Peeves was truly capable of raising hell to an extraordinary degree.
Ever since Peeves came into being, aside from the era when the Four Founders directly ran the school, almost no one had been able to control him. In 1876, the then-caretaker, Runcorn Calpe, even devised an elaborate trap to drive Peeves out of the castle. The trap consisted of all manner of weapons used as bait, along with a massive bell jar enchanted with several restraining spells. Once Peeves entered the proper position, the bell jar would drop down and trap him beneath it.
But nothing went according to plan. Peeves easily blew apart the bell jar and left carrying several scimitars, several crossbows, a large-caliber muzzle-loading gun, and a small cannon. He began firing at random for fun, threatening the students' safety. As a result, the castle had to be evacuated for three days.
Three days later, the then-headmistress, Professor Euphrasia Mol, agreed to make a deal with Peeves. He would hand over the weapons in exchange for greater privileges, including being allowed to swim in the boys' bathroom on the first floor once a week, first choice of the moldy bread in the kitchens for throwing around, and a new hat specially commissioned for him by Lady Bonabille.
It was the most disastrous—and final—attempt to get rid of Peeves. The incident also forced Mr. Calpe into early retirement "for health reasons."
This was merely one of the more outrageous entries in Peeves's long list of misdeeds.
For centuries, Peeves had rarely provoked serving professors, and he was even less willing to deal with headmasters. Of course, that was assuming they had not truly made an enemy of him.
But Peeves could absolutely treat the castle caretaker and the students as objects for his amusement.
And when facing