A broken Hogwarts

Chapter 118 Conversation in the Principal's Office
"The entrance to the headmaster's room is right behind here. Professor Dumbledore always likes to use the name of the dessert to set the password." Harry chattered to Owen, and then said to the huge ugly stone monster in front of him: "Lemon ice cream .”

The stone monster raised its eyelids and glanced at the two, then jumped aside.The wall behind it cracked in two, revealing a spiral staircase slowly moving up behind the wall.

"The principal's office is up there, come here!" Harry excitedly pulled Owen up the spiral staircase, the wall behind them closed heavily, and the stairs under their feet carried them higher and higher.

"It's amazing, isn't it? It's like an elevator. Oh, it's an electrical appliance from the Muggle world," said Harry.He looked helplessly at Owen who was silent along the way, and he was in a very good mood.Although he has always been very happy to accept Dumbledore's private lectures, the heavy sense of expectation has always made him very stressed, especially when he tried his best but it was difficult to learn or even understand the knowledge taught by Dumbledore when.

He very much hopes that there is someone who can accept Dumbledore's guidance with him. In his opinion, no one is more suitable than Owen, who is excellent in all aspects.He believed that Dumbledore finally discovered Owen's outstanding talent and decided to focus on training him.

I know more about the structure of elevators than you do... Owen glanced at Harry with little interest.He didn't think that Dumbledore had discovered his talent. Along the way, he had been making psychological constructions in his heart for various possible situations that might happen next, including but not limited to being discovered by Dumbledore that he was learning black magic. The other party finds that the Philosopher's Stone is in his hands, and even has the possibility of being humanely destroyed by the other party.

He didn't even know where he showed his flaws and attracted Dumbledore's attention.He didn't think it was the black magic aura on his body that had been sensed. That kind of power itself was quite concealed, and there was only a little loophole in the early days of his contact.He didn't know if something was overlooked when the plan was executed that night, but if so, Dumbledore's attitude shouldn't be so ambiguous, and it should be a little tougher.

"Ah, it's just ahead!" Harry pointed to a gleaming oak door ahead without knowing it, then grabbed the bronze griffin-shaped knocker on the door and knocked.

The door opened silently, and the entrance was a spacious and beautiful circular room, filled with all kinds of funny little sounds.There were many strange and whirling silverware on the table, belching thin puffs of smoke.The walls are covered with portraits of old school principals snoring softly in their frames.There is also a huge desk in the room, and the dirty and tattered Sorting Hat is placed on a shelf behind the desk.

Owen stared at the dirty hat silently, longing to cast a cleansing spell on it.

"Huh? Professor Dumbledore isn't here?" Harry said in surprise. "He must have been delayed by something. You see, these are portraits of the old headmasters. They are always sleeping, and I have never seen them awake." Time." After the last sentence, he deliberately lowered his voice.

A slight "click" sounded behind the two of them, and Harry turned around to look at the big golden-red bird standing on a tall gilded perch gnawing a small bone behind the door, and greeted him affectionately: " Good evening, Fox."

"This is Fawkes, a phoenix. It can carry heavy objects, its tears can heal wounds, and it can sing inspiring war songs." Harry introduced, leaning over to stroke the beautiful feathers on Fawkes, and He waved to Owen.

After staring at Fox's bright black eyes for a while, Owen approached slowly with a hint of curiosity, and stretched out his right hand tentatively.Phoenix's clear eyes showed humanized disgust and arrogance, and he quickly jumped aside on the perch, avoiding Owen's palm.

Owen stretched out his hand again, but Phoenix easily dodged it, and was even almost pecked on the back of his hand by the sharp golden beak.

"It looks like it doesn't like me." Owen withdrew his hand and said with a smile.Fawkes held its graceful head high, allowing Harry to stroke its gleaming golden paws.

"Uh, maybe Fox is a stranger..." Harry twitched the corner of his mouth, and silently withdrew his hand.

The two waited here bored for 3 minutes. After carefully looking at every part of the room, Owen finally stopped suppressing the strong impulse in his heart and drew out his wand at the sorting hat.

"Owen, what are you doing?" Harry watched his movements in bewilderment.

"Clean it up!" Owen endured it for a long time!

However, this spell, which Owen has already mastered so well, hit a wall here.The Sorting Hat didn't change in any way, and even twisted a little itchy, as if mocking.

"You..." Harry was stunned, his eyes widening.

"Well, it turns out that the cleaning spell has little effect on such brilliant magical creations." Owen curled his lips, and retracted his wand with a little embarrassment.

"Pfft..." Harry burst out laughing, then suddenly turned his head to cover his mouth, his shoulders trembled.

At this time, the curtain behind the office was suddenly lifted.Dumbledore, wearing a bright blue wizard robe, came out from behind the curtain with a faint smile on his face.

Harry tightened his smile, and greeted Dumbledore with a slightly funny expression.

