Duncan Ashe

Twenty minutes later, they were standing outside the Prefect's Bathroom on the fifth floor, waiting for Peeves to show up with Duncan. Harry had to admit he was curious about this ghost. If Duncan really had been friends with Jacob and knew about R, then talking to him could provide some much-needed answers.

The problem was that ghosts weren't always reliable sources of information. Their memories could get fuzzy over time, and they sometimes mixed up events or filled in gaps with assumptions. Harry had learned that from talking to Nearly Headless Nick and the other Hogwarts ghosts over the years.

Still, it was better than nothing.

And if Duncan had been present when Jacob was dealing with R, then he might have firsthand knowledge of what really happened.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Tonks muttered, leaning against the wall. "Making deals with Peeves never ends well."

"We don't have much choice," Penny said firmly. "If that portrait Peeves found can help us save Beatrice, then it's worth it."

Charlotte was pacing back and forth in front of the bathroom door, clearly anxious about what they might learn from Duncan. Harry could understand her nervousness. Finding out that your brother might have been involved with a dangerous organization would be devastating news.

Though honestly, Harry wasn't sure what to think about Jacob Whitewood.

The older student had disappeared years ago while investigating the Cursed Vaults, and nobody know his whereabouts.

Did he run off to become a dark wizard?

Maybe.

It could explain why he never contacted his family.

Either way, it was very urgent to solve this Cursed Vault as soon as possible. Beatrice was in immense danger, because nobody knew how long she could last in the cursed painting.

Just last year, more than a few students had died because of the Forest Vault. The sleepwalking curse had placed many students into a deep slumber and they mindlessly wandered off into the Forbidden Forest, where those whom the professors failed to stop were, due to their condition and inability to defend themselves, ravaged or even devoured outright by Acromantula.

Some simply never woke up again from the sleepwalking curse.

Well, not until he came back from the bending world and paid a visit to purge the dark magic from their bodies.

Harry had to admit that the castle was a little dangerous in recent years.

The faculty had nevertheless denied any knowledge that the vaults actually existed, quite possibly hoping to dissuade other students from pursuing the vaults as well by quieting down the attention around them. It cost Dumbledore quite some political influence to suppress it all. Harry had learned this from his visits to the Black Manor to see Arcturus Black.

But because of Harry's own growing reputation, it wasn't all that bad.

Did it leave a bad taste in his mouth? Yes.

Those students had families. Parents who sent their children to Hogwarts expecting them to learn magic and come home for Christmas holidays. Instead, they got owls telling them their sons and daughters were dead, mauled by giant spiders or lost forever in magical sleep.

And the school's response was to pretend the vaults didn't exist and hope the problem would go away.

Harry understood the logic behind it. If Hogwarts admitted the Cursed Vaults were real, more students would go looking for them. More would die. But knowing families grieved while the professors lied to their faces about what killed their children... it felt wrong.

These weren't just statistics or acceptable losses. They were people with hopes and dreams who died because adults couldn't figure out how to protect them properly.

The worst part was that Harry knew he could have prevented some of those deaths if he'd been there. His divine healing might not work on everything, but it could have saved at least a few of the sleepwalkers. Instead, he'd been off improving his firebending while students were dying.

But at the same time, he knew he shouldn't force himself to take the blame. He wasn't in any position to intervene, nor was it something that was expected from him.

It was sometimes just difficult to accept that no matter how powerful he got, there were some things he couldn't fix just yet.

"Harry?" Charlotte's voice broke through his dark thoughts. "You look upset."

He blinked, realizing he'd been scowling at the floor. "Just thinking about everything that's happened. The vaults, the students who died... it's a lot."

"At least you saved the ones you could," Penny said quietly. "When you came back and healed the sleepwalkers who were still alive, their families were so grateful. I heard some of them crying with relief."

He gave her a small smile, but was interrupted by the sound of cackling laughter.

Peeves appeared through the wall, dragging behind him a translucent figure that Harry assumed must be Duncan Ashe.

Duncan looked to be around seventeen, with brown hair and the green-trimmed robes of Slytherin House.

His expression was one of deep annoyance.

"I told you, Peeves, I don't want to talk to anyone about Jacob!" Duncan was saying. "Especially not his little sister!"

