The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 37 "Our" Carnival

"It was one morning when the stone statues in the castle started moving on their own without any warning! It was as if they were alive, and we are sure they were not being controlled or commanded in any way."

The most unexpected thing is that the stone statues can actually talk! Don't look at me like that, I don't know what they're saying, and I've never heard that language before.

According to Nick, Peeves was playing a prank on the Gryffindor students at the time. When he saw the statues move, he went crazy, yelling and flying over every part of the castle—well, not the Chamber of Secrets. Barrow glanced at Moriarty and said somewhat reservedly.

Moriarty ignored Barrow's expression and urged, "Go on."

"The last time we saw Peeves was when he locked himself in an empty classroom. Argus Filch tried to kick him out, but when he entered the classroom, he seemed to have seen something extremely terrible and stumbled away."

As we were wondering, not only the stone statues, but also the figures in the murals started dancing as if by unspoken agreement! Their dances were all different, but they seemed to be dancing to the same music.

Then, the armor in the castle came to life, even more realistic than the statues! I admit we were terrified because we saw glowing eyes peeking through the gaps in the helmets.

But the images on the murals tell us that the Pen of Acceptance wrote your name in the Book of Admission, and everything that happened seems to have a logical explanation…”

Barrow was interrupted by Moriarty: "Wait a minute, who is that person in the mural? Why would they tell you that my name was written down?"

"I know what you're thinking, but there's no doubt about this detail!" Barrow shook his head. "Afterwards, dozens of us ghosts gathered to discuss this. I knew you were back because Merlin's portrait told me, and Nick knew you were back because Sir Cadogan's portrait told him..."

"Okay, please continue."

"What follows is what happens to us ghosts, and I think you should know by now," Barrow said slowly. "Ghosts are special; they are a kind of spirit born from a strong resentment or fear of death and an insatiable desire for life."

Every ghost who returns to Hogwarts has a deep emotional attachment to the castle, so when we learned that you—a descendant of Slytherin—we were overjoyed, for yourself and for the castle.

Barrow glanced at the castle and changed his tone: "Listen, this isn't over yet! You'd never guess what happened. Peeves, who locked himself in an empty classroom for three days and three nights, came out and summoned us, but most of the ghosts didn't go."

Only Nick went, and he told us: Peeves not only summoned ghosts, but also a large number of paintings, statues, and armor! They seemed to have reached some kind of agreement.

Peeves, through Nick, invites the ghosts to join! As for what their little group's purpose is? Peeves says we'll find out.

I'm sure Peeves has changed. He used to be afraid of me, perhaps because I never played pranks...

But now he's not afraid of me anymore—although he still acts trembling when he sees me, I'm sure he's not afraid of me, just maintaining a habit.

Barrow finished speaking, let out a long breath, and closed his eyes.

"I understand." Moriarty nodded. The centaur's divination, the strange events at Hogwarts, the moonless constellation—it was all because of his arrival!

"So, the 'we' you're referring to includes statues, murals, armor, ghosts, and Peeves, right?"

"You're right, Peeves isn't a ghost. It also includes the Sorting Hat, the Pen of Acceptance, and the Book of Admission!" Barrow said succinctly. "Besides, you don't need to question the statues or murals anymore; they won't say anything. Headmaster Dumbledore has confirmed this."

"I was just about to ask what the professors and students were doing at the time. They couldn't possibly not know about something so big that happened at the castle," Moriarty said seriously, looking at Barrow.

Barrow casually remarked, "The students talk about it, the professors are helpless, the principal and vice-principal have the authority to command the statues in battle, but it's clear they're both shocked and puzzled by our revelry."

In fact, Hogwarts has never celebrated anything like this since its founding, except for war victories.

Moriarty noticed that Barrow seemed a little uninterested, so he said, "Alright, thank you, Barrow. I've learned some very useful information from what you said."

Barrow stared at him: "So, can you tell me your choice? Open the secret room? Or...?"

"Open the secret chamber!" Moriarty's tone was resolute, as if there was no room for negotiation.

