A ruined Hogwarts

Under Madam Pomfrey's lion's roar, the little wizards who had escaped from the emotional infection fled the school hospital in despair, allowing peace to return to the place. Only a few people were left in the ward.

Harry, who had been hospitalized twice in a short period of time, covered his face with a quilt and had not yet recovered from the incident. Well, he almost died after falling from the sky, but what greeted him was the ecstasy of the teachers and students in the school... Even if it was because of emotional contagion, not everyone could accept it so quickly, and he didn't even care about being angry at Fred... Weasley's sneak attack.

"He wants to kill you!" Draco walked back and forth angrily, as if he was the one being attacked. "The game is over! Shameless sneak attack... It's time for him to pack up and go back home!"

"I agree. How many years has it been since Hogwarts has expelled a student?" Blaise tossed his camera up and down, "Ah, that's right! Harry, I took a picture of you falling from the air. You need to Don’t you need me to wash one for you? This is a precious memory!”

"You can talk less, Blaise." Daphne smiled sweetly at him, her beautiful blue eyes were bright and sharp, making the other party shut up involuntarily.

It’s precious dark history, right? Owen sneered and said with a smile, "Give me one." He then received Harry's sad and indignant gaze.

"I remember, when you had a conflict last time, Fred was the first to attack." Owen leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking up at the not-so-bright chandelier on the ceiling. Maybe this is some kind of ability of that crown to stimulate negative emotions and make people irritable and impulsive?

At this time, the door to the ward opened, and Professor McGonagall walked in with a stern face and an annoyed and heavy Fred. George followed behind, his expression became much calmer, but his eyes flickered.

Fred apologized sincerely, with a pretended relaxed expression on his face, but his eyes were very solemn. He began to realize that something was wrong with him and that he had become an unstable factor.

"Perhaps you won't believe it, but I just felt like... losing control, as if I was blinded by anger." He pursed his lips, then shrugged, "I have felt this way from time to time recently, but never Like today, I don’t want to send someone to see Merlin so much... Well, this is not like me. In fact, I have always found you quite pleasing to the eye..."

"It sounds like you are excusing yourself, right? Well, I think it's best for me to be locked up during this period, so that I don't run out and bite people in the middle of the night." Fred twitched the corner of his mouth, "That's really frustrating. ”

The coldness on Harry's face slowly dissipated, and his expression took on a hint of suspicion. Is it because of the influence of the crown? But didn't Dumbledore check that there was nothing wrong with them?

"Although I very much hope that it was not your intention to do such a thing, your statement is still hard to believe, Mr. Weasley." Professor McGonagall's nose twitched and her brows furrowed tightly. His expression showed anger and some worry that had not gone away, "I will ask Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore to help you take a look again. I hope you are not really unaware of how bad your behavior is..."

"You will be detained until the matter is investigated, Mr. Weasley." She took a deep breath and said, "If we finally find out that you are lying, you will be punished more severely...not even ruled out. You will be expelled." Although the consequences of this incident are not serious, the impact is too bad. Blatantly hurting classmates in front of the entire school's teachers and students cannot be easily exposed.

"I don't know that you would believe such a poor excuse, Professor." Draco said slowly, with a very dissatisfied expression, "How could such malicious harm or even... murder happen in Hogwarts..."

Harry tugged at his robe secretly to tell him to stop talking. Although he was still a little upset in his heart, he still wanted to believe that the other party would not sincerely want to harm him maliciously. After all, although the Weasley twins were a little naughty, they had always had a good reputation and were very popular in the school. Moreover, the other party would not be stupid enough to do such a thing in front of the entire school's teachers and students. The professors would not just watch the students fall to their deaths, but would only expose themselves to severe punishment.

He spoke a few more words to Professor McGonagall, and after watching her lead people out of the ward, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was almost knocked off the broomstick and fell to death just now. His arms and leg bones had just been reattached. It was impossible to remain calm when facing the attacker. It was better to be out of sight and out of mind.

