In the wizarding world, many wizards like to hold various balls, especially those of the old pure-blood families, which are held two or three times a year. Birthday balls and Christmas balls, for example, have become a fixture, but most balls are never focused on dancing.

This time was no exception, the music in the office never stopped, but there were very few people dancing.

Most of them make a symbolic double turn, and then start chatting with the people around them with a glass of wine.

I have to say that Professor Slughorn still has a wide network and has invited many well-known people to come over.

In addition to the well-known writers Vorple and Vampire Bloodney, whom Kyle had seen before, there was also a professional Quidditch player, Bweerhold, a current chaser for the Monteers Magpies, and a reporter for the Daily Prophet, not Rita Skeeter, but another wizard.

According to Slughorn, he did most of the interviews with the head of the Ministry of Magic and above.

Kyle also sees the owner of Duke Honey's candy shop...... Yes, there is a signed photo of him at Slughorn's residence, and the school is so close to Hogsmeade that there is no reason why he should not be invited over.

Even so, Slughorn doesn't seem to be buzzing enough, according to him, Halloween is just a simple gathering, and Christmas is the main event after that, and he tells Kyle and Connor not to miss it then.

But they have a very different view of it.

The two found an excuse to get rid of Slughorn and head to the drink section, which was relatively less crowded.

Kyle was only here to hide from the table, though, and didn't drink anything from the table.

Ever since he knew that someone at school had bought an aphrodisiac, he wasn't going to touch anything of unknown origin.

"Kyle, I didn't expect you to be here too."

A few minutes later, Harry, who had finally gotten rid of Wolple's entanglement, arrived, and he must have said a lot, so he just picked up a glass of butterbeer and drank it.

Kyle observes for a moment, and is disappointed to realize that it is a normal butterbeer.

"How does it feel?" He asked.

"What......" Harry didn't react for a moment, thinking that Kyle was talking about this ball, and immediately shook his head and said, "It's terrible, I can't believe Hermione can insist on coming every time." ”

"Maybe she's used to it." Kyle followed his words and said, "Why didn't you make an excuse to turn him down." ”

Harry, like them, has been looking for all sorts of excuses because he doesn't want to attend Slughorn's dinner, such as Quidditch training.

As the captain, he was able to schedule his training time for dinner, and he avoided it many times.

"I'm here with Ron, and he's eager to see the ball." Harry said.

"You can still invite boys to the prom?"

"Hmm." Harry nodded, "I just wanted to try, but Professor Slughorn didn't object.

"Oh yes, did you see Ron? I've been looking for him. ”

"Nope." Kyle said, "You can go to the other end of the room and have a look." ”

"Okay." Harry said, grabbing the butterbeer mug and walking across the dance floor.

Some time later, Kyle meets a drunken Professor Sybil Trelawney.

As one of the professors at Hogwarts and a descendant of the famous soothsayer Kassandra Trelawney, she is also somewhat well-known.

Slughorn should have said that free sherry was offered at the ball, and then she came over.

Then there's Luna, who talks to Neville about whether Scrimgeour is a hidden vampire or not, and his secret plot to manipulate the Aurors and use the Gum Disease Charm to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within.

Neville appears shocked, but Kyle can't help but laugh and nearly suck the mead into his nose.

"The gum swelling spell, this can be well developed, I feel that it is more useful than locktongue throat sealing." Kyle said with a smile.

As for Scrimgeur's vampire identity, this is even more nonsense, if he was a vampire, the huge speculum in the Auror's office would have been ringing non-stop.

The fact that no other Ministry of Magic staff had complained about him as a nuisance was enough to prove Scrimgeour's identity.

I have to say that some of Mr. Lovegood's remarks are quite interesting, and he always makes points that no one else can think of in any way.

If you don't think about the logic and just watch the fun, "Singing Against the Tune" is indeed a good magazine.

Kyle decides to order a copy when he gets back and can take it out when he's bored.

By the time Luna and Neville were gone, the dance began to get boring again, until there were ten minutes left before curfew......

Kyle thought that was the end of the prom, but Peeves suddenly barged in from outside.

He flew on the ceiling, holding a large handful of water-filled balloons in his hand, and without saying a word, he launched an indiscriminate attack on the students below who had not yet reacted.

In an instant, it was like rain in the entire office.

Everyone screamed to dodge the water balloons that fell from the sky, and the room was a mess.

"Ha, I always feel like something is missing, and now it's fine." Kyle smiled and said, "After all, how can such a lively place be without Peeves." ”

With a slight movement of his fingers, he tossed a flying balloon of water somewhere else.

"But Professor Slughorn is still here, isn't Peeves afraid to provoke the Professor?"

"He just didn't dare to provoke the four deans, and the other professors were at most just saving face." Kyle said, "He's probably not in a good mood tonight, though.

