Hogwarts White Knight

Coming out of the office, feeling a little guilty, he took one last look at Lupine, who was holding up his wand and working hard to clean up the "ruins" bit by bit with the disappearing spell and the repairing spell. Gawain quickly trotted into the side of the third floor. hidden corridor.

He usually doesn't want to go this way because the passage is very narrow and ghosts often walk through it. Gawain still can't forget the feeling that once, when he was running quickly in the passage, he bumped into Sir Nicholas head-on.

It was also at that time that he understood what it meant to feel cold.

But compared to the momentary feeling of being so cold that even the blood vessels seemed to be frozen, what really made Gawain feel awkward was the subtle experience of being able to see even the ghost's internal organs and blood vessels.

Fortunately, at night in Hogwarts, the ghosts are not as "active" as they are during the day.

The hidden corridor was empty. On the two walls, there were strong burning torches separated by a few meters of wine. The ample light and the warm smell in the air made Gawain feel particularly comfortable.

"Why does the professor look so haggard? That look really makes people feel a little worried..."

Gawain thought as he walked lightly. Through the previous contact, he already had some good impressions of Lu Ping. But Lupine's sunken dark circles and dense wrinkles between his eyebrows made Gawain even a little worried that after he left, he would suddenly fall to the ground and never stand up again.

As for the fact that he lost the "duell" just now, Gawain has nothing to complain about. Although Professor Lupine is indeed much older than him and has much more experience, he has also used so many small tricks, and it is not fair to bully Lupine into not being able to use powerful spells.

To lose is to lose.

These are also what he needs to learn.

"But I'm still not willing to give in..."

Gawain suddenly turned around and kicked the wall hard.

Now, he was angry and hurting.

To make matters worse, Gawain also heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Gawain?" Turning his head stiffly, Gawain saw the ghost of Gryffindor, the "almost headless" Nick, looking at him with a surprised expression. His lower body was still downstairs, forming a strange 60-degree angle between his head and body.

"Nick? Why are you here?"

Gawain asked hesitantly, while frantically trying to find a reason in his mind to explain his strange behavior just now, even if it was a little unreliable.

"Fred and George seem to want to do something on the fourth floor. They want me to help them keep an eye on Filch's movements. I'm about to tell them that he has taken care of the big shit eggs on the second floor."

Nick "pulled" himself out of the ground, straightened his head, and spoke slowly.

Compared with Hufflepuff's kind but stern fat monk, the naughty Peeves, the awesome Bloody Barrow, and the proud Lady Grey, Nearly Headless Nick is more popular among the young wizards. Because he is not only humorous, but also willing to provide some help to the students.

——For example, avoiding Filch, avoiding Filch, and avoiding Filch and Mrs. Norris.

"Then you'd better go find them quickly..."

Gawain persuaded carefully, he very much hoped that Nick would ignore his actions just now. Even he himself didn't understand why he suddenly became so stupid and childish.

"Well, good night, Gawain."

Nick smiled and nodded to Gawain, rising up and crossing the floor under his expectant gaze.

"At least I got through it..."

Gawain took a deep breath and kicked the wall a few more times, but this time he was smart enough and didn't use much strength. After this action, for some reason, Gawain suddenly felt that his mood was much better.

"The ghost is really too..." Gawain patted his chest and muttered softly.

"What's wrong?" someone asked him.

"Of course it's scary!"

Gawain felt incredible, how could anyone not understand this. Ghosts suddenly appear from the walls and always choose to be stupid. You know, if he hadn't reacted quickly enough, he might have received a strange nickname such as "The Wall Kicker".

When he thought that he was so angry that someone almost saw him kicking the wall to vent his anger, Gawain felt a wave of shame.

"Wait? This corridor..."

Gawain suddenly realized that this corridor was empty, and he had not heard any footsteps.

"That is to say..."

"I'm so terrible... I'm really sorry. I thought..."

On the ceiling behind him, the nearly headless Nick with his head inserted upside down was muttering. The half of his body exposed here showed a gray-white color, as if it would dissipate in the next second. Nick closed his eyes and was about to float upward.

"Wait, Nick!" Gawain quickly called him, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Gawain feels even more stupid...

After a while, Gawain suppressed his embarrassment, explained to Nick the reason why he complained, and asked for his forgiveness.