"My father will know about this." Draco shouted at the back of them as they left.

George paused, went back and closed the ward door, and said to everyone's puzzled eyes: "Potter, I'm sorry that this happened, but I still want to remind you, you must be careful! That day you listen Is it about the diadem I told Dumbledore? It was us who harmed Ron, introduced danger into our family, and made everyone...not right."

"I just figured out that Fred's previous behavior was not a special case." He closed his eyes with guilt and sadness and continued, "I have always felt that something was wrong with him some time ago, and at some point he will Becoming more paranoid, impulsive and even... callous, and even making choices he should never have made. But I was wrong. This happened not only to Fred, but also to Percy, Ron, and maybe Ginny, and I, actually have more or less such signs, but we just don’t know it..."

"I'm sure that we have been affected by some kind of terrible influence invisibly, starting from the summer vacation." George's expression changed again and again, and finally became firm, "Of course, this is our own business, I I'll investigate. I'm telling you this because you might be a target! Both Ron and Fred attacked you. I don't think it's a coincidence. You have to be careful about people like us..."

George grinned, his smile cheerful but with a forced smile: "Don't think I'm quite normal now, maybe I will want to crack your head like a walnut the next moment. So, don't let down your guard, Potter."

Harry listened to his words in stunned silence, and then stared blankly at the other person striding towards the door. He opened his mouth and felt terrified in his heart. Is that crown really so scary?

The other audience members also had expressions of disbelief on their faces. They couldn't believe it but were horrified to think about it. For a moment, everyone looked at each other and no one spoke.

"Wow, it's scary, isn't it?" Owen broke the silence with an exaggerated expression, and then lazily stretched his arms, "It's like listening to a horror story..." As he said this, his whole temperament also changed. He became gloomy and cold, and said in a gloomy tone: "Do you think they are not the only ones who will be affected? Harry, be careful——"

Harry shivered and woke up suddenly. He leaned back and almost hit the wall with the back of his head. He blushed and glared at Owen before lying on the bed and pretending to be dead. Not to mention, after being so frightened by Owen, he always felt as if everyone might be plotting to kill him... It was going to end.

"Do you believe this outrageous story?" Draco muttered, scratching his head.

The group left the ward before Madam Pomfrey came in to chase them away. Owen quickly caught up with George who was walking in front, waved to him and said, "George, I'm also investigating that crown. Can I borrow your map?"

George was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Owen was talking about the Marauder's Map. He shrugged nonchalantly: "I'm afraid it's unrealistic for you to look for clues from the Marauder's Map. My eyes were almost fixed on it some time ago... I'll go back and ask Fred what he meant. If there's no problem, I'll do it tomorrow. Bring it to you.”

After bidding farewell to George, Owen went to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor and spread out Tom's diary in his secret base. Well, Harry and the others know about the diary, so they'd better be more cautious in the future.

"How's the situation?" Tom's handwriting appeared impatiently.

"I discovered something, let's talk about it face to face." Owen glanced at the quill in his hand and wrote.

The diary opened with a clatter, and Owen fell into the world on the pages again. This time he stood on a small boat floating in the middle of the black lake. The clear water was sparkling, and fish occasionally passed by. Here he could see the entire Hogwarts Castle.

"Well, this is the first time I've gone boating on the lake with someone else. It's obviously quite romantic, but why with you?" Owen sat lazily on the stern of the boat, looking at Tom who was standing aside looking at the castle in the distance with some disgust. .

Tom glared at Owen with his always sincere and charming dark eyes, and then sat down on the other side of the boat casually and elegantly, with his long legs draped in front and his lips lightly pursed.

"How much memory have you recovered, Tom?" Owen asked with a smile on his hand. It doesn't look like much has changed.

"I haven't started to think of other things yet. Those vitalities are too little." There was a hint of resentment in Tom's eyes, which made people feel distressed and guilty.

