A broken Hogwarts

The grassland in front of the church gate was in a mess, with large and small potholes scattered among the charred plant remains, and in some places there was still smelly smoke. Some of the remaining grass blades were frozen to a crisp and covered with shiny white frost.

There were many people lying scattered on the grass. The wizards in black cloaks had lost consciousness and were tied tightly together with ropes. Some of the remaining people rushed towards the church without stopping, while the remaining wounded stayed where they were, making low groaning sounds.

There was a muffled sound of "pop", and strong black flames suddenly shot up high on the grass between the crowds, causing the people around to raise their wands vigilantly.

Owen stepped out of the flames, with a beautiful black bird on his shoulder, and a prisoner and an oil bottle in his hands.

"Phew - you finally came out. I thought it was a good place that you wouldn't want to come out." Albert finally breathed a sigh of relief, motioned for the others to put down their wands, and lectured angrily with a face on his face.

Owen threw the captive on the ground, let go of the boy he brought out from the dungeon, and blinked at his father with an innocent face.

He looks a little embarrassed now. The robe on his body became dusty, and there was a big tear in the corner of the clothes, probably made when he rolled to avoid the curse. There was some black ash on the pale face, and the white patches were black and the patches looked a little funny. Even his hair, which was always neat and tidy, was messy and tangled, and the hair next to his left ear was baked into curls.

Adeline glanced sharply at Owen up and down. After confirming that he was fine, her expression relaxed slightly, and then she asked without hesitation: "How is the situation inside?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud "boom" in the church.

The out-of-control purple fire was no longer content to be trapped in a small space. They transformed into the forms of phoenixes, fire dragons, and chimaera beasts, violently knocking off the wooden boards nailed to the arched windows and throwing curses on them. Its scorching claws stretched out of the door and window, reaching out its never-satisfied tongue of fire to lick everything that could be used as fuel.

"Wow, it's so spectacular." Facing the heat wave that hit his face, Albert raised his left eyebrow and threw his long black hair behind his shoulders. He waved his wand suddenly and said in a low voice: "All curses are over!"

"All curses end." Owen and Adeline also released the curse at the same time, and the two voices overlapped, like a beautiful male and female chorus.

The golden light suppressed the scorching tongues of fire back into the church. The fire monster struggled ferociously and violently, raising its head and letting out a silent howl, but it could only become smaller and smaller in the light curtain, and finally turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared. All that was left in the air was charcoal and ashes.

"You used the breaking spell well." Albert raised the corners of his mouth with satisfaction, even looking a little embarrassed. The spell "The End of All Curses" is not something that a young wizard of Owen's age can easily master, and it is enough for him to be proud of.

He waved his wand again, and a roaring wind swept away the annoying heat, and then looked inside the door from a distance: "Where are those people?"

"Well... when I was struggling with those people, I knocked out a few people, and Nyx was also a big help... Then the fire spell released by an irrational guy went out of control and engulfed everyone. " Owen made it up without changing his expression, "So I grabbed the nearest prisoner and the people rescued from the dungeon and escaped..."

"Really?" Albert glanced at him suspiciously, "So all those people were burned to death? I know you can't apparate in the church, otherwise your mother and I would have gone straight in to look for you."

"Yes!" Owen said with sincerity and innocence. His pale and delicate cheeks were stained with black ash, which made him look pitiful. This made his round eyes clear and bright, making him look like an embarrassed but still cute stray cat.

"Hey, since the matter has been resolved, I believe it!" Albert was so cute that he immediately put aside his IQ and moral integrity.

Adeline took a deep look at Owen, then took his left hand that had several deep wounds, frowned in distress, and gently recited a healing spell to him.

The bleeding wound quickly stopped bleeding under the influence of the spell, and slowly shrank and healed, until only a few light pink traces remained. Owen smiled gratefully at his mother and waved his wand to make himself cleaner and fresher.

"How did you find it?" he asked curiously, raising his palm to gently stroke Nyx's slender tail feathers.

"Haha, things like portkeys are very easy to track, much simpler than tracking the Apparition." Albert looked at the injuries of the wounded and said in a relaxed tone, "You don't think that your mother and I will be able to do it by ourselves." I want you to go to Diagon Alley alone? When you just encountered an attack not long ago."

As he said that, he shrugged helplessly: "Your mother always felt that the attack on us would not go away so easily, so she always paid attention to your safety. We also made a bet..."

He curled his lips, obviously not wanting to talk about this topic. He basically never won a bet with Adeline.