"But Dunky, you'll love what I've got here!" Peeves cackled, pulling the letter from his shirt and waving it around. "Such a lovely apology! Very groveling, very pathetic!"

Duncan snatched the letter and began reading, his expression shifting from annoyance to surprise to something that might have been hope. For a moment, his face softened and he looked almost peaceful.

Then his expression hardened again and he crumpled the letter in his ghostly hands.

"This isn't from Jacob," he said flatly, looking directly at Charlotte. "Jacob would never write something this... emotional. He was always too proud to admit when he was wrong about anything."

Charlotte slowly stepped forward. "You're right. I wrote it. But I meant every word. Jacob may not have written it himself, but I know he would feel sorry about what happened to you."

Duncan let out a bitter laugh. "Would he? Because he didn't seem to care to avenge me after the explosion happened..."

"What explosion?" Charlotte asked quietly. "What really happened?"

Duncan's ghostly eyes flashed with anger. "What happened was that your precious brother got us involved with some very dangerous people. Called themselves 'R', never did figure out what that stood for. They knew about the Cursed Vaults, knew Jacob was investigating them."

He began floating back and forth in front of the bathroom door, his translucent robes billowing behind him.

"At first, they just watched us. Sent threatening notes, left dead rats in our dormitory, that sort of thing. Trying to scare us away from the vaults. But Jacob was too stubborn to quit, and I..." Duncan's voice trailed off. "I was too loyal to abandon him."

Harry could see Charlotte hanging on every word, desperate to understand what had really happened to her brother. Her face was pale, but she kept listening.

"Then they changed tactics," Duncan continued. "Instead of trying to stop us, they started making demands. 'Brew this potion for us,' they said. 'Get past this obstacle for us.' They threatened to make those we cared about disappear if we didn't cooperate."

Duncan's expression grew darker. "They were always going on about this 'path to enlightenment and immortality' nonsense. Complete rubbish, if you ask me. I think they just wanted immortality and figured the Cursed Vaults might help them get it. Who knows why they thought ancient magical vaults would make them live forever? They're all completely mad."

"What kind of potion did they want you to make?" Penny asked, gnawing her lip in worry.

"Extra-powerful Erumpent Potion," Duncan said bitterly. "Highly explosive stuff. R claimed they needed it for the guardian of the vault that comes after the Forest Vault. Said it was the only way to get past whatever was protecting it."

Duncan stopped floating and turned to face them directly. "The brewing process went wrong. The potion exploded in my face and killed me instantly. And what did your brother do about it? Did he expose R for forcing me to brew a dangerous potion? Did he try to avenge my death?"

Charlotte shook her head. "I don't know. He disappeared after you died..."

"He took the blame for R's actions and got himself expelled!" Duncan spat. "Let everyone think he was the one responsible for the dangerous experiments that killed me. I thought maybe he was just scared of what R would do to him and his family if he told the truth."

"That makes sense," Charlotte said quickly. "Jacob would want to protect me and our parents. He'd take the blame to keep us safe."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought too. But then he joined them and became even worse."

Charlotte's face went white. "What do you mean he joined them?"

"How do you think I know all this?" Duncan asked sarcastically. "Eavesdropping isn't exactly difficult when you can move through walls. According to the previous teachers' conversations, your brother became one of the most feared wizards in Knockturn Alley. They say he's working with all sorts of dark wizards now."

Harry felt his stomach drop. If Jacob really had joined R and become a dark wizard, then Charlotte's entire world was about to come crashing down.

But something about this didn't sit right with Harry.

Why would Jacob join the people who got his best friend killed?

It didn't make sense, unless...

Unless Jacob was trying to infiltrate R from the inside. Maybe he was pretending to be a dark wizard to get close to them and find out what they were really planning.

Or maybe Duncan was right and Jacob really had gone dark. Harry had seen how power could corrupt people.

Could the same thing have happened to Jacob?

"Duncan," Harry said carefully, "do you know anything specific about what Jacob is doing in Knockturn Alley? Or are you just going off what the teachers have said?"

Duncan shrugged. "I didn't follow him around, if that's what you're asking. But the teachers seemed convinced he's gone dark."

That wasn't very helpful. Teachers gossiped just like anyone else, and rumors had a way of getting exaggerated over time. For all they knew, Jacob was just living in Knockturn Alley after he got expelled because it was cheap, not because he was working with dark wizards.

