days at Hogwarts

Chapter 185 Nick's Story

on the corridor.

Harry and Ron discussed Quidditch tactics in a low voice, without looking at the road, and let Loren lead them forward.

"How about Pokov's decoy technique, which is a classic tactic to eliminate the speed gap?" Ron imitated the Chaser with his hand, pretending to throw the Quaffle to score, but in fact he was preparing to pass the ball at a subtle angle. Teammates, assist pass breakthrough.

"No, the difference in speed is too big. They can switch defenses in time." The more Harry discussed, the more disappointed he became. It seemed that all hope lay in whether he could catch the Golden Snitch in time to end the game and close the point difference in the Slytherin team. Pulled to 150 points before.

Loren didn't know Quidditch or broomsticks, so he led the two of them leisurely and at ease, preventing them from falling from a window or stairs without looking at the road.It's going to happen, tomorrow's Daily Prophet headlines.

"Speed, speed, speed..." Ron frowned and muttered, his mind unconsciously simulated the players on both sides, one side was faster and the other team cooperated better.

How to use cooperation to eliminate the speed advantage?
As he settled down to think, the broomsticks and players flying all over the sky gradually turned into black and white chess pieces, which fell on the chessboard and turned into an endgame.

The sunspots represent Slytherin. There are live pieces everywhere on the chessboard, so the speed is fast and the advantages are sufficient. As long as you use the live pieces to move step by step, you can win.

Bai Zi represents Gryffindor, and Bai Zi is very angry, struggling to move in the cracks.

However, it seems that there is no hope.Ron's eyes grew brighter, Quidditch transformed into a form he was more familiar with, and his mind was liberated for a moment, like a sublimation.

Rushing and intercepting, blocking and catching, changing, blocking, breaking through.The fallen chess pieces turned into fourteen broomsticks, flying all over the sky.According to his ideas, he implements Quidditch tactics such as reverse pass, counter-bludger, Parkin pincer tactics, and eagle-head offensive formation.

In this case, it seems...

Lost in thought, Ron turned around and walked towards the prize showroom on the fourth floor, without thinking of saying goodbye to Harry and Loren.

Harry looked at his retreating back with a puzzled look on his face. Maybe his little friend is thinking about Quidditch and being stupid?
The two of Loren continued to walk towards Lockhart's office, turned a corner, and saw Nick, who was almost headless, looking melancholy at the rain in the night.

His long curly hair wore a fashionable feathered hat, and he wore a knee-length tunic with a wheel-shaped ruff that hid his neck almost The fact that he was completely separated, he was like a wisp of smoke.

He held a piece of letter paper in his hand, like a melancholy poet, muttering in his mouth: "If it doesn't meet their requirements, it's only half an inch away. If that..."

"Good evening, Sir Nicholas." Loren approached, looking out at the dark sky and the pouring rain through Nick's ghostly body.

"No, young Morgan and Potter, I'm not well." Nick turned to look at them with deep pain on his face.

Nick is a cheerful and kind ghost. He is always happy to guide the lost little wizards, cover the little wizards who travel at night, and even throw his own head to make the little wizards happy.

With such a sad expression on Nick, Loren and Harry were a little worried.

Could it be that the basilisk made trouble? Loren looked around but didn't see the victim."What happened?" he asked.

"No, it's fine. It's a small thing... I thought I could apply, but it looks like I'm not eligible." Nick tried to rub his face to hide his distress, but with a light touch, his The head was shaking precariously.

Nick collapsed at once, and his emotions gushed out like a flood that opened the gate. He waved the letter paper angrily: "Talk about it! Is a person who has been cut 44 times on the neck with a blunt ax eligible to join the Headless Hunter?" Team?"

Loren and Harry took two steps back, and tentatively said uncertainly, "Oh - of course."

Nick floated in front of the two of them, and unfolded the letter towards them.

