From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

...

Amidst the various opinions, the prefects stood up and began to maintain order, shouting, "Keep quiet, keep quiet, and wait for the show to begin!"

The faculty dining table was even more lively, with many professors laughing out loud.

"This show is fantastic. Hogwarts hasn't been on such a large-scale show in a long time."

"Yes, yes, it seems like the budget is quite generous this year. This show is in the top five in all the time I've been at Hogwarts."

The old professor was overjoyed—if such a program could be shown, his drama report would probably be approved.

Even Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore curiously. "Albus, how much did this cost—no, I'm not concerned about the budget, but with so many ghosts, did you hire a large ghost circus?"

As Professor McGonagall was speaking, eleven ghosts riding monstrous horses burst forth from underground.

"They have no heads!"

Soft gasps of surprise rippled through the students, but were silenced by the prefect's glare at the faint light emanating from the ghost.

But he was absolutely right; ghosts do indeed have no heads. Their heads are held firmly in their hands, while their necks are empty, perfectly fitting the aesthetic of Halloween.

The appearance of these ghosts made Professor McGonagall look at Dumbledore—and sure enough, it was the circus, the infamous Headless Hunter.

As the students marveled, the next quirky horse appeared, unlike the other knights, this one was upside down.

'Riding a horse backwards?'

The students, who dared not utter a sound under the prefect's gaze, inwardly marveled—'This last one must be the main character; even his entrance is extraordinary.'

But they soon discovered the difference: the last horse wasn't carrying anyone on its back, but rather being carried by someone. A headless ghost, carrying the horse on its shoulder and holding its own head in one hand, emerged from the ground, looking incredibly comical and making everyone laugh.

"Hahaha!"

...

Countless laughs erupted from the dining table, followed by thunderous applause. The knight who lagged behind had put on a truly ingenious performance that amused everyone.

Amidst the applause, the previously ignored Blood Man Barrow suddenly raised his voice.

"Thank you, thank you, she still remembers me!"

A brilliant light emanated from his body. The once aloof ghost now wore a smile. In the soft white light, he gradually disappeared. Wherever the white light shone, the chill brought by the ghosts vanished almost instantly, replaced by a warm feeling reminiscent of the September sun.

"Oh ho!"

Such a sound came from the mouth of one ghost, and as if it were contagious, it spread to the mouth of another ghost, eventually converging into a chorus of exclamations and praises. Even the students who were unaware of the truth exclaimed in admiration. Although they did not understand what was happening, the light was truly beautiful.

But the light quickly dissipated, and the warmth was soon driven away. The chill brought by hundreds of ghosts once again filled the entire restaurant, causing the students, who had been somewhat excited, to calm down immediately.

Even worse, the carefully prepared dishes on the table quickly lost their mouthwatering warmth in the sudden drop in temperature, becoming cold and inedible.

Why aren't they performing yet?

After a long silence, some students spoke up, but the ghosts remained unmoved. They resumed their usual routines, staring blankly at the spot where the blood-soaked Barrow had just turned into light.

For the ghosts, time doesn't mean much. Compared to their usual random thoughts, the fact that another companion has chosen to continue is a good topic for reflection, which makes them feel very comfortable.

"Isn't that Nick?"

Professor McGonagall, snapping out of her surprise at yet another ghost choosing to continue down the path, spotted Nick, who was hanging dejectedly with his head drooping (a little bit hanging down his neck), and remembered how this ghost had previously requested to use the underground classroom to hold his death anniversary party.

She glanced at Dumbledore, who was smiling and silent, then left the teachers' table and went to Nick.

"Nick, what happened?"

“Excuse me, Professor,” Nick hurriedly replied, still lost in thought, before realizing he was speaking to Professor McGonagall. “Excuse me, Professor McGonagall, something unusual has happened. Barrow has chosen to continue, and I couldn’t control the guests’ desire to come and watch, you know—”

Nick then noticed the wrong angle and straightened his head. "You know, Professor, very few ghosts have the courage to continue, not even at Hogwarts. This is extremely rare. I simply couldn't stop them. I'm very sorry for disturbing the banquet. I'll take them back to—"

Before Nick could finish speaking, the auditorium was filled with another voice.

"Ha ha!"

Pipi Ghost's distinctive voice rang out in the auditorium, "Blood Man Barrow is gone! Blood Man Barrow has ascended to heaven!"

Peeves would never have dared to be too presumptuous in front of Dumbledore in the past, but today is different—the ghost it feared most in Hogwarts is gone, having chosen to ascend to heaven!

It could no longer control the joy and surprise welling up inside it; this happiness had to be released immediately, not even for a second!

"Ooh!"

Mischievous Ghost picked up two golden plates, happily soared into the sky, and then flipped the two plates over on the students' heads.

"The silly fat monk, the rustic Myrtle, the stupid Nick—and long live Peeves!"

"I am back!"

He rushed to the dining table, grabbed the tablecloth, and sprinted towards the sky. When he was only halfway up the tablecloth, he plummeted downwards, splashing the tableware and the sauce from the food, causing the surrounding students to quickly leave the table.

But that wasn't all. Peeves draped a long tablecloth over his back and shouted, "Who is the king of Hogwarts? Not the headmaster, not the professor, it's Peeves, it's Peeves!"

