A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 60 Questions

[The connection point collection interface has been recycled...]

[Connection Point +18]

The collection mechanism has been upgraded, allowing the use of connection points to access the collection interface, consuming 3 connection points per use.

As Irving lay in bed, his thoughts drifting into the space of contemplation, he noticed a few more lines of text.

"Oh, so many connection points this time? Is it because more people are being affected?" He looked at the white fax machine that had appeared in the corner of the room facing the wall. "But what exactly are connection points? Why can a fax machine collect them by answering other people's questions? I've encountered all sorts of strange things every year before, why did they all manage to get connection points?"

"What exactly does the connection point represent?" Owen waved his wand, and the quill automatically jotted down this question, which he couldn't yet explore, in his notebook.

"Can the True Word Fax Machine be used once with 3 connection points? It doesn't seem very useful. Its weaknesses are obvious, and I don't have any questions that I urgently want answered." Even if he had questions, Owen preferred to find the answers himself.

Standing in front of the Truth Fax Machine, Owen curiously fiddled with this thing that had caused him so much trouble. Somewhat surprised, he pulled out several pages of paper from the fax machine, each printed with a question.

"What are you?"

"What are the test questions for this week's Transfiguration class?"

"If I confess my feelings to Linda, what will she say?"

"..."

The questions were neatly arranged, but the answers were not written below them. Owen tried randomly typing one of the questions onto the fax machine screen and unexpectedly received a response from the wall-facing space:

Obtaining the answer to one of the questions requires 1 connection point.

"Tsk." Owen stroked his chin, withdrawing his hand with interest. "Interesting, quite interesting."

In fact, he didn't need to know the answers to these questions at all; just seeing what questions others had asked was already a great source of information.

"I never expected such a good thing. I should have known better than to recall it so soon..." Owen thought with a hint of greed, then chuckled and shook his head. The fax machine had caused quite a bit of trouble; keeping it around to cause problems would have been a disaster.

"Alright, let me see what questions you've asked?" He pulled up a chair, crossed his legs, and sat upright next to the fax machine, flipping through the pages of questions.

The questions asked by the young wizards were mostly very simple, such as classroom quizzes and exam questions, questions about the boy or girl they had a crush on, the school's secret passages and secret rooms, and many other whimsical questions.

However, Irving also discovered a few issues that concerned him.

For example, Harry asked himself what special abilities he had, and Owen discovered that someone else had asked the same question.

"Was the other question asked by Dumbledore or Voldemort?" Owen chuckled as he considered who he thought were most likely to be interested in the question. "If it really was them... it's hard to imagine them seriously investigating what 'protagonist halo' is..."

An image involuntarily flashed through his mind: Dumbledore or Voldemort observing Harry Potter with a serious expression, trying to find traces of the terrifying magic of the protagonist's halo, and earnestly considering how to use it or how to defend against it, their brains practically boiling with thoughts...

Irving chuckled, then coughed lightly, covering his lips with his fist, and continued reading with a smile in his eyes.

Then, his smile suddenly vanished.

He saw two questions on the same line on the blank sheet of paper. He guessed that these questions, which did not start on a new line, must have been asked by the same person, but the first question had not been answered.

"Can the dead truly be resurrected?" This was the first question this person asked, and he received no answer. No one truly understands resurrection, and no one can answer it, so even the truth-telling machine cannot.

So this person asked the second question: "How can Voldemort be killed completely?"

Owen fell into deep thought with a serious expression: "Could this be a problem with Dumbledore or Snape? Hmm, most likely Professor Snape..."

Judging from the first question, a truly intelligent person would never ask such a question, because it will only elicit a "yes" or "no" answer. If Owen wanted to resurrect someone, he would definitely ask: What is the method to truly bring the dead back to life? Or, where can the method of resurrection be obtained?

But the person who asked the question made the most foolish choice, and then simply abandoned the question after not getting an answer. There are two possibilities: either this person is a complete idiot, or their mind is in turmoil, wanting to resurrect someone but conflicted, tormented, and trying to escape the question.