"If you want to know more about Jacob," Duncan continued, "you should talk to Mundungus Fletcher. That thief knows everyone in Knockturn Alley. If Jacob's really become some kind of feared dark wizard, Fletcher would know about it."

Harry made a mental note to ask Grandpa about Fletcher later.

Right now though, they had more pressing concerns.

"We need to focus on Beatrice," Harry reminded everyone. "She's trapped in that portrait and we don't know how much time she has. Duncan, thank you for telling us about Jacob, but right now we need to save Charlotte's friend."

Duncan looked surprised by Harry's directness, but he nodded. "Fair enough. The girl's safety is more important than old grudges."

They all turned to look at Peeves, who had been unusually quiet during Duncan's story. The poltergeist was floating upside down near the ceiling, juggling what looked like soap bars he'd probably stolen from the bathroom.

"Well?" Tonks asked. "What's the second prank?"

Peeves grinned widely and did a complete flip in the air. "Oh, this is going to be wonderful! For my next bit of entertainment, I want two masterpieces! But you'll have to come up with them yourselves!"

"Masterpieces?" Charlotte asked, looking confused.

"Masterpieces of chaos!" Peeves shrieked, suddenly spinning in rapid circles while soap bars flew everywhere. "SPECTACULAR pranks that will go down in Hogwarts history! Pranks so magnificent that students will still be talking about them decades from now!"

The poltergeist's eyes were practically glowing with manic excitement as he zoomed around the corridor, leaving a trail of soap bubbles in his wake.

"The first one wasn't really a prank at all, was it?" Peeves continued, his voice getting higher and more frenzied. "Just a sad little letter to cheer up poor Duncan! Where was the chaos? Where was the beautiful, wonderful MAYHEM?"

He did three barrel rolls in quick succession, cackling like a maniac.

"No no no, that simply won't do! The next two pranks must be LEGENDARY! They must be so outrageously brilliant that even the professors will have to admire them while they're giving out detentions!"

Duncan rolled his ghostly eyes. "Here we go. Once Peeves gets an idea in his head about chaos, there's no stopping him."

"I want pranks that will make the Great Hall explode in laughter!" Peeves shouted, now doing loop-de-loops around the ceiling. "Pranks that will have students slipping and sliding and running around screaming! Beautiful, glorious pandemonium!"

After a moment of hesitation at the sight of the crazy Peeves, they all looked at each other uncertainly.

But it didn't last long before Penny spoke up.

"We have to do this," she urged with a small voice crack. "For Beatrice. She's my little sister, and she's trapped in there because of those R monsters. If Peeves wants legendary pranks, then we'll give him legendary pranks."

Penny's eyes were still red from crying, but there was steel in her voice that Harry had rarely heard before. Usually Penny was gentle and soft-spoken, always trying to help people.

But when it came to protecting her sister, she was willing to do whatever it took.

"Penny's right," Charlotte said immediately. "We can't let Beatrice stay trapped just because Peeves has ridiculous demands."

Tonks nodded quickly. "I've pulled plenty of pranks in my time. How hard can it be to come up with something spectacular?"

Chiara looked less certain, but she nodded as well. "If it helps save Beatrice, then I'm in."

They were all willing to risk detention, house points, and probably a lot of angry professors just to help save Penny's sister. That kind of loyalty was rare, and he was grateful to have people like this in his life.

"Alright then," Harry said. "Let's give Peeves the chaos he wants."

They bid farewell to the still-spinning poltergeist and the annoyed-looking Duncan, then made their way through the corridors toward an abandoned classroom Harry knew about on the third floor. It was one of the rooms that had been damaged during some long-ago magical accident and never properly repaired, so the professors rarely bothered checking it.

Everyone started brainstorming ideas while they walked.

"We could turn all the Great Hall tables and benches into trampolines," Tonks suggested. "Imagine everyone bouncing around during breakfast."

"Or make all the suits of armor start dancing," Charlotte came up with her own idea.

"The professors would go mad trying to figure out how to stop them."

Harry was deep in thought as well, though his ideas were probably more extreme than what his friends had in mind.

