A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 27 Another Night Stroll

When the hands of the pocket watch slowly pointed to 11 p.m., Owen exited the meditation space, picked up his suitcase, and quietly left the dormitory.

It was late at night, and only a few people remained in the common room. No one spoke, and only the occasional short crackling sounds came from the fire in the fireplace.

Irving arrived at the stone wall at the exit. The stone door opened silently and slowly, revealing a dark passageway behind it. A cold, damp atmosphere then rushed into the warm lounge.

Owen shivered slightly, tightened his grip on the suitcase, and quickly walked out. Two people, a boy and a girl, both upperclassmen, silently followed behind him. The three of them exchanged glances outside the lounge, nodded slightly, and tacitly chose different routes.

"It seems not many students believe that fax machine exists, which is good news." Owen cast a spell to eliminate sound and smell as he walked briskly down the dark corridor.

Most students thought the fax machine incident was just a publicity stunt, as it seemed too unbelievable and illogical. A few were skeptical, suspecting it might be dangerous, while only a handful were eager to try their luck.

"The Hufflepuff students are probably still stuck in the common room by Filch. Not many Ravenclaw and Slytherin students believe it, but the problem is Gryffindor. Whether they believe it or not, they certainly won't mind coming out to join in the fun."

There were several times more students out at night, and by the time Owen reached the first floor of the castle, he had already encountered two groups of young wizards. Fortunately, he didn't come away empty-handed; he learned from the two groups of young wizards about the areas they had searched, which greatly simplified his route.

After wandering around the first floor of the castle, Owen climbed to the second floor and quickly searched the corridors, opening each door to check what was inside. Finally, he muttered, "The fax machine is coming." Although it was probably useless, it at least gave him some peace of mind.

As he rounded a corner, Owen heard footsteps approaching rapidly from the opposite corridor. He quickened his pace to avoid bumping into the person. Unexpectedly, the person at the corner also turned at the same time and collided with him with a loud thud.

"Ouch..." Two people fell to the ground groaning, while the remaining person clutched their stomach and laughed.

An old parchment with a map of the entire Hogwarts fell to the ground beside Owen, with small dots bearing names moving about on it.

"Marauder's Map." Owen ignored the Weasley twins beside him, picked up the map and quickly scanned it, memorizing the areas where the small dots active within the castle were located. At the same time, he didn't forget to glance at the location of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office; the dot representing Quirrell was obediently inside, and Voldemort's name wasn't displayed next to it.

"You're staring at the map the whole time and still manage to bump into each other? I suspect George, you're deliberately creating these coincidences!" The standing boy finished mocking the other boy, then very politely extended his hand to Owen. "Hi, are you alright? Hmm? It's you!"

Seemingly because of the vast difference between his ideal and reality, he instantly withdrew his outstretched hand, looking at his younger brother with a hint of resentment: "I thought it was a girl, although he does look like one... George, you've fallen!"

"Shut up, Fred! I just didn't expect him to react so quickly." George got up from the ground, clapped his hands, and said, "You know, we just happened to be hiding on the same side... oh, that's our map."

"Good evening." Owen finally looked up from the Marauder's Map and at the two talkative guys. He stood up, dusted off his robes, and temporarily canceled the Silence spell on his body.

"Are you also interested in that fax machine, whether it's real or not?" He waved the Marauder's Map in his hand and asked first.

"Who wouldn't be curious? Although we think exploring the castle is more interesting than that," Fred said with a chuckle, taking the Marauder's Map from Owen.

"Very interesting magical item. No wonder you can do whatever you want in the castle," Owen said with a slight smirk. He had just tried to duplicate a Marauder's Map in the Wallfacer's Space, but ultimately failed. Perhaps duplicating an artifact containing wizarding magic requires consuming connection points?

"We rely on more than just that; we rely on courage and strength, and of course, Hogwarts' luxurious toilets!" George glanced at the Marauder's Map, his expression instantly changing. He put his index finger to his lips: "Shh—hide!"

The three of them squeezed together in a small storage room next door, and then they heard noises outside.

"Solitary confinement! Twenty points deducted from Gryffindor!" Professor McGonagall's shout rang out clearly. "How dare you wander around in the middle of the night! I can't believe you two... Mr. Jordan, Miss Jason, I need an explanation!"

The hurried footsteps faded into the distance, and the Weasley twins groaned, followed by a low mutter: "They've been caught. We'll have to make a good laugh at them tomorrow."

Irving couldn't stand the dust in the storage room, so he opened the door and went out first, followed by the twins, who choked on the dust and kept sneezing.

"Since your main purpose isn't the fax machine, could you tell me the routes you've already explored?" Owen asked earnestly after they moved to a different location.

The twins exchanged glances, their bright eyes darting around. This Shafik looked like a sure-fire prey!

George chuckled and said, "Fair trade, no cheating! Just five Galleons..."

Owen looked at the two identical, mischievous grins with amusement, and said with feigned helplessness, "Okay, let me think... Hmm, you came from over there, from the restroom... the Transfiguration classroom, yes, you came from the stairs over there."

He looked into their eyes and at their expressions, and continued with a smile, "That staircase connects three directions, so you obviously came from the north, west, and east directions on the third floor... towards the prize display room on the east side. On the fourth floor, you passed the Charms classroom and the Charms office... no, you bypassed the office and went through that corridor with the one-eyed witch statue..."

Owen observed the twin brothers' ever-changing expressions, which carried a hint of languor and mystery, and in a short moment, he deduced their route from the eighth floor to where they had come from.

The Weasley twins felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at Owen. They sensed a piercing, mocking glint in his deep, dark eyes, and even the smile on his lips seemed sinister. Fred took a step back, asking warily, "You know Legilimency?"

"It's just mind magic... You guys are too easy to understand." Owen smiled, winked his left eye, and waved at them. "Thanks for the information, bye-bye."

As he spoke, he had already darted around the corner ahead and disappeared from the brothers' sight.

After Irving had been gone for a while, the two exchanged a glance and hissed softly, "This guy's a bit strange."

"I think we need to learn Occlumency."

"Good idea. Let's head over to the restricted section next, but don't forget to avoid the dean's office!"

"Oh dear, poor Lee and Angelina, we'd better send them a toilet plunger tomorrow as a consolation prize..."

"I disagree. Why not a toilet seat?"

"..."

Meanwhile, Irving had already explored the remaining areas on the second floor and arrived on the third floor.

(End of this chapter)