I find Harry's conversation with Nick at the end of Order of the Phoenix a very interesting one, and I wish it had been included in the film, though I'm not surprised it wasn't. Nick's always been an agreeable if morose fellow; all the Gryffindors seem to be fond of him, and he's held this respected place for five centuries, but it hasn't really made him happy. He's always regretfully mentioning his inability to enjoy such pleasures as eating or breathing and is often affronted by Ron's insensitivity to his position. After all this time, he still clings to the memory of what it was like to be alive, as if spending enough time around these vibrant young students will allow him to reclaim those experiences, if only for an instant.
Yet he is not content with his decision to remain; clearly the Gryffindor courage failed him at the critical moment, and he couldn't bring himself to fully embrace the unknown. There's the hint of so many mysteries in this conversation, and I don't see how some of them could not come into play in the final book, so I wonder whether, having chosen to leave his imprint at the school, Nick has the option of reversing his decision, whether it's a combination of wanting to continue to be of service to the school and being unwilling to let go of his earthly life that has kept him all this time rather than any binding obligation. Might he, witnessing - and probably in some way participating in - the valiant struggle in the saga's final chapters and observing the devastation caused by one unwilling to accept mortality, consciously seek to go the way of Sirius, the Potters and so many others, and be rewarded with the peace that has eluded him thus far?
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Hmm. Erin, this is such a good question. If one makes the choice to become a ghost, does one stay a ghost forever? Or is there an option, as you say, a chance to reverse the decision?
Just from the fact that Nick has been a ghost for so many hundred years, my guess would be it's irreversible. But in some ways then, it would seem to take even more courage to become one -- such an irrevocable choice, to live a half-life for the rest of eternity.
That leads me to another ghostly question though: how DOES one make the choice? Does it have to be a conscious choice? Or written down? (Like in a will?) How did Moaning Myrtle become a ghost -- she died so suddenly and without warning?
Yes, I was wondering about that myself; it seems like it would have to be a conscious decision, like there must be some limbo stage immediately after death at which point witches and wizards make the choice, but nobody seems to have much knowledge going into it.
It's like in Star Trek IV, when McCoy tries to have a philosophical discussion with Spock about his experience before being revitalized, and Spock demurs, muttering something about a lack of a "common referent," leading Bones to spout in exasperation, "You mean I have to die to discuss your views on death?"
It would appear that being a ghost is a permanent state, or at least permanent until some sort of apocalypse when the middle ground of ghostliness will be abolished, but maybe once a witch or wizard is a ghost, there's just usually not much inclination to change that...
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