A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 13 How to Pet a Cat Elegantly

After class, the young wizards, who had been tormented by the Transfiguration spell for an entire lesson, happily left the classroom with piles of homework.

Under the bright afternoon sun, they went to the greenhouse behind the castle for a herbal medicine class, led by Professor Sprout.

Owen didn't put much effort into Herbology, nor did he think he would have the time and energy to care for those exotic magical plants in the future. His view on Herbology was simple: learn to identify and use magical plants to successfully brew potions. As for growing herbs, he preferred to buy them.

Although Irving had almost memorized "A Thousand Wonderful Herbs and Mushrooms," he was quite adept at caring for plants and earned Professor Sprout's praise.

Rather than figuring out how to better care for those strange and magical plants, Owen felt he had more pressing issues to consider, such as how to cope with the unbearably hot greenhouse environment and how to elegantly squeeze the pus from the baboon tubers...

After a herbalism class, the young wizards' robes were soaked with sweat and covered in strangely smelling dirt. Owen was sure that Professor Sprout had used some kind of common organic fertilizer in the dirt.

Daphne, Pansy, and the other girls rushed back to take a shower after class. Owen dusted off his spotless clothes and skillfully cast a cleansing spell on his entire body.

It has to be said that Owen believes the Cleansing Charm is definitely one of the greatest spells in wizarding history. It allows wizards to keep themselves clean and tidy at all times, which is a blessing for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He has never understood why some wizards would rather make themselves dirty than bother to cast a spell on themselves.

Perhaps it's because this spell, if used improperly, can easily peel off a layer of skin? Well, anyway, this is the spell that Irving has mastered most skillfully.

After a quick dinner, the students climbed the tall astronomical tower to observe the night sky with telescopes and learn the names of different stars and the orbits of planets.

After finishing his classwork, Irving spent most of his time practicing Transfiguration in the Wallfacer, successfully transforming a coin into a beautifully patterned badge.

As night deepened, the students, having finished their astronomy class, returned laden with their homework. The Slytherin students descended the dimly lit staircases and corridors into the castle's underground, their chatter breaking the surrounding chill and deathly silence.

"It's said that in the darkest corridors of Hogwarts at night, where candlelight is especially dim, lurks evil spirits that feed on wizards' lives... They always silently watch the living, waiting for their lone prey," Draco said in a deep, eerie voice. "Every year, several young wizards who don't return home at night are found unconscious in the corridors the next day, emaciated and looking several years older..."

Daphne listened tremblingly, gripping Pansy's arm tightly, her expression a mixture of wanting to hear and being afraid to. Pansy held her head high, seemingly fearless, but when Draco looked over, her expression changed to one of shock.

Draco turned his head with satisfaction, glanced disapprovingly at Crabbe and Goyle who were constantly stuffing candy into their mouths, and continued telling his eerie horror story.

"Oh dear, Draco, stop talking!" Daphne covered her ears.

"There are no evil spirits at Hogwarts, Draco," Theodore said bluntly, his face glum and seemingly lost in thought.

Over the course of a few days, the new students became more familiar and harmonious with each other, and gradually opened up to one another.

"What?! Look ahead!" Draco suddenly nearly jumped up, startling himself. At the end of the dark corridor, a shadow radiating a cold, eerie silver-white light was approaching.

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat tense, and even the few people who were not afraid before felt their hair stand on end.

Irving recognized the figure from afar and greeted him cheerfully, "Good evening, Sir Barrow."

The Slytherin ghost, Blood Man Barrow, floated over slowly. Amidst the relieved expressions of the others, he stared at them with blank eyes, nodded slightly to Owen, and then floated away with a gloomy face.

"To be honest, his expression was a bit too scary, wasn't it?" Blaise shrugged after the bloody Barrow had drifted away.

Harry nodded in agreement, finding the ghost to be unapproachable.

"What I'm more interested in is how he got the bloodstains on him. I think I can ask him about it sometime." Draco's gray eyes darted around.

"Tsk, believe me, Draco, he won't like anyone asking him that question." Owen glanced at him; this guy really knew how to bring up the most sensitive topic.

