"Our" Carnival

"It was one morning when the statues in the Castle began moving on their own without warning! As if they had come alive, and we could be certain they weren't being controlled or commanded by anyone.

"Most unexpectedly, the statues could speak! Don't look at me like that—I don't know what they were saying, and I'd never heard a language like that before.

"According to Nick, Peeves had been playing pranks on the Gryffindor students at the time. When he saw the statues moving, he screamed like a madman and flew through every corner of the Castle—er, except the Chamber of Secrets." Barro glanced at Moriarty and spoke somewhat stiffly.

Moriarty paid no attention to Barro's expression and urged, "Go on."

"The last time we saw Peeves, he had locked himself in an empty classroom. Argus Filch tried to drive him out, but after entering that classroom, he seemed to see something utterly terrifying and fled in a stumbling panic.

"While we were still puzzled, it wasn't just the statues—the figures in the murals began dancing in unison! Their dances were all different, yet they seemed to be moving to the same music?

"Then the suits of armor in the Castle came alive too, even more lifelike than the statues! We saw glowing eyes through the gaps in their helmets. I admit, we were frightened out of our wits.

"But the portraits in the murals told us that The Quill of Acceptance had written your name in The Book of Admittance, and everything that had happened seemed to gain a logical explanation..."

Barro was interrupted by Moriarty. "Wait. Who was the person in the mural? Why would they tell you that my name had been written down?"

"I know what you're thinking, but there's no doubt about that detail!" Barro shook his head. "Afterward, dozens of us ghosts gathered to discuss the matter. I knew you had returned because Merlin's portrait told me. Nick knew you had returned because Sir Cadogan's portrait told him..."

"All right. Please continue."

"What came next involved us ghosts, and I think you already know about it," Barro said slowly. "Ghosts are special. They are a kind of soul-body born from intense unwillingness or fear toward death, coupled with an incomparable longing for life.

"Every ghost able to return to Hogwarts had placed immense affection in this Castle. So when we learned that you—the descendant of Slytherin—were returning, we were happy. For ourselves, and for the Castle."

Barro looked at the Castle, changing his tone. "Listen, this isn't over yet! You would never have guessed that after locking himself in that empty classroom for three days and nights, Peeves came out. He summoned us, though most of the ghosts didn't go.

"Only Nick went. He told us that Peeves had summoned not only ghosts, but also a great number of portraits, statues, and suits of armor! They seemed to have reached some sort of agreement.

"Through Nick, Peeves invited the ghosts to join them! As for the purpose of this little group? Peeves said we would find out.

"I'm certain Peeves has changed from what he used to be. He used to fear me—perhaps because I never played pranks...

"But now he wasn't afraid of me—though he still acted as though he were trembling whenever he saw me. I'm certain he wasn't truly afraid, merely maintaining an old habit."

Having finished, Barro let out a long breath and closed his eyes.

"I understand." Moriarty nodded. The centaurs' divination, the disturbances at Hogwarts, the moonless star signs—everything had happened because of his arrival!

"In other words, the 'we' you spoke of includes the statues, murals, suits of armor, ghosts, and Peeves, correct?"

"You're right. Peeves isn't a ghost. It also includes the Sorting Hat, The Quill of Acceptance, and The Book of Admittance!" Barro put it succinctly. "Also, there's no need for you to question any more statues or murals. They won't say anything. Headmaster Dumbledore has already confirmed that."

"I was just about to ask what the professors and students were doing at the time. Something this major happened in the Castle—they couldn't possibly have been unaware." Moriarty looked at Barro gravely.

Barro said casually, "The students treated it as gossip, while the professors were helpless. The headmaster and deputy headmaster had the authority to command the statues in battle, but clearly, they were both shocked and confused by our carnival.

"In fact, since Hogwarts was founded, it had never celebrated so wildly except after victories in war."

Moriarty noticed that Barro seemed somewhat listless, so he said, "All right. Thank you, Barro. I've gained very useful intelligence from what you told me."

Barro stared at him. "Then can you tell me your choice now? Open the Chamber of Secrets? Or..."

"Open the Chamber of Secrets!" Moriarty's tone was resolute, leaving no room for retreat.

