Little Peeves

"Spirit Stun!"

A streak of blue light shot toward Peeves at incredible speed. By the time he reacted, he had already fainted, floating down like a weightless feather.

Breeze reached out to test him, but couldn't touch Peeves's body.

"What if I use that spell for detaining souls that I got from the soul portrait?"

Breeze was tempted. He didn't like Peeves, but he didn't have some deep-seated grudge against him either. Besides, everyone at Hogwarts knew that Peeves had gotten into trouble. It was practically unheard of for the fellow to go even a day without causing a mess.

"I'll just cast it with a little magic." Hopefully, this wouldn't make Peeves disappear.

"Soul Detention!"

A blue light surged from the tip of Breeze's wand, and the Soul Detention Charm took effect on Peeves. Breeze could sense that, if he wanted, he could detain some of Peeves's soul power.

"You won't die again just from losing a little soul power, right?"

As Breeze gave a soft chuckle, like a breeze brushing across one's face, a tiny portion of Peeves's soul power was wrapped in his magic and drawn out of Peeves's body, then stored in his wand.

Mithril had the power to suppress souls. It was the bane of spirits.

Looking at Peeves, who had become a little more transparent, Breeze recited the spell: "Spirit Wake!"

"Oh, what did you do to me?" Peeves's eyes sprang open. He leapt into the air and frantically felt his own body.

Breeze smiled.

"You're fine. But if you don't behave, I'll put you to sleep forever. Your soul will leak away bit by bit, and you'll leave this world without even realizing it."

After saying that, Breeze paid no heed to Peeves's alarm. He strolled toward the Owlery, eager to study this soul power.

Faner sat dazed atop the Bronze Snake lamp base. He only perked up and greeted Breeze when he came in.

"Oh, you have no idea how bored I've been."

Faner had been rather nervous that day. Christmas was almost here, and it was a holiday when everyone exchanged gifts.

Breeze smiled. "You should try to keep some sense of anticipation."

Then he released a portion of Peeves's soul power from his wand. It looked like a miniature Peeves, only much cuter and barely as big as a thumb. It seemed extremely reluctant to leave, clinging to Breeze's magic. It was also constantly devouring it and growing stronger.

The change was so subtle that Breeze didn't notice it.

"Is that a soul?" Faner stared at Peeves. As if he'd remembered something, his face suddenly went pale. "You mustn't study Soul Alchemy!"

Faner only knew that Soul Alchemy existed. The Owlery's former owner had used it to turn his soul and body into a sentient alchemical creation.

"Terrifying. It's terrifying." Faner cowered beneath the lamp base, trembling. Just remembering the process of being made was like being surrounded by darkness, stripped of light and freedom.

Breeze grasped Faner's cold Bronze Snake body and held him against his chest.

"It's all right."

"Undying Flame..."

After he cast the spell, warmth slowly returned to Faner's body, and he finally calmed down.

Faner's snake face turned sorrowful. "Be careful, Breeze. Anything involving souls, whether spells or Alchemy, is dangerous. I know you'll eventually study it, but until then, you need to stay calm..."

Breeze swallowed the reassurance he'd been about to offer Faner—that he wasn't studying Soul Alchemy.

"I'll be careful. I won't get involved unless I'm sure I can handle it."

Breeze's promise put Faner at ease. Faner knew Breeze was the sort of fellow who liked to tell the "truth." His promises were full of loopholes, but he'd still honor the most superficial part of them.

Turning his attention to Peeves, Faner returned to his usual lively self. He tried to touch him gently but couldn't.

"What are you going to do with him? He doesn't seem conscious. A soul without consciousness will fade away quickly."

Faner was still in Breeze's hand. He wasn't particularly interested in the comical little Peeves. If he hadn't been watching Breeze, he'd have wanted to hide.

"You should know, Faner. I haven't found any books on soul-related Alchemy here." Breeze teased Faner about his nervousness. He didn't say that he'd made the decision on the spur of the moment, just to see what the soul-detaining spell would do.

"He seems a little strange, not like a normal soul." Faner studied Peeves closely, and Breeze nodded.

"Peeves is a Hogwarts ghost. I've heard he appeared when Hogwarts was first founded. Maybe he's connected to Hogwarts, but not particularly closely."

Breeze figured that if Peeves were the embodiment of Hogwarts's consciousness, he wouldn't be playing tricks on young wizards.

"The real Peeves is still in the castle. Losing this little bit of soul power won't hurt him." Peeves had seemed a little weakened at the time, but the little Peeves showed no signs of fading away. On the contrary, as Breeze's Natural Magic grew more substantial, so did he, and a glimmer of light appeared in his vacant eyes.

"Breeze, he's awake!"

"W-where am I?" Peeves woke in a daze, speaking in a tiny, soft, and weak voice.

