A certain broken Hogwarts

"A pet?" Sirius raised his left eyebrow. "What pet?"

"Uh, it's nothing... Can I not have it? I already have Hedwig." Harry frowned. The thought of raising a long, slippery snake sent chills down his spine.

"You promised this yourself." Owen looked at him in disbelief. "Are you going to go back on your word?"

"You always forced these things on me, okay..." Harry thought to himself, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "I don't like snakes."

"The basilisk would be very upset to hear this." Owen looked at him with the eyes one would give a heartless man.

"It's not sad at all. It's eating well, living well, and having a great time," Harry said irritably. After the banter, his mood inexplicably lightened.

"So, Harry, you're going to keep a snake?" Sirius Black interjected with a strange look on his face, arms crossed.

"Harry has a Parseltongue, such a useful ability, of course we should make use of it," Owen said with a smile.

Harry glared at him; this guy really knew how to bring up the most awkward topics. He didn't want to bring up his unique similarities to Slytherin in front of Sirius, because he sensed that Sirius didn't seem too happy about him being in Slytherin.

"Oh, I forgot. Parsleyan, what a strange ability, isn't it?" Sirius's expression became even stranger, then he grinned without malice. "I don't recall your parents having this ability."

Harry had just breathed a sigh of relief when his heart jumped again: "They really can't? Everyone says Parsley is hereditary..."

"I'm sure," Sirius shrugged, "but I think it might be something like skipped generations. I think your father might have Slytherin or some Parseltongue blood, and it just happened to revert to his ancestral lineage in you. Sometimes that happens."

"If used properly, it can indeed be very useful," he mused.

"That's it, Harry. I'm giving you a chance to use your abilities," Owen said, clapping his hands.

Harry glanced at him sideways, his eyes telling him, "I don't believe you."

"That snake is very powerful; it could totally act as your bodyguard. Most importantly, it's incredibly intelligent, its wisdom rivaling that of a human. It can understand and perform complex tasks, such as gathering intelligence for you or acting as your informant," Owen said seriously. "If you can manage to smuggle it into the Forbidden Forest, having it help you might make this school year a little safer."

"If it weren't so vengeful, hating me to death and not listening to me at all, I wouldn't have been willing to give it to you," he said, half-jokingly.

"Moreover," he said mysteriously, a smirk playing on his lips, "its origins are quite extraordinary, very extraordinary indeed."

As Harry watched Owen's smile slowly widen, a bad feeling crept over him. Yes, it was that familiar feeling of being about to be tricked again.

"If that's the case, then it's not bad, provided the snake is obedient." Sirius was seriously considering it. He didn't mind using some unconventional methods to protect Harry's safety, such as sending a large snake into Hogwarts. He thought Hagrid would definitely be happy to have another little cutie.

"It's a deal then. Remember to come to my house after dawn," Owen said with a smile. He took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. It was almost dawn. Considering that someone who had been playing all night needed to sleep in, he set a later time: "How about five o'clock in the afternoon? I'll give you access to my fireplace so you can get there directly via the Floo Network."

Harry glanced at Owen, then at Sirius, and shrugged. "Okay."

"Well then, it's getting late, I should take my leave." Owen gave a polite bow and walked towards the living room, intending to go home through the fireplace there.

After Owen's figure disappeared into the flames of the fireplace, Harry and Sirius faced each other and fell into an awkward silence.

"Uh, I don't know how to say this," Harry coughed lightly, his voice dry. "I'm so sorry, Sirius, I didn't come out from behind the stairs..."

"You're kidding! That was the smartest thing you did tonight," Sirius interrupted him. "If you had actually come out and thrown your wand away, I would have died of anger. I don't think James and Lily's son could be that stupid."

Harry smiled, then looked away. "I just wanted you to know that I do care about you."

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who would make a fuss over nothing?" Sirius patted him hard on the shoulder. "Alright, go back and rest. Don't overthink it, leave the rest to me."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked quietly as he walked with his head down, "About Bellatrix and Peter Pettigrew..."

