A certain broken Hogwarts

"Flash of Light." Owen muttered a spell, and a bright light illuminated the completely dark carriage.

The surroundings were a mess. The box door was askew, and luggage and snacks were scattered all over the floor. Harry's owl cage was lying on the door frame, and Hedwig, the snow-white owl, was flapping its wings and screeching inside.

The young wizards stumbled and fell onto the slanted carriage floor, dazed. Harry was scrambling to his feet, Draco was groaning and clutching his forehead, and Daphne was struggling to sit up, anxiously calling out to her sister.

"I'm alright, Daphne," Astoria whispered, still shaken, as she huddled in a corner behind the bench.

Owen, carrying his wand with its tip glowing, stepped into the hallway outside. His cold gaze swept over everyone in the private room, and after confirming that none of them were injured, he turned to look out the car window. The rolling mountains grew even darker and more indistinct in the torrential rain and wind, resembling a black behemoth crawling on the earth.

Melete strolled steadily to his feet, sniffed him, and let out a soft meow. She had previously made full use of her feline instincts and balance, using whatever she could find as a foothold to navigate the churning, jostling carriage as if it were flat ground. Her fluffy little tusk had rolled to a corner of the carriage, buzzing and trembling.

"I'm fine, Melett," Owen said softly, squinting out the window. A fierce wind blew icy rain through the half-shattered window into the aisle, carrying a chilling cold. Through the thick curtain of rain, a few distant lights could be faintly seen.

The reckless train had come to a complete stop, and the deafening roar had ceased. After a brief silence, screams, sobs, and groans from the students erupted from the various compartments, eventually drowned out by the patter of the rain.

"...Everyone, don't panic! Don't run around! Please stay in your carriages and take care of your injured companions... We've already notified the professors; they'll be there soon!"

The female student council president was organizing the lower-year prefects to run around, loudly reassuring the panicked students to prevent anyone from running into the deep mountains. Some upperclassmen were also comforting the younger wizards, waving their wands to bandage the injured, and tiny points of firefly light up the completely darkened carriages.

"What's going on?" Harry, recovering from his dizziness, asked as he emerged from the box. He waved his wand and cast a calming spell into the box—white magic he had learned from Dumbledore.

In the soft white light, everyone's emotions quickly calmed down, and even Hedwig in the cage obediently remained silent.

"Obviously, they were attacked." Owen said calmly, tilting his head to gesture towards the view outside the car window. The thick rain curtain was illuminated by the distant incantation, the dense raindrops shifting in different colors, reflecting the flickering light in his calm, indifferent black eyes.

Harry gritted his teeth uneasily, his anxiety escalating: "Sirius went out by himself?"

He rushed to the car window, straining to see through the broken glass, but could only vaguely make out various colored magical flashes crisscrossing in the dark mountains, like dazzling fireworks.

The drizzling rain and the dim sky blurred the view and drowned out distant sounds, making the battleground seem as distant as another world.

"It's over there by the locomotive! I... I'll go check over there!" Harry felt he couldn't just stay there doing nothing, but he also knew that rushing out would only cause trouble for Sirius. He decided to run to the carriage near the locomotive to see if he could help.

He had just run to the front of the carriage when he was stopped by a fifth-year Gryffindor prefect who was coming from the opposite direction.

"Don't wander off, get back to your compartment!" The tall male prefect, a gleaming badge pinned to his chest and a shimmering wand in his right hand, panted as he pushed Harry back into the compartment. "Please, Potter, don't block my way! I'm in a hurry!"

"What exactly happened?" Harry asked urgently, wanting to know more about the current situation.

"Someone attacked the train and used an explosive spell!" the male sergeant said with a sour face, his eyes unconsciously glancing out the window, his expression clearly showing worry.

"The front of the train was blown up. The driver and the sales witch ran out to deal with the thugs, and it seems there was also a professor traveling to the school on the train... Let them handle things outside; we just need to stay calm and not cause them any trouble."

The male sergeant spoke with a resolute tone, as if trying to convince himself. He hurriedly jogged over, poking his face into the private room and shouting, "Don't panic, gather the wounded together..."

