Harry Potter and Ron had begun their campaign of bothering all the ghosts in Hogwarts.
"Sir Nicholas! Do you know all the ghosts in the school?"
For several days, Harry Potter and Ron had been looking for a chance to talk to Nearly Headless Nick alone, and they finally got their opportunity. In a corner, Nearly Headless Nick was idling about.
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington died on October 31, 1492.
Harry had once attended the 500th Deathday Party hosted by Nearly Headless Nick.
One night, while he was taking a walk, he encountered Madam Grieve, who asked him to help straighten her teeth. Instead, he caused her to grow a fang. Nick was punished for this. During his execution, the executioner couldn't find a whetstone, so he used a blunt axe and had to strike Nick's neck 44 times, never managing to fully sever his head. A bit of skin and sinew remained attached to his neck. Since then, he has been known as "Nearly Headless Nick."
"Oh! It's young Harry. How should I answer that? Of course not! There are some parts of Hogwarts I never go to—so how would I know if there are ghosts there? If there are, then they're ghosts I've never met. And if I don't go there, then there's no need for me to know them."
As the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower, Nearly Headless Nick was sincere and comical in nature, and he got along well with Harry Potter. So he always answered Harry's questions sincerely.
Ron followed up with a question: "Do you know of any ghost who died fifty years ago?"
"No idea. If you keep looking, maybe you'll run into them." With that, Nearly Headless Nick floated away.
Near Hufflepuff territory, Harry and Ron finally encountered the Fat Friar.
The Fat Friar was the ghost of Hufflepuff House. Dressed like a monk, he was short and plump. The Friar possessed the typical Hufflepuff qualities of friendliness and compassion. Unlike the mysterious Grey Lady of Ravenclaw or the Bloody Baron of Slytherin, the Fat Friar was very kind to students. He was actually the first to greet Harry and his classmates when they arrived.
"Fat Friar! Do you know of any ghost who died fifty years ago?"
With no one else around, Ron immediately asked the question.
"Oh! It's young Harry and Ron! What's this about? You want to know the secrets of ghostly deaths?"
"No! We just want to know which ghost died fifty years ago."
Harry added. However, it was clear neither of the boys realized there was a problem with how they phrased the question.
"Do you want to know how ghosts die, or how someone becomes a ghost after dying?"
Harry and Ron were both stunned. What kind of question was that?
"When you boys figure out what it is you're actually asking, feel free to come find me anytime."
Seeing the confused expressions on the two young Gryffindors, the Fat Friar looked at them with great sympathy before floating away.
Somewhere on the eighth floor, Harry and Ron found the figure of a woman.
"Madam Grey, do you know of any ghost who died fifty years ago?"
In the past month, Harry had scoured every corner of Hogwarts for this answer. Many of the unnamed ghosts were erratic and incomprehensible. Only the ghosts of the four houses seemed to have any intelligence.
"I know, child. The ghost who died fifty years ago was one of Ravenclaw's girls. It was truly an unfortunate accident."
Lady Helena wore a sorrowful expression. Helena Ravenclaw was an especially tall ghost—the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, the house founder. She was a proud and somewhat timid lady who cared deeply about her reputation, yet was kind-hearted and refined. Most students simply referred to her as the Grey Lady.
"Wonderful! We've finally found her. May we ask where we can find this ghost?"
Harry and Ron had finally gotten some good news. They had been searching for a whole month! Most of their time had been spent waiting for moments when a ghost was alone, so they could approach them without others around.
"She's Moaning Myrtle—the one who always cries. She hides in the girls' bathroom on the second floor."
Lady Helena didn't hesitate in the slightest and gave them a straightforward answer.
"Thank you so much, Madam Grey."
The two young Gryffindors immediately dashed off excitedly toward the second floor, where they found the girls' bathroom around a corner.
"You shouldn't have told them. This concerns the secret of the Chamber—it's too dangerous for them."
The Bloody Baron suddenly appeared, glanced at Helena, shook his head sorrowfully, and drifted away in sadness.
After making sure no one was around, the two boys dared to sneak in. After all, it was the girls' bathroom—and being caught there would be extremely embarrassing.
"Uuuuuh... uuuuh..."
The eerie sound of crying echoed through the bathroom. If they didn't already know that Hogwarts ghosts were harmless, they might've thought they were in a horror film!Of course, Harry Potter knew the difference between horror movies and Hogwarts, which was why he could stay relatively calm in comparison.
Ron, on the other hand, looked pale, as if a monster might leap out at any second—maybe even the one from the Chamber.
"Moaning Myrtle!" Harry called out cautiously.
"Who are you?" A ghostly girl floated out from one of the stalls, glaring angrily at the two boys.
"We're Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. We wanted to ask... did you become a ghost fifty years ago?"
They quickly introduced themselves. They had finally found the source—this was a crucial lead.
"Yes! Are you descendants of my family? But why are your surnames different?"
Like other ghosts, Myrtle's line of thought was strange and scattered. Her logic jumped in ways normal people just couldn't keep up with.
"No, we're not your descendants. I just wanted to know—how did you die back then?"
Ron felt a natural pressure standing before this ghostly girl—who, in age, could have been his grandmother. He definitely didn't want to be related to her, so he wanted to make things clear quickly.
"Oh! That's what you want to know. Back then, I was being bullied and was hiding here, crying. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise outside. When I tried to see who it was, I died. I only remember seeing a pair of huge, terrifying yellow eyes. My whole body felt like it was lifted up—and then I just drifted away."
Huge yellow eyes? What the heck was that? The two boys had indeed gotten an important clue, but they had absolutely no idea how to interpret it. They could only stare at each other blankly.
"Then... do you know who got expelled from school because of your death, fifty years ago?"
They didn't hold out much hope for this question. After all, Myrtle had died that year—but who knew how long it took before she became a ghost?
"Oh, I actually do know! After I died, the professors came to deal with my body. They asked me the same question back then. Not long after, I heard that a big Gryffindor boy had been expelled. Apparently, he was the one who released the monster from the Chamber, which led to my death."
Myrtle seemed lost in her memories, her expression absent-minded. Then, suddenly, she began crying again, erratically and dramatically.
"Uuuuuh… I died so horribly!"
Myrtle dove headfirst into a toilet and hid there, leaving Harry and Ron speechless once again.
"The big Gryffindor she mentioned—who could that be?"
"I don't know... but Hagrid is really big. Maybe he knows who the other big guy was."
The two young Gryffindors had never once suspected Hagrid. How could someone like him be the one who released the monster and got expelled for causing a student's death?
"The one who got expelled was indeed me. Fifty years ago, someone opened the Chamber. A Ravenclaw girl died, and then I got expelled. But I was framed! How could I possibly be the Heir of Slytherin?"
That night, cloaked in the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and Ron snuck into Hagrid's hut—and what they got was confirmation.
"Hagrid, we believe you."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. What else could they do? Of course they believed him!
"Thank you! Thank you!"
This had been an injustice buried for decades. Gaining just one person's trust eased that burden a bit—but two? That was overwhelming.
"Uuuuuh…"
Hagrid couldn't hold back his tears and began to cry.
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