From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

"I am a professor, invited here. Are you Barrow?"

William asked the question again.

“Professor,” Barrow sank down into the barrel, “Fine, Professor. But I’m not doing it anymore. Peepi can do whatever he wants.”

Upon hearing the name Peeves, William could finally confirm that the ghost before him was indeed Barrow.

Can we talk?

“There’s nothing to talk about, I don’t want to talk anymore—wait! You’re William!”

Barrow's angry outburst stopped immediately.

“The ghosts are all saying that Helena left a message when she left, but I don’t know—so Professor, can you tell me?”

Barrow's words became disjointed, almost as if he had bitten his tongue in his haste.

Unfortunately, William had already heard from that Lady Helena that Barrow was sent to find her, but because she refused to go back, he killed Helena and then committed suicide out of remorse.

William wouldn't even trust a punctuation mark if he saw someone so ruthless as to kill themselves when driven by impulse.

"I left it, but I don't think you want to hear it."

That's my business.

The ghost suddenly stood up, making William instantly realize where the so-called blood was—his clothes were covered in silver bloodstains, making him look extremely frightening.

Unfortunately, this appearance wouldn't scare William. Ghosts don't die, but they can be controlled by various kinds of magic. Except for special types like Peeves, even with Barrow in front of him, William could control him for half a month with a single spell without any problem.

"Tell me what I want to know first, and then I'll tell you. This is a deal. I swear on my wand that I won't miss a single word."

William raised his wand, his expression calm.

Although it seemed like he was deceiving a ghost, he didn't mind at all—deceiving a ghost who had killed someone and then committed suicide made him feel at ease, not to mention that he did know about Barrow's last words, even though he didn't like them.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"I need to know everything about that crown."

“I don’t know much. It belonged to Lady Ravenclaw and was stolen by Helena. Even we were just guessing at its purpose at the time—but it seems it was only used to temporarily enhance intelligence. After losing the crown, Lady Ravenclaw was just as wise and powerful as before.”

"So, Ms. Ravenclaw, does she suffer from amnesia or have a habit of making backups of her memories?"

"How could that be? Lady Ravenclaw is known as the wisest woman; how could she possibly forget things?"

"So, is it a form of casting spells or cursing from a distance?"

"Teleportation? There's such a thing as casting spells without teleportation?"

Barrow looked at William with a strange expression.

"I didn't express it accurately—it was a long way away, at least 300 meters away, and there were several walls between us."

“That’s possible, but it shouldn’t be related to the crown. Even if she loses her crown, Lady Ravenclaw can still do it.”

"Any corresponding enhancements?"

After hesitating for a long time, Patton gave his answer.

"There shouldn't be... I don't sense any weakening of Lady Ravenclaw's magical power..."

……

"Very well, I have no more questions. Now, here are the answers you'd like to know."

The Blood Man Barrow cooperated even better than William had imagined, making him almost reluctant to tell him the answer.

"Alright, you've got everything you wanted to know!"

Barrow stared at William, his eyes stern. "What I want?"

“There was only one sentence, Miss Helena’s last words.” William gripped his wand, bracing for the ghost before him to turn hostile. “She said—tell that bastard Bloodman Barrow he deserved it!”

However, the attack or furious scene he had imagined did not occur. Instead, the ghost in front of him had a complex expression that eventually turned into a happy smile.

"She still remembers me, she still remembers me!"

Even at the very end, she still remembered me!

Barrow's ghost floated upwards, shot towards the ceiling like an arrow, and then disappeared completely.

William was truly dumbfounded.

Note: The fat monk attended Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his youth. After graduating, he became a clergyman but was executed for revealing his magic. After his death, he returned to Hogwarts. His biggest regret was not becoming a cardinal…

Chapter 178 The Headless Horseman

"Hey Harry, what do you think the professor is doing all this time?"

After circling the table and failing to find anything edible, Ron said to Harry in disappointment.

Being surrounded by ghosts for Halloween sounds cool, but it's really not that great, especially without food—young kids can't stand being hungry, and once their stomachs start to rumble, everything loses its appeal.

“How should I know—” Harry was hungry too. If he hadn’t promised Nick he would put in a good word for him, he would have already slipped out.

Although having a professor around makes me feel safe, you can't use a professor's name to fill your stomach...

"sky!"

Exclamations came from afar, and then, as if contagious, they spread throughout the entire venue.

"what happened!"

"Barrow!"

"Go and take a look!"

As Harry and Ron exchanged a surprised glance, the ghosts in the surrounding area began to stir. The milky-white ghosts abandoned what they were doing and rushed towards the ceiling without regard for anything else.

What happened to them?

