Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 155 How to Free the Ghost
While talking to Nicole, Severus suddenly had an idea.

He looked at the [Banshee's Teacup] again, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and looked up at Nico again to ask.

"Are ghosts only trapped in one place when they are cursed?"

Nico didn't think much about the question, assuming Severus wanted to know more, and said slowly.

"Curses are only one aspect. In fact, there are very few spells in this world that can target ghosts. In all my years of life, I know of only a handful."

"As for what binds a ghost's movements, it is often the ghost's own obsession. Ghosts are generally only limited by the goals, thoughts, or regrets that keep them in the world of the living."

He pondered for a moment and gave Severus a few examples.

"For example, there is a ghost in Beauxbatons named Baron Greck, who was a court wizard who was knighted by the Bourbon dynasty. He died in 1618 while serving as a professor of transfiguration at Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in a pharmacy at the school."

"Because he was conducting a spell experiment that night and accidentally blew his arm off. The students were on holiday and the school doctor was not around, so he had to find the Bone Spirit and White Essence to treat himself. But he clearly underestimated the severity of his injury. The spell had almost blew up his internal organs, but he didn't realize it. He was only focused on finding the two magical potions to treat his external injuries."

"So in the end he died there, and because of his obsession with finding the medicine to cure his broken arm, he became a ghost in the pharmacy, and because of this obsession, he could never leave that pharmacy."

After hearing the story, Severus fell silent, and the ghost Snape within him also fell silent.

The ghost Snape clearly understood that Severus's final question, directed at the ghost, was actually asked on his behalf.

His current state as a ghost trapped in his own body is clearly abnormal, and Severus wants to help him find out why.

After a long pause, Severus spoke again.

This time, his question was even more direct.

"So, are there any instances in the history of magic where a wizard died and became a ghost, only to be trapped inside their own body?"

"Trapped inside your own body?"

This question was clearly unexpected by Nico, who looked at Severus with incomprehension.

How did you come up with such a bizarre question?

Severus, inside his body, exchanged a glance with the ghost Snape, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

He wouldn't possibly tell Nico that it's because he's experiencing such a bizarre phenomenon in his body right now, would he?

"It just occurred to me. After all, for a ghost, its own body is also a kind of place, right?"

Nico didn't delve into why Severus would ask such a question; he simply pondered it and said...

"Judging from the current state of wizards' research and understanding of the existence of ghosts, the situation you described is theoretically possible."

"For example, if a wizard is extremely narcissistic before he dies, he feels that there is no one more perfect than himself in the world. No matter what, he cannot accept that his consciousness dissipates from himself and that he is truly dead. Then, he might be trapped in his dead body."

Upon hearing this answer, Severus couldn't help but stare at Snape the Ghost once again.

Ghost Snape's eyes were clearly cold as he stared at Severus. Though he didn't speak, his sinister voice seemed to echo in Severus's ear. 'You think I died of narcissism?'

Severus pursed his lips and muttered something.

"Who knows if you're really that kind of narcissistic psychopath?"

Leaving behind a single sentence, Severus ignored the snarling ghost Snape within him and continued earnestly seeking advice from Nico.

"So now, does the magical world have a way to dispel the obsessions in the hearts of ghosts, allowing them to truly walk the path to death, or to free them from their constraints?"

After pondering for a long time, Nico shook his head.

“The formation of ghosts is very special. When a wizard dies and becomes a ghost, almost everything about him remains at the moment of his death. This includes not only the obsession that binds him, but also his self-awareness.”

"For example, if a 12-year-old second-year student at a magic school dies in an accident and becomes a ghost, then no matter how many years he spends in ghost form, his cognition and mind will always remain in the state he was in when he died. Even if he meets many people and experiences many things during this time, none of these can change him."

"That is precisely why the obsessions of ghosts are almost impossible to resolve, because no matter what you do, their perceptions will not change. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, there has never been a ghost that has completely died out of this world because its obsessions have disappeared."

"As for no longer being bound."

Nicole looked at the "Banshee's Teacup" in Severus's hand.

Isn't this a perfect example?

Severus's gaze returned to the teacup, and he suddenly realized what it meant.

The banshee who stole the wizard's teacup clearly wasn't fixated on it after her death. She should have been bound at the place where she died, but she was trapped by the teacup because of the wizard's curse on her, and was eventually found by Nico and taken to France!
This method of breaking free from constraints through restraint is clearly the same method Severus was referring to when he said to break free from constraints.

"And then what happened to her after you released the banshee from the teacup?" Severus asked impatiently. "What happened to her then?"

Nico frowned as he tried to recall the experience, which was from over two hundred years ago. He hadn't specifically extracted and backed it up, so it was difficult for him to remember.

However, he soon recalled that past event.

"Hmm~, at that time I probably hadn't figured out whether the problem with the teacup or the problem with the ghost trapped in it was the teacup itself. So after I freed the banshee from the teacup, I kept her for a week to study her spiritual state through alchemical rituals, and then I released her."

"I asked her if she wanted to go back. She said that the Muggle city made her feel uneasy and scared, and she wanted to find a forest to hide in!"

Severus, however, had already grasped the key point.

"But before that, you had kept her here for a whole week!"

"Correct."

"In other words, forced movement by external force can break the ghost's original self-imposed restraints?"

(End of this chapter)