Halloween

By October, Hogwarts was already bitterly cold. Chilly winds swept dead leaves past the stone walls, a thin frost formed over the Black Lake, and the Forbidden Forest looked bleak and desolate. The castle was filled with biting cold; mist clung to the corridor windows, and even blazing fireplaces could not keep out the chill. Students wrapped themselves tightly in cloaks and thick scarves, their white breath clearly visible. The Quidditch pitch was lashed by knife-like winds, hot drinks in the Great Hall quickly went cold, and the entire castle was steeped in the crisp, severe chill of autumn.

Madame Pomfrey suddenly found that more and more students were coming down with colds, leaving her too busy to catch her breath. So she specially brewed a Pepperup Potion. Although it made smoke pour from one's ears for several hours after drinking it, it worked like a charm and cured colds immediately.

Ginny Weasley had always been rather frail, and her brother Percy practically forced her to drink some of the potion. For the next few hours, smoke kept pouring out from beneath her bright red hair. Anyone who did not know what was happening might have thought her entire head was on fire. When Su Yu ran into her in the corridor, she was walking past with her head lowered, white smoke streaming from her ears in a thin trail behind her. The moment she saw Su Yu, her face reddened, and she ran off even faster.

For several days in a row, raindrops battered the castle windows day and night like bullets. The lake rose, much of the soil in the flowerbeds was washed away, and every path became a muddy mess. Hagrid's pumpkins went wild in the rain, each growing as large as a small garden shed.

Hermione Jane Granger sat at the Slytherin long table, telling Su Yu about the recent adventures of her two dear sons. Coming to the Slytherin table now felt as natural to her as sitting with her own House. Naturally, the Slytherins had no objections, and the little lions of Gryffindor were even less likely to go looking for trouble. Kurama lay beside her with a slice of cheesecake in front of her, taking tiny bites and occasionally looking up at Hermione.

Hermione said that one night, Harry had been training for Quidditch in the rain and returned drenched from head to toe, covered in mud. Then he ran into Nearly Headless Nick, and after they talked for too long, Filch caught them. Filch immediately rushed out, furiously accusing Harry of dirtying the corridor, then dragged him into his dim office to fill out a detention form. Just as Harry was about to write, a huge crash suddenly came from the corridor. Peeves was causing trouble.

Filch stormed out to catch him, and Harry took the chance to spot a copy of "Quick Spellcasting for Beginners correspondence letter" on the desk, confirming Filch's secret: he was a Squib.

Hermione added that she had only learned what the word "Squib" meant later, after looking it up.

When Filch returned, he found that the letter had been moved and panicked, demanding to know whether Harry had read it. Harry denied it. Afraid that his secret had been exposed, Filch hurriedly let him leave. Once outside, Nearly Headless Nick admitted that he had persuaded Peeves to create the distraction and save Harry. While making trouble, Peeves had also smashed one of Hogwarts' cabinets.

Hearing that, Su Yu seemed to understand something. So this was how the Vanishing Cabinet Malfoy spent an entire movie repairing had been damaged. Poor Malfoy. Vanishing Cabinets came in pairs and could transport people across space.

Afterward, Nearly Headless Nick formally invited Harry to his 500th Deathday Party. It was a grand celebration for ghosts, and Nearly Headless Nick hoped to have human friends witness his important moment. Harry gladly agreed. To show his support for his friend, he even promised to bring Ron and Hermione along to attend the unusual feast.

Hermione also said that Ron had looked thoroughly unwilling when he heard the news, complaining, "Who wants to spend Halloween with a bunch of ghosts?" He would much rather attend the lively Halloween feast in the Great Hall. He had absolutely no interest in the creepy Deathday Party and resisted it with all his heart.

But Hermione herself was extremely interested. She thought attending a ghostly Deathday Party would be something truly special, and she was greatly looking forward to it. As she spoke, her eyes lit up. She leaned forward slightly, her hand unconsciously catching hold of Su Yu's sleeve.

