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43. Ghost Food
🕑 Added 2025-05-20 00:38:06 +0000 UTCDumbledore said his welcome, followed by his iconic words, “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” Harry questioned his insanity, and Percy agreed. Food materialized on the table, and everyone, including Christian, started eating. He was surprised by how tasty the food was and the variety, as there was a little bit of everything.
Although his mother tried to instill the idea of not wasting food, Christian had to admit he had a sophisticated palate. One of his worries about Hogwarts was the food. Luckily, he was worried for nothing.
While enjoying some rice, Christian saw Harry and Ron talking to Sir Nicholas, or Nearly Headless Nick, not far from him and Hermione. He said: “Sir Nicholas, are you interested in answering a question and participating in a little experiment?”
“You’re Christian Malik, right?” said Nearly Headless Nick, gliding over. “What’s your question or experiment?”
Christian took out his wand to draw a line in the air before dividing it directly in the middle. On the right, he wrote the positive and negative signs on the left.
“In philosophy, there is the concept of cosmic duality, not of opposites, but the synergy between opposites. It’s found in Taoism’s concept of Yin and Yang, or Voodoo’s idea of the Marassa Jumeaux. In this idea or classification, ghosts are considered Yin. To be put in more Western terms, the world has both positive and negative, and ghosts lean on the negative.”
“We’re not negatives,” complained Nearly Headless Nick.
“Don’t see it as an attack on your existence or character. In this philosophy, fire is cheerful and positive, while ice is cold, indifferent, or negative. Since Ghosts’ presence can naturally elicit chills or coolness in people, you are classified as Yin or negative. This phenomenon is more apparent when many of you are gathered.”
“That’s true.”
“Do you know about Dementors?” asked Christian.
“Of course, I know of these vile creatures.”
“Well, Dementors are classified at the very extreme end of negative, not just because coldness and chills are associated with the presence, but because they are creatures of death and darkness.”
Christian wrote Dementors at the line's endpoint on his left side and “ghost” somewhere in the middle.
“The Patronus Charm, the only spell capable of dealing with Dementors, is a magical concentration or manifestation of happiness and hope, which is a positive.” Christian wrote patronus, happiness, and hope on the right side of the line.
“My question is: would the Patronus Charm work on ghosts?”
“I honestly don’t know,” replied Nearly Headless Nick. He had never experienced such a thing, but this theory sounded logical and believable.
“I can answer you.”
Christian looked over and saw the Slytherin’s ghost, the Bloody Baron, glide over. “The Patronus Charm can block or interact with us, but it cannot harm us like Dementors.”
“Is that so? And you’ve seen or personally experienced such a thing?” asked Christian.
“I have.”
Christian nodded. Although he might need to verify, the Bloody Baron’s words would suffice for now. So, he took his journal and pen — which he had shrunk to carry — and wrote this information on Entry 10.
“Now, for my experiment. Have you heard of Inferno Emberwort?”
“No.”
“The hottest pepper in the world. Anyone who consumes will instantaneously combust while spewing flame like dragons. In fact, only grown dragons can consume this thing,” explained Christian.
[AN: Not a real magical plant.]
“This plant can be considered the extreme of Yang or positive.” He wrote the name at the end of the right side.
“So, what will happen if a ghost comes into contact with it? Would it actually hurt you or just give you a burning sensation? Or maybe, since it’s an edible plant, would you finally be able to taste something? I know ghosts have the urge for food, but cannot taste it.”
“I have no idea, but I really want to try right now,” replied Nearly Headless Nick, turning to face the Higher Table. “Does Professor Sprout have some? We can try now.”
“Inferno Emberwort is a rare and dangerous magical plant. The slightest contact with bare skin will leave burned marks, so no, you can’t have any to experiment with. Plus, it’s not part of the curriculum, and I don’t have any,” replied Professor Sprout.
“That’s a shame,” uttered Nick.
“Indeed, but maybe it’s for the best,” replied Christian.
“Why? Don’t you want to know the result?”
“I do, but such an experiment would be dangerous. Although I don’t think it would kill you, there might be severe consequences.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for example, how do you deal with a situation where pepper actually hurts you? I don’t think any spell can cure burning marks on Ghosts. Wait, maybe there is no need for a specific spell. If we can gather hundreds of ghosts beforehand, the chills or negative energy they release might be able to counter the pepper’s effect.”
Christian swiftly wrote this idea in his notebook before closing it and activating the Shrinking Enchantments. He then looked at Nearly Headless Nick and Bloody Baron and said, “Thank you for indulging me and my silliness.”
“No problem.” Bloody Baron flew away, but Nick looked at him unwillingly before floating away. The ghosts followed them as they seemed to want to discuss something. Christian understood their mood as this might be their only chance to taste food or feel other sensations.
Christian waved his wand to disperse the drawing in the air and continued eating. The quiet hall became rowdy again as the crowd rushed to discuss what had happened. Christian suddenly felt Hermione nudging him.
“Do you need something?”
“How did you come up with this?” she asked.
“With that?”
“All this: this idea and experiment.”
“Oh, well, I’ve always had many wild ideas and questions about magic, and my mother always encouraged me and helped with my experiments. Do you know that blood from wizards and witches is more delicious and nutritious than Muggle blood for Vampires? Fascinating, isn’t it?”
Hermione was baffled at how he could know such a thing. However, she decided not to ask. The dinner continued as people reconnected, introduced themselves, or discussed myriad things. Dessert was served, and before long, the food vanished. Dumbledore announced the rules, including not using magic in the hallway, the time for the Quidditch trial, warning not to go to the forbidden forest unsupervised or at night, and finally, not entering the third-floor corridor on the right.
One difference that Christian noticed was the mention that school clubs would start one month later. That was odd and not something that happened in the book, so Christian wondered what this was about.
The students sang the school songs before Christian followed Percy, who led their houses. However, not long after exiting the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall came rushing and stopped them.
“Christian Malik, a moment, please.”
Christian was baffled and approached, “I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“No. I’m here for your wand,” she explained.
“Why?”
“All underage wizards and witches must have the Trace placed in their wands by the Ministry of Magic to prevent unauthorized use of magic or revealing the existence of magic to Muggles. Your wand was not in your luggage, so they did not get to it.”
“I thought the Trace was on the body, not the wand?” Christian asked. Even if an underage wizard used wandless casting, the Ministry will notice and give them a warning.
“The spell is first cast on the children’s wand.”
“I see,” said Christian before reluctantly handing over his wand. “One more thing.”
“What is it?”
Christian showed her the map his mother had given him. “I have a problem with navigation, so my mother gave me this thing to help me find my way around the castle. Could you say a word to Filch so he doesn’t think I’m using magic in the hallway?”
“Let me see.” McGonagall took the map and checked it. She tapped her wand for a basic check: “If I write to your mother, will she corroborate your story?”
“Of course.”
“Then you can use it for now.”
“Thank you.”
Christian watched her leave before returning to the group. Christian was unhappy about this trace in his wand as it felt like an invasion of privacy. Plus, he planned to teach Peeves a lesson when he encountered him on the way to the Gryffindor common room. But he had to watch the little Poltergeist bolstered around like he ruled the castle.
Christian soon met the Fat Lady, the painting guarding the entrance, and learned the password to the common room. He shared a room with Harry, Ron, Neville, Sean Finnigus, and Dean Thomas. Luckily, the room was big enough, and everyone had their own bed.
