The Unusual Bloody Baron

Time flew by, and it was already evening of the second day.

October 31st is Halloween, and this is Xiwen's third Halloween at Hogwarts.

The Great Hall remained as it always had been, with swarms of bats fluttering across the walls and ceiling; low, dark clouds hovered above the dining tables, adding to the oppressive atmosphere of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was surrounded by enormous pumpkins, the largest of which was more than half the height of a floor. Inside the hollowed-out pumpkins were bright candles, their flames flickering as the dark clouds above the tables moved.

To Xiwen's dismay, the excellent Skull Band, who had performed at the first-year Halloween Feast, didn't show up. In fact, they hadn't performed since the first-year party. Perhaps that year was Headmaster Dippet's 300th birthday, and they were finally willing to spend the money?

In previous Halloween, ghosts would gather in the Ghost Meeting Room to celebrate this special holiday for them.

Finally, the ghosts, in groups, pass through the ceiling of the Ghost Hall, all the way to the Great Hall, and crawl up from under the young wizards' tables, giving them a unique and thrilling experience.

Meanwhile, in the Ghost Meeting Room, or rather, the Ghost Cafeteria that had been transformed by the Ghost Xiwen, the Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar were counting the number of ghosts.

"Hey, why do I feel like there are so few people this year?" Nicholas said doubtfully. "Have they all gone back to their hometowns to visit their recently deceased descendants?"

"That shouldn't be the case. There aren't many ghosts with relatives or friends at Hogwarts, and even those who do have friends are mostly acquaintances made within the castle," the Fat Friar replied, also frowning. "I hadn't noticed before, but after this headcount, I feel like I haven't seen many of those faces in a long time."

"I'm not quite sure either," Nicholas shook his head.

As a member of the Hogwarts "ghosts" group, Ghost Xiwen was naturally in the Ghost Meeting Room. He had just finished a leisurely dance with Helena to some rather jarring music.

"What happened?" Seeing the Fat Friar and Nicholas's somewhat worried faces, Xiwen floated over with Helena, who was just about to rest for a while, and asked.

"Doctor Strange, I wonder if you've seen these absent ghosts lately? It seems like we haven't encountered them in quite a while." The Fat Friar gestured to a House-Elf beside him, who handed him a note listing the number of ghosts absent this Halloween.

This House-Elf is specifically designed to make things easier for ghosts, preventing them from doing things like recording things because they can't touch physical objects.

Xiwen gently beckoned, causing the note in the House-Elf's hand to float over. He glanced at it a few times.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've recognized all the ghosts of Hogwarts yet." He shook his head helplessly after seeing the note, and said to Nicholas and the Fat Friar, "However, I haven't encountered a few of the ones I do remember recently. What do you think, Helena?"

Helena linked arms with Xiwen, rested her chin on his shoulder, and looked at the note.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem like it's been a long time since I've seen them," she said softly.

Seeing that neither Xiwen nor Helena had seen the absent ghosts recently, the Fat Friar became somewhat worried and said, "Could something have happened to them?"

"What are you worried about, monk?" Nicholas asked casually. "We're ghosts, what danger could we possibly encounter?"

"That's true." The Fat Friar nodded, his expression softening.

However, upon hearing Nicholas's words, both Xiwen and Helena's expressions changed simultaneously.

"Wait, the ghost might actually be in danger!" Xiwen exchanged a grave glance with Helena and said, "That Death has the ability to influence the ghost!"

"Death? What's that? Have you two been reading too many fairy tales?" Nicholas asked in surprise. "This isn't like you two. You're the smartest among us, how could you believe in those myths and legends?"

Helena gently shook her head, ignoring his words, and instead looked at the two of them seriously, asking, "Have those absent ghosts left Hogwarts Castle recently?"

Nicholas wanted to ask some other questions, but the Fat Friar reacted first and blurted out, "That's right, those who are absent are all those who left Hogwarts Castle before!"