"Remember what the Fat Friar said at the dinner party? Peeves lost his temper without his pumpkin statue and went upstairs to destroy the armor,

"I guess that's why he wants to make trouble at the ball."

Kyle flicks a water balloon away again, then pulls Connor towards the door.

While most people haven't reacted yet, it's better to leave as soon as possible, lest everyone rush up and block the door later.

Soon, the two of them came to the corridor outside.

Connor raised his arm and sniffed his sleeve, frowning, "I just wanted to say, did you smell a sour smell?" ”

"It's vinegar." Kyle lowered his voice, "Actually, this is what I told Peeves, adding a little vinegar to the water can make it more lethal. ”

Connor looked at Kyle with disgust.

"Don't look at me like that, it's been a long time ago." Kyle shrugged, "I asked him to help find a ghost, and the idea was a reward."

"After all, freshmen often make mistakes when knocking on wooden barrels, and it's a pity that the vinegar that spews out is wasted......"

"Those who have been thrown by Peeves will hate you."

"You just say it's Filch." Kyle laughed, "He helped Umbridge with his students a lot last year, so I guess it taught him a lesson." ”

The two of them followed the direction of the stairs.

Behind him came a cacophony of talking and chanting mantras...... It seems that most of them have already reacted and started to use magic to drive away Peeves.

However, by this time, Peeves had already thrown all the balloons and fled.

Kyle and Connor bump into each other when they reach the first-floor foyer.

"It's you, Kyle Kid, I didn't notice you were there." Peeves said happily, but then he seemed to remember something, and immediately wanted to run.

"Oops, they're chasing you......"

"Wait." Kyle hurriedly stopped him and said, "It's been so long, how have I asked you to do something?" ”

Peeves' translucent body froze in place.

After a moment he turned around a little stiffly and put away his smile in a rare way, "Well, you asked me to find the Facial Paralytic Witch who can't smile, I think she's already left Hogwarts." ”

"Impossible." Kyle shook his head and said firmly, "Lady Gray won't be leaving Hogwarts. ”

"But she's not in the castle." Peeves said, "Even Barrow the Bloody is looking for her, but again to no avail, she must have run away." ”

Although he didn't get the answer he wanted, Kyle wasn't too disappointed because he thought it would be this outcome early on.

"If you can't find it, forget it." He waved his hand and prepared to continue his walk towards the common room.

"Hey, Kyle, I'm not trying to fool you." Peeves didn't know what Kyle was thinking, and when he saw that he was about to leave, he quickly explained:

"I've really been looking for her...... Oh, I think she was kidnapped by Baro the Bloody and locked up in a doorless room on the second floor. ”

"Oh?"

Kyle stops and turns to look at Peeves. "A room without a door on the second floor?"

If it's the eighth floor, it's supposed to be a responsive house, but if it's on the second floor...... Could it be that there is a similar room there?

"Ah, yes." A smug smile appeared on Pippi's face again, "No one knows this castle better than me, and Hogwarts has such a place, very mysterious, which hides the treasures of all the students for thousands of years. But no one knows where. ”

Hearing this, Kyle has already determined that Peeves is talking about the Room of Requirement, and the reason why it is the second floor must be that he is in the wrong place.

At this time, Connor on the side suddenly asked, "But Peeves, didn't you just say that Barrow the Bloody Man is also looking for Lady Gray?" ”

Peeves shuddered at the mention of Baro the Bloody Man, but insisted, "He pretended it all to confuse the public."

Half an hour later I saw the little Slytherin head pop up in front of a storage room on the second floor, muttering something like "gone, nowhere to be found".

"I guess it must have been Baro the Bloody who asked him to check on the situation, but Ms. Gray, who couldn't laugh, had already run away."

Peeves nodded firmly, "Well, it must be so. ”

Whether Kyle believes it or not, he believes it anyway, and Barrot the Bloody has a motive, and all the ghosts know that he killed Lady Gray of Ravenclaw, in case he wants to recreate the scene on a whim.

Peeves looked serious, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible.

But anyway, Kyle can't believe him even if he doesn't know the truth.

Ms. Gray disappeared with the Ravenclaw crown, and there was still a part of Rowena Ravenclaw's own memories in the crown, what can the bloody Barrow do, can he send it in the past?

Also, the ghost that can pass through the wall in the storage room is impossible.

But in the next second, Kyle thought of another question.

"Wait, Peeves, who is the Slytherin you said you saw on the second floor?"

"I think about it......" Peeves touched his chin, "I remember him and Potter arguing in the hallway, and I always wanted to see them fight, but unfortunately they ran into McGonagall, by the way, Potter called him Malfoy at the time."

"I'm telling you, that Malfoy must have been ordered by Barrow the Blood......"

Peeves was talking, but Kyle didn't listen to him anymore.

What did Malfoy do on the second floor suddenly.

