FIC for: humantales
Title: A Ghost's Council
Recipient: humantales
Fic or Art: Fic
Rating: G
Characters: Hogwarts ghosts, Minerva McGonagall
Warnings: None
Summary: What exactly happens at a Ghost's Council? And what is the Bloody Baron's secret?
Notes: The prompt mentioned back story, explaining customs, and Hogwarts ghosts. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to darth_kittius and Melissa for the fast and extremely helpful beta jobs! I really appreciate it!
Around twenty of the ghosts who resided at Hogwarts were assembled in the roomiest of the dungeons. A hundred candles placed around the room cast a ghostly light that did little to illuminate the dark room. The silvery figures floated around, talking quietly together. A few stragglers, late to the meeting, drifted in through the walls. The Fat Friar was the last to arrive. "Sorry," he whispered to Sir Nicholas, as he came to stand next to the Gryffindor ghost. Sir Nick nodded at him.
"All right, I think nearly everyone is here. Let's begin," called Sir Nicholas. The ghosts all around the dungeon came to order, gathering in a semi-circle around an old, wooden, rectangular table in the center of the room. One black candle sat atop the table. Sir Nicholas, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and the Bloody Baron passed smoothly through the semi-circle of ghosts to stand behind a long end of the table so that the rest of the ghosts were gathered before them.
"We've called this Ghost's Council to discuss a very important matter-" began Sir Nicholas.
"Not the poltergeist again, I hope!" called one of the ghosts. A few giggles were heard before the Bloody Baron silenced everyone with a particularly nasty glare.
"This is not about Peeves, for once." Sir Nicholas paused, rather dramatically, and the Baron rolled his eyes. "Oh, all right," Sir Nicholas said. "It's about Lord Voldemort."
"Became a ghost, did he?" asked Professor Binns wisely. "Should have suspected that would happen."
"Always heard he was afraid to die," said another ghost from the semi-circle, nodding thoughtfully. "Of course, everyone here can understand that." The other ghosts murmured their agreement.
"Yes, well, Harry Potter, one of my own Gryffindors, killed Voldemort just a few weeks ago. While Harry embraced his death with a courage I wish I had possessed," said Sir Nick, "Voldemort chose a ghostly life, and he has decided he wants to haunt Hogwarts with the rest of us." Sir Nick sighed. "It was one of his favorite places, after all," he added.
"What? No!" was the general outcry of the ghosts. "He'll corrupt the children! He'll teach them dark magic! He'll lead students to follow in his ways!"
"Let's just discuss this calmly and rationally," pleaded the Grey Lady. "There is no need to jump to conclusions. Maybe ghost-hood will turn Voldemort into more of a… human."
"You're saying you're all for letting him in? You want a murdering dark lord among us?" came an angry voice from the crowd.
"Well, no, I mean…." the Grey Lady stammered.
"Allow me to answer," interrupted the Fat Friar, bowing slightly to the Grey Lady. "We have to be fair, you see, and as a group, the four of us House Ghosts have come to a consensus. We feel that we should give Voldemort a chance. There might have to be restrictions placed on him, of course; before his death, he was a mass-murdering, power-hungry dark lord, after all. But I think it is in our best interest to extend a hand of friendship to this ghost."
At this point, however, no one was listening to a word the Fat Friar was saying. The ghosts in the semi-circle were muttering to each other, throwing angry looks at the House Ghosts, and shouting rude things about their competency.
The Bloody Baron sighed to himself as he stood at the center table. The House Ghosts were supposed to be in power at this school. They had been the leaders and decision-makers of all ghostly matters for centuries now. There had been a time-and the Baron missed it rather wistfully-when the other Hogwarts ghosts listened without questioning, without heckling, to anything the House Ghosts had to say.
But that time was over, it seemed. The Baron felt, sadly, that his group of House Ghosts-that is, himself, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and Nearly Headless Nick-were losing their power, and the fact saddened him. He did love power. He had only been a House Ghost for half a century; his colleagues for only a few centuries. That wasn't nearly long enough.
He knew how it worked; after all, the previous Slytherin House Ghost had been voted out just after his arrival at Hogwarts, and he had been chosen as the replacement. It was a simple process; if the other ghosts decided someone was unfit for their leadership position, it was put to a Ghost's Council vote. Once a vote on the House Ghosts was put into motion, it never failed to pass.
