Legacy Rewritten

Pumpkins and Ghosts

Nick was waiting near a wall to my left, practically bouncing in wait...if ghosts can bounce at least. "Ah! You're back; it was no trouble I take it?" he questioned, practically sighing in relief. I knew it was probably because he could smell the rotten roast beef rather than being glad I didn't encounter any troubles within the kitchen walls. Shrugging unconcernedly, I said, "Not at all actually. Feenky sends her regards - along with the rotten roast beef of course." "Oh good, I'm so very glad. Kind elf, Feenky is. Now, let's get that beef to Sir Patrick Delaney - Podmore and you'll be one step closer to finding those pages," he replied, causing me to scoff in disbelief that I still had no more information than what I'd started with. 

"This is all rather cryptic Sir Nicholas...what's actually going on?" I questioned, clear frustration written on my face and woven in my words as I eyed the ghost skeptically. "Terribly sorry, I am getting a bit ahead of myself. Sir Patrick organizes the Headless Hunt - a group of headless ghosts who gather for various...errr...headless activities," he stated, sensing my obvious disdain for still having to wait. Patience was still something I had to grow in, and this scenario was not helping one bit. However, the phrase 'headless activities' did pique my interest. "Did you say 'headless activities'? Do I need a reason to be concerned Sir Nicholas?" I questioned, a sense of unease traveling through me at the thought of losing my own head. 

"Yes, you'll see. Anyways, I don't know how, but one of the members of that particular hunt, Richard Jackdaw, had the pages when he was alive -" "'When he was alive? Has this whole thing just been a massive goose chase?" I interrupted. "Easy, I promise that if you let me explain, you'll hear why it is relevant to you. My plan is to take the rotten roast beef to Sir Patrick so that he'll allow me - umm, I mean us - to engage with the hunt and speak to Jackdaw. Shall we?" Nick explained, causing me to sigh again in frustration since I now had even more questions for the ghost in front of me. "I thought the roast beef was for you. If not for you, why would you send me to the kitchens in the first place?" I asked, making an attempt to not let the frustration seep through my words. At seeing Nick's ghostly shoulders tense, I realized that some came through anyways.

"It is...in a way. You see, I've been trying to gain access to the hunt for quite some time. Offering the beef to Sir Patrick may help me that in that regard. And this will, of course, help you by giving you a chance to talk with Richard Jackdaw about the pages," he said, obviously trying to reassure me that he was trying to help me as well. I could definitely see his point of view, but I was still frustrated by feeling a little used...at least until I realized that I was kind of using him and I quickly shut those thoughts down. "Well, then what am I supposed to do when we meet up with the hunt? I sure hope this isn't a clever way to try and kill me, I'll figure out how to unalive your ghostly form if need be," I stated, my threat clear when I saw Nick hold up his opaque hands in a form of surrender. 

"My friend, I don't want to kill you. There's no merit in that for me, plus, I have no doubt that you'd figure out a way to kill me again if I had planned to do so. Simply, let me do the talking. They can be a rather...supercilious lot, especially if you say things like that around them. I am, however, fairly certain that they will be most welcoming to you, in no small part due to that aromatic rotten roast beef that you will come bearing to them," he said, offering a small smile to me as he gestured to the beef I had in my hands. Grimacing in realization that I was still holding it, I quickly disapparated it into my satchel as I asked Nick one last question, not realizing that there were three sets of ears desperately trying to listen in on our conversation.  

"Is the Headless Hunt dangerous? While you lot may not try to kill me, I haven't had the best luck of late going out of the castle," I grimaced again as some pain from the curse reverberated throughout my body at that moment, giving me a ghastly reminder of my most recent encounter. "I promise my young friend, the Headless Hunt would not hurt a fly, let alone an ancient magic using student like yourself; the name is merely there because all of the ghosts who attend are headless. And they are a fun-loving group all things considered," he said, making me sigh internally in relief as my shoulders relaxed a bit as well. Finally, a semi-normal outing. "Very well my friend, I'd like to meet Sir Patrick myself - and to see this 'Headless Hunt'," I said, nodding towards Nick. I heard three sighs belonging to the three lurking Slytherins, thinking that they were being sneaky, as they were determined to follow behind us...just in case.