From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Chapter 177 William the Ghost Liar

Halloween Eve is the happiest day for children—trick or treat!

'Is that how it should be?'

William walked along, feigning indifference. "But why should I attend the anniversary of a ghost's death?"

Because of environmental issues, all sorts of random thoughts that had been ignored in the past resurfaced in his mind.

'By the way, are ghosts and spirits the same thing?'

This sudden thought made him immediately grab his wand, the one that had been working diligently since his release from prison, radiating a faint warmth that proclaimed its presence.

The warmth gave William some control over his expression, and he popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth—if he wasn't mistaken, the underground classroom should be almost there.

Before the thought had even formed for three or four seconds, a deep and unpleasant noise appeared. It was a sound that sent chills down your spine, like someone scratching a blackboard with their fingernails—a truly terrifying sound.

Such a sound was clearly not something a normal human could adapt to. The two students who were originally following behind quickly came up, obviously frightened.

As for the two children at the very front who were walking incredibly fast, they had evolved into sloth-like creatures, wobbling leisurely until they were three or four steps ahead of William.

"We're almost there; it should be a musical instrument."

William spoke up to calm the children who were frightened even before they arrived.

With the wand in hand, a single sound wouldn't frighten him—he had been fortunate enough to play the water harp before and knew that there were musical instruments in this world that didn't follow the path of the mortals.

In fact, it was indeed a musical instrument, because after walking a few steps, William saw the host standing at the door of the underground classroom, enjoying the background music.

"Professor, I'm so glad you could come!"

The ghost named Nick at the door took off his hat, bowed, and greeted them, "Of course, thank you too, thank you for visiting, welcome...welcome..."

-

"My God, it's as cold in here as a winter cellar!"

Ron, who was walking in front, let out a soft gasp of surprise.

His breath formed a white mist in front of him, corroborating his words.

'If only it were just a cellar…'

William forced himself to stay alert, grumbling as he observed his surroundings.

The underground classroom was even worse than he had imagined—the classroom, enlarged by magic, was crammed with milky-white, translucent ghosts, just as the fat monk had told him before, ghosts that were usually hiding somewhere would gather today.

But the number of ghosts gathered today was far greater than William had imagined; hundreds of ghosts filled the classroom to the brim, a sight that inspired fear.

'The gathering of ghosts can even change the temperature,' William said, looking at his own breath. 'The knowledge of the magical world is simply mind-blowing. Those scattered ghosts have never given anyone this feeling, not even an illusion.'

Under the blue light of a thousand hanging lights from the chandelier overhead, William surveyed the ghosts.

As beings closest to the deceased, these ghosts usually spend their days trying to kill time. Today, however, is probably one of their rare joyful days. They are dancing a waltz wildly, swinging around among nearly thirty instruments that make scraping sounds.

Did death even diminish the impact of their experience?

'Can ghosts die?'

……

"Professor, may we walk around a bit?"

Harry's quiet question startled William from his thoughts. He looked down at the four curious students and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, but don't separate. If anything goes wrong, I can find you immediately."

Ghosts cannot cast spells, and they are not harmful enough to wizards who have already picked up their wands. Even if the children who came with William run a little further away, they will not be in any danger.

Moreover, the questions William was about to ask were not suitable for the students to hear. Heaven knows how many curses that dark sorcerer had placed on his affairs; even signing an appointment letter could bring such a curse.

The four students, now in pairs, curiously strolled around. With the professor accompanying them, the banquet, which had initially seemed somewhat intimidating, became even more exciting for them. For students of this age, this novelty was simply irresistible.

'I need to find the fat monk and have him introduce me to the ghosts I want to question.'

He acted immediately, especially since the environment on site wasn't very friendly to him.

However, this was not a continuous, tormenting rainy season. Although he was disgusted, William still frowned and found the fat monk who had recommended him, the ghost of Hufflepuff.

"Professor William, you've arrived!"

The fat monk, who had been talking at the table, was so happy when he saw William that he floated up and half of his body buried in the table.

William was a little confused by the scene—the ghost shouldn't be half-squatting to pretend when it's sitting, right?

"Yes, I've come to keep my appointment."

William forced a smile.

“That’s great, that’s great! After the crown was discovered, I thought you weren’t coming back, Professor.”

The stout monk stepped across the table, looking pleased. "Honestly, Professor William, it's incredible that you were able to give Ms. Grey the courage to keep going."

"She found it herself; I just said some useless things."

"You're too modest, Professor. Can we talk over there? The music is too loud here."

The fat monk used honorifics, clearly showing his great interest in the topic of continuing on this path.

