Chapter 67 — The Expired Agreement
"But… everyone is still a little afraid of you… especially now that you've used that ability in front of them again.
Hehe… they're all people who are afraid of death. Even after dying, they're still afraid of death…"
As he said that, the Fat Friar's eyes unconsciously grew dimmer, clouded with a trace of confusion.
P.S. The Immortal Binding Spell:A spell invented by Douglas Holmes during his student years. At first, he had wanted to imitate an Eastern magical artifact known as the Immortal Binding Rope and create a magical item.
After failing, he took inspiration from the Patronus Charm and from an upgraded version of the Wand-Lighting Charm known as the Righteous Light Charm. By adding positive emotions to an advanced Transfiguration summoning technique, he eventually succeeded in summoning a rope capable of binding spirits.
While he was still in school, the spell's effectiveness was tested on Peeves many times, though at the time it could only bind Peeves and lasted for only a single day.
According to an unnamed ghost, this rope specifically targets spirits. Although Peeves is not a ghost but a poltergeist, it is still capable of harming him.
After graduation, Professor Holmes obtained the Thunderbolt Elder Wand, allowing him to improve the spell further by adding not only positive emotions, but also lightning.
He later used the upgraded spell abroad against an evil spirit. The results showed that the improved version could inflict a certain level of damage on some special spirits and could last for a longer period of time.
The Fat Friar had not spoken loudly, but many of the ghosts still heard him.
Sadness appeared in some of their eyes.
Douglas sighed. He didn't know how to comfort him.
Humans and ghosts were different.
He couldn't even offer something as simple as a hug.
Turning around, Douglas looked at Peeves, who was tied into a ball and still howling.
"Peeves, if I remember correctly, I told you that you were not allowed to touch my personal things in the kitchen."
Peeves stubbornly protested,
"I didn't!
That was something nobody wanted!
Smelly stuff!
According to the agreement, I can—"
Douglas gave a cold snort.
"Hmph. That was the brine for stinky tofu, which I had painstakingly brewed in order to make a delicious dish.
Every house-elf in the kitchen knows that I've been taking time every day to use magic to help ferment it.
It was almost finished, and then you ruined it. All my effort was wasted.
And now you've gone and splashed it all over my office door…"
Douglas's expression grew colder.
"Don't forget—I am a professor at Hogwarts.
Not a student."
That last line was clearly directed at the surrounding ghosts.
Peeves bullying students was one thing.
Provoking a professor was another matter entirely.
Peeves blinked cunningly.
"I didn't mean to do that!
I was aiming at those two brats.
You violated the agreement and attacked me.
I'm going to complain to the Headmaster!"
Filch suddenly roared,
"Professor Holmes, don't listen to his nonsense!
Hurry up and use the Peeves-Repelling Charm—"
The instant he finished speaking, everyone—especially the ghosts—turned to stare at Filch.
The corridor exploded into noise.
"Shut up, you bastard!"
The ghosts roared so loudly that the whole castle seemed to vibrate with their voices.
Then, almost as one, they turned back to Douglas with wary expressions.
Many of them even looked faintly pleading, as though terrified that he might actually agree.
Faced with the fury of nearly a hundred ghosts, Filch felt the temperature around him plummet.
The foul liquid dripping from his clothes even seemed close to freezing.
Under the sheets, the Weasley twins shivered violently.
Neither of them dared make a sound for fear of attracting Douglas's attention and being driven away.
After all, it wasn't every day they got to hear news this explosive.
They had always been curious about the history between Professor Holmes and Peeves.
And now they had uncovered something even more unbelievable.
The ghosts of Hogwarts were hostile toward the professor as well.
No wonder, whenever students had asked the ghosts about Professor Holmes, the ghosts would always awkwardly change the subject or flee the conversation altogether.
Everyone had assumed the ghosts simply disliked gossiping about professors behind their backs.
Now the twins realized the truth.
Suddenly, detention in Professor Holmes's office seemed far more exciting than sneaking out at night.
Just look at what they had learned—
Professor Holmes and Peeves had a non-provocation agreement.
The Immortal Binding Rope Spell could tie Peeves into the shape of a peach.
And there was even a thing called the Peeves-Repelling Charm.
They had never heard of it before, but it sounded absolutely amazing.
Douglas looked at Filch speechlessly.
"You did that on purpose," he said flatly. "You really were afraid the ghosts might forget."
