A certain broken Hogwarts

In Shafik Manor, inside Owen's magical laboratory, a soft, dawn-like light shone. In the dim light of dusk, the arched windows illuminated by the light seemed to blink gently.

When the light flashed and disappeared, Owen raised his wand with a smile and looked down to examine the parchment he had enchanted.

The parchment was meticulously drawn with a map of Hogwarts, the black ink lines intricate yet orderly, clearly outlining the terrain of each floor of the castle. Outside the main castle were the Quidditch pitch, the greenhouse, and the Black Lake, and also encompassed a large part of the Forbidden Forest, where Hagrid's cottage sat alone on the edge.

Several small black dots, each marked with a name, are scattered across the map; some are moving slowly, while others remain stationary. They represent the professors who stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays, as well as the ghosts within the castle.

After his previous conversation with Sirius, Owen spent a week perfecting the special tracking spell and finally created his own Marauder's Map today.

In his first year, he explored all of Hogwarts, drawing a map and adding every secret passage he discovered, including the Room of Requirement and Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. In his second year, he borrowed the Marauder's Map from the Weasley twins and supplemented his own map.

Today, Irving finally brought this map to life.

He carefully examined the dots on the map, finally turning his gaze away from the small black dot in the headmaster's office marked "Albus Dumbledore." This guy was too good at disguising himself; even the castle hadn't noticed the headmaster had been replaced, let alone a not-so-sophisticated tracking charm.

Owen thought for a moment, then tapped the map with his wand, casting a strict secrecy spell on it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The small black dots moving on the map disappeared, and some secret passages and chambers vanished from its surface. In the blink of an eye, it became an ordinary-looking map.

Irving nodded in satisfaction, so that even if someone got it, they would only treat it as an ordinary map.

He rolled up the parchment and put it in his pocket, then picked up a gleaming silver round badge that was lying next to him. The badge was about the size of a coin and had a simple and beautiful white rose design on it; it was a badge he had made himself to ward off tracking spells.

Now that he understood the principles of the Marauder's Map, he knew he should take precautions to avoid being monitored by others using this method. So he created this badge; wearing it would prevent him from being tracked by the Tracking Charm and ensure that his trail wouldn't appear on the Marauder's Map.

Irving put away the badge and gave a soft yawn. A large, brown owl flew in through the open window, aloofly dropped a brown envelope, and then flapped its wings and flew away without a second thought.

Owen picked up the envelope and glanced at it; unsurprisingly, it was a letter from Hogwarts.

For the past two weeks, he had been corresponding with Professor McGonagall about course selection. Because he had chosen four electives, his daily schedule was so packed that even with a full schedule, he couldn't manage it all.

Professor McGonagall initially tried to persuade him to drop a course, but after being firmly refused, she offered to write to the Ministry of Magic and try to apply for a Time-Turner for him, which finally granted Owen's wish.

As a result, Irving had to spend a lot of time preparing various application materials, writing long and tedious application letters, and signing one guarantee after another... The tedium of this matter made him want to give up on the time-tamper altogether.

Fortunately, the trouble is finally over. In the letter that just arrived, Professor McGonagall happily informed him that the Ministry of Magic had approved his application and included his reading list for next semester, as well as a Hogsmeade Village visit permit form that requires a parent's signature.

Irving let out a long sigh of relief and muttered, "It's finally here." The other students' book lists had been delivered to each of them ten days ago, but his book list was delayed for quite some time because he had to wait for the results of the time converter's application.

He stretched, wondering when he could go to Diagon Alley. Melett walked over with elegant cat steps, a pink fluffy ball in her mouth, and lightly jumped onto the table.

"Meow~" Melete placed the woolen ball on the table and gave Owen a soft, sweet greeting.

Owen glanced at the round, fluffy ball in front of him, gently pinched the cat's large ears, and said with a grin, "Hey, where did you find a fluffy little thing?"

"Meow—" Melete meowed softly, stretching out her little paws to playfully paw at the trembling, fluffy cat, her golden eyes shining brightly.

"In the kitchen? These little things really like to burrow in there." Owen picked up the fluffy ball and examined it. This fluffy creature was actually only about the size of his fist, but because it was covered in fluffy, soft pink fur, it looked much larger.

It's very lightweight, feeling like a big ball of cotton in your hand, and has a very nice feel to it. The little head hidden under its fur looks a lot like a mouse, with its tiny, bean-sized eyes tightly closed, and its pink nose trembling slightly, emitting a buzzing sound.

"Melte, do you like it?" Owen asked softly, shaking the fluffy cat in his hand as he noticed the cat-like creature staring intently at it.

"Meow!" Melete responded cheerfully, her tail held high and the tip swaying from side to side.

"Then you can keep it to play with." Owen put the fluffy ball back in front of her. "Puffy is easy to take care of. Just remember to feed it some bugs or leftovers from time to time."

