Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Life and Death (Edited)
However, the furious Filch restrained his temper when he saw Tom, he didn't shout the bad words in his throat, he bowed to Tom stiffly, "Professor Lockhart..."
"Don't be so angry." said Tom gently, but, of course, he was not the kind of man to stand around talking at other people's expense. He could understand Filch's situation: it was annoying to have an area he'd cleaned get dirty again, and the fact that Filch was a Squib meant he had to spend half a day cleaning up a problem that a wizard could solve with a wave of his wand. Put into perspective, some of Filch's behavior was understandable.
Tom pulled out his wand.
"Teeroo!"
This spell was a new and improved version of the Cleansing Spell, perfect for a situation like Harry's where he was covered in mud, and was one of the few useful little spells he had learned.
Harry's body seemed to have encountered a whirlwind, his entire suit bulged, and the whirlwind swept the mud off Harry's body. Filch, who stood on the sidelines, looked envious.
Tom was the first to dispose of Harry as a source of contamination, and then followed the path Harry had come, the two men and the ghost following in his footsteps, watching him cast a spell as he went.
"Tegeo!"
It took a dozen cleaning spells along the way before Tom cleaned up the mud and water stains Harry had left between the second floor corridor and the door to the Great Dining Hall. By the time he was done, Tom had some anger in his stomach. He turned to Harry and said, "Five points off for Gryffindor for not respecting other people's work, you should think about who usually cleans the castle, Hogwarts doesn't have a Muggle schoolboy, does it?"
Harry bowed his head silently in agreement, Filch to the side was red with excitement at seeing a student punished by a professor, and he could barely breathe.
Tom pulled a glass vial from his robes and handed it to Filch, "This is an energy potion, remember to dilute it before you take it, one drop at a time" Tom slipped the glass vial into his hand, "Get some rest if you have a cold, Madam Pomfrey also has special cold remedies, go to her soon, you can't put off a cold"
"Professor..." Filch's hand trembled slightly.
"Alright, it's getting late, go back and rest quickly."
Filch said nothing more, bowed to Tom and left, not mentioning the additional punishment for Harry.
As Filch left, Tom looked at Harry, who was obviously in a bad mood, and said, "I know you're in a bad mood right now, is it because of the Slytherin team?"
Harry looked up in surprise, "Professor, how do you know-?".
"Donating seven high-end brooms at once is a big deal, I've heard of it." Tom held out his hands to prove he wasn't deaf.
It had to be said that Lucius was coddling Draco. When the younger Malfoy wanted to join the quidditch team, Lucius supported his son in an outrageous way: he chose to give all the teammates a 2001 Nimbus and then send his son. It's almost as if his son wanted to make the House playing team, and his father gifted each team member a high-end computer, just to get a spot on the bench.
What was Lucius trying to do,?could the heir to the family increase his influence by joining the Slytherin team? The Malfoy family does not lack this honor, it is just to make their son happy.
Draco Malfoy was good enough to become a member of the main Slytherin team. Marcus probably just wanted to take him at first to sit on the bench as a water cooler watcher, but he didn't expect the newcomer to be any good. The fact that Malfoy was able to play with the senior team in his second year means he's a very good player. A 2001 Nimbus may buy you a spot on the bench, but it doesn't give you playing skills, and Marcus wouldn't dare do such a thing. If he took his team members out of the game for brooms, Marcus wouldn't have any free time for the rest of the term: he'd spend it in Professor Snape's dungeon.
Malfoy followed the standard Lord of Wealth script, only to run into Harry Potter, the son of luck.
And judging by Draco Malfoy's reactions, the boy really is a spoiled brat. The way he behaves is largely the result of parental influence. Lucius discriminated against Muggles and hated the Weasleys, and he followed suit, despising the Weasleys and saying nasty things to Hermione ...
But he has a good relationship with his father, and his first response to a problem is to make a "call to Dad," and he is happy to talk to his father.
"Seven Nimbus 2001, that's a tough opponent, isn't it?"
Tom's words expressed Harry's sincere thoughts: all members of the Slytherin team are equipped with the most advanced brooms of the generation, how could they win in this way?