"No one in this compartment is injured," Owen said, his clear and calm voice instantly soothing. "How's the situation on the train?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious. The train completely derailed, and everyone was terrified. Some people were slightly injured, but nothing serious." The prefect hurried to the next compartment. "The Hogwarts Express carriages were protected by a cushioning spell to prevent people from hitting them in the event of an accident. But some people were still injured by flying luggage..."

He strained with all his might to push open the badly deformed sliding door of the next private room. A large, ginger-yellow cat darted out, stepping on his chest and leaping into the aisle. It tilted its head and glared at the person in the aisle with its gloomy and strange persimmon-like face.

"Ouch!" The male prefect was startled, clutching his chest and taking two steps back, bumping into the cracked windowpane. His back was soaked by the rain that had poured in.

"Crooked Hill!" Hermione's voice rang out from the box. A little witch with messy brown hair ran out of the box, hugged the big cat, and then apologized to the prefect.

"Is anyone injured inside?" the male class monitor asked in a rather unfriendly tone.

"Ron cut his arm, and Neville has a bruise on his forehead. I cast a healing spell on them, and it worked pretty well. But I'm not sure if they need to be checked again, since it's the first time I've used this spell on injured people..." Hermione said quickly.

After rattling off a long speech, she glanced out the car window and asked with a very serious expression, "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"Staying in the private room is the best help you can give." The male sergeant waved his hand impatiently, glanced into the private room, and hurried off to the next one.

"Reverie? My Reverie is gone!" Neville emerged from his compartment, a bruise on his left forehead. He'd just stepped out the door when a sudden flash of light outside the window blinded him, and he paused, realizing, "Is someone attacking the train outside?"

"Yes, I can't believe it, nothing like this has ever happened before..." Hermione frowned, putting down the large cat she was holding. She then noticed the two people on the other side, her expression slightly relaxed as she said, "Harry, Owen, thank goodness you're alright!"

"I don't know... nothing else will happen, right?" She bit her lip and looked at the flickering light outside, her hands clasped tightly together.

"Ah, I'll go check over at the front of the train." Harry was still worried about Sirius's safety. He turned and ran towards the front carriage.

"Harry! Don't make things worse..." Hermione called out, watching Harry run off quickly into the distance. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, drew her wand, and chased after him.

Neville glanced at Owen helplessly, but upon seeing Owen's slight smile, he seemed to be instantly filled with boundless courage, gripped his wand tightly, and followed.

Irving blinked, puzzled. "What does he mean?"

Watching the three figures disappear one after another, Owen shook his head. Truly worthy of Gryffindor.

"They...do they really think they can get involved?" Draco poked his head out of the compartment, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "Those are the villains who dared to bomb the Hogwarts Express!"

Daphne held Astoria's hand, her expression worried. She had to stay and watch over her sister.

"Just looking around the nearby carriages and casting a few spells when the opportunity arises could indeed be helpful," Owen said casually, stroking his chin. "However, it's obvious they're wasting their time. The people in the carriages closest to the battlefield are definitely in a hurry to get away from there, and Harry and the others won't be able to squeeze through anytime soon unless they run out of the carriage..."

"Uh, yes... that's what I think too." Draco nodded with a deep expression.

Owen toyed with his wand with his long, slender fingers, glanced out the car window, then suddenly snapped his fingers and called out, "Nyx."

A ball of black flame suddenly burst into flames in front of him, and Nyx flew out of the fire, landing steadily on his shoulder, tilting her head and looking at him with her bright red eyes.

Owen reached out and stroked its warm feathers, saying softly, "Nyx, could you check the situation outside for me? In a crisis, you could cause some trouble for the enemy... Hmm, you know which side you should mess with, right?"

Nyx gave him a disdainful look, then flapped its wings eagerly and flew out through the open carriage door. Heavy rain lashed against its body, sliding down its glossy feathers without missing a drop, yet the phoenix's graceful figure remained light and agile in the rain.

"That's... Nyx?" Draco's expression turned indescribable again. Was this the stinky bird that only wanted to burn his homework all day?

Owen smiled, then suddenly extinguished the light at the tip of his wand and extended it through the broken hole in the car window. A thick cloud of black mist erupted from the wand's tip, coalescing into an ominous, dark shadow.

The extreme cold and darkness flashed by in an instant, and the figure of the Black Demon Guardian blended perfectly into the dark rain curtain, silently slipping away into the distance.

