Determined to put things off for as long as he could, Zhang Xiao asked Malfoy and the Three Little Ones to keep his secret. Though Ron and Malfoy were itching to share it, their loyalty to their friend won out, and they firmly resolved to keep quiet.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten to ask the ghosts to keep it secret too. Treating the incident like a tale sung by bards, they described that night's scenes to every young witch or wizard willing to listen.
They told of Moaning Myrtle rushing out of Hogwarts to visit the home she should have returned to fifty years earlier, and of the joy and excitement the many ghosts had felt at tasting food again.
They even told of the many ghosts who had faded away. Naturally, their tales always included the young wizard who had become the "ghosts' dearest friend."
Everything that had happened that night became a marvelous story for them to tell the students.
When the Hufflepuff students learned that the Fat Friar, beloved by their entire house, had faded away too, they were stunned.
Many of the little badgers burst into tears. To them, the Fat Friar had been like a kindly elder. Many first-years had only gradually learned their way around Hogwarts's labyrinthine corridors thanks to his directions.
"Has the Fat Friar really left us just like that?"
"I still remember when I first started school. Peeves kept chasing me, saying he wanted to give me a 'Hogwarts welcome.' He threw Dungbombs at me.
"My mum and dad are both Muggles. I'd never even heard of Dungbombs, so I thought Peeves had actually scooped poo out of the toilets. I told him it wasn't hygienic, and he went completely mad and tried to throw every last Dungbomb at my head.
"The