A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 197 Pranks

The sun had quietly sunk below the horizon, and a few bright stars dotted the dark sky. The mountains on the horizon still retained the golden edges outlined by the last rays of the setting sun.

Under the cover of night, the Shafiq Manor was quiet and solemn. The manor's tall Gothic spires pierced the sky, with a crescent moon hanging between them, as if struggling to break free from the dark jungle. A few arched windows shone with orange light, like the open eyes of a crouching beast, while most windows remained dark, adding an eerie touch to the place.

The white rose bushes surrounding the manor still bloom quietly, their lush vines appearing a deep black under the night sky, while the clusters of white roses seem to be filled with moonlight, reflecting a faint silvery-white glow, swaying gently in the breeze on the branches.

Owen stepped out of the fireplace, inhaling the pleasant scent of flowers in the air, and instinctively waved his wand to wipe the ashes off his clothes. He stood before the roaring fireplace, squinting as he surveyed his surroundings, toying with his wand in both hands.

The magnificent living room was empty of the Shafiq couple; not even the lights were on. The decorations hidden in the shadows reflected a faint glow, and the surroundings were dark and deathly silent. This unusual scene struck Owen as odd.

At this time of day, the Shafiq couple would usually be here waiting for dinner. Even if they couldn't come, the house-elves would diligently light up every lamp in the living room, making the whole room brightly lit.

But now the house-elves who kept the lights were nowhere to be seen, and the silence was terrifying. Not even the faintest footsteps or voices could be heard, except for the whooshing of the flames in the fireplace and the ticking of the clock beside the wall.

Owen frowned and called out softly, "Mellet? Nyx?"

Silence reigned all around. The cat-like creature did not pounce on him affectionately as usual, nor did the phoenix respond with its melodious calls and flapping wings.

Owen snapped his fingers softly and called out "Wendy" in a low voice. He waited for a moment, but there was no sound of the house-elf apparating, nor were there any small, hurried footsteps nearby.

He tried calling the name of another house-elf, but still received no response. Owen fell silent, his expression instantly turning cold and indifferent.

In the darkness, so quiet he could clearly hear his own heartbeat and breathing, Owen felt a sense of unease. He carefully reviewed the events of the day before he went to Knockturn Alley, finding nothing unusual, except that his father had mentioned at breakfast that he would be hosting a party at home that evening.

"Could something have happened?" Owen was reluctant to think about it. Because once he started, some terrible thoughts would keep popping into his mind, stirring up the coldness and malice in his heart.

"But something's not right..." He took a deep breath, suppressing the dark undercurrent surging within him. His dark, deep eyes scanned his surroundings and peered out the window at the courtyard, taking in every detail.

Everything was arranged in perfect order, the ground was spotless, and there were no signs of damage in the rooms or courtyard. If someone had broken into the manor and launched an attack, it would have been impossible not to leave traces.

It's important to understand that Shafik Manor has a long history, and generations of family members have added many troublesome spells to it. It's unlikely that Mr. Shafik would be silently dealt with in his own lair, especially since Mr. and Mrs. Shafik are also highly skilled wizards. Even if they were ambushed by friends, the cats and phoenixes left behind in the manor shouldn't have disappeared without a trace.

Owen hesitated for a moment, then skillfully waved his wand, casting the Disillusionment Charm, the Silent Charm, and the Concealing Aura Charm on himself. He then walked straight to the exquisite clock at the other end of the living room. The sculpture hanging on the wall silently lowered its eyelids, looking down at what was below, as if secretly watching something.

Irving stopped at the long table against the wall next to the wall clock, looking at a beautifully carved snakeskin wooden box on it. A golden bell hung at the top of the box, and below it were portraits of a family of three. Each portrait had a rectangular display frame at its base, and now all three frames had the words "At Home" written in gold lettering.

He raised his hand and patted the top of the wooden box. The letters in the three display boxes scrolled rapidly, turning into a blurry afterimage. Soon, the letter changes slowed down, and with a slight "click," the three boxes settled again on the words "at home."

"Everyone's home?" Owen muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes, before quietly moving away.

He hurried to the other side of the restaurant, where there were no lights either. The long dining table lay there silently, and the portraits hanging on the walls on either side occasionally cast furtive glances.

The table was already carefully set with plates, cutlery, spoons, wine glasses, and napkins, as well as small bottles of salt and black pepper; it looked like all that was waiting for the guests to arrive.

Owen reached out and touched the white candle on the table; the wax dripping onto it didn't seem to have completely solidified yet. He sniffed softly; a faint smell of burning candles still lingered in the air.

"The candles on the table were just blown out... everything was ready for the banquet, but what unexpected situation caused them to leave?" Owen pursed his lips. "Why were only three people's plates prepared? Wasn't it supposed to be a banquet?"

He quickened his pace and left the dining room, intending to cross the foyer to check out the courtyard. As he entered the dark foyer, he saw a line of gleaming writing on the floor, standing out like a burning flame in the darkness: "Owen, leave the manor immediately and return tomorrow morning!"

