Without acknowledging Nick, who was lost in thought behind her, Erina turned and walked into the Deathday Party hall.

Unlike the dazzling Great Hall of Hogwarts, while also a Halloween-themed banquet, this "Halloween Deathday Party" where ghosts and wizards danced together clearly had a colder main color and temperature.

Under the unified planning of Erina and the house-elves, the underground classroom was clearly divided into three areas:

The central location was the main stage area for guests to dance, chat, and enjoy performances.

Hundreds of milky white, translucent figures wandered back and forth in the dance pool, interspersed with soft orange warm light, as if street lights rising under a thin forest mist—those were Gryffindor students carrying pumpkin lanterns. The ghosts' low temperature kept blowing around, causing the magical candle flames in the pumpkins' bellies to flicker.

Compared to the hall with the magical sky as its dome, this temporary venue decorated from the underground classroom naturally could not create the brilliant starlight of the main Hogwarts hall, but Erina still tried to decorate the venue a little.

Nearly a thousand magic candles were lit in the classical bronze chandeliers, swaying with blue light.

The walls on both sides of the Deathday Party were covered with sparkling silver frost, and hundreds of sprigs of mistletoe and wreaths of ivy were hung on the ceiling. Many fire-breathing silver ribbons floated lazily under the ceiling, like brilliant water snakes.

Near the right wall, there was a high stage.

The distant Siren Choir was softly singing sad tunes on it. Several goblins held batons, conducting the instruments on the other side with serious expressions, while supervising the "singers" who had received Gringotts gold coins. Noticing Erina's gaze, the goblin supervisors seemed to become even more nervous.

The hall was filled with ice sculptures, shimmering like huge diamond statues under the magical light.

Next to the ice sculptures was the dining area that Erina planned for the "living guests."

Thirteen small tables with lanterns were scattered throughout the Deathday Party hall, serving as embellishments along with the ice sculptures. Each table could seat about eight to ten people, but most of the tables were not full at this time.

The dinner borrowed from the cold buffet previously held by Slytherin House, and adopted a buffet format.

At the other end of the banquet hall was a row of U-shaped long tables, covered with black velvet tablecloths, neatly lined with silvery semicircular dish covers. A thin layer of magical flame was attached around the plates, dispelling the biting cold air—after hundreds of ghosts gathered together, the banquet hall became a natural cold storage.

"Ha—it's so cold, Erina, you're finally here..."

Hannah breathed out a cloud of mist, her slightly baby-fat little face frozen a little red.

She and Hermione, Luna, and a few others did not go far after entering the hall, and had been waiting for Erina at the door. Even with the pumpkin lanterns for warmth, their faces and the backs of their hands still ached from the cold... most importantly, they were hungry.

"What were you talking about with Mr. Nick? Why did you talk for so long?"

"Oh, nothing, just some about the Deathday Party process—"

Erina habitually opened her eyes and began to perfunctorily answer. As the Goblin Queen of Gringotts and the new era's Demon King, she hardly needed to spend any time activating her "performance" skills, and could make up a bunch of logically rigorous stories as soon as she opened her mouth.

However, she stopped halfway through her words.

Three meaningful gazes simultaneously turned to Erina's swaying little ahoge.

Hermione: →_→

Luna: →_→

Hannah: →_→

Little ahoge: (?Д?≡?д?)!?

"...That, okay, okay...I admit, it wasn't about discussing the Deathday Party process."

Erina drooped her head and spread her hands, honestly explaining.

"However, those contents involve Sir Nicholas's personal privacy. I promised him to keep it secret for now—at least until the end of tonight's Deathday Party. Apart from him and me, I swear I won't tell a third person..."

"We know, we won't pry—"

Hermione glanced at Erina unhappily. She was just asking casually.

If they really wanted to eavesdrop on the two of them, they wouldn't have deliberately stood so far away that, apart from a few movements and gestures, let alone the sound, they couldn't even see the patterns Erina drew in the air.

Obviously, it was probably some "Goblin Queen" working time again.

"Can we go get something to eat?" Hannah suggested, she was about to faint from hunger.

"Be careful not to pass through someone's body."

Luna seriously reminded her, tilting her head towards the dance floor, and said cheerfully in a low voice.

"Just now, the Weasley twins accidentally entered the body of a nun while playing around, and were almost chased and cursed to death—in the end, it was Percy Weasley and the Fat Friar who helped smooth things over."

They walked carefully around the edge of the dance floor, passing a group of sullen nuns, a ragged man wearing chains, and the Fat Friar Luna mentioned: he was the Hufflepuff House ghost, naturally lively and cheerful.

At this moment, he was chatting with a knight with an arrow stuck in his forehead.

Not far from the Fat Friar, they also saw the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin House ghost.

Unlike the other House ghosts' friendliness, the Bloody Baron always had a cold expression—he was the only "ghost" that Peeves was afraid of in Hogwarts—he stood in the center of the dance floor, staring blankly in the direction of the door, emitting an unsettling aura, covered in silver bloodstains. The other ghosts were clearing a large space for him.

"You know," Erina lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "He's waiting for Ravenclaw's Grey Lady, but I can bet all the food tonight that the Ravenclaw House ghost will definitely not appear..."

Compared to Nearly Headless Nick, Erina didn't know much about the other House ghosts.

Especially those two House ghosts who once lived in the time of the four founders: now going by the name "Grey Lady," Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena Ravenclaw; and the Bloody Baron, who was sent by Rowena Ravenclaw to find her daughter, but ended up killing Helena in a fit of rage because of failed pursuit and mission.