The material of the ghost's letter paper is unknown, but it is also somewhat transparent and emits a faint light. It says:

【We can only accept hunters whose heads and bodies are separated.You'll be fully aware that if it weren't for this, it would be impossible for members to participate in hunter team activities like head juggling and overhead polo.Therefore, I regret to inform you that you do not meet our criteria.Kind regards, Sir Patrick Delaney Podmore. 】

"More than anyone else, I wish things were done cleanly, and my head was cut off completely, I mean, that would have saved me a lot of pain and ridicule. But . . . "

Tears streamed down Nick's ghostly face, his anger subsided, and he became helpless and dazed, "Just a little bit of skin and tendons attached to my neck, Loren! Harry! Most people would think that's actually It's as good as losing your head. But no, that's not enough for Sir Podmore, who has lost his head."

Originally full of joy, the ghost uncle who always hides in the armor and scares them with a loud voice is like a fragile child, and Loren and Harry are heartbroken to see it.

Nick looked at the two people who were at a loss and cared about him, and he calmed down and said, "Want to hear my story?"

"Of course!" Loren climbed up the window first, sat down facing the night and rain, stretched his feet out of the window and dangled outside, as if he wanted to listen to a story.

Harry opened his mouth. He wanted to remind Loren that Lockhart was still waiting for them in the office.But seeing Nick's expectant gaze, he didn't say anything, just sat down on the window like Loren.

Nick floated out of the castle, letting the raindrops penetrate his body: "I was born into the noble Mimsy-Porpington family, and I was born with noble blood..."

He spent a happy childhood in peace, inherited the honor of the Popington family, and was proud of the ancestors of the family. At the age of 11, he entered Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor House.

"Hey! Don't let Professor McGonagall know that my Transfiguration sucked when I was a student."

When Nick recalled that memory, with a smile on his face, he quickly became lonely again: "You may not know that Hogwarts was not as famous as it is now. Carry him forward. Many friends advised me not to have contact with Muggles, but I was greedy for fame and did not listen to these heartfelt advice."

In the magic world, he is just a wizard with not good grades, unable to make the glory of his ancestors shine again.So Nico turned his attention to the Muggle world. Many friends and family members advised him, but he still entered the court at that time and became a courtier of King Henry VII.

Nick sneered at himself: "The night of October 1492, 10, I will always remember that day..."

While walking in the park, he comes across Ms. Griff, who forcefully demands that Nick correct her crooked teeth by magic.Nick felt that he couldn't do this kind of thing, so he couldn't get rid of the entanglement after trying to evade it several times, so he had to try.But Nick's attempt backfired, causing her to grow terrifying fangs.

Nick wanted to calm Ms. Griff that the tooth would change back with just a tap of the wand on it.But Lady Grieve's screams overwhelmed all, and the knight in grim armor snatched his wand and threw him in prison, regardless of excuse.

At night, a priest came to Nick's cell to comfort him, but at dawn the next day he was escorted to the execution ground with a stern face.

"I will always remember, the pastor said to me, "You don't need a fur hat anymore", and the executioner said to me, "It might hurt a little"..."

When the executioner made him kneel in front of the stone, Nick was too frightened to speak clearly.Worst of all, the executioner's ax was blunt because the stone with which it was sharpened was nowhere to be found.So Nick got 44 slashes in total, even with a little bit of skin and tendons attached to his neck.

"This, but—" Harry was so shocked that he couldn't speak clearly, it was simply unacceptable.

It's hard to imagine that a noble wizard courtier was executed so hastily, without a decent interrogation and without a decent execution ground.Butchers in the countryside are not so casual in killing cattle and sheep at home.

Loren could probably guess that, in the eyes of King Henry VII, wizards were not as important as domestic animals.Execution of wizards can also show the might of the king.

In short, there is one less Sir Nicholas of Mimsy in the world, and one more Nearly Headless Nick.

"I'm afraid of death, and I choose to stay behind. Sometimes I wonder if I should..." Nick shook his head and stopped talking.