Shaking his head, the Bloody Baron turned his attention back to the ghosts encircling him, wondering idly whether they might stop shouting soon. I'm going to have to speak, he thought to himself, then sighed visibly. For the Bloody Baron hated speaking publicly. As a teenager, he had been mercilessly teased for his gravelly voice, its pitch lower than any of the adult men he knew. As he approached adulthood and turned into the terror that he was, his voice inspired fear and loathing-certainly that was nothing the Baron wanted to remind his colleagues of at this point in time…
Although…
Reminding them of who he was… could be a brilliant idea.
"Excuse me," he said, the low pitch of his voice carrying over the noise of the crowd. "Excuse me." Everyone was silent within a few short seconds. The Baron smiled internally. So he could still quiet a room.
"Lord Voldemort as a human was a concern for all, of that I'm aware. But I think Lord Voldemort as a ghost is another matter entirely." He paused to stare around at all the silvery ghosts floating before him. "I know what you all think of me," he began. "I'm grim and utterly terrifying. I have unexplained bloodstains and I never speak. I know. But what I'm here to tell you is that, despite my horrible appearance and questionable past, the students at Hogwarts couldn't be less afraid of me."
"That's true," remarked Moaning Myrtle. "None of the students are scared of any of us."
"Sometimes they even make fun of us," sniffed Sir Nick.
"Exactly," said the Baron. "And I propose that the students will not pay any more attention to Lord Voldemort's ghost than they pay to us. He will surely have a new name based on his appearance, so not even the fear of his name that children have now will make an impact. They will find him laughable and pathetic. Trust me."
"Why should we, though? It's not like you're a past dark lord with any experience on the matter," snapped a female ghost sarcastically.
"Actually," said the Baron, grinning slightly, "I am."
The crowd erupted again, and the Baron sighed. He'd had his dramatic moment, but now he had to call them back to attention.
"I was Grindelwald," he announced, then paused to allow the ghosts time to quiet down in shock. "The fiercest and most despicable dark lord until Lord Voldemort. Defeated by Dumbledore-incidentally he is responsible for my mysterious bloodstains.
"Look at me now: the students wonder about me, but are they scared? Do they give me respect? Do they give me any opportunity to corrupt them, or teach them dark magic?" He paused, as if asking himself these questions, then said quite emphatically, "No. Oh no. The only creature who gives me any respect these days is Peeves, and arguably, he causes more trouble at this school than I ever managed to when I was alive, reigning as a dark wizard."
"Dumbledore let you stay here?" someone asked.
"Oh, yes. He knew I wouldn't be any more trouble. What can ghosts do, anyway? Especially when no one in the wizarding world fears them?"
"True," mumbled a few ghosts.
"Just because Dumbledore's gone doesn't mean we should stop giving people second chances!" cried the Fat Friar.
The Baron rolled his eyes. "There's that, and there's the fact that no one will give a damn about Lord Voldemort once he's settled in as a ghost. Look at me for an example. I was once the great dark wizard Grindelwald… I'm only a bloody baron now," he complained, his voice taking on a low whine.
"No, dear," comforted the Grey Lady, "you're the Bloody Baron of Hogwarts."
The Baron smiled ruefully, and to most of the ghosts in the room, his smile was more fearsome than his voice. The Grey Lady moved as if to pat his ghostly hand with her own, but the Ravenclaw ghost stopped before actually touching him.
"In any case, Lord Voldemort's ghost coming here will quickly dissipate any fear people might still hold for him." The Baron didn't wait for others to agree; he just forged on ahead. "I'm only going to say this one more time: Voldemort is coming to Hogwarts, and-"
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the Baron's speech. As he broke off, Headmistress McGonagall poked her head in. "Excuse me," she said, smiling around at all the ghosts, "but I need to see the Bloody Baron. Peeves is acting up again, and I just can't seem to persuade him to stop."
The Baron inclined his head slightly at McGonagall before turning back to the other ghosts. "So, we've reached a decision, then?" he asked in his gravelly voice. "Voldemort will be allowed a place at Hogwarts until such time as he proves himself unworthy."
When no one objected, likely most of them were still stunned into silence, the Bloody Baron decided the ghosts were in agreement with him. He nodded to them once before turning away. Sweeping out of the dungeon room to follow slightly behind McGonagall, he smiled internally.
The ghosts would be talking about this one for centuries. He'd shown them he deserved respect; it would surely be ages and ages before anyone thought of questioning his power.
