A certain broken Hogwarts

After days of rain, Hogwarts finally welcomed a bright, sunny day. The brilliant sunlight dispelled the dampness and washed the gray sky into a clean blue.

It was time for the study group meeting again. The young wizards chattered excitedly about the difficulties they encountered in their studies, the top students answered others' questions diligently, and the veteran members actively helped the new members catch up. Overall, the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Neville was earnestly explaining the key points of the Iron Mantra to Ron, while Blaise even put aside his various interesting gadgets and enthusiastically started instructing Ginny and Luna. The two finally experienced what it felt like to be top students in front of the new members, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Even Draco, who is usually very critical, was impatiently correcting Astoria's wand-waving movements. Owen and Hermione even argued about a problem in arithmetic divination. In the end, the little witch lost herself in one profound mathematical question after another from Owen, and it seemed like her eyes were spinning with mosquito coils.

After the discussion session, the spell learning session began. This time, Harry picked out a spell that could keep people calm from the notebook Dumbledore had given him. He skillfully picked up the chalk and wrote and drew on the blackboard, explaining the principles of the spell to everyone, showing more and more of the demeanor of an experienced little teacher.

Owen, as usual, sat by the window, basking in the sun, and picked up a book he had borrowed from the library, "Death Omens: What to Do When You Know Doom Is Coming." The big black dog on the cover stared intently at the people around him with its bright eyes.

"...This spell allows us to regain our composure amidst anxiety, panic, and excitement. Maintaining a calm mind is extremely useful in exams, competitions, or duels." Harry meticulously recalled the words in his notes, adjusting his round-framed glasses with his index finger. "Uh, I'm not sure if using this spell on myself during exams or competitions would be against the rules..."

"However, it also has its drawbacks. If you cast this spell on yourself, it will be much more difficult to use spells that require emotional activation during the spell's duration, such as the Patronus Charm," Harry said, glancing at Owen intentionally or unintentionally. He felt that Owen sometimes might need to use this spell to clear his head.

Owen gave him a wry smile, completely exasperated by this guy who always wore his heart on his sleeve. He'd always suspected Harry might have some kind of superpower called "mind-reading"...

Soon, the group was practicing noisily. Harry couldn't keep Owen in check anymore; the classroom was in chaos, with all sorts of unexpected things happening, keeping him busy and exhausted.

Irving was engrossed in his book, seemingly oblivious to the noisy surroundings, as if he had isolated himself from the world. Sunlight streamed down his body, adding a touch of warmth to his aloofness and indifference.

Time flowed slowly by, the pages of the book in his hands turning one by one, the sun outside the window gradually setting. A clear, ethereal voice roused Owen from his reverie: "Do you also believe in that big dog called 'Ominous'?"

Owen looked up at Luna, who had sat down opposite him. The little witch ruffled her messy blonde hair, her light-colored eyes wide and fixed on the cover of the book in Owen's hand, like a child who had discovered something interesting.

"You've been sitting here for a while, and you look a little lonely." Luna turned to Owen, her voice light as a whisper. "I've almost finished practicing."

Owen curled his lips into a gentle smile and winked at her. "Do you believe this?" He snapped the book shut and waved the cover at Luna.

"Of course, I've always believed they're a solitary species, living in places where people haven't yet set foot." Luna stared at the black dog on the cover, her head bobbing up and down with Owen's movements as he shook the book. "I don't think they're intentionally trying to bring bad luck to people. Maybe they just want someone to play with them, but they don't realize it will hurt people."

"A very interesting insight," Owen said with a smile. "Indeed, for those mysterious and powerful creatures, even a mischievous prank could be a catastrophe for the humans around them."

He turned to look at the lush green grass outside the castle, his dark eyes like a calm, deep pool: "Throughout history, many have suffered misfortune after seeing 'ominous' signs, but if we don't count the unrecorded cases, it only happens about once every ten years on average. Such infrequent and irregular events at least suggest that they don't need to hunt humans to survive."

Luna tilted her head like a child listening to a fairy tale, her eyes clear and earnest.

"What would you do if you encountered them?" Owen tilted his head and looked at her quietly.

"I'm wearing the charm my dad made, so they won't be able to find me," Luna said in a voice as sweet as a bird's song. "Although I'd love to play with them, if they took me to their house, I wouldn't be able to go home. My dad would be sad."

"You've got a swarm of gnats around you, Owen." She suddenly raised her hand and slapped it hard in the air next to Owen's head, as if shooing away a swarm of invisible moths. "They'll fly up your ears and into your brain and make a mess of it."

"Really?" Owen chuckled and blinked, then looked down at the book in his hands. "I have been having some troubles lately."

"Because of 'ominous'? Are you being targeted by them?" Luna's usually hazy silver eyes showed concern.

"Who knows?" Irving said with a smile.

Luna stared at him seriously, then suddenly reached into her pocket with her right hand and pulled out a strange-looking bracelet.

It was made up of a wooden beer bottle stopper, two round red fruits, a golden leaf, and several oddly shaped seeds strung together. It looked bizarre and strange, yet strangely beautiful.

