A certain broken Hogwarts

The clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and a cold wind howled. In the distance, the ancient castle stood like a black behemoth, anciently nestled among the rolling mountains.

There have been many more rainy days this year than in previous years, and the air is often shrouded in damp and cold fog. I wonder if it's due to the influence of the Dementors stationed nearby.

Owen walked quickly out of Hogsmeade Village. Melett lay obediently in his backpack, only her little head peeking out, looking around curiously, her big, furry ears swaying slightly in the wind.

The young wizards walking back in twos and threes around them were chatting excitedly, each of their bundles bulging. But as soon as they stepped out of the village, they fell silent as if an invisible hand had grabbed their necks, lowered their heads, and hurriedly quickened their pace.

Several Dementors roamed outside, the surrounding area shrouded in an even more chilling, bone-deep cold, with a thin layer of frost even forming on the ground. Their faces, hidden beneath black hoods, silently watched the students passing by, greedily sucking away at their happiness, making the young wizards' faces turn pale.

Owen tilted his head back with interest to examine the nearest Dementor, but he couldn't make out the face beneath the tattered cloak. However, he thought it was a good thing; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have had any appetite for dinner that night.

The Dementor he was watching took a deep breath, letting out a clear gurgling sound. Only after the little wizard in front of it had walked away unaffected did it seem puzzled, tilting its head slightly, before turning its attention to the two little witches behind it.

Irving quickly rounded a bend, glanced down at the parchment in his hand, on which small black dots, each marked with a name, moved incessantly across the intricate map.

"Harry and Blaise are together, in the castle's dungeon," he muttered to himself.

If Blaise hadn't decided to return to the castle on a whim, then it was very likely that Bellatrix was about to make a move against Harry. That madwoman was surprisingly well-hidden, and Owen felt this might be a golden opportunity to solve the problem once and for all.

"But if that's really the case... Blaise is such an unlucky guy," he couldn't help but mutter to himself. Back in Diagon Alley, the Deathbringers had chosen Blaise, luring Owen into a carefully laid trap.

"Although the people around him are even more unlucky." He rolled his eyes, then raised his left hand and snapped his fingers, summoning his most reliable "vehicle," Nyx.

A phoenix with magnificent black and gold feathers flew out of the flames, proudly raising its beautiful head, and gracefully perched on Owen's shoulder, its shimmering, smooth feathers radiating a warm glow.

"Nyx, could you please take me back to Hogwarts Castle?" Owen said in a friendly tone, a warm smile on his face. "And maybe I'll take you to set it on fire later."

Nyx clicked its tongue in dissatisfaction, its sharp beak clicking loudly. It hated being used as a means of transportation!

"Please, Nyx." Owen clasped his hands together, turned and stared at it with clear, sincere eyes. "I'll find you the best ingredients after this is all over."

Nyx's ruby-like eyes blinked. Always one to respond better to gentle persuasion than force, it sulked for a while, then chirped melodiously a few times, seemingly telling Owen for the umpteenth time, "This is the last time."

It raised its head even higher, flapped its large wings with a whooshing sound, and carried Owen away into the black flames.

……

Harry had just left Sirius's office.

He spent most of the day with Sirius, receiving special training from him. Since learning about Harry's impressive dueling abilities, Sirius has raised his expectations considerably, even incorporating some Auror training methods. The rigorous training has left Harry with a persistent, dull ache in all his bones.

But Harry was happy with it. He could feel his progress, not only in combat, but also in making up for some of his shortcomings in all aspects. He gained a lot of knowledge about how to deal with various emergencies, how to identify hidden dangers, hiding and disguise, stealth and tracking, and so on, which broadened his horizons.

He enjoyed the fulfilling feeling of absorbing knowledge like a sponge, and he felt that he was falling in love with learning.

Sirius even bought him a huge pile of sweets and novel magical tricks from Hogsmeade Village. The sheer variety of goods turned his office into a general store, leading Harry to wonder if his godfather had emptied out several shops in Hogsmeade. Harry was both touched and amused by this, and even his disappointment at not being able to go to Hogsmeade Village lessened considerably.

