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The food was far more plentiful than Morris had expected, and more elaborate than any meal he had ever had at the children's home or school.
The only downside was that there were no desserts included.
If possible, he would like to have some cake before the main meal—although the order is reversed.
Fortunately, just as everyone had finished eating, the golden plate suddenly changed again.
It was piled high with all sorts of sweet treats: muffins drizzled with chocolate sauce, jam tarts, raspberry cake...
"That's more like it."
Morris moved the tempting raspberry cake to his side with satisfaction.
While he was enjoying his meal, the Ravenclaw students next to him were chatting about all sorts of things.
But Maurice ignored these topics.
All he cares about is food.
As the sweet taste blossomed on his tongue, he squinted his eyes in satisfaction.
Perhaps noticing the "oddball" at the table who was engrossed in eating, a female student sitting opposite Morris couldn't help but speak up: "Um... hello, could you pass me the chocolate cake in front of you?"
Morris reluctantly and politely pushed the plate over.
It was then that he noticed that the person who had spoken to him was an Asian female student.
His kind face made him feel good about it.
Morris asked, "Are you English?"
The female student nodded slightly and replied politely, "Of course, but I have Chinese ancestry. Oh, by the way, my name is Qiu Zhang, and I'm a second-year student."
"Maurice Black, a freshman," Maurice introduced himself simply.
He immediately felt a little disappointed; he had thought he would meet a genuine Chinese person in this place.
"I'm Marietta Eckmore," a red-haired girl next to Cho Chang leaned over and said kindly. "By the way, Black, what did the Sorting Hat say to you? You seemed to take a long time."
"Just call me Maurice. As for the Sorting Hat… it called me an idiot." Maurice shrugged.
The two girls exchanged a glance.
"Oh, a fool wouldn't come to Ravenclaw," Marietta said with a laugh.
"Maybe," Morris replied casually.
Just then, a semi-transparent ghost happened to float over Morris's head.
Upon noticing this, Morris immediately looked up and greeted him warmly, "Mr. Ghost, could you come over here for a moment?"
The ghost was wearing a long-sleeved, belted tunic, a pullover robe, and a soft, drooping hat. This was probably medieval attire.
Judging from this, he must have been dead for quite some time.
"Young sir, are you calling me?"
The ghost turned around, gave an elegant bow, and its translucent body gleamed like pearls in the candlelight.
When he floated up to Maurice, Maurice realized that he was a handsome man.
"Are you dead?" Maurice asked curiously.
"It is obvious, my dear friend," the ghost said, spreading his arms gracefully, "that I drank that deadly poison in pursuit of true love—and that is my romantic end."
Morris felt that the ghost was showing off its way of dying, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.
"Uh…that sounds good," he said hesitantly.
"May you one day have a death as romantic as mine." The ghost bowed gracefully. "Goodbye, my friend."
After saying that, he floated up lightly, passed through the suspended candles, and disappeared into the night sky.
Qiu Zhang gazed in the direction the ghost had disappeared and whispered to Morris, "I advise you not to talk too much with the ghosts. Most of them... well... aren't exactly normal."
Marietta nodded in agreement. "I agree, especially Barrow the Blood Man, he's covered in blood."
Morris thoughtfully cut off a small piece of cake. "I do find them quite interesting. But speaking of which, why are there so many ghosts at Hogwarts? They couldn't all have died here, could they?"
If that's really the case, it's quite creepy.
Qiu Zhang wiped the cream from the corner of her mouth. "I'm not too sure either, but I've heard that Hogwarts is the place with the most ghosts in England."
"How many ghosts exactly?" Morris pressed.
"Hmm, this is a difficult problem." Marietta tilted her head in thought.
There are sixty-eight in total.
Just then, a voice came from behind Maurice.
He turned his head and saw a male ghost dressed in exquisite clothes.
The ghost's collar was adorned with lace, and his coat was very ornate, making him look quite elegant—if not for the gruesome wound on his neck.
His head was almost completely separated from his neck, with only a few inches of skin and flesh barely connecting them, making one worry that it might suddenly fall off.