Then he turned back to Peeves.
"Tsk, tsk. I didn't expect you to actually use your brain for once and find a loophole in the agreement.
Not deliberately. Not actively provoking.
So, according to your wonderful explanation, as long as you didn't do it on purpose, it doesn't count as provocation.
What a brilliant interpretation."
Peeves lifted his chin proudly.
"Well, I didn't break the agreement.
See? The contract never backfired on me."
Douglas looked at him with open disdain.
"Peeves, I'm afraid you didn't read the agreement carefully enough.
It stated:
'…while a student of this school, do not initiate conflict with Peeves, and do not give or sell the Peeves-Repelling Charm or any similar object or spell to anyone else…'
I regret to inform you that the agreement expired the moment I graduated."
Peeves froze.
Then he let out another wail.
"Devil… liar…"
Under the sheets, the Weasley twins were equally stunned.
They suddenly felt terrible about themselves.
All of them had once been students at Hogwarts.
So why had the professor been so absurdly brilliant?
Compared to Peeves's anger, however, the ghosts were the ones truly panicking.
If the agreement had expired, then that meant the Peeves-Repelling Charm could very well appear in Hogwarts again.
To Peeves, the charm had been more of an annoyance.
For ghosts, however, it caused genuine harm.
Why did the ghosts dislike Douglas so much?
Because he had invented something that could directly injure ghosts without using powerful dark magic.
Back then, Douglas had made large numbers of Peeves-Repelling Charms and sold them all over campus.
At first, students had bought them only to defend themselves against Peeves.
Then one day, some genius had thrown one at Myrtle.
The result was that Myrtle was left suspended in mid-air outside the girls' bathroom, sobbing and wailing miserably.
That day, Hogwarts students had discovered an entirely new world.
And after that…
Many of the ghosts at Hogwarts suffered various degrees of harm.
The reason the Headmaster had finally been forced to ban the spell was this:
someone—no one knew who—had actually used it on Professor Binns.
Professor Binns, the ghostly History of Magic professor who had served Hogwarts for a thousand years, became nearly half as transparent as before.
Because of that, History of Magic had been suspended for an entire month for the first time in history due to Professor Binns's "personal reasons."
Headmaster Dumbledore had personally sought Douglas out and strictly forbidden him from continuing to sell such charms.
Douglas had agreed immediately and, in exchange, proposed signing a peace treaty with Peeves.
From that day on, the ghosts' fear of Douglas—who alone could truly harm them—slowly deepened into something closer to hatred.
As Nearly Headless Nick had once put it, ghosts were those who feared death and lacked the courage to move on. They became imprints of the mortal world and chose this thinnest, poorest way to continue existing.
(Not all ghosts become ghosts out of fear of death. Those who become ghosts were wizards in life and may choose whether or not to remain. Some stay behind for other reasons.)
So when an ordinary wizard suddenly appeared who could harm ghosts, fear and panic were only natural.
Douglas's years at Hogwarts had been the most miserable period the ghosts had experienced in a long time.
At last he had graduated.
And then, just three years later, he returned.
So the ghosts had decided to pretend not to know him, pretend not to see him, and simply endure the year in silence.
Until today.
Today, they had watched him use that power again inside the school.
And then calmly announce that the previous agreement had expired.
Even though the spell had not been aimed at them, it still left them unsettled and afraid.
Some of the ghosts had already begun thinking that Hogwarts was no longer safe and were considering leaving for a year before returning.
But even that thought left them confused.
Where else could they go besides Hogwarts?
Beneath the sheets, the twins exchanged a look.
"What a genius."
"A true senior."
"Peeves made him limp."
"Our failures don't even count."
Suddenly, George asked in a whisper,
"Fred, do you think the school rule about not throwing spells at ghosts has something to do with the professor?"
"George, take a look at those ghosts. They practically want to write that rule on their faces and force the professor to read it aloud."
Douglas could clearly feel the temperature in Hogwarts dropping as the ghosts' emotions spread through the corridor.
At last, he sighed helplessly and spoke to the Fat Friar—and to all the ghosts gathered around.
"Friar, and all of you…
I am a professor at Hogwarts.
I am part of Hogwarts.
So I promise you this, in the name of a Hogwarts professor—
The charms I created will never appear among the students again. Nor among the professors.
And during my time here, I also promise that I will never use this spell on any ghost other than Peeves.
You know perfectly well that back then…
it was just an accident."
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