Tom's words spoke to Harry's mind: how could the Slytherin team fight when they were all equipped with advanced brooms that were almost generational?
"Hey, Potter, I'll give you the figures for the two Muggle armies, so you can judge the winner," Tom said suddenly on an unrelated topic, "There are 4.3 million troops on side A, including 2 million ground forces, 360,000 special forces, 160,000 air forces, 30,000 naval forces, and a total of 1.01 million military authorities. There are also 740,000 irregulars and highly advanced weaponry. With only 610,000 field troops and 660,000 local troops on the second side, with average weaponry, how many years do you think the battle will last?"
Harry: "Er... About a year?"
"It was fought for three years."
"Was that a tactical error on A's part? I can't believe they let the other side last that long..."
"It took side B three years to finish off side A."
Harry: "!!!!"
"How can that be!" He exclaimed, It's too outrageous!
"It's a historical fact, So you still think Slytherin is invincible?"
Harry was silent: This way, Slytherin isn't so invincible.
"Think about it, what's your biggest advantage?" Tom patted Harry's shoulder, and Nick encouraged, "Gryffindor House will never give up on Slytherin!"
"So bad is the relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin in the fifteenth century!" Tom almost burst out laughing.
"Of course! We've had a difficult relationship ever since Slytherin was defeated by Gryffindor." Nick wrapped his arms around him, looking very smug, "You guys are so chivalrous now, back in my day, there was a duel between Gryffindor and Slytherin students every few days, those were the days..."
Tom looked at Nick, a question churning in his mind. Nick read his expression, "Professor Lockhart, if you have any questions, just ask me, and I'll be sure to tell you everything."
Like the Hogwarts ghost, Nick was still very enthusiastic, and like the fat Hufflepuff friar, he was happy to answer questions from the young wizards, the young wizards ranged from Dumbledore to the first years, all of whom were young men full of vitality in his eyes.
"Well, here's the thing...," Tom stammered, as he found the subject more difficult than he thought it would be, but so tantalizing was the knowledge that it touched the realm of the gods.
"Well, anyway..."
"You want to ask me how I can be dead and still exist in the world of the living, don't you?" Nick asked that question for him, "I don't know how many wizards have asked me that question over the last five hundred years, many of them with exactly the same reaction as you."
The long years had brought Nick to a realization, and he sighed, looking out into the empty auditorium.
"I'm dead, but I can still walk, I'm not stuck at Hogwarts, I can also talk and think. Yes, I came back from 'over there', and left my mark on the world, so I can die and walk helplessly where I once lived and walked."
"Over there?" Tom caught a particular word, and Harry listened with interest to the conversation between the two, a subject that also interested him greatly.
"Not everyone can come back as a ghost, only wizards can." Nick added, "Neither can everyone, very few wizards choose this path, and they will all fall."
Harry was already a little confused, he couldn't understand what Nick meant by "Alli" and "go down". But Tom had gotten the general idea of what Nick meant.
Nick said quietly, "I'm afraid of death, that's why I've ended up like this, neither here nor there, and sometimes I think if I should do it, but I can't find the courage. Well, gentlemen, I don't know the secret of death, but I'm sure it's being studied by the scholars in the Department of Mysteries."
Tom thanked Nick.
"There's nothing to thank, you'll get through this too." Nick leaned slightly towards them, his expression suddenly wavered, he looked as if he was complicated as well.
"Are we playing a turn-based game, where you sing and I play? Say what you want, I think we can talk about anything right now." Tom couldn't help but groan.
"A turn-based game...?"
"That's not important."
"Well then, actually I'd like to ask you both, it's my 500th birthday tomorrow on Halloween, that might be too much to ask, maybe you don't want to..."
"To attend your anniversary party?"
"Ah, yes!" Nick nodded enthusiastically, then said with some anxiety, "I have chosen a large subway classroom and invited friends from all over the country, it would be a great honor for me if you could attend, and your friends would be the most honored guests at the party, but I have a feeling you would rather attend the school Halloween dinner, wouldn't you? After all, the world of the living and the world of the dead are far apart..."
