Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington
Character: Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington (Nearly Headless Nick)
Time: Any
Disclaimer: I do not own this.
His name was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and he was a coward.
The thought is almost laughable considering he's the ghost of the house of Gryffindor, a house he himself belonged to more than five hundred years ago; a house that is known for the courageous, the brave, and the daring students that are selected to be in it. The thought becomes downright crude once his achievements as a knight for Henry VII becomes known, once the idea of the heroic feats he accomplished when he was still alive are researched.
But he was still a coward.
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington knew that his death had become common knowledge, not even that, it had become a well-known joke to the students of Hogwarts. He was forever more "Nearly Headless Nick", a man whose death has become a source of amusement, whose pain (forty five times with a blunt axe!) has become something he shows off.
No, even after five hundred years, it was still difficult to forget the torturous night that he spent wandless and afraid in the holding cell. Difficult to forget the horrified priest who accompanied him to the chopping block, one whose very religion was being questioned by the magical things he revealed ("I can change her tusks back! Just give me my wand!"). Sometimes, Sir Nicholas wonders what he would have done if he had gotten through to the man and got his wand back – at that point his good name was already besmirched, his life ruined.
Perhaps some would see his death as the final brave act of a resilient man (forty five times with a blunt axe!), but Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington was not a coward for the life he lived, no Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington was a coward for the choice he made as he died.
Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington chose to remain as a ghost in the afterlife for he was a coward who feared death. He was a wizard of noble blood who lived amongst the muggles, infallible and strong in his position. He would be completely honest if he were to say that he never did think about his death as a human because it was never something he thought he should fear. Even now, Sir Nicholas can see the irony that his every thought now as a ghost are ones that concern death and its mysteries.
As he roams the hallways of Hogwarts and greets every new student who walks through its doors, he is left to wonder about the choice he made and the answer to the mystery he left behind. He is left to watch as the students of his house die, sometimes young and sometimes old, each one braver than him, each one embracing the one thing Sir Nicholas feared the most.
He was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington of the Noble Mimsy-Porpingtons, knight to Henry VII, savior of the plummeted villages, student of Hogwarts, and a Gryffindor.
He was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and he was a coward.
AN: I can't believe this story is so different from the last one, but it was calling to me and demanding that I write it down. I hope you still liked it, though! Also, all of the information in here is actually canon, just changed a little for the story, and if you would like to read more about Sir Nick's background just go to JK Rowling's website. :)