harleyscars Chapter 73: Harsh Words Shock the Entire School
Chapter 73: Harsh Words Shock the Entire School
Chapter 74: Harsh Words Shock the Entire School
Picking up where we left off, the blood-covered Barrow came straight to the long table in Gryffindor and wanted to speak with Harry.
Before he could even utter a word, the scarred man launched into a tirade of insults, shocking everyone in the hall, both human and ghost.
"That raging water sprite, is he cursing Blood Man Barrow?!"
"Has Harry gone mad?"
"I've been to school for five years, and this is the first time I've ever seen a student dare to provoke Blood Man Barrow..."
The students from the Lion, Eagle, and Badger houses whispered amongst themselves, as anxious as startled birds. Only the Slytherin students were overjoyed, with Draco slapping the table in approval.
"That damned Scarface is finished! In all the thousands of years of Hogwarts history, no one has ever dared to insult Mr. Barrow like that!"
"That's right, don't forget his nickname is Blood Man, no other ghost has such a scary name."
This single act caused a huge uproar, stirring up a storm throughout the city. The students all stole glances, and the ghosts themselves revealed themselves, peering out.
Nick, who was nearly headless, almost lost his head in shock; Peeves huddled on the beam, trembling; the fat monk hesitated, wanting to offer advice; Helena also stood quietly in mid-air, observing the scene with a cold eye.
These hundreds of strange gazes, like a sudden rain of locusts, all pierced his body, making the blood-man Barrow furious.
He has roamed Hogwarts for nine hundred years, and his professors and students have changed dozens of times, but not one has dared to raise their voices at him.
How could I tolerate being scolded by that brat Harry today?
With etiquette abandoned, swords clashed. The blood-soaked Barrow, his hair and beard standing on end, a chilling wind whistling towards his face, coldly declared:
"Mr. Potter, is this what you mean?"
"You want to oppose me, and Slytherin?"
His voice grew louder and louder, and the shackles on his body jingled, making the group of freshmen around Harry tremble with fear.
Even Colin, who had always respected Harry, was now trembling and his legs were shaking.
Harry knew all along that this Bloody Barrow was a sneaky little man, but seeing him still pretending to be a hero and spouting nonsense to intimidate people, he couldn't contain his anger.
With his tiger-like eyes wide open, he leaped up and roared, "I'll fight you, you filthy lecher! What are you going to do about it?!"
"You hypocrite, you fraud, you scoundrel! You dare to put on such a show in front of your grandfather!"
Harry's shout pierced the hall, startling everyone in the Fourth House. The Slytherin students' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, their jaws agape.
What did he call Mr. Barrow?
A lecherous ghost?!
Isn't this blatant slander?
The insult to Barrow was tantamount to the insult to Slytherins. The Slytherin students slammed their fists on the table, spitting everywhere, and jumped up to argue back with Harry.
"Shut up! Don't slander Mr. Barrow!"
"That's right, I went to school for five years and never saw Mr. Barrow speak to a ghost of the opposite sex!"
"Mr. Barrow committed suicide for love! You're insulting his love!"
The students of Slytherin came to cheer him on, but the blood-soaked Barrow's eyes widened and his momentum suddenly vanished.
He stared at Harry, his expression uncertain, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Seeing the fellow's hesitation, Harry became even more convinced that Helena's words were true, and sneered, "If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place! You've committed your own sins, and now you come to question me?"
These words seemed like a cryptic remark, leaving others bewildered, but to the blood-soaked Barrow, they were like a bolt from the blue.
How did he know about this?
Was it Helena who said that?
He glanced at Helena, his lips trembling as if he wanted to speak, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with a nutmeg, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Reader, please note: Although these two have spent nine hundred years at Hogwarts, they are like strangers.
Helena harbored resentment and didn't even spare him a glance. Knowing he was in the wrong, the blood-man Barrow had no face to speak to him. It was as if being so close had become an insurmountable distance, and a hundred years of frost and snow had covered their lips and tongues.
