A certain broken Hogwarts

The ornate oak door opened and closed quietly, plunging the principal's office into silence, with only the faint sounds of the strange silverware emanating from it.

Irving sat upright in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed with displeasure, silently observing the old man opposite him.

"Let me protect Harry... that doesn't sound like something you'd say, sir." After a moment, he spoke first, his expression innocent yet surprised. Wasn't it agreed that the fledgling would experience the storms of life on its own?

The headmaster, with his hands clasped on the table, gave a barely perceptible smile and said unhurriedly, "Ah, Severus just came and made a deal with me, asking me to protect Harry's safety."

"So you just handed this task over to me?" Owen raised his eyebrows, both amused and annoyed. Could this kind of thing really be subcontracted layer by layer?

"I believe you are the most suitable candidate," the headmaster said calmly, his eyes half-closed. "As Harry's friend, you are the most suitable and capable of protecting him."

"Besides, I know you have a time converter. Although that little gadget has many limitations, it's perfect for managing time," he said slowly.

Owen maintained his excellent manners and said politely, "Don't you think, sir, that I would be more useful than a bodyguard?"

"I have no doubt about that, Owen." The headmaster suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze bright and clear. "But if you can't even complete this task, how can I entrust you with anything more important?"

"And you can choose other ways to accomplish this task, such as addressing the threat at its source," he said slowly.

"Easy for you to say, why don't you drag them out and let me kill them for you..." Owen muttered to himself playfully. After considering for a moment, he said truthfully, "In fact, I'm in trouble now, sir. I'm being targeted by a powerful organization, and I could face assassination attempts at any time. Sometimes I can't even protect myself."

"Oh? What organization?" the principal asked with interest.

"The Extinction Society, have you ever heard of that name?" Owen said softly.

"No." The principal shook his head slightly, waiting with great interest for his explanation.

"I don't know much about this organization, except that it's a mysterious organization with influence throughout Europe, dedicated to exploring the mysteries of death..." Owen said calmly.

"Death..." The headmaster stroked the ring on his finger, sighing with an inscrutable expression. He quickly composed himself, staring into Owen's eyes and saying, "Then let me see your abilities, Owen."

It seems this trouble can't be avoided. Harry really is a troublemaker... Owen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded in agreement, as a way of repaying the headmaster for his hard work in answering his questions.

"I wonder what you want to tell me by having me stay here, sir?" He slightly shifted his posture, clasped his hands together, and casually changed the subject.

The headmaster turned to look at the pendant hanging next to the Sorting Hat and said with a smile, "You seem to have been quite interested in it ever since you came in?"

"Indeed. I'm quite surprised that you would hang it here so openly, sir," Owen said meaningfully.

"If it's just a symbol, it's nothing special. Although it was once the mark used by me and my allies, it's also an ancient rune representing the Deathly Hallows," the headmaster said casually, then a strange smile appeared on his face. "As long as the pendant's special nature isn't discovered by anyone else..."

He turned to look at Owen, his voice calm yet firm, and said, "This pendant can be used to summon my former allies. If that person is powerful enough, they can even use it to command those who are still willing to answer the call, because this pendant represents me."

Owen blinked, his mind instantly sharpening. Maintaining his perfect smile, he said softly, "I remember you made an unbreakable vow with Dumbledore, sir, to never again gather your followers?"

"Yes, that's true." The principal nodded, looking down at his clasped hands. "So it's no longer of any use to me... I hung it here just as a memento."

"Of course, things would get complicated if someone stole it from the principal's office." He shrugged with a half-smile. "But I don't think anyone can steal anything from me, right?"

Owen's lips twitched, and he nodded with a complicated expression, saying, "Exactly, sir."

You're just waiting for someone to steal it, aren't you!

No, since Grindelwald has clearly explained the pendant's special nature to me, then am I the one who should steal it? Or rather, one of the potential candidates?

Owen frowned slightly, increasingly confused about the man's intentions. Wasn't he afraid that once he gathered the Malay Party and gained control of its forces, it would spiral out of control, ruin his plans, or even turn against him?

Since Grindelwald has made an unbreakable vow, he will never interfere in the management of the shaman party, not even by supporting a puppet to indirectly control it! An unbreakable vow is not something that can be easily bypassed.

In other words, he could only entrust his former cronies entirely to another person, and he himself could not interfere.

Irving looked at the composed old man opposite him, wondering where the man got his confidence from, believing that others would continue to follow his will even after he had gained power.

"Sir, what exactly do you want to do?" Owen said softly, his voice ethereal and dreamlike, like a murmur in a sleep. "Do you really want to create a world where wizards and Muggles live in harmony and equality?"

