Chapter 291: Shake Your Head
For a while after that encounter, Kyle kept a close watch on his surroundings, but oddly, the raspy, whispering voice never returned. He even tried to exhaust himself further with increased training and all-nighters, hoping that fatigue might bring it back. Yet, it was all in vain. It seemed he really had misheard something that day.
After two weeks of this, Kyle finally stopped dwelling on it.
...
A few days before Halloween, on a stormy Saturday evening, Kyle was hurrying down a dim corridor after finishing Charms Club when he nearly collided with someone—or rather, something. He had almost walked straight through Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower. Nick was staring mournfully out a window, muttering to himself, "...didn't meet their requirements... only half an inch away..."
Nick was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Kyle approaching—at least, not until Kyle decided to greet him.
"Hello, Sir Poppington."
Kyle preferred calling him by his formal name rather than "Nick." Ever since his last holiday, "Nick" had always reminded him of an old man he'd met in Devon.
"Oh—hello," Nearly Headless Nick was visibly startled. After looking around for a moment, he finally spotted Kyle. "Not many people call me that," he said, sounding slightly cheered. "You look tired, which is... nice... I mean, I can't quite recall what being tired feels like."
As he spoke, he tucked a transparent letter into his shirt. Though the letter was see-through, it resembled real parchment and became almost invisible once folded.
"I can tell you, it feels awful," Kyle said, rubbing his forehead. "You're not missing out." He then changed the subject. "You look troubled."
"Oh, it's nothing," Nick said, waving his hand dismissively. "Just a trivial matter... It's not like I truly wanted to join... I thought I could apply, but it seems I... don't meet the requirements." His tone was light, but the pain on his face told a different story.