"Sit down, I'm sorry I'm late, I took a nap just now." Smiling, Dumbledore glanced at the curtain he came out of, and then sat down on the high-backed chair behind the table.He directed the two chairs to float across the table lightly, beckoning Owen and Harry to sit down on them.

"I'm not looking for you to come here tonight for class. After all, I want you to enjoy a leisurely vacation." Dumbledore smiled and folded his hands, "You can understand that a widowed old man wants to chat with someone .Ah, by the way, do you want some dessert?"

He tapped the table with his fingers, and a large table of exquisite desserts of different colors appeared out of thin air. It looked pleasing to the eye, and a charming sweet fragrance permeated the office.

"Whenever you see them, you can't help but feel happy, don't you?" Dumbledore said lightly, and picked up a cupcake.Facing sweets, his expression is serious and pious.

Owen and Harry each took a piece of apple pie and sat across the table from Dumbledore.Owen could clearly see Dumbledore's bright blue eyes under the half-moon lenses, his silver beard, the wrinkles on his face, and his crooked nose.

"Harry, let's talk about the Philosopher's Stone." Dumbledore glanced at Harry.Harry straightened his back instantly, his expression tensed and heavy.

"Don't worry, Harry, according to reliable information, the Philosopher's Stone did not fall into Voldemort's hands." Dumbledore said slowly.

"But isn't the Aether Society helping Voldemort?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Ah, the Aether Society." Dumbledore wiped the corners of his mouth, his expression became serious, "There is no evidence that this organization, which I have never heard of before, is supporting Voldemort. In fact, at the beginning of this school year, the news I received It's just that some of Voldemort's servants are trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect his master...no news from the Aetherial Society."

"A servant?" Harry asked confused.This is completely different from what he knows.

"That's right, Professor Quirrell." Dumbledore sighed softly, "He used to be a smart and enthusiastic person, but he couldn't resist Voldemort's bewitching. He sold his soul and let his heart be filled with hatred, greed And swallowed by ambition..."

Owen seemed to feel that Dumbledore glanced at him lightly, and he lowered his eyes and tasted the apple pie in his hand, calmly listening to the conversation between the two.

"But, isn't Professor Quirrell a member of the Aether Society? No, hasn't he been replaced?" Harry was completely confused.

"No, he has never been replaced, and he has nothing to do with the Aether Society." Dumbledore said softly, "At least that's what the information I got told me. He disappeared the night the Philosopher's Stone was stolen. Either died, or left here following the trail of the Philosopher's Stone."

"What about Professor Snape?" Harry looked at him with burning eyes.

"Oh, Harry, Professor Snape has nothing to do with the Aether Society, and has never been replaced." Dumbledore squinted and smiled, "He has been looking after the Philosopher's Stone in his own way, paying attention to Quirrell. any suspicious behavior."

The expression on Harry's face cracked.If Professor Snape hadn't been replaced, then those temptations and actions he made to the dean a few days ago... He covered his face, feeling ashamed to appear in front of the dean again.

No, since the dean has no problem, why do you avoid his touch?Doesn't he want to clear himself of the suspicion?Moreover, the Aether Society manipulated the Sorting Hat and assigned him to Slytherin House. Isn't the head of Slytherin the most suitable person to monitor him?
Harry suddenly thought of this question, and his expression became serious.Could it be that Mr. Dumbledore was also deceived?No, he still has to continue to test it... For the sake of the truth, it's worth dying again!

"Speaking of the Aether Society..." Dumbledore said suddenly, "I want to hear you repeat everything that happened the night you came into contact with them. You know, I wasn't at school that night—ah, there was A lot of things need to be arranged—Although Professor Snape has already told me the whole story, perhaps a different perspective can yield greater gains."

Harry carefully recalled the situation that day, telling all the details he remembered.Owen also added a few words.

"You went after him, Mr. Shafik?" said Dumbledore. "That's not a sensible choice."

"Yeah, I was very angry at the time. No one has ever treated me like this, and I think Harry has seriously injured him..." Owen said with emotion, "I feel very scared when I think about it afterwards. I was really impulsive at that time. .”

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes inexplicably.

"Sir," said Harry, "if the Philosopher's Stone wasn't in Voldemort's hands, then he'd try to make a comeback in some other way, wouldn't he? I mean, he hasn't disappeared, has he?"

"No, Harry, he didn't disappear. He wasn't really alive, so he couldn't have been killed. As far as I know, he's been hiding in the Black Forest of Albania since you made him incapacitated. He may have missed this opportunity, but he will always be eyeing a tiger and trying to restore his strength, so in the future, another person needs to be fully prepared to fight him to the death..."

Dumbledore stared at Harry quietly, with a twinkle of sparkle and pity in his eyes, but only for a moment.

"But, sir, can you tell me why I let him out of shape?" said Harry, bewildered.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, and then said softly: "Back then, Voldemort wanted to kill you, and your mother died to save you. This deep love left the deepest mark on you , not a scar, not a visible mark, Harry. To be loved so deeply by someone leaves us with a permanent talisman that protects you from Voldemort's ravages. His spell rebounds Going back, ending himself..."

