Quote:
Originally Posted by
Destiny 
Ohhhh Merlin!
Not only was Destiny sitting in between TWO Hufflepuff's, she was also listening to all these HORRIFYING ghost stories! Especially the story that little Gryffindor girl told. The same Gryffindor that was practically sitting on Patroclus'.
Glare!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PattyH. Patroclus was less shocked by the subject matter, than he was by the shock that was Kurumi pouncing into his lap like a scared little kitty.
"Oh Kurumi, it's OK!" he smiled his heart swell at how cute the little second year was, "Nothing's going to harm you, not while I am around," he whispered, softly patting her on the back.
Kurumi sat on Patroclus' lap in the same manner a young child meeting Santa Clause for the first time would. Well, at least how it was the first time she had ever seen him. She had found the man frightening and had cried and cried and cried as she sat on his lap for no other reason than she was sitting on some stranger with a white beard that laughed strangely - not that the Prefect was any of these things.
Kurumi whimpered and nodded her head as he spoke and then felt a familiar burning sensation on the back of her head. It was Cookie!Hater...it had to be.
Turning her head around, she saw someone completely different glaring at her.
Did she hate cookies too?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Maxilocks
"Kurumi..." Jared blinked as she actually huddled into the Gryffindor Prefect. "It's alright. No mean ghost is going to show up." No mean ghost. "I'm here to ensure everyone's safety."
He might have said something else to comfort her, but the imagery of her next few sentences did not give him a chance to. He resisted the urge to half-smile. Dangling hands? Invisible legs? He had to give those muggles credit for knowing how to pitch a good yarn.
"
N-N-N-No mean ghosts?" she repeated in a soft whimper. Well, that was a relief. She wouldn't mind seeing Sir Nicholas again. They had had a rather pleasant conversation at the Opening Feast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Maxilocks "You've all provided some good insight into how the muggle view of ghosts differs from ours," Jared said, nodding at each answer. Some of them had been quite excellent. "Take two points each."
"It seems that, as opposed to the average witch or wizard's take on ghosts, the average muggle fears or does not believe in them. There are exceptions, of course but, speaking on a general basis, fear of the unknown and uncertain is dominant. I believe that is one reason the muggle world has a larger market for ghost stories. But, all that aside, is it always ghosts that muggles are dealing with? Like Harper and Treyen have said, a large number of muggles tend to think 'ghost!' in the face of strange occurrences - such as items moving on their own - that a witch or wizard could find perfectly reasonable explanations for. For example --"
He cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and, now invisible, picked up one of the boxes of chocolates on the ground and moved it from one spot to another. Then he cast the counter-charm, so that he could be seen again. "Now, all of you just saw the box of chocolates moving 'on its own.' But that was definitely not the work of a ghost. Can anyone explain what I'm getting at?"
Kurumi listened to a few of her classmates as they spoke and was immediately reminded of her brothers and all the pranks they tended to play. It was part of the reason why their mother had taken away their wands - or so she had been told. Perhaps there was something in the statement of witches and wizards playing tricks on non-magical people.
"
Perhaps, Professor, non-magical people saw a witch or wizard performing some sort of magic, perhaps even the magic you did just now, and they came to the conclusion that that person must be a ghost. We have talked about how non-magical people deny the existence of magic, but they are willing to accept that idea of ghosts." She sniffled a little and thought about the story she had told. "
Also, ghosts seemed to serve the purpose of explaining something or putting a label on who did it when there is no obvious answer. So...perhaps with the story I mentioned, perhaps the samurai used ghosts as an excuse for him doing the deed himself?"