This is very much against Grindelwald's wizarding supremacy, or has the other party changed his ideals during his decades of imprisonment? But Owen felt that he was not a person who would change his mind easily.

In response to Irving's question, the principal simply asked in return, "Do you think the two sides can coexist peacefully?"

Irving shook his head, his fingers tracing the edge of the table: "Without external enemies, I think it's difficult."

"Yes, it's impossible for wizards and Muggles to coexist peacefully." The headmaster's half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, his pupils seemingly burning with raging flames. "Either they stay out of each other's way, or one side dominates the other!"

He jumped up from his chair and paced behind his desk, his tone growing increasingly agitated: "But you understand, continuing to maintain a policy of non-interference and using secrecy laws to close off the wizarding world is a slow death for us! It has brought the development of the wizarding world to a standstill, turning it into a stagnant pool, and today it has almost completely fallen behind the Muggle world."

"More and more wizards are becoming dissatisfied with the constraints of the secrecy law. The more this idea is suppressed, the stronger the backlash will be. In the future, there will always be waves of wizards who want to break free from this cage, leading to fierce conflicts with the conservatives who are trying to maintain the status quo, causing the wizarding world to decline more and more due to internal strife."

"Think about it, how much manpower did the two previous wizarding wars consume, and how many ancient wizarding families were wiped out?" His voice lowered, yet it seemed to conceal an even more violent storm. "The wizarding world is scrambling internally, while the Muggle world is developing rapidly and changing every day. Their science is a miraculous and glorious power, just like magic."

"One day, when their technology reaches the point where they can detect the existence of the wizarding world, do you think the Muggles will be friendly and peaceful with us?" His voice suddenly rose. "No! They'll just use guns and cannons to blast open the wizarding world's closed gates!"

Owen's eyes flickered, acknowledging that this was highly likely. Of course, this was contingent on Muggles actually possessing the technology necessary to uncover the secrets of the wizarding world.

The headmaster stopped in his tracks, a cold smile playing on his lips: "By then, how much resistance can you expect from those complacent wizards?"

"Perhaps there will always be a group of elite wizards who can deter Muggles from doing anything more egregious, such as exterminating wizards or imprisoning them in laboratories. But how many wizards possess both exceptional magical abilities and the courage to wield their wands in battle?"

"At that time, wizards will inevitably become vassals of Muggles, subject to their constraints and control, perhaps even needing Muggle permission to carry a wand..." His azure eyes were cold and empty, as if he could see a glimpse of the future through the void before him. A fierce fire burned in those desolate eyes, as if to incinerate that future into ashes.

"Therefore, we must break the shackles binding us and overturn the secrecy laws that hang over every wizard's head!" he said decisively.

Irving nodded respectfully. He knew that all he needed to do now was listen.

The headmaster began pacing again, his wrinkled hands clasped behind his back, his back ramrod straight: "But when wizards openly appear before Muggles, do you really think it's possible for them to live in harmony?"

"Even if wizards are willing to coexist peacefully with Muggles, what will Muggles think when they discover that there is a group of people who possess amazing magical powers?" He paused, his expression growing even colder. "Jealousy, fear, and greed!"

"They're jealous of magic they could never possess in their lifetime, terrified by the wizards' incomprehensible power to even control minds, and greedy for the wondrous power they wield!" he said coldly. "The more they understand wizards, the more wary they become. Especially those Muggle high-ranking officials—how could they remain indifferent to a group that could easily break into their bedrooms and turn them into puppets with a single spell?"

"Perhaps we can maintain a semblance of peace at the beginning, but just a small spark will shatter this fragile balance." His lips twitched slightly. "After all, we can't control the behavior of every wizard, and we can't guarantee that some extreme, greedy, or Muggle-hating wizards won't cast spells on Muggles. Similarly, there are certainly no shortage of Muggles who want to completely destroy wizards."

"When the conflict fully erupts, even if the Muggles dare not openly target wizards like they did in the old witch hunts, they will resort to countless underhanded methods. The threatened wizards will also retaliate, and it is not impossible that they will take it upon themselves to use some more violent means, which will only make the conflict worse."

"And what we have to admit is that wizards have never been of one mind. They each have their own thoughts and demands, and they have always been a disorganized bunch." He suddenly gave a smile that seemed both helpless and sarcastic. "Some are close to Muggles, while others hate them. Many wizards have deep-seated grudges against each other... With just a little provocation, wizards will fall into division and internal strife."