"Is that so—" Draco replied in a drawn-out tone, it was unclear whether he took Owen's words to heart.

"Why does the walk back to the dorm feel especially long tonight?" Daphne sighed, still holding Pansy's hand tightly. She was terrified of hearing those scary stories, even though she knew they were all fake, she was still afraid.

"It is said that Hogwarts has a corridor that appears randomly at night, and anyone who accidentally enters it can never get out and can only wander there alone forever..." Draco said slowly.

"Draco, I've heard you're very well-informed?" Owen said thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.

"Of course, no one knows more about everything that happens at Hogwarts than I do." Draco raised his chin smugly.

"So, if you hear of any strange or concerning things happening at Hogwarts lately, could you please let me know?" Owen said slowly. He didn't know what anomaly his ability had triggered, and he felt uneasy.

"Well, since you've pleaded so earnestly, I'll reluctantly pay a little more attention." Draco raised his chin even higher.

"Okay, thanks in advance." Owen shook his head with amusement, as if he could see the other person's smug little tail.

As Owen passed through a corridor, he heard a muffled sound coming from the depths of the corridor. Two yellow eyes, like searchlights, lit up, like monsters secretly peeking out from the darkness.

"Huh?" Owen's eyes lit up. He told the others to go first, and then turned into the corridor with a look of interest on his face.

The pair of eyes in front of him stared at him intently, without blinking, seemingly with a critical malice.

As he got closer, Owen could finally make out the animal in front of him by the dim candlelight. It was a cat with dark gray fur, but it was very thin, and its large eyes looked big and protruding on its thin, pointed face, which made it look rather unattractive.

"Ha, I knew it!" Owen crouched down, stretched out a hand, and beckoned with a big smile, "Mimi, come over here..."

The cat in front of me arched its back warily, its messy tail slowly sweeping back and forth along the ground, its orange-yellow eyes filled with malevolent ferocity.

"Poor Mimi, do you have an owner? You're so thin, you must have been abused." In Owen's opinion, anyone who could raise their cat to be so thin must be an owner who didn't care for it. Moreover, the cat in front of him looked fierce and wary of people, so it must have been hurt by humans.

He pulled a packaged sausage from his pocket, placed it on the ground a short distance in front of him, and pushed it toward the gray cat.

The gray cat lazily stretched out its paw and poked at the sausage in front of it, as if it were toying with a mouse. It glanced at Owen with an arrogant and disdainful expression.

To this, Owen could only say that the cats in the wizarding world are really smart.

Under Irving's expectant gaze, the cat, having grown tired of the game, brought its nose close to the sausage to sniff, and then began to devour it in large bites, its eating manners rather unrefined.

Owen silently reached out and stroked the gray cat's head. Though thin and bony, its fur was still fluffy and warm. "Mmm, that feels good."

The gray cat, who was munching on a sausage, suddenly lunged at him with its paw, its gleaming eyes filled with triumphant malice. But the paw missed its mark; Owen had already withdrawn his hand, looking at it with a grin and saying, "Want to play a game with me?"

As he spoke, he reached out and stroked the cat's head, dodging the sharp claws just before they touched the back of his hand, and then stroked the gray cat's back.

The gray cat purred angrily, scratching wildly on its back, even using its mouth. But Owen's nimble hands moved like butterflies flitting among flowers, gently stroking the cat's body, narrowly avoiding its claws each time. The gray cat's expression grew increasingly furious, while Owen's expression became more and more satisfied.

A moment later, the gray cat suddenly jumped up from the ground, glared at Owen fiercely, as if to say, "Stay here and don't run away," and then disappeared in a flash.

Irving reluctantly withdrew his hand, took out a pocket watch from his pocket, glanced at it, and realized that it was almost time. Staying any longer would violate school rules, so he regretfully got up and walked towards the common room.

Hmm, what bad intentions could a kitten possibly have? It just wants someone to play with it. Irving decided to check back tomorrow.

Just before curfew, Irving returned to the common room, leaving only the faint, furious meows of a cat echoing in the corridor, as if spring had arrived.

(End of this chapter)