Judging from the second question, this person must deeply hate Voldemort and want to kill him completely. If it were Dumbledore, he probably wouldn't have asked this question. The only person Owen can think of at Hogwarts who fits this description is Snape.

"So, what answer did he get?" Owen tapped the fax machine's casing lightly with his fingers, lost in thought amidst the regular "thump-thump" sound.

"Or rather, if I were asked this question, what would be the first thought that comes to mind?" Based on Owen's previous analysis, Occlumency was likely the weakness of the Truth Machine, and the answer to this question probably wouldn't have been extracted from Voldemort's mind. Judging from the timeframe of when this question was asked, Owen indeed hadn't yet mastered Occlumency.

Irving pondered his thoughts, but the more complicated he considered them, the harder it became for him to figure out what his first thought would be.

"Fine, it'll just consume a connection point. I need the answer." Owen pursed his lips and pressed the question button on the fax machine.

A piece of white paper floated out and he caught it. On it was a line of writing: Voldemort has made several important items into Horcruxes and hidden them in several locations that are of special significance to him. To kill him completely, you must first destroy his seven Horcruxes.

Upon seeing this answer, Irving abandoned all pretense of composure, slapped his forehead, and rolled his eyes dramatically.

Alright, this is his own spoiler, completely accurate. This answer is basic common sense to a time traveler familiar with the plot, but it's wrong at this point in time!

Voldemort doesn't actually have seven Horcruxes yet! Even if you include Harry Potter, the half Horcrux he unintentionally created, he only has six. The seventh Horcrux, Nagini the Serpent, hasn't been created yet.

Owen thoughtfully toyed with the wand in his hand, letting it dart nimbly between his fingers and along the back of his hand. Finally, he just smiled amusedly and said, "The plot is about to completely spiral out of control."

If Dumbledore knew about this, the most likely and worst-case scenario would be that he would die prematurely.

"Wait a minute, Dumbledore was wearing gloves tonight! Could he have already been infected?" Owen's eyes narrowed. Putting himself in Dumbledore's shoes, he would definitely verify the information upon receiving it.

The places that hold special significance for Voldemort are Hogwarts, the orphanage, and the Gaunt family, where his mother was born... Hogwarts is too complicated and mysterious, and few people know about the situation at the orphanage, so the easiest place to investigate must be the Gaunt family home.

So, just like in the original story, he would first go to Gaunt's old house to investigate, then discover the resurrection stone ring, and, unable to resist the temptation, put it on... and finally die!

"I think Dumbledore is going to be gone." Owen pondered what he could do, then realized with a mixture of speechlessness and amusement that he couldn't stop the future from collapsing.

Regardless of whether Dumbledore has fallen for it yet, if Owen rashly runs up to him and tells him Voldemort's secret, it might trigger his sensitive nerves, forcing him to reveal more secrets. Choosing to warn him anonymously would also likely lead to him being easily exposed... Moreover, the key issue is not whether Owen wants to tell him, but whether he can tell him at all.

Owen glanced at the back of his left hand, then gently waved his wand. A black, dull, mutated "V" sign silently appeared, radiating an aura of inexplicable evil and terror. This was his vow.

Whether it was destined or not, the oath originally contained a specific clause: he promised not to tell or even remind anyone of anything he knew about Quirrell and Voldemort in any way.

The information Owen knew about Voldemort's Horcruxes was inadvertently included in it.

"Ha, the future is getting interesting." Owen wiggled his fingers, thinking to himself, not wanting to miss out on anything. In fact, for him, a future full of surprises and uncertainties was more appealing than a fixed future with a known ending. Deep down, he longed for chaotic, disordered, and unknown adventures.

"Tsk tsk, I really am a troublemaker," Owen said with a smirk, then rubbed his lips with his fingers with amusement. "Hey, if it really was Snape's question that led to Dumbledore's premature death, then Voldemort should at least give him a Death Eater's Best Contribution Award."

He continued reading with a half-smile, then discovered another, even more intriguing question: "Where is the secret room Ravenclaw left behind?"

Most importantly, this question has an answer.

Owen decisively used another connection point and received a reply from the fax machine: "Hogwarts Castle, eighth floor, Room of Requirement."

(End of this chapter)