chapter 181 part 2
William felt a bit awkward. Stories about the Headless Horseman always fell into the horror category. He'd even seen movies and television shows about them and had always been rather afraid of such creatures. With so many of them charging out, and the Impediment Jinx having no effect, he had no choice but to resort to Dark Magic.
"My apologies, I was mistaken. I thought you were attackers," William said in an apologetic tone. "There have been some unpleasant incidents recently, and I was a bit on edge."
"No problem."
The head that had fallen to the ground flew back up. Seeing that William's wand was still raised, he spoke in a very friendly manner.
"Could you release Patrick first, Professor?"
"No problem," William replied readily. Although the counter-curse was difficult, since he had attacked the wrong person, he had to resolve it.
Fortunately, his target was a ghost. The normally almost irreversible after-effects didn't work on these already-dead fellows. As long as the magic was dispelled, his victim would be able to jump and bounce around again...
"That's great, Professor." The Headless Horseman placed his head back on his neck and dismounted. "Where did Nick and the others go? Isn't today Nick's five-hundredth Deathday?"
"They probably went to see the Baron, I'm not entirely sure—" William's tone was also friendly, as it was his over-cautiousness that caused the issue. "The Baron rushed upwards all of a sudden. I think he might be about to move on, like the Grey Lady, but he didn't dissolve into light in the dungeons..."
"Move on?"
William's speculation was cut short before he could finish. The remaining members of the self-proclaimed Hunt spurred their ghost horses and charged upward. The one who had dismounted didn't even have time to get back on, simply pulling his horse along as he rushed...
'Aren't you going to bother with your friend down here?'
William hadn't even finished his internal complaint before they disappeared. He could only wave his wand and slowly begin to thaw the frozen ghost—this was no easy task.
Magic itself excels at destruction, and Dark Magic takes that destructive property to the extreme. Correspondingly, the counter-curses are much more difficult. Fortunately, it was his own spell. After more than half a minute, William finally managed to undo the freeze with the fastest method, albeit the one with the worst after-effects—not that ghosts cared about after-effects anyway.
"Wait a moment, the horse is still frozen."
William instructed the large ghost, but the impatient spirit didn't even wait for him to cast the spell. He hoisted the frozen horse onto his shoulder and charged toward the ceiling without another word.
"Wait! If I don't undo it, it'll take at least half a year or longer to thaw!"
William shouted toward the sky, but it was useless—the ghost had already reached the ceiling before he could get the second half of his sentence out.
"Unbelievable."
William muttered under his breath and decided not to bother with him anymore. After all, ghosts can't die, and the spell would eventually wear off on its own.
He looked down at the four students. "Alright, both the hosts and guests have run off. There's clearly no reason for us to stay. Let's go back and get something to eat. The feast should still be going on."
The four of them certainly didn't object. Even Harry, who still had his mission to put in a good word, had nothing left to do. The party was over, so what good words were there to say?
---
"Professor, was that Dark Magic you used?"
On the way back, the stunned children finally recovered. As the temperature rose, their curiosity returned with it. Hermione, the most knowledgeable of them, couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, Dark Magic. After all, ordinary magic was just laughed at," William nodded. "I have to admit, I was a bit on edge."
"But... but you're..."
Harry was at a loss for words. He was the professor for what used to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he was actually using Dark Magic?
"How can you fight something you don't understand?" William replied with a smile. As they moved farther away from the ghosts' nest, his mood improved, and he was quite willing to answer their questions.
"Think about it. If a wizard claimed to be able to use hundreds of spells without ever having read a single book, wouldn't that be pure nonsense?"
"Of course, that's not a perfect analogy, but it's the general idea. If the professor of this course can't even use Dark Magic, how can he teach anyone how to defend against it?"
At this point, William felt he was bordering on advocating for Dark Magic and corrupting the students, so he quickly added.
"Of course, I'm not saying you have to master Dark Magic to face it, nor am I saying that using it is a good thing. If possible, I hope you never touch Dark Magic in your entire lives. After all, the effects of the spells classified as Dark Magic are far too sinister."
"Then Professor, what was going on with Nick and the others?"
Seeing that William didn't want to elaborate on Dark Magic, Harry asked another question.
"They were probably spectating a ghost who decided to move on. You have to understand, ghosts are beings who were unwilling to face death," William shook his head. "In reality, they don't like being what they are, but they just can't muster the courage to accept death, so they remain trapped in a ghostly state."
"But that's better than death, isn't it?"
William shook his head. "I recall that lower-year students aren't allowed to use magic during the holidays. How does it feel when you pick up your wand again at the start of school?"
"Couldn't be better, Professor!"
"But as a ghost, you can never hold a wand again. Not to mention, you can't enjoy delicious food or visit new places. You can only linger in your memories—" William sighed. "To lose power, to lose sensation, to lose the ability to explore... such an eternal life is worse than death."
...
"Alright, we're at the Great Hall. I have some urgent business to attend to, so I need to stop by my office first. You lot slip inside. If anyone stops you, just say I brought you to the feast—but only this once."
William pointed to the entrance nearby, preparing to part ways with the students.
He had learned many secrets from the Bloody Baron at the feast today. To prevent his memories from getting muddled, he had to quickly transcribe everything and then put it to use.
Although the Baron hadn't dissolved into light in front of him, judging by the other ghosts' reactions, he would likely never be seen again. This information would be impossible to verify from now on.
'The Ravenclaw information probably isn't related to the curse, but just in case, I should keep a copy back. Once the dust settles, I'll give a copy to Professor Flitwick; he should like it. Professor Binns would probably like this information too, but I'll have to wait a bit before giving it to him. In any case, Professor Binns can afford to wait...'
As he transcribed the information, William mulled over its future uses.
'Alright, that should be accurate.'
Two large sheets of parchment were filled with tonight's findings, which left William exceptionally satisfied.
'I wonder how the feast is going. Just writing all this has made me hungry.'
"Bart, could you bring me some food?"
William called out into the empty air.
It was a long while before Bart appeared with the food. "Sorry, Professor, sorry!"
The house-elf apologized profusely. "The kitchen is in chaos! We are busy rushing to prepare some food for the students. The ghosts made a mess of the feast, and Peeves took the opportunity to wreak havoc!"
(end of chapter)