"Albus?"

Professor McGonagall, who had run back to the dining table, glanced at Dumbledore—with so many students around, she didn't want to take over Dumbledore's job; theoretically, the headmaster should be the one to deal with Peeves now.

But Dumbledore just smiled and showed no intention of making a move.

"Don't worry, Minerva, the food's already cold and can't be reheated anyway." Dumbledore smiled at Peeves, as if the cheerful, singing ghost wasn't causing trouble.

"Albus!"

Professor McGonagall was a little angry.

“Wait, Minerva, I’m wondering if it’s celebrating or being controlled.”

Dumbledore still whispered his suspicions—he didn't want Professor McGonagall to stop Peeves, but he didn't want to voice all his doubts at the moment, since the person involved in the chaos at the castle was far too dangerous.

"Okay, I'll tell the kitchen."

Professor McGonagall sat down, prompting the surrounding professors to speculate, "Could Peeves' mischief be part of tonight's activities?"

After all, tonight was too exciting, with countless big scenes that even the professor hadn't experienced much of.

So Pippi went even crazier. He started composing songs for the ghosts below—after all, those students changed every few years, so the songs didn't last long, while those ghosts were old buddies, and the pleasure from attacking them was at least doubled.

The ghosts called out by Pippi the Ghost quickly burrowed underground—Pippi the Ghost was a professional at cursing, and these ghosts, having been dead for so many years, already knew this, so they couldn't be bothered to argue with him. There was still a banquet underground, and if they went back now, they might be able to continue the music and dancing.

As more and more ghosts were named, swarms of them began to disappear from the auditorium; if you can't fight them, you can avoid them.

This made Mischievous Ghost even more arrogant, and his inspiration came quickly, with lyrics that were even unique. This quickly brought the temperature in the auditorium back to normal—even the ghosts were driven away by the insults.

"Ha ha, you cowards!"

High in the sky, Pippi shouted proudly.

Just as Peeves was having the most fun and even tried to hit the professor's desk, Dumbledore finally raised his wand and waved it gently—the smug Peeves seemed to be pulled back by something, quickly falling to the ground, where he and a plate stuck together.

Pipi Ghost struggled desperately, but to no avail. The plate, he, and the ground seemed to be stuck together, and he wouldn't move an inch.

Filch came over with a smile and carried Peeves away with the plate—as if he were carrying an empty plate.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Peeves yelled and swung his hand at Filch, but his hand passed right through it and didn't hit the keeper at all.

Chapter 180 Liberation and Jealousy

"Yes, yes, that's right."

William in the office nodded, looking like he was listening attentively.

"You think so too, Professor?"

The ghost opposite William was quite satisfied with William's reaction as he nodded heavily.

"They went too far, didn't they?"

“Of course, no problem, madam—” William gave the most appropriate response, which made the ghost sitting opposite him look much better, even though it was originally silver-white.

“Thank you, Professor.” The ghostly noblewoman’s expression was initially cheerful, but quickly turned sorrowful. “I’m sorry, Professor, I still can’t seem to let go…”

“Walk around more, see more,” William swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, and subtly changed to other words of comfort, “It’s not good for you to stay there all the time. You should go somewhere else to be a ghost and make more ghost friends. Maybe that will be better.”

“Perhaps—” the ghostly woman’s voice grew even lower, “Anyway, thank you, Professor, I will give your suggestion a good consideration.”

She stood up, looking dejected, gave a hasty bow, and then passed through the wall and left.

Ugh, my head hurts…

William sighed, put down his quill and notebook, slumped into the chair, and remained motionless.

It's already December, and more than a month has passed since what happened on Halloween, but the impact of that incident still hasn't faded...

After a long while, William, who had regained some of his energy, finally raised his hand and pressed it on his temples to calm his mind.

This is the hundredth ghost he has received in more than a month. He has only slowed down in the last few days. In the first few days, he had no time to do anything else during his free time.

'Another tragedy,' he said, glancing at the record in his hand and shaking his head.

It's normal. Without tragedy, there would be no ghosts. Although some ghost stories are funny, the core of those comedies is tragedy. In the end, ghosts are almost always resentful.

Although the official explanation for the ghosts is that the dead wizards lacked the courage to face death, William discovered something after talking with the ghosts during this time.

Aside from a few individual ghosts, the statement "lacking the courage to go on" is entirely equivalent to having something they can't let go of—the so-called "being invincible when one is without desires." When there is nothing that can hold back a ghost, it naturally gains the courage to go on.

'Of course, there are exceptions...'

William flipped through his records and saw the one with somewhat messy handwriting, which reaffirmed his suspicions.

The 36th ghost guest.

The title, Bodie the Immortal

Cause of death: died from ingesting a magic potion.

(This is followed by a series of useless records)

William sighed, ignoring the pile of unreliable information, and skipped to the last, scribbled section.

"The potion he brewed was what he believed to be an elixir of immortality! Because he was afraid of death, he tried various ways to make himself immortal, but after teaching himself potion-making, the potion he created poisoned him to death!"

Then, feeling resentful and believing he shouldn't have died, he lived on as a ghost!

Are all sorts of bizarre ghosts and monsters found in the vast magical world?

He also told me that he was still working hard to find a way to become immortal?