Recipient: humantales
Fic or Art: Fic
Rating: G
Characters: Hogwarts ghosts, Minerva McGonagall
Warnings: None
Summary: What exactly happens at a Ghost's Council? And what is the Bloody Baron's secret?
Notes: The prompt mentioned back story, explaining customs, and Hogwarts ghosts. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to darth_kittius and Melissa for the fast and extremely helpful beta jobs! I really appreciate it!
Around twenty of the ghosts who resided at Hogwarts were assembled in the roomiest of the dungeons. A hundred candles placed around the room cast a ghostly light that did little to illuminate the dark room. The silvery figures floated around, talking quietly together. A few stragglers, late to the meeting, drifted in through the walls. The Fat Friar was the last to arrive. "Sorry," he whispered to Sir Nicholas, as he came to stand next to the Gryffindor ghost. Sir Nick nodded at him.
"All right, I think nearly everyone is here. Let's begin," called Sir Nicholas. The ghosts all around the dungeon came to order, gathering in a semi-circle around an old, wooden, rectangular table in the center of the room. One black candle sat atop the table. Sir Nicholas, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and the Bloody Baron passed smoothly through the semi-circle of ghosts to stand behind a long end of the table so that the rest of the ghosts were gathered before them.
"We've called this Ghost's Council to discuss a very important matter-" began Sir Nicholas.
"Not the poltergeist again, I hope!" called one of the ghosts. A few giggles were heard before the Bloody Baron silenced everyone with a particularly nasty glare.
"This is not about Peeves, for once." Sir Nicholas paused, rather dramatically, and the Baron rolled his eyes. "Oh, all right," Sir Nicholas said. "It's about Lord Voldemort."
"Became a ghost, did he?" asked Professor Binns wisely. "Should have suspected that would happen."
"Always heard he was afraid to die," said another ghost from the semi-circle, nodding thoughtfully. "Of course, everyone here can understand that." The other ghosts murmured their agreement.
"Yes, well, Harry Potter, one of my own Gryffindors, killed Voldemort just a few weeks ago. While Harry embraced his death with a courage I wish I had possessed," said Sir Nick, "Voldemort chose a ghostly life, and he has decided he wants to haunt Hogwarts with the rest of us." Sir Nick sighed. "It was one of his favorite places, after all," he added.
"What? No!" was the general outcry of the ghosts. "He'll corrupt the children! He'll teach them dark magic! He'll lead students to follow in his ways!"
"Let's just discuss this calmly and rationally," pleaded the Grey Lady. "There is no need to jump to conclusions. Maybe ghost-hood will turn Voldemort into more of a… human."
"You're saying you're all for letting him in? You want a murdering dark lord among us?" came an angry voice from the crowd.
"Well, no, I mean…." the Grey Lady stammered.
"Allow me to answer," interrupted the Fat Friar, bowing slightly to the Grey Lady. "We have to be fair, you see, and as a group, the four of us House Ghosts have come to a consensus. We feel that we should give Voldemort a chance. There might have to be restrictions placed on him, of course; before his death, he was a mass-murdering, power-hungry dark lord, after all. But I think it is in our best interest to extend a hand of friendship to this ghost."
At this point, however, no one was listening to a word the Fat Friar was saying. The ghosts in the semi-circle were muttering to each other, throwing angry looks at the House Ghosts, and shouting rude things about their competency.
The Bloody Baron sighed to himself as he stood at the center table. The House Ghosts were supposed to be in power at this school. They had been the leaders and decision-makers of all ghostly matters for centuries now. There had been a time-and the Baron missed it rather wistfully-when the other Hogwarts ghosts listened without questioning, without heckling, to anything the House Ghosts had to say.
But that time was over, it seemed. The Baron felt, sadly, that his group of House Ghosts-that is, himself, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and Nearly Headless Nick-were losing their power, and the fact saddened him. He did love power. He had only been a House Ghost for half a century; his colleagues for only a few centuries. That wasn't nearly long enough.
He knew how it worked; after all, the previous Slytherin House Ghost had been voted out just after his arrival at Hogwarts, and he had been chosen as the replacement. It was a simple process; if the other ghosts decided someone was unfit for their leadership position, it was put to a Ghost's Council vote. Once a vote on the House Ghosts was put into motion, it never failed to pass.
