During the banquet, a small interlude took place.
When a group of pale, translucent figures emerged from the tables, floors, and walls, the newly arrived young wizards were frightened out of their wits.
It was one of Hogwarts' unique features — ghosts.
In the magical world, ghosts did exist, though they were rarely welcomed by wizards, even by their own relatives. Hogwarts, however, was one of the few places in all of Britain where ghosts were peacefully accepted and allowed to live as part of daily life.
In fact, Hogwarts even allowed ghosts to teach. Professor Cuthbert Binns, who taught History of Magic, was one such ghost. He was already quite old when he died, and since becoming a ghost, he had stayed at Hogwarts for many years — a living piece of history, quite literally.
Every House had its own resident ghost, and Slytherin was no exception.
Among them, one ghost stood out: the Bloody Baron.
Unlike other ghosts who tried to maintain a respectable appearance, the Bloody Baron made no effort to do so. His spectral robes were stained with traces of silvery blood, and his hollow eyes constantly searched the room, as if looking for someone.
His appearance and demeanor gave him an eerie and mysterious aura — something Louis found rather unreasonable.
But no one paid much attention to a ghost's appearance or gaze, so no one noticed that this terrifying ghost's eyes often lingered over at the Ravenclaw table.
"Hey, Bloody Baron, did you hear? A Mudblood joined our House," some busybody called out loudly.
The Slytherin table buzzed with murmurs and snickers. Some students looked eager to see Louis get frightened by the ghost.
The Bloody Baron's gaze was drawn to the voice. His hollow eyes and gaunt face combined into a visage frightening enough to make children cry.
But Louis was no child. He met the ghost's gaze calmly and without flinching.
"Good evening, sir. You don't seem very friendly," Louis said with a casual tone, elegantly slicing into his steak — as if the ghost across from him were nothing more than another dinner guest.
The Hogwarts chefs weren't bad; Louis was quite enjoying the meal.
"A Muggle-born wizard, in Slytherin. Do you know what that means?" the Bloody Baron rasped. Though his voice was hoarse, his tone was surprisingly even, lacking any aggression.
"You're more polite than I expected," Louis replied, ignoring the question and continuing as if having a regular conversation. "As far as I know, ghosts who choose to stay at Hogwarts usually do so with a desire to fit in. They pay close attention to their image. Sure, they'll sometimes play tricks in their scary forms, but they don't show themselves like that for long."
Louis wiped his mouth, then said coolly, "You don't seem to care much about your appearance or life at Hogwarts. So why are you still here?"
The Bloody Baron's hollow eyes locked onto Louis.
"It can't be… for someone, right?"
In an instant, the Baron's expression turned to horror — as if the boy had seen right through him. Though he had never spoken a word about it to anyone, this child had effortlessly pierced the secret buried deep within him — the very thing he was most ashamed of.
Draco Malfoy, sitting nearby, was thoroughly confused. He couldn't hear a single word of what Louis was saying. He had no idea why the Baron looked like he'd seen a ghost himself.
Louis glanced at the Baron casually and said gently, "If there's nothing else, you can leave. Sorry if I said something that upset you. I was only curious, that's all."
The Bloody Baron's ghostly form wavered. He gave Louis one last look before fleeing, almost as if running away.
The long table fell into stunned silence. No one knew what Louis had said to the Baron — and even more baffling was why the fearsome ghost had left in such a hurry.
All they knew was this: the Bloody Baron, a ghost who scared nearly everyone at Hogwarts, had lost a confrontation with Louis in a single round.
"This Mudblood seems… kinda scary. Should we still go through with our plan tonight?" one of the Slytherin first-years — who had originally planned to join the group in bullying Louis — suddenly hesitated.
"You're scared?"
"Of course I'm scared! Aren't you? That was the Bloody Baron!"
"…Okay, yeah, I'm a little scared too…"
Louis listened to their cowardly whispers while pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. At the same time, he quietly dispelled the Magic Hand spell that had been blocking Draco Malfoy's ears.
After all, they had just been talking about the Baron's personal secrets. And while the ghost looked terrifying, he had shown no malice — so Louis hadn't planned to expose him. That's why he'd deliberately blocked Malfoy's hearing.
Judging by Malfoy's face — full of confusion and self-doubt while rubbing his ears — the trick had caused him quite a bit of distress. He must've thought he was going deaf.
Good thing Louis removed the spell in time. Otherwise, little Malfoy might've ended up screaming for a professor.
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