"Mr. White, in your mind, am I that kind of person?! I am a knight! How could I treat others like that! Even..."

Nick, who was almost headless, was indignant and said excitedly, but suddenly fell into silence.

"Even..."

Nick's face wrinkled up and his head shook slightly, as if he was trying hard to recall some forgotten details. After a few minutes, he raised his hands in frustration and recovered his head that had been bent to one side.

"Yeah...I'm already dead, so what's there to complain about?"

he said frustratedly.

"Nick, what does it feel like to die?"

Gawain was suddenly curious, and on this issue, there was probably no one in the world who had more say than Nick.

"Why do you want to know this? Of course it hurts a lot. That morning, the priest said everything would be quick..." Hearing Gawain's question, Nick suddenly became interested, "That's a very blunt blow." The ax, he kept cutting, forty-five blows for Merlin's sake."

As he spoke, he even made gestures on his neck with his hands, gradually separating his head and neck to imitate the process of cutting him with an axe. This was not at all like describing the process of being brutally murdered. Instead, it was telling Ron and Harry about Seamus blowing up the cauldron in Potions class and drenching Malfoy all over.

"Until the end, I seemed to have entered a place, and suddenly the pain stopped. It seemed to be all gray there, but it didn't seem to be the case, and I don't remember it anymore. I felt that I should move forward, but I was too scared at the time. I was so scared that I never dared to make a decision. Then, I became like this."

Nick spread his hands in front of him and ended his story with some regret.

"Gawain, I just noticed that you seem a little irritable. Did something bad happen to you?"

He shook his head and said, as if he felt a little awkward and wanted to change the subject.

"nothing..."

Gawain shook his head and told Nick what happened in the office just now.

"Gawain, I remember you are only in the first year, right? As far as I know, even Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Dippet before him, didn't even have a decent Iron Armor Charm when you were your age. There’s no use for it.”

Nearly headless Nick smiled and comforted Gawain. Although he knew he was just exaggerating, Gawain still felt a lot better inexplicably.

"Nick, can I ask you a question?"

An idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"Of course!"

Nick lowered his body slightly and floated to Gawain's side.

"Suppose you have been hiding a secret that is important, difficult to understand, and dangerous. Would you tell others about it? Especially those you trust most."

Gawain organized his words and asked hesitantly. But almost as soon as he asked it, he was already regretting it. Asking like this made no sense to him, and he was even forcing Nick to make a choice.

But the words have already been spoken.

"Well... To answer your question, I also need to ask you a few questions." Nick did not answer immediately, but thought. "Gawain, do you want them to know?" After a moment, he looked at Gawain and asked softly.

This is a very direct question.

It's also very simple.

"...Do not."

After a while, Gawain answered with difficulty. He actually knew that the reason was not only that the secrets were difficult to understand and potentially dangerous, but also that he would worry those he cared about.

Seeing his look, Nick nodded in understanding. He stretched out his hand, wanting to gently pat Gawain's shoulder, but then thought that he was already a ghost, so he took it back silently.

"So, do you think you can handle it?"

Nick looked into Gawain's eyes and asked seriously.

"can."

Gawain replied in the affirmative. Although those secrets were the reason for his anxiety, they also forced him to work hard to grow up, and he knew that help was always there.

He never neglected help from others.

"Even if I don't know why, as long as I ask, they will definitely help me."

Thinking of this, a warm current surged into Gawain's heart. He believed that no matter what, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were all willing to trust him.

"Finally, Gawain, are you brave enough to take it upon yourself?"

Nick asked the last question seriously.

"Of course, who am I to ask this question? I'm just a coward. I don't even dare to take a step forward. I'm trapped in a mark between the two sides."

As if realizing that his words were too serious, Nick shook his head and said, not noticing how terrifying he looked as he shook his head 360 degrees in a secret corridor of the castle.

"Thank you, Nick."

Gawain suddenly understood many things. Inexplicably, a wave of heat surged out of his body, and it seemed that even this gloomy corridor at night became richer in color.

He thanked Nick and walked towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Speaking of which, what was Nick going to do before?"

Suddenly Gawain remembered that before chatting with him, Nick told him that he was about to do something, but he couldn't remember clearly.

On the way back, he also saw the two Weasley brothers following Filch with frustrated faces and winking at him.

Either way, it was a good night.

Gawain thought relaxedly.