"Sorry, I don't understand what you are talking about..."
The almost headless Nick was stunned for half a second, and then said softly with some restraint.
"Honey, but I think you have the wrong person or should you go to the party?"
"There are more than 300 ghosts from all over the country and more than 100 Gryffindor students here. If nothing else happens, several formal professors will come after hearing the news. This is a rare sight.
The grand occasion”
Elena looked at the scene inside the door with interest.
The underground classroom was crowded with hundreds of milky-white, translucent figures. Most of them were wandering around the central dance floor, dancing to the sad and melodious songs of the sirens. Gryffindor students were walking around carrying jack-o'-lanterns.
Among them, curious people walked around the venue carefully, and the orange candle flames blessed by magic lingered around them to dispel the chill.
Elena tapped her fingers on her lips and asked softly in a cute tone.
"If, I mean if this distinguished gentleman, if they found another name on the cake, or someone suddenly told a boring Muggle history in the middle of the venue at this time. After the party ended,
After they return to their respective social circles, how far will their absurd jokes eventually spread?"
"This is my 500th death anniversary party. Don't you think this prank is a bit too much?"
The almost headless Nick's expression gradually turned cold, and he said coldly with a hint of sullenness.
"If you want to learn that special transformation magic, you don't need to use this method to coerce me. After this banquet is over, I will directly tell Mr. Dumbledore the corresponding content, and he will teach you personally."
"Magic? Grow taller? Oh, no, no, no... you misunderstood."
Elena let out a naughty breath, watching her breath form a mist in front of her.
"I have just turned twelve, why should I worry about these distant things... What's more, there are too many transfiguration masters in Hogwarts now. Once we have a general direction, it is only a matter of time to derive derivative magic.
.How could it be possible that such a grand performance was organized with great difficulty for the sake of a technique that will be developed sooner or later?"
"...Then what do you want?" Nick frowned.
"Well, let me think about it"
Elena blinked thoughtfully and said slowly.
"First of all, can you squat down a little or sit down? It's very tiring to keep talking with your head raised. Also, if you have to ask me what the purpose of doing this is, or what I want..."
She glanced at the ghost sitting on the chair next to her and smiled slightly.
"I want you Mr. Cromwell."
"Oh, Merlin! Let me say it again, I have no idea what you are talking about. I don't know the Thomas Cromwell you are talking about, or Merlin, Earl of Isaacs. This is simply ridiculous!"
Nick, who was almost headless, laughed angrily and waved his hands angrily, his head shaking on his neck.
"Today is my 500th anniversary party. Everyone here knows who I am. You can do whatever you want..."
"Yes, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, he died on the 31st of January. Everyone knows that you maintained the same posture as you did at the last moment of your death, but there is something that has puzzled me for a long time."
Elena looked back and forth at Nick and asked quite sincerely.
"Wheel ruffles, tight jackets, breeches...did these costumes originally exist in the period of Henry VII? I thought this was a style that only became popular in Elizabeth I after Henry VIII strengthened the aristocracy. As
As a nobleman who lived in the early Tudor dynasty, you must have been an eye-catching new trendsetter during your lifetime?"
"Ghosts can change their clothes by themselves, I just appreciate it more..." Nearly Headless Nick said in a stiff tone.
"But only in the future, not after losing the body after his death. The ghost cannot understand the details of the cloth on the body. As far as I know, unworn clothes should not work, or can you try a different one?
"
Elena took out her wand, summoned a set of Hanfu in mid-air, and glanced at Nick casually.
Before arriving at the death anniversary party today, she had done enough homework.
Ghosts can be roughly divided into two components: body and clothing.
The former mostly depends on their state before turning into a ghost state, while the latter comes from their obsession.
The clearer the ghost's thinking, the easier it is for him to control and adjust his daily appearance, but this is limited to loading the corresponding fragments from memory, rather than inserting new elements, at least this is the information Elena obtained.
According to Nearly Headless Nick's "official death anniversary", in 1492, Henry VIII had just been born.
This is like Nie Xiaoqian appearing in front of Ning Caichen wearing a cheongsam. Although strictly speaking, the contrast is not that exaggerated, but under rigorous research, it will still show some strange incongruity.
"Of course, you could say that these clothes became popular in Henry VII's time..."
Elena glanced at Nick who was silent, waved his hand to disperse the illusion, and continued.
"During the Tudor Dynasty, there were three ways to execute sinners: hanging, burning, and beheading, which corresponded to civilians, nobles, and heretics respectively. I carefully checked the documents from my father's side. In 1492, Britain was still under Rome
Given the jurisdiction of the Holy See, even if you are executed as a noble, don’t you think this date is too inappropriate?”