Shaking his head, the Bloody Baron turned his attention back to the ghosts encircling him, wondering idly whether they might stop shouting soon. I'm going to have to speak, he thought to himself, then sighed visibly. For the Bloody Baron hated speaking publicly. As a teenager, he had been mercilessly teased for his gravelly voice, its pitch lower than any of the adult men he knew. As he approached adulthood and turned into the terror that he was, his voice inspired fear and loathing-certainly that was nothing the Baron wanted to remind his colleagues of at this point in time…
Although…
Reminding them of who he was… could be a brilliant idea.
"Excuse me," he said, the low pitch of his voice carrying over the noise of the crowd. "Excuse me." Everyone was silent within a few short seconds. The Baron smiled internally. So he could still quiet a room.
"Lord Voldemort as a human was a concern for all, of that I'm aware. But I think Lord Voldemort as a ghost is another matter entirely." He paused to stare around at all the silvery ghosts floating before him. "I know what you all think of me," he began. "I'm grim and utterly terrifying. I have unexplained bloodstains and I never speak. I know. But what I'm here to tell you is that, despite my horrible appearance and questionable past, the students at Hogwarts couldn't be less afraid of me."
"That's true," remarked Moaning Myrtle. "None of the students are scared of any of us."
"Sometimes they even make fun of us," sniffed Sir Nick.
"Exactly," said the Baron. "And I propose that the students will not pay any more attention to Lord Voldemort's ghost than they pay to us. He will surely have a new name based on his appearance, so not even the fear of his name that children have now will make an impact. They will find him laughable and pathetic. Trust me."
"Why should we, though? It's not like you're a past dark lord with any experience on the matter," snapped a female ghost sarcastically.
"Actually," said the Baron, grinning slightly, "I am."
The crowd erupted again, and the Baron sighed. He'd had his dramatic moment, but now he had to call them back to attention.
"I was Grindelwald," he announced, then paused to allow the ghosts time to quiet down in shock. "The fiercest and most despicable dark lord until Lord Voldemort. Defeated by Dumbledore-incidentally he is responsible for my mysterious bloodstains.
"Look at me now: the students wonder about me, but are they scared? Do they give me respect? Do they give me any opportunity to corrupt them, or teach them dark magic?" He paused, as if asking himself these questions, then said quite emphatically, "No. Oh no. The only creature who gives me any respect these days is Peeves, and arguably, he causes more trouble at this school than I ever managed to when I was alive, reigning as a dark wizard."
"Dumbledore let you stay here?" someone asked.
"Oh, yes. He knew I wouldn't be any more trouble. What can ghosts do, anyway? Especially when no one in the wizarding world fears them?"
"True," mumbled a few ghosts.
"Just because Dumbledore's gone doesn't mean we should stop giving people second chances!" cried the Fat Friar.
The Baron rolled his eyes. "There's that, and there's the fact that no one will give a damn about Lord Voldemort once he's settled in as a ghost. Look at me for an example. I was once the great dark wizard Grindelwald… I'm only a bloody baron now," he complained, his voice taking on a low whine.
"No, dear," comforted the Grey Lady, "you're the Bloody Baron of Hogwarts."
The Baron smiled ruefully, and to most of the ghosts in the room, his smile was more fearsome than his voice. The Grey Lady moved as if to pat his ghostly hand with her own, but the Ravenclaw ghost stopped before actually touching him.
"In any case, Lord Voldemort's ghost coming here will quickly dissipate any fear people might still hold for him." The Baron didn't wait for others to agree; he just forged on ahead. "I'm only going to say this one more time: Voldemort is coming to Hogwarts, and-"
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting the Baron's speech. As he broke off, Headmistress McGonagall poked her head in. "Excuse me," she said, smiling around at all the ghosts, "but I need to see the Bloody Baron. Peeves is acting up again, and I just can't seem to persuade him to stop."
The Baron inclined his head slightly at McGonagall before turning back to the other ghosts. "So, we've reached a decision, then?" he asked in his gravelly voice. "Voldemort will be allowed a place at Hogwarts until such time as he proves himself unworthy."
When no one objected, likely most of them were still stunned into silence, the Bloody Baron decided the ghosts were in agreement with him. He nodded to them once before turning away. Sweeping out of the dungeon room to follow slightly behind McGonagall, he smiled internally.
The ghosts would be talking about this one for centuries. He'd shown them he deserved respect; it would surely be ages and ages before anyone thought of questioning his power.