A certain broken Hogwarts

The surroundings seemed to grow incredibly cold, and the feeling of being watched was tangible, like the sharp edge of a blade. As the shadow drew closer, alarm bells rang uncontrollably in Owen's mind.

A strange thing suddenly appeared in the Requirement Room, which should have been empty except for him. It certainly wasn't there for a friendly visit.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Owen took two steps back before maneuvering the Dark Guardian without hesitation to rush forward.

The shadowy figure in the top hat, its long, flowing cape trailing behind it, swooped down towards the dark shadow. In the black-and-white vision of the Black Demon Guardian, the shadow's inky blackness appeared particularly intense, like a black hole that had collapsed into the floor. It moved swiftly and lightly atop the shadow, inserting its half-formed body of black mist into the floor, but surprisingly found no target to attack.

The Black Demon Guardian circled the shadowy figure again, its chilling black mist probing the surrounding air, but it failed to detect any invisible enemies.

The black dog's shadow raised its head, seemingly looking at the Black Demon Guard with curiosity, and then raised a huge paw to poke at it.

Although its flat body imprinted on the carpet could not touch the shadow flying in mid-air, a corner of the Black Demon Guardian's cloak was silently torn apart, leaving a ferocious claw mark on the broken surface.

Owen quickly maneuvered his Black Demon Guard away from the area. It was the first time he had ever heard of something that the Black Demon Guard couldn't attack but could instead injure it. Seeing the damaged cloak wrapped in wisps of black mist and quickly restored to its original state, Owen breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his heart was filled with even more solemnity and curiosity.

Looks like he'll have to focus on dealing with this thing. As for Harry... well, good luck to him.

At this moment, the enormous black shadow strode towards him again, exuding an air of confident composure. A vast expanse of shadow enveloped him, making it seem as if a colossal beast was slowly and deliberately approaching its prey.

"Do shadows...fear light?" Owen asked as he steadily backed away, waving his wand and emitting a blinding light.

The bright white light bathed the room in a blinding white glow. Nyx kept his eyes tightly shut, but the large dog's shadow remained there like the most stubborn stain, its color appearing even deeper against the white light.

It paused only briefly before continuing its steady advance towards Irving, the oppressive aura surging even stronger.

"Not afraid of light..." Owen frowned, his mind racing with various thoughts. "It can attack Black Mage Guardians with soul-like properties, which means its methods can target souls. Could it be some kind of evil spirit?"

Thinking this, Owen coldly chanted a soul-destroying spell at the shadowy figure: "Stun!"

The red beam of light struck the shadowy figure directly, but only scorched a piece of carpet; the figure remained unaffected.

"Even a soul attack can't harm it?" Owen, skeptical, cast a killing spell. A blinding green light filled the entire room, but aside from blasting a charred crater in place, it had no effect whatsoever, and a burnt stench permeated the surroundings.

"Is there really no solution? Is running away the only option?" Owen thought calmly.

He could have Nyx teleport him away, but firstly, he wasn't sure if the shadowy figure could catch up, since it had suddenly appeared in the Room of Requirement. Secondly, he didn't know if the shadowy figure would attack him again in a few days. If he couldn't deal with it or find its weakness now, the shadowy figure's sudden attacks would catch him completely off guard.

"I still don't quite believe there's anything that even a soul spell can't deal with." Watching the dark figure draw closer, Owen's expression was calm and indifferent, his black eyes filled with an inorganic detachment and emptiness. "The soul is the most essential thing for countless beings in the world."

"Wait, the shadow! Could it be... that this isn't its true form?" A glint of light suddenly flashed in Owen's increasingly deep pupils.

He quickly scanned the small room, trying to find the strange object projecting the dark shadow, but still found nothing. He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers with a "snap," and a ring of black flames rapidly spread out from him, instantly engulfing everything in the room.

He manipulated the flames, scorching everything in the room, trying to burn them along with anything illogical that might be lurking in some dark corner. The black flames roared, engulfing everything and obscuring the shadowy figure.

Irving stood amidst the raging flames, like a handsome god rising above the fire. The black flames devoured everything, yet not even the hem of his clothes burned away.

Nyx flew onto his shoulder, scanning its surroundings warily. It had already sensed the danger through telepathic communication with Owen.

Owen frowned; the fact that he couldn't see the dark figure made him uneasy. He waved his hand lightly in the direction of the shadow, and the flames suddenly parted to both sides, as if cleaved by a giant cleaver.

However, the dark figure was no longer there.

"Disappeared?" Owen quickly shifted his position, his eyes darting around as he carefully scanned his surroundings. "Did they leave, or are they hiding somewhere?"

