said. “You can imagine yourself in a giant refrigerator surrounded by ghosts who died in all sorts of bizarre ways, and all kinds of rotten, smelly food infested with maggots… something like that.”

Upon hearing the word "maggots," Harry and Ron both turned pale and nearly vomited.

Hermione's expression was also not good; this was not quite the ghost party she had imagined.

“Maybe I should go find Nick, who’s almost headless, and tell him I’m not going.” Harry took a deep breath.

He was now certain that he couldn't attend the party at all, otherwise he might have vomited all over the place.

“Otherwise, I’ll go in your place,” Xilun said after thinking for a moment.

"Really?" Harry's eyes lit up.

“Hmm.” Xiren nodded, then said thoughtfully, “If everything goes well…”

The reason he wanted to attend the ghost party was because a possibility had suddenly occurred to him.

If the unicorn could tear a piece off Voldemort's ghost, what about the ghost?

He desperately wanted to know if the unicorn could still harm the ghost without the Horcrux, that dark magic. The thought, once it surfaced, lingered in his mind.

This anniversary party is a great opportunity. It's hard to say about the other ghosts, but Nick, who almost lost his head, would definitely be willing to help...

And even if unicorns can't harm ordinary ghosts, what about the "Voldemort" among ghosts? For example, the ghost of Wanren that Lockhart often boasts about is a type of ghost.

Siren didn't know if there were any in London, but the ghost guests who came from all over Britain to attend the party certainly did, and perhaps they would be willing to give him some information.

Harry had no idea what Siren was thinking; he was almost moved to tears.

"Aren't you going to the Halloween dinner?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I'll participate, I'll definitely participate." Xilun spoke quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

It was impossible for him not to attend the Halloween dinner; no matter what happened that day, he had to wait until the dinner was over before leaving the hall.

Only then can he decide whether or not to do other things.

"But if you're attending the Halloween party, the timing will conflict."

“Don’t worry, there’s no conflict,” Siren said. “Ghosts are different from us; the night is when they’re most active. Going early is not very interesting.”

"Besides, the food the ghosts provide at the party isn't really suitable for the living, so it's better to eat your fill first before going."

Hermione nodded, seemingly understanding.

She had no idea such knowledge existed, but since Xilun said so, it must be true.

As the group sat down at the table, Fred and George arrived, their faces beaming with undisguised joy. Upon seeing Siren, they didn't say a word but instead placed a bag heavily on the table.

The bag was quite heavy, and it made a dull thud when it hit the table.

"What is this?" Ron just curiously peeked into the bag, and then he couldn't take his eyes off it.

Silver Sickles, this bag is full of Silver Sickles, and you can occasionally see a few scattered Galleons.

"You... robbed Gringotts?" Ron stammered.

“Robbing Gringotts doesn’t make as much money as selling stickers,” George sneered dismissively.

“Don’t say that, you’d make more money robbing Gringotts,” Siron said with a smile.

These silver coins amount to at most around five hundred, which sounds like a lot, but if converted to gallons, it would be less than thirty gallons.

Selling stickers is a slow and steady way to make money, while coloring spray is the real money-maker, but it's too expensive, so there are more inquiries than actual purchases.

Xilun simply put them all away, planning to wait until everyone's novelty towards the stickers wore off before putting them away again.

“You really shouldn’t have chosen Lockhart,” George said quietly as he sat down next to Siron. “If you had gotten a golden Snape, you would be rolling in money right now. Those rich Slytherin guys are really wealthy.”

“But they’re not stupid; they won’t just give us money for nothing,” Xiren said, shaking his head. “If I did that, my intentions would be too obvious, and they won’t fall for it.”

“Okay, you have a point.” Fred pushed Ron aside and sat on the other side of Siron, asking in a low voice, “What about your coloring spray? I remember you said green and silver were the most expensive. Are they going to go down in price too?”

“No surrender,” Xilun said.

Fred and George were a little confused. How could there be such a contradiction? People weren't fooled by stickers, but they were fooled by dye spray?
"Different."

"What's the difference?"

“The difference between Snape and Slytherin,” Siron explained. “And the dye spray is more expensive; if just one person buys it, it will be worth two large bags of silver scissors.”

Xilun picked up the bag and weighed it in his hand; it was indeed quite heavy.

"When do you plan to officially launch the dyeing spray?"

"Let's wait a bit longer," Xiren sighed. "I'm not in the mood to think about these things right now."

“Relax, no one learns all of Transfiguration in their second year, not even Professor McGonagall,” George said, clearly misunderstanding Celan’s meaning.

However, Xilun did not explain, but simply nodded and said, "I will contact you then."

(End of this chapter)