"I just want to ensure your safety." Sirius frowned again. "I know them. Bellatrix will never give up on avenging her master, even though her primary goal is to find him. She's fanatically obsessed with Voldemort."

Harry, head down, tore at a strip of colored paper and asked again, "What are you planning to do?"

"Write a letter to Dumbledore, and then take some necessary measures." Sirius Black pondered for a moment, then gave Harry a deep look. "Actually, I'd prefer you to hide and not go to school. No one knows Bellatrix's madness better than me..."

He shook his head: "But I think you probably won't agree."

"Of course," Harry said sullenly.

"Alright, you can't hide forever, you'll have to face it eventually," Sirius said. "I'm glad you're not incapable of handling danger. You did very well today, but you're still too inexperienced. I need to give you some special training."

Harry's initial worry was instantly replaced by anticipation. He smiled and started walking up the stairs.

……

Summer weather is unpredictable; a clear, cloudless sky in the morning can turn overcast in the afternoon.

The air was damp, and the breeze blowing in through the window carried the moist scent of flowers. The white rose bushes surrounding the Shafiq Estate swayed gently in the wind, like sprites dancing ecstatically to the music of nature.

The living room was very quiet. Mr. Shafik was not home. Mrs. Shafik, dressed in an impeccably dark blue robe, was sitting elegantly in an armchair, enjoying afternoon tea, with a copy of the Daily Prophet that she had just finished reading beside her.

Owen stood in front of the exquisitely carved fireplace, tapping it gently with his wand to signal Harry to come over later.

Floo networks are the most convenient mode of transportation for wizards. Although they are easily monitored by those with ulterior motives, their security is still quite good. Wizards can easily set who is allowed to visit their fireplaces, or who is allowed to stick their heads out of the fireplace to deliver messages.

After fiddling with the fireplace, Owen sat in the armchair next to his mother, slowly savoring a pastry with his fingertips. He picked up the Daily Prophet beside him; the front page featured the previous night's prison break:

"The Ministry of Magic confirmed today that an unprecedented prison break has occurred at Azkaban. Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange escaped from Azkaban last night; they are probably the most wicked prisoners Azkaban has ever held."

"We are doing everything in our power to bring them back to justice," said Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. "We urge the wizarding community to remain calm and take precautions to protect themselves and their families."

"As we all know, Peter Pettigrew was recently confirmed as the true perpetrator of a shocking crime that occurred twelve years ago. He used a spell to kill thirteen Muggles and framed Sirius Black, resulting in Sirius Black's imprisonment in Azkaban for twelve years..."

"Bellatrix Lestrange, along with four others, kidnapped an Auror and his wife twelve years ago and brutally tortured them to the point of madness. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."

"The whereabouts of the two heinous fugitives remain unknown, and we cannot help but worry that similar tragedies may occur again..."

Next to him were large photos of two fugitives. Peter Pettigrew looked much thinner, his small eyes darting around, still with that timid and hesitant demeanor. The woman next to him had thick eyelids, a wide chin, a haggard appearance, and long, messy hair; she was grinning arrogantly.

Owen put down the newspaper and thought to himself, "Tsk, compared to the prisoner of Azkaban in the original story, Harry's third year went from a teaching mode to a hell mode."

"These are truly troublesome times." Mrs. Shafik gently set down her teacup and sighed with a rare hint of melancholy. "Bellatrix, she's not someone to be trifled with."

"How is your relationship with your mother?" Owen refilled her tea and poured himself a cup.

"Neither good nor bad," Mrs. Shafik said.

"We used to be very close, back in school. After all, she's my cousin." She looked nostalgic, her beautiful profile serene and gentle. "She wasn't like this back then. Although she was proud and willful, she was still quite nice to her friends."

"After she became a member of the Death Eaters, we gradually drifted apart. When we met again later, I couldn't even believe she had become so cruel and insane." She sighed softly. "She followed the Dark Lord fanatically. No one was as...obsessed with the Dark Lord as she was."

"Is it love?" Owen asked with great interest.