"This is for you." Luna handed it to Owen, her expression serious and earnest. "It's a talisman. If you wear it, bad luck won't bother you anymore."

"This is yours." Owen raised his eyebrows.

"I'll make a new one when I get back," Luna said, staring intently at him.

"Okay, thank you, Luna." Owen's smile brightened considerably.

He took the bracelet and examined it with great interest. Although he had doubts about its effectiveness, it was undoubtedly made with great care; the small fruits and leaves were engraved with delicate patterns, possessing a refined and wondrous beauty.

Irving put it on his wrist and shook it gently; the fruits on the bracelet made a soft clinking sound.

Luna nodded with a pure smile, a few strands of her messy blonde hair sticking up with her movement.

Irving's right hand twitched. He suppressed the urge to smooth the other person's hair, cleared his throat, and looked at the still-messy group, asking in a good mood, "Having a good time here?"

"That's great!" Luna nodded earnestly, her expression brightening. "I've made so many more friends, and everyone's so fun."

"That's good," Irving said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while about the creatures Luna firmly believed in, such as the harassing horsefly, the hooked stag, and the horned snorkeling beast. Luna seemed very interested when talking about them and even gave Owen a copy of "The Quibbler."

During this conversation, Irving's previously troubled mood turned cheerful, and he seemed to be glowing in the sunlight.

The young wizards nearby began practicing the Patronus Charm. Daphne came over, took Luna's hand, and led her aside. She didn't look up at Owen the entire time, only saying quietly, "I'll teach you the Patronus Charm, Luna."

Irving watched the two walk away into the distance, blinked slightly, shook his head with a smile, and then opened his book again.

"You seem to be reading this kind of book a lot lately?" Harry, finally having a moment to rest, sat down on a chair nearby and turned to look at the book in Owen's hand. "Ominous? You actually believe Trelawney's nonsense?"

After a period of divination classes, Harry, who was predicted to die in every class, had completely lost trust in Trelawney and regarded her as a charlatan who only talked nonsense.

"Actually, I'm being chased by a not-so-cute big dog," Irving said seriously.

"...Really?" Harry looked at him suspiciously. Perhaps it was Owen's relaxed and calm expression that made him unsure whether to believe him... In fact, he could never tell whether what Owen said was true or a joke.

"Really! A huge, vicious dog lurking in the shadows, no spell can directly harm it." Owen looked pitiful, almost on the verge of tears. "It will relentlessly hunt me down, trying to attack my shadow..."

Harry looked down at Owen's shadow cast obliquely on the floor, his expression becoming even more suspicious.

"If I get hit by the shadow, I'll die." Owen looked at his own shadow, making a dog's head shape with his hands, his mouth opening and closing as if to bite Harry's shadow. "Only the shadow can attack it, but it's incredibly strong and can teleport freely in the shadows..."

Harry was increasingly skeptical; he had never heard of such a bizarre thing existing. He watched Owen's convincing performance with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, feeling that the guy was playing him for a fool again.

He said dryly, "Then... be careful..."

"Ah, I've been very careful, but it just keeps bothering me," Owen said casually. "It's not too deadly for me, but it's very annoying."

Harry stared at him blankly for a moment, increasingly unsure whether it was real or not. His lips twitched, and he stood up, saying, "I'm going to practice my spells..."

Irving stopped reading and leaned back lazily in his chair, idly playing a deck of cards.

Through persistent practice, the members of the study group made rapid progress in the Guardian Charm. In just two weeks, apart from a few newcomers who had not yet made much progress, one after another, the veteran members summoned complete Guardian Charms.

Draco was the first person to summon his Patronus this semester, an elegant and beautiful white peacock. It spread its wings and strutted proudly, its large, black bean-sized eyes bright and flamboyant, its demeanor exactly like Draco's.

Draco was very dissatisfied with this, feeling a sense of disillusionment. He had always firmly believed that his Patronus would be a handsome and reliable serpent, or perhaps a fire-breathing dragon. But everyone else felt that his personality was more like a peacock's.

Hermione was never very good at spells that required evoking emotions, but she was diligent enough to summon her otter Patronus, who was as intelligent and agile as its owner.

Next, Blaise summoned a hedgehog guardian spirit, and Pansy succeeded as well. Neville summoned a large dog whose breed was indistinguishable, which looked as loyal and honest as its owner.

Amidst the cheers and jubilation of the crowd, Owen smoothly and elegantly played with the cards in his hand, squinting as he watched the silver-white guardian spirits fly merrily past him, his face expressionless.

As the setting sun painted the evening glow fiery red, people left in twos and threes, their faces showing a lingering sense of enjoyment.

Harry waved goodbye as Ginny reluctantly walked out of the classroom, then stretched his arms and let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't forget tonight's Quidditch practice, Harry," Draco casually reminded him.

"Hogsmeade Village!" Blaise muttered to himself. "One week left, I can't wait!"

Seeing the somewhat forlorn and envious look on Harry's face, he uttered an "uh" and said, "Don't worry, I'll bring you candy and fun little trinkets, Harry..."

