A broken Hogwarts

Chapter 165 Sending off the Basilisk

The lights in the corridor were dim, and there were a few stars hanging in the dark night sky outside the window.It was not yet nine o'clock, and there was no student left in the corridor, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the slight sounds of Peeves playing with himself downstairs were left.

The attack again stimulated the sensitive nerves of the students, and this time it was a professor who had disappeared before that was petrified.The school asked all students not to leave the common room before [-]pm, postponed all Quidditch practice and competitions, and had teachers escort students to every lesson.

You can see Professor McGonagall's cats and raccoons everywhere in the castle. These little guys who are very good at avoiding danger patrol the castle dutifully. He turned his face and turned away without recognizing anyone.

Even so, they are loved by almost all students.Now that there are dangers lurking in the castle, they can at least give people a sense of peace of mind, and recently the little wizards are afraid to go out for night tours, so they don't worry about being caught by them and giving them to the professor.

puff-

A cat with orange-yellow hair jumped out from behind a pair of armor, shook off the dust on his body, and yelled softly at Owen who came out of the principal's room.

"Good evening, Lulu. You've worked hard during this time, and you've lost weight..." Owen touched the cat's head distressedly, and took out Melet's snacks for it to eat.The fattest orange cats have lost weight, which shows that the cuties are really dedicated.

"Meow——" the orange-yellow cat lizi raised his face and yelled, and then swallowed the snacks wholeheartedly.After eating a few mouthfuls, it licked its paws leisurely, rubbed its head against Owen's palm, then turned and disappeared into the corner.

Owen smiled and continued to walk downstairs, distractedly analyzing the attitude shown by the principal tonight.

From the perspective of answering questions, the other party is indeed very dedicated, and there is no perfunctory at all.But from the perspective of attitude, it doesn't look like an attitude towards students, but more like cultivating a trusted subordinate with appreciation and respect, but not closeness.

Owen didn't quite understand the purpose of the other party's doing this. After all, the other party certainly did not lack followers, and it was not worthwhile to train himself.But it is clear that the new principal has no intention of turning his face at present, which is a good thing.

In any case, following this person is much more promising than following Voldemort, but if Owen wants to make trouble, he must be more cautious.

He played with his wand casually, and slowly entered the dungeon along the stairs.The surrounding environment suddenly became much colder and damper, and the lights in the corridor became even dimmer. Owen, who was dressed in a black robe and pale, walked lightly here. The vampire in the castle, with a mysterious and elegant charm.

Nyx in the pocket just woke up and let out a crisp cry, and Owen also heard another footstep not far from him.

"You should stay in the lounge now, Shafiq." A deep voice came from afar.

"Good evening, Professor Snape." Owen said, looking at the figure striding forward, "I just came back from the principal's office and asked Mr. Dumbledore some questions about his studies."

Snape frowned, looking down at him, the dim candlelight reflected in his greasy hair.For the first time, he felt troublesome with a student. Why does this kid always like to deal with suspicious guys?Just thinking about Dumbledore gave him a terrible headache.

"Dumbledore has so many things to do every day, it's not a good idea to bother him all the time, Shafik." He suppressed the boredom in his heart and said indifferently.

"Mr. Dumbledore told me that he is willing to answer my questions every Friday night." Owen raised the corners of his mouth, with a naive look and a little complacency, "Harry doesn't See him all Saturday night?"

Snape's brows frowned even tighter, the corners of his mouth twitched, and there was a little anxiety and panic in the gloomy expression.

Identifying the dean's extremely complicated micro-expression, the smile on the corner of Owen's mouth deepened.Judging from Professor Snape's attitude, Dumbledore obviously didn't vaccinate him, otherwise he wouldn't be so flustered now.From this point of view, the current situation may not really be Dumbledore's arrangement.

Tsk, poor Professor Snape.Owen suddenly wanted to tease him.

"Professor Snape," he showed a tangled and hesitant expression, "do you feel that Mr. Dumbledore has changed a lot recently?"

"What did you find?" Snape said after a moment of silence.