Can't find ...... It's gone......

Is he looking for something? Or what was there that he wanted?

But the pantry was full of useless things, such as tables, chairs, benches, or old brooms that had been knocked out, and what did Malfoy want them for.

Kyle pondered, feeling as if he had forgotten something, but for a moment he couldn't remember.

It's no wonder that Dumbledore always kept a meditation basin in his office, and after going through so much, it was still necessary to comb through his memories once in a while......

"Kyle, what's wrong with you, they're here?" I heard Connor's voice, and the clamor of countless people.

Kyle comes back to his senses to find that Peeves has disappeared, and at the same time, Slughorn runs down the stairs with several professors and students.

He ran at the front, I don't know if it was because he was too big a move, or because he had eaten too much dinner, and the gorgeous violet robe on his body was tight, looking like it might be torn apart at any time.

"Kyle, Connor...... See Peeves? Some said he had come to the foyer. Slughorn said angrily, "That nasty guy, he ruined my prom!" ”

"He ran that way." Kyle didn't know where Peeves had gone, so he pointed in a direction.

"What, he ran back upstairs again?" Slughorn looked at Kyle's hand pointing to the library on the second floor, and felt his legs go limp.

The ghost can fly, but he can't, after running upstairs and downstairs several times just now, he really can't run.

"Kids......" he said, looking at the students who followed him, "I'll leave Peeves to you, help, I'm going to get him."

"Whoever can bring Peeves here, I'll reward him with a small vial of Elixir."

Hearing the elixir, several students' eyes turned red, they patted their chests, turned around and ran upstairs.

Splashed with vinegared water, they were going to settle accounts with Peeves, and now that Slughorn had offered a reward like a magic potion, there was no reason why they couldn't agree.

Several people rushed upstairs in a hurry.

Slughorn leaned against the railing and gasped for breath, and couldn't help but complain:

"Armando should have followed my advice and banished Peeves from the castle. That ghost is just a troublemaker, and everyone in the castle complains about him......"

"yes, it's the same now." Kyle said.

"Aren't you going to give it a try, kid?" Slughorn looked at Kyle and said, "I think you have a good chance of catching that trickster and getting my reward." ”

He took out a small bottle with a cork in his pocket, which contained a golden elixir.

Kyle couldn't help but glance at the bottle, then shook his head and said, "I'm sorry Professor, although I really want this reward, I don't know if it's because I drank too much alcohol at the prom, I'm a little sleepy right now, I just want to go back and get some sleep quickly." ”

"When you say that, I seem to remember that you did stay at the wine table all the time." Slughorn patted his head, "Listen to me Kyle, although you are an adult, you still have to refrain from drinking too much spirits, or you can try mead, I personally like the taste." ”

"I will, Professor." Kyle said. After a few perfunctory remarks, Kyle makes an excuse to leave with Connor.

When the two returned to the Hufflepuff common room, Kyle was still thinking about Malfoy's purpose for going to the Room of Requirement.

He obviously couldn't have wandered around, there must have been some kind of purpose...... But what is it?

"Kyle, thank goodness you're finally back, I think you seem to have a copy of Transfiguration and Disappearance, can you lend me a look?"

In the common room, Ryan, who was catching up on his homework, quickly asked when he saw Kyle come in.

"Yes." Kyle said casually, "The book is in the cabinet in the dormitory, you can find it yourself......"

"Wait." Kyle jerked his head up.

Cabinet...... Disappearing cabinets?

He finally remembered that in his third year, Nick, who was almost headless, had tricked Peeves into throwing a cabinet right above his office in order to help Harry, who had been captured by Filch.

And that cabinet is the vanishing cabinet.

And Nick, who was almost headless, also said that the vanishing cabinet had been kept in a storage room on the second floor.

Filch knows it's a vanishing cabinet and prepares to take the opportunity to kick Peeves out of the school for damaging the school's finances.

Of course, Dumbledore couldn't have chased Peeves away, or no one could get Peeves out of the castle.

Then the matter was gone, as if nothing had happened.

And the seriously damaged disappearing cabinet was also cleaned up by the house-elves.

On the surface, of course, this is true.

The truth is that the Vanishing Cabinet was actually taken by Kyle before the house-elf rushed over...... What the elf threw away was nothing more than a normal cabinet with Transfiguration applied.

No one but Kyle knew about it.

……

Could it be the Vanishing Cabinet that Malfoy was looking for?

If so, how did he know that there was a disappearing cabinet in the storage room on the second floor, could it be that he had been there before, but he was only in the second grade at the time, so he probably wouldn't have gone to the dirty storage room.

But if not, then what was he looking for......

Kyle thought to himself as he walked over to an armchair and sat down, and Connor, though he didn't know what Kyle was thinking, didn't bother him, just sat quietly next to him.

……

(End of chapter)