Obviously, a mysterious shadow of Rowena Ravenclaw shrouded behind these two ghosts.

If Erina remembered correctly, according to the limited written records, the task Rowena Ravenclaw gave to the "Bloody Baron" was: [Bring Helena back to Hogwarts]—and from the results, her goal was perfectly achieved.

The birth of a ghost can be roughly divided into two states, active and passive.

Most belong to the former, they linger in the world due to their attachment to life and fear of death, which requires considerable willpower and magic, such as Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar.

The other is to die from powerful magic, or under a curse with a "soul-binding" effect.

"Is it the power of that sword... or is it not physical but enchanted?"

Erina's gaze lingered on the thin sword transformed from spiritual power at the Bloody Baron's waist for a few seconds, and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

Perhaps Helena Ravenclaw didn't necessarily want to die, but the Bloody Baron, who chose to commit suicide, certainly wouldn't have become a ghost because of his subjective will—generously going to death and cowardly self-termination are quite different in nature.

This also meant that in that distant Albanian jungle, an unknown magic had bound the Baron's soul.

No one knows how powerful the four wizards who created Hogwarts were.

But there is no doubt that their attainments in soul magic were definitely not low.

The Sorting Hat, the magical castle... just a few details can glimpse the magical abilities of the founders.

You know, compared to the Bloody Baron and the Grey Lady, whose transformation reasons are yet to be determined, there is also a poor ghost in Hogwarts who indirectly died at the hands of the castle's founders, whose soul was forcibly detained in the castle.

"Oh, no," Hermione suddenly stopped, "turn around quickly, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle—"

"Who?" Danilova asked curiously, looking forward.

On the path directly in front of them, a short, chubby female ghost was floating quietly.

Her face was the most melancholy and gloomy face Danilova had ever seen. Even the faces of the nuns offended by the twins were better than hers. Half of the girl's face was covered by straight, long hair and thick, pearlescent glasses.

"You should remember that I told you before, try not to go to that girls' bathroom on the second floor."

Hermione glanced at Myrtle with some fear, preparing to bypass this section of the road, while saying in a low voice.

"Look, that's the reason... That bathroom is Moaning Myrtle's, and that bathroom malfunctions all year round because Myrtle is always temperamental and splashes water everywhere. Just imagine, when you're using the toilet, she keeps screaming and crying at you, and splashes water everywhere, it's really terrible. We better—"

"Hello, Myrtle! I'm glad to see you outside the bathroom."

Erina waved cheerfully and said loudly.

"What?"

Myrtle floated over, asking in confusion.

"Sorry, but do we... know each other?"

"Strictly speaking, this should be our first meeting? Let me introduce myself, Erina, Erina Kaslana. I've often heard other ghosts talk about you before—are you having a good time tonight?"

Erina said generously, reaching out her hand forward, making a handshake gesture.

"Erina... Kaslana..."

Myrtle sniffled, looking at Erina uncertainly.

"I've heard of your name. You're the most famous student in Hogwarts now, the head chef of Hogwarts, the professor's favorite student, a star among the students—unlike me—no one ever cares—"

As she spoke, tears suddenly fell quickly from her transparent little eyes.

"Myrtle Elizabeth Warren, I've heard your name from Professor Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat."

Erina said softly, glaring fiercely at the wings looking at the top of her head, and said softly.

"In fact, I've been looking forward to meeting you, um... in such a relaxed, semi-formal setting, instead of barging into that bathroom that belongs to you, impolitely and rashly introducing myself."

"Don't lie to me. You actually want to avoid me..."

Myrtle gasped, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"My friends know that Erina Kaslana keeps her word and never lies."

Erina looked at Myrtle quite sincerely, and said extremely seriously.

"At the end of last year, when I was still complacent about my grades, Professor Dumbledore told me some stories about you—Hogwarts is not short of talented wizards, but very few have achieved overwhelming advantages in all courses. If that accident hadn't happened, we might even have to call you Professor now."

"Re-really... Professor Dumbledore evaluated me like that?"

Myrtle's sobs gradually lessened, and she looked at Erina suspiciously.

"Well, that's what he said last year anyway... Oops! Wait a minute—that's what I said!"

Erina glanced at Myrtle, who seemed a little suspicious, and before she could ask a new question, her face suddenly changed, and a surge of anger rose quickly. She looked at Myrtle, who had just stopped sobbing, aggressively.

"Could it be that Professor Dumbledore was actually lying to me?!"

"Yes, yes! That must be it! I was a little suspicious at the time, how could there be such a powerful wizard as he said in this world: she has a photographic memory, as if all the textbooks were printed in her mind. No matter what kind of assessment or how tricky the questions are, she can't be stumped. The most outrageous thing is that she has been the first in all subjects in the whole grade for several years in a row..."

"Eh? Eh eh?"

Myrtle's words, which she hadn't had time to say, stopped in her mouth.

"I happened to meet the person in question. Now I have finally caught Professor Dumbledore's handle!"

Erina said resentfully, with an increasingly agitated expression, and her speech was as fast as exploding firecrackers.

"That liar! I'll go and make trouble for him later! It's too much. I made a bet with him about this matter before, but he even colluded with other professors—because of this bet, I had twice as much homework as others during the summer."

"Bu-but..."

Myrtle hesitated and moved her lips, her voice like a mosquito's.

As if not noticing Myrtle's weak voice, Erina, immersed in acting, said with gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, my grandfather is also working in the school now, we are not afraid of him—I hate liars the most!"

"Bu-but... but at that time, I-I was indeed always the first in the grade..."

———

———

Hooray!