Owen looked at him confidently, and after a while he clicked his tongue and said, "You can really eat it. It gives you a headache."

Tom didn't answer, but just stared at him with bright eyes, as if saying with his eyes: You are not willing to find suitable food for me. You only need three days of fishing and two days of drying nets to feed me, but you still have the nerve to complain that I can eat it?

Owen coughed lightly, changed the subject, and told him what he had discovered today and what happened later. Tom stared into the distance and listened quietly, and the boat began to move slowly.

"In this way, many things will be obvious." After listening, Tom said slowly.

"Yeah, but it's more difficult." Owen looked at the weeping willows on the shore.

"But at least the ability of that Horcrux is almost certain." Tom said calmly, "It is very powerful, much more powerful than me..."

Owen smiled and nodded: "It should have two ways of controlling people."

"The first method is direct control. This method requires that the person has had close contact with the Horcrux, such as wearing the Horcrux necklace and being under the most direct control." Tom continued, "There is a difference between the two. It establishes some kind of unequal contractual relationship, and the person being controlled cannot help himself, his life force is sucked out, and it is difficult for him to directly ask for help from others, and sometimes he may even be possessed."

"There are definitely a lot of restrictions in this method. I think the biggest one is probably the number of people that can be controlled." Irving pondered. After Ron was given up, it seems that only Neville is left. "It may be able to control more people, but the consumption is definitely something he is not willing to pay."

Tom did not refute, but continued: "The second method is indirect control. This method is more subtle and gentle, but it also makes things much more complicated."

"I think it should be subtly catalyzing people's negative emotions and desires, and fueling people to behave out of control at critical moments. I even suspect that it is gradually taking advantage of the situation in the process, and in the end it may be able to achieve More in-depth control, such as a short-term Imperius Curse, or an unconscious sleepwalking state, etc. It is difficult to judge the specific situation without seeing it with your own eyes."

The smile on Owen's face deepened. He stroked the edge of the boat with his palm and said lightly: "This method should not require the controlled person to have close contact with the Horcrux, but it will most likely require them to have been in the Horcrux for a long time. Within a certain range nearby, it was slowly affected without knowing it. Oh, that Horcrux must have been at the Weasley family during the summer vacation, so it could successfully affect everyone in their family. I missed the most. Good opportunity.”

"That's right, in this way, the only person who needs to be in constant contact with the Horcrux is the one who is directly controlled." Tom raised his lips slightly, "Other people who are indirectly controlled will not know where the Horcrux is at all, as long as If they occasionally appear within the range that a Horcrux can influence, they can slowly be controlled more deeply."

"Yes, what I am sure of is that the Horcrux must be in a place where Gryffindors often pass by, because Ginny Weasley was affected much less than others, and no one in the other two houses was even affected. Impact, but that's all." Owen slowly straightened his legs and shook his toes slightly, "I can't further lock the area where the Horcrux is through the intersection between them, unless I spend a lot of time and energy. To find a way to track Neville and risk being discovered..."

Well, it's troublesome when you think about it, it's a waste of life.

"The most important thing is..." Tom paused.

"The most important thing is that the Horcrux may be able to move on its own." Owen spread his hands and continued. The crown has probably absorbed most of the vitality of Penelo Crevat and Ron Weasley. Although part of it was consumed by Owen and was also damaged by subsequent attacks, there is probably still a lot left, condensed into a vague It is possible to move the body for short periods of time.

"What are you going to do?" Tom looked at him leisurely.

"Haha, you still have to look for it." Owen responded with a bright smile. It's impossible to go through all the trouble to find it, so why not... lure the snake out of its hole!

It would only be easier to let him jump out on his own... Owen looked at Tom thoughtfully, his dark eyes flashing slightly.