Barrow gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! You still choose to open the Chamber of Secrets! I'll tell Headmaster Dumbledore! No, we can lock you up!"

"Imprison me?" Moriarty shook his head slightly. "That's not a good idea, Barrow. This is the last time I'll tell you calmly: nothing tragic will happen after the secret chamber is opened."

After saying that, Moriarty turned and left. He returned to the castle and searched everywhere for Peeves!

The result was fruitless. Late at night, Moriarty, for the first time, stayed up all night and slipped out of the common room.

He stopped in front of a section of floating stairs and quickly hid behind a suit of armor on either side of the corridor.

The armor was cold and hard, devoid of any life. If Barrow hadn't told the truth, Moriarty would have found it hard to believe that the armor could actually come to life.

A short while later, a small figure walked up to the floating platform. He looked left and right, as if searching for something.

It's Jericho.

Moriarty walked up behind him and coughed softly.

Even though Moriarty tried to keep his voice down, Jericho was still startled. He turned around abruptly and almost bumped into Moriarty.

"Oh no! Mr. Moriarty..." Jericho touched his nose guiltily.

"Tell me why you're following me?" Moriarty looked at Jericho with great interest.

Jericho initially tried to brush it off, but after seeing the smile and deep meaning in Moriarty's gray eyes, he surrendered and raised his hands.

He smiled helplessly and said, "You can't hide anything from me... Lilith said you might be acting strangely lately, so she told us to keep an eye on you. Tonight it's me, tomorrow night it's Keith, and then it's Larpo."

I noticed you slipped out earlier, so I followed you over. Everyone's just concerned about you, sir.

"Alright, then follow me." Moriarty walked past him onto the floating ladder, and Jericho followed behind, puzzled.

Moriarty searched the castle thoroughly, and Jericho wanted to ask him what he was looking for, but he was afraid of attracting Filch's attention.

The two walked all the way to the third floor when a shadow appeared. Jericho covered his mouth and exclaimed, "Oh no! It's Peeves! Run!"

He turned to run, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Moriarty stride toward Peeves!

Jericho was completely baffled, but gritted his teeth and followed anyway.

As Moriarty approached, Peeves let out a low laugh: "Hehe, little snake crawling out of its den, over here—"

"Don't look at me like that, you little devil," Moriarty interrupted him. "Tell me what your agreement is?"

Mischievous Ghost instantly changed his tone: "What made you think of coming to see me in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing that magnetic voice, Jericho stared at Peeves as if he had seen a ghost.

Moriarty smirked. "If I can't find you during the day, I'll try at night. It's obvious."

Mischievous Ghost glanced at him, circled around him, and said, "You asked me what the agreement is? Before answering that question, I need you to answer one more—who am I?"

"You? You are the embodiment of the thoughts and souls of the Four Great Ones. The Four Great Ones shaped you through an unknown magical transformation." Moriarty's tone became extremely serious as he stated his conjecture.

Pipi Ghost acted as if he hadn't heard anything and continued circling. After a few dozen seconds, he suddenly burst into laughter!

"Students don't sleep! Students don't sleep and wander around! Students don't sleep and go on dates! And they're two boys! Woohoo~ Yay~"

He flew away with a wild, cacophony of laughter, and soon a piercing, shrill sound rang out. Moriarty grabbed Jericho, who was still in a daze, and ran toward the nearest floating platform.

"Meow~" A cat's meow rang out, and Jericho realized, "It's Filch's cat! He's coming soon! Oh, he'll definitely drag him to Professor Snape!"

Fortunately, the corridor was not far from the floating stairs, and after Moriarty and Jericho ran up the stairs, a staircase leading to the Slytherin common room was formed.

Moriarty and his companion returned safely to the lounge, while Jericho was still savoring the experience.

"That's exciting! With the floating ladder, we can explore the castle without getting caught by Filch!" he said. "Should I go to Gryffindor?"

Moriarty waved his hand at him: "Enough with the nonsense, we're going to learn the Disillusionment Charm tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)