"Su Yu, can you come with me that night?" Hermione's voice carried a pleading note as she blinked up at him.

Su Yu had no choice but to agree.

Then Su Yu also told Sister Fa, Sister Ka, and Daphne about it, telling them to return directly to the common room after dinner while he attended the party, then came back to celebrate with them. The three girls had no objections. As long as Su Yu could be with them when the Slytherin common room held its Halloween party, that was enough.

Rain still pattered against the windows. Outside was pitch-black, but inside was bright and cheerful.

Fireworks burst into beautiful colors and drifted down onto the chairs. Fred and George wanted to see what would happen if they fed Filibuster fireworks to a fire salamander.

The little lions of Gryffindor were as energetic as ever, and a large group crowded around to watch the fire salamander that had already hidden beneath the table.

Who would have expected the fire salamander to suddenly shoot into the air, wildly circling the room while spraying sparks and making deafening noises? Percy shouted at Fred and George, his face bright red. "Make it stop!"

The fire salamander was flying straight toward Su Yu. Kurama raised her head from her cheesecake, caramel sauce still clinging to the corner of her mouth, and fixed her amber eyes on it. She thought it was coming to steal her food. At once, she bared her teeth and let out a low, threatening growl.

Kurama's growl was not loud, but the fire salamander shuddered in terror, even spraying its sparks crookedly. It flew frantically back while breathing fire, plunged headfirst into the fireplace, and refused to come out again.

As Halloween arrived, the Great Hall's Halloween feast was piled high with every kind of food. Hagrid's enormous pumpkins had been made into lanterns, some so large that three people could fit inside them. Rumor had it that Headmaster Dumbledore had even invited a troupe of dancing skeletons to perform.

At exactly seven o'clock, Hermione dragged Su Yu along while he wondered, What was so entertaining about a troupe of dancing skeletons? What kind of mindset made someone enjoy watching skeletons dance?

The passage leading to Nearly Headless Nick's party was also lined with candles like the Great Hall, but these were far less pleasant. The candles were thin, tall, and black, their flames a vivid blue that cast dim, ghostly shadows over their faces.

With every step they took downward, the temperature dropped a little further. Hermione shivered and wrapped her robes tightly around herself, then burrowed into Su Yu's arms, accidentally squeezing Kurama out. Kurama shot Hermione an unhappy look, then allowed Hermione to hold her so she could keep her warm.

At that moment, they heard a sound like a thousand fingernails scraping across an enormous blackboard.

"That can't be music, can it?" Ron whispered. His face had gone pale, and his lips trembled, whether from fear or cold, no one could tell.

They turned a corner and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing beside a doorway hung with black-purple curtains.

"My dear friends," he said mournfully, "welcome, welcome... I'm so glad you could come..." He removed his feathered hat, bowed to them, and ushered them inside.

The scene inside was even more unbelievable. Hundreds of pale, translucent people floated over the dance floor, waltzing to dreadful, spine-chilling music. On a platform beneath a black curtain, an orchestra enthusiastically sawed away at thirty chainsaws, while a branch-shaped chandelier above them gave off a blue glow. Their breath turned to mist, as though they had stepped into a freezer.

"Shall we walk around a bit?" Harry suggested. He wanted to get his numb feet moving.

"Be careful not to walk through anyone," Ron said nervously. They followed the edge of the dance floor and saw a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man wearing shackles, and the plump Fat Friar—a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost—talking with a knight who had an arrow lodged between his eyebrows. Harry was not at all surprised to see the Bloody Baron, a haggard Slytherin ghost covered in blood.

What Harry and the other two did not expect was that every ghost greeted Su Yu politely. The Bloody Baron floated over and complained that he had not seen Su Yu in ages, asking why he had not gone to play in the Forbidden Forest recently. The Fat Friar also came over to greet him, saying the East University joke Su Yu had told him last time was hilarious and had kept him laughing for days. Even the knight with the arrow in his forehead nodded at Su Yu.

Ron muttered quietly that Su Yu had incredible luck with ghosts. Almost every ghost there knew him.

