As long as there was enough profit, there were always journalists who dared to publish articles that those in power would rather not see. Fortunately, once the finger of blame was pointed at Barty Crouch, the Ministry of Magic's previously unyielding stance softened.
Barty Crouch was once the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the most promising candidate for Minister for Magic. In other words, he was a powerful competitor to Fudge. But after Voldemort's downfall, Barty Crouch's son was found to be a Death Eater, and he personally sent his son to Azkaban.
This incident caused Barty Crouch to gradually lose credibility and fail to become Minister for Magic. He now held the position of Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. This position was similar to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Muggle government, but its importance couldn't be compared to the latter. Most of the time was spent dealing with trivial matters such as "the thickness of imported cauldrons" and "differences in prohibited item standards between countries."
The journalists weren't at all worried that Barty Crouch would retaliate against them. They brazenly described Crouch during the war as a ruthless tyrant and began to dig into others who had been sent to Azkaban without a trial. The Ministry of Magic was happy to let Crouch take the blame. When interviewed by journalists, Fudge wiped away tears in front of the camera, regretting that he had "trusted the wrong person."
Regarding the release of Sirius Black, the Ministry of Magic's attitude remained ambiguous. But the tide of public opinion was overwhelming, forcing the Ministry of Magic to make a decision quickly. Dumbledore had also been working tirelessly for this cause.
"Lupin said that the hearing for Sirius Black's case should be reopened after Halloween," Harry told his friends. "Many people think he's innocent, and there's a good chance he'll be acquitted."
Michael knew that Harry was only privy to the most optimistic information. He asked Wade in a low voice, "Is that true?"
Wade nodded. "It's true this time."
Only a small minority in the Ministry of Magic insisted that Sirius Black should not be released; most people were actually indifferent. Macchioni had told Wade that most prisoners in Azkaban went insane within a few weeks and couldn't even maintain simple thoughts. Therefore, many people believed there was nothing to worry about in releasing a madman who most likely had no self-awareness, especially since he had been wronged.
The change in public opinion and pressure from all sides were completely lost on the students at the school. They only saw pages and pages of newspaper articles reporting on the story of Sirius Black, sometimes with photos of the young wizard from his school days. His handsome youthful appearance and tragic fate sparked the sympathy of almost every female wizard, bringing him an unexpected boost.
Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think this was a hot topic to latch onto. In his Defense Against the Dark Arts class that week, he uncharacteristically didn't have the students act out a play. Instead, he talked at great length about his friendship with Sirius Black. Although he had enrolled at Hogwarts just as the Marauders were about to graduate, in Lockhart's stories, they were kindred spirits.
"I could tell right away that Peter Pettigrew was a malicious character, and I specifically warned them. Unfortunately, no one took my words seriously."
"Alas, I was as young as you are now. Despite my extraordinary eyesight and amazing insight, I wasn't given the respect I deserved."
"If only they had listened to me earlier, perhaps everything would have been different?"
Lockhart said, shaking his head regretfully. The girls in the classroom looked at him with adoration, their eyes welling up with tears. They comforted him, saying, "It's not your fault, Professor! You did everything you could!"
Ron, seeing that Harry seemed a bit swayed, quickly said, "You don't believe his nonsense, do you, mate? You know Lockhart is a brainless idiot."
"But... but he's written so many books, hasn't he?" Harry said. "Maybe he really is good at observation."
After finishing his homework, Harry used the Friendship Ledger to ask Lupin.
[Lupin: Gilderoy Lockhart?]
Lupin's reply seemed to be full of question marks. [Who's that?]
Harry then wrote down all of Lockhart's self-aggrandizing words. After a long while, Lupin seemed to finally remember the person.
[Lupin: I have heard of this person you mentioned. He was a very famous Ravenclaw.]
[But that wasn't because he had great insight or powerful magic. It was because shortly after he enrolled, he declared that he could create the Philosopher's Stone before graduating and would lead the England Quidditch team to win the World Cup.]
[The Ravenclaw team made an exception and allowed him to try out, and he immediately fell off his broom.]
[He's also famous for a few other things, like carving his name in 20-foot-high letters on the Quidditch pitch.]
[Also, in our later years at school, we were busy competing with Slytherin, exploring everywhere to create the Marauder's Map, or keeping up with the war. We didn't have time to deal with a younger Ravenclaw student.]
Lupin's reaction seemed quite intense... Harry thought, looking at the string of words that appeared on the parchment.
Michael pointed out the obvious. "It seems he doesn't want to be associated with Lockhart at all. It's better not to mention him." Harry nodded silently. He let go of his unrealistic expectations of Lockhart and turned to ask everyone, "Hey, guys, do you want to go to Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party? It's on Halloween."
Everyone went quiet.
Michael: "I think I misheard... what kind of party?"
Theo: "Who's Nick?"
Neville: "Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost."
"A ghost's deathday party?" Padma wrinkled her nose. "Will there be a lot of ghosts?"
"I... I guess so..." Harry said hesitantly, then tried to persuade everyone. "This Halloween is Nick's 500th deathday. Think about it... Halloween happens every year, but a deathday party might only happen once in a lifetime! Don't you want to go?"
"Uh..." Michael asked, "You didn't already say yes, did you?"
"I did!" Harry said, then looked at his friends pitifully.
"I want to go," Hermione said excitedly. "It's bound to be amazing!"
"Is anyone else going, Harry?" Theo asked. "Or is it just you... and Hermione?"
"...Ron also promised to go with me," Harry said.
"Then... if you want me to, I can, too..." Neville said with some hesitation. But after saying it, his expression looked like he immediately regretted it.
