Chapter 140: Capturing the Ghost (Updated)

There are still twenty-four days until the first competition.

Sherin is not worried about the upcoming competition.

It would be best if everything happened according to the original plot, and he has already prepared. Even if the plot deviates and the first project is not the dragon, it doesn't matter, just use force to overcome cleverness and pass the level with absolute strength.

He has absolute confidence. If he goes all out, his strength will definitely be the strongest among the four contestants.

This is not because he is arrogant, but because his strength has far exceeded the level that a student should have, even if he faces an ordinary adult wizard.

Successfully selected to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, he has achieved his first goal in Hogwarts this semester. Exempting from the end-of-term exams means that he has more time to make his own plans. At the same time, under the pretext of preparing for the competition, he can legitimately ask the professor to give more advanced learning guidance and solve doubts.

The situation is exactly the opposite for Harry.

After the classes started again, he could no longer avoid other students in the school, and it was obvious that students from other houses thought that Harry had signed up for the tournament on his own, and they seemed to think that this was not very glorious.

After all, Harry was not Shailling.

Whether they liked Shailling or not, or liked the Malfoy family or not, no young wizard could deny Shailling's strength.

Not to mention, after killing the basilisk and fighting the Dementors, Shailling and Draco's deeds of fighting Mad-Eye Moody were also well known, and so was his escape from the Imperius Curse by sheer willpower.

Although Shailling was just a fourth-year student like Harry, everyone had high hopes for him and hoped that he could win this honor for Hogwarts. No one would think that his selection was not well-deserved.

And what about Harry?

Most of the young wizards seemed to think that Harry had used dishonorable means to cheat the Goblet of Fire and participate in the Triwizard Tournament purely to satisfy his selfish desire to be famous and show off. Don't forget, Harry has a history of riding a flying car to school.

In their opinion, Harry was stealing Sherin's honor and destroying the reputation of Hogwarts.

Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley used to have a good relationship with Harry, but now they don't talk to him, even though they transplanted hopscotch bulbs on the same tray - but when a hopscotch bulb twisted and broke free from Harry's hand and hit him hard on the face, they all laughed with gloating, which made people feel uncomfortable.

Ron also stopped talking to Harry because he thought it was very mean for Harry to sign up for the Triwizard Tournament without telling him. Hermione sat between the two of them and tried to find some words to ease the atmosphere between the trio.

It is worth mentioning that Hermione has grown a lot mentally this semester compared to her in the original book. At least, she has learned to accept the differences in values ​​between others and her, and has also learned to weigh and compromise.

She began to reflect on her own character. She used to feel too good about herself. To put it bluntly, she was self-centered and had zero emotional intelligence. She liked to impose her own thoughts, values, and ideas on others without considering the reasons and original intentions behind their behavior.

This time, she did not criticize Ron for his childishness and pettiness, but tried to understand Ron's sense of betrayal and discomfort.

She expressed her understanding of Ron's feelings, and tried her best to enlighten and guide him from Ron's perspective.

She told him that everyone is special and has their own place - there is no need to deliberately become what others want for others, because she knows that Ron, as the youngest son, has too much pressure from his older brothers. And most of this pressure was created by Ron himself.

So her relationship with Ron gradually improved.

What Hermione didn't notice was that Ron secretly looked at her when she was not paying attention, and began to show strange emotions.

Similarly, although she was very dissatisfied with the treatment of house-elves, she did not impose her justice on others. She listened to Hagrid's advice and decided to treat them well within her ability, instead of forcibly liberating them without considering the thoughts of house-elves as in the original book.

She no longer had the idea of ​​establishing a house-elves rights promotion association. Instead, she put more energy into studying.

If you want to do practical things, you still have to rely on strength and power in the end!

Occasionally, when she was absent-minded, she couldn't help but think, is this the responsibility that the boy in her heart has always shouldered, is this the reason that drives the boy to pursue knowledge and fame every day, is this the biggest difference between the boy and her in terms of position...

It seems that I really have never understood you...

Let's go back to Schelling.

Schelling is currently focusing on finding Merlin's Chamber of Secrets. After all, Peeves is an obvious clue.

Unlike many students' cognition, Peeves is not a ghost, but a Poltergeist.

The Poltergeist, whose name comes from the German word for "noisy ghost," is an incorporeal entity that can move objects, bang doors and create other noises, movement disorders, and even have enough physical form that chewing gum can be stuck up their nostrils.

The poltergeist has never been a living person. This characteristic shows that it, like Dementors and Boggarts, belongs to the category of "non-living beings" or "non-existence". It has never died and cannot die because it has never lived.

Schelling specially went out for a night stroll during the curfew. He was confident that Filch and his cat could not do anything to him.

As he expected, he was caught by Peeves.

When Peeves was about to shout and report Schelling, Schelling quickly waved his wand. Peeves suddenly found that his mouth was sealed and his tongue was tied, and he could not make any sound. The ghost was old and experienced, and he immediately knew that he had offended a tough guy, so he turned around and wanted to escape.

Schelling pointed his wand at the direction where Peeves was escaping and whispered: "Catch the soul!"

Peeves suddenly found that his body was out of control, and it seemed to be sucked towards Schelling by a very strong suction force. It struggled desperately, but it was of no help to the current situation.

After Schelling used the Soul Binding Charm to force Peeves to come over, he flipped his other hand, took out a special bottle container, and forced Peeves into it with his wand.

At this time, he also heard the footsteps of Filch and his cat rushing over. He calmly cast the Invisibility Charm on himself, then calmly walked past Filch and Norris, and returned to his dormitory safely.

Back in the dormitory, Schelling had just released Peeves, and Peeves immediately rushed to the wall, trying to escape quickly before Schelling could react, but found that at some point, his ghost-like body had been bound by a magic chain emitting a gloomy red light, making it unable to even move a finger. The other end of the magic chain was connected to the end of Schelling's wand.

Peeves angrily cursed: "Peeves is defeated this time, I admit it! Why are you still holding me!"

Xie Ling said slowly: "No hurry, no hurry, I want to ask you about someone. If you can give me a satisfactory answer, I will not only let you go, but also give you some prank supplies. How about that?" Xie Ling pointed to a box of dung eggs on the desk.

"Okay, okay! Deal! Tell me, who do you want to ask? Peeves will tell you everything he knows!"

Xie Ling smiled and slowly said: "Merlin!"

Prank spirit is the author's translation, and the People's Publishing House translated it as "prank elves". The author believes that spirits can be better distinguished from elves.