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Chapter 78: First Battle with Peeves
Just as William was about to ask if she wanted to use magic to dry her wet clothes, Adams dragged him away.
"Don't worry about it. Afra is a stubborn child. When she says she's a mushroom, she's dead set on it. Unless Professor Taylor comes himself, no one can talk her out of it."
"So we just leave her be?"
"What's the hurry? Professor Taylor will be here any minute."
Sure enough, just as Adams had said, the child's father soon arrived at the doorway to the Staff Room.
"What is it? Did Afra cause trouble again?"
"Not at all."
Adams shook his head nonchalantly.
Professor Taylor gave him a skeptical look, then pushed open the door to the Staff Room and went inside.
A few minutes later, a series of bloodcurdling wails echoed from within the Staff Room.
"Is this what you call persuasion?"
William rolled his eyes at Adams. *You're a professor, how can you be so childish?*
"Ah, everyone's used to it. When Afra gets stubborn, she's about due for a spanking. It's not like you can talk her out of it anyway, and Professor Taylor knows how to hold back. So we just watch. Besides, Afra is a good kid; she never holds a grudge."
As they spoke, the Staff Room door opened again. The little mushroom who had been squatting in the corner was now being led out by the hand, sobbing.
"Professor Adams, please look after Afra for me. I'm going to find Peeves."
Professor Taylor's face was even sterner than when he had arrived. He only managed to rein in his emotions when entrusting his child to Adams. He didn't even put his wand away, instead clutching it as he strode off and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"William, you should go have a look. I'll watch Afra. I'm really not sure if Professor Taylor can beat Peeves."
"Are you kidding me?"
William stared at Adams. Although he wasn't sure what Peeves was, how could an adult wizard be unable to defeat it?
"Oh, I almost forgot, you're new here. Peeves is the school's poltergeist. He's probably been around longer than Professor Binns. From the day he took up residence in the castle, the school caretaker has been trying every possible way to drive him out, but so far, there hasn't been a single success."
"According to the agreement between the school and Peeves, professors won't casually attack him, and he will respect the professors on school grounds. But if Professor Taylor is actively looking for trouble, that's outside the scope of the agreement."
Wait a moment. William suddenly remembered the card he had obtained earlier.
Peeves had been mentioned on that card, which was covered in dense text—half of it was dedicated to describing his glorious achievements.
If all the information on it was true, that thing really wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"Alright, I'll head over now," William nodded. He then took some candy from his pocket, crouched down, and offered it to the sniffling little girl.
---
"Peeves," William said to himself as he walked quickly down the corridor, recalling all the information he had recently read about Hogwarts. The strange thing was, very few books were willing to mention that poltergeist.
"This isn't good."
William muttered to himself as he walked.
His absence from the books didn't mean the poltergeist was unimportant. On the contrary, it was highly likely that no one had yet found an effective way to expel him, and since he had never done anything too excessive, it wasn't worth documenting his misdeeds alone.
"Excuse me, madam, could you please tell me where Peeves is?"
William asked a lady in a portrait on the wall who was drinking.
"Peeves? Professor, has the school decided to expel him again? Another professor just asked the same thing. He's in the kitchen looking for moldy bread. I hope you succeed this time. My portrait was almost hit by one of his pieces of bread last time!"
Hearing the word "again" made William nervous. For a poltergeist so hard to get rid of, Professor Taylor was being too impulsive!
‘Ghosts are mostly imprints left by wizards in the mortal world. To deal with a ghost, one must target a memory they hold dear. Peeves hangs around with ghosts all day, so what he must value most is mischief. If I can ruin his prank, I should be able to make him give up his pestering.’
‘If Peeves is really as strong as the card says, it's likely that a past prank of his was so powerful that no one could stop it, leading the school authorities at the time to grant him special treatment. However, I can't confirm if that's true, nor do I know if the headmaster back then went easy on him because he liked having a spirit around to liven things up.’
"The most direct pranks definitely rely on props. The spells I'll need to cast should include an Impediment Jinx to stop flying objects, a Levitation Charm to hold things in place, a spell to disable traps, and a spell to open locks. If none of that works, a spell for a peaceful retreat."
Although he hadn't even seen Peeves yet, William was already planning for several possible situations.
