[HP] Being a problem student at Hogwarts

October has arrived, and a damp and cold air permeates the grounds and penetrates into the castle. Mrs. Locke sent and transported a lot of thin sweaters, thin single-layer scarves, dryers (she didn't know that electrical appliances did not work properly in Hogwarts), etc., which exhausted the little crow.

Fortunately, Jiujiu also got a few new scarves as reward. Tom looked at the various colorful mini scarves, cloaks, etc. scattered in Chiu Jiu's nest, so he simply handmade a small wardrobe for Chiu Jiu to store his decorations.

Jiujiu was so moved that she took out a beautiful feather from the nest and gave it to him.

"When did you peck off Fox's feathers?!" Tom asked in shock.

Chirping and hopping around and concentrating on eating its bird food means that it is just an ordinary little crow and does not understand what you are talking about.

Tom had no choice but to hide the phoenix feather in a book - something would happen if Fox saw it!

It has been raining heavily these past few days. Raindrops as big as bullets hit the windows of the castle. The lake water rose and there was a muddy flow in the flower beds. Each of Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of a flower shed - Tom secretly picked one. It was used to test the power of the magic spell, but unfortunately it was later found that the pumpkin mud splashing everywhere was too difficult to clean up.

He still had time to experiment, but Harry had to keep practicing Quidditch in the storm.

Winning the Quidditch trophy last school year gave Wood great confidence. He obsessively polished the trophy every day, even several times a day, so annoying that Professor McGonagall warned him not to sneak into her room again. The office is gone.

Wood would never allow his "darling little thing" - the pet name the Weasley twins gave him - to leave him, so he trained even more intensively this semester. Coupled with the fact that Malfoy generously gave everyone in the Slytherin team new brooms, this greatly stimulated Wood.

So no matter how stormy or bad the weather is, he has to carry out Quidditch training regularly.

"Think about it," he loudly encouraged the players, "if the weather during the game is this bad, and we have been practicing for so long, and the Slytherins hide in the basement when it rains, they will definitely not be able to defeat us!"

Harry was not very interested in this. He always felt that if the game weather was so bad, the cunning Slytherins would definitely find a way to ask for an extension.

It's a pity that he couldn't sway Wood's mind. So he could only endure the mud after training and return to the lounge tiredly.

"Go and take a hot bath to warm yourself up." Tom told Harry while doing his homework, "Don't catch a cold. Refreshers don't taste good."

After Harry finally changed his clothes and felt that he had calmed down, he told his friends what he had just experienced.

"Nearly Headless Nick, do you remember?" Harry said, "He was going to hold a death anniversary party and invited us to attend."

"A death anniversary party?" Hermione said enthusiastically. "I bet there aren't many people alive who can say they've been to such a party - it must have been amazing!"

"I've read about vampires' death anniversary parties in books - indeed few living people can say they have attended - because the living people invited to the vampire's banquet can only be regarded as fresh ingredients." Tom said.

"Yeah, except for this reason, I can't think of why someone would celebrate the day of their death." Ron said angrily. He was doing homework in Potions class, and he became more and more frustrated as he did it. "It can't be because of death." Then you don’t have to do your homework.”

"Professor Binns has been dead for many years and he is still working." Tom said jokingly, "How can a mere death stop you from doing your homework?"

Halloween is here, and other students in the school happily go to the auditorium to participate in the Halloween banquet. Harry was still hesitating whether to go to Nearly Headless Nick's death anniversary party.

"I heard that the principal also booked a performance by the Skeleton Dance Troupe." Harry said yearningly.

"As you wish," said Tom.

"What's said is hard to follow." Hermione reminded him firmly, "It was you who said you were going to the death anniversary party!"

So at seven o'clock in the evening, they walked towards the underground classroom.

The corridor leading to the death anniversary party had also been lit with candles, but those candles were shining with small, weak, blue, and eerie flames, making the entire corridor look like a tomb passage.

The temperature dropped with every step they took. Tom, who was well prepared, cast a warming spell on all of them - he was the only one among them who had had close contact with ghost-like beings, so he was mentally prepared.

As they approached, a harsh noise like fingernails scraping against a blackboard grew louder. Ron couldn't help but frown and said, "Is this also called music?"

Tom actually laughed and said, "It seems that Muggle horror movies are still very realistic."

Then Hermione and Harry couldn't help laughing, and the fearful atmosphere was swept away.

They turned the corner and saw the almost headless Nick, draped in a black velvet curtain, taking off his hat and saluting at them at the door: "Welcome... welcome... I'm so happy that you can come..."

Eh? Tom was interested. Can ghosts also change clothes? How did you do it? Want to burn them alive?

