A ruined Hogwarts

Since Peter Pettigrew was petrified, there have been no more attacks in the school. As the date of the duel competition gradually approached, people became more and more excited.

Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that Mandrake had become moody and taciturn. They are rapidly growing out of childhood and can be replanted as soon as their pimples heal, and soon they will be adults and ready to be cut off and killed.

She also reported on the frequent incidents of emotional contagion on campus. In general, apart from the investigation that this strange disease is limited to Hogwarts, cannot be transmitted to the outside world, and indeed does not cause much harm to people, there has been little progress in the investigation of its cause and solution.

"It must have a source, and it is hidden in the school." Ms. Pomfrey said. "This is obviously not a new wizard disease as we originally suspected, but more like a phenomenon caused by some kind of magic or magic items. As long as Once we find out the source, we can quickly resolve this symptom..."

Mr. Filch suspected that a certain student had brought the source into Hogwarts. Disgusted by this symptom, he began to use all means to collect relevant contraband from students.

When students go to and from class every day, they can see Filch standing in the corridor with his bulging eyes and scanning the passing students with a weird test device. Once the instrument beeps, he will turn the person's body inside and out.

His Maine Coon cat, Mrs. Loris, also stared at everyone as if to guard against thieves. She would only raise her head arrogantly when she saw Owen, allow him to pet her head, and then take something from his pocket. I found some new and delicious snacks. Then it would deftly run away with the snack in its mouth, being chased through several corridors by the dissatisfied Melete.

While Mr. Filch and Madam Pomfrey were busy working on it, the students were not at all enthusiastic about solving the problem of emotional contagion. Many people find this to be a very interesting experience, and without this problem, where would they find a universal excuse to avoid classes they don't like, reasonably exempt from punishment for breaking school rules, and slacking off in solitary confinement?

Life at Hogwarts barely remained peaceful. Even on Valentine's Day, nothing happened, which surprised all the teachers and students.

In the more than half a year since Lockhart entered the school, there have always been group embarrassing incidents on every festival, big or small, because Lockhart really likes to act like a monster on festival days. But this Valentine's Day, he actually sat in the auditorium obediently, which made many worried students suspect that this guy was out of love. Well, after all, his reputation in the wizarding world is now considered black and red.

Although Lockhart became less active, the Headmaster became more interested in causing trouble outside the school.

For decades, Dumbledore gave everyone the impression of being aloof from the world and indifferent to fame and fortune. Although he served as the president of the International Federation of Wizards, he was basically a decoration.

He has always avoided contact with power, and has even given away most of his power, and is content to be an empty chairman. Although he attends some major meetings, he rarely expresses his opinions and plays the role of a smiling mascot all year round.

However, since Christmas of this year, Dumbledore has become actively active on the international political stage, gradually gathering a lot of power, and promoting the drafting and repeal of several bills. Recently, he has become a frequent visitor to the Daily Prophet and is very busy every day, but he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to fully reclaim his power.

Owen has recently been obsessed with studying the magical advancement of the soul realm, but apart from dying a few more times in the wall-facing space, there has been little progress overall. This direction was much more difficult than he imagined, and he almost had to overcome every difficulty from scratch. The current research has reached a deadlock, and he can only continue to perfect the magic fusion experiment.

After ignoring Peter Pettigrew for a period of time, at the other party's active invitation, he stayed after a Defense Against the Dark Arts class on the pretext of asking about study questions, and continued his deception.

"Why do you keep calling me, Gilderoy?" Owen leaned against the door with his hands on his shoulders, looking at "Lockhart" who was wearing a bright green robe, "Didn't we agree to keep in touch less often? "

"It's not convenient here, so let's talk in my office." "Lockhart" glanced at the students passing by outside the door.

"I think it's good here. It's upright and less likely to attract suspicion." Owen said lazily.

"Okay, would you like some cream cake?" "Lockhart" quickly took out a plate of small cakes from under the desk.

"No need, thank you." Owenpi said with a smile. He didn't quite understand why such a thing would appear in the classroom.

"Okay, I just want to tell you that I already have an idea. I plan to call Lilith's staff." Lockhart coughed lightly, pointed at the textbook and pretended to explain the knowledge points, and whispered.