While he had gained some confidence in his combat abilities, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could easily solve a problem the school had failed to deal with for so many years. After all, he still hadn't properly mastered nonverbal spells!
‘This must be the kitchen.’
Following the directions of another portrait, William arrived before a painting of a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear.
The pear began to squirm and giggle, then suddenly transformed into a large, green doorknob.
William pulled the doorknob, and the next moment, a piece of moldy bread came flying straight out. If William hadn't been prepared, the thing would have hit him right in the face.
Casting a Shield Charm, William dodged into the room.
At that moment, the entire kitchen was in a state of chaos. A small man with wicked black eyes and a wide mouth was floating cross-legged in mid-air. In his hand, he held a basket full of moldy bread, which he was using to practice his bombing runs, with the house-elves below as his targets.
‘So this is Peeves? Then where's Professor Taylor?’
But he had no time to think. In the instant William's attention wavered, the bread was already hurtling toward him like bombs.
"La la la, another bad student sneaking into the kitchen! Let Peeves give you an education! Not every part of this school is for you to enter!"
William quickly drew his wand and cast Impediment Jinxes to block the assault, but a few still slipped through and thudded against his Shield Charm, making clanging sounds.
This kind of attack had little destructive power, but it was incredibly annoying. William instantly understood how this fellow had earned such a notorious reputation.
It was like fighting someone wielding a mop from a lavatory; its true power wasn't the attack itself, but the disgusting negative status effect it applied.
‘Alright, I'll try to stop the prank.’
While fending off the falling moldy bread, William took a moment to aim at Peeves's basket.
Perfect, a direct hit.
The bread basket exploded, sending moldy bread flying erratically through the air. A few pieces smacked Peeves hard in the face, causing the poltergeist to let out a stream of curses.
Amidst the constant cursing, the poltergeist shot towards the wall and vanished from the kitchen.
‘Not as strong as I imagined. In fact, he's rather weak. Is it because the props for this prank were just bread?’
William formed a hypothesis and stored it in his mind.
When he turned around, he saw a stern-faced Professor Taylor and a delighted Filch.
...
Professor Taylor, so you went to call for backup?
(end of chapter)
Just as William was about to ask if she wanted to use magic to dry her wet clothes, Adams dragged him away.
"Don't worry about it. Afra is a stubborn child. When she says she's a mushroom, she's dead set on it. Unless Professor Taylor comes himself, no one can talk her out of it."
"So we just leave her be?"
"What's the hurry? Professor Taylor will be here any minute."
Sure enough, just as Adams had said, the child's father soon arrived at the doorway to the Staff Room.
"What is it? Did Afra cause trouble again?"
"Not at all."
Adams shook his head nonchalantly.
Professor Taylor gave him a skeptical look, then pushed open the door to the Staff Room and went inside.
A few minutes later, a series of bloodcurdling wails echoed from within the Staff Room.
"Is this what you call persuasion?"
William rolled his eyes at Adams. *You're a professor, how can you be so childish?*
"Ah, everyone's used to it. When Afra gets stubborn, she's about due for a spanking. It's not like you can talk her out of it anyway, and Professor Taylor knows how to hold back. So we just watch. Besides, Afra is a good kid; she never holds a grudge."
As they spoke, the Staff Room door opened again. The little mushroom who had been squatting in the corner was now being led out by the hand, sobbing.
"Professor Adams, please look after Afra for me. I'm going to find Peeves."
Professor Taylor's face was even sterner than when he had arrived. He only managed to rein in his emotions when entrusting his child to Adams. He didn't even put his wand away, instead clutching it as he strode off and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"William, you should go have a look. I'll watch Afra. I'm really not sure if Professor Taylor can beat Peeves."
"Are you kidding me?"
William stared at Adams. Although he wasn't sure what Peeves was, how could an adult wizard be unable to defeat it?
"Oh, I almost forgot, you're new here. Peeves is the school's poltergeist. He's probably been around longer than Professor Binns. From the day he took up residence in the castle, the school caretaker has been trying every possible way to drive him out, but so far, there hasn't been a single success."
"According to the agreement between the school and Peeves, professors won't casually attack him, and he will respect the professors on school grounds. But if Professor Taylor is actively looking for trouble, that's outside the scope of the agreement."
