A certain broken Hogwarts

The melodious bell rang cheerfully in the ancient and solemn castle, and students poured out of the classrooms, celebrating the end of the last class before the holiday amidst laughter and cheers.

The Great Hall was already adorned with Christmas decorations, and snow was falling heavily outside the windows. People were enjoying lunch while discussing their plans for tomorrow's trip to Hogsmeade Village.

Harry chatted casually with Draco, idly stirring the stew in his plate with a spoon, then glanced at the empty seat beside him—Owen had left in a hurry again.

He noticed that Irving had been frequently corresponding with people outside of school lately, and he suspected he was planning something. He knew the letters weren't from Irving's parents because they weren't in elegant black envelopes, nor did they have elaborately patterned wax seals.

Owen's secretive behavior made Harry a little worried and inexplicably disappointed. The guy wouldn't say a word, as if his friends couldn't help him... well, maybe they really couldn't.

However, Owen promised to teach him that incredibly difficult End Curse this afternoon, and he hoped he could learn it in time so he could report back to Mr. Dumbledore next time... Harry scratched his head, realizing with dismay that Dumbledore's patience was getting worse and worse.

"Owen is such a good guy. Yes, he really is!" Harry said sincerely, poking at the stew in front of him with his fork.

Meanwhile, Owen was lounging lazily by a window at the end of a long corridor, tilting his head to watch the snowflakes swirling in the air. Luna was crouching beside him, gently stroking Melete's head, her light-colored eyes wide open, a clean and pure smile on her face. Even the usually proud cat-raccoon didn't reject her touch.

The two happened to meet in the hallway and started chatting. Their interactions were always natural and comfortable; they had a lot in common but maintained a comfortable distance.

"You seem to really enjoy being here?"

Irving tightened his cloak, the cold wind seeping through the window cracks whistling against his face.

"The scenery here is very interesting." Luna had already stood up while holding Melete, looking out the window at the snow-covered lake, the desolate black forest in the distance, and the scattered towers and greenhouses standing in the wind and snow. "Look, don't they look like a giant dragon when they're put together?"

"It's white in winter, but now it's asleep with its eyes closed," Luna said lightly, gesturing enthusiastically with her right hand. After watching several little figures trudging through the snow into the tower, she turned to Owen and said seriously, "Ah, a few more have been eaten."

Owen stared at her for a moment, a smile involuntarily spreading across his face. He nodded seriously and asked curiously, "So, will a hero save them from the dragon's jaws?"

Luna smiled, her eyes crinkling, and spoke in a light and ethereal voice about fantastical stories that seemed to exist only in dreams.

Students chatted and laughed as they walked past in the corridor, then a scream interrupted their conversation. Owen and Luna both turned to look, and the scream quickly turned into a chorus of laughter.

"Another body-swap," Owen said with a grin, his pale lips slightly pursed. These kinds of bizarre incidents happen every now and then, and everyone has gotten used to it.

"That's very interesting," Luna blinked, speaking as if in a dream, "but I've never experienced it." She seemed very interested, but there wasn't much disappointment in her words.

"I've been through it once..." Irving shook his head with a smile, it wasn't a pleasant experience. "From an outsider's perspective, it's certainly quite interesting."

In fact, the conditions for body swapping are not so easy to meet. It requires one person to have strong enough feelings for the other, as well as the other person to have a "telepathic connection"... so it is more likely to happen to those popular or annoying people.

For example, a few days ago, one of the red-haired twins from Gryffindor, who wished to remain anonymous, swapped bodies with Mr. Filch and, using his position as the castle caretaker, swindled and cheated, turning the entire castle upside down. He is still in long confinement.

As Irving's brain surgery became more and more sophisticated, he became better at controlling his thoughts and rarely thought of others in inappropriate situations. Staying in the enclosed space also prevented the body swap from happening, so it was very difficult for such a thing to happen to Irving.

Harry, being a big celebrity, would experience that every few days, becoming a unique spectacle at Hogwarts. Owen, always eager for drama, wasn't in a hurry to resolve the matter.

Well, a dull campus life always needs a little fun to brighten it up...

Owen thought to himself with a sense of smug satisfaction, and in the blink of an eye, he saw a red line connecting to him. After a moment of disorientation, he found himself sitting in the auditorium again, with a plate of stew that had been mashed up in front of him.

With lightning speed, he grabbed the thin red thread attached to his index finger, and the fading red thread became clear and solid again at his fingertip. Owen raised his hand to touch his cheek, his face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.

Very well, it's time to resolve this matter. Let's skip this farce!

"What's wrong with you, Harry?" Draco, standing nearby, couldn't help but shudder and leaned back suspiciously. This guy suddenly seemed like a completely different person, practically emanating black energy...

"Harry again..." Owen's lips twitched. He just couldn't understand where Harry got such intense feelings for him every day?

"I have something to do, see you later." Owen forced a gentle smile, stood up abruptly, and quickly left the auditorium following the guidance of the red thread in his hand.

"What's wrong with him?" Draco said, crossing his arms in annoyance. "He's so easily startled."

"Don't you think he looks more like Owen now?" Daphne raised her eyebrows knowingly, covering her lips and chuckling.

Irving headed straight toward the source of the red line, through the desolate corridor, up stairs of varying widths, and incidentally used a spell to subdue the mischievous Peeves, securing a wastepaper basket to Peeves's large head.

Finally, he stopped in a secluded corner on the third floor, next to a tall suit of armor.

"Click-clack—"

A reel wrapped with red thread rolled out from behind the armor, bounced twice on the floor, and landed at Owen's feet. A furry paw emerged from behind the armor, followed by a large white ear and a peering, round eye...