He had some ways to make everyone become utterly shocked. Whether it was summoning a thirty-meter-tall Lightning Avatar in the middle of the Great Hall, using his True Dragon Spirit to create a massive dragon head breathing fire across the ceiling, or deploying his Soul Resonance Mist to make the entire school experience whatever emotions he wanted them to feel.

But these were all 'shocking' things... but were they really 'pranks'?

Though he had to admit, the idea of Aunt Min's face when a giant dragon head suddenly appeared in the Great Hall was pretty tempting.

Actually, no. That would probably give half the first years heart attacks and send the other half running screaming from the castle. And Grandpa Dumbledore would definitely have some very pointed questions about Harry showing off his new powers like that...

Though he had to admit, the idea of Aunt Min's face when a giant dragon head suddenly appeared in the Great Hall was pretty tempting.

No, he needed to think smaller. More mischievous, less terrifying.

What would actually make for a good prank? Something that would cause chaos but not genuine harm. Something that would make people laugh once they got over their initial surprise. Something that would be remembered fondly rather than with terror…

"Wait," Penny said suddenly, digging into her bag. "I think I need to clear my head first."

She pulled out a small vial filled with bright yellow potion. Harry recognized it immediately as a Wit-Sharpening Potion. Penny had brewed several batches of it over the years for studying during exam periods.

"Good idea," Charlotte said as Penny uncorked the vial. "We need all the brainpower we can get for this."

Penny drank the potion in one gulp, then made a face at the bitter taste. "Ugh, that never gets any better. But give me a minute and I should be thinking much more clearly."

"So what are we thinking?" Tonks asked, settling down on one of the dusty desks. "We need two legendary pranks that will make Peeves happy."

"Well," Charlotte said slowly, "we could enchant all the paintings in the castle to start singing opera. Imagine the portraits of stern old wizards suddenly belting out dramatic love songs."

Chiara giggled at the mental image. "The Fat Lady would probably love that, but I think some of the more serious portraits would be mortified."

"That's not bad," Harry said, considering it. "But would it really be legendary? I mean, the portraits already talk and move around. Making them sing isn't that much of a stretch."

"True," Charlotte admitted. "We need something more... unexpected."

Penny was tapping her finger against her chin, the Wit-Sharpening Potion clearly helping her think more clearly. "What if we released jinxed Ever-Bashing Boomerangs in the Great Hall? They'd just keep flying around bonking people on the head. Not hard enough to hurt anyone seriously, but enough to cause complete chaos."

"That's actually brilliant," Tonks said, her eyes lighting up. "Everyone would be ducking and diving, trying to avoid getting bonked. And the boomerangs would just keep coming back for more!"

Harry had to admit, that was a pretty good idea. Ever-Bashing Boomerangs were designed to be annoying rather than dangerous.

They'd cause plenty of chaos without actually hurting anyone.

"Where would we get jinxed boomerangs though?" Chiara asked practically.

"I could transfigure some regular objects into boomerangs," Charlotte said. "And then we'd just need to jinx them to keep flying around and seeking targets."

"That could work," Harry agreed. "What about the second prank?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought.

Then Tonks spoke up with a grin. "What if we released a troll into Hogwarts and then subdued it? Think about it… complete chaos as everyone runs screaming, then we heroically save the day!"

"Absolutely not," Harry said sharply. "That's way too risky!"

Everyone looked at him in surprise. Harry rarely spoke that firmly to his friends.

"Think about it," Harry stared disapprovingly at Tonks as he continued, "Trolls are twelve feet tall and weigh over a ton. They're incredibly strong and completely unpredictable. Even a 'small' mountain troll could kill someone with a single swing of its club."

"First years would panic and run in all directions. Someone could get trampled in the stampede. The troll might grab a student before we could stop it. What if it cornered a group of younger kids in a dead-end corridor? What if it smashed through a wall and brought part of the castle down on people?"

Tonks looked taken aback. "I didn't think about all that..."

Chiara nodded slowly. "And even if everything went perfectly, the professors would be furious. They might expel us all, and then we couldn't help Beatrice anyway."

"Exactly," Harry said. "We need pranks that are chaotic and memorable, but not actually dangerous. Peeves wants legendary mayhem, not a body count."

The room fell quiet as everyone reconsidered their approach. Harry could see the disappointment on their faces, especially Tonks, who had seemed excited about the troll idea.