-

"That's how it was. After leaving behind a message, Ms. Grey turned into light."

William briefly recounted what had happened that day.

"awesome."

"what?"

“I said that’s fantastic, Professor.”

The fat monk looked on with longing. “Don’t laugh at me, Professor William, I’ve been preparing to ask this question for a long time. Apart from preparing to attend Sir Nick’s banquet, I’ve been preparing for this all this time. Even today I was still thinking about how to see you—I always thought you wouldn’t come, Professor.”

'It's been over a month since this happened. Does the ghost's time cost nothing?'

Before William could reply, the ghost of the fat monk began to speak on his own, “Lady Grey got what she wanted, and then she was able to muster the courage to continue. The story is so beautiful, it’s practically an epic…”

He stared intently at William, but quickly became frustrated.

"I can't go on anymore, I can't do it, I don't think I'll ever have the courage to keep going."

The friendly ghost had clearly fallen into a state of withdrawal; he stared blankly at the sky without saying a word, freezing the conversation.

"Hey, fat monk, what trouble have you encountered?"

William asked thoughtfully.

"I haven't been able to become a cardinal yet, so many years have passed—I'm afraid even a posthumous appointment is impossible..."

The fat monk's reply was very sorrowful: "I went to church after graduating from Hufflepuff, healing the sick, performing magic tricks, and leading people in prayer. No one in my parish was undevout, and no one lost their faith because of their suffering. But I was executed... (Note)"

He gazed sadly at the sky. "Professor William, I need some peace and quiet. I guess I won't be able to go on like this..."

He graduated from Hufflepuff and became a priest...

William was at a loss for words.

"Hey, fat monk, have you seen Blood Man Barrow?"

Seeing that it was impossible to wait for the withdrawn priest to give an introduction, William, who could no longer bear the terrible environment, asked directly.

“Barrow? Barrow has been in a bad mood lately, but I saw him today—he should be by the wine barrels in the corner of the banquet over there, right?”

The fat monk pointed with his finger and then fell into a state of self-isolation again.

'To become a cardinal… I'm afraid this is a wish that a wizard will never fulfill in this lifetime…'

Fueled by the newfound energy from his rant, William glanced at the students who had followed him, making sure they were still wandering around before heading towards the location of the Blood Man Barrow.

-

Although this is a feast for ghosts, just like all feasts in the world, there is plenty of food and drink prepared here.

According to the fat monk's directions, Barrow should be drinking at the dining table.

'This must be the dining table; there are quite a few people—but do ghosts need to eat?'

With these questions in mind, William approached the so-called dining table, and his discomfort immediately vanished, quickly switching to another state.

'The food in Azkaban is much better than here!'

This was William's first assessment.

Even in Britain, serving dishes like this would be outrageous!

William's second assessment was as follows.

In the very center of the table was a huge, tombstone-shaped grey cake, on which the words were spelled out in tar-like icing: Sir Nicholas de Minsey-Poppinton died on October 31, 1492.

The dishes surrounding the cake included large chunks of rotting meat, a blackened, charred cake, maggot-infested tripe, cheese covered in green mold, and stinking salmon.

'I hope these dishes weren't made by house-elves; if they were, those elves would be miserable...'

As William pondered this, he kept his distance from the dining table and began searching for the place where the wine was kept—according to the fat monk, Barrow should be drinking.

William quickly found the so-called barrel, which, like the culinary disaster on the table, reeked of swill and was so unapproachable that no one wanted to get close to it.

Barrow the Blood Man was drinking there; to be precise, half of his body was submerged in the barrel, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked as dejected as an abandoned pet dog.

William had heard of the Blood Man Barrow long ago.

At Hogwarts, this ghost wasn't the most famous, but he was inextricably linked to the most renowned elf, making him impossible to ignore.

Although he had only been working there for two months, William had already heard the name Bloodman Barrow from dozens of professors—when Peeves really caused trouble and the professors had a hard time stabilizing the situation, Bloodman Barrow would be called in to suppress the elf.

However, this was the first time he had ever seen the Blood Man, Barrow.

He had no idea that the ghost in front of him was the same one the professors had mentioned as the ultimate weapon to suppress Peeves.

There was no way around it; the ghost in front of him was just too haggard. William would believe it if he said it was the ghost of some beggar on the street—how could the Blood Man Barrow, whose name alone could scare that troublemaker Pee-Pee-Pee Ghost, possibly look like this?

"Hello, are you Barrow?"

Although somewhat unsure, William still asked tentatively.

"A living person? What's a living person doing here!"

The ghost, half-submerged in the barrel, looked reluctant, as if William had disturbed his drinking.