Ron's mouth dropped open. Even though he had grown up in the magical world, he had never seen such a sight before. Hundreds of white orbs of light shot into the sky, as if they were going to pierce through the ceiling.

"How should I know!"

Harry was equally stunned. He began to look around, hoping to find a ghost he recognized to help him understand.

Unfortunately, no, the once joyful underground classroom seemed to become empty in just a few seconds—the dancers, guests, and even the band were gone.

The noisy saws were scattered on the ground, their owners already rushing toward the ceiling.

Harry finally saw the 'person' who had invited him, the nearly headless Nick.

The gentleman was slightly behind the other ghosts, but as Harry looked at him with a puzzled expression, the organizer, as if in a fit of pique, rushed forward faster than the others and crashed headfirst into the ceiling.

The light from the overhead lamp, burning with blue candles, swayed in the wind stirred up by the ghosts as they passed by, the flame flickering before going out completely—darkness began to erode the already thin light, and the chill in the darkness became increasingly pronounced.

A huge ball of flame suddenly appeared in mid-air, followed by a blue flame that lit up beside it.

"Where are the other two, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?"

The professor's voice came from afar, and Harry then took out his wand and lit it with fluorescent light.

"Professor, we're over here!"

Ron waved his hand—his wand was faulty, and he wouldn't take it out unless absolutely necessary.

"As long as you're safe," the professor's voice came through, his tone relaxed. "Those guys were dishonest. Let them go. They even turned off the lights."

Harry heard a snap of his fingers, and then the ceiling light on the ceiling became brighter and brighter, which made him look up at the sky—the candles that had been extinguished were being lit in circles from the innermost part. Although the color of the candlelight was still frightening, the light had finally returned.

'It's alright. Casting spells became much easier once the ghosts left. A whole bunch of ghosts would have been terrifying.'

William nodded, the ball of fire he controlled remaining lit. "Miss Weasley, how's your memory inquiry with the ghosts going?"

The question remained unanswered, but William could tell what was going on just by looking at the child's expression—the environment was so bad that once the novelty wore off, no one would want to stay any longer, let alone be questioned in detail.

"Okay, then talk to the friends you made when you entered the university and see what they have to say, but remember not to admit any conditions or promises made by your past self. If anyone forces you, go to the dean."

William did not hesitate to give Professor McGonagall more work.

"And what about you? Is there anything you haven't finished—who?"

William's wand was even faster than his voice; a Barrier Charm struck the base of the wall before he could finish speaking.

But it was to no avail. The twelve demon horses seemed to mock them as they passed through the obstacle spell, and the headless riders on them charged fiercely toward the center of the arena.

'Damn it—what is this!'

William gritted his teeth, waved his wand, and an eerie purple light emanated from it. He then charged madly toward the leading knight. The burly ghost screamed and spurred his horse toward the ground, but to no avail. The purple light struck him, and then a thin layer of ice spread from his body, quickly freezing both man and horse in place.

The previously smug knights suddenly stopped, their headless bodies staring at William. "What have you done!"

William didn't say a word, and pointed his wand at the next knight—he had just left a group of ghosts and wasn't in good condition, so he wouldn't be able to use his dark magic much more often.

"We surrender! We were just here for the banquet!"

The headless knight, pointed at by the wand, quickly raised his hands. His head, which had been hidden, fell to the ground, sank halfway down, and then floated back up, shouting loudly.

'Attending a banquet?'

William, who was about to cast the spell a second time, stopped abruptly—although the place was now as empty as a ghost town, it really was a ghost town not long ago, with a bunch of ghosts celebrating their birthday here…

'Is this a late guest?'

William was filled with doubt, but his hands didn't stop. He waved the hand that wasn't holding the wand behind him and said, "You guys, come behind me."

The four children quickly came to his side, and William then asked the headless horseman in front of him.

"The banquet started long ago, why are you only arriving now?"

'Where's the banquet? This is like we've just been robbed!'

The headless rider looked at the messy ground around him, inwardly complaining but not daring to voice it. He spoke with a particularly aggrieved tone, "We're the headless hunter team, the grand finale, here specifically to celebrate Nick's birthday. We're pretty famous..."

'Quite famous?'

How come I've never heard of this group? There are plenty of rumors circulating in Azkaban, but I've never heard of them either.

"Have you guys ever heard of the Headless Hunters?"

William asked in a low voice—his information in this area was indeed weak. Although there were students behind him, they might know more about strange and interesting things, especially since there were two pure-blood children among them.

But William never expected that Harry, whom he thought might be able to answer the question, would ultimately answer him.

“I remember, Professor,” Harry said, lowering his voice as well, “Nick asked me to say a good word to the leader of this team, who has always dreamed of joining them.”