"It's Dad's handwriting..." Owen breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his expression remained serious. The wording of the handwriting was very harsh, suggesting that something very serious had happened, and the possibility that someone else had imitated the handwriting could not be ruled out, although doing so seemed pointless.

"But they both seem to still be at the manor," Owen thought again of the snakeskin box in the living room. It was the family's "alarm bell," meant to indicate the status of family members at any time, but it wasn't impossible for it to be misled.

Just as he was analyzing the situation in his mind, a loud "crunching" sound interrupted his thoughts. It sounded like a saw cutting back and forth on steel, and it was especially jarring in the dead silence, giving him goosebumps.

Irving abruptly turned his head in a certain direction: "The sound is coming from... the basement!"

"The manor has two basement levels. The bottom level is a dungeon, which is almost completely abandoned. The first basement level has a kitchen, several storage rooms, a room for house-elves, and one of my mother's laboratories is also there..." Owen's mind quickly flashed through the overall layout of the basement, and he carefully stepped towards the staircase leading to the basement.

"The sound seems to be coming from the basement..." He stood at the top of the stairs and looked down. The basement was pitch black, and the air blowing from below was damp and cold. The exquisite escalator wound its way down, seemingly leading to a bottomless abyss.

Squeak—snoring—clang—

Another strange noise came, like the opening and closing of an old, dilapidated door, or the panting of a huge creature. The sound grew louder and more violent, as if some terrifying monster was wreaking havoc in the basement.

Suddenly, a golden light shone from the pitch-black ground, illuminating the previously dark area. In the blink of an eye, darkness once again enveloped the spot, the fleeting glimmer of light still lingering on the retina.

"What on earth happened?" The scene in the basement made Owen's heart pound.

"Should I leave the manor or go down and take a look?" He stood at the top of the stairs, pacing back and forth with a restless urge. The constant noises and strange flashes from the basement were like a cat toy bouncing around in front of a cat, precisely stimulating his curiosity.

If it weren't for the fact that his parents were most likely in the manor's basement, he would have already summoned the Black Magic Guard to sneak down and take a look.

"Well, it shouldn't be anything too dangerous, otherwise Dad wouldn't have just left a message in the foyer." Owen's eyes darted left and right, and he finally decided to go down and take a look. With his abilities, he should be able to help.

He waved his wand to reinforce the Nightwalker's three-piece enchantment on his body, slowly descended the escalator, and after stepping onto the basement floor, walked along the long corridor.

Another flash of light appeared ahead, and Owen squinted, blinded by the light, but still managed to see its source: "Mother's laboratory...was there a magical experiment accident?"

His expression turned serious, and a sense of unease arose in his heart.

Magical experiments can sometimes lead to bizarre accidents, sometimes just funny mishaps, but they can also have very serious consequences. Owen's grandparents died in an accident during a magical experiment, and Owen himself has also run into trouble while conducting experiments in the Wallfacer's Space, especially his research on soul magic, which is extremely dangerous.

He quickened his pace, standing swiftly yet warily before the laboratory door. The heavy black metal door was wide open, and sounds from within echoed and rumbled down the corridor.

Owen chanted several protective spells, including the Ironclad Charm, carefully concealed himself behind the door frame, and slowly peeked half his head into the room, wand in hand, ready to strike.

Just then, another flash of light erupted from the room, the intense light forcing him to close his eyes. When the light faded, all the noise instantly ceased, and the surroundings returned to a deathly silence.

Suddenly, the noise turned to silence, and Owen felt a ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, looking around the room. He first focused his gaze on the floor, then slowly raised his eyelids, moving his gaze upward to gradually expand his field of vision. This was a precaution he would take when dealing with the basilisk, and he was using it now just in case.

The laboratory wasn't completely dark; the stones embedded in the walls emitted a faint green glow, making the room's layout vaguely discernible. Once the eyes, initially stimulated by the bright light, had fully adjusted to the darkness, the laboratory's furnishings became much clearer.

Irving glanced around but didn't see the Shafiq couple in the room, nor could he find the source of the noise and bright light. He observed the overall layout of the laboratory and finally looked at a storage cabinet that was blocking his view; the huge cabinet almost blocked half of the laboratory area.

He walked lightly into the laboratory, using the cabinet as cover, and cautiously peeked out to look at the other side of the laboratory.

And just like that, a sudden scene unfolded before his eyes.

On the dark floor lay two figures, the Shafik couple. Their pale faces were cold and stiff, their lifeless eyes staring blankly. Both bore gruesome wounds from the explosion, blood slowly trickling down the floor…

Owen felt a buzzing in his head, and his pupils contracted sharply. He took a step back, his face pale, and his brain, like the most sophisticated machine, suddenly went into overdrive, instinctively analyzing the cause of the scene and the solution, meticulously dissecting every detail of his surroundings.

Suddenly realizing the problem, Owen narrowed his eyes, pushed off the ground with his heel, and quickly retreated outside the door, while raising his wand and releasing a wide-ranging burst of sparks.

A large, shimmering silver net descended from the sky with a whoosh, covering the spot where he had just stood, but it failed to bind him, leaving it hanging empty in mid-air, swaying precariously. Several sprays of water gushed from all directions with a "plop," soaking the net completely.