"Hiss—why did I feel like I was about to freeze solid?" Draco shivered, pulling his collar tighter. "Why did you suddenly turn off the Illumination Charm?"

Daphne gripped her sister's hand tightly, the two sisters huddling together for warmth. She lit her wand, her hair standing on end, and said seriously, "I felt it too, a very dangerous feeling just now… Could the attackers have come?"

"I didn't feel anything. It's probably just your imagination," Owen said calmly as he returned to the carriage, sat down quietly, and murmured.

"Really?" Draco looked around suspiciously.

Owen slowly closed his eyes, his vision following the Black Mage's gaze to the distance. Through a distorted perspective, reduced to only black, white, and gray, he saw the battle unfolding before him.

……

The strong wind blew the rain straight into people's eyes, and the raindrops that fell on their bodies had a bone-chilling cold.

Sirius Black jumped out of the carriage and saw the red Hogwarts Express lying twisted and contorted on the desolate field, like a dying serpent.

"Waterproof and moisture-proof," he chanted a waterproof spell to himself, so that the rain wouldn't obstruct his vision. Then he looked up and glanced into the distance, seeing a flash of light coming from the carriages near the locomotive.

He sprinted through the mud and water toward the area where the light was shining, and soon heard a maniacal laugh mixed with the sound of rain. The familiar, hoarse voice made his face turn ashen.

"Bellatrix," he growled through gritted teeth.

He quickly arrived nearby and saw the situation clearly.

The locomotive, severely deformed from being hit head-on by the blasting spell, overturned beside the tracks, billowing thick smoke. The middle-aged, balding train driver, with a long wound on his forehead, was teaming up with a short, plump saleswoman to fend off an attack from three wizards shrouded in black robes.

Excluding the students on the train, besides Sirius Black who had impulsively boarded the train, the driver and the shopkeeper witch were the only adult wizards on the Hogwarts Express. Faced with an attack from three people, and with the driver also injured, they were overwhelmed and powerless to stop the remaining two attackers from targeting the other carriages.

Scorching beams of light unleashed invisible shockwaves, pushing aside the surrounding rain. The driver and the sales witch stood in front of the nearest carriage, anxiously sending out distress signals while simultaneously launching a fierce attack on the enemy.

The remaining two attackers openly displayed their faces. The tall woman with curly black hair laughed loudly and pointed her wand at the carriage behind the class monitor's car. The short man followed behind her somewhat timidly, his watery eyes darting around nervously.

"My little ones, tell me which carriage Harry Potter is in?" The tall woman tilted her head, looking excitedly at the group of young wizards screaming and crying, huddled together, desperately trying to escape to the carriages behind.

"I'll count to three, and if I still don't hear a response by then, I'll blow you all up, along with the train car." She grinned arrogantly.

Percy Weasley, the president of the boys' council, and several prefects were also in the carriage. They raised their wands with grim expressions, only to be jostled and pushed about by the students. Several spells shot out of the window, landing crookedly near the woman's feet, thoroughly enraging her.

"What a bunch of bad kids. Bad kids need to be punished..." The woman licked her upper lip with the tip of her tongue, her expression ferocious as she shouted towards the carriage, "Thunderous explosion!"

"Protect yourself!" Sirius, arriving just in time, and Percy, still in the carriage, cast the spell together. The golden-red beam of light was deflected to the side, blasting a large crater in the muddy ground with a deafening roar.

"Bellatrix, Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius roared hoarsely, his eyes flashing with furious fire.

"Isn't this my dear cousin?" Bellatrix shrieked. "Are you still going to school with babies on this train? Do you want your best friend to breastfeed you?" She gave the short man beside her a cold look.

Peter Pettigrew, looking noticeably thinner and more haggard, suddenly shrank back, appearing panicked, and glanced away, avoiding Sirius's gaze. But he raised his wand, aiming it at Sirius.

Sirius looked at them with disgust, having no interest in speaking to them. He simply retaliated with an explosive spell: "Thunder Explosion!"

Another deafening explosion followed, and a fierce flame erupted on the ground in front of the two men, burning stubbornly despite the torrential rain. Neither of their opponents was injured, but the shockwave and debris from the explosion forced them to move away from the carriages ahead.

