Chapter 84: Nearly Headless Nick
Now seated in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the three wizards tied to the fate of the wizarding world each bore their own burdens. Harry Potter carried a fragment of Voldemort within him. Voldemort shared his body with Quirrell. And Dumbledore bore the lingering shadow of Grindelwald.
Alexander Smith finally stopped daydreaming, only to catch Percy Weasley slandering Dumbledore.
"Isn't it obvious?" Percy said snidely.
"The 'Idiots' come from Ravenclaw — they think everyone else is stupid.
'Cry-Noses' are Gryffindors — they think others are cowards.
'Residue' comes from Slytherin — they believe anyone who isn't pureblood is filth.
And the word 'Screw' comes from Hufflepuff — they think other houses are just mischievous troublemakers."
Alexander casually chimed in, delivering the explanation with a blank look.
Harry, sitting beside him, momentarily lost interest in his feast — which featured roast beef, chicken, pork chops, lamb, sausages, steak, boiled and baked potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, carrot sticks, pea shoots, gravy, ketchup, and mint candies — and turned to listen.
Percy, ears now as red as Ron's, scurried back to the Gryffindor table in embarrassment. Alexander began to suspect that red ears were an inherited trait among the Weasleys — like their red hair.
Sensing the awkward tension, Harry pretended not to notice and focused on eating. Following Ron's lead, he scooped a little of everything onto his plate and began chewing slowly.
As dinner continued, the ghosts of Hogwarts floated in to join the festivities. At the Gryffindor table was the familiar Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington — better known as Nearly Headless Nick. At the Ravenclaw table sat the Gray Lady, elegant and cold, with her floor-length silver robes and waist-long hair. Though breathtakingly beautiful — like a fairy from the moon palace — her aloofness discouraged any student from approaching her.
Nick, by contrast, was far more sociable, though he now floated sadly, watching the living enjoy their meals.
"Won't you have a bite?" Harry asked politely, half-full and genuinely curious.
"I haven't eaten in over four hundred years," Nick replied with a sigh. "I don't need to, of course, but I miss the flavors terribly."
Then, with a small bow, he introduced himself properly. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."
Ron, who had just finished a mouthful of Yorkshire pudding, blurted out, "Nearly Headless Nick!"
Nick grimaced. "I'd much prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind."
At that moment, Seamus Finnigan — the light-brown-haired boy who had stood before Harry in the Sorting queue — turned around and asked the inevitable.
"Nearly headless? How can someone be nearly headless?"
Alexander sighed. Here we go again.
He leaned toward his friends and muttered, "Hermione, Harry — close your eyes. Trust me."
"Huh?" Harry blinked in confusion, his vivid green eyes wide — eyes that momentarily caught Snape's attention at the staff table. The Potions Master froze mid-bite, still chewing an invisible sausage that had long vanished from his fork.
"Who are you?" Hermione finally noticed the handsome boy beside her. Her face flushed bright red, making her forget all about the ghost.
"I'll show you," Nick said irritably.
He reached up, gripped his left ear, and yanked.
With a grotesque squelch, his head flopped sideways, attached only by a thin strip of ghostly flesh and sinew. The grotesque cross-section was visible for all to see.
A wave of horrified gasps and retching swept through the table. Some students froze in shock, others who hadn't seen clearly cheered for him to do it again.
Nick, now pleased with the attention, beamed with pride — a true Gryffindor ghost enjoying a bit of mischief.
Letting go, his head snapped back into place like a faulty hinge. With a satisfied smirk, he turned to the new first-years and launched into a speech about how Slytherin had won the House Cup for six years running, and how this year they needed to fight back.
Then, almost out of nowhere, he grumbled about the Bloody Baron, his long-time Slytherin rival.
Alexander frowned. If Nick really wanted to complain, he should direct it at Snape. The reason Slytherin keeps winning is clearly due to Snape's shameless favoritism.
As for the Bloody Baron — he was truly extreme. Ravenclaw had simply asked him to retrieve her daughter, Helena (now the Gray Lady). But not only did he chase her down, he also confessed his love. When Helena refused to return, he snapped — and stabbed her to death. Then, in a fit of guilt, he ended his own life with the same blade.
What a mess, Alexander thought.
He couldn't help but wonder if the Baron had been influenced by Godric Gryffindor himself — perhaps preferring cold weapons to magic. Maybe Barrow had thought Helena would never believe he'd truly hurt her — which made her death all the more tragic.
Or perhaps, like his master Salazar Slytherin, Barrow simply favored knives over wands. It would explain why his ghost still appeared chained, dressed like a prisoner, with shimmering silver bloodstains marking where he had stabbed Helena.
Most haunting of all — some of that blood wasn't even his.
But Alexander's musings were broken by a sudden, priceless moment.
Malfoy — usually the picture of smug self-confidence — now sat stiffly, pale-faced and wide-eyed. The Bloody Baron had taken a seat right beside him and showed no sign of leaving.
The mask of anguish on Malfoy's face was almost too delicious. Alexander wished he had a camera.
Harry clearly shared the sentiment. He grinned and stuffed more steak into his mouth. So entertained was he by Malfoy's suffering that he accidentally nudged Ron, who was double-fisting fried chicken legs.
Ron let out a choking gasp, but thankfully, Alexander noticed and quickly helped him recover.
Crisis averted — and dinner continued.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 30+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at p@treon.com/Translatingfanfics