As soon as they were back in the chamber, the Bloody Baron hovered so that
his face was before hers. Liz thought for a fleeting moment that worry
flickered in his eyes, but dismissed that idea at once, the Baron never was
worried! He pointed to the books in her hands.
"Read!" He ordered.
With a flick of his hand, he produced a lantern bright enough to read by and then began to fade away again. Jumping up, Liz stopped him.
Wait! Please tell me your name; I'd like to hear it from you, rather than from a book!"
He was nearly invisible already, but he could still speak. "Baron Anguinus of Adderford." She heard his bodiless voice say, and then she was alone.
She plopped into one of the armchairs standing in front of the fireplace and opened "Hogwart's Howling Host". The book contained an article telling about every ghost living in Hogwarts, including the "Bloody Baron Anguinus of Adderford", as they called him.
The Baron was said to be descendant of a certain Salazar Slytherin, according to the book, a terrible thing. The Baron furthermore was said to have followed in his ancestors footsteps and had spilled much blood in the progress.
"Well, they're right about this ancestor-thing, if what's written here is true." Liz muttered to herself, shuddering at the thought of the Baron being a murderer. The whole story fascinated her, nevertheless, so she went on reading.
The Baron was poisoned during a banquet at Hogwarts by one of the people he trusted most and before he had never even shown a tinge of remorse for his deeds and now he had to stay between the worlds forever, haunting Hogwarts for all eternity.
But no, not quite: In small print, a footnote was added: 'There are people who believe that the Baron still has a chance for redemption.' It said. 'They allude to a riddle that appeared on his grave at the moment his mortal body was buried.'
Now Liz was curious. A riddle? She had to find out what the riddle was! Maybe she could hellp the Baron, he'd helped her too, hadn't he? She didn't find the riddle in "Hogwart's Hidden History", however, but another text that told of the Baron's evil doings.
She found out, that the Baron had smuggled muggles into his home, tortured them and killed them. She shuddered again, she was doing this more and more often, since she was here in Hogwarts, and well she might. The Baron had been a very evil man, and it was difficult to imagine that he was different as a ghost.
Did he want to torture one more muggle? Why did he show her these books, then? Was he so sure that she wouldn't escape him? Or did he want something else from her? To find out more about the Baron and maybe find out what his motives were, Liz pulled out "Horrible Histories of Hogwarts".
Here the Baron's torturing was described with a lot of detail, the writer, called Muriel Marcquart, seemed to relish in the stories of pain and blood. Liz soon put the book away, because it made her sick, and turned to "The Bloody Baron's Book".
Here she found the riddle:
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise, Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four. The keys to deliverance are kindness and courage, That will bring the powerless through this passage."
Now Liz understood. The Baron had seen her and realised at once that she was a muggle. Remembering the riddle, he had grabbed the chance to earn her trust and helped her hide from the professors. So, were his friendly gestures only show, or was he just manipulating her into doing what he wanted her to do? She had a grim hunch, that it was the latter. With a frown, she took "Beware of the Bloody Baron" and scanned the pages.
Although the title of this book was the most prejudiced, it gave the most objective information. It just gave a biography of the Baron and presented the reader with all the theories concerning the riddle. 'The authors of this book agree with the widespread opinion that a muggle must free the Baron. Yet, as everyone knows, this is absolutely impossible, as no muggle can get into Hogwarts, the Baron's haunt.' Those were the last words of the book.
Liz sighed and leant back into her chair. After a short break and half a bar of chocolate, she called the Baron. She had some questions she wanted to ask him. He appeared in no time and she pointed to the riddle in "The Bloody Baron's Book".
"Was this what made you show me this book?"
He nodded stiffly.
"And what must I do now? If I wanted to free you, how would I go at it?"
"You must find the way." He answered hoarsely.
"How?"
"The door is secret, guarded by four."
Liz frowned. Why did he repeat the words in the riddle? "Do I have to solve the riddle without your help?"
He nodded once again.
"Okay, the first lines are:
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise,"
I broke in, I'm no wizard, so I'm powerless, right? You tortured and killed muggles, I'm a muggle, so it must be me, right?"
A nod was all she got.
"Now to the next two lines:
"Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four."
Is it a secret passage? Guarded by four? Four what? Where? and anyway, peril and fear? Do I want that?" Liz breathed out loudly. "Whew! I'm in a real fix!"
Her eyes fell on the mantelpiece where the coat-of-arms with of the Raven, the Badger, the Snake and the Lion was. Her eyebrows flew up, disappearing beneath her hair. "Hey! There's a reason you brought me into this chamber, isn't' there? They're the four and you wanted me to see them!"
"Exactly."
"Now, before I even think of helping you, I want you to tell me about yourself. Especially about your life as a real person."