"Didn't you find out? Mr. Dumbledore's style of dressing has changed, he doesn't like sweets anymore, he keeps the headmaster's room in order, he is unwilling to solve the crisis at Hogwarts, and even his Phoenix has been gone for a long time It has appeared." Owen solemnly stretched out his fingers to count, "The most important thing is..." He lowered his voice mysteriously, "He actually washed the sorting hat."

Snape's face was a little dark, he gave Owen a warning look, and said slowly: "At his age, it's normal to have some changes."

Does that mean Dumbledore is demented?Owen stifled a laugh.

"That's it..." Owen nodded with a face of enlightenment, and then said again: "I heard from Harry that Mr. Dumbledore had a very powerful curse before, but it seems to have been completely cured now. Professor, Did you help him heal the curse?" He looked at the other party adoringly with shining eyes.

"Not me." Snape's face darkened further.He suddenly put away his gloomy expression, narrowed his eyes enigmatically and looked at the little wizard in front of him.He suspected that the other party knew something... No, he was sure that Owen had already noticed something.

"What do you know?" He stared into Owen's eyes, his eyes were sharp as if he wanted to see into his heart.

"I'm just skeptical... After all, Dumbledore came back after disappearing for a few weeks, and too many changes have taken place. So I was wondering, did something happen to him?" Owen tilted his head.Using Legilimency to take thoughts does not talk about Wude.

"Dumbledore is fine." Snape stared at him for a while, then looked blankly at the end of the long corridor, "He is the headmaster recognized by the castle." Until a solution is found, it's best to pretend that nothing happened Know.

"I see." Owen nodded, "Then I'll go back, Professor."

"Wait, Potter told me about the Chamber of Secrets today." Snape stopped him, "He said you were the first to find the Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes, finding more clues based on known intelligence is my specialty." Owen said casually.

"You care about the Chamber of Secrets?" Snape asked.

"Of course, the basilisk in the secret room threatens the safety of every student." Owen said naturally.

"You are pure blood, not the target of the heir." Snape said slowly.

"But I was attacked twice, and something happened to Weasley. I never like to expose myself to unknown threats, and I don't want Hogwarts to be shut down because of this." Owen looked helpless Said, "What's more, the heir's target is Harry..."

"Who made me Harry's friend?" he said in a low voice, like a distant echo that was erratic and hollow.

Snape looked at him with an unfathomable expression. This little wizard always gave him a sense of impenetrability, which made him unable to tell whether it was real or fake.He sees himself in Owen, and he has to admit that there are many similarities between the two.

His expression slowed down a bit, and he said calmly, "Go back."

"Good night, Professor." Owen nodded politely, then turned around slowly, and walked away slowly.

Watching the thin but tall figure of the little wizard disappear at the end of the corridor, Snape paced anxiously. The current situation caught him off guard and made him complain and annoy Dumbledore even more.Who made him always hide some important things from himself and go out alone, and now the ship has capsized... He really doesn't want to clean up the mess left by Dumbledore.

At this time, a bunch of silver-blue flames suddenly ignited in front of him, as if someone had set off a silent fireworks in the corridor.The flames were fleeting, and a piece of paper floated down from the place where the flames dissipated, and slowly landed on the ground.

Snape stepped forward, staring at the writing on the note, his brows furrowed.

There was only a short sentence on the note: "Severus, please go to the principal's office."

There was no signature, and the font was not Dumbledore's slanted font, but somewhat scribbled and wild, a font Snape had never seen before.

Snape picked up the note, and after standing silently for a while, he suddenly snorted.He shook off the cloak behind him and headed straight for the principal's office.

The stone monster at the door of the principal's office did not stop him. When he entered this office, which he had never set foot in recently, the changes in the surrounding layout made his expression sink.

"What do you want from me, Dumbledore?" He stared at the unfamiliar headmaster behind the desk, and said word by word, "I don't think you need me to treat you anymore..." He glanced at Glancing at the other party's unscathed hands, the right hand under the cloak had already clenched the wand tightly.

"Let's talk to you, Severus." Dumbledore looked at him expressionlessly, "After all, you are the person I trust and value the most."