"Thank you, Blaise." Harry smiled and changed the subject, "When will Crabbe and Goyle finally learn the Patronus Charm? Ginny and the others are learning faster than them..." He suddenly paused.

"Don't count on that." Draco glanced sideways at the two big, goofy guys whose minds were already on dinner. "You'd be better off hoping they can take down the Dementors with their fists... Hmm? Harry?"

He frowned at Harry, who stood there like a statue, and said slowly, "You look exactly like the two of them..."

Before he could finish speaking, Harry frantically touched his face, looked around at the people around him helplessly, and then covered his cheeks with his hands and screamed hysterically.

The piercing scream made the people around him take several steps back. Owen had already drawn his wand alertly, and then noticed the anomaly. He stared at him with amusement, a playful smile on his lips.

Draco asked with a look of disgust and suspicion, "What's wrong, Harry?"

"I'm not Harry!" Harry screamed, his cheeks turning a bright red, even his ears and the base of his neck. "I'm Ginny!"

Draco's mouth hung open, and Blaise stared blankly for a moment before bursting into maniacal laughter, clutching his stomach. Daphne's eyes widened in horror, and she began reciting the spell theory in a low voice once more.

Ginny's face flushed even redder, as if it were about to burn. She stumbled out the door, slamming into the doorframe with a loud thud. At the corner of the corridor, she knocked over a suit of armor, the deafening crash echoing throughout the entire floor.

"Truly, hearts in perfect harmony will resonate with each other." Owen suppressed a laugh, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons.

How so? When you're constantly thinking about someone who's not around, meeting them no longer seems like an impossible dream. And if that person is also thinking of you at the same time, then—you will become that person…

In response, Irving can only say it's very thoughtful, but thoughtful in a very skewed way. Aside from a few exceptionally bright individuals, who would want to become the person they long for?

A group of people walked out of the classroom chatting and laughing, and Harry and Ginny were nowhere to be seen when they sat down for dinner in the Great Hall. They had obviously gone to the school hospital.

Harry returned dejectedly the next day, avoiding looking at Ginny's face. Ginny's behavior was even more exaggerated; in the following days, she was almost afraid to be in the same room as Harry. Every time she saw him, her face would turn bright red instantly, she would scream, and everything in her hands would fall to the floor.

Ginny's brothers had been giving Harry the cold shoulder for the past few days, finding fault with everything he did. After teasing their little sister, the Weasley twins even gave Harry a special toilet seat.

The toilet seat kept groaning and making sounds that needed to be censored. If Harry hadn't reacted incredibly quickly and blown it up, and hadn't donned his invisibility cloak with lightning speed, he would have definitely experienced that moment of utter humiliation again.

Harry wasn't having a good time lately, partly due to his disappointment at not being able to go to Hogsmeade, and partly due to Professor Snape's sarcastic remarks.

Having maintained a reasonably harmonious relationship with the Dean since enrolling, he had rarely seen Professor Snape with the sinister and mean-spirited demeanor he displayed in the original stories. This time, for the first time, he deeply felt how infuriating the other's sarcasm could be. Although he somewhat understood the other's feelings, he still couldn't help but feel angry.

Fortunately, his Patronus Charm practice was very effective, and he was able to successfully summon his stag Patronus in front of the Dementors that Boggart had transformed into, which made him feel much more gratified.

Owen, on the other hand, remained engrossed in all sorts of bizarre research. He made rapid progress on the soul version of the Vengeful Spirit Curse and also had some ideas for improving the Explosive Curse.

The improvements to the Ironclad Spell are also progressing well, thanks in no small part to the principal's guidance and explanations.

Many valuable alchemical items are actually imbued with the Armor Charm. For example, Draco has a necklace that can activate the Armor Charm when its owner is attacked, helping to deflect and reflect spells. However, these charms are not truly triggered at any time; rather, the owner needs to keep a close eye on the person casting the spell on them, and they cannot defend against attacks from the shadows.

Now, Irving feels that turning the Ironclad Curse into a passive defensive spell is not a distant dream; he already has a clear direction.

Besides refining various spells, he also learned many new ones, many of which were dark magic. For example, the "Flesh, Blood, and Bone" curse, and the Incarnation...

Through consistent daily practice, Owen has made rapid progress in spellcasting without incantations. To date, aside from some more advanced spells, he can cast most spells without incantations, especially in dark magic, where he can now be considered exceptionally gifted.

During this time, he kept in touch with his parents, Natasha, and Kurt through letters. Kurt was recently planning to take action because he noticed that the stalkers outside the bookstore seemed to be leaving.

The Shafiqs found no clues about the Exiles, nor did they encounter any further danger. Owen asked his mother for her research on Nagini venom and quickly concocted a targeted antidote, which he fed to Peter Pettigrew in his cage.

After Owen's repeated Legilimency exercises, Peter Pettigrew has recently become somewhat dull and slow to react to his surroundings, but Owen is certain that he is not yet mentally impaired.

Time flies, and the day before Halloween finally arrived amidst the eager anticipation of many young wizards. (End of Chapter)