He staggered back a few steps, his soul flickering between light and shadow, and murmured, "No...it was just an accident...I just made a mistake..."
"I have been atoning for my sins for hundreds of years... I didn't mean to..."
Harry's anger flared even more at his excuses. He kicked over a chair and yelled, "You lecherous, lustful wretch! You'd kill someone over the slightest displeasure! You dare call yourself 'love'?!"
"Hanging a few iron chains is supposed to be self-punishment, but where are you? Rolling on a bed of nails, being branded with hot irons, riding a wooden donkey—all five forms of torture! It's clearly a show after death, to fool Yama, the King of Hell, and to scare Lucifer in hell!"
"Those who dare to use the words 'die for love' are only true lovers, men and women whose love is stronger than gold, and wicked men who would sacrifice their lives for righteousness! You, a scoundrel who would rather die than admit your guilt, actually dare to utter such words. You are truly like dung staining a golden plaque, or maggots infesting a Buddhist shrine!"
"If my senior brother Zhishen were to see you, he would kowtow with every step he takes, and he would return to Mount Wutai to invite Master Zhizhen to annihilate your lecherous ghost, so that you may never be reborn!"
Scarface's curses were like flying knives and sharp arrows. Not to mention the living, even the fat cultivator and his old ghosts trembled with fear upon hearing them.
Barrow, the Blood Man, heard it clearly. He felt pain in his soul and body, and his internal organs were burning as if on fire, but he couldn't muster any anger.
If you ask why, it's because these insults struck at the deep-seated wounds of his past, like ten thousand steel knives piercing his heart and soul, tearing open the stagnant sores, letting the blood drain away, and revealing a slight sense of relief.
He's right...
He's right...
I don't deserve to live as a ghost at all...
Just then, Helena, who was in mid-air, couldn't help but exclaim, "Well said!"
"Harry, you really should have come to Ravenclaw."
The bloodied man, Barrow, was startled by Helena's voice, as if a thunderbolt had struck his ear. His very soul trembled, and his once-dormant heart began to pound.
Helena—she's willing to speak now…has she forgiven me?!
He hurriedly looked up to search, but there was no one in the air. Where was Helena?
Why did she leave?
Is it because Harry stopped yelling at me?
Nine hundred years later, the blood-covered Barrow, upon hearing Helena's voice again, was completely mesmerized. Ignoring the stares of the surrounding students, he stared intently at Harry and said urgently:
"Mr. Potter... Harry, please, scold me a few more times."
"Just a few words..."
Upon hearing this, the auditorium seemed to become a vacuum, as if everyone was drawing in all the air.
The Slytherin students were dumbfounded, feeling that the image of the bloodied Barrow had been shattered. Colin and the other freshmen who were there to offer their condolences, however, had eyes that shone brightly, wishing they could bow down in worship.
The infamous Bloody Barrow! He's begging Harry to come and yell at him!
The hall was filled with all sorts of strange people. Harry's eyes widened, and he thought to himself, "Damn it! How come there are so many weird people in this school?"
Human body transformed into demon body, gluttonous tea-loving insect, lusting after my father's body—and now another gluttonous person comes along to insult me!
Just as he was about to utter some vicious words, Hermione's eyes lit up, and she suddenly spoke up.
A tirade ensued: A furious outburst erupted in the Great Hall, Bloody Barrow spewing smoke from his seven orifices; past sins resurfaced, filling him with dread and unease. Sharp words, like silver needles, pierced his festering wounds, splattering blood. He pleaded for further insults as atonement, but Harry remained silent. Hermione then spoke. What did Hermione utter? We'll find out in the next chapter.
P.S.: Um, I'm just making an outline. I'll start with one update today, and tomorrow I'll really release a lot more. I'm just worried that if the quantity increases, the quality will drop.
If I can't get it leaked, I'll crossdress and show it to everyone, okay?
(End of this chapter)