"Not anymore," Snape said sarcastically.

Dumbledore suddenly smiled, he stared into the other's eyes sincerely and said, "It can be now, as long as you want."

Snape said unmoved, "What is your purpose?"

"Ha, that's a good question." Dumbledore raised the corner of his right lip and crossed his hands against his chin. "But I want to ask you first, what is your purpose?"

Snape's eyes moved, but he didn't speak.

Dumbledore didn't wait for his answer, and said to himself, "Keep Harry Potter safe?"

Snape curled his upper lip slightly and said indifferently, "I hate him."

"No, at least half of them like it, don't you?" Dumbledore said with interest, his eyes deep and sharp, "Do you think you can protect him well?"

Snape twitched the corner of his mouth, hell, Dumbledore didn't keep his promise and told others about him!Dumbledore deserves it!He said angrily, "I wish he could die!"

"He's going to die if you really think so," said Dumbledore seriously.

"What on earth are you trying to do?" Snape gritted his teeth, his sallow face drawn long.

"No, Severus, what we're talking about now is your purpose." Dumbledore waved an index finger up, "Don't change the subject."

"You are not only guarding Harry Potter, you are also guarding the future of the wizarding world." He said affirmatively.

"That's none of my business...you're very imaginative." Snape smiled derisively.His expression was much more real now.

"It seems that you yourself haven't discovered some... kindness in your heart, or that you don't want to admit it." Dumbledore looked at him pityingly.

"What on earth are you trying to say?" said Snape coldly, eyes blazing with uncontrollable anger, "if you just asked me to come and hear your incoherent nonsense—"

"The future is doomed to be peaceful, and the wizarding world is bound to break the shackles." Dumbledore said firmly, "Harry Potter will be at the center of a dangerous vortex, and everything will be reshuffled...What will you choose to do, West?" Fleurs?"

Snape fell silent for a moment, and his expression returned to gloomy and indifferent.

"In the not-too-distant future, someone will break the old order, someone will establish a new order, and someone will protect the new order..." Dumbledore said passionately, as if he had become the most charming orator, "Voldemort's threat is actually insignificant. He can be defeated, but the wizarding world trapped in the cage still cannot find a way out. If the root of the problem is not solved, new crises and crises will eventually emerge in this fertile soil of resentment and hatred." The flames of war..."

"I will create a more perfect world in my lifetime, and your choice will determine what role you will play in the future." His tone suddenly softened, making people feel like a spring breeze, but also hidden dangers, "Do you want What kind of character, Severus?"

"I don't care." Snape said indifferently, with a look of reluctance.

"So, this is your choice?" Dumbledore was not angry, but the old god was smiling.

"I'll pretend I don't know anything." Snape said with a deadpan expression, his lips moving.

"Then it's business as usual." Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Are you going to sit on the sidelines about school matters?" Snape said after a long silence.

"That's the savior's whetstone, and I won't interfere." Dumbledore put away his smiling face and said flatly, "If this kind of thing can kill him, he's not worth my training."

"Owen Shafik is your candidate?" Snape asked coldly.

"He..." Dumbledore tapped his fingers on the table lightly, making an "aggressive" sound, "He is a variable. He is the key to everything, and he may destroy everything."

"Really? It's very interesting. Do you want to invite him to flip a coin to decide who lives and who dies?" Snape's tone was full of sarcasm.

Dumbledore just raised the corners of his mouth, and then waved that he could go.

Before leaving, Snape said slowly: "Who are you? Grindelwald?" Combining the time of Dumbledore's return and the time of Grindelwald's death, it is not difficult to generate this guess.

The other party just smiled slightly, neither acknowledging nor denying.

"How is Dumbledore?" Snape asked again.

"What do you think?" The old man sitting elegantly on the high-backed chair snorted coldly, gently rubbing the black gemstone ring on his finger with his fingertips.

Snape turned around abruptly and strode out of the headmaster's room.

……

On Saturday afternoon, the young wizards who had no lessons were ordered to remain in the common room.The castle is empty, which makes people feel a little cold.