Melete happily licked Owen's fingertip, then picked up Fluffy and jumped to the ground. Carefully retracting her claws, she patted Fluffy all over the place as if she were handling a ball of yarn. The cat-cat chased after her, darting around everywhere, occasionally rolling on the carpet and rubbing its head against Fluffy.

The buzzing woolen dumpling would occasionally bounce around, trying to escape the clutches, but later it simply lay flat, letting itself be turned and kicked around, and finally even let out a comfortable humming sound.

Irving, resting his chin on his hand, watched the scene with amusement, his mood lightening. The light in the room grew dimmer, and a soft darkness quietly enveloped him.

The peaceful and languid daily routine continued until the next morning, when an owl delivered a letter from Lupin informing him that the bookstore in Knockturn Alley had been blown up.

According to the letter, a group of people wearing black cloaks broke into the bookstore late last night. Lupin and Natasha engaged in a fierce battle with these men, ultimately repelling them at the cost of half the bookstore being destroyed and Natasha being injured.

Natasha is currently receiving treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and will soon be discharged.

After reading the last line, Owen frowned slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He couldn't help but wonder why this bookstore had suffered so many misfortunes.

Putting aside the fact that some organizations in Fandao Lane were testing the waters with the bookstore, this is normal.

Not long ago, a group of suspected thieves broke into the bookstore but were driven out by Natasha and Lupin. Later, Owen even stole the things that group had stolen from Blaise's house, set them up to clash with a dark wizard organization, and happily watched the show.

But why is something else going wrong now?

Irving was both puzzled and incredibly curious. What was it about this bookstore that made people keep coming in? Were the two groups of intruders from the same organization? But regardless of whether they were from the same organization, the reasons behind it were certainly intriguing.

"Could there be some secret hidden in the bookstore?" Owen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He hadn't made any special arrangements in the bookstore, and the books weren't particularly valuable. If there really was a secret, either Natasha and the others had done something, or the previous owner of the bookstore had left something in the house.

The bookstore was entirely owned and operated by Natasha herself; Owen only provided financial support, so he knew nothing about the bookstore's previous owners.

"But this time they blew up the bookstore so brazenly, it doesn't seem like they were looking for something." Owen tilted his head in confusion again.

"Speaking of which, could it be that news of the 'Book of Secrets' has been leaked?" He suddenly thought of a possibility. It was because of this book that Natasha's life was drastically changed, and she was even hunted by a dark wizarding organization, which was how the two of them had the opportunity to meet.

Although they later captured almost all of the organization's top brass, it's hard to say that some might have escaped. If any insiders are still alive and spread the word, it could very well attract unwanted attention.

However, the Dark Spirit leader whom Owen killed had some ulterior motives; he concealed the fact that he had obtained the "Book of Secrets" from everyone. Therefore, apart from Natasha, no one knows that the book is in Owen's hands. Based on the limited clues available, those who want the book can only approach Natasha.

"Is that so?" Owen casually pulled out the book with the dark black cover, "The Book of Secrets," from the bookshelf, his long, pale fingers gently stroking the blood-red title.

This book can keep certain secrets for those who write their names on it, but few people actually know that it is a book of curses, allowing its holder to curse those who leave their names on it, even if they are thousands of miles away.

"In that case, could those people who were spying outside the manor a few days ago also be after this?" Owen's thoughts wandered. It made sense that Natasha was targeting him, someone with whom she had a close relationship.

"But now that they know I represent the Shafik family, do they think the Shafik family's power is just for show?"

"Hmm, there is another possibility." Owen suddenly remembered something else. He lowered his eyes, glanced at the book in his hand, and put it back in its place.

He then opened the drawer and rummaged through the corner to find an exquisite wooden box. Opening the lid, he saw a deep blue columnar gemstone lying quietly inside, radiating a captivating blue glow.

Looking at this gem that could make any girl scream with delight, Owen gently pursed his pale lips, a hint of blue light reflected in his clear and deep black eyes.

He reviewed once more the cruel "joke" that had ultimately led to the gem ending up in his hands, believing he hadn't left any flaws. But he remembered that someone had seen him and Natasha on the rooftop; he wasn't sure how much that person had seen, or whether they had seen him take out the gem.

If that person wasn't just an ordinary passerby, but connected to the group whose jewels he stole, it means they already knew what Owen had done. In that case, their attack on the bookstore and their loitering outside Shafiq Manor wouldn't be surprising.

"But that doesn't explain why they'd been eyeing the bookstore all along. Did they just want to steal something? But what's so great about stealing from a bookstore? They can even break into the Blaise family's house, there's no need for them to be fixated on a small bookstore..." Owen shook his head again and slammed the lid of the box shut.

"Forget it, let's not speculate wildly before we have more clues, lest we create preconceived notions." He suddenly laughed casually, "Perhaps I'm just overthinking it, and these things may not be related at all."

He glanced at the azure sky outside the window and decided to visit Natasha and ask her if she knew anything.

After greeting his parents, who were at home, he lit the fireplace, took a basket of fruit and a bouquet of flowers, and traveled by Floo Powder to the Leaky Cauldron in London. (End of Chapter)