A certain broken Hogwarts

Several reports in Chapter 11

In the hazy white space, everything was in eternal silence and tranquility, with only the soft rustling of the quill pen tip gliding across the notebook pages echoing around, like the sound of a breeze rustling leaves.

Irving ignored the rabbit lying dead next to his desk, jotting down his conjectures on the second page of his notebook, pausing occasionally to ponder them, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Clearly, Irving was once again engrossed in his wall-facing moment. The advantage of this space was that he didn't have to worry about being disturbed. The feeling of being innocently interrupted from a burst of inspiration would drive even the usually mild-mannered Irving crazy for a long time.

Irving didn't know how much time had passed before he finally stopped writing. He stretched, put the notebook back in the corner of his desk, and felt the fatigue that swept over him after the initial excitement. So he canceled his plan to practice the spell for the evening and returned to reality.

Owen twitched his slightly numb legs in the armchair, opened his eyes, looked at the warm and bright fire in the ornate fireplace in front of him, and yawned softly.

"You're awake. I really don't know why you're so tired today." Daphne was tidying up her textbooks and parchment on her desk when she heard the noise and turned around with a light laugh.

"I think I can understand him." Blaise yawned, scribbling on his homework. "It's normal to be too excited to sleep on the first day of school... Of course, I couldn't sleep because of those two big oafs in my dorm..."

Irving smiled at him, picked up his backpack, and stood up. "You can learn the Silent Spell, although it won't last long. Actually, the best way is to prepare a pair of earplugs."

"That's a good idea," Blaise said listlessly, "so I don't get the urge to suffocate them while they're sleeping and then get a ticket to Azkaban..."

"Haha, I'm going back now, goodnight." Owen chuckled and waved, walking through the small groups of people in the lounge.

The chandelier in the dormitory emitted a soft, non-glaring silver light, making the room, located at the bottom of the Black Lake, appear less gloomy. Occasionally, the tentacles of giant squid would dart across the lake outside the window, their large and small suckers sending chills down one's spine.

Malfoy and Theodore hadn't returned yet. Harry sat alone on the edge of the bed, staring intently at his Transfiguration textbook, as if he had a grudge against the words on it.

Irving changed into his bathrobe, staring blankly at the lake bottom where water plants swayed in the breeze. He wanted to open the window and feel the cool night breeze and the warm, golden sunlight of the day… but none of that was there!

"Hmm, why didn't I tell the Sorting Hat I wasn't going to Slytherin?" Owen muttered to himself as he slumped onto his four-poster bed.

Harry looked up as if waking from a dream, feeling as if these words had struck a chord deep within him. If he could go back to yesterday, he would definitely slap his past self and tell himself never to believe the Sorting Hat's nonsense! What nonsense about "Slytherin helping you to glory"! If dying counts as glory, then he's already at the pinnacle of life!

Oh, and he also needs to remind himself not to talk to Malfoy. This is very important! He's starting to feel like Malfoy is here to get revenge on him...

"Owen, do you think Hogwarts allows transfers?" Harry tossed his textbook aside.

"There has never been a case of transferring hospitals in thousands of years," Irving said with his eyes closed, and he heard the other person exhale heavily.

"What's wrong?" he asked, opening his eyes.

Harry pulled a few crumpled newspapers and book pages from his bag, stood up, and paced quickly. "I didn't know that's how they all see me?"

Irving sat cross-legged on the bed, took the clippings, and glanced at them. They were clippings from today's newspapers and magazines.

The Daily Prophet: The boy who survived, a new life for Slytherin.

"...Harry Potter, the boy who miraculously survived, enrolled at Hogwarts yesterday, becoming a new student in Slytherin House. This news has drawn considerable skepticism... We still don't know whether this is the biggest mistake the Sorting Hat has made in a thousand years, or the prelude to another upheaval in the wizarding world..."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic stated: "This demonstrates Harry Potter's exceptional talent. We should dispel past prejudices and not be alarmed by unfounded rumors..."