"If the king wants to execute someone, does he have to choose the day deliberately?"
The almost headless Nick took a deep breath, his voice a little hoarse.
"Halloween, Christmas, Easter...who will issue and execute execution orders at these times? The festive decorations and arrangements that can be seen everywhere will not make people forget these special days, let alone"
Elena took out a black cross from her chest and stroked it gently, winking slyly.
"As the only day of the year when wizards can freely mingle in the Muggle world, it is a brave decision to execute wizards at this time. What is even more surprising is that from imprisonment, to sentencing, to execution, it took a total of
A nobleman was executed so hastily and with astonishing efficiency in less than a day. Aren't the participants afraid of losing their heads?"
"There are always exceptions to everything..." Nick, who was almost headless, said painfully.
"Maybe, but what I want to say at this time is another sentence."
Elena shrugged noncommittally, raised her fingers, and looked at Nick meaningfully.
"Edmond Rocca once said: Wherever a mortal walks, there will be traces."
"If you were really active before 1492, you will be able to find physical traces of 'Sir Nicholas' presence everywhere. Those will not be forgotten, will not be edited, will not be confused by stimulation, will not become human beings."
It is a trace of misleading evidence. It is evidence of the existence of facts. Physical evidence will not be falsified or disappear completely."
"Through some wonderful and insignificant channels, I discovered that your traces in the magical world don't seem to be that reliable."
Elena's eyes flickered and she explained a few words vaguely.
As the Fairy Queen of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, she can easily mobilize and read all Gringotts' information. Those internal accounts are relatively trustworthy information, and they are also one of the few pure lands that wizards have not been able to set foot in before.
Almost no wizard can live a normal life in magical or non-magical society without having contact with the banking system.
"Of course, this can only deduce that the identity of 'Sir Nicholas' is doubtful, but it cannot determine who you are."
As Elena said, the little hair on her head swayed from side to side very proudly.
"Well, actually, it's all thanks to the tip you gave me, Mr. Nick."
"Me?" Nick frowned even more tightly, "I don't remember when I said these nonsense."
"At last year's opening party, the Gryffindor table was long." Elena said, her eyes flickering.
"After the sorting, when Harry, Hermione and other freshmen began to eat, you once said, 'I haven't eaten for almost four hundred years.' I believe in Granger's memory. What you said is
Four instead of five.”
"Four hundred and ninety-nine years, which is almost more than four hundred years...Miss Kaslana."
Nick's expression gradually relaxed, he looked at Elena curiously, and softly pointed out the loopholes in her words.
"Yes, but this gave me a very important tip"
Elena nodded quickly, took out a heavy book from her chest, and spread it on her knees.
"This made me realize why I couldn't find any trace of you during the reign of Henry VII. It was because the initial time anchor point was chosen wrongly. Four hundred years was used as the basis for tracing back. Then the time should cover 1492-1592
Period. And once I moved my gaze to the period between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, a certain person’s name stood out too much.”
She began to turn the pages of the book quickly while explaining softly and slowly.
Finally, she stopped.
"Thomas Cromwell," Elena put up the book and said in a low voice, "Henry VIII's chief minister of state, he was sentenced to death by beheading by Henry VIII in 1540, and he endured nearly half an hour of blunt torment.
Death after being tortured with an axe”
Elena's performance did not get the response she expected.
"So? It's just a coincidence."
Nearly Headless Nick said calmly, "In our time, such unfortunate things happened occasionally. Not all executioners were very skilled. Except for this unlucky Mr. Cromwell, there were many similar situations."
.”
"Oh, then there may be too many coincidences between you and Mr. Cromwell..."
Elena flipped the book, pushed it in front of the almost headless Nick, and read softly.
"During his tenure, Thomas Cromwell assisted Henry VIII to complete the transformation of modern British society, and his most important achievements were: presiding over and drafting a series of laws such as the "Act of Supremacy", which allowed Britain to separate from the Holy See and become a
It established a monarchy with independent sovereignty; promoted the legal circulation of the "English Bible" in Britain, promoted the birth of Protestantism, and disbanded monasteries on a large scale to fill the treasury; and, among the most talked about folk stories...
"
Elena glanced at the ghost beside her and raised her eyebrows slightly.
"He successfully helped Henry VIII bring down the Duke of Norfolk and Queen Anne Boleyn, and sentenced Anne for adultery, incest, treason, counterfeiting, attempted murder of the royal family... Oh, and witches, these crimes
·Boleyn's death sentence was to be beheaded with a long sword. And the most interesting thing is that she is actually a witch."
"If I remember correctly," Elena mused thoughtfully, "her portrait hangs in Hogwarts Castle, probably just outside the auditorium. Oh, there is also this on the corner of the third or fourth floor.