He didn't think he had solved the thing, because his flames didn't give the feeling of burning something special.

Once the flames had scorched everything flammable, Owen pressed down with his left hand, and the raging fire instantly extinguished. Thick, choking smoke filled the air, and some wreckage, glowing red from the heat, flickered in the darkness.

A strong sense of crisis washed over him once again. Owen instantly lit his wand and quickly looked around. Only then did he see that the giant dog-like black shadow had somehow quietly imprinted itself on the charred wall and was lunging towards Owen's slender shadow, which was also obliquely reflected on the wall.

The sharp, massive claws were only inches away from Owen's transformed shadow, almost touching his long, thin neck. At the same time, Owen felt a chill run down his neck, as if a sharp knife was pressed against it.

"A shadow?" Owen's eyes widened slightly in realization. "I must not let it touch my shadow!" The alarm bells ringing in his mind told him that if the shadow attacked his own shadow, something terrible would happen.

Just as the giant claw was about to strike, he twisted his waist and dodged to the side with extreme agility and flexibility, his movements so fluid and beautiful that they resembled a spectacular acrobatic performance.

Seeing the relentless pursuit of the shadowy figure, Owen narrowed his eyes, and his body instantly dispersed, transforming into billowing black flames that drifted away.

The light in the room vanished in an instant, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness. Owen, embodied in black flames, hovered in mid-air, his eyes observing everything in the darkness through the Black Demon Guard's unhindered vision.

At this moment, he, who had transformed into black flames, had vanished without a trace.

He saw the shadow of the giant black dog stop on the wall, seemingly having lost its target. It turned its head somewhat blankly, circling around the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"It can't find me? It really works..." Owen silently observed its movements, mentally assessing the thing's abilities. "It seems it can attack me through my shadow... So, can I attack it through my shadow?"

He tried to quickly enter a wall-facing space, hoping to copy the shadowy figure in for study, but he couldn't find the target no matter what he did.

"I was right after all; its true form isn't here," Owen thought after returning to reality. "Perhaps it's far away, or perhaps it's not even a real physical entity, but rather a manifestation of some kind of curse?"

Just as he was pondering, the large, dark dog suddenly stopped. It opened its enormous mouth, revealing sharp, long, menacing fangs, and two points of red light, like eerie red flames, suddenly appeared where its eyes should have been.

Owen, transformed into black flames, suddenly felt a chilling, malevolent aura invade his body, as if a giant vampire bat had bitten his neck, greedily draining his life force from his veins. But in an instant, a blurry black shadow appeared behind him, opened its arms to a certain place, and then vanished without a trace along with that chilling aura.

"Revenge? Curse?" Under the flight spell, Owen's mind was cold and calm. He silently watched the large black dog shadow become dazed, and then turn into wisps of smoke and disappear.

"It tried to curse me, but it was backfired on by Shadow Vengeance," Owen thought calmly. Shadow Vengeance is a dark magic specifically designed to counter curses, and it had helped him ward off Voldemort's curse last year.

"As expected..." After floating under the ceiling for a while, he transformed back into human form and landed on the ground, a mocking and cold smile on his lips. "There's nothing ominous about it, it's just something man-made."

"So... could it be the Death Chase?" He toyed with his wand, clearing the thick smoke from the room, his eyes lowered.

The charred room around him transformed rapidly. The blackened carpet and wallpaper disappeared silently, replaced by brand-new, dark green carpet and brownish-green wallpaper. A perfectly intact four-poster bed appeared in its place, followed by a wardrobe, a desk, an armchair… The fireplace shone brightly once more, its firewood burning with a warm flame.

Irving took a breath of the fresh air and glanced angrily at his desk, where the books that had been there were gone.

Fortunately, there were no valuable items in the room. Apart from the few books that had long been copied into the wall space, only his robes were burned.

"Tsk, this is really annoying." His lips were pressed tightly together, and his dark, misty eyes looked at Nyx. "Take me to Harry, Nyx. The spell I left on him tells me he's not dead..."

Nyx clicked her tongue, thinking that Owen in this state was not to be trifled with. She grabbed Owen's shoulder with her paw and disappeared into a ball of black flames with him.

……

Harry was being carried away by spiders into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. The sprawling branches scratched his exposed cheeks and neck, causing a burning pain that told him his skin must have been cut open.

His right wrist, gripped by the giant claws, throbbed with pain as if it were broken. His right hand was almost completely numb, preventing him from aiming his wand at the eight-eyed giant spider. Being held upside down, head down, also made him feel dizzy and disoriented.

