[Eardwulf the Archer]

Location: Hogwarts Great Hall • Date: Sept 3

Eardwulf sat at a window, staring outside. It was pouring with rain, which meant his sparring match with Gryffindor had been cancelled. Instead, he had been assigned reading a scroll with offensive magic spells.

Reading hurt his eyes, though, which was why he was now letting the candle burn down (on the table across from him, of course) as he stared out the window, watching the rain come down. It was a miserable day, he thought. Just miserable.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves had come into existence not too long ago, but already he had gained tremendous notoriety in the castle. For the most part, people wondered how to get rid of the poltergeist. Nothing seemed to work. A wealthier student had put a bounty on his head, but chaos couldn't be destroyed, and Peeves was still there, more energetic and devious than ever, and very, very keen to be noticed and to disrupt things.

He'd appeared above a student in the Great Hall, observing things for a quiet second before turning invisible and floating down towards the student.

As silently as he could, Peeves blew out the candle.

[Eardwulf the Archer]

Stuck in his misery, Eardwulf almost missed it. But when he noticed the candle go out, far too soon, he immediately stood up, glancing around.

"Who's there?" he asked, his voice suspicious.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

As spirits very well could, Peeves moved silently towards the student, until he was right behind him. He grabbed the young man's ear, and blew violently into the other.

[Eardwulf the Archer]

Eardwulf whirled around, brandishing the wand that had been crafted for him. "You'll pay for that!" he snapped, looking in all directions. He couldn't see anyone. Weird. He had thought maybe it was that younger student, the one with a penchant for stealing things, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Show yourself!"

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves floated above the student's head just as he was about to be stabbed by the wand. Screaming like a banshee he suddenly grabbed both the young man's ears!

[Eardwulf the Archer]

Eardwulf howled, tossing his head around. "What the--" he exclaimed, trying to shake off whatever had his ears. Then it hit him. He remembered hearing someone talk about the spirit that inhabited the keep. "It's you, isn't it?" he asked, turning around slowly. "The poltergeist."

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Loud cackling suddenly replaced the screaming.

'Peevesie Peeves is it, and it is Peevesie Peeves,' the poltergeist confirmed in a sing-song voice.

[Eardwulf the Archer]

Eardwulf groaned, tightening his grip on his wand. "Peeves, is it?" he asked, setting his jaw. "Make a habit of tormenting the students here, don't you?" He had heard the stories, but had not come across the spirit yet.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves had no intention whatsoever of explaining himself. In lieu of a response, he drifted towards the other end of the table, where a large rat was feasting on a forgotten piece of bread on the floor. The poltergeist grabbed it by the tail, and flung it at the Gryffindor. He wouldn't say he tormented the students, strictly speaking. He simply enhanced their lives.

[Eardwulf the Archer]

When the rat came flying at him, Eardwulf ducked, managing to avoid it. He then straightened up, narrowing his eyes. Now he was annoyed, and he brandished his wand.

The only problem was, he didn't know what spells would work on a ghost.

"You'll pay for that," he said, settling on idle threats to establish his own bravado.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

An invisible Peeves was cackling high above the student, near the rafters of the roof. Because of this, the laughter rang out in echoes, and it was impossible to determine the exact location the original laughter was coming from.

'Little tiny archer, making big threats against poor Peeves. You think you can do anything to Peeves?'

[Eardwulf the Archer]

"I'm sure I can," Eardwulf said, turning every which direction, trying to pinpoint where the spirit was. Unfortunately, he still couldn't think of a spell. If only he was allowed his bow inside... and if only arrows worked on spirits. "The founders will hear about this," he finally settled on, continuing his train of thought with the bravado.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

At this, the cackling intensified. The student could not see him, but Peeves was rolling around on himself.

'And what can the founders do to little Peeves?' The Poltergeist asked.

[Eardwulf the Archer]

What could the founders do? Eardwulf hardly knew the answer, himself. "I'm sure they know magic that can banish you from the keep," he said, his voice wavering only a little. Not in fear, but in annoyance that he couldn't figure out how to handle this himself.