Chapter – 13.2: She can’t stay away from trouble after all (Part-II)

Chapter - 13.2

"Oh! Hello there, my little koochi... koochi... koo troublemakers." What came out of the classroom was a ghost named Peeves. And everyone knew that it was their worst luck to come across him.

On the other hand, when Peeves saw five students out of bed in the middle of the night, he squealed in delight. His happiness had no bounds.

But to be fair to Peeves, it wouldn't be right to call him a ghost, to be honest. Because from what Alex remembered after reading what little was available about him, Peeves was quite different from other ghosts at Hogwarts. From what Alex read in Hogwarts: A History, Peeves is actually guessed to be the manifestation of the students' mischiefs. He has been in Hogwarts since its inception, with various tales about him being recorded throughout history.

And his appearance validated those tales. Peeves looked like a little man with wickedly slanted, orange eyes, dressed in loud, outlandish clothes, with a bell-covered hat on his head and an orange bow tie. He had black hair, and compared to the Hogwarts ghosts, he was somewhat solid-looking.

And if his appearance wasn't enough, Peeves pranks did the rest. Unlike other ghosts who can't touch anyone or anything, Alex had even seen the little ghost throw stuff at teachers, slap the boys and lift the skirts of female students. He was a pain in the ass for everyone, including the ghosts themselves.

And now that pain in the ass was floating in front of him. Alex had no idea which side the camel would turn.

"Don't, Peeves... Don't... Please... You'll get us all thrown out," Potter pleaded to the ghost and whispered.

But it only made the ghost, if you can call it that, cackle.

"Naughty... Naughty... Wandering around at midnight." Peeves was as loud as it gets, but when his gaze fell on Potter, he went into thinking, "Oh, I know you..." And for the first time, Peeves looked very serious.

"Aahhh... Aren't you Potty wee Potter? The Hero!" Peeves smiled, showing his teeth and floated towards Potter.

"It's a privilege to meet you, sire," Peeves forwarded his hand towards Potter for a handshake.

Now, this was a surprise. No one expected the biggest troublemaker in Hogwarts to act so... so... refined and polite. Confused, Potter turned towards Ron, who urged him to hurry up. Even Nicole and Hermione asked him to hurry up.

With that, Potter also forwarded his hand to reciprocate.

"Or not... Fooled you... Hahahaha..." Peeves pulled back his hand and floated away.

"Ickle Firsties... Tut... Tut... Tut... Naughty... Naughty... You'll all get caught," Peeves forewarned them, but he was not concerned about the consequence. In fact, he might want them to get caught.

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Hermione practically begged Peeves.

"... We might get suspended... If that happens, how am I going to explain it to my parents? And Lisa... She will tell everyone, and they will all make fun of me..." With so many possibilities, Hermione had already jumped to conclusions and was far from the present.

"Who's Lisa?" Nicole asked.

"She is my cousin," Hermione turned towards Nicole and told her, "She competes with me on everything. If my parents get me a dress, she has to get the same dress for her. There was one time that I was in my neighbourhood church's choir. And when she heard about it, I don't know what she did, but the next day Lisa was in it as well.

"Is it that serious?" Nicole looked surprised.

"Not only that," Nicole, with her eyebrows raised, and an exasperated look on her face, continued, "After I got the letter from Hogwarts, she raised a hue and cry. She wanted to get admission to Hogwarts along with me. Luckily, Hogwarts is not a place she could come. Otherwise, everything would be..."

And suddenly, the girls found something more important that they had to talk about. It was to the point that even Peeves felt neglected, maybe for the first time in his life.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves loud and clear in a sanity voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Oh, you... Get out of the way," finally, Ron had enough, and he snapped. Ron threw his hand at Peeves, trying to push him away. But it was a big mistake. Because Peeves felt that Ron was taking a swing at him, and he didn't take it lightly.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"Moron," Even Alex did not see that coming. Well, who could? Maybe Mr and Mrs Weasley could.

"Run!" Alex knew Peeves was loud enough for Filch to hear him. So, without wasting any time, Alex grabbed Nicole by her arm, who, in turn, grabbed Hermione and ran the other way behind Potter and Ron.

"Huhuhooohu... Huhuhoohu... Run... Run..." Peeves cried out in joy as he watched a bunch of kids run away like rats, hiding from Filch and his pussy.

But maybe because everyone was bad with directions, or Potter's bad luck had brushed with them. Because right now, after running for their lives, the five of them were at the end of a corridor with no way out and a locked door in front of them.

'Why did I get involved in this mess?' Alex thought. But then his eyes fell on Nicole, and everything was crystal clear. Now he was not going to wait for tomorrow to settle things with his sister.

"This is it!" Ron moaned as he slammed helplessly in the door, "We're done for... This is the end."

On one side, there was this struggle with the door, while on the other, they could hear the rushed footsteps towards them. Everyone was scared at this moment, but the most affected was Hermione. She had gone into a daze and had been mumbling something about suspension all this time. Well, it was always a possibility. So, you can't blame her.

"Oh, move over," Alex snarled. He grabbed Ron's arm and flung him like a kite away from the door. Then he pulled out his wand and tapped it on the lock as he whispered, "Alohomora!"

And voila, the lock clicked, and the door swung open. And without a second to waste, everyone piled through it, and Alex shut the door behind them.

"Finally, we are saved," Ron slid to the ground with his door against the door and sighed in relief.

"No, we are not," But Alex was quick to burst his bubble of happiness.

"Why?" Ron stood up in a flash and asked.

"The Lock, you moron," Alex said. Alex was still not angry at him for how he handled Peeves, "The door is closed, but the lock? It's for everyone to see that it is unlocked."

And then it hit everyone. If Filch were to come close to the door and if he saw the lock, everything would be over. Now, after everything they had gone through, everything rested on Peeves, who could not be predicted and a bit of luck.

And so, with their hopes not that high, Alex and the others pressed their ears against the gate, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please.' " Peeves said coquettishly.

"Don't mess with me, Peeves. Now, where did they go?" seeing Peeves acting up, Filch was getting impatient.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right — please." Finally, Filch gave in.

"NOTHING! Haha! Told you I wouldn't say anything if you didn't say please! Haha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"Peeves... You nice fellow," Ron almost cried after what Peeves did for them, "I would have treated you to a meal if you could eat."

But the worst had not passed. Filch was still lurking around. But, maybe after Peeves, luck also decided to side with them. They soon heard the sound of Filch's footsteps growing weaker. It was a good sign.

"I guess we are sav..." Potter smiled and began to say. But before he could complete it, Alex grabbed Potter by his collar and pinned him against the wall.

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