Hagrid's voice was no longer audible. He knew Hagrid must be anxiously searching for him, but the Forbidden Forest was too dark and the trees too dense as night approached.

Harry knew he had to find a way to escape. The giant spider that had caught him might stop and enjoy its prey at any time, and Peter Pettigrew might be lurking nearby.

He tried to reach for his wand with his left hand, but the large black pincers gripping his right wrist pulled his arm straight out, and his waist was tightly restrained by two long, hairy legs, making it very difficult for him to reach his wand.

Harry gritted his teeth and struggled to loosen the hand holding the wand, allowing his stiff fingers to slowly loosen, and the wand slipped from his grasp and fell straight down.

But the wand didn't fall to the ground; instead, it circled halfway in mid-air and hung beside his cheek, swaying with him. In the dim light, one could vaguely see a thin chain attached to the end of the wand, with an exquisite clasp hanging from his robe.

Ha gripped his wand tightly with his left hand, silently thanking Owen for the chain. It was a birthday present he'd received this summer, a way to attach the wand to his robes and prevent it from being accidentally lost or disarmed. Of course, according to Owen, a powerful wizard could easily break it with a disarming charm.

Harry squinted through the dense foliage at the eight-eyed spider, raised his wand to its soft underside, and growled, "Strangle!"

A bright red light pierced the darkness of the Forbidden Forest, bringing a glimmer of hope. The giant spider, struck and writhing, lay sprawled on the leaf-strewn ground, while Harry was thrown off, tumbling and rolling down a bushy slope.

Harry hissed as he got up. He felt that his right wrist was really broken, and there were several bloody cuts on his body. He looked at his right wrist; the wound where the spider's large black pincers had gripped him was deep enough to expose the bone, and it looked gruesome and terrifying.

He gritted his teeth and chanted a healing spell, which slowly stopped the bleeding from his wound. However, he was still not proficient in the healing spell, and this was the best he could do.

He limped a couple of steps to the side, pondering whether to set off a spark into the sky to signal Hagrid's location. But doing so might attract the enemy.

He reached his left hand into his pocket, intending to pull out his invisibility cloak, but then he heard a rustling sound coming from the jungle beside him again. It didn't sound like the giant eight-eyed spider crawling, because it wasn't accompanied by that loud clicking sound.

It sounded more like human footsteps...

Having just grasped this, Harry, guided by a sudden premonition, lunged to the side without hesitation. A flash of red light streaked past, passing directly through the spot where he had just been standing, igniting a cluster of flowering bushes behind him.

Harry cast a Stunning Charm with his backhand, but not being used to using his left hand, his aim was off. By the light of the spell, he could make out the small figure.

"Peter Pettigrew," he gritted his teeth, his eyes darting around before finally settling on a thick, large tree to the side.

Peter Pettigrew stared intently at him, his clothes disheveled, covered in tangled grass and dirt, and he looked extremely haggard.

"What a coincidence, isn't it, Harry?" Peter Pettigrew said in a sharp, urgent voice, suddenly firing another bright white beam of light.

"Protect yourself!" Harry, as if anticipating it, blocked the attack, then rolled precisely behind the large tree. Sensing Nagini's location, he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and donned it, while simultaneously stalling for time: "Did you send those giant eight-eyed spiders there?"

"Yes, those beasts are violent by nature. A few Frenzy Charms are all it takes to make them go berserk and attack any living thing in front of them..." Peter Pettigrew said breathlessly, a sinister expression on his face, as he unleashed a golden-red flash of light at the tree that Harry was using as cover.

The tree trunk struck by the spell exploded with a deafening roar, flames shooting into the sky and thick smoke billowing out, obscuring the sun.

Although Harry managed to cast the Iron Mantle in time, he was still thrown back by the shockwave of the explosion, rolling several times on the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves. He clung tightly to his Invisibility Cloak and managed to put it on.

After the deafening explosions subsided, Peter Pettigrew's voice could be faintly heard: "...it just took me quite a while to drive them away."

Harry, gritting his teeth against the pain, got up and moved to a different spot, suppressing his rapid breathing. He hid in the darkness, silently watching his prey. He felt the hunter and prey roles should be reversed; he wanted to seize this opportunity to catch Peter Pettigrew!

"But how do we prevent him from turning into a rat and escaping?" Harry glanced around. There were bushes and thickets everywhere, with a thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, an environment that would be perfect for a rat to hide and run away.

By this time, Peter Pettigrew had already noticed that Harry was missing. He shouted "Appear!" in an attempt to find Harry's location, but Harry's invisibility cloak was not broken by his revealing spell.

