Harley casually waved her hand, and two strands of Spider Silk pulled over a chair. She then quietly raised a Wall of Spirituality, sealing off the sounds around them.
Hermione hurried over just then. She had no idea what was going on, but there was nothing wrong with pulling up a chair and sitting down to watch the show.
She could always ask Harley about the details later.
The Old Man coughed twice and looked at Hermione. "Who are you?"
"Sir, she's my friend, and she's also very interested in your past," Harley explained.
"Well, then. It's rare to meet someone interested in my past," the Old Man muttered. "Come to think of it, my glorious history really shouldn't be forgotten."
Then, with Harley's constant prompting, a fantastical tale from five thousand years ago unfolded.
Perhaps it was because he wasn't particularly familiar with the two of them, or perhaps the Old Man's memories had faded too much after all his time as a ghost.
He spoke only about several major historical events from that era, and even then, he kept things broad rather than going into detail.
The Old Man mostly talked about the wars wizards had fought against various Beyonder races.
He repeatedly mentioned the clashes with the House-elves—in other words, the Gnomes of that era. It seemed the Gnomes had been one of the most powerful races back then.
Harley also picked up on something interesting: the Old Man mentioned a Fantastic Beast called a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.
After meeting Luna on the train, Harley had gone out of her way to look through all kinds of books, but she hadn't found any mention of this Fantastic Beast.
And since the young wizards at school didn't think much of The Quibbler, regarding it as entertainment that you shouldn't