Sean was certain someone was playing a prank on him.
But he couldn't figure out who.
The Weasley twins? They were masters of mischief, but this was the Slytherin common room—Gryffindors couldn't enter.
Sean didn't know many people in Slytherin.
Cassius didn't have the ability.
Chris was a noble lady—she wouldn't bother with something so childish.
Keith?
Snape had warned him. These days Keith didn't even dare come near Sean.
Sean left the Slytherin common room in a gloomy mood and nearly walked straight through the Bloody Baron in the corridor.
"Sorry, Baron," Sean said quickly.
"Watch where you're going, Grylls," the ghost replied coldly.
Sean forced a polite smile.
All this trouble over a Chocolate Frog card was really irritating him.
Then suddenly he remembered something.
"Nicolas Flamel… damn it, isn't this Harry and Ron's storyline?"
"Searching the library because of someone on a card…"
"The wheel of fate really does come around."
Sean had no desire to drink that unforgettable Muggle Experience Potion again.
But without it, he couldn't enter the Restricted Section.
And he was certain Merlin's records wouldn't exist in the public library.
Merlin was far older than Nicolas Flamel.
Speaking of ancient—
The ghost that had just floated past him was ancient too.
Sean turned around and jogged after him.
"Um… Baron, can I ask you something?"
The Bloody Baron was the most terrifying ghost in Hogwarts.
Hollow eyes.
A gaunt face.
Silver bloodstains on his robes.
He rarely spoke and spent most of his time wandering the Astronomy Tower, muttering to himself.
"Speak," the Baron said curtly.
"Do you know Merlin?" Sean asked.
"I heard he used to be a Slytherin student. What kind of person was he?"
Sean didn't actually know much about Merlin.
"Yes," the Baron replied.
Sean's eyes lit up.
He had asked the right ghost.
"Could you tell me about him?"
"No."
The Baron remained as ruthless as ever.
Sean wasn't ready to give up.
Other house ghosts might know something too.
But since Merlin came from Slytherin, the Baron would likely know the most.
Sean cleared his throat.
"Well… I'm actually quite familiar with the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw."
"Maybe I should go ask her instead."
He deliberately used Helena Ravenclaw as bait.
According to legend, the Baron had once loved Helena Ravenclaw.
After she rejected him, he killed her in anger.
Then, overwhelmed with guilt and grief, he killed himself.
Sure enough—
The moment Sean mentioned the Grey Lady, the Baron's expression darkened.
"Do not disturb her," he said coldly.
"Follow me."
The Baron led Sean up to the Astronomy Tower.
This was the place the ghost liked to stand alone, quietly staring into the distance.
"You were only half right," the Baron began.
"Merlin was both a Slytherin student and something like a teaching assistant."
"What does that mean?" Sean asked.
He had never heard of Hogwarts professors having assistants.
Were teachers treated better a thousand years ago?
"He was unusual," the Baron explained.
"Rumor says he was the child of a human and an elf."
"When Salazar Slytherin brought him to Hogwarts, Merlin was already seventeen years old and had mastered some magic."
"So Salazar did not treat him as a normal student."
"While teaching him, Salazar also made him his assistant."
Sean frowned.
"Didn't Salazar support pure-blood supremacy?"
"Why would he bring Merlin into Slytherin?"
The Baron glanced at him as though looking at an idiot.
"He disliked Muggle-borns, not half-bloods."
"Otherwise, why do you think Slytherin still accepts half-blood students every year?"
"Besides, Merlin was special."
"Salazar was already very old by then. He needed a successor."
"According to legend, Merlin's talent surpassed even the four founders of Hogwarts."
"That is why Salazar chose him."
"What happened after that?" Sean asked.
"He didn't inherit Salazar's legacy, right?"
"If he had, his portraits would be all over Slytherin."
"According to rumor," the Baron said,
"Merlin betrayed Salazar because of a treasure."
"He left Hogwarts before Salazar did."
Sean was stunned.
"Seriously?"
"That's real Hogwarts secret history."
"No wonder there are no portraits of him in Slytherin."
"What kind of treasure?" Sean asked eagerly.
"A wand? A sacred sword?"
"I don't know," the Baron replied impatiently.
"Are there records about this in the Restricted Section?" Sean asked.
The Baron scoffed.
"Do you think the Restricted Section knows more than I do?"
"Then what else do you know?" Sean pressed.
Hearing secrets about legendary figures was fascinating.
"Nothing more."
Two simple words extinguished Sean's curiosity like a candle.
"Did you ever meet Merlin?"
"No. When I enrolled, he had already left."
Sean thanked the Baron and turned to leave the Astronomy Tower.
He had learned a piece of Hogwarts history—
But he still didn't understand what it had to do with the mysterious card prank.
"Rumor says," the Baron murmured behind him,
"that Merlin left behind a secret treasure when he departed Hogwarts."
"A treasure?"
Sean turned around, puzzled.
But the Baron ignored him.
The ghost stood proudly at the tower's edge, leaving Sean with nothing but a lonely silhouette.
"I wonder if Dumbledore knows about this," Sean thought.
Hogwarts was too mysterious.
Even Dumbledore, the headmaster, didn't know every secret.
There were rooms and hidden chambers even he had never entered—
Or perhaps didn't even know existed.
Sean decided to ask Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, he didn't know the password to the headmaster's office today.
So he would have to find Snape first.
On the way to Snape's office, Sean encountered Kurt and several others heading toward the Quidditch pitch for training.
Of the seven Slytherin Quidditch players this year, five were members of the Ouroboros Wizard Society.
At that moment, the elite Slytherin group was being harassed by a large floating water sphere.
The ball was about thirty centimeters wide.
If it exploded above someone's head, they would be soaked from head to toe.
Kurt pulled out his wand and cast Immobulus at the water sphere.
The ball froze in midair.
Everyone relaxed.
But in the next second—
The water sphere suddenly split apart.
Seven smaller spheres shot toward the seven Slytherin players.
Caught off guard by their moment of relaxation, they were all struck.
"Peeves!" Kurt shouted angrily while wiping his wet hair.
"Don't make me call the Bloody Baron!"
Sean had been planning to watch the show.
But when Kurt shouted the name Peeves, something clicked in Sean's mind.
He activated his Magic vision.
Sure enough—
Under normal circumstances, Peeves couldn't be seen while invisible.
But now Sean could clearly see a white figure rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.
Peeves was clearly having the time of his life.
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