Loren and Harry couldn't guess what he regretted, maybe he regretted disregarding his friends' dissuasion and became a courtier of the king; maybe he regretted not firmly rejecting Ms. Griff;

"I couldn't do anything while I was alive, but now I'm a ghost after death, and I can't do it even if I want to join the Headless Hunter team." Nico laughed at himself, and after talking about it, his mood stabilized a lot.

Harry was still immersed in the story and didn't recover.

Loren comforted: "Have fun, Sir Nicholas! The Headless Hunters can't play with all the little wizards in Hogwarts."

Nick smiled at him and said nothing, the meaning of which is for you to understand.

Hehe, who cares about you little wizards, how can a little wizard join the headless hunter team.

Hey!This ghost old man.Loren wanted to complain a few words, but after thinking about it, he forgot. The concept brought over from his previous life-the dead are the greatest.This person has been dead for hundreds of years, and he is very old.

Nick glanced suspiciously, always feeling that the little wizard's eyes were not very polite.

Loren pursed her lips tightly, keeping herself in order.

Forget it, Nick said another thing: "This year's Halloween is my [-]th birthday."

Loren was about to congratulate immediately: "Oh! Congratulations—"

He stopped halfway through the conversation, congratulating him on the anniversary of his death, which always felt weird, as if something was wrong.

Nick continued with some trepidation: "I'm going to have a party in a relatively spacious basement classroom. Friends will come from all over the country, and I would be very honored if you can attend. Of course, Mr. Weasley , Miss Granger, and your other friends are also welcome."

He looked at the expressions of Loren and Harry, a little restless: "But, I dare say you would rather attend the banquet of ghosts, wouldn't you?"

How could Loren and Harry refuse such a humble invitation from a centuries-old ghost?And the last night when the little Charmander Norbert was sent away, Nick helped them delay the time, and they still owed Nick a favor.

They nodded in agreement.

"Oh, my dear children, Harry Potter and his friends are coming to my Deathday party, it's great!" Nick's ghostly body circled excitedly in the air, and suddenly, he stopped at the two In front of them, the two people who were sitting on the window were so frightened that they trembled for a while and almost fell.

Nick looked at them expectantly: "Excuse me, can you just mention to Mr. Patrick that you think I'm particularly scary and impressive, okay?"

"no problem."

"of course can."

Harry and Loren sat still, squeezed out a forced smile, and watched Nick fly away dancing.

Harry turned down the window and went back to the corridor: "Don't pretend, Nick is really scary sometimes. Remember to call Seamus and Neville, they think Nick is really scary."

"How can someone celebrate the day of their own death? Is this considered joyful or mourning?" Loren and Harry ran in small steps and continued to rush to Lockhart's office.

"We were about half an hour late, I hope Professor Lockhart won't prolong my confinement..."

As soon as they opened the door, they saw dozens of portraits and photos of Lockhart staring at them in the office.Especially the real Lockhart who was sitting in the middle, he maintained a stiff smile on the lower half of his face, but his eyes looked cold.

Facing the weird smile and gaze, Harry took a step back in fright.

Loren didn't wait for Lockhart to ask why he was late, walked into the office with a natural expression, and said as if taking credit: "Professor Lockhart, we know that a world-scale ghost party will be held at Hogwarts. I think, maybe You could put it in a book, even unearth the ghost's life story, and make Hogwarts more famous. We took some time to find out, so we were late."

bloody hell!what!
Harry's eyes widened, pupils vibrating violently.

Is this Loren?

It is obviously the same thing, but it is completely different in another way.

Visible to the naked eye, the coldness in Lockhart's eyes melted away, and his smile became warm again: "Oh! Really? I haven't seen you for a long time. I thought you were in trouble and worried!"

Yes!

ghost!ghost!
Why didn't he think of it.Already written banshees, ghouls, hags, trolls, werewolves, vampires, he's running out of magical creatures and he's worrying about future material.

Ghosts can be used not only as material, but also as an audience. A book with ghosts as the theme will make his reputation grow again.

Lockhart suppressed the excitement in his heart, pretending not to care and asked, "When is this ghost gathering..."

(End of this chapter)