Adeline looked at him with a smile, her tone gentle yet stern: "This is not something to joke about, Owen."

She gazed calmly and intently into Owen's eyes: "I suggest you keep a proper distance from Harry Potter next semester. I think Bellatrix will probably be eyeing him. If you get too close to Harry, she won't hesitate to use you against him, nor will she care if her actions might cost you your life... even if you're my son."

"Of course, this is just my suggestion; the choice is yours." She suddenly smiled, her deep green eyes reflecting Owen's image. "I just want you to understand that you must consider the consequences of everything you do. And, be careful."

"I understand," Owen nodded with a smile, responding obediently.

Actually, he also felt it was better to stay away from Harry; he just wanted to study quietly and watch the drama unfold. After all, it was Harry's trouble, and getting involved wouldn't be fun.

Hmm, but isn't it a bit late to start keeping our distance now? Irving's thoughts wandered.

He shouldn't have been curious about Harry in the first place, letting this big trouble into Slytherin.

"By the way, it's best not to leave the manor gates casually these days," Mrs. Shafik suddenly advised softly. "Last night, your father and I spotted several people loitering in the woods outside, peeking into the manor. We don't know what their purpose is."

"Oh? You didn't manage to catch one of them to question?" Owen raised an eyebrow. For the Shafik Manor, which had been peaceful for hundreds of years, this was quite a novel matter.

"We tried to do that. But those people were very wary and wouldn't make contact with us. Once they realized they'd been discovered, they just Apparated," Mrs. Shafiq said with a smile, but Owen keenly sensed the chill hidden in her laughter.

When Mom laughs like that, it usually means someone is about to have bad luck.

Owen nodded with an innocent look on his face, watching Mrs. Shafik stand up and walk out of the living room.

He picked up his teacup and slowly sipped his black tea. Time passed by, and the overcast sky outside the window seemed to grow even lower.

When the clock struck five, the flames in the fireplace roared up and turned a vibrant green. A figure staggered out of the fireplace, scattering ashes onto the clean carpet.

"Cough cough, I'm really not used to using Floo Powder." Harry coughed for a while, then vigorously patted the ashes off his body.

He looked at the stained, beautiful carpet at his feet, coughed slightly, a little embarrassed, and then remembered that he was a wizard. He pulled his wand from his pocket and chanted, "Clean and fresh."

"Good afternoon, Harry. You're punctual." Owen waved lazily at him. "Want some matcha cookies?"

"Never mind, Sirius's still waiting for me." Harry glanced around the beautifully decorated living room and casually straightened a crooked gold candlestick beside him. He assumed he had accidentally knocked it over when he came out of the fireplace.

A soft "click" sounded in his ear, and Harry felt a tightening in his ankle. Before he could react, he was lifted into the air by an invisible rope, headfirst, dangling upside down in mid-air, swinging back and forth like on a swing, his glasses almost falling off.

"Ah!" Harry cried out, still a little dazed. What was happening? Had he fallen into a trap? But wasn't this Owen's house?

As he reached for his wand, he called out in a slightly panicked voice, "Owen, what's going on?"

Owen remained seated in his armchair, amused as he watched Harry dart about in mid-air, even taking a sip of his tea. He said in a light voice, "Don't worry, there's no danger. It's just my father's playful little prank."

Mr. Shafik hadn't given up on his pranks on Owen, tirelessly setting up all sorts of little traps throughout the house. However, he failed to fool Owen; instead, it was Harry, visiting for the first time, who fell for it.

"A prank?" Harry, having finally managed to pull out his wand, was stunned by the question. He pointed his wand at the area above his bound ankles and uttered "Tear apart" to the invisible ropes.

With a "thud," his body landed back on the ground. Fortunately, the carpet on the ground was very soft, so the fall didn't hurt.

"So you just stood there and watched? Only you would pull a prank like that," Harry said, getting up in an annoyed tone. He didn't believe Owen's father would do something so childish.

"I would never design such an unimaginative prank," Irving said slowly, asserting his professional competence as a magician.