The diary and the crown are both Voldemort's Horcruxes. Although they have been separated from each other for too long or other factors, the connection between souls is unlikely to be completely severed... Owen always feels that they will be able to sense each other sooner or later. , perhaps after the absorbed vitality exceeds a certain limit.

Owen narrowed his eyes slyly and smiled like a little fox.

"I think you are thinking about something bad." Tom looked at him seriously, feeling a chill on his back for no reason.

"Ah, Tom, do you know any information about the secret room left by Slytherin?" Owen changed the topic directly.

Tom looked at him silently for a while, then looked away: "Why are you asking me this?"

"You know, there was a basilisk hidden in the school, and there were two attacks." Owen said with a smile. "The wall next to the first victim said 'The secret room was opened'. Haierbo seemed to have found the secret room. Position, following Slytherin's last wish to clean up the Mudbloods in the school, although they were by no means the only ones who were attacked... I think he was using Slytherin's will to confuse the audience and distract Dumbledore. "

Tom's expression turned grim for a moment, but returned to its original state in the blink of an eye. His face changed so quickly that it felt like he was hallucinating. He said: "This is the first time you told me about this..."

Owen watched Tom's change of expression in amusement, and said with a chuckle: "I'm so sorry, I forgot, who made you wonder where Haierbo could get a basilisk from..."

Tom's face darkened. The two people looked at each other and smiled "sincerely" at the same time.

Owen said slowly: "I was wondering if Haierbo hid the Horcrux in the secret room?"

"It's possible. You asked the right person. I happen to know about the secret room." Tom said slowly.

"Oh, I knew it." Owen clapped his hands lively, "This diary is from fifty years ago. I just found out that the secret room was opened once at that time. You must have experienced this kind of thing..."

"What else do you know?" Tom looked at him steadily, with a faint smile on his pale and handsome face, but it looked a little strange.

"You won the special contribution award fifty years ago, right?" Owen licked his lips, "The reason for the award is... you caught the culprit who opened the secret room and prevented successive attacks in the school. "

"It seems that your investigation is very clear." The smile at the corner of Tom's mouth slowly widened.

"Of course, I like to be fully prepared at all times." Owen tilted his head, "I'm glad you didn't try to lie to me, Tom."

"I said, we are the best collaborators, so we must be sincere to each other." Tom's smile was beautiful and beautiful, with a dangerous and seductive feeling. He said in a voice as soft as a whisper: "Well, you must have made a guess, right, Owen?"

"The Rubeus Hagrid you caught back then was probably just a scapegoat, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to vouch for him and still trust him so much." Owen's voice was as light as a whisper, as if he was afraid of disturbing the tranquility of the lake. "But given that the attacks stopped after he was caught, I would prefer...the thief shouts catch the thief."

"I have always regretted," Tom looked in the direction of the castle again, "I regret that I could not completely clean up the scum in the school."

"Oh, you actually admitted it?" Owen put on a surprised expression.

"What can't I admit in front of you?" Tom said gently, "We have always been of the same mind. I believe you won't be estranged from me because I am the heir of Slytherin, right?"

"Of course, you can trust me, Tom." Owen responded with a sincere smile, "In fact, I feel more kind to you."

"So, do you want to be the heir of Slytherin?" Tom said with a solemn expression, as if entrusting him with a major mission, "Implement Slytherin's will, clean up the filth of Hogwarts, and revitalize pure blood. of glory."

Owen looked at him for a while, then said with a half-smile: "Who doesn't want to?"

"In that case, I can take you into the secret room left by Slytherin." Tom smiled, "But..."

"I know, it's vitality." Owen hugged his shoulders and showed a helpless expression.

"It's not that I don't want to take you there now. You need Parseltongue to enter the secret room. I will slowly teach you some daily expressions during this period to ensure that you can enter the secret room and communicate with the basilisk, so as not to be attacked by the irritable The guy attacked," Tom said softly.

"I wish I could." Owen blinked.

The two looked at each other and smiled, each with their own hidden agenda.