Chapter Twenty-Six: This Is a World of Faces
Neville is actually quite curious about ghosts, he has always thought that ghosts are very stylish, cool, fashionable, literary, elegant, and aristocratic, and they look very compelling.
But he was wrong, at least the death party he experienced, he couldn't see the above qualities at all.
"How do you feel?"
Harry's voice trembled a little from the cold, and he put his hands in his pockets, his shoulders shrugged, looking like a homeless man staggering down the street.
"It's just terrible. Ron grumbled, the heat he exhaled forming a mist in front of him, as if in a cold room.
Neville scratched his head and said, "Uh, it's okay, it's just a little noisy." ā
"They call it music. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes and gave a bad review without hesitation, "Sounds like chainsaw logging, it's a nightmare." ā
This sentence was echoed by everyone, and goosebumps rose when I remembered the strange sound of a thousand fingernails scraping on a huge blackboard.
"Thankfully, we managed to escape. Away from the basement classroom, Harry sighed in relief, "Maybe we can go back and get something to eat." ā
"You'll have to speed it up, or you'll ......"
Halfway through his sentence, Neville suddenly stopped, he spun in place, frowning, his gaze transitioning from ceiling to wall, and finally he stared at the dimly lit hallway in front of him, silent.
"What's wrong, Neville?"
"Something passed by us just now. Neville's face softened, "I don't know what it is, but it's gone." ā
"A ghost?"
Harry remembered that Nick had invited a lot of ghosts from outside to Hogwarts, and these ghosts could also walk through the walls without being seen by others.
There was a suspicion that Harry didn't say, and that was that the house-elf named Dobby had followed Hogwarts with a ghostly ghost.
"It's not quite the same. Neville shook his head, he looked at the others and asked, "Did any of you feel it too?"
Everyone shook their heads, their hearing was not fully restored yet.
"Let's go. ā
Neville said that one thing to know at Hogwarts was to never make a fuss, anything could happen here.
Maybe it's just a strange ghost, and Neville isn't very confident in his hearing right now.
But after a while, Neville knew that there was no problem with his hearing, and no problem with his perception.
Approaching the foyer and entering the Great Hall, Harry suddenly stopped, listened intently, turned his head and asked, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"I've heard it a long time ago. Neville replied, "I don't think it's going to be anything, because nothing happened." ā
Harry squinted and listened intently, looking around, squinting up and down the dimly lit aisles.
He knew what he was hearing was different from what Neville had heard, and the voice seemed to whisper in his ear, repeating a few words
āā¦ā¦ rip ...... tear ...... kill......"
"Harry, what's wrong with you?"
The voice reappeared. Harry motioned for the others to be silent, "Don't speak yet, let me listen carefully." ā
āā¦ā¦ Hungry...... It's been a long time......"
The voice rang out again, at first as if he had just woken up, but soon it became sharp, like a glittering knife, and Harry felt like his eardrums were about to be punctured.
āā¦ā¦ Homicide...... It's time......"
Is this a prank?
Or is it some kind of portent?
Countless thoughts crossed Harry's mind, and he finally decided to follow the voice and see what would happen.
It was a risky thing to do, and the qiÄ that happened last year proved that Hogwarts was not completely safe, but it also gave Harry confidence.
What happened after that was good and bad, the good thing was that his judgment was right, it was true that something happened, and he did not encounter danger, and the bad thing was ......
"I think we're in trouble. ā
Neville's eyesight was good, and while the others were still squinting to make out in the darkness, he could already see Filch's cat, Lady Loris, with its tail hanging upside down on the stand, stiff as a plank.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm building yƬ and we'd better get out of here now. Neville said calmly, "Lady Loris seems to have been petrified and hung on the torch stand in front of her, I think if Filch sees ......"
"Filch's cat was petrified?"
Harry furrowed his eyebrows, this was indeed a nuisance, and he should get out of here as much as possible. Are the cats sure they were petrified rather than killed, though?
"Look, there's writing on the wall!"
Luna had walked over to the glittering thing that had drawn them in, and between the two windows, on the wall six feet above the ground, there was some scribbling, shimmering in the light of the burning torches.
"The secret room has been opened, and the heir is the enemy, be careful!"
As the others looked at the handwriting, Neville sighed, they had missed the best time to leave. Neville could have run to safety on his own, or even bring two people with him, but there were five of them.
Harry almost slipped because there was a large pool of water on the ground. They also saw what Neville had said, and several men stood motionless for several seconds.
"Let's get out of here. Ron said nervously.
"It's late. ā
Neville shrugged his shoulders, and at this point he could only pray that the professors would believe them, but would they?
"God forbid, I hope the professors ......"
Believe it or not, Neville had already begun to pray, and the success of the past had taught him that he was still under the care of God and his old man, and that was the only way to do that at this time.
There was a low noise, like thunder in the distance, telling them that the feast had just ended. From both ends of the corridor they were in, the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs and the cheerful laughter of people after a full meal could be heard. Then, the students pushed and shoved into the aisle from both ends.
When the person in front saw the upside-down cat, the boisterous and chirping suddenly disappeared. Neville and the others stood alone in the middle of the hallway, and the students fell silent as they crowded forward to see the horrific scene.
To be honest, it doesn't feel good to be watched, especially when found at a crime scene.
As before, things have been mixed with good things that have developed since then.
The bad thing is that Filch and some of the students, like Malfoy, don't believe Neville's words, and the good thing is that everyone but them believe Neville's explanation, and the reason is surprisingly simple-
"Neville doesn't lie. "bThree deans.
"Neville knows how to lie, why are you kidding me?"
"I don't know what's going on, but it looks like a good guy. "B Hufflepuff students.
"Well, isn't that Luna, it's definitely none of their business!"
Sure enough, it's a world of faces.