"Shatter to pieces!" Sirius dispersed the flames and chased after them, shouting the spell at the most threatening Bellatrix.

Bellatrix and Peter Pettigrew quickly retaliated. The battle quickly escalated into a fierce struggle, their wands swirling and slashing, various spells flying everywhere.

The situation on the train was much better. Percy, along with several prefects, was casting spells at the three men in black robes who were attacking the driver and the witch, forcing them into a retreat.

As the battlefield receded further from the train, Sirius bravely fought two opponents, but was quickly forced into a defensive posture. He had to spend most of his time on defense, only occasionally managing to launch a counterattack. And once Bellatrix abandoned his toy-to-play approach, his situation became increasingly perilous.

A barrage of deadly spells rained down upon Sirius, forcing him to desperately duck behind a large rock to fire spells at his opponent under cover, trying to buy as much time as possible.

After he suddenly unleashed a bright white arrow of light at Peter Pettigrew, the spell vanished along with the opponent's defensive spell. At that moment, a dark flame flew from behind Peter Pettigrew and landed on his back before he could defend himself.

The scorching flames leaped up on Peter Pettigrew's robe, showing no sign of weakening despite the pouring rain. Peter Pettigrew jumped up, screaming in pain from the heat.

He desperately cast extinguishing spells on himself, but to little avail. The flames dimmed slightly, yet stubbornly burned on his robes, scorching a blackened hole in his back, the flames licking his skin. The curse accompanying the fire seeped into his body through his skin, driving him to the brink of madness with agony.

Sirius was good at seizing opportunities. He took the chance to jump up from behind the rock, and swung his wand rapidly like a fencing sword, unleashing a series of spells at Bellatrix.

"Your spells are as weak and feeble as those of an unweaned baby, Sirius." Bellatrix paid no attention to Peter Pettigrew's condition. She mocked and ridiculed him while maintaining a tight defense, even managing to cast a Killing Curse on Sirius when she had a moment. Sirius rolled away to dodge, and the two engaged in a fierce, evenly matched battle.

Nyx stood on a tree branch, peeking out from the leaves to watch the scene from afar. Seeing Peter Pettigrew screaming and rolling on the ground in a pathetic state, it chuckled to itself, feeling smug about its perfectly timed burst of fire.

The Dark Guardian floated lightly to Nyx's side, his tall top hat slightly raised, revealing a mocking white mouth. His black-and-white vision, unaffected by the rain and darkness, faithfully transmitted the scene to Owen.

Immediately afterward, Owen's cold voice came from among the Dark Guards: "Nyx, set a large fire to separate Sirius from them and block his view. I'll deal with Bellatrix..."

He knew Bellatrix was a reckless madwoman, but he still underestimated her audacity. This time she dared to overturn the Hogwarts Express, completely disregarding the many students inside; who knew what other crazy things she might do next?

So Irving planned to take this opportunity to kill Bellatrix here, to avoid future trouble. Leaving such a crazy woman out there was just too dangerous and too uncontrollable.

Nyx let out a light cry and was about to flap its wings and fly away when it suddenly looked up at the sky.

Before we knew it, the sky grew darker and darker, until we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. The rain became increasingly cold and biting, as if it had been quenched with ice, and felt like sharp blades scraping against our skin. A thick, gray fog rose up around us.

Owen, controlling the Dark Guardian, looked towards the distant sky. In the black and white world, he could clearly see dozens of shadowy figures flying in from the horizon, looking like tall figures wearing long black cloaks.

They glided erratically toward us, making the surrounding air seem to freeze, and the sounds of wind and rain seem to cease.

Peter Pettigrew, who had finally managed to shake off his burning robe, screamed in terror and then Apparated away with a "snap."

Bellatrix cursed angrily, glaring maliciously at Sirius, and said, "Enjoy your last moments!"

Before Sirius's spell could strike her, she had vanished without a trace.

"Heh, they've come at just the right time," Owen said casually. "Let's go back. We're no longer needed here." With that, the Black Demon Guards dissipated into a cloud of black mist and disappeared into the vast rain.

Nyx clicked its beak in dissatisfaction, then spread its wings and merged into a cluster of flames. (End of Chapter)