"Adeline asked your catnives to follow you from a distance - those little guys are very good at sensing and tracking - she herself went to Diagon Alley, the first time you were teleported away by the portkey. The time was notified to me. I immediately gathered my men and chased after Adeline."

As he spoke, he comforted the wounded and recited a healing spell to the injured leg of a young wizard with freckles on his face.

A pure-blood family like Shafiq that still maintains its glory is a force that cannot be underestimated. A group of direct subordinates responsible for family management, operation, guarding, etc., a group of business dependents, plus members of affiliated families and officials from the Ministry of Magic recommended by the family, as well as broad connections, etc., are all purely The blood family's own power.

"That's it." Owen nodded thoughtfully. If Melete was following him secretly, it would be difficult for him to detect her in a busy place like Diagon Alley.

"Speaking of which, how's Blaise doing?" He looked at his mother.

Adeline adjusted the wide-brimmed hat that was a little crooked on her head, and her magnetic voice was very calm: "The child was hit by a confusion spell, and he is fine now. He should still be waiting for you in Diagon Alley, cast a spell on him We didn’t catch anyone.”

She glanced at the boy Owen brought out from the church basement and asked softly: "Who is he?"

"I don't know, he was imprisoned under the church by those people." Owen shook his head and glanced at the boy standing there helplessly.

The boy looked about ten years old, wearing a dirty and torn robe, and his exposed skin was covered with deep and shallow scars, which made one imagine the kind of abuse he had experienced before.

He is very thin, with blue eyes, a long nose, a few freckles on his pale and thin cheeks, and dirty gray-brown curly hair. He stands there alone like a poor abandoned puppy, but from time to time he The eyes he looked at Owen were bright and intense.

Irving was stared at by the boy and felt a little hairy on his back. This was the first time that someone looked at him like a fanatical fan looking at an idol. In his previous life, his fans were more sensible. He raised his hand and touched his face, looked into the other person's eyes, and asked in a sweet voice: "Tell me, who are you?"

An excited blush appeared on the boy's haggard cheeks, and he said quickly: "I am Kurt, Kurt Garnier, and I have been locked up here for a long time. Uh, I don't remember how long it has been... "

"Garnier..." Owen held his chin with his fingers and asked thoughtfully: "What is your relationship with Craig Garnier?" It was from this person that he bought his bookstore. .

"That's my father and grandfather's name." Kurt said honestly.

"Can you tell me about your family?" Owen asked softly.

Kurt nodded obediently and said without any concealment: "My grandfather and my father moved to Knockturn Alley more than ten years ago. They had been living in France before. My grandfather was a very powerful thief..."

He glanced at Owen cautiously, but did not find a look of disdain or rejection on Owen's face, and then he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Since coming to Knockturn Alley, my grandfather has not done anything. He bought some properties and shops. , opened several shops, and lived a very low-key life."

"My father did not inherit his grandfather's talent, nor did he learn his grandfather's stealing skills. He preferred to do business. But he had no business talent. He was always losing money and was controlled by his grandfather. Everyone else controlled him. He's called a prodigal, but he was very kind to me and my mother." Kurt showed a look of reminiscence, and then his expression turned painful.

"Until that day, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly." He said in a hoarse voice. "Without my grandfather's control, my father devoted himself to his career. In order to maintain the business, he sold many valuable items that his grandfather had hidden. Things, they don’t listen to the advice of my mother and me at all.”

"Then those people came to our door." He said in a low voice, his cheeks tightened, "My grandfather must have been offended before he hid in Knockturn Alley. It was probably because the things my father sold were leaking our information. Traces lead to trouble.”

"I was caught here last summer. The group of people broke into my house late at night..." Kurt showed a complex expression mixed with sadness, fear and resentment. "My parents were in the hall with those people. People in black cloaks fought. As soon as I came out of the room, I saw my mother fell..."

His blue eyes were slightly moist, and his pupils became a little dilated: "She was hit by a crushing spell that bounced off, and she died on the spot. A man in a black cloak was shouting to capture someone alive, and my father and I were captured by them. Lived and imprisoned in the dungeon here..."

"They tortured my father in front of me, forcing him to tell where my grandfather hid the treasure, and asking who my grandfather's friends were. They wanted to find a certain treasure that my grandfather had hidden." Kurt's expression was filled with numbness feel.

"They asked my father about the location of all the houses and properties left by my grandfather, and forced him to take away everything stored in Gringotts. They also asked in detail about everyone who had contact with my grandfather. Forcing him to recall various details about his grandfather..."

"But they still didn't find what they wanted. Later, my father was too weak from the torture and died of illness in the dungeon, so they started to torture me..." Kurt lowered his head numbly, "But I don't know, really I don’t know. My grandfather died unexpectedly and he didn’t have time to explain anything to us.”