Of course, she is the queen after all."
As she spoke, Elena waved her wand in the air, reflecting several scenes from her memory.
(Click on the picture to expand—→)
"Sir Nicholas, look at it. Is it exactly the same as the portrait in the book?"
"...What does this mean?" Nick sighed softly.
"Only magic can defeat magic. Maybe this is not entirely accurate, but facing the powerful Witch Queen, the wisest way is obviously to turn to another wizard for help. In addition, the name Thomas Cromwell, Branch House
There are not many students who happen to have a little bit of impression of having the characteristics of three colleges at the same time..."
Elena said while taking out another book from her chest.
"The Ghosts of Hogwarts", which she borrowed from the Hogwarts library not long ago.
"In 1492, Sir Nicholas met Lady Grieve in the Royal Park. She was convinced that he could help her correct her crooked teeth, but Nicholas's attempt backfired and caused her to grow fangs."
"Cromwell took orders from Anne Boleyn in his early years. She believed that he would help consolidate his power and push the religious reform in a more drastic direction. However, Cromwell betrayed Anne and framed a lot of things in her.
Crime."
Elena pointed to the words on the two books, compared them one after another and read softly.
"Nicholas screamed all night in prison... Cromwell kept writing to Henry VIII while in prison... The priest came to the cell to comfort him... The old nobles expected to force Cromwell to submit... cut
Forty-five strokes... The execution went on for a long time... Do you think these stories are exciting and coincidental enough?"
"...There are really too many loopholes."
Nick, who was almost headless, shook his head and looked at Elena, his expression no longer as frivolous and easy-going as before.
"Then, there is still an unsolved problem in the end. Even if I am 'Cromwell', then why should I remain anonymous and even go to great lengths to invent a non-existent character? This makes no sense.
"
"It's very simple, in order to completely bury that past."
Elena smiled slightly, closed the two books, and said softly.
"From the fourteenth century to the end of the fifteenth century, wizards and Muggles fought a secret war for nearly two centuries. And if this war ended not with a truce, but with wizards interfering in the internal affairs of the non-magical world,
It would be completely different to completely expel the influence of the Holy See in the world and then hide it unilaterally..."
"This means that wizards can achieve their goals by controlling non-magical power. This is Pandora's box."
"In that war that lasted for two centuries, the final winner was...the magic world. This is the long-standing confidence of some ancient pure-blood families. However, as the most important hub, you chose to leave the future to Muggles.
…”
Within Hogwarts, the four houses each have their own unique character.
As the resident ghost of each college, it is equivalent to the microcosm of each college. Over the long years, there have been more than a thousand ghosts who graduated from Hogwarts, but only four of them are qualified to become the symbol of the college in the castle.
True Gryffindor corresponds to true courage.
There is no doubt that Thomas Cromwell, who single-handedly shouldered all the infamy, ended the war, and ushered in a new era, can be said to be the wizard who perfectly interpreted courage and hope in the magical world over the past thousand years.
"That was...many years ago. Miss Kaslana, you are the smartest witch I have ever seen."
After being silent for a long time, Nick, who was almost headless, let out a long sigh.
"Then you should know the importance of having this show end perfectly... We cannot control the future. If wizards are allowed to dominate humans, we may never see the prosperous world outside now. The war is over, this is
At that time, all the top wizards made a unanimous decision: We will become watchers and work together to bury the ambition of magic."
"Then, I'm sorry..."
Elena shook her fingers and said softly.
"The war has begun again. This is a continuation of the previous war. Hogwarts is coating the outline of magic with the brilliance of science to prove that magic can be achieved by everyone. A new era should begin."
"That is your future..." Nick, who was almost headless, said calmly.
"Yes. But"
Elena nodded quite seriously and blinked slyly.
"As you can see, I just celebrated my twelfth birthday last month. As a pioneer who single-handedly promoted the modern British political and social structure, industrial and commercial innovation, legal system, and religious reform...are you really not worried?
, in this final relay process, did I let down the people who sacrificed along the way because of my lack of experience?”
"Think about it, Sir Nicholas."
Elena raised her face and showed a smile as pure as an angel.
"Before the banquet ends tonight, but it's best to hurry up, Gringotts' press conference on the inventory of 'Thomas Cromwell's estate, the will commission, and the distribution of manuscripts for dozens of mainstream media, there are many things waiting
I'll go deal with it."
"Gringotts?" Nick, who was almost headless, was slightly startled.
"Oh, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself."
Elena stood up and walked towards the underground classroom, speaking lightly.
"After you decide, you can also call me Her Majesty the Queen. The Fairy Queen in charge of magic finance."