"You're not still thinking about asking Lilith for help, are you? I'm surprised that you haven't given up on this idea yet." Owen showed a speechless expression, "Don't you think that you can make her ignore you just by begging for mercy? Bar?"

"Lockhart" braced himself and listened carefully. If he wanted to trick Lilith, he had to first understand what kind of person she was. Seeing that Owen had no intention of continuing, he said confidently: "It will work. Do you know her better than me?"

"I have never met her, but judging from your description, I think Lilith is a lone wolf." Owen smiled, adding to the personality of this fictional character, "A loner, cold-blooded and ruthless , cautious and suspicious, cunning and fickle. If she is not sure that we have completed the task, she will watch us die without bothering to jump out to help..."

"Speaking of which, you didn't do anything on Valentine's Day..." Owen tilted his head and looked at "Lockhart" with a show-stopping expression, "You're not chasing her, are you? Have you been beaten? ?”

"Lockhart" coughed violently for a while, and his face turned a little dark. If Lilith was such a person, it would be difficult to make up a lie to deceive her. Maybe she really wanted to tie Harry up? But Dumbledore is not a decoration.

Headache... Well, it seems like he doesn't need to worry about it. He can just leave the headache to the Dark Lord. Well, he's so witty.

"Ahem, how are you doing with your investigation of the diary and the crown?" He stared closely at the smiling little wizard.

"I didn't find anything." Owen smiled half-heartedly, admiring the other party's less than stellar acting skills, and saw the eagerness and curiosity that he tried his best to hide. He has always been a kind-hearted person and immediately satisfied the other party's curiosity: "After all, it involves the secret of the mysterious man's eternal life. How can it be so easy to find?"

The secret to the Dark Lord's immortality?

"Lockhart" tried hard to hide his shock, and his expression became distorted and weird. He suddenly felt great panic. Once he knew the Dark Lord's biggest secret, would he still be alive after the matter was over?

"What's wrong with you?" Owen showed a suspicious look at the right time.

Oops, he was getting suspicious... Thinking of the Dark Lord's words, the little wizard in front of him was a very smart and observant person. "Lockhart" quickly changed his expression and said calmly: "I'm just very disappointed."

"Yeah, who doesn't want to study the mystery of eternal life?" Owen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and dutifully cooperated with the other party's poor performance. "Didn't you say that it is still something about the realm of the soul? It's really curious. ."

The corners of Lockhart's mouth twitched and sweat began to form on his forehead. He really wanted to tell Owen to stop talking, he didn't want to hear at all, didn't want to know...

"I really want to know, what does the Aether Society want to capture Harry to study? How far has it gone in researching the secret of the mysterious man's immortality... You really can't tell me in detail?" Owen showed a sincere look and looked at him eagerly. Staring at the other party, "You didn't even tell me what the diary and crown we are looking for are..."

Hearing that Owen didn't know the details, "Lockhart" breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he was surviving a disaster. He grimaced, shook his head seriously and said, "You are not yet a formal member, so it is impossible to tell you this kind of secret."

"Tch, that's always the excuse." Owen raised his chin proudly.

"Lockhart" was a little happy in his heart. It seemed that he had disguised himself well. He is still very talented in this area.

"Okay, it's time to tell me what idea you came up with to get Harry out of Hogwarts, otherwise I have to leave." Owen said casually.

"This... I need to perfect it a little more. I just suddenly thought that there are loopholes in it." "Lockhart" said awkwardly.

"Then please don't waste my time anymore, Gilderoy. We have too many contacts and it's easy to reveal our secrets." Owen frowned, waved his hand and strode out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Lockhart suddenly relaxed and sat down on the chair behind the desk. He casually put the cream cake on the table back under the table, and then took out his favorite peanuts hidden in the drawer. Biscuits were stuffed into his mouth with a look of enjoyment.

Owen tossed a gold coin up and down in his right hand and walked slowly along the stairs to the fifth floor, with the corner of his mouth raised in amusement. There were hurried footsteps downstairs, and Harry's voice came from behind: "Wait a minute, Owen!"