The Daily Prophet, as the most influential newspaper in the wizarding world, is relatively restrained in its rhetoric, with the Ministry of Magic also trying to smooth things over. However, other newspapers and periodicals are much more inflammatory in their statements.

Wizardsweek: Harry Potter, savior or new evil lord?

"...Harry Potter was able to defeat the Dark Lord at the height of his power as an infant. There is no doubt that he possesses a terrifying innate magical talent and needs proper guidance...Mr. Albus Dumbledore entrusted him to a Muggle family to raise and refused to reveal his current situation to anyone under the pretext of protection. We have reason to doubt Mr. Dumbledore's intentions... Is it protection or precaution?"

"According to reliable sources, Harry Potter suffered long-term abuse in his Muggle family, which greatly contributed to his aversion and hatred towards Muggles, and even planted the seeds of rebellion and revenge in his mind..."

"Therefore, despite his parents being members of Gryffindor and staunch supporters of Dumbledore, and knowing that Slytherin was once the stronghold of the Dark Lord's followers, the increasingly radical Harry Potter still resolutely chose to enter this house..."

"The wizards sent hundreds of howl letters to the Ministry of Magic today, demanding that the detailed address of that Muggle family be disclosed to everyone, but this was firmly rejected... Dumbledore remains determined to go his own way..."

Wizards believe that Harry Potter, who has already made a name for himself in infancy, will eventually achieve great magical feats. However, under the still-dominant influence of the school's pure-blood ideology, will Harry Potter follow in the footsteps of the Dark Lord? With Dumbledore's schemes thwarted, will the two drift apart and eventually become enemies? What will become of the wizarding world then?

"..."

This is clearly the most extreme report, full of exaggerations, incitement of public opinion, and conspiracy theories. It is presented as if the author witnessed it firsthand, but in reality, the vast majority of it is fabricated.

Irving glanced at the author of the report, Rita Skeeter… Oh, never mind.

This woman has always enjoyed spreading rumors and gossip. If her reports are published in the Daily Prophet, you can probably believe about 30% of them; if they're in other publications, you can't believe a single word of them.

Irving quickly glanced at the other articles, and the descriptions were all very similar.

"Heh, looks like these reporters and writers will be relying on you for their livelihood for the foreseeable future." Owen handed the reports back to Harry. "They're just a bunch of bored guys making a fuss. They're all people who make a living with their pens. They have to write something outrageous to avoid starving."

"By the way, did Malfoy find all of these for you?"

Harry nodded sullenly, his expression still angry and somewhat disappointed: "My parents are both from Gryffindor? I've heard the two houses have always had a bad relationship, no wonder Hagrid looked so grim back then..."

"Owen, I want to know... was your family ever a follower of Voldemort?" He suddenly stared straight into Owen's eyes.

"Well, no, at least not really." Owen carefully chose his words.

Harry's expression relaxed for a moment, then he frowned again: "What about... Draco?"

"You should ask him about this yourself," Owen said with a meaningful smile.

"Okay, then can you tell me what pure-blood theory means?" Harry asked, somewhat resigned.

"You'd better look these things up in books yourself, instead of trying to get the answers from others." Owen yawned, reached out and pulled down the curtains of the four-poster bed, then lay down on the bed with his hands behind his head. "Other people's opinions are always influenced by that person's subjective emotions, which can easily create preconceived notions in you. That's how prejudice often arises."

"Go find it yourself, think independently, instead of passively waiting for others to instill it in you. That's how you create your own unique ideas and thoughts," Owen said calmly. Most importantly, he wanted to sleep now, not waste time explaining common sense to a novice.

Harry nodded slowly, looking thoughtful.

"Well then, goodnight," Owen said. "By the way, you should take some time to review your Potions textbook; the Dean likes diligent and studious students."

"Huh? Oh." Harry responded, completely bewildered.

(End of this chapter)