"Very well!" Barro said through gritted teeth. "You still choose to open the Chamber of Secrets! I'll tell Headmaster Dumbledore! No—we can have you imprisoned!"

"Imprison me?" Moriarty shook his head lightly. "That isn't a good idea, Barro. For the last time, I'll tell you calmly: after opening the Chamber of Secrets, no tragedy will occur."

With that, Moriarty turned and left. He returned to the Castle and searched everywhere for Peeves!

The result was nothing. Late that night, Moriarty slipped out of the common room for the first time instead of sleeping.

When he reached a floating staircase, he stopped and quickly hid behind a suit of armor lining one side of the corridor.

The armor was cold and hard, without a trace of life. If Barro hadn't told the truth, Moriarty would have found it difficult to believe that the armor could actually come alive.

Before long, a small figure approached the floating staircase. He looked left and right, seemingly searching for something.

It was Jericho.

Moriarty stepped up behind him and gave a soft cough.

Even though Moriarty had tried to keep the sound quiet, Jericho still jumped in fright. He spun around so suddenly that he nearly crashed into Moriarty.

"Oh no! Mr. Moriarty..." Jericho guiltily rubbed his nose.

"Tell me, why were you following me?" Moriarty looked at Jericho with interest.

At first, Jericho wanted to brush it off, but when he saw the amusement and depth in Moriarty's gray eyes, he surrendered and raised his hands.

He smiled helplessly. "Nothing can be hidden from you... Lilith said you might have been acting unusually lately and told us to keep a closer eye on you. Tonight was my turn, tomorrow night would be Keith's, then Larpo's.

"Just now, I saw you sneak out, so I followed to take a look. Everyone's only worried about you, sir."

"All right, then come with me." Moriarty walked past him and stepped onto the floating staircase, while Jericho followed behind without understanding why.

Moriarty searched all around the Castle. Jericho wanted badly to ask what he was looking for, but he was afraid of attracting Filch.

They made their way up to the third floor when a shadow appeared. Jericho covered his mouth and cried, "Oh no! It's Peeves! Run!"

He turned to flee, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Moriarty stride toward Peeves!

Jericho was utterly baffled, but after gritting his teeth, he followed anyway.

When Moriarty drew near, Peeves let out a low laugh. "Hee hee, little snake crawling out of the snake nest, here—"

"Don't put on that act, Peeves," Moriarty cut him off. "Tell me, what is your agreement?"

Peeves instantly changed his tone. "How did you think of coming to see me in the dead of night?"

Hearing that magnetic voice, Jericho stared at Peeves as if he had seen a ghost.

Moriarty, meanwhile, curled his lips into a smile. "I couldn't find you during the day, so I thought I'd try at night. It was obvious."

Peeves glanced at him and circled around him as he spoke. "You asked me what the agreement is? Before I answer that, I need you to answer a question first—who am I?"

"You? You are the fusion of the Four Founders' thoughts and souls. Through some unknown magical transformation, the Four Founders created you." Moriarty's tone became exceedingly solemn as he voiced his guess.

As though he had not heard him, Peeves continued circling. After several dozen seconds, he suddenly burst into laughter!

"Students not sleeping! Students wandering about instead of sleeping! Students sneaking out to date instead of sleeping! And it's two boys! Ooh ooh ooh~ Yeah yeah yeah~"

Cackling wildly, he flew away. His piercing, shrill cries soon rang out, and Moriarty grabbed the still-dazed Jericho and ran toward the nearest moving staircase.

"Meow~" A cat's cry sounded, and only then did Jericho come to his senses. "It's Argus Filch's cat! He's about to come over! Oh, he'll definitely drag us before Professor Snape if he catches us!"

Fortunately, the corridor was not far from the moving staircase. When Moriarty and Jericho ran onto it, a staircase leading to the Slytherin Common Room had already formed.

Moriarty and Jericho returned to the common room without incident, while Jericho was still savoring what had just happened.

"That was thrilling! With the moving staircases, we can explore the Castle without getting caught by Argus Filch!" he said. "Should I go to Gryffindor?"

Moriarty waved him off. "Stop talking nonsense. Tomorrow, we're going to learn the Disillusionment Charm!"