"Then they may have already encountered Death or Death's minions," Helena said gravely.

"Wait, what exactly is this 'Death' you're talking about? Does the legendary Death really exist?" Nicholas, sensing the suppressed emotions in Xiwen and the other man's expressions, frowned and asked.

"That's right, Death really exists." Xiwen nodded and said to him. "I encountered a projection of Death yesterday morning; he was trying to control Baron's mind. Judging from the way he controlled Baron, he has the ability to influence ghosts!"

"Helena and I fought against that projection and managed to save Baron."

The Fat Friar and Nicholas both became serious.

"In that case, I'll go ask Baron about the specifics of yesterday."

Nicholas gave some instructions to the people present, then floated off in another direction.

Watching Nicholas leave the Ghost Hall, Xiwen asked the Fat Friar in surprise, "Has Baron returned?"

"Yes, didn't you know?" the Fat Friar nodded. "He came back last night."

"Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. Since Baron came back, he's not as withdrawn as before. Instead, he chatted with us for quite a while, and we even went to watch the young wizards' duel yesterday!"

"Speaking of duels, I have to say that young man from the Rosier family is really quite formidable," the Fat Friar said, patting his round belly.

"Haha, is that so?" Xiwen laughed somewhat awkwardly.

He never expected that he would be mentioned in this way, even in the ghost's territory.

Xiwen turned to look at Helena and found that she was indeed looking at him with a mocking expression, so he couldn't help but cover his face with his hands...

The Fat Friar, oblivious to Xiwen's embarrassment, continued to chat awkwardly with the two of them until he saw Nicholas floating over with the Bloody Baron, at which point he stopped.

When Baron saw the affectionate interaction between Xiwen and Helena, his expression froze slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and even nodded to Xiwen.

Xiwen looked at the Bloody Baron with surprise, his brows furrowing in confusion, but he still maintained his polite demeanor and nodded slightly to him.

"Brother, Baron will also be joining us for the final performance at the Halloween Feast this year," Nicholas said excitedly. "I can't wait to see how those little wizards perform. Bloody Baron, and those terrifying ghosts we rarely see—I can't wait!"

"Oh? It seems Baron has truly come to terms with things now." The Fat Friar looked at Baron with satisfaction and said, "As long as you promise not to be as unreasonable as before, perhaps you can reconcile with Doctor Strange."

Baron's expression changed slightly, but he still managed a somewhat stiff smile at Xiwen.

Xiwen nodded slightly in response.

He then quietly turned his head and whispered to Helena, "Helena, do you think Baron is acting a little strange today?"

"I feel that way too, it's not quite like Baron's style," Helena replied softly, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Forget it, let's not cause him any trouble for the sake of the monk and Nick," Xiwen said, shaking his head slightly. "Perhaps he really has reformed?"

Before Xiwen and the others could continue their discussion about the disappearance of the ghosts and the strange behavior of Baron, the final program of the Halloween Feast —the appearance of the ghosts of Hogwarts —was fast approaching!

Nearly Headless Nick, was most interested in this program. As soon as he entered the Great Hall, he suddenly emerged from under the Gryffindor table, gave the young wizards there a wicked smile, and then reached out and ripped off his own head.

The first-year wizards of Gryffindor screamed in terror, while the mischievous Nicholas laughed heartily.

Xiwen and Helena stood hand in hand in the corner of the Great Hall, their lips twitching as they witnessed his actions. They both turned away, giving him an expression that said, "I don't know him."

Unable to bear watching any longer, Xiwen turned to look at the Slytherin table, wanting to see how the transformed Baron would frighten people.

However, after searching around the Slytherin table, he couldn't find Baron.

"Where are the Baron?" Xiwen asked, puzzled.

"Xiwen, look over there, why is Baron at the Gryffindor long table?" Helena pointed to the left side of the Great Hall and asked, puzzled. "That doesn't seem to be his usual area."