Breeze and Faner exchanged a glance. Faner looked a little awkward and turned his snake head away. How was he supposed to know Natural Magic could be used like this?

"Could you give me a little more?"

The little Peeves looked at Breeze pitifully and begged.

"What?" Breeze realized what he meant. "This kind of magic?"

The little Peeves nodded eagerly, his transparent body flickering.

"Sorry." Breeze immediately severed their already tenuous connection, making the little Peeves look terrified.

"No, I don't want to disappear..." Peeves looked ready to cry. Breeze couldn't help feeling sorry for him, but magic wasn't like a pool of energy that could be replenished after use. It was more like a measure of how much power one could draw upon, with a threshold that grew or shrank with one's will. Breeze didn't want to diminish his overall capacity for magic.

"Please."

Faner felt both troubled and touched. When he'd needed Breeze's magic, Breeze had prepared to give it to him without a second thought. What Faner didn't know was that Breeze hadn't wanted that Natural Magic in the first place. Later, when he realized he could use magic to cast spells and help Faner, the burden of helping him had lifted.

"Don't worry. I'll help you, as long as I can."

Breeze couldn't bring himself to use his own Natural Magic to help the little Peeves. He remembered the unicorn soul he'd seen while meditating in the Forbidden Forest. The Natural Magic in the environment had been drawn toward the unicorn's soul. If Breeze hadn't been unable to control that magic, and it hadn't left with the unicorn's soul, he would've wanted to study it at his leisure.

This was the perfect opportunity.

Breeze closed his eyes. As he meditated, his consciousness rose into the air, looking down indifferently at the little Peeves, who was still panicking and begging. There was indeed Natural Magic around him, but it belonged to the surrounding environment and wasn't flowing toward his soul.

Breeze tried to direct the magic with his consciousness, but although it was drawn to him, it didn't understand his commands. It simply surged about chaotically. Even so, the little Peeves absorbed some of the Natural Magic in the environment.

Only when the surrounding Natural Magic was drawn to Breeze and formed a visible vortex did the little Peeves become as substantial as the real Peeves. His soul power was still draining, but at least he wouldn't disappear anytime soon.

Breeze stopped drawing the Natural Magic toward him. It quickly dispersed and drifted away. He tried to absorb it, but very little of it could enter his body, and he couldn't take in much. The magic kept fading, just like the little Peeves. He couldn't fully claim these free little things.

Breeze's consciousness returned to his body. He looked at the little Peeves, curious about his current state.

"Are you Peeves?"

"Peeves?" The little Peeves sounded excited, his eyes shining. "Is that the name you've given me, sir?"

"From now on, you're Little Peeves. It sounds nicer."

Although he didn't know what adding "Little" meant, the little Peeves happily accepted the name. Clearly, he had no memories, as if he'd only just been born.

Maybe Little Peeves was an exception, Breeze thought. After all, Peeves was a spirit who could touch physical things at will. That went completely against wizards' general understanding of souls.

Now that the experiment was over, Breeze thought about what to do with the little Peeves.

"Faner, would you like a companion?"

Faner gave a dignified nod.

"Mm. I suppose I can take on a little brother. I'll keep an eye on him for you."

Clearly, little Faner was pleased.

The days that followed were busy. Breeze had already prepared a list of gifts to send out on Christmas, and that evening he received the gifts he'd ordered from Diagon Alley.

For the occasion, Breeze had rented three strong owls. Not many people were staying at Hogwarts over Christmas, so the school's owls were readily available.

"This one's for Cedric, this one's for Hermione..."

Breeze sent a gift to every friend he approved of, a few one-sided friends, every professor except Quirrell, and Wood, who had helped him twice. If Breeze weren't so poor, he would've liked to give Wood a new broom, but he was short on Galleons, so he'd settled for an eighteen-Galleon broom-care kit.

"I need to find a chance and a way to sell the Unicorn Hair." Breeze had a whole unicorn's worth of enchanted hair waiting to be turned into cash. But with this year's unicorn incident still unresolved, he wasn't stupid enough to sell it now and risk Dumbledore tracing it back to him.

After sorting the gifts into piles, Breeze sent the owls off to deliver them on the appropriate dates.

For the next two days, Breeze searched for a chance to enter the Forbidden Corridor on the fourth floor. Not until Christmas Eve did Snape, who had been keeping a close watch on the corridor, finally leave Hogwarts. Apparently, after visiting Dumbledore's office, Snape had received an invitation from the owner of a Potions shop. Potions were one of Snape's few obsessions; he hadn't even planned to attend the Malfoy family's party.

At last, Breeze could make his move. With both Snape and Quirrell away from the school, he could enter the restricted area. Surely nothing would go wrong this time!

Thanks to everyone for the recommendations, continued reading, tips, and monthly votes. Let's work hard in this new week.

Love, Dahua.