Wait a moment. William suddenly remembered the card he had obtained earlier.
Peeves had been mentioned on that card, which was covered in dense text—half of it was dedicated to describing his glorious achievements.
If all the information on it was true, that thing really wouldn't be easy to deal with.
"Alright, I'll head over now," William nodded. He then took some candy from his pocket, crouched down, and offered it to the sniffling little girl.
---
"Peeves," William said to himself as he walked quickly down the corridor, recalling all the information he had recently read about Hogwarts. The strange thing was, very few books were willing to mention that poltergeist.
"This isn't good."
William muttered to himself as he walked.
His absence from the books didn't mean the poltergeist was unimportant. On the contrary, it was highly likely that no one had yet found an effective way to expel him, and since he had never done anything too excessive, it wasn't worth documenting his misdeeds alone.
"Excuse me, madam, could you please tell me where Peeves is?"
William asked a lady in a portrait on the wall who was drinking.
"Peeves? Professor, has the school decided to expel him again? Another professor just asked the same thing. He's in the kitchen looking for moldy bread. I hope you succeed this time. My portrait was almost hit by one of his pieces of bread last time!"
Hearing the word "again" made William nervous. For a poltergeist so hard to get rid of, Professor Taylor was being too impulsive!
‘Ghosts are mostly imprints left by wizards in the mortal world. To deal with a ghost, one must target a memory they hold dear. Peeves hangs around with ghosts all day, so what he must value most is mischief. If I can ruin his prank, I should be able to make him give up his pestering.’
‘If Peeves is really as strong as the card says, it's likely that a past prank of his was so powerful that no one could stop it, leading the school authorities at the time to grant him special treatment. However, I can't confirm if that's true, nor do I know if the headmaster back then went easy on him because he liked having a spirit around to liven things up.’
"The most direct pranks definitely rely on props. The spells I'll need to cast should include an Impediment Jinx to stop flying objects, a Levitation Charm to hold things in place, a spell to disable traps, and a spell to open locks. If none of that works, a spell for a peaceful retreat."
Although he hadn't even seen Peeves yet, William was already planning for several possible situations.
While he had gained some confidence in his combat abilities, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could easily solve a problem the school had failed to deal with for so many years. After all, he still hadn't properly mastered nonverbal spells!
‘This must be the kitchen.’
Following the directions of another portrait, William arrived before a painting of a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear.
The pear began to squirm and giggle, then suddenly transformed into a large, green doorknob.
William pulled the doorknob, and the next moment, a piece of moldy bread came flying straight out. If William hadn't been prepared, the thing would have hit him right in the face.
Casting a Shield Charm, William dodged into the room.
At that moment, the entire kitchen was in a state of chaos. A small man with wicked black eyes and a wide mouth was floating cross-legged in mid-air. In his hand, he held a basket full of moldy bread, which he was using to practice his bombing runs, with the house-elves below as his targets.
‘So this is Peeves? Then where's Professor Taylor?’
But he had no time to think. In the instant William's attention wavered, the bread was already hurtling toward him like bombs.
"La la la, another bad student sneaking into the kitchen! Let Peeves give you an education! Not every part of this school is for you to enter!"
William quickly drew his wand and cast Impediment Jinxes to block the assault, but a few still slipped through and thudded against his Shield Charm, making clanging sounds.
This kind of attack had little destructive power, but it was incredibly annoying. William instantly understood how this fellow had earned such a notorious reputation.
It was like fighting someone wielding a mop from a lavatory; its true power wasn't the attack itself, but the disgusting negative status effect it applied.
‘Alright, I'll try to stop the prank.’
While fending off the falling moldy bread, William took a moment to aim at Peeves's basket.
Perfect, a direct hit.
The bread basket exploded, sending moldy bread flying erratically through the air. A few pieces smacked Peeves hard in the face, causing the poltergeist to let out a stream of curses.
Amidst the constant cursing, the poltergeist shot towards the wall and vanished from the kitchen.
‘Not as strong as I imagined. In fact, he's rather weak. Is it because the props for this prank were just bread?’
William formed a hypothesis and stored it in his mind.
When he turned around, he saw a stern-faced Professor Taylor and a delighted Filch.
...
Professor Taylor, so you went to call for backup?
(end of chapter)