Irving's spell hit the ceiling, and a figure fell down with a "plop," landing on the ground with a "ouch," hissing and gasping for breath while clutching his lower back, before being sprayed with water and becoming soaked to the bone.

"Good evening, Dad. Your tastes are quite unique." Owen stood outside the door with his arms crossed, looking down at him with a look of disdain.

The man who had fallen from the ceiling was Mr. Shafik. He awkwardly brushed his soaking wet hair aside, looked up somewhat embarrassedly, coughed lightly, and tried to appear calm, saying, "Oh, good evening, Owen. Didn't I tell you to leave the manor tonight? Well, we suspect a thief broke in, and your mother and I are about to catch him..."

The spray from the surrounding pipes gradually subsided, and a wall on the other side of the laboratory slowly slid open, revealing Madame Shafik with graceful steps. Her deep blue dress rippled like water, and she wore a smile she couldn't suppress. Melete and Nyx followed behind her.

"Well done, Owen." She looked at Owen with great satisfaction.

"A prank?" Owen twirled his wand with a half-smile, feeling both annoyed and amused. He then looked towards the spot where he had found his parents' "corpses": "Boggart?"

Mrs. Shafik smiled and nodded, then bent down to help Mr. Shafik up. She then looked in Boggart's direction and slowly frowned, her expression slightly displeased.

"We never expected it to turn out like this..." Mr. Shafik grimaced, whether from pain or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. He then asked curiously, "How did you find out?"

Boggart transforming into their corpses in front of Owen was indeed unexpected. But no matter what Boggart transformed into, he figured Owen would be stunned for a moment, which would be enough time for the subsequent traps to catch him.

But he never expected Irving to react so quickly.

Irving rubbed his temples and said irritably, "Boggarts will become the thing people fear most, but when people are already worried about something, it will take precedence and become what they are most afraid of at that moment."

The deaths of the Shafiq couple may not have been Owen's greatest fear, but they were certainly the worst-case scenario he had been worrying about, especially as he suspected that their magical experiment had gone wrong, a worry that had reached its peak.

"However, what I saw was exactly what I had been vaguely worried about," he said. "Most importantly, there were too many flaws. The body was lying in the wrong direction, the wounds were from an explosion or splatter, but the lab equipment and setup showed no signs of damage, and the bloodstains were wrong..."

"I'm not going to be fooled by something so full of holes," Irving said wearily. Although he was initially taken aback, as a former magician, it was instinctive for him to observe every detail and look for flaws.

Melete walked over to his feet through the puddles on the floor, shaking her feet as she affectionately nuzzled his calf with her head, her golden eyes sparkling with pride and self-satisfaction.

"But a normal person couldn't possibly react in an instant, could they?" Mr. Shafik sighed, his face sour as he ran over and shooed the Boggart into the cupboard.

"So I'm not a normal person," Owen said casually, then asked with a forced smile, "So, can I ask you guys what exactly you're doing?"

"Let me show you what 'curiosity killed the cat' really means," Mr. Shafik said, trying to put on a stern face. Although it was a lecturing tone and posture, his disheveled, drenched appearance was not intimidating at all, and even a little comical.

"You've been involved in too many dangerous things at Hogwarts these past two years, which has worried us greatly, Owen." Madam Shafik bent down to look Owen in the eye, her deep green eyes shimmering like soft water in the dim light.

"So you want to teach me a lesson?" Irving was somewhat amused and exasperated. Well, he knew this was bound to happen sooner or later.

“That’s right! You see, if you had listened to us and left the manor instead of joining in the fun, you wouldn’t have been so scared, right?” Mr. Shafik shrugged, took out his wand and dried himself off. “We were planning to hang you here for the night to show you how serious things are… This is the special ‘dinner’ I’ve prepared for you tonight.”

He twitched his lips and muttered under his breath, "Since we didn't catch them, let's just forget about it."

"But I was really scared, Mom." Owen raised his delicate face with a wronged expression, his beautiful eyes becoming watery.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Owen. I didn't expect it to turn out like this." Although Mrs. Shafik saw through Owen's acting skills at a glance, she couldn't help but soften under his pitiful gaze.

She gave Owen a gentle hug, then smiled at Mr. Shafik and said, "Albert, I also think your idea is a bit too much. I hope you can tidy up my lab here and put everything back in its place. I'll take Owen upstairs for dinner now."

As she spoke, she took Owen's hesitant and reluctant hand and led him out the door.

"You didn't object when I proposed this plan," Mr. Shafik thought to himself. He blinked innocently as he watched the two figures disappear behind the door, then put his hands on his hips, looking at the large net beside him and the puddles on the ground.

"How was your day?" Mrs. Shafik asked gently in the corridor.

"It's so much fun!" Owen said with a broad smile, his tone playful and excited.

Under the deep night sky, one arched window after another lit up, and the mansion, which had been sleeping in a sea of ​​white roses, awoke and gazed into the distance with its orange eyes.

Thank you Bababatora for the 1500 Qidian Coins! Thanks for your support!

(End of this chapter)