"Oh, I see. You're still wearing your father's Invisibility Cloak, Harry?" Peter Pettigrew grew anxious, listening intently to the sounds around him, his eyes darting back and forth in the direction Harry had been taken. He knew he didn't have much time left; Hagrid would be here soon.

He gasped for breath and began casting spells haphazardly around him. The ground was blasted into craters, fallen leaves and dirt flew everywhere, and the smell of burning trees and rotting branches mingled with the rising dust and sparks.

Harry carefully dodged the barrage of attacks, muttering the Armor Charm to himself. Seeing Peter Pettigrew's eyes begin to dart around, Harry realized the guy was trying to escape.

He gritted his teeth, hid himself behind a small mound, and suddenly swung his wand, casting a spell at the other party, thus revealing his position.

As expected, the spell was blocked. Peter Pettigrew quickly looked in the direction from which the spell came and blew up the mound with his wand.

Harry stumbled backward, but the Barrier Charm that followed hindered his movements, causing him to stumble and fall to the side, his injured right wrist making a "crack" sound.

He gritted his teeth and rolled twice, barely dodging the subsequent attacks, a slight smile appearing on his face. He stared at Peter Pettigrew, his fingers tightening around his wand; for the first time, he found the Ironclad Charm incredibly annoying.

"I have to break his defenses..." Harry slammed his wand into the ground, pointed it at the small man, and deliberately shouted, "Crunch in the Heart!"

He remembered Owen once describing this spell to him: the Cruciatus Curse wasn't just for tormenting people; in wizard duels, it was also a very useful control spell. It could easily penetrate the defenses of the Ironclad Curse, and the extreme pain it caused instantly could break an enemy's will, becoming the key to victory…

But Irving also told him that his malice wasn't enough to unleash a proper Cruciatus Curse.

However, Harry felt that this was enough.

A dim red light flew from the tip of his wand. Even though he deeply hated Peter Pettigrew, Harry's Crucifixion Curse still seemed weak and powerless.

Hearing Harry's loud shout, Peter Pettigrew stared wide-eyed in surprise and fear. When he saw a beam of red light shooting towards him, he instinctively lunged to the side.

"Shatter to pieces!" The spell Harry really wanted to unleash was aimed directly at the opponent, but it was deflected by the Ironclad Charm, shattering a large tree and dispelling the defensive charm on Peter Pettigrew.

"Now, Nagini!" Harry hissed as Peter Pettigrew collapsed to the ground.

Without his command, the giant snake, which was in perfect harmony with Harry, suddenly sprang out from under the thick layer of dead leaves, opened its jaws, and lunged to bite Peter Pettigrew.

Peter Pettigrew screamed and tried his best to turn his body away, but he couldn't completely dodge. The giant snake, which had been gathering its strength, bit down hard on his right calf and coiled its powerful body around him.

Harry's spell followed immediately, and with a piercing scream, Peter Pettigrew began to shrink rapidly. His suddenly shrunken body broke free from the snake's mouth, avoiding Harry's spell. A mouse fell among the low bushes and thick layers of dead leaves, disappearing in an instant.

"Grab him, Nagini!" Harry, ignoring the pain all over his body, rushed over. "Where is he hiding? Whirlwind!"

The fallen leaves on the ground were stirred up and flew everywhere, but it was too dark for him to see clearly.

But Nagini had already lunged in one direction. The injured Peter Pettigrew was bleeding profusely, but he could smell the other's scent.

Harry chased after him, but the invisibility cloak he was wearing interfered with his movements. He ripped it off and carried it behind him, like a shimmering silver stream.

The squeaking of the mice grew closer, then suddenly turned a corner ahead. Harry chased after them relentlessly, with Nagini right beside him.

whoosh-

A gleaming silver arrow shot out from the forest, striking Nagini with perfect accuracy. The sharp arrowhead grazed the snake's smooth, hard scales, leaving a shallow wound.

"Hiss—" Nagini cried out in pain, coiling up her body and glaring fiercely at the direction from which the arrow had flown with her cold, snake-like eyes.

"Nagini!" Harry exclaimed, raising his wand and pointing it in that direction, wondering if Bellatrix was there too?

Muffled footsteps came from the darkness, and a figure emerged from the pitch blackness, looking at him with a confused and melancholy gaze.

Harry was stunned. The figure before him was human from the waist up, with platinum blonde hair and azure eyes, but the lower body was that of a silver-white horse, its beautiful silver mane gleaming slightly.

"A centaur?" Harry asked tentatively. He glanced resentfully in the direction Peter Pettigrew had fled; the creature had completely vanished.