"Then the struggle between wizards and Muggles will be endless." He narrowed his eyes. "Once hatred is ignited, it will continue until one side is destroyed, or both sides pay a heavy price."

The headmaster rested one hand on the back of his chair and sat down again opposite Owen, sighing softly, "I also once thought about creating a country within a country, a utopia that Muggles cannot enter, a place that belongs only to wizards, making it a special country in this world."

"But wizards don't exist independently of Muggles. We need to draw fresh blood from the Muggle world, and we have countless interactions with it..."

"As long as communication exists, it cannot stop the insidious schemes that seep into every corner. Even the strongest fortress will be breached from within." He tapped his slender fingers on the table, the black gem on the ring on his index finger gleaming with an eerie light. "If we cut off communication, what difference would it make from the present? It would just be another cage."

"Therefore, the only way out is for wizards to be above Muggles!" His eyes suddenly turned cold.

His voice drifted away, and the spacious, beautiful circular room fell silent once more. The old headmasters in the picture frame, each with a different expression, simultaneously opened their eyelids a crack, peering at them through the slit.

"That makes a lot of sense," Owen nodded earnestly. Although what the other person was saying was only one possibility for future development.

In his view, the future is always unpredictable, full of unexpected surprises and shocks, and even a prophet probably couldn't foresee everything. It is precisely this unknown future that keeps him curious and energetic, and forever filled with enthusiastic anticipation for tomorrow.

"So, sir, what exactly do you want to do?" he asked eagerly and excitedly, his dark eyes gleaming with intense light.

To be honest, Owen had reservations about wizards ruling Muggles, and he had little interest in such things. But now that he knew the headmaster's attitude, he had to adopt the appropriate posture to avoid the man suddenly turning against him.

The principal silently observed Owen's expression, his sharp gaze seemingly piercing through to the soul. After a long while, he nodded as if satisfied, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips: "If you want to know, then strive to become my successor."

"I will do my best, sir!" Owen said with unwavering determination, his tone so resolute that even he himself almost believed it.

The principal gazed intently at him and said slowly, "Our conversation tonight won't reach a third person, will it?"

"I will keep it a secret, sir." Under the invisible pressure of the gaze that seemed to have a physical presence, Owen's smile remained flawless.

He then said with a somewhat strange expression, "But, sir, why did you say those things to Harry earlier?"

The principal stared blankly to his right and said calmly, "I am not lying. Those who yearn for justice and fairness will naturally obtain the justice and peace they desire, and those who are wise and ambitious will also gain the status and glory they crave."

Seeing the other person's attitude, Owen knew it was time to leave. He said, "Well then, I think I should take my leave, sir."

The principal closed his eyes slightly and said succinctly, "The weekly Q&A sessions will continue as usual."

"Thank you very much, sir." Owen gave an elegant bow and left at a leisurely pace.

Once Irving's figure disappeared behind the oak door, the headmaster glanced at the emptiness to his right and said lazily, "What's the point of saying all this now? You just need to watch..."

Then he stroked the old magic wand, his brow furrowing deeply, as if he had encountered a very perplexing problem.

"What secrets do the Deathly Hallows hold?" he muttered to himself softly. "Something seems to be missing..."

His voice was drowned out by the rustling sounds that always lingered in the principal's office, like a distant sigh.

Irving stepped off the spiral staircase, glanced back at the ugly monster statue that had once again blocked the principal's office door, and took a deep breath.

He really didn't want to get involved in Grindelwald's messy affairs; it sounded like a lot of trouble.

But why is he suddenly being valued by Grindelwald? Did he overact too much? But what if he doesn't act and that guy turns on him?

"Grindelwald seems like a huge trap." Owen fiddled with a coin between his fingers, his brain working at lightning speed like the most sophisticated machine. "In any case, I need to gain some control over him first. I can't let him continue to treat me like a subordinate."

The source of initiative is nothing more than strength, status, and influence. In terms of strength, Owen is no match for Grindelwald, and it's unlikely he can catch up quickly; in terms of status, he's just an unknown student, far removed from Grindelwald's level; and in terms of influence, while the Shafik family has some power, it's still far from sufficient…

"Hmm, what should I do?" Owen clicked his tongue softly, this time he was really having a headache.

Grindelwald took Dumbledore's place, and things became unsolvable.

"What exactly does Mr. Grindelwald see in me? Can't I change it?" Owen's cheeks puffed up slightly, but he quickly curled up the corners of his mouth with interest, and his dark eyes flashed with an unpredictable light.

"However, it's also quite interesting; the joy of competing with others is endless." (End of Chapter)