Chapter 102. The Study of Spells
"He, he, he... he captured Peeves!"
Ron stammered in disbelief, watching Lynn's retreating figure.
Harry was also surprised, but he didn't understand why Ron was so astonished.
"Peeves is annoying; we almost got caught by Filch yesterday because of him. It's a good thing Lynn caught him."
Ron shook his head. "You don't understand, Harry. Do you think Peeves is just a simple, mischievous ghost?"
He told Harry stories his parents had told them.
"In 1876, Ranchos Culpe, the castle caretaker of Hogwarts, devised an elaborate trap to drive Peeves out of the castle. The trap consisted of various weapons used as bait and a huge bell jar enchanted with multiple restraining charms. Once Peeves was in the right position, the bell jar would fall and trap the mischievous ghost.
But things didn't go as planned.
Peeves easily blew open the bell jar and left with several scimitars, crossbows, a large-caliber muzzle-loading gun, and a small cannon. Peeves began firing indiscriminately for his amusement, threatening the lives of the students. As a result, the castle had to be evacuated for three days."
Harry listened to Ron's story with his mouth agape. He had never imagined that the mischievous Peeves could cause such destruction.
"And then what?"
"Then what? About three days later, Professor Euprasia Moore, the then headmistress of Hogwarts, agreed to sign a deal with Peeves, allowing him to hand over his weapons in exchange for more privileges. I heard that he could swim in the boys' washroom on the first floor once a week, had priority in choosing the moldy bread in the kitchen to throw away, and even received a new hat specially made for him by Madam Bonabiller."
This was the most disastrous and final attempt to get rid of Peeves. It also forced Mr. Culpe to retire early "for health reasons."
"He even drove away a castle caretaker!" Harry exclaimed. Ron shrugged.
"Yes, Peeves is that powerful. He's different from other ghosts; he's very different. That's why I was so shocked that little wizard Lynn managed to catch him so easily. Even the former headmaster of Hogwarts couldn't do that."
Harry's feelings were complicated; he was gradually forming an impression of the title of the best young wizard in his class.
Lynn
had no idea what Harry and Ron were saying about him behind his back.
Even if he did, he'd be completely bewildered.
He'd only managed to catch Peeves by a clever trick; the Impaling Charm, a rare spell created by Professor Fawkes, was so obscure that hardly any wizards in the entire wizarding world, let alone those who knew of it, could even be counted on one hand.
Lynn simply had the advantage of information asymmetry. If Peeves had known the Impaling Charm's effects, it probably would have escaped the moment he drew its wand.
Nevertheless, his goal of catching Peeves was finally achieved.
Inside the small bottle, Peeves, crushed into a ball, continued to scream and curse, but Lynn paid no attention. Having experimental material made him quite happy.
He didn't return to his dormitory but instead walked to a strange tapestry on the eighth floor of the castle.
The tapestry depicted a ballet teacher instructing a troll in ballet.
Lynn ignored the troll blowing its nostrils at him. He stood in front of the blank wall opposite the tapestry, pacing back and forth three times, silently repeating to himself,
'I want a room all to myself…'
Suddenly, a door appeared on the blank wall.
Lynn didn't hesitate and pushed it open.
It was a small room, about 70 or 80 square meters, containing a desk, a bookshelf piled high with parchment, and three wooden dummies used as targets for spells.
This was Lynn's secret base at Hogwarts.
He sat down at the desk and poured Peeves out of the glass bottle. "Peeves" rolled around on the desk, grumbling. The Imperius Charm was very strong and hadn't been dispelled yet.
This charm was invented by Professor Fawkes.
Its original purpose was to capture the ghost of the dark wizard hiding in the Forbidden Forest, Wilkes' father.
It could bind beings in their spirit state and arbitrarily change their shape.
The principle of the Imperius Charm came from the book "Exorcism: Soul Capture."
Lynn had just fully mastered this charm a couple of days ago and was experimenting on Peeves today.
Strictly speaking, Peeves isn't a ghost. It's mentioned in the book *Hogwarts: A History*, which Lynn gave Hermione, that Peeves was already formed at the very beginning of Hogwarts.
He wasn't formed from the death of a wizard, but rather is more like an aggregate of consciousness, possessing all the characteristics of a ghost, yet able to do things ghosts can't, such as touching physical objects.
However, even if he's not a ghost, he's still a type of spirit, and the Imperius Charm still worked on him.
Lynn tapped a quill beside him with his wand, turning it into a paper cutter.
Peeves screamed in terror as Lynn tried to cut a piece off his body.
But Lynn failed; even with the Imperius Charm, Peeves' body was still not something ordinary objects could damage.
The paper cutter felt like cutting into an exceptionally supple piece of leather, unable to make a single cut.
Lynn thought for a moment, then raised his wand again, wanting to test the spell's effect on Peeves, perhaps by using Divine Strike to cut a piece of its spiritual essence.
But after squinting at Peeves for a while, he ultimately abandoned his idea.
Peeves was, after all, just a mischievous imp, a bit annoying in general, but in the original stories, he had helped the Hogwarts students and teachers defeat Voldemort's gang. He
was ultimately a good imp, and if he accidentally broke him, Lynn would feel guilty, and Dumbledore might even cause him trouble.
His gaze had been terrifying; Peeves clearly felt he had just narrowly escaped death, trembling all over, even his curses turning into pleas for mercy.
Lynn slowly put away his wand; a little fright had its benefits, at least now he could ask questions properly.
"As long as I'm in a good mood, you'll be fine. So you'd better answer my next questions honestly, or I can't guarantee what I might do. Do you understand what I mean, Peeves?"
Peeves' story isn't something I made up; it's from the Harry Potter Wikipedia. I never imagined he was so powerful, forcing Hogwarts to close before 2020 even started.
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Horizons685
______________________________________
(End of Chapter)