chapter 180 part 2
The Fat Friar pointed with his finger, then fell back into his withdrawn state.
'Become a Cardinal… for a wizard, a wish like that is probably impossible to fulfill in this lifetime…'
Drawing strength from this new material for internal complaint, William first glanced at the students he'd brought along, confirming they were still wandering about before he began to make his way around the ghosts toward the Bloody Baron's location.
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Although this was a ghost's feast, like all feasts in the world, plenty of food and drink had been prepared.
According to the Fat Friar's directions, the Baron should be drinking by the dining table.
'This must be the dining table. There are quite a few people—but do ghosts need to eat?'
With this doubt, William approached the so-called dining table, and his discomfort immediately vanished, quickly replaced by another kind.
'Even Azkaban had better food than this!'
That was William's first judgment.
'Even for Britain, serving this is going too far!'
William's second judgment was this.
In the center of the table was a huge, tombstone-shaped grey cake, with words spelled out in tar-like frosting: Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, Died 31st October 1492.
The dishes surrounding the cake were large chunks of rotten meat, a pitch-black, charred cake, maggot-filled haggis, moldy cheese, and a stinking salmon.
'I hope the house-elves didn't make these dishes. If they did, the poor elves would be mortified…'
As William thought this, he kept his distance from the dining table and began to look for where the alcohol was—according to the Fat Friar, the Baron should be drinking.
Soon, William found the so-called barrel. Just like the dark cuisine on the table, the barrel also reeked of swill, making it almost impossible to approach.
The Bloody Baron was there drinking. Or more accurately, he was soaking with half his body submerged in the barrel, his clothes wrinkled and rumpled, his expression as dejected as an abandoned pet dog.
William had heard the name of the Bloody Baron long ago.
At Hogwarts, this ghost wasn't the most famous, but he was firmly tied to the one with the greatest reputation, making him impossible to ignore.
Although he had only been employed for two months, William had already heard the Bloody Baron's name from dozens of professors—when Peeves was truly causing a ruckus and even the professors struggled to stabilize the situation, the Bloody Baron would be called over to suppress the poltergeist.
However, this was his first time seeing the Bloody Baron.
He just never imagined that the ghost before him was the same ultimate weapon against Peeves that the professors spoke of.
It couldn't be helped. The ghost before him was simply too haggard. William would have believed it if someone told him it was the ghost of some street beggar. How could the Bloody Baron, whose name alone was enough to frighten the troublemaker Peeves, look so utterly wretched?
"Hello, are you the Baron?"
Though a bit unsure, William still asked tentatively.
"A living person? What's a living person doing here!"
The ghost half-soaking in the barrel looked displeased, as if William had disturbed his drinking.
"I'm a professor, here by invitation. Are you the Baron?"
William asked again.
"Professor," the Baron sank his body deeper into the barrel. "Fine, Professor. But I'm not doing it anymore. Let Peeves do whatever he wants."
Hearing the name Peeves, William could finally confirm that the ghost before him was indeed the Baron.
"Can we talk?"
"Nothing to talk about. I don't want to talk—wait! You're William!"
The Baron's irritable voice stopped abruptly.
"The ghosts are all saying Helena Ravenclaw left a message when she passed on, but I don't know for sure—so, Professor, can you tell me?"
The Baron's words became intermittent, almost as if he were speaking so eagerly he'd bitten his tongue.
Unfortunately, William had long since heard from Helena Ravenclaw herself that the Baron had been sent to find her, and when she refused to go back, he killed her, then killed himself out of remorse.
When dealing with such a ruthless man who would even kill himself on impulse, William wouldn't trust a single word he said.
"She did, but I don't think you want to hear it."
"That's my business."
The ghost shot up straight, making William suddenly understand where the "bloody" in Bloody Baron came from—his clothes were covered in silver bloodstains, looking extremely frightening.
Unfortunately, this appearance didn't scare William. Ghosts couldn't die, but they could be controlled by various kinds of magic. Aside from those with a special constitution like Peeves, William would have no problem controlling even the Baron before him with a single spell for half a month.
"First, tell me what I want to know, and then I'll tell you. This is a transaction. I swear on the wand in my hand, I won't leave out a single word."
William raised his wand, his expression calm.
Though it felt a bit like deceiving a ghost, he didn't mind in the slightest—murder followed by suicide, he felt perfectly justified in tricking a ghost like this. Besides, he really did know the final words concerning the Baron, even if he didn't like them.
"Fine, what do you want to know?"
"The Diadem. I want to know all the information you have about it."
"I don't know much. It was Lady Ravenclaw's. Helena Ravenclaw stole it. Even back then, we could only guess at its function—but it seems it was only used to temporarily enhance wisdom. After losing the Diadem, Lady Ravenclaw was as wise and powerful as ever."
"Then, Lady Ravenclaw, did she ever show signs of memory loss or have a habit of making memory backups?"
"How could that be possible? Lady Ravenclaw was known as the wisest. How could she not remember things?"
"What about remote casting or curses?"
"Remote casting? Is there spellcasting that isn't remote?"
The Baron looked at William with a strange expression.
"My phrasing was imprecise—from a great distance, at least three hundred meters away, and through several walls."
"That was possible, but it shouldn't have been related to the Diadem. Lady Ravenclaw could do that even after losing it."
"Was there a corresponding enhancement?"
The Baron hesitated for a long time before answering.
"I don't think so... I never felt any weakening in Lady Ravenclaw's magical power..."
...
"Very good, I have no more questions. Now for the answer you wanted."
The Bloody Baron's cooperation was even better than William had expected, which made him almost reluctant to tell the Bloody Baron the answer.
"Alright, you've gotten everything you wanted to know!"
The Baron stared at William, his eyes severe. "What about my part?"
"There's only one sentence, the last thing Miss Helena Ravenclaw said." William gripped his wand, preparing for the ghost before him to fly into a rage. "She said, 'Tell that bastard, the Bloody Baron, he deserved it!'"
However, the attack or furious outburst he had imagined never came. Instead, the expression on the ghost's face shifted complexly, finally melting into a happy smile.
"She still remembered me! She still remembered me!"
"Even at the very end, she still remembered me!"
The Baron's ghost floated upwards, shooting towards the ceiling like an arrow released from a bow, and then vanished completely.
This time, William was truly dumbfounded.
(end of chapter)