Harry, carrying a heavy bag of candy and toys, descended the luxurious marble staircase to the first floor and couldn't help but peek into the foyer, hoping to spot someone he knew.

There were indeed acquaintances. Mr. Filch, the castle caretaker, was firmly blocking the castle gate, holding a strangely shaped detector in his hand, nervously scanning each young wizard who had just returned from Hogsmeade Village, especially wary of their bulging bags, as if each of them had several hand grenades stuffed in their bag.

He rudely asked each student their name, then scribbled something on the long list in his hand before letting the little wizard, whose cheeks were red from the cold, through the door.

Harry didn't see the person he wanted to see, so he turned and walked towards the dungeon, intending to go back to the common room to do some homework.

Filch whirled around, glaring at him with his bulging eyes, and demanded in a gruff voice, "What are you doing?"

"Just passing by," Harry said truthfully.

"Just passing by!" Filch roared, his double chin trembling as he stared intently at the Honeydukes bag in Harry's hand. "Well made up! Sneaking around like a ghost... You annoying brat, how did you sneak in from outside?"

"I came downstairs..." Harry glanced at the bag in his hand. "This was a gift from Sirius."

"I'll check with him," Filch said skeptically, his voice harsh. "Alright, go back to your common room. You can only stay there!"

Harry shrugged, turned into the adjacent corridor, and went down the stairs into the chilly dungeon.

The labyrinthine dungeon was eerily quiet. Harry walked along the intricate corridors for a while without encountering a single person. Just as he was thinking this, he turned a corner and bumped right into Blaise.

Blaise was hurrying this way when he stopped and smiled with relief when he saw Harry.

"Brace, you're back so soon?" Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise. He noticed that the other person was coming from the direction of the common room.

"There's not much to see anymore," Blaise said casually, his expression turning mysterious. "I brought you a special gift, Harry!"

"What gift?" Harry immediately became alert. Generally speaking, whenever Blaise showed this kind of expression, it was probably not a good thing.

"What's with that look on your face?" Blaise said, feigning hurt. He pulled out a package and waved it in front of Harry, grinning, "I brought you some Honeyduke sweets and Zonko's new products, especially..."

He chuckled, took a small packet from the bag, and quickly tore it open. Inside, a dense mass of cockroaches crawled haphazardly, making rustling noises.

"Want to try some?" Blaise eagerly handed it over.

Harry's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but take a step back. He would never forget the time Blaise had mixed a few real cockroaches into a pile of cockroaches before giving it to him, and then he had given it to Dumbledore.

The thought of this embarrassing incident made him want to dig his toes into the ground made him want to strangle the guy in front of him.

"Thanks, but you can keep it yourself," Harry said blankly, continuing to walk towards the common room.

Blaise followed behind him, his right hand rummaging in his pocket.

Harry had only taken two steps when his expression suddenly shifted, and he frowned slightly. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Why would someone as playful as Blaise return from Hogsmeade Village ahead of schedule?

Furthermore, Blaise just came from the direction of the common room, meaning he went back into the common room and then went out again. Where was he going? And why is he following me back now?

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. Harry's paranoia kicked in again, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, walking alongside Blaise, and saw the other man's hand stop abruptly as he reached into his pocket.

"What's wrong?" Blaise looked at him in confusion.

Harry walked slowly, keeping pace with the other man, his right hand discreetly slipping into his pocket to grasp his wand, and asked casually, "Where were you headed?"

"I came to find you," Blaise said matter-of-factly. "When I got back, I heard from others that you hadn't been back to the common room all day, and I thought something had happened to you."

"I've been with Sirius all day," Harry said, secretly observing Blaise's expression. However, he didn't see anything unusual on the other's face and began to wonder if he was overthinking things.

"Are Owen and Draco back too?" he continued.

"No, I came back first. They were reluctant to leave." Blaise grinned. "I don't think Hogsmeade is that fun... Hmm, I brought you some things."

He turned to look at Harry, who was walking beside him at a certain distance, and held up the bag of candy in his hand again: "So, really not going to try the cockroach pile?"

Harry shook his head firmly.

