The Ghosts of Hogwarts: Slytherin Ghost
The Bloody Baron floated down the dungeon corridor. He had been haunting Hogwarts for hundreds of years, scaring students and ghosts alike with his blood-drenched, chain-carrying, spectral body. Pausing at the entrance to the Slytherin common room, he let out an extra loud groan and clanked his chains. Haunting was the only thing that gave him joy in this incorporeal form. The Baron amused himself by frightening the students and Peeves. He didn’t have to try hard. All he really had to do to scare someone was stare at them with his blank eyes. That, put together with his blood-stained robes and the heavy chains he carries, is enough to give anyone nightmares.
The Baron makes such a formidable, otherworldly figure that most are afraid to question just where the blood came from and why he carries heavy chains around with him. That story was between him and the Gray Lady until a rather brave first-year student came along and started asking questions.
Regulus Black had been dared by his friends to ask the Bloody Baron why he is so bloody. The young boy, eager to impress his new friends, accepted the dare and approached the Baron the next day. He was frightened, but he truly wanted to know, and the dare was just added incentive.
Regulus searched for the ghost all day, but the Baron was nowhere to be found. He finally found the solemn ghost after Peeves caused a disturbance in one of the corridors. Unfortunately, Regulus found the Baron when he was floating through the wall to get to the next corridor. Regulus ran down the hallway and around the corner and was able to catch up to the Baron.
“Excuse me, Sir. Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Regulus asked while panting and trying to catch his breath.
The Bloody Baron stared at him for a minute. When his blank-eyed stare did not scare the boy off, he opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse whisper, “Very well. What do you want?”
Regulus gulped, trying to summon up all of the bravery he had in his body. “I was just wondering why you are so bloody. Is it your blood or…?” The black-haired boy trailed off, unable to finish his question. Now that this was actually happening, he was unsure whether or not he truly wanted to know the answer.
The Baron looked shocked to be asked that question. In all of his time as a ghost, no one had asked him about the blood. “It is my blood and another’s,” the Baron said in a raspy voice, “and how it happened is none of your business. I’ll be going now.” He turned and floated through the nearest wall.
As he drifted down the next corridor, the Baron made a note to jingle his chains extra loudly the next time he saw Regulus. That question did surprise the Baron. It also made him curious about the boy who asked it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only his tale to tell. This was also Helena’s story. She was young, beautiful, and finally free until he came and ended it all. Now they were both doomed to wander the halls of Hogwarts. Unable to move on, they walked the same paths that they did when they were students there, never speaking to each other, never acknowledging the other’s presence.
The Baron only allowed himself to admire Helena from afar. He loved her when they were alive. Unfortunately, it was unrequited love, and that made the Baron angry and upset. When she went missing, he volunteered to go find her several times. Her mother only permitted it when she was near death and wished to see her daughter one last time. The Baron went out searching for Helena, and he eventually found her hiding in a forest in Albania. She refused to come home with him, and he lashed out. After stabbing her with his sword, he quickly realized just what he had done and fell onto his own sword. He came back as a ghost covered in her blood and carrying heavy chains as penance for what he did to poor Helena Ravenclaw.
After making a sudden decision, the Baron headed down to the Slytherin common room. He did want his story to be told, and he knew the perfect little Slytherin to tell it to. He groaned and clanked his chains all the way there. This would be a perfect opportunity to terrify the boy.
Regulus Black awoke with a start. He looked up and let out a loud scream. The Bloody Baron was floating over him and dripping silvery blood onto Regulus’s body.
“I wish to tell you a story,” the Bloody Baron said in his hauntingly hoarse whisper, “and you’re going to sit here until I’m finished.“
