Richard (Thanks Again to Feifeifei Nuonuo for the Support, Thank You)
"The Headless Hunt, ancient texts, missing pages, clues... sounds interesting." Ginny looked up, her eyes lighting up. "My brothers used to tell me about things like this, but they never took me. Su Yu! Could you take me with you...? Of course, if it's inconvenient, that's fine too. I... I just want to go on an adventure..."
Su Yu looked up at the expectant little girl in front of him. He gently stroked Ginny's soft red hair with a tender and affectionate gesture. The warmth of his fingertips seeped through her hair, making Ginny blush instantly.
"Of course you can." Su Yu's voice easily soothed Ginny's anxiety. "However, I don't know if it will be dangerous along the way, so you must stay by my side at all times and not run around on your own, understand?"
Ginny's eyes lit up instantly. She nodded emphatically, a bright smile spreading across her face. "I know! I'll definitely be a good girl and won't hold Su Yu back!"
Seeing her overjoyed expression, Su Yu couldn't help but gently pat her head again, his tone carrying a hint of admonition. "Just relax and follow me."
Ginny nodded vigorously, her heart filled with excitement about the upcoming adventure. Looking at Su Yu's gentle eyes, she felt a pure and beautiful expectation between the young boy and girl.
Behind the tapestry was a narrow passageway, much lower than the corridors of Hogwarts, requiring Su Yu to bend over to avoid hitting his head.
Ginny walked ahead. On the walls on both sides of the corridor hung several small portraits. The people in the paintings were all former Gryffindor Prefect. Some were dozing off, some were reading, and some were staring at Su Yu curiously.
"Are you from Slytherin?" A bespectacled prefectural Prefect peered out from behind the picture frame. "What are you doing in the Gryffindor Common Room?"
"I'm here to see Nick."
The female Prefect pursed her lips and shrank back.
The Gryffindor Common Room was much warmer than Su Yu had imagined. The fire in the fireplace burned more than twice as brightly as in the Slytherin common room, and the orange-red Kakkō illuminated the entire room. The sofa was gold-red, the armchairs were dark brown, and several huge tapestries hung on the walls.
The Sky Void outside the window had darkened, and the waters of Black Lake gleamed with a black light under the night sky.
Ginny hurried to the fireplace and found Nearly Headless Nick, in a corner.
Nick was crouching in the ashes beside the fireplace, poking at the firewood in mid-air with an iron rod conjured by magic. Mars flew up, passed through his translucent body, and fell to the ground, extinguishing themselves.
"Nick!" Ginny crouched down. "Someone's looking for you."
Nick floated up from the ashes, tilted his head, and saw Su Yu. A look of surprise appeared on his usually resentful face.
"Sue Fuli?" His tone carried a certain unreal bewilderment. "I've lived at Hogwarts for over four hundred years, and this is the first time I've ever seen a Slytherin student come to Gryffindor to speak with the ghosts of Gryffindor."
"Nick, do you know Richard Jack Dow?" Su Yu asked directly, getting straight to the point.
Nick's expression changed; his translucent face paled even more, as if it had been splashed with water, allowing even the candlelight to shine through. "Terrible memories. What do you want with him?"
"I need to ask him a few things." Su Yu showed him the ancient book and the sketch. "These pages have been torn out, and I want to know their whereabouts."
Nick stared at the sketch for a long time. Su Yu couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he knew Nick was struggling. "I'll take you there," Nick finally spoke, his voice much deeper than his usual melancholic tone, "But you have to promise me that no matter what you see, you won't tell anyone."
The Headless Hunt ' camp is located in the Ghost Cave deep within the Forbidden Forest.
Deep in the Forbidden Forest, the twilight was so thick it seemed impossible to break through. Tall black oaks and yews grew intertwined, their branches twisted, and a few faint rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps, casting dappled shadows on the wetlands.
Su Yu walked in front, his steps steady, with Ginny close behind. Her red hair stood out against the dim forest. She looked around curiously, her eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and excitement.
Nearly Headless Nick, floated slowly beside the two, his translucent body occasionally passing through low branches without hindrance.
"We're almost there." Nick's voice seemed to drift through the quiet forest. "The Headless Hunt ' Ghost Cave is just ahead. Pumpkin Square is inside the cave entrance. Richard Jack Road is usually there."
Su Yu nodded slightly and continued forward. Ginny asked softly, "Mr. Nick, Richard Jack... what kind of person is he?"
"An adventurous young man who was a student at Hogwarts when he was alive, later became a ghost, and recently joined the Headless Hunt," Nick said calmly. "He's a bit reckless and arrogant, but still quite polite."
As they spoke, the three had already reached the entrance of the cave. The entrance was made of huge gray rocks, with a faint, ghostly white light swirling around its edges. Inside, it was pitch black, but a wide open space could be vaguely seen, filled with giant pumpkins. This was the Pumpkin Square. In the plaza, several ghostly horses stood still, while the ghosts of the Headless Hunt either floated or stood, conversing in hushed tones.
In the center of the square, near the largest pumpkin, stood a young male ghost. He had light brown hair, a handsome face, and wore a slightly worn gray coat with a green bow tie. His expression was casual and unruly. It was Richard Jack Dow.
He seemed to sense the movement, turned his head, and looked at the three people at the cave entrance, a slightly amused smile playing on his lips.
"Isn't that Nick? I can't tell you anytime, you'll never join the Headless Hunt."
Nick floated up to him and gave a slight bow. "Richard, this is Mr. Sue Fuli. He's here to see you today."
"Oh! That's terrible. I remember three years ago he almost destroyed the entire Forbidden Forest. It was him, wasn't it?"
Su Yu didn't stand on ceremony and stepped forward directly, saying, "Richard Jack, I'm sorry to come to see you so late. We're here to ask about the whereabouts of the missing pages of the ancient book, do you know?"
Richard was a little afraid of Su Yu, but he still looked up at the ancient book, as if lost in memories. "An ancient book fragment? Oh, I remember now, I took it from Peeves."
Ginny couldn't help but ask, "Do you know where those pages are now?"
Richard's expression suddenly darkened. "I took them into a cave deep in the Forbidden Forest, and that's where I lost my life. Those pages should still be beside my remains. At the very least, I saw them one last time before I died."
Su Yu nodded. "Do you remember the location of that cave?"
Richard pointed to the forest path outside the cave, "Go north into the Forbidden Forest, follow the path to a stone bird bath, say the command 'intra muros,' and the stone door will open. Inside is my grave where I died."
After speaking, he paused and added, "Be careful on the road; the cave is guarded by giant spiders and all sorts of monsters."
(On a side note, guys, I'm really begging for book reviews, you know, the rating system. I feel like if they don't release one soon, this book is doomed, Haha. Right now, I'm only getting three or four hundred views a day, but it's okay, I'll keep writing anyway. After all, I don't make money from writing novels, it's just that the numbers are so terrible, absolutely appalling.)