Harry didn't give him a chance to back out and immediately said happily, "It's a deal! What about you guys?"
"No." Wade shook his head. He knew that the party would be full of awful food, and he had no interest in attending.
"Of course, we're going!" Fred said excitedly. "Ghosts! Besides at school, I've never seen ghosts anywhere else!"
George also nodded. Harry felt a bit more at ease, but when he thought about it... Wait, aren't they all Gryffindors? He looked at the others.
Theo glanced at Ryan, smiled, and said, "We're not going either... but I'll save you dinner."
"What do you mean?" A bad feeling welled up in Harry's heart. "A deathday party... doesn't it have food?"
Theo said tactfully, "They probably only serve ghost food."
Harry blinked.
"Maybe I... shouldn't have promised Nick I'd go to his deathday party?"
"But you already did," Padma said gleefully.
Hermione nodded. "A promise is a promise! Besides, a party isn't just about eating!"
Michael smiled. "It's a rare sight, isn't it? Most people don't get this opportunity."
"Do you want this opportunity?" Neville asked tentatively.
"Hmm... I'll pass." Michael gently but firmly declined.
"Wear a lot of clothes," Wade finally reminded him. "It gets very cold where ghosts gather."
In the blink of an eye, Halloween arrived.
In the evening, Wade and the others went to the Great Hall. Just like last year, countless candles were suspended above the hall, and bats decorated the ceiling. Giant pumpkins were carved into various shapes of lanterns, fairies flew around on vines, and colorful starlight sprayed from the tips of tiny wands. The golden platters on the long tables were filled with delicious food, most of which were not normally served at meals.
Michael grabbed two pieces of pan-fried crispy cheese, took a big bite, and found the rich and crispy taste almost addictive. He finished them in a few bites and put two more on his plate, happily telling Wade, "If Harry and the others knew how much delicious food there was tonight, they would definitely regret it."
"I bet they already do," Wade said, forking a piece of French lamb chop. "Ghost food is all rotten."
"Ugh..." Michael said, "Can we not talk about such awful things while we're eating?"
During dinner, a skeleton dance troupe also came on stage to perform. The pale skeletons danced hand in hand to a lively tune, sometimes floating like boneless snakes, and even scattering into a pile of bones before putting themselves back together. The skeletons' teeth clattered, encouraging the audience to clap along and cheer. The atmosphere was incredibly lively.
Aside from Professor Snape, who was as grumpy as ever, the students and teachers were having a great time, with applause coming in waves.
"This is fantastic!"
Lee Jordan from Gryffindor pulled a dark-skinned girl onto the stage, and the two of them danced enthusiastically with the skeletons, taking the energy of the whole hall to a new level.
When the feast ended and the students were returning to their common rooms, Wade saw Harry and his group coming up from the dungeons. Except for Fred and George, who still had smiles on their faces, the others looked utterly exhausted.
"It was horrible," Ron groaned. "Moldy, maggot-filled, smelly food... everything there made me sick."
Theo and the others laughed heartily, sharing the food they had brought from the Great Hall with them.
"Thank you so much," Harry said, stuffing the food into his pockets. He sighed, "But I can't eat anything right now... I think my nose is about to give out."
The group walked out of the hall and then split up, following the crowd to their respective common rooms.
"This is the best Halloween I've ever had in my life," Michael said excitedly on the way back to the dorm.
Padma hummed the song the skeleton dance troupe had sung and said, "Yeah. Last year was great, too, but the troll ruined everything."
"You can't say that," Michael said. "You joined us after that, so that Halloween was also great."
Padma looked at Michael and gave him a sweet smile.
Wade tactfully left them to it and went back to the common room on his own. He took out the gifts he had prepared for the house-elves—transforming masks—and wrote a note of blessings before placing them on the table. This way, they could pick them up at night. Even though Wade had a good relationship with a few house-elves, they still followed the house-elves' code of ethics and wouldn't appear in front of Wade unless summoned.
Wade stood by the window and waited for a while. The vast castle gradually grew quiet, and the Ravenclaw students, and presumably the students of the other houses, went to sleep one by one.
There were no screams, no petrifactions, no chaos, and no fear. This was exactly what he had hoped for—a peaceful, fulfilling, and fun school life. Wade smiled.
The day after Halloween, after classes, Wade received a note from Professor Sprout.
[Come to Greenhouse Three after dinner.]
Wade's heart filled with joy. He couldn't wait to get to Greenhouse Three after dinner, where he saw the grown Mandrake plants gently swaying.
"Although the Mandrakes are not yet mature, their leaves are ready to be used," Professor Sprout said. A purple vine tried to sneakily hook the witch's shoulder, but she calmly patted it away.
"That's great!" Wade said happily. "So I can use them to practice being an Animagus, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Professor Sprout smiled. "Actually, they were ready a week ago, but I thought it would be a shame for you to miss the Halloween feast for this, wouldn't it?"
"Thank you, Professor," Wade said gratefully.
"Learning to be an Animagus is a long process, Wade." Professor Sprout said as she took out a large pair of shears and carefully looked for leaves among the Mandrakes.
"Your magical studies have always gone smoothly, but you should know that it's normal to fail two or three times when practicing to be an Animagus, especially the first step."
"For a full month, you must hold a Mandrake leaf in your mouth. You can't swallow it or take it out. If you fail, the whole process has to start all over again."
"We'll choose the leaf today. Before the full moon, you need to get used to the feeling of talking, eating, and sleeping with a similarly-sized leaf in your mouth, and you must be careful not to swallow it. Practicing in advance will help you know what mistakes not to make when you officially start."
Professor Sprout held the shears and smiled. "Now, pick a leaf, Wade."