Still in Su Yu's arms, Hermione complained to him that Myrtle was always scaring people in the girls' bathroom on the first floor. Every time Hermione went there, she had to knock on the door three times first to make sure no one was inside—no living person, anyway—before she dared enter.

Ron suddenly cried excitedly, "The food's here!"

Ron and Harry eagerly went over, only to be horrified by what they saw. A long rotten fish lay on a silver platter; cakes burned black as coal sat on trays; a huge block of green, mold-covered cheese crawled with maggots; and there was an enormous gray cake shaped like a tombstone, with words written on it in tar: Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington died October 31, 1492.

Harry watched in surprise as a burly ghost approached the table, bent down, and passed his wide-open mouth through a stinking salmon.

"Can you taste anything when you pass through food?" Harry asked.

"A little," the ghost answered sadly before drifting away.

Ron looked ready to vomit. He covered his mouth, his face turning green as his stomach began to churn.

Su Yu continued chatting with several ghosts while holding Hermione. He asked the Bloody Baron about the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, but the Bloody Baron said he did not know. After dying, he had not paid much attention to what happened in the castle. Then Su Yu caught sight of Myrtle from the corner of his eye. Peeves had been teasing her, and she had gone to take it out on Harry and Ron.

Myrtle floated above Harry and Ron's heads, tears falling one drop at a time onto their hair and shoulders. Peeves made faces nearby, making Myrtle cry even harder. Harry and Ron stood in the middle, shivering and stammering, unsure whether they should comfort Myrtle or chase Peeves away.

Su Yu could not help laughing at the sight of the two boys. Hermione also poked her head out of Su Yu's arms. Seeing the miserable state of her two dear sons, she finally left Su Yu's embrace, held Kurama, and went to rescue them.

By the time the orchestra began playing again and everyone returned to the dance floor, the three of them were chattering their teeth. Hermione was doing a little better because she was still holding Kurama, but Ron was nearly frozen stiff, his lips purple and his entire body curled up like a quail caught in frost.

The three of them decided to leave. They headed for the door together, smiling at every soul they passed. During their retreat, Hermione also dragged Su Yu along. Su Yu had been chatting happily, and the Bloody Baron was just about to tell him an interesting story about Slytherin when Hermione grabbed his sleeve.

Seeing Hermione shivering from the cold, Su Yu could only pick her up and leave with Harry and the others.

A minute later, they hurried back into the corridor lined with black candles.

"Maybe they haven't finished the pudding yet," Ron said hopefully as he headed toward the stone steps leading to the Great Hall.

Then Harry heard that voice.

"...tear... rip... kill..."

It was the same voice, the icy, terrifying voice he had heard in Lockhart's office. He stumbled to a stop, bracing a hand against the stone wall as he listened with total concentration, his eyes fixed on the dark passageway.

"Harry, what are you—"

"It's that voice again—don't talk—"

"...I'm so hungry... I've waited so long..."

"Listen!" Harry said urgently. Ron stood frozen beside him, staring at Harry.

"...kill... time to kill..."

Su Yu threw a massive Susanoo fist in the direction Harry was listening.

The entire castle of Hogwarts shook. A huge hole was punched through the wall, and rubble and dust came crashing down, revealing an empty room behind it. Aside from an overturned table and a few broken chairs, there was nothing inside.

Hermione went blank in Su Yu's arms for several seconds. When she finally recovered, she asked, "Why did you smash the wall, Su Yu? Harry might have just been hearing things, you know! What do we do now? What do we do..." She scrambled out of Su Yu's arms in panic, constantly trying to remember how the Repairing Charm worked. She raised her wand, lowered it, then raised it again.

Harry was also startled. He had not expected Su Yu to attack immediately. But the voice was still there, only growing fainter and fainter. Harry was certain it had gone somewhere—upward.

There was nothing Su Yu could do. He did not have the Byakugan. If he had, that snake would not have survived past the second chapter.