"You want to cast a spell on me?" The centaur looked at him with sapphire-like eyes and said sadly. He held a bow and arrow in his hand, and it was clear that he was the one who had shot the arrow earlier.

"You shot Nagini," Harry said, still on guard.

"Excuse me, are you talking about this python?" The centaur paused, then said, "I saw it chasing you..."

Upon discovering the unusually harmonious relationship between the human and the snake, the centaur's expression turned guilty and bewildered: "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were together... Is it your friend?"

"Yes," Harry said, somewhat annoyed. He took a deep breath, cast a healing spell on Nagini, and calmed it down for a while before it stopped trying to attack the centaur.

The centaur lowered his head and moved closer, pulling out a piece of white medicinal herb and handing it to him, saying, "Apply this to the wound; it will heal quickly. I'm sorry, I seem to have disturbed your important business?"

Harry gave a somewhat stiff thank you, took the medicine and applied it to Nagini, then cast a glowing spell and carefully searched for any traces left by Peter Pettigrew, successfully finding a few bloodstains on the dead leaves.

Nagini stared coldly at the centaur for a moment, then suddenly darted over and lingered in front of a pile of stones not far away.

Harry followed and searched the area, finding a small hole left by some unknown creature in a crevice in the rocks. A few drops of blood were dripping from the hole, indicating that Peter Pettigrew had crawled underground through it.

"He got away again." Harry collapsed to the side, exhausted, only then realizing that his whole body ached.

Sensing his resentment and frustration, Nagini hissed and called to the surrounding snakes, urging them to burrow into the narrow opening to search for Peter Pettigrew's whereabouts.

Harry waited there, grimacing, but his anger towards the centaurs had subsided considerably. Since there was a rat hole so close by, he and Nagini probably wouldn't have been able to catch up even without the centaurs' interference. Besides, the centaurs' initial intention was to save him, but they had only done more harm than good.

The centaur beside him was helplessly pawing at the ground with his hooves, his young face looking even more melancholy. His gaze kept glancing at Harry, lingering especially long on the distinct and prominent scar on his forehead.

"Um, anyway, thank you for your kindness." Harry coughed lightly, breaking the awkward silence first.

"I'm sorry to have ruined your plans," said the centaur. "You're injured. Let me take you out of the Forbidden Forest. Can you ride a horse?"

"My name is Ferencze," he added.

"I am Harry Potter," Harry said.

"I know you're the Potter boy." Ferrenze's gaze swept over Harry's forehead again, then he stared intently into Harry's emerald green eyes with his strikingly blue ones. "I can see that in the starry sky of destiny, you are the brightest star."

Hearing what sounded like praise and flattery, Harry didn't know what to say and just nodded stiffly.

A small, spotted snake poked its head out of the hole and hissed at him and Nagini, "That rat left through the other exit; we can't smell its scent anymore..."

They lost track of him, as expected. Clearly, Peter Pettigrew knew how to erase his tracks and scent… Harry, who hadn't held out much hope, sighed and hissed his thanks, “Thank you for your help.”

"Are you chasing the criminal from last night?" Ferenze asked.

"Yes, we've lost them," Harry said.

"I'm sorry," Ferenz said, looking up at the stars. "I'll take you back; the Forbidden Forest isn't safe at night." With that, he bent down on his front legs, lowered his body, and let Harry ride on his back.

"Oh, thank you." Harry gave Nagini a few instructions, then checked its wounds. Seeing that the wounds were beginning to heal, he felt relieved and climbed onto Ferrenze's horse.

The centaur carried Harry away into the depths of the jungle. Nagini stared hatefully at the silver figure for a long time before summoning the surrounding snakes to continue searching for Peter Pettigrew.

The moon has risen, casting its pale silver light through the gaps in the lush foliage, leaving dappled silver spots on the ground covered with fallen leaves.

Owen stood on a higher mound, leaning against a tree, watching Harry's figure disappear into the depths of the forest with a faint smile on his face. Nyx stood on a high branch, patiently preening her feathers.

"Harry did a pretty good job," Owen chuckled lazily.

He slightly curled the index finger of his left hand, on which was tied a thin, shimmering gold thread. The thread hung straight down, its end bound to a fat, unconscious rat.

Actually, he had already arrived when Harry was fighting Peter Pettigrew, and had been watching Harry's actions from the shadows. Seeing how energetically Harry was jumping around, he felt at ease not to interfere.

Owen felt that Harry should be given a chance to train, not just watching the show with great interest.

After Peter Pettigrew escaped into the cave, he then manipulated the Dark Guard to drag him out.

"So, what should I do with you?"

Owen shook the rat hanging in mid-air, a pleased and playful smile spreading across his face. (End of Chapter)