Chapter 176: Chapter 176: The Girls' Dormitory at Nightfall (Edited)
Tom's comment about the anniversary party of the dead was that it was a once in a lifetime experience, but of course once was enough. The world of the dead is very different from that of the living, and if Tom had to choose, he would ask, "Can I bring my own food?".
This was his main concern, as the definition of food for the dead was a little different from that of ordinary people. He found it hard to give up a Halloween dinner of lights and candles and golden plates of tantalizing food to attend a death anniversary, let alone one he had organized himself.
Nick froze and then laughed, "Yeah, I actually forgot about this, remember to bring something to eat, the food we eat is a little different than what you eat."
How could he bring his own food, Tom was going to go, because as he had said, it was a very rare experience, probably once in a lifetime, and one he would regret not going for a long time: a month of regret if he went, a lifetime of regret if he didn't. But he had to be a little late, because he had to attend the opening of the Halloween party.
"That's great, I'll be there." Tom accepted the invitation and Harry nodded happily.
"One more thing, do you want to come to the Great Hall to celebrate Halloween with us?". Tom made a somewhat tantalizing suggestion, "A Halloween dinner, with ghosts would be perfect!".
There was a look of struggle and hesitation on Nick's face, it was clear he was tempted by the suggestion, but in the end he turned Tom down, "Dead as we are, it's not the right occasion...not even for Halloween, you'll understand once you go to one of my parties."
Once the date was arranged, the group went their separate ways and went about their business: Nick had to get ready for his party, Harry had to get back to the Common Room, and Tom had to get a pumpkin from Professor McGonagall.
When Tom found Professor McGonagall, she was transfiguring a suit of armor so that he could suddenly sing as pedestrians walked by.
"Pumpkins? I don't have any to spare here either, and if Hagrid doesn't have any either, you can go to the kitchen and ask for some pumpkins." Professor McGonagall pulled out a small bag, but when she turned it over it made a noise that didn't match its size, rummaged around and discovered that she had also run out of the pumpkins she had taken earlier.
"All right then." Tom had to run for the kitchen, all of Hagrid's pumpkins had been catalyzed into giant pumpkins, and the only place to find a normal pumpkin the size of two fists was the Hogwarts kitchen.
Tom knew where the Hogwarts kitchen was.
But he didn't tell anyone, because if too many people knew where it was, it would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble for the house elves there: they didn't know how to say no, and some of the little wizards didn't know how to behave with restraint and respect for the fruits of other people's labor.
Tom descended the stairs to the basement, near the Hufflepuff Common Room. He descended a flight of stone steps and followed them down to a wide, torch-lit stone corridor, which was brightly lit. As he approached the corridor, Tom's stomach growled, for it was decorated with pictures of gluttonous things, mainly food.
Tom came to an image of a huge silver bowl filled with fruit. He reached out with his index finger and tickled the large, green, juicy pear. The pear giggled and squirmed, turning into a green handle. Tom grabbed it, opened the door and stepped inside.
Behind the door was a large, high-ceilinged room, with the same layout as the Great Dining Hall, and in the center were four wooden tables identical to the tables of the four Houses, which must have been laden with delicious food at dinnertime and then magically transported to the tables above. Unlike the Great Dining Hall, the stone walls are lined with gleaming copper pans, and there is a large brick fireplace opposite the teachers' table.
A short figure ran quickly toward him and bowed respectfully after reaching him.
It was a small house elf. He had big green eyes the size of ping-pong balls, a nose as thin as a pencil and a pair of bat ears, and his fingers and feet were very long and slender.
He was wearing a tea towel with the Hogwarts crest on it. Like the rest of the hundreds of house elves here, he had put it on like a robe, like a uniform.
"Is there anything I can do for you? Honorable Professor Lockhart," the house elf asked earnestly.
"I need a hundred pumpkins, the size of two fists, and they can be sent to the Great Dining Room for me."
"Yes, sir!" He bowed again to Tom and curtsied.
He snapped his fingers and Tom watched as hundreds of pumpkins flew out of the warehouse, disappearing into the ceiling.
"Professor Lockhart wants a snack?" He asked loudly, in a squeaky voice.
"Yes."
Before the words were out of his mouth, two house elves rushed over and brought a large silver tray with a teapot, a cup, a plate of fresh meat sandwiches and a plate of kebabs.
