A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 62 Reconciliation

Whether day or night, the pale green lights of the Slytherin common room are always on, and the fireplace roars, baking the underwater space warmly and dryly. The lake outside is utterly still, occasionally punctuated by strangely shaped, enormous creatures that glide by, adding a touch of mystery to the place.

Owen put down the spellbook. During this time, he had already learned all the spell theory knowledge of the seventh grade, but he lacked practical experience.

With nothing else to do, he gently ran his fingers through the fur on Melete's back, watching with a wicked grin as her body and ears trembled from the tickling, before nearly getting scratched by the annoyed little cat.

"Owen, it's time for your detention..." Harry waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly, chasing away the annoying Draco who was circling around him, and then called out to him listlessly.

"Alright." Owen stuffed the reluctant Melett into his pocket.

The two arrived together at Professor Snape's office, a dimly lit room bathed in a greenish glow. Shelves were laden with bottles of brightly colored potions, bizarre plant and animal specimens, and various medicinal herbs—quite befitting Snape's image. They would be dealing with some troublesome potion-making materials here tonight.

"You might as well slow down your cleaning, so you don't clumsily ruin my medicinal herbs. Don't worry about exceeding the time limit. If you really lack hand-eye coordination, I don't mind letting you stay here all night and then feeding you the medicinal herbs you've ruined."

Snape sat behind his desk with a gloomy expression, grading students' papers. Without hesitation, he marked a "T" on the parchment in his hand before looking up at them lazily, his tone still as sharp as ever.

Throughout the process, Irving's face was slightly furrowed as he meticulously handled the strange-smelling and disgusting-looking medicinal herbs. The slippery and sticky texture made his expression grow increasingly repulsive.

Snape ignored them, finishing grading the homework and then leisurely brewing a potion. The blue liquid swirled slowly in the cauldron, and a faint blue mist rose up, swirling in a double helix above the cauldron, emitting a sweet aroma.

Owen tried to identify the potion based on his research, but still couldn't. He could only use potion identification methods to determine that it was a powerful healing potion from the state of the liquid, its smell, and the shape of the smoke. As for what kind of injury it was for, he couldn't tell.

"Turks inhibitor." Noticing Owen's gaze, Snape explained in a low voice, "It can be used to heal or suppress most magical injuries, especially those caused by dark magic."

"I remember leaving this potion in your family's potion shop." He glanced at Owen, his empty eyes revealing little else.

Owen nodded innocently. He had indeed wandered around the potion shop, but all he knew was that the finished Tux inhibitor was red, a high-level potion that only potion masters could handle with ease.

"Could Dumbledore have really fallen for it? What a disaster." He secretly shook his head.

Harry watched Snape's fluid movements as he worked with the potion ingredients, seemingly completely captivated by the mysterious arts of potions, his bright emerald green eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry.

Snape's gaze occasionally met his, and his fluid movements slowed somewhat.

More than two hours later, the two finally finished processing the potion ingredients, their wrists aching, and were then mercilessly kicked out of the office by Snape.

"I hope you're not complete idiots and won't make the same mistake again, like getting caught out at night..." Snape warned in his smooth tone, then slammed the door shut.

After walking slowly for a while, Owen and Harry suddenly stopped and looked at each other.

"I need to go to the restricted section of the library," Owen said.

"Ah, I just wanted to go see that mirror from yesterday..." Harry said.

The two waved goodbye and went their separate ways, neither taking Snape's warning to heart. As long as they weren't caught again, it wasn't considered a mistake!

Owen recited his nighttime travel mantra and slipped into the forbidden library without incident. He began flipping through the books, using a rapid copying spell to make copies of the dark magic texts. He wanted to figure out exactly what kind of dark magic the Dark Guardian was.

Unfortunately, after working for over an hour, he still couldn't find the relevant description in the books. But to his surprise, all the dark magic books he consulted seemed willing to reveal their true contents to him, which meant he had passed the test magic set in these books... Being easily recognized by the dark magic books was, in Owen's view, a rather ominous sign.

Melett suddenly kicked him in the pocket and called out softly, waking Owen up.

Upon hearing Filch's footsteps approaching, he quickly gathered up the books he had scattered on the floor and returned to his dormitory, avoiding Filch's detection.

Harry hadn't returned yet. Theodore was doing his homework in the common room. Only Draco was in the dormitory. He sat at the round table in the center of the dormitory with a serious expression, his hands crossed and his chin resting on his hand as he stared gloomily at Owen as he entered.

"What kind of pose is that?" Owen looked at him amusedly, put his backpack on his desk, and said, "Should I remind you that you can't imitate the dean's aura at all? You're just kind of cute."

Draco's expression instantly crumbled. He raised his pointed chin high, his face contorted with sullen disdain, and said, "So, why can you all still be so indifferent to Harry? Where's your pride?"

"So you think we should go with you to cause him trouble?" Owen poured a bowl of milk for Melett with a light touch, watching her slowly lick it with a smile.

"He deserves a lesson," Draco said sarcastically. "Or is it that just because your parents told you it's best to befriend Harry Potter, you're willing to abandon your pure-blood pride and dignity?"

"Draco, did you only become friends with Harry because of your father's demands? Just as an investment in his future?" Owen asked casually. "If that's the case, since your values ​​clash, you can simply stay away from him. Otherwise, even if you force yourself to befriend him, you won't get the benefits you want."

