What exactly happened?
...That is indeed a question, and to be fair, this "William Richard's Dreamy Illusion" truly counts as unpredictable, full of twists and turns, and deeply moving.
But to understand the process, we must turn the clock back to this afternoon...
"Murder? Who?"
Upon hearing William's words, Sirius instinctively began to shout.
"Is the question really 'who'?!"
Hermione widened her eyes, looking quite a bit like "Little Professor McGonagall." She had a ring of question marks above her head as she unconsciously held onto William's arm, her serious tone tinged with caution, seemingly wanting to pull William, this "good person" who had strayed off course, back on track.
"Ahem, just joking."
William scratched his nose. He was just considering the feasibility of the plan and accidentally blurted out what he was thinking.
But killing someone is indeed the simplest. All it takes is for the person to "voluntarily face their demise," at which point he can cast the "Soul Detachment Possession Curse" he just learned from Voldemort's memory at noon, and then hitch a ride to the Illusory Realm...
But the risks are also present. Firstly, if he attempts to detach his soul, his physical body will become a prime target for roaming ghosts...
Though he is confident that, unless the Legendary Grand Mage Merlin possesses him, he can reclaim his body, there's always the risk of the unexpected. Moreover, hitching a ride isn't entirely foolproof either; if the driver notices and kicks him off, he'll have to continue... um, helping people voluntarily face their demise...
Ugh, he needs to think of a better method.
"Your tone just now didn't seem like you were joking..."
"Exactly, Harry's soul is no longer in his body. It's very likely that he's already headed to the Illusory Realm Baron just mentioned. So, if we're going to save him, we must find a way to pull Harry back before he completely walks into death or becomes a ghost, otherwise..."
William shrugged, "Otherwise, Moaning Myrtle in the second-floor girls' bathroom will have company..."
"Myrtle indeed likes Harry, or rather, she likes any handsome boy under seventeen."
"You sure know how to catch the point, Miss Granger."
"Ahem, so, do we have any means to fish Harry out of the Illusory Realm?"
"There is, buddy, there is..."
As if triggered by certain keywords, William stood up from the bench, casually grabbed a baguette from the Ravenclaw long table, and marched aggressively toward the exit of the hall. "Blake, go inform Old Bee to have someone ask the ghosts in the castle about their regrets, see if there's anything easily solved..."
...
Soon, a list appeared in William's hands.
"Nick's wish is...to have his head completely severed, alright, this one can pass; the Fat Friar's wish is...to revive the Plantagenet dynasty? No way, where do you find the child of King John now? That's all nine hundred years ago, and wasn't he hanged by King John...?"
William read through the wishes reported by these ghosts one by one, and he couldn't help but admit that to be a ghost at Hogwarts, you have to have some tricks up your sleeve. There was even a ghost who died in World War II whose wish was world peace...all William could say was he shared that wish.
Finally, after searching for a long time, William finally saw a reliable one. "Sir Meik, because he didn't get to eat his grandmother's last meal before dying, his wish is to eat a bite of authentic apple pie..."
"Senior, ghosts can't eat human food."
Hermione reminded quietly by his side, last year's Deathday Feast left quite the psychological shadow on her, after all, the taste was simply like socks unwashed for two and a half years, soaked in a bit of dirty water, finally mixed with a pile of XX dug from XX placed on the dining table...
She'll probably never forget that scene in her lifetime.
"Ugh, such trouble."
Putting down the last wish list in his hand, William couldn't help but frown, silently calculating in his mind—hmm, indeed one less.
William looked at Lupin who delivered the list. "What about Ms. Gray from Ravenclaw?"
"Couldn't find it." Lupin shook his head, indicating he didn't know either. Sirius beside him furrowed his brows deeply and painfully, "Ha, don't even need to guess, probably the same as the Fat Friar's wish, revive the Tudor dynasty?"
"Ha, then we're really pressed for time to revive two dynasties before Harry becomes a ghost, even a certain Mr. Yuan couldn't manage that..." William shook his head. He grabbed the Wizard Robe draped over the back of his chair, stood up, and headed outside, "I'm going out for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"To have a heartfelt chat with lovely Ms. Gray, see if she might forgive our 'poor' Mr. Baron..."
"I'm going with you..."
Sirius stood up from his chair as well, having idled here for over an hour and a half, just thinking about Harry lying half-dead on the bed, he really found it unbearable.