"Then they found that they couldn't ask anything from me, so they kept me there and tortured me from time to time, forcing me to recall more things about my grandfather, trying to find some clues."

"I heard them saying that they would kill me after they found something. In fact, I think it would be better to die, but I am always unwilling to die like this." He muttered to himself absentmindedly.

"How much do you know about this organization?" Owen reached out and patted his shoulder to express comfort, and then asked softly.

Kurt's legs visibly weakened, as if Owen's palms weighed a thousand pounds. He stuttered and said: "I know very little. I sometimes crawl to the basement door and eavesdrop on their conversations. Those people rarely talk about things about their organization. What I overhear is basically about that." A treasure."

"Then let's talk." Owen said pleasantly.

Kurt's expression became much calmer. He tried to remember and said: "They have been searching for my grandfather's secret base and investigating people who have had contact with my grandfather..."

"That's right! They called my grandfather a traitor!" He suddenly remembered this important thing. "That treasure seemed to have been stolen from their organization by my grandfather with a group of people. Those people did not steal it from us. When they found something, they wanted to catch his accomplice." "Later, they really found clues about one of my grandfather's accomplices, but that person escaped. They spent a long time tracking that person with all their strength." Kurt Said, "At the same time, they also sent subordinates to search the property left by my grandfather."

"Industry...did you know that your grandfather had a shop selling stain remover in Knockturn Alley?" Owen narrowed his eyes.

"I know that store." Kurt looked at him blankly, not understanding why he mentioned this.

"Later that store became a bookstore. Have you heard anything about this bookstore from those people?" Owen said in a different way.

"Bookstore?" Kurt was stunned for a moment, his eyes brightened, "I did hear two people talking about a bookstore."

He frowned and thought hard: "One man said that the bookstore was difficult to find and had been bought by a mysterious force, so it was not easy to mess with. The other man said that things would not be hidden in that kind of place, and asked him to concentrate on catching it first. Grandfather’s accomplice…”

"Sure enough..." Owen tapped his chin lightly, and he finally figured out where all the trouble in the bookstore came from.

"However, they came to torture me again a few days ago. Before that, they had ignored me in the dungeon for a long time." Kurt suddenly said, "They asked me what the relationship between my grandfather and the Shafiq family was."

"The man who came to ask questions was this man, the leader of those people." He looked at the man who was thrown to the ground by Owen, his expression mixed with hatred and fear, "They took this issue very seriously and tortured me for a long time... But I Not sure at all."

He shuddered violently, biting his lips until they turned white, and his pupils were dilated and trembling, falling into painful and desperate memories.

"It's okay, Kurt. Look, they're done." Owen comforted him in a child-like tone.

Kurt stared at him blankly, his eyes regained their luster, and big tears suddenly fell down his face. He finally stopped being so numb and started to cry like a boy of his age. However, he tried his best to suppress his cry and let out a weak sob like an injured animal.

As he raised his arms to wipe his tears with his dirty sleeves, Owen noticed that his hands were hanging limply, and that the bones had an odd shape.

Adeline also listened quietly. After looking at Owen, she raised her eyebrows and signaled to him with her eyes: "Leave it to you."

Owen nodded his chin subtly, pointed at the man on the ground and said, "Leave him to me first." He still had many questions to figure out about this organization.

Adeline glanced at the unconscious man, pursed her lips slightly, and said: "Since you caught it yourself...be careful." She turned around and went to deal with the funeral affairs with Albert.

Owen turned to look at the sobbing boy and smiled gently: "Is your hand injured? It looks like it's broken. Let me treat it for you."

He raised the wand in his hand, pointed it at the other person's hands, and recited a bone-setting spell. With a few soft "click" sounds, Kurt's limp hands returned to their original shape and became stronger again. Then he glanced at the large and small wounds on Kurt's body, then recited a healing spell for him, and finally added a cleaning spell.

"Thank... thank you!" Kurt cried until he hiccupped, hurriedly wiping his face with his hands, looking at Owen with eyes full of admiration and admiration, like a fanatic facing the god of his faith.

Facing this kind of fanatical look that made people's skin crawl, Owen hugged his shoulders helplessly. He can almost understand the other person's mental state.

During this long period of more than a year, Kurt experienced the darkest and most painful thing in his life. He lost his grandfather and mother one after another, watched his father being tortured to death in front of his eyes, and was imprisoned in a small and dark cell. He was often tortured, his mind became numb, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

When he was in such despair that life was worse than death, Owen descended from the sky like a god and saved him from hell. Kurt, who had lost all support, naturally regarded Owen as his only spiritual support, infinitely beautifying Owen's image in his mind, and regarded him as his own belief.