"You don't think I put cockroaches in there again, do you?" Blaise said, suddenly realizing, then rolled his eyes. "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would do something like that?"

"Aren't you one of them?" Harry thought to himself, giving him a look that let him figure it out for himself.

"Then you've really wronged me!" Blaise shouted, then grabbed a handful of cockroaches and stuffed them into his mouth, crunching and chewing them, staring straight at Harry to prove his innocence with his actions.

"Uh... I believe you." Harry was speechless. At the same time, he felt a little confused. Was he really just being paranoid?

"These are for you." Blaise handed over the remaining candy.

Undoubtedly, this action touched a nerve with Harry. He stared intently at the bag of candy in Blaise's hand for a long time. He was always uneasy about things brought in from outside the school, especially since he had received a cursed letter a few days ago.

He remembered Owen telling him not to accept things from strangers. Some ordinary items might contain deadly curses or toxins, or they might be a well-disguised door key that could unexpectedly lead someone into danger…

Especially now that he hasn't completely dispelled his suspicions about Blaise.

Harry hesitated for a moment, not intending to reach out and take it, but refusing outright would easily hurt his friend's feelings.

He racked his brains quickly and finally came up with a plausible excuse. He cleared his throat and said, "Thank you so much, Blaise! Could you please take these back to the common room for me? I suddenly remembered I left something in Sirius's office and need to go back and get it right away. Oh, and these too!"

As he spoke, he handed the bag in his arms to Blaise, lowering his head slightly to hide his guilty conscience.

"Ah, okay!" Blaise took the bag from his hand, his eyelids drooping as if he were thinking about something.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, grinned, and watched the other person walk towards the end of the corridor.

Just as he was about to turn and walk in another direction, Blaise suddenly staggered, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Harry watched helplessly as he fell heavily to the ground, his limbs convulsing violently, spilling the candy he was carrying.

"Those candies are really poisoned!" Harry realized immediately and ran to Blaise's side in a few quick steps.

Blaise was on the verge of death. He lay on the ground, his face ashen, his body convulsing, his lips bluish-purple, and his eyes bulging out like goldfish.

"Brace, hang in there!" Harry shouted anxiously. He could tell Blaise was poisoned, but he didn't have any antidote on him. "I'll take you to the school hospital!"

A grey-furred raccoon cat suddenly leaped out from around a corner, pacing anxiously back and forth at Harry's feet, nibbling at his trouser leg and hissing.

Harry didn't quite understand what it meant, but he figured the cat was worried about Blaise's condition. With a life at stake, he didn't have time to think further and frantically bent down to help Blaise up, but in his haste, he found it difficult to support the other's heavy body.

He looked around, but there was no one around who could help him. Then he remembered that he still had magic, so he quickly freed one hand to reach into his pocket for his wand, intending to cast a spell to make the other person lighter.

Suddenly, Blaise, with a burst of strength, raised his hand and gripped Harry's left wrist tightly. Then, with all his might, he slammed into Harry, knocking the unsuspecting boy hard onto the wet floor.

"Cough cough..." Harry coughed uncontrollably as Blaise's elbow pressed against his chest, nearly breaking his ribs. He was pinned down by Blaise, his wrist gripped tightly by an immense force; it was hard to imagine that a poisoned person could possess such strength.

The cat-like creature beside him suddenly leaped over and scratched Blaise's hand with its claws, drawing blood. But Blaise held on tightly, making Harry feel as if his wrist bones were about to be crushed.

"Brace, what are you doing?" Harry mustered all his strength and flipped to the side, throwing Blaise off him, but Blaise continued to pounce on him, clinging to his arm relentlessly.

Blaise's eyes were vacant, white foam overflowing from his mouth, yet a bizarre smile played on his lips. He weakly stammered, "I...I almost missed...I missed the deadline..."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Before he could muster the strength to break free from Blaise's grasp, he felt a hook behind his navel and was dragged into a swirling, colorful world.

They flew like the wind, their vision blurred. Harry could feel Blaise right beside him; the two were clung to each other like conjoined twins, seemingly inseparable. (End of Chapter)