After confirming that the person outside was an acquaintance, the white-furred cat-like creature darted out like lightning, raised its paw, pressed down on the wooden reel, and began to fiddle with it with great interest.

Owen's cold expression vanished instantly. He slowly squatted down, gently stroking the cat's ears with a smile, and traded a ball of yarn for the cat's toy.

The moment your finger touches the reel, the black wooden reel disappears.

Owen skillfully closed his eyes and entered the wall-facing space. He saw a black reel next to the fax machine and flute in the corner, with some messy red thread wrapped around it, revealing several loose ends.

There are 20 more connection points, bringing the total to 26.

"It can consume 3 connection points to use the ability to swap bodies once..." Owen explored its function, "but it has great limitations. It can only be used on people who are a certain level weaker than me, or on people who have no ability to resist."

"Tsk tsk, a bit of a waste." He put the reel back in its place, but didn't feel too bad about it. There are no useless abilities, only people who don't know how to use them.

He pondered for a moment, then left the space of facing the wall and returned to reality. He looked down at the cat-raccoon dog happily playing with a ball of yarn, then looked at himself, and his face darkened again.

"It hasn't been switched back yet... Will it automatically switch back after a while?"

Owen grimaced, returned to his previous spot, grabbed Harry who was chatting with Luna, and led him into the Room of Requirement's secret base.

The two stared at each other in the warm but somewhat dim room. After a long while, Owen slumped on the escalator and rolled his eyes, while Harry scratched the back of his head and gave an embarrassed smile.

Harry felt innocent too; he had simply thanked Owen sincerely.

"If you feel uncomfortable, you can take a nap." Owen hugged Melett and lazily closed his eyes, raising his hand to comb his messy hair.

Harry felt the chill running through his body and his mood becoming uncontrollably low and gloomy. He frowned slightly, shook his head, and said, "It's okay. I want to hurry up and learn the End of All Curses Charm."

"Well, okay." Owen finally used a spell to smooth his hair and began explaining the key points of the End of All Curses to Harry.

……

As the last rays of daylight disappeared below the snow-covered horizon, night quietly descended.

Inside the house, where every request is granted, the sky is obscured, with only the warm yellow light emanating from the fireplace and the surrounding torches.

Harry encountered difficulties in his studies; the End of All Curses was more difficult than he had imagined, but he continued to practice diligently.

Owen, meanwhile, persistently smoothed down his hair, which had unknowingly stood on end again. He spent almost the entire afternoon battling Harry's stubborn hair, and although his spells were very effective at straightening hair, Harry's hair was simply too unruly.

Harry glanced at his movements, suppressed a laugh, and turned his head away, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Owen glanced at him sideways, finally managing to tuck his unruly hair down before settling comfortably into the armchair. He propped his chin on his hand, half-closing his eyes as he watched Nyx teleport back and forth in the flames, continuing to hone his Apparition Tracking technique.

After persistent observation and research, he has been able to grasp the faint sensation during spatial teleportation, although there is still some deviation in positioning. Currently, Owen is constantly adjusting the accuracy of his tracking technique.

After an unknown amount of time, Irving suddenly opened his half-closed eyes. He raised his hand to push up his round-framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, reached into his pocket, and stroked the badge that was radiating heat and vibrating slightly.

"The emergency contact badge was used. Did Kurt get any results, or did something go wrong?" He straightened his back and turned to look at Nyx, whose movements were becoming increasingly perfunctory.

Nyx gave Owen a reproachful look, then angrily flapped her wings and disappeared into the flames. A moment later, she returned carrying a letter from Kurt.

The handwriting on the letter was a bit messier than usual, and there was less fluff; it recorded the intelligence that Kurt had investigated in detail.

Owen quickly finished reading the letter, a cold and mocking smile slowly forming on his lips, his emerald green eyes gradually clouding over with a thick, unfathomable mist. A flash of cold and dangerous magical energy flickered and disappeared, dimming the surrounding flames, and the warmth in the room seemed to be instantly replaced by a biting chill.

"What happened?" Harry turned his head sharply, gripping his wand tightly, his face serious.

"Heh, some mischievous fellows are trying to pull off a few rather outrageous pranks." Owen smiled slightly, his tone playful yet strangely seductive, his demeanor returning to calm and elegance.

"That's... not obedient enough." His voice became even gentler, but Harry couldn't help but grimace, feeling a chill in his heart.

"Um...do you need my help?" Harry asked cautiously. He had a strong feeling that some people were in for trouble.

Irving glanced at him, then pouted in annoyance and said, "Switching back to your original body would be the biggest help you can give me."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it..." Harry muttered to himself, stood there blankly for a while, and then went back to practicing his spells.

Irving slumped back into his armchair, closed his eyes, and sorted through the information he had obtained from Kurt.

"The hideout Kurt discovered was in the basement of a bar..."

"Is the reason the Exile Society has been so active lately because their leader has appointed a new leader?"

"They found the key that Kurt's grandfather stole...we have to trip them up a bit."

"Hmm, they want to harm my parents... Heh, interesting."

He quickly organized his next action plan in his mind, listing one contingency plan after another, while waiting for the moment when the body swap effect would disappear.

"The Extinction Society is a secretive and powerful transnational organization with a large number of people and resources. To deal with them, we must first capture their leader—find out their deeply hidden mastermind!"

"To find this rat hiding in the ditch, we need to start with its most coveted bait. Tonight is the best opportunity."

Time seemed to crawl during the long wait. As dawn approached, the familiar dazed feeling returned, and Irving returned to his body, raising his hand to clench his fist.

"It's time to make a scene," he murmured softly, an irrepressible smile playing on his lips. (End of Chapter)