Early in the morning, Lucien walked out of the Ravenclaw common room, preparing to head to the Great Hall for breakfast.
He rubbed his temples.
The splitting headache still hadn't subsided.
He was no stranger to this kind of pain. It felt much like when he had exhausted his magic cultivating the Apple of Youth seeds before.
It was as though a group of trolls were beating drums inside his head, and with every step, he could feel his temples throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
Even concentrating on ordinary thoughts required more effort than usual.
In truth, Lucien didn't know whether his first attempt at practising the Patronus Charm last night had been a success or a failure.
Calling it a failure didn't seem quite right.
But calling it a success...
He wasn't even sure what he had actually summoned.
He only remembered that the moment he chanted the incantation and channelled his magic, the magic within him seemed to be ignited by something, becoming exceptionally active and surging uncontrollably toward his wand.
It happened far too quickly for him to stop it.
Immediately afterward, he heard all kinds of sounds.
Cheers.
Laughter.
Joy.
Countless happy emotions seemed to emerge from somewhere beyond his awareness and flood into his mind at once.
Some were clear, others vague. He couldn't distinguish who they belonged to or where they had come from.
Then it was as though he had lost consciousness.
Or perhaps his thoughts had simply been completely overwhelmed by those voices and emotions, leaving him incapable of perceiving anything else.
By the time he came to his senses again, it was already morning.
Lucien climbed out of his suitcase and found that his roommate, Terry, was gone.
The bed had been neatly made, so Terry was probably at the library or somewhere similar.
Only a note remained on the desk, written in Terry's familiar handwriting:
"Damn, mate, that mist was so cool! Being wrapped in it felt incredibly strange, just like the first time my parents took me to watch the Quidditch World Cup..."
Lucien stared at the note for several seconds.
Mist?
Apparently, he had at least managed to produce something.
Unfortunately, Terry's description wasn't particularly useful for determining exactly what had happened.
Lucien shook his head, folded the note, and slipped it into his pocket.
He could investigate it later.
The headache made it difficult for him to think clearly, but fortunately, he had no classes that morning, so there was no danger of being late.
Food first.
Thinking could wait until his head stopped feeling as though trolls were using it as a rehearsal hall.
Just as he walked down the stairs of Ravenclaw Tower, Lucien heard sharp, tuneless singing coming from around the corner.
"Last night was wondrous and frightening, ghostly mist filled the castle, yet it brought joy and sweet dreams, how strange, how strange..."
The voice rose and fell unpredictably, sounding like a cat whose tail had been stepped on while attempting to perform opera.
Lucien's footsteps slowed.
Last night?
Someone's talking about a mist again?
His aching temples throbbed again.
Mixed in with the singing was another voice, much softer and more ethereal.
"Could you please give me back my necklace? I need to wear it to class..."
The singing stopped abruptly.
Then the shrill voice rang out again, this time filled with obvious smugness.
"Ooh~ This is your necklace? It's actually made of corks! Hmm, it even smells like Butterbeer. I'm not giving it back because you forgot to address me properly as 'Lord Peeves'..."
Lucien rounded the corner and looked toward the source of the voices.
A small "ghost" floated in mid-air.
Its face was comical, broad and round with large eyes, its features crowded together in a way that made it look both sly and irritating.
Its clothes were also completely different from those of the other ghosts.
Instead of plain, pale robes, it wore a bright, gaudy, exaggerated outfit that looked almost like a clown costume.
Although it wore a tie and a hat, the slippers on its feet were split open with long cracks, revealing toes that never stopped wiggling inside.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
It was Peeves.
This fellow wasn't actually a ghost, but a poltergeist, a prank-loving entity that had existed since the founding of Hogwarts.
Unlike ordinary ghosts, Peeves could interact with physical objects and move them freely.
Just as he was doing now.
He clutched a necklace made of bottle corks in one hand and waved it around vigorously, constantly moving it just beyond the reach of the person below.
Whenever the other person nearly touched it, Peeves immediately floated another half-foot higher.
He frequently used this ability to play pranks on students and professors, leaving most people thoroughly exasperated.
Even Filch regarded him as one of the great disasters of Hogwarts.
Lucien's gaze shifted downward.
A young girl was stretching up toward Peeves, trying her best to reach the necklace.
Her dirty-blonde hair fell to her waist, and her wide silver eyes looked upward.
Her skin was so pale that it was almost translucent beneath the morning light.
Luna Lovegood.
At that moment, Luna was standing on tiptoe, reaching toward Peeves with a serious, calm expression.
She wasn't angry.
She wasn't shouting.
She didn't even seem particularly frustrated.
She simply kept reaching for the necklace whenever Peeves lowered it, as though having something stolen by a troublesome poltergeist was merely another perfectly ordinary part of attending Hogwarts.
Peeves, naturally, seemed delighted by how little reaction he was getting and was preparing to continue teasing her.
Then he suddenly stopped.
His nose twitched slightly, as though he had caught the scent of something interesting.
He whipped around.
The moment he noticed Lucien standing around the corner, his comical face lit up with excitement.
Luna was immediately forgotten.
Peeves released an excited cackle and flew straight toward Lucien.
Lucien didn't move.
Peeves stopped abruptly in front of him and shoved his large face right up to Lucien's, so close that their noses nearly touched.
His round eyes blinked rapidly.
"Do you know who pulled off that prank last night?"
Lucien's expression remained unchanged.
Peeves grinned from ear to ear, his tone filled with obvious admiration.
"I really liked what that fellow did. It certainly made Hogwarts a lot livelier!"
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