"That's not what I want to talk about!" Draco jumped up angrily.

Irving stared intently into his eyes, then suddenly chuckled, "I get it, you really do want to make friends." Even if a child this age is cunning, their mind is still ultimately quite simple.

"No way!" Draco retorted instantly, glaring at him with his gray eyes.

"Okay, if you really want to make friends, you have to adapt and compromise with each other, and find common ground amidst the conflicts," Irving nodded casually. "For example, you have to learn to apologize when you make a mistake."

"You mean I made a mistake?" Draco drawled.

"That's roughly it." Owen stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "First of all, I don't think it's respectable for you to bully your classmates in flight class, Draco. After all, Longbottom comes from the same ancient family, so it's only right to show him basic courtesy and respect, isn't it?"

"I didn't bully Longbottom, I just looked down on him." Draco's gray eyes darted around. "If he weren't so stupid, I might have even thought about beating him up, that would be bullying."

"Even if you don't think so, to others, mocking and hiding someone's things is a form of bullying." Owen shook his head. "Targeting the weak is bullying. Targeting the strong, that's called a courageous challenge."

"That's stupid, isn't it?" Draco scoffed, but his expression was thoughtful.

Great minds think alike… Owen raised his eyebrows. This guy is actually quite clever; he truly deserves to be called a Slytherin.

Draco changed the subject: "That's not the important thing, it's... don't think I don't know, you guys were in the library with that little mud rascal named Granger..."

"Tsk, don't say that word." Irving made a shushing gesture. "It's too rude. Only those swearing homeless people would say that."

"As for that question... I don't want to say too much." He smoothed his hair, offering a polite smile. "But I want to ask you, where does the nobility of pure-blood families come from? Is it their bloodline?"

"Isn't that right?" Draco said haughtily, raising his head.

"Of course not. In fact, if you go back eight or nine generations from our ancestors, there's a history of intermarriage with Muggle-born wizards and even Muggles," Owen said lazily. "Just because you don't know these things doesn't mean they don't exist; it's just that your father didn't tell you."

"The nobility and glory of pure-blood families have never come from bloodlines, but from the profound heritage brought by long-standing traditions, powerful strength, the authority they wield, and the wealth accumulated over generations. Among these, strength and wisdom are the foundation for protecting power and wealth." Owen gazed intently at the shimmering lake outside the window, speaking calmly about the essence he saw.

"Unfortunately, nowadays, there are very few pure-blood families that still possess these skills. In this era, anyone can increase their wisdom and gain power through hard work, and thereby control power and wealth... Our birth only gives us a higher starting point, and we are always at risk of being surpassed."

Draco frowned in disgust, wanting to refute, but not knowing where to begin.

"If you set aside that sense of superiority, what else can you use to mock Hermione Granger?" Owen looked at him with unfathomable eyes. "I think if you truly believe your bloodline is superior, you should at least surpass her in some way. Like spells? Potions? Or memory and magic?"

"Or is it that your bloodline isn't enough to make you smarter, more outstanding, or more magically talented than her?" Owen stared intently at Draco until the latter's expression turned ugly.

"To prove the nobility of pure blood, you must trample all others underfoot; that's the most convincing method," he smiled. "Otherwise, if you only emphasize pure blood without giving it enough substance..."

"Excuse my bluntness, but generally speaking, this term is only used when it comes to pets."

"That's my opinion. You don't have to agree, and I'm not trying to convince you," Irving said nonchalantly, shrugging. "We kids shouldn't think about such profound things. When you grow up and have more flexible standards and boundaries, you'll find that having no standards is the most beneficial choice."

After saying that, Owen let out a deep sigh, picked up his bathrobe, and headed towards the bathroom. Why did he have to discuss such a thing with a little kid? He must have eaten too much today.

Draco silently watched his retreating figure, then slowly sat back down in his chair, his expression shifting. He wasn't a bad person at heart; it was just that no one had ever told him "you're wrong" from childhood to adulthood.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, when Irving planned to visit the Room of Requirement, he was somewhat surprised to see this scene.

"Here you go." Draco tossed a bag of candy to Harry, chin held high, eyes fixed on the ceiling. "I won't hold you accountable for what you did to me in flight class that day."

"Huh?" Harry looked at him with a question mark on his forehead, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Isn't this enough? I only have one bag of candy left." Draco clutched his backpack.

"That's not what I meant, I just feel like you... maybe you've taken the wrong medicine?" Harry looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had been replaced by magic.

"Hmph, I'm not that petty. Let's just let it go," Draco said arrogantly. "I advise you not to be ungrateful."

Harry was taken aback for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "What about Hermione?"

"What? You actually expect me to back down to a mud... a Muggle-born wizard?" Draco's tone turned sharp.

"But I think you should apologize to her," Harry said seriously, silently pushing the candy back into his hand.

Draco narrowed his eyes, stared at him for a moment, then his eyes darted around before he said in a condescending tone, "Well then, I can barely spare some time to meet her."

Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief and smiled genuinely.

Seeing the atmosphere between the two gradually becoming harmonious, Owen shook his head with amusement, put Melett on his shoulder, and walked out of the dormitory.

(End of this chapter)