Harry sat there in a daze, wiping away his tears with his sleeve while Dumbledore looked up at the sky.

Owen's eyebrows moved slightly, and he felt that sitting here was very redundant.He turned his head and stared at Fox, who was shaking his tail feathers on the perch branch, and each of them, a phoenix, began to stare wide-eyed.

"Owen, well, I think I can call you that?" When Harry was emotionally unstable, Dumbledore turned to Owen and said, "May I know what you are thinking now?"

"Of course." Owen turned his head to look into the other person's eyes, and calmly gave the answer that the other person wanted to hear the most, "I am very moved and shocked, sir. That kind of love is so great that it is moving."

"Yes, yes, love is the greatest and most precious thing in this world, and it is also the most powerful and most capable of miracles." Dumbledore sighed softly, "When a person is determined to die for love, In battle, he is indestructible."

"That's something Voldemort will never understand. If you can't understand it, you can never be called a great wizard." He said slowly, "Do you understand, Owen?"

"Maybe." Owen smiled, "I will try to understand love."

"I want to know, Owen, what is your attitude towards Voldemort?" Dumbledore looked into his eyes and said in a tone that seemed to be talking about family matters.

"I don't want him to come back, sir." Owen said sincerely, "I don't think anyone who is familiar with history would want him to come back and bring darkness and despair to this world again."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, and then changed the subject: "Harry said that you are not very good at learning white magic? Owen, what do you think about white magic and black magic?"

Why does Harry say everything... Owen blinked his eyes, and said in very objective words with his face unchanged: "They are essentially the same thing by different routes, and they all require wizards to use their own strong emotions to cast spells. Positive emotions, one needs negative emotions, are two sides of opposites."

"They are often more powerful and magical than ordinary magic, but when a wizard delves deeply into any of the two paths, he will be affected to a certain extent." Owen said slowly. Said slowly.

"Yes, influences, do you know how they affect a person?" asked Dumbledore. "Take the Dark Arts, for example."

"When a person is immersed in strong negative emotions for a long time, his nature will be subtly affected." Owen glanced at him and said softly, "At the same time, when a wizard uses it on others, he will benefit from the pain and pain of the victim. Desperate to get a kind of feedback that changes the temperament of the wizard more deeply. In both respects, black magic seems to affect people much more than white magic."

"You call that feedback?" Dumbledore stared at him with piercing blue eyes. "No, that's the corruption of dark magic, Owen. It's the unscrupulous erosion of the user's body, mind, and soul. Make them darker and more evil from the inside out."

Owen looked at him quietly, and suddenly showed a bright smile: "Aren't they all the same thing?" He said briskly: "It's all said in the book, just different expressions."

Dumbledore nodded slowly, took a deep breath, and then said with a smile: "Shouldn't you continue eating?"

In the following time, the atmosphere became more relaxed.The three of them tasted the desserts and chatted for a while. When the time was almost up, Owen and Harry said goodbye and left.

After leaving the principal's office, Owen calmly twirled a coin on his fingertips, with a faint smile on his lips.It seems that Dumbledore has noticed something, but he is not sure, so there is more room for turning around.

As for the erosion of black magic, he already knew about it and was prepared for it.His black magic transformation is not considered a failure. Although he failed to complete the original goal, he was able to isolate those evil thoughts that were subtle and feedback on the other side of his thinking and stored in the black magic guard... In other words, At least it doesn't get any worse.

It was only later that he discovered that everything was irreversible the moment the Black Demon Guard took shape.Accepting the malice in his heart, accepting the evil of nature, accepting the erosion of black magic, accepting the doomed darkness, that is the road he has to face.

"Even if the future is doomed to be dark, please walk alone gracefully and cruelly." Owen gently tossed the coin in his hand, and the smile on his face grew wider.

"Owen, you really don't like learning those white magics, isn't it because you're not good at it?" Harry followed up, staring at the coin that was moving nimbly at Owen's fingertips, and said with a smile: "But If you don't work hard, we will catch up with you."

"You can think more boldly, maybe I'm just addicted to black magic?" Owen looked at him with a half-smile.

"I don't think you would make such an unwise choice." Harry looked at Owen pretendingly, then shook his head and smiled.

"But what if it's true? Will you part ways with me?" Owen suddenly said blankly.

Harry was stunned for a moment, seeing Owen's indifferent expression, he thought about it seriously, then hugged Owen's shoulders firmly, said with a playful smile but in a firm tone: "No! I believe you will not hurt me, I will I will never betray you, we are friends!"

Owen finally took off the opponent's arm from his body, rubbed his shoulders speechlessly, and said to himself: "A simple guy with a single muscle."

However, with such a person by his side, it seems to be a good look.

He looked at the flickering candles in the dark corridor ahead, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

(End of this chapter)