Harry didn't say anything, but he secretly rolled his eyes.

"Alright, let's go see that cute little snake." Owen finished the last sip of his tea, stood up from his armchair, and led Harry to the dungeon on the second basement level.

The two descended the stairs to the basement and walked through a dimly lit, long corridor. Several doors lined the corridor, and paintings hung on the walls between them, appearing hazy in the dim light.

Harry followed behind Owen, looking around with interest. As they passed a painting, the figure in it turned to look at them, and a tiny, shimmering white light appeared in its eye socket, like a firefly flickering in the dark.

Curious, he leaned closer to take a closer look, when suddenly he felt his feet slip, followed by a feeling of weightlessness...

Hearing a "thump" behind him, Owen turned around and found Harry was gone. Yeah, some people just disappear as they walk away.

He glanced at the shimmering portrait, then strolled over unhurriedly and noticed a rectangular hole in the floor in front of it. He peered into the hole and saw Harry lying sprawled on his back at the bottom of a pit two or three meters deep, with several soft, large white mushrooms beneath him, covered in yellowish-brown spores.

Owen's lips twitched slightly. With a hint of disgust, he pulled the dizzy little wizard out of the pit and watched him sneeze wildly. His cheeks, stained yellow by spores, looked utterly comical.

"I'm curious, why do you always fall into such clumsy traps?" Owen's expression was indescribable, yet inquisitive, as he looked at Harry as if he were examining a new breed of idiot.

"I... Achoo! I was just curious... Achoo..."

Nothing further went wrong. Having learned his lesson, Harry obediently followed behind Owen, keeping his eyes straight ahead. The two reached the end of the corridor, went down the stairs, opened the iron door at the bottom, and entered an even darker, damper, and colder dungeon.

This place has been abandoned for a long time, and many rooms have become places to store miscellaneous items. The air is slightly murky.

Irving lit an oil lamp, held it in his hand, and stood outside a cell locked with iron bars, hanging the lamp by the door.

By the flickering light, Harry saw a large snake coiled in the corner of the room, its brown scales gleaming in the firelight, covered with black net-like patterns.

Upon noticing their arrival, the giant snake coiled its body even tighter, its cold, serpentine eyes glaring at them, and it bared its sharp fangs.

"You can leave here today," Owen hissed.

The giant snake simply stared at him coldly, refusing to communicate with him as usual, and even calmly looking for an opportunity to bite him.

Owen shook his head. He wasn't a natural Parseltongue and didn't have the innate ability to make snakes obey him. He was helpless against a snake that was resolutely uncooperative and held a grudge. He said to Harry, "Try communicating with it."

Harry took a deep breath, stepped forward, and hissed, "Hello?"

The giant snake turned its gaze to him, slowly lowering its head, displaying a submissive posture completely different from before. For the first time, it spoke to Owen: "Greetings, esteemed wizard."

They seemed fairly friendly. Harry breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued, "My name is Harry Potter, you can call me Harry. Uh, do you have a name?"

"Nagini." The giant snake flicked its tongue, its eyes reflecting the firelight.

"So, Nagini, would you like to leave this place with me?" Harry asked.

The giant snake paused for a moment before saying, "May I ask you to take me home?" Its voice remained low and gentle, without any inflection.

"Where is your home?" Harry asked. He would be happy to let Nagini go home if it didn't want to come with him.

"The Black Forest of Albania," Nagini said.

Harry paused for a moment, finding the place name somewhat familiar. He quickly realized—Voldemort was hiding there!

His eyes widened suddenly, and he turned to look at Owen standing beside him. He told himself that this snake was extraordinary; could it be…?

"Why do you want to go back?" he asked.

"Waiting for someone," Nagini said, her yellow vertical pupils still icy cold.

"Who?"

"A wisp of black mist," the giant serpent said coldly. "Sometimes he possesses small animals. In the forest, he's the only one who can communicate fluently with me, telling me stories of wizards. We've known each other for thousands of days and nights..."