"This way!" Harry shouted as he ran toward the stairs. He rushed up the granite steps to the first floor, with Ron and Hermione close behind him. Su Yu followed at an easy pace, since he still had not found that diary and Hermione was still in some danger.

"Harry, what are we—"

"Shh!" Harry cocked his head. Far away, above them in the floor overhead, and growing fainter, he could still hear the voice. "...I smell blood... I smell blood!"

"It wants to kill someone!" Harry shouted. Ignoring Ron and Hermione's confused expressions, he charged up the stairs three steps at a time. Amid the thud-thud-thud of his footsteps, his ears continued carefully tracking the sound. Harry raced up to the second floor, Ron panting heavily behind him, while Su Yu jumped over with Hermione in his arms and landed in the final empty corridor.

"Harry, what on earth is going on?" Ron wiped sweat from his face. "I can't hear anything..."

Suddenly, Hermione pointed down the corridor from Su Yu's arms and gasped.

"Look!"

The wall ahead was gleaming. They walked slowly, step by step, into the dim corridor, their eyes wide.

On the wall between two windows, palm-sized words glimmered beneath the flickering light of the torches.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware!"

"What is that—hanging underneath?" Ron asked in a trembling voice.

They moved forward slowly. Harry suddenly slipped and nearly fell—there was a large pool of water on the floor. Ron and Hermione caught him.

They approached the words, staring at the dark shape beneath them. They immediately recognized what it was and leaped back at once.

Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. Her tail was tied to a torch bracket, her body stiff as a board, her eyes wide open and pupils dilated, completely motionless.

They froze for several seconds. Su Yu narrowed his eyes at the cat, suspicious of everyone. Who had taken that diary and come to Hogwarts? Without Ginny this time, who could it be?

Ron said, "Let's get out of here."

"We should try to help—" Harry stammered.

"Trust me," Ron said, "we can't be found here."

But it was already too late. Several thunderous sounds in the distance told them the party was over. Footsteps climbing the stairs sounded from both ends of the corridor. Well-fed people chatted loudly and happily, laughter and conversation mixing together as they echoed through the hall. Soon, students flooded in from both directions.

The moment everyone saw the cat hanging upside down, every sound stopped. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Su Yu stood in the middle of the corridor as everyone quietly crowded forward to read the horrifying words on the wall.

In the silence, someone shouted.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You're next, Mudblood!"

At that moment, Malfoy stepped out from the crowd. His usually pale face was flushed red as he said helplessly, "Chief, how many times have I told you? Don't kill people so openly... uh... kill cats... I mean, what's done is done, but so many people are watching. It really affects your image. It damages your dignity, you know..."

Theodore also stepped forward. He pushed up his glasses and said slowly, "The cat was not killed by the Chief. I just came out and killed it. The Chief merely happened to see it too." His expression was calm, and his voice was quiet.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd.

Blaise walked over, clutching his forehead in pain, and smacked Theodore and Malfoy on the backs of their heads. "Did you two eat so much that you left your brains in the Great Hall and came out carrying food instead? Forget killing a cat—if the Chief killed someone, would he bother writing on the wall? Wouldn't it be easier to have Kurama eat the body and destroy the evidence?"

Kurama, who was in Hermione's arms, immediately exploded at those words.

She cursed from Hermione's arms, "Bullshit! I don't eat human meat, and I definitely don't eat cat meat! Stop pinning everything on me!"

Sister Fa, Sister Ka, and Daphne also came over to Su Yu and asked whether he was alright. The four of them tugged and fussed over him, making the students from the other Houses twitch at the corners of their mouths. If they had known this would happen, they would not have eaten so much earlier. Watching this now made them want to throw up.

"What happened? What happened?"

There was no doubt that the students' cries had caught Filch's attention. He shoved his way through the crowd and emerged into the open. When he saw Mrs. Norris, he staggered backward in terror, his face twisted with horror.

"My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.

Then his eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on Harry.

"You!" he screamed. "It was you! You killed my cat! You killed her! I'll kill you! I'll—"