But obviously this is not a good time to ask. They greeted them politely, walked into the underground classroom, and saw an unimaginable scene - the classroom was filled with hundreds of milky white, translucent figures, most of them wandering around in the overcrowded dance floor. , waltzing to the harsh and trembling sounds of thirty musical saws. Due to the limitations of the venue and the semi-penetrating nature of ghosts, the bodies of many ghosts even overlapped. They shuttled happily around the venue without caring about how many companions they passed through.

"Oh my god..." Tom whispered, "It's like a bug in the game modeling..."

"Harry Potter..." A ghost seemed to recognize the Boy-Who-Lived and whispered to the ghost next to him. Then there was a wave of undead whispers in the venue, and even the suspended will-o'-the-wisps swayed and emitted an even stronger chill.

Harry smiled stiffly at them.

"I didn't expect dead people to be so gossipy." He hissed through gritted teeth, "Who am I to care about them? Can ghosts die again?" 7K妏婩

"There's nothing wrong with paying attention to current affairs." Ron comforted, "Let's go get something to eat and warm ourselves up."

Tom said nothing at the suggestion.

They passed by the fat monk of Hufflepuff, the Bloody Barrow of Slytherin, and avoided the Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom. Finally, they reached the other end of the underground classroom and saw the long table with food. But it is a pity that there are large pieces of rotten meat, charred cakes, maggot-stuffed lamb tripe, moldy cheese... In short, there is no food that normal people can accept on the beautiful silver plate.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Ron said, holding his nose.

Tom finally couldn't help but laugh: "Death anniversary party! Of course the food prepared for the ghosts will not be the kind that living people can eat."

"You knew it!" Hermione shouted, "Then what food did you bring?"

"No," Tom spread his hands, "I don't think we can eat in this environment."

Harry thought he made sense.

"I think we'd better get going," Harry suggested. "It's not too late to get back to the Great Hall, and we can still catch the big dinner."

Everyone else was in favor of the suggestion, except Tom.

"No, you go ahead. I want to stay and conduct an investigation." Tom's eyes were shining. "What a rare opportunity, with so many ghosts here! In the safe Hogwarts again!"

"What is the difference between living and dead? What is the world after death like? Why can some stay and become ghosts, while others cannot? How much does the soul weigh? Is it the 21 grams that Muggles claim?..."

The sudden appearance of the Headless Headhunters interrupted Tom's eloquence.

"Wow! Look, their bodies can be completely separated!" Tom said while watching. "It reminds me of the legend of the Headless Horseman! But there are also rumors that as long as the head of the Headless Horseman is reinstalled, the Headless Horseman will It will completely dissipate...will the ghosts in the magical world really die?"

Ron quickly said: "Then you can investigate slowly, we will go up first."

Harry also said, "We'll pack you some food."

Hermione was a little hesitant, but the harsh environment of the death anniversary party eventually discouraged her.

"Let me see it then." After she said that, she left with the two boys.

Nearly Headless Nick tried several times to continue his thank you speech, but the Headless Headhunters' game of head hockey completely captured the audience's attention. So he drifted away in frustration.

"Ah, you haven't left yet," he said, looking at Tom.

"Hello, Sir." Tom greeted politely, and then couldn't wait to get to the point, "I'm sorry, I'm curious, how did you become a ghost?"

"Ah, ah." The almost headless Nick was obviously a little surprised, "Oh, that was many years ago. I was still a court mage at that time——"

"No, no, I don't want to ask you how you died," said Tom, "I want to know, how can a person become a ghost and come back to the world?"

"Well," Nearly Headless Nick hesitated, "not everyone can come back as a ghost."

"Of course, otherwise the world would have been filled with white ghosts."

"Well, only wizards can. Wizards can leave their mark on this world, so that they can walk powerlessly in the places where they have lived and walked." Nick said painfully, "But few Wizards would choose this path.”

"Alas, alas, child, you ask me how I came back? All I can say is that I wasn't brave enough. I couldn't go on."

"Go on? Where? Hades? Is the underworld real?" Tom asked.

"I can't say it, kid, I can't say it anymore." Nick replied uneasily, "I don't really understand the secret of death, so I can only linger as a ghost in the places where I lived."

"Ghosts can only exist in places where they have lived and walked. Is it possible for a ghost to break through this restriction?" Tom asked.

Nearly Headless Nick stared at him as if he had told a bad joke.

"I haven't seen anything like this," he said.

So is the Dark Lord able to run around because he has mastered more secrets of death, or because he has not really died, or because he was a great traveler during his lifetime?

"Can ghosts absorb life force?"

Nick, who was almost headless, was so startled by this question that he suddenly floated upward.

"Where did you hear such a terrible thing?" he asked in horror, "This is the most taboo of taboos, something you shouldn't even think about!"

He looked very regretful that he had spoken to Tom.

"It's getting late, boy." Nick said coldly, "I think it's time for you to go back and rest."