"One day he suddenly disappeared from the forest, and I waited for him, searching for him outside the forest. Until I was caught, locked in a cage, and then bought by that wicked wizard." Nagini gave Owen a cold look.

"Are you still unwilling to accept reality? He left without saying goodbye, abandoning you and leaving the Black Forest alone." Owen slightly raised his chin, looking down at the large snake in the cell, a cold sneer on his lips. "You've been abandoned, Nagini."

"He won't abandon me." Nagini shrank his neck, as if he was about to attack him at any moment.

"But we've seen him," Owen said with a cold smile. "He possessed a human body, traveled all the way to this country, and never mentioned you once. If you don't believe me, you can ask Harry."

Harry blinked and nodded. "Yes." Anyway, Voldemort hadn't mentioned Nagini to him, so there was nothing wrong with that.

The large snake slowly lowered its head, resting it on its tail. Although its cold, serpentine eyes revealed no emotion, one could still sense its dejection.

Why does Voldemort seem like a heartless man who starts something and then abandons it...? A strange thought suddenly arose in Harry's mind.

"So, make your choice, Nagini." Owen's smile deepened as he uttered words that were both gentle and cruel. "Follow Harry and leave, or stay here forever."

The giant snake slightly raised its head, looked at Harry, and said, "Will you abandon me?"

"Uh, no, as long as you don't betray me," Harry said, forced into the situation.

"Then I'll leave with you." Nagini's demeanor became much more subdued.

"Very good, I have a contract spell here." Owen smiled flawlessly. "Although it is very complex and difficult, I can perform the ritual for you."

"A contract?" The giant snake coiled its body warily.

"You know, human words are the most unreliable thing," Owen's pleasant voice carried a hint of seduction. "Only a contract can guarantee mutual loyalty."

Harry's expression twisted slightly; he felt like he was deceiving an innocent child, and a strange sense of guilt welled up inside him. However, this step was necessary to prevent Nagini from helping Voldemort.

"Okay, I agree," Nagini said, glancing at Harry without any emotion.

Owen's smile widened. He drew his wand and said, "I need a drop of your blood."

After taking blood from one human and one snake, he pointed his wand at the two drops of blood and chanted a long incantation in his hissing Parseltongue, his voice drifting as if from a distant horizon.

This covenant spell was something he obtained from the basilisk, a contract voluntarily entered into between a wizard and a magical creature. Slytherin and the basilisk had made this very contract, ensuring the basilisk's loyalty to Slytherin even centuries later.

As Owen chanted his incantation, the two drops of blood suspended in the air slowly elongated, eventually crossing over and intertwining, transforming into a complex cross shape.

He looked at the large snake behind the iron bars and asked solemnly, "Nagini, are you sure you want to accept the contract?"

"I'm sure," Nagini said in a flat voice.

Owen waved his wand, pointing the tip at its forehead. A drop of blood, tangled in a cross shape, fell onto the serpent's head, silently merging into its smooth scales without leaving a trace.

"The contract is established," Owen read aloud.

He winked his left eye at the still somewhat dazed Harry, then flicked his wand upwards, and the iron bars imprisoning Nagini vanished.

The giant snake suddenly coiled up, assuming an attack stance, and bared its sharp fangs at Owen, intending to give the guy a good bite.

"Don't do that, Nagini," Harry quickly said.

Nagini reluctantly abandoned her attack and nimbly and powerfully swam out of the cell, obediently following Harry.

Irving nodded contentedly, his expression as pleased as a cat that had just stolen some cream. This incongruous scene perfectly satisfied his wicked sense of humor.

He closed his fingers, tucked the wand inside his forearm, and when he opened his fingers again, the wand was gone, replaced by a black gemstone ring between his index and middle fingers. He casually tossed the ring to Harry.

Harry frantically caught the ring, his face filled with fear. This ring contained a needle coated with basilisk venom; couldn't it have been handled with carelessness? After all, it wouldn't be you who got poisoned, right?

"Alright, let's go out," Owen said with a smile. (End of Chapter)