Chapter 98: Nick's Invitation
Chapter 98: Nick's Invitation
Liam's so-called new magic was actually learned from the Maoshan Daoist Canon. He believed this spell for ghosts would cheer Nick up.
Under Nick's curious gaze, Liam took out a small incense burner, a bundle of incense sticks, and a pair of candles from his Spatial Bag. Finally, he pulled out two chocolates from the pocket of his robe.
After arranging everything, Liam placed the incense burner and candles on the box in front of him, then put the chocolates behind the incense burner. Once everything was in place, Liam used his wand to light the two candles.
Next, Liam picked up a bundle of incense sticks and lit them from the candles. He then closed his eyes and began to murmur softly.
Nick didn't know what Liam was doing, but he could tell from Liam's actions that he was taking it very seriously. So Nick remained quiet to avoid disturbing him.
For a moment, the storeroom fell into silence, with only Liam's soft chanting echoing in the room. The sound of someone walking down the corridor in wet shoes seemed particularly clear.
After about three or four minutes, Nick saw Liam insert the incense sticks into the incense burner. Then he opened his eyes and blew forcefully on the incense.
The incense sticks were completely burned within a few seconds after the blow, and the smoke they produced was absorbed by the chocolates on the table.
After blowing out the incense, Liam returned to his normal state. He picked up the chocolates and offered them to Nick, saying, "Sir, you can eat some chocolate. It will help you feel better."
Nick reached for the chocolates in Liam's hand and said, "I appreciate you trying to comfort me, but you should know that we ghosts can't—"
Before he could finish, Nick's expression changed dramatically. He could feel something in his hand, a sensation he hadn't experienced in 500 years. After all, among all the ghosts at Hogwarts, only Peeves, who wasn't really a ghost, could touch physical objects. The other ghosts couldn't.
Nick withdrew his hand and found that the two chocolates were still in Liam's hand. However, in his palm, he now held two pieces of milky, translucent chocolate.
"What is this?" Nick asked Liam, surprised.
"You know, my lineage is from the Orient. Recently, I've learned some Oriental magic, and this is one of them. It uses Incense Power to allow ghosts to enjoy food."
Nick, with a shocked expression, placed a piece of chocolate in his mouth. Liam saw tears welling up in his eyes, as he hadn't eaten anything in 500 years.
After finishing the two pieces of chocolate with tears in his eyes, Liam noticed that the sadness on Nick's face had vanished. He happily said to Liam, "Thank you for letting me taste the deliciousness of food again. Compared to this, not being part of the Headless Hunt isn't such a big deal anymore."
After saying this, Nick suddenly became hesitant. "Liam—there's something I want to ask, but it might be too much. You've already helped me so much, and I shouldn't bring it up—"
"Sir, what exactly do you want to say?" Liam asked, looking at the conflicted Nick.
"Um, I was just wondering if the magic you used earlier is very difficult for you? Because I noticed you performed it without a wand." Nick finally asked his question.
"It's not too difficult. It's part of Imperial Magic. Just like African wizards all use wandless magic. So it's not as hard as it looks. However, I can only create five to six of these foods for ghosts each day, and they can only last for up to seven days." Liam replied.
"It's like this", Nick finally said after much deliberation. "This Halloween marks my 500th anniversary, and I will be inviting all the ghosts of Britain to my Inheritance Feast. Could you prepare the food for the banquet?"
As he spoke, Nick remembered something and quickly added, "Of course, this will take up a lot of your time and effort, so I will give you a generous gift in return. After all, I have lived in this castle for 500 years and know many secrets that others do not."
"Alright, I'll do it", Liam replied. "A week before Halloween, come and find me, and we'll start working in the Room of Requirement. But let me be clear, my cooking skills are quite average, so you might need to find someone else to do the cooking."
"That's no problem at all", Nick said, delighted that Liam had agreed. He quickly assured Liam that he would take care of the food arrangements and that Liam didn't need to worry about it.
After saying his goodbyes, Nick left with a smile, as he had several days to think about the menu and plan a surprise for the ghosts at the feast.
Seeing Nick pass through the wall, Liam returned to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The Common Room was bustling with activity. The weather had been poor lately, so everyone preferred to stay in the warm Common Room.
At that moment, the Weasley Twins were feeding a Fire Lizard Flibbertigibbet Fireworks, causing the lizard to fly around the room with sparks and explosions. Fortunately, in the wizarding world, fireworks, influenced by magic, couldn't set anything on fire; otherwise, with all the carpets, tapestries, and wooden furniture, a fire could easily break out.
Soon, Percy's voice could be heard scolding the twins, and some students cheered and egged him on.
Liam pushed his way through the crowd and handed Fred a small notebook containing some data on the human body that he had learned from Madam Pomfrey. The twins had mentioned they wanted to research some interesting candies, so they needed this data to determine the correct dosages of certain ingredients.
Taking the notebook from Liam, Fred asked, "Hey, Liam. Would you like to join our research?"
Before Liam could answer, Percy suddenly appeared and asked, "I hope you're not planning to do anything reckless, or I'll write to Mother."
"Of course not", George replied. "We just want to ask Liam some questions about potion brewing and healing spells. We saw Madam Pomfrey giving him private lessons in the Hospital Wing the other day."
"Really?" Percy asked, somewhat excitedly.
"Yes", Liam nodded.
Percy then delivered a lengthy speech about the twins' newfound responsibility and good behavior. It took a while before he finally finished and left.
Seeing Percy head off to scold a group of noisy first-year students, Liam told the twins that he was honored to join their research.
Liam was curious to see what new and innovative ideas the twins would come up with, given the additional funding, resources, and knowledge he could provide.
(End of Chapter)
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