"Oh, it's you, Nick the almost headless one," Cho Chang introduced Morris. "He's a resident ghost of Gryffindor."
"Please call me Sir Nicholas of Minsey." The nearly headless Nick gave an elegant bow, a gesture that made his head begin to sway dangerously. "It is a pleasure to meet a young gentleman so interested in ghosts."
Marietta was somewhat surprised by the number of ghosts Nick mentioned, who was almost headless. "Are there really that many ghosts at Hogwarts? I've been here all year and I've probably seen less than twenty."
Nick, who was almost headless, smiled slightly. "My dear girl, it's normal that you don't see many. Many ghosts—especially those old guys that have existed for hundreds of years—are not willing to appear in front of the living. People like us are actually in the minority."
"Sir Nicholas, could you come a little closer?" Morris suddenly asked.
Nick, who was nearly headless, was a little confused, but still floated forward a short distance. "Of course, young friend. Is there anything you want to ask?"
"Just call me Maurice."
As Morris spoke, he reached out and tried to touch the head of the ghost in front of him.
Unfortunately, his fingers passed straight through the ghost's translucent form, only feeling a comfortable coolness.
Nick, who had almost lost his head, paused for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh.
In his eyes, this was not a rude act.
He said proudly, "The living cannot encounter ghosts, sir."
Chapter 24 The Dangerous Lounge
Seeing Maurice poking around inside the ghost's body, Cho Chang quickly grabbed his sleeve, "Stop! You can't touch the ghost like that!"
Morris withdrew his hand and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Sir Nicholas doesn't seem angry."
"It's not a matter of whether you're angry or not," Qiu Zhang explained seriously. "Ghosts carry a special aura, and if a living person comes into contact with them for a long time, they may get sick. Last year, a student spent one night with a ghost and ended up lying in the school clinic for a whole week."
"Okay, thanks for reminding me." Morris nodded thoughtfully.
Nick, who had almost lost his head, elegantly straightened his collar. "This young lady is right. Although it wasn't our intention, ghosts are indeed not suited to too much physical contact with the living. But rest assured, brief contact will be fine."
In fact, Morris did not feel any discomfort; on the contrary, the strange coolness made him feel exceptionally comfortable.
He was confident that the ghost could not harm him.
However, since someone kindly reminded him, he thought it best to comply.
Afterwards, Nick, who was almost headless, returned to his desk in Gryffindor, and Maurice's first encounter with the ghost came to an end.
...
After Dumbledore delivered a thought-provoking speech and led all the teachers and students in a broken rendition of the school song, it was finally time to return to the dormitory.
First-year students are required to follow their respective house prefects. Ravenclaw's prefect was a tall, thin boy, but Maurice didn't know his name.
Throughout the journey, Maurice kept thinking about what the principal had said at the end.
"...Finally, I must tell everyone that anyone who does not wish to encounter an accident or die a painful death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor."
This blunt warning is less of a dissuasion and more of a way to pique curiosity.
It must be said that Dumbledore is good at stirring up trouble.
Even the usually cautious Maurice couldn't help but become interested in that place.
However, he quickly suppressed the thought.
It would be too hasty to investigate now, and more importantly, he had a vague feeling that this matter might be related to Harry Potter.
Unless you are fully prepared, it is wise to keep your distance.
Led by the prefect, Maurice followed the group up the marble stairs, through a corridor, and finally down a narrow spiral staircase to a strange wooden door.
A delicate bronze eagle-shaped door knocker is inlaid in the center of the wooden door, gleaming with a metallic luster under the light.
"Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room." The prefect turned to face the new students with a polite smile. "I am Prefect Robert Hilliard. As you can see, there is no fixed password here."
Robert pointed to the eagle-shaped door knocker. "To enter the lounge, you must answer a question posed by this knocker. It could be a riddle, a logic puzzle, or a corny joke. If you answer correctly, the door will open. If you answer incorrectly..."
He shrugged. "Then we can only wait until someone answers the question correctly, or simply try again at a different time."
A slight commotion arose among the freshmen.
Morris examined the unique access control system with great interest—it certainly had a Ravenclaw feel to it.
Unfortunately, he wasn't good at solving riddles.
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