"How did you know I was here?" Owen stopped.

"Ah? I just happened to see you." Harry was stunned for a moment and said casually, "Can't you just walk around and bump into you?"

"Oh——" Owen said a long "oh", "What do you want from me?"

"Ahem, are you planning to practice spells?" Harry took a deep breath and his expression turned deathly, "I...I've thought about it, I'm asking you to help me practice Occlumency!"

He really has no talent for Occlumency. Obviously they started learning at the same time, and everyone else has made more or less progress, especially Dela, who is learning very quickly, but he is the only one who is still standing still, making no progress at all. If he risked his life, wouldn't he be captured by Legilimency? Anyway, he doesn't have any secrets that he needs to hide from Owen... There shouldn't be any, right?

"I'm really surprised that you made this decision." Owen looked at him quietly, his heart softening a little. Not everyone has the courage to open up to others, and not everyone is qualified to let others open up to him.

"I'm not forced by you." Harry blushed and said with a resentful look, "You said that I have to learn Occlumency before I can investigate those things with you...except for the location of the secret room, I don't believe you. I don’t know anything else, but are you really going to exclude me?”

Owen blinked innocently. No, how can we exclude you? The final performance can't go on without you... He has already arranged a role for Harry, but he just hasn't had time to say it yet.

"Okay, let's find a classroom." He said with a kind smile, as if watching a little white rabbit falling into a trap.

In a remote classroom, the two faced each other. Owen was playing with his wand with a big smile on his face, and Harry's legs were shaking.

"Are you ready?" Owen smiled and raised his wand, "I'm going to enter your brain. And you have to concentrate on fighting me and preventing my invasion."

Harry regretted it a little. He always felt that Owen was waiting to see his joke, and there was proof - Owen was laughing like this!

"If you regret it, you don't have to force it." Owen saw what he was thinking and said nonchalantly, "I don't have to practice Legilimency on you. There are ways to practice it." He originally planned to practice Legilimency on you during the summer vacation. I had to grab a dark wizard to practice, but it would be a good idea to start practicing early now.

"No, I'm ready." Harry closed his eyes resignedly. He knew that if he wanted to learn Occlumency, he probably could only use this method. Rather than looking for someone else, it would be better to look for Irving.

"This is a confrontation on a conscious level, so put away your wand, Harry." Owen nodded and said calmly, "You need to restrain yourself, eliminate distracting thoughts, put aside all emotions, and concentrate on fighting me. Don't worry. , I am just a beginner in Legilimency, my level is not high, your resistance will be easy..."

"Now, prepare...Legilimency!" Owen waved his wand.

He felt that his sight followed the narrow passage and entered another place. Colorful pictures flashed messily, like film reels scattered in a movie. Discontinuous memories were scattered into kaleidoscope-like fragments, waiting for him. Interpretation.

For most wizards, using the magic of Legilimency can only see messy and scattered fragments of thinking. People need to find useful parts among these fragments and then connect them one by one in order to analyze what they want. information.

Only masters of Legilimency can directly read memories, but if they want to do this, they basically need to read "Legilimency" face to face. The usage of silently peeking into other people's thoughts can only detect other people's true thoughts at this moment, but it is difficult to clearly see the memories in their minds.

These are the conclusions that Owen came to after in-depth research on the magic of Legilimency.

But what he saw now were just messy fragments, like scattered photos, with all kinds of completely different pictures flashing in front of his eyes, not coherent at all.

He saw the house of Harry's uncle and aunt, saw Dudley running after him with a group of children, saw the scene of the teacher giving a lecture in the Muggle primary school, saw a small and crowded utility room, and saw a Dazzling green light...

A vague resistance tried its best to prevent him from continuing to peek, making those memory fragments a little blurry. After seeing the dazzling green light, a huge repulsive force squeezed Owen out, and his mind returned to his body.

Looking at Harry's panting and uncomfortable look, Owen said softly: "You kicked me out, and you did a good job. But you didn't let your mind go..."

Until nightfall, the two people walked out of the classroom together. Owen looked contented, while Harry shrank like an eggplant beaten by frost.

"Continue tomorrow and keep up the good work." Owen encouraged.