A ripple went through the Baron's ghostly form. His eyes bored into her. ""You will regret it." Was all he said, then he waved his hand and a kind of hologram appeared before them, projecting his memories. He didn't talk, but let the images speak for themselves.
Liz saw him order his men to drag people, Men, women and children of all shapes and sizes, to torturing machines and saw him torture them in various ways, she saw him put spells on them that sent them screaming in agony. Sometimes he left them lying in a dungeon to scream themselves to death, on other times he stayed with them and watched them die, slowly and full of pain.
She saw him, saw him smile in pleasure, as he watched his victims die, each and every one of them cruelly mutilated, some had no faces anymore, just one, great wound, or he cut away the limbs the people, or jus tbroke them and left them to grow together in unnatural angles.
He was very imaginative. For every victim he chose another killing method. And he enjoyed it. Rapture was in his eyes and in his smile, as he watched the people writhe and die.
Shocked, Liz looked away. The ghost that had once been Anguinus of Adderford, watched its past self grimly. It looked at the projected pictures, till the last had gone by. Then its hollow voice coloured the silence. "I am getting punished, but I cannot find peace. A lost soul cannot find the way, it must be lead by another."
Liz turned away. This was horrible. All those evil things he had done and his cruelty and made her sick, but still she felt sorry for him. It must be horrible to be banned to neither live completely nor die entirely and to be dependent on someone else to get him out of this state.
The curse left him no real chance to find a helper, either, him being in Hogwarts, where no muggles were supposed to turn up. How many years had he wited here till she had turned up? She must be the first muggle who had appeared here since he had died and it would be ages till another came here.
His salvation lay in her hands, but who was she to decide over another soul's fate? The thought was terrifying, unsettling. She glanced at the Baron again, he was still staring at the place where his memories had been projected. 'Oh, come on, Liz!' She thought. "You always said In dubito pro reo, If in doubt, decide for the accused, and this is definetely a situation where this proverb fits.'
"What happens if I help you?" She asked. "Will you just disappear or what?"
He shook his head. "No. I will be allowed to redeem my myself and as soon as my good deeds outweigh my bad, I will be allowed to pass into the next world." He rasped.
"I'll help you." Liz blurted out. "And then you'll help me get out of here without being noticed."
"I will." the Baron promised.
"Good. What do I do now?"
He pointed to the fireplace. "Do what the riddle tells you to do, I may not tell you more."
Liz looked at him, wanting reassurance, she got none.
"It will be terrible. I am sorry." He whispered tonelessly, his ghost eyes glinting, then he was gone.
"Read!" He ordered.
With a flick of his hand, he produced a lantern bright enough to read by and then began to fade away again. Jumping up, Liz stopped him.
Wait! Please tell me your name; I'd like to hear it from you, rather than from a book!"
He was nearly invisible already, but he could still speak. "Baron Anguinus of Adderford." She heard his bodiless voice say, and then she was alone.
She plopped into one of the armchairs standing in front of the fireplace and opened "Hogwart's Howling Host". The book contained an article telling about every ghost living in Hogwarts, including the "Bloody Baron Anguinus of Adderford", as they called him.
The Baron was said to be descendant of a certain Salazar Slytherin, according to the book, a terrible thing. The Baron furthermore was said to have followed in his ancestors footsteps and had spilled much blood in the progress.
"Well, they're right about this ancestor-thing, if what's written here is true." Liz muttered to herself, shuddering at the thought of the Baron being a murderer. The whole story fascinated her, nevertheless, so she went on reading.
The Baron was poisoned during a banquet at Hogwarts by one of the people he trusted most and before he had never even shown a tinge of remorse for his deeds and now he had to stay between the worlds forever, haunting Hogwarts for all eternity.
But no, not quite: In small print, a footnote was added: 'There are people who believe that the Baron still has a chance for redemption.' It said. 'They allude to a riddle that appeared on his grave at the moment his mortal body was buried.'
Now Liz was curious. A riddle? She had to find out what the riddle was! Maybe she could hellp the Baron, he'd helped her too, hadn't he? She didn't find the riddle in "Hogwart's Hidden History", however, but another text that told of the Baron's evil doings.
She found out, that the Baron had smuggled muggles into his home, tortured them and killed them. She shuddered again, she was doing this more and more often, since she was here in Hogwarts, and well she might. The Baron had been a very evil man, and it was difficult to imagine that he was different as a ghost.
Did he want to torture one more muggle? Why did he show her these books, then? Was he so sure that she wouldn't escape him? Or did he want something else from her? To find out more about the Baron and maybe find out what his motives were, Liz pulled out "Horrible Histories of Hogwarts".
Here the Baron's torturing was described with a lot of detail, the writer, called Muriel Marcquart, seemed to relish in the stories of pain and blood. Liz soon put the book away, because it made her sick, and turned to "The Bloody Baron's Book".