The four deans of Hogwarts gathered outside Myrtle's washroom on the second floor, waiting with serious faces, pacing anxiously from time to time.They all had the basilisk-proof glasses kindly provided by Irving on their faces, ready to take the basilisk away.

Owen leaned against the wall boredly, waiting for Harry to coax the basilisk up.

"Are you here to see me?" Myrtle poked her pimple-faced head out of the wall, blushing, "But...it's not good here, this is the girls' bathroom...Of course, Owen You can come..." She looked timidly at Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick, and after being glanced indifferently by Snape, she cried out with a "wow", turned around and went back to her in fright in the toilet bowl.

"I brought the basilisk out!" Harry said loudly in the bathroom, sliding off the serpent's back and following, somewhat ashamed.

The basilisk stared at the big yellow eyes, and looked curiously at the professors waiting in the corridor.It wasn't aggressive because of Harry's orders.

The four professors exchanged glances with each other, and tacitly surrounded the basilisk in the middle.Owen stepped back silently, so as not to be affected.

"Basilisk, I want you to leave the castle for a while," Harry hissed, trying to persuade the basilisk to leave. "No one in the school should be attacked again. You cannot disobey the heir's orders, so I hope you will." hide..."

The basilisk glared at him with bright yellow eyes, shook its huge hideous snake head and shouted hoarsely: "No! I will not leave the secret room!"

"It's just for a while, okay? After you catch that guy, you can come back." Harry hurriedly reassured.

"No!" The basilisk flicked its tail excitedly, turned around and was about to run into the secret room.

"Do it!" cried Professor McGonagall, and a cold light flashed on the glasses.She raised her wand to the basilisk, and a long golden cord wound around it like a nimble snake.

Professor Snape, who was also wearing glasses, looked eccentric.He flicked his wand grimly, and a gray beam hit the basilisk's head, causing it to wobble dazedly.

Professor Flitwick waved his wand quickly, releasing spells one after another, making the basilisk's struggling movements difficult and slow.

Professor Sprout made a lot of devil's nets, and the vines that spread wantonly tightly bound the body of the basilisk.

"Roar! Let me go!" The basilisk's huge body rolled and struggled, but it was locked tightly and couldn't break free.It opened its mouth wide, revealing its fangs that were as sharp as a sword, and bent up to bite the nearest Professor Sprout.

"Shut up! Don't bite!" Harry said hastily.

The basilisk closed its mouth aggrievedly, rolled its head sullenly, and tossed the ropes and vines that bound it to pieces.But more ropes followed to bind it tighter and tighter.

"It's okay, Hagrid found you a suitable cave in the Forbidden Forest..." Harry coaxed.

"Let go of me! I want to go back!" The basilisk hissed and clamored without listening.But the professors couldn't understand what it said, so they just dragged it out of the castle.

"There's food out there! You'll have enough to eat every day!" Harry exclaimed.

"I don't want to leave!" the basilisk whimpered, shaking its head vigorously.

"You don't want to be full?" Harry asked rhetorically.

"Think!" the basilisk said without hesitation, and opened its mouth to bite the devil's net wrapped around its neck.

"Then go outside!" said Harry.

"No!" The basilisk slammed its powerful tail against the wall, causing the dust on the ceiling to rustle down.

"Going back hungry!" Harry yelled.

"Don't be hungry, but go back!" the basilisk roared decisively.

Harry leaned feebly against the wall, and he gave up on persuasion.Owen followed behind at a safe distance, his stomach hurting from laughing.

In the end, the professors successfully took the basilisk out of the castle, into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, and handed it over to Hagrid who was looking forward to it.Hagrid pushed the anti-basilisk glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking at the basilisk as if seeing a lover in love: "What a beautiful little guy, isn't he? Don't worry, I will treat him well."

"Roar! Let me go back! You are all bad guys!" The basilisk hissed to the sky, and the grief and indignation in his tone made the listeners weep while the witnesses wept.

"You have to be good, bye." Harry waved his hands, and heaved a sigh of relief after turning his head.

"Harry, you are such a scumbag." Owen teased.

Harry: ...

(End of this chapter)