But he couldn't let them put other students at risk, even for Beatrice.

There had to be a better way.

"Sorry for shooting down your idea so harshly," Harry said to Tonks. "I know you were just trying to help."

Tonks shrugged, though she still looked a bit deflated. "No, you're right. I got carried away thinking about how spectacular it would be. I forgot about the danger."

"So boomerangs for the first prank," Charlotte said, trying to get them back on track. "What about the second one? Maybe something with the house-elves? They're always moving around the castle at night, cleaning and preparing food. What if we could get them involved somehow?"

"That's... actually not a bad idea," Harry said slowly. "The house-elves know every secret passage and hidden room in Hogwarts. They could help us set up something really elaborate."

"But would they agree to help with a prank?" Chiara asked uncertainly. "House-elves are usually pretty focused on their duties."

"Depends on how we ask them," Tonks said, perking up again. "If we explained that it's to help save a student, they might be willing to bend the rules a little."

Penny nodded thoughtfully. "And house-elves have access to magic we don't. They can apparate inside Hogwarts, they can make objects appear and disappear..."

Harry found himself getting excited about the idea. The house-elves were incredibly skilled at magic, even if it was different from what wizards could do. And they genuinely cared about the students' wellbeing. If they understood that Beatrice was in danger, they might be willing to help create something truly spectacular.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that involving the house-elves was the key to creating a legendary prank. They had capabilities that no student could match, and their knowledge of the castle was unparalleled.

It was perfect.

After another twenty minutes of intense discussion and planning, they had their second prank figured out. Harry had to admit, it was going to be absolutely spectacular. The kind of thing that would have students talking about it for years to come.

"Alright," Charlotte said, looking satisfied with their planning. "Two legendary pranks that should make Peeves very happy. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning for the first one," Harry said. "We'll need tonight to prepare the boomerangs and get everything ready. The second one can happen tomorrow evening after dinner."

"Wonderful," Penny said, looking more hopeful than she had all day. "Beatrice, we're coming for you."

They spent the rest of the afternoon gathering supplies and making preparations. Charlotte practiced her transfiguration on some old quills, turning them into small boomerangs and then back again. Tonks worked on the jinxes they'd need to make the boomerangs seek targets and keep flying around. Chiara and Penny prepared the potions they'd need for their second prank.

Harry had talked to the house-elves and gained their support, and was on the way back to his friends when his green eyes darkened.

A new offer had come.

[Egg – Fate/Grand Order Part 2] – Costs 200CP, 200CP available to spend.

The Human Order has its own laws to ensure the prosperity and survival of humanity. The Textures of the Age of Gods were formed from the beliefs of its mortal inhabitants. And now, you've become a nascent World in your own right, complete with your own laws of reality. Perhaps you'd like to completely reject Pan-Human History, rendering any human Servant unsummonable? Of course, such things aren't absolute, and just like there are ways to bypass the laws of the Human Order, there will be ways to bypass your rules. Not that it's much of a downside, as you are still indeed a baby World.

Of course, to begin with the contents of your World will be based on your own mentality and view of the World. With the right resources, you could potentially grow your World into a full Planet, although the amount of energy (or civilization) required would certainly be immense, not to mention needing to evacuate Earth if you don't want to be kicked out violently by the Human Order.

Additionally, as a bonus, you're able to absorb living beings to obtain the information of their makeup (a drop of blood is enough), and can later recreate their species within your World with an appropriate investment of magical energy, although if you don't have enough to, you can merely recreate a weaker version instead. This process of recreation is instant, of course, and the only limit is the space within your World and the magical energy available to you, letting you potentially create whole armies. Of course, you have some influence over the recreation, able to 'program' them, in a manner of speaking, however you wish, such as instilling unbreakable loyalty in you, or perhaps allowing them full individuality. Unfortunately if you want to create new life or modify the 'templates' formed from absorbed creatures, you'll need to obtain that ability yourself, but if you're trying to grow yourself into a full-sized World, you might obtain such conceptual Authorities automatically, depending on how much ego the natives of yourself have and how much they develop into a civilization. That is a long way to go, of course, but the potential is definitely there. What kind of World will you craft out of your own self?

Harry blinked owlishly at the offer.

Was he becoming a Wizard-Angel-World tribrid...?