Tom left with a bag full of cream puffs, cakes, sandwiches and kebabs.
Back in the Great Dining Hall, Tom saw a hundred pumpkins stacked neatly on the long Ravenclaw table, pulled out his wand and began making pumpkin lanterns.
It took Tom over an hour to carve the pumpkins and put a candle in each lantern, which can emit a warm light after lighting.
"Gilderoy, how's it going?" Professor McGonagall came through the door, "May I help you?" Seeing the pumpkin lanterns stacked on the table, Professor McGonagall complimented, "It looks great."
With a wave of her wand, hundreds of Jack-o-lanterns flew and landed neatly on each table in each House.
[Anniversary Celebration (Act 3) complete.]
After a quick glance around the Great Dining Hall, Professor McGonagall obliged, "I also have a copy of my Transfiguration notes, if you need them."
Professor McGonagall left a brown-bound notebook on the table and walked away.
Tom picked it up.
[Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration notes (4 stars): Minerva McGonagall's understanding of Transfiguration, there is still room for improvement in the notebook itself, and it will be of great benefit to Transfiguration improvement when studied carefully].
It was getting late, so Tom put away his notes and went back to his office to rest: he needed to do some reading and finish his thesis. He planned to finish his work in a couple of days and then start looking at McGonagall's and Professor Flitwick's notes for passing Charms and Transfiguration levels.
Although Filch was unlikely to be out on his nightly rounds tonight (he was ill and needed to recuperate), the young wizards were unaware of this and continued their habit of not leaving the Common Room door during curfew.
At that moment, in the Ravenclaw dormitory, several good friends were chatting amongst themselves.
"Hermione, Hermione," Sue Li had finished washing up and was sitting on her couch in her robe, her salty breath seeming to spill out, "How's your group's work coming along?"
"I've finished it, I'm going to show it to the professor tomorrow." Hermione was combing her hair with a delicate silver comb. Today she had gone to see Tom, and after learning that she had to decorate the Great Dining Hall, she no longer bothered him, but had spent the day in the library, finishing the work Tom had assigned her.
By now she had finished her work for the day, she had stripped off her heavy wizard's robes and her shoes and socks, and had only left on a few pieces of clothing, leaving much of her white skin exposed. But he didn't mind, after all it was a girls' dorm and her roommates were all girls, albeit more lustful than the boys.
"Oh, shit!"
"What?"
"Finished?!"
The roommates jumped out of their chairs and beds at the shocking news.
Some of them hadn't even written the outline. It turned out that Hermione had already finished her first draft!
"Who are you working with?" Sue Li frowned, noticing something unusual: she remembered that she hadn't seen Hermione's name on the form... Nor had she heard that any of her housemates were in Hermione's group.
"I'm on my own."
The rest of her roommates were shocked: how could she finish her work so quickly being on her own? Hermione was no longer within the range of comprehension of ordinary wizards.
Sue Li's concern was slightly different: Alone? That is to say. Hermione would rather be alone in a group than work on the project with other people because her partner Yodel is hospitalized?
I got him, I got him! Sue Li's brain went into a cranial orgasm when she realized this, her face turned red and she let out a strange "hehehe" laugh, as if she had a mental illness.
Hermione glanced at her strange roommate, unable to comprehend her mind. She hopped off the stool, made her way to the bed in her bare feet, slipped on her doggy slippers, and ran to the bathroom to wash up.
"Sorry," Hermione said after she washed, and as she exited the girls' bathroom, she nearly collided with a staggering figure, who ignored her and pushed straight through the bathroom door.
Hermione recognized her, remembered that the girl was a first year, her name was.... Victoria?
Hermione shook her head, "That girl looks terrible," she thought.
"Please... please leave me alone...", she said as soon as she entered the bathroom, Victoria suddenly sat down on the floor and cried, she was so scared these days: her memory was full of big gaps, every day she slept longer and longer, and sometimes she felt she was awake, but her body was not in control.
The scariest thing happened today when she tried to tell Professor Flitwick about her changes, but she lost control of her body as soon as she stood up.
Even the dullest of minds knew she was in trouble.
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