"You? Forget it."
"Why?"
"Because Ms. Gray only summons handsome guys—"
"...?"
Seeing William lazily stretching as he left the Room of Requirement, Sirius couldn't help but widen his eyes. He glanced at the other two in the room, his tone filled with disbelief, "Did he just call me ugly?"
"You need to know, you just finished ten years in Azkaban..." Lupin gently comforted with high emotional intelligence.
"Are you insulting me too?!" Sirius did not buy it.
...
"Are you sure you won't anger or hurt her?"
In the Tower of Ravenclaw, the Bloody Baron hesitantly asked. William had just found him, claiming he had a way to see Helena, which excited the Bloody Baron immensely. Without hesitation, he brought William over.
But when they arrived, he seemed to sober up and cast a wary glance at William.
Was he inviting trouble?
But it was too late to turn back, as William kindly draped his arm over the Baron's shoulder and calmly said, "You've brought me here, so even if you don't lead the way now, do you really think I won't be able to find it myself?"
"..."
Damn, really invited trouble, after all.
The Baron's mouth twitched as he took a deep breath, stopped, and pointed at the wooden door beside him, "Helena is inside." He said, and the ghost began to fade, "Call me when you're done. If I'm there, Helena will leave immediately."
"Doesn't matter, I'll take action—"
William stopped the Baron's fading figure. Then, under the expectant gaze mixed with confusion on the Baron's face, he reached out and pushed the wooden door open.
"Helena."
At William's signal, the Baron reluctantly spoke first. His raspy voice trembled, revealing his very agitated emotions.
"..."
The woman hovering alone by the window of the tower didn't speak. She only turned her head with a blank expression, with a flash of hatred in her dead eyes. Then, her gray figure began to sink downwards, disappearing from the room in the blink of an eye—
"Petrificus Totalus."
The blue-purple charm hit Helena, causing the woman to lose her ability to fly. She fell uncontrolled to the ground, making a tinkling noise. Petrified ghost, ancient magic, isn't it amazing?
"You said you wouldn't hurt her!"
The Baron floated hurriedly over and shouted at William, angered, as he looked at the lifeless Helena.
"Did I say that? Besides, just tell me, did you see her or not?"
"..."
"And take a closer look, it's just a Petrification Curse to prevent her from escaping. I must have her hear what I have to say next."
Clearly, the overly concerned Baron hadn't noticed the charm William just used. He stared at Helena for a while before finally seeing the subtle movement of her pupils, and only then did he calm down.
"Hey hey hey, one two three, one two three, can you hear me?"
William waved his hand in front of Helena. Using letters found in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and some accounts from the "old folks" in the castle, the true identity of Ms. Grey was almost easily deduced. After all, Ms. Grey was a member of the royal family who was beheaded at the Tower of London by "Bloody Mary" during the Tudor dynasty five hundred years ago. Still, Helena had been wandering the castle for a thousand years, leaving room for doubt about her identity.
Plus, with the materials he found in the Room of Requirement, he easily deduced the true identity of this Ravenclaw House ghost—Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena Ravenclaw.
And knowing her identity naturally gave him the bargaining chip to negotiate with her.
Thus, under Helena's hateful gaze, William spoke word by word, "I found the relics left by your mother."
In the next moment, Helena's eyes became clear, like a college student who slacked off for four years only to realize the thesis was due the next day.
...
Inside the Room of Requirement, everyone in the room stared at the two ghosts following William.
No wonder, as Ms. Grey was one of the most mysterious ghosts in the entire castle, always keeping to herself. Without an invitation from the headmaster, she rarely appeared in the Great Hall.
"Where's the thing you talked about?"
Helena looked around expressionlessly. She stared at Dumbledore, whom William had just called over, her eyes showing curiosity.
"Wait a moment, I need to prepare something."
William said while walking over to Dumbledore's side, whispering a few words to him. Then he lay down comfortably in the reclining chair conjured by Dumbledore and closed his eyes. The next moment, William's legs twitched, and it seemed he had fainted directly.
"?"
Helena's slender eyebrows knitted tightly, her face full of puzzlement.
Just as she couldn't hold back from asking, William suddenly moved. In the next moment, a silver-gray "William" floated out from William's body. He tested this new form of movement and nodded in satisfaction before turning to look at the shocked Helena—
"Shall we go?"
"You, you, you… did you kill yourself?"