The Ghosts of Hogwarts: Peeves’s Sabotage
The night of All Hallows’ Eve had come around, and the ghosts of Hogwarts were out on the town, enjoying an impromptu gathering with their ghostly brethren at the Hog’s Head in Hogsmeade Village. Friends from as far away as London had come, the music was eerie, and the food was perfectly ripe and rotted. It was a night to make one feel almost alive again. At least until the interruption.
“Bloody Baron, sir! Sir Nick! Gray Lady! Friar!” A cacophonous din of shouting came from one of the paintings upon the wall. Sir Nick glided over and was surprised to see Sir Cadogan from the castle running through a field to the forefront of the painting. “Sir Nick!”
“Good grace, sir. What is the matter?”
The other Hogwarts ghosts glided up alongside Nick as Sir Cadogan panted for breath. “Emergency at the school, my lords and lady! Peeves has sabotaged the Halloween Feast!”
“But how?” The Fat Friar asked, translucent brows furrowing. “Our precautions for the Feasts were in place.”
“It’s worse than just frightening the house-elves, my good ghosts. He ruined the food with Weasley Insta-Poo powders, flooded the kitchens, and destroyed the decorations! The Feast and all celebrations have been canceled, and the students have been sent back to the dorms while the professors attempt to reign in Peeves!”
“Oh no,” the Gray Lady gasped, hand flying to her heart. “Our poor students!”
The Bloody Baron made nary a sound as he turned and glided away through the crowd and out of the pub. The Gray Lady shuddered slightly, having only seen him that angry but once. The Fat Friar frowned.
“What are we going to do?” he inquired, looking at the two other House ghosts there.
“We are going to save the day, of course.” Sir Nick declared, floating toward the rest of the party. “Now, to the castle!”
Terence Bayler, Slytherin prefect, tried to keep his fellow Slytherins calm in their common room. Madam Pomfrey had already dosed out the potion that counteracted the Weasley Insta-Poo powder, and the professors were busy chasing Peeves through the castle, but the students were miserable, and a few were even crying. Peeves had really taken things too far this time. Terence hugged a small first year who couldn’t stop crying.
“It’ll be all right, Nina. They’ll catch that Peeves soon, and things will go back to normal.”
“B-But Halloween w-was ruined!” The girl cried, rubbing at her red and watery eyes hard, hiccupping.
Terence sighed. Indeed, it seemed as if Halloween were ruined. Just then, the specter of the Gray Lady flowed through the common room door. Everyone fell silent, staring at the intruder. She silently held out her hand and beckoned for the students to follow her. When no one made a move, she sped over and grabbed onto Terence’s wrist, pulling him along with her out of the common room.
“Follow us, everyone! Something’s going on!” Terence managed to shout before she yanked him out of the door and down the dungeon hallway. The Slytherin students quickly followed, and Terence could hear them chasing after them as the Gray Lady pulled him at a tremendously quick pace through the dungeons. Down the hallways, up the stairs, and into the entrance hall. Terence was surprised to see almost all of Hogwarts gathered there before the closed and locked Great Hall doors. “What is it, Gray Lady?”
The Gray Lady let go of his wrist and looked right through him. She turned and glided away and through the closed doors. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Were they even supposed to be out of their common rooms right now? Peeves was still on the loose!
Just then, the Great Hall doors slowly creaked open, revealing all four of the House ghosts standing there with no Peeves in sight.
“My friends, I am greatly troubled that the festivities were canceled so early.” Nearly Headless Nick’s voice rang out through the entrance hall. “Let us forget the mischief of Peeves and enjoy the last few hours of All Hallows’ Eve together.”
Eerie dirge music started. As the students slowly walked in, the putrid smell of the rotting food lining the House tables filled their nostrils. But the disgust was soon replaced by laughter as they saw Peeves tied hand and foot in ghostly, bloody chains, hanging from the ceiling and being used as a piñata by several of the ghosts floating in attendance.
“Happy All Hallows’ Eve, my friends!”