Only in this way can his empty and numb heart be filled again, and his spirit on the verge of collapse be supported and redeemed.

This extreme cult of personality makes Owen feel a little interesting, but also troublesome. Overall, it doesn't fit his aesthetic.

What a magician never wants is for other people to worship him like a god and take all the miracles he has created for granted. He would rather people treat him as a human being and be stunned by his miraculous magic.

Under Owen's cold eyes, Kurt tried hard to stop sobbing and looked at him with red eyes.

"Don't you have anything else to tell me?" Owen said softly, lowering his wand and applying a stun spell to the man lying on the ground.

"I...I don't know..." Kurt said weakly, "After being tortured last time, I was not awake most of the time and didn't pay attention to anything anymore."

Owen smiled at him and said: "You are free. Do you plan to go home or go somewhere else? Well, I don't suggest you go home. I'm not sure if the people who slipped through the trap of this organization will still be found. You. It's best to find a place to hide for a while..."

"Well, you're not a student of Hogwarts, are you?" He was sure that he had never seen this face in Hogwarts, and he had never heard of any grade of students who had been missing for a whole year.

"I didn't go to school. I studied with my grandfather at home." Kurt lowered his head and whispered.

Owen nodded in understanding. Not all wizarding families are keen on sending their children to magic schools, especially places like Knockturn Alley. Many wizards prefer to let their children receive home education, or send them to certain wizarding schools, large or small.

"I...can I follow you?" Kurt finally plucked up the courage to say, looking at Owen with eyes full of expectation, but also a little erratic and fearful.

Sure enough, trouble came. The expression on Owen's face did not change at all, and he said slowly: "Why do you want to follow me?"

"I have nothing left." Sensing Owen's intention to refuse, Kurt looked like he was about to cry, "I am willing to do anything for you, as long as you let me follow you. I don't want anything, I just want to help you busy."

His demeanor was pious and humble.

You don’t want anything. Do you want to starve to death? Owen cursed.

He thought for a while, assumed the attitude of an interviewer, and said meticulously: "What are your strengths? Why should I hire you? Give you a minute to impress me."

Kurt was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands. He stuttered and said, "I'm very good at stealing. My grandfather took me with him and taught me all the stealing skills he knew. When I was thirteen years old, I infiltrated the Ministry of Magic and wandered around the top-secret Department of Mysteries without being discovered by anyone!"

He raised his hands: "Those people broke my hands because I was good at picking locks. I had opened the lock before and escaped from the dungeon, but there were always people standing guard outside, and I was caught and beaten. A meal..."

He secretly glanced at Owen and found that he was somewhat interested. He felt instantly inspired and his speech became much smoother: "Oh, by the way, I am a Disguise Magus and I am very good at disguise!"

Kurt pointed at his face. He quickly changed his appearance, his face became wider, his skin color became brown and black, his nose became a hooked nose, his mouth and eyes became larger, and his hair and eyebrows became the same black as Owen.

Owen straightened his stance, becoming genuinely interested. He observed the other party's changes with great interest and found that it was really not a bad idea to have such an extra employee. This guy has a lot of potential.

"Not bad." He nodded and said with satisfaction, "You can follow me."

Kurt cheered and his hair instantly turned a bright orange. He jumped excitedly and was so weak that he almost fell to the ground.

Owen saw how excited he was. After the other party calmed down a bit, he extended his right hand and introduced himself: "I am Owen Shafiq. Please give me your advice in the future."

"Please...please give me more advice!" Kurt tremblingly touched Owen's palm, then shrank back as if he was electrocuted, and his ears turned red.

"But I'm going to go to Hogwarts soon. Then you can help me in my bookstore." Owen took back his hand and said casually, "Speaking of which, how old are you?"

"Fifteen." Kurt replied immediately.

"Oh, older than me." Owen muttered. Although the other person is thin and looks younger than his actual age.

"Really?" Kurt giggled, "But you are so powerful! I saw it through the crack in the door in the dungeon. You know so many powerful spells, you can create such beautiful flames, and you have that black shadow... …so cool!"

Owen looked at him deeply, calmly played with his wand, and said calmly: "You don't need to tell others this..."

"I know!" Kurt nodded quickly like a chicken pecking at rice and closed his mouth tightly.

The exchange with Kurt ends here.

After arranging some follow-up matters, Owen said hello to his parents and apparated away from here. (End of chapter)