Here she found the riddle:
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise, Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four. The keys to deliverance are kindness and courage, That will bring the powerless through this passage."
Now Liz understood. The Baron had seen her and realised at once that she was a muggle. Remembering the riddle, he had grabbed the chance to earn her trust and helped her hide from the professors. So, were his friendly gestures only show, or was he just manipulating her into doing what he wanted her to do? She had a grim hunch, that it was the latter. With a frown, she took "Beware of the Bloody Baron" and scanned the pages.
Although the title of this book was the most prejudiced, it gave the most objective information. It just gave a biography of the Baron and presented the reader with all the theories concerning the riddle. 'The authors of this book agree with the widespread opinion that a muggle must free the Baron. Yet, as everyone knows, this is absolutely impossible, as no muggle can get into Hogwarts, the Baron's haunt.' Those were the last words of the book.
Liz sighed and leant back into her chair. After a short break and half a bar of chocolate, she called the Baron. She had some questions she wanted to ask him. He appeared in no time and she pointed to the riddle in "The Bloody Baron's Book".
"Was this what made you show me this book?"
He nodded stiffly.
"And what must I do now? If I wanted to free you, how would I go at it?"
"You must find the way." He answered hoarsely.
"How?"
"The door is secret, guarded by four."
Liz frowned. Why did he repeat the words in the riddle? "Do I have to solve the riddle without your help?"
He nodded once again.
"Okay, the first lines are:
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise,"
I broke in, I'm no wizard, so I'm powerless, right? You tortured and killed muggles, I'm a muggle, so it must be me, right?"
A nod was all she got.
"Now to the next two lines:
"Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four."
Is it a secret passage? Guarded by four? Four what? Where? and anyway, peril and fear? Do I want that?" Liz breathed out loudly. "Whew! I'm in a real fix!"
Her eyes fell on the mantelpiece where the coat-of-arms with of the Raven, the Badger, the Snake and the Lion was. Her eyebrows flew up, disappearing beneath her hair. "Hey! There's a reason you brought me into this chamber, isn't' there? They're the four and you wanted me to see them!"
"Exactly."
"Now, before I even think of helping you, I want you to tell me about yourself. Especially about your life as a real person."
A ripple went through the Baron's ghostly form. His eyes bored into her. ""You will regret it." Was all he said, then he waved his hand and a kind of hologram appeared before them, projecting his memories. He didn't talk, but let the images speak for themselves.
Liz saw him order his men to drag people, Men, women and children of all shapes and sizes, to torturing machines and saw him torture them in various ways, she saw him put spells on them that sent them screaming in agony. Sometimes he left them lying in a dungeon to scream themselves to death, on other times he stayed with them and watched them die, slowly and full of pain.
She saw him, saw him smile in pleasure, as he watched his victims die, each and every one of them cruelly mutilated, some had no faces anymore, just one, great wound, or he cut away the limbs the people, or jus tbroke them and left them to grow together in unnatural angles.
He was very imaginative. For every victim he chose another killing method. And he enjoyed it. Rapture was in his eyes and in his smile, as he watched the people writhe and die.
Shocked, Liz looked away. The ghost that had once been Anguinus of Adderford, watched its past self grimly. It looked at the projected pictures, till the last had gone by. Then its hollow voice coloured the silence. "I am getting punished, but I cannot find peace. A lost soul cannot find the way, it must be lead by another."
Liz turned away. This was horrible. All those evil things he had done and his cruelty and made her sick, but still she felt sorry for him. It must be horrible to be banned to neither live completely nor die entirely and to be dependent on someone else to get him out of this state.
The curse left him no real chance to find a helper, either, him being in Hogwarts, where no muggles were supposed to turn up. How many years had he wited here till she had turned up? She must be the first muggle who had appeared here since he had died and it would be ages till another came here.
His salvation lay in her hands, but who was she to decide over another soul's fate? The thought was terrifying, unsettling. She glanced at the Baron again, he was still staring at the place where his memories had been projected. 'Oh, come on, Liz!' She thought. "You always said In dubito pro reo, If in doubt, decide for the accused, and this is definetely a situation where this proverb fits.'
"What happens if I help you?" She asked. "Will you just disappear or what?"
He shook his head. "No. I will be allowed to redeem my myself and as soon as my good deeds outweigh my bad, I will be allowed to pass into the next world." He rasped.
"I'll help you." Liz blurted out. "And then you'll help me get out of here without being noticed."
"I will." the Baron promised.
"Good. What do I do now?"
He pointed to the fireplace. "Do what the riddle tells you to do, I may not tell you more."
Liz looked at him, wanting reassurance, she got none.
"It will be terrible. I am sorry." He whispered tonelessly, his ghost eyes glinting, then he was gone.