A ruined Hogwarts

The evening breeze dissipated the sultry humidity, the sun hung slanting in the sky, and the continuous clouds showed bright pink and purple. The undulating buildings cast scattered dark shadows on the ground, and the world was divided into two sides: light and dark.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, Diagon Alley is still very lively. Bustling crowds of people were coming and going, and laughter could be heard from time to time among the noisy conversations. The tempting aroma of food wafted from the windows on both sides of the street, reminding people that it was time to enjoy dinner.

Among the leisurely crowds, a group of four people were walking hurriedly through. They all wore black wizard robes and tall pointed wizard hats on their heads, with the brim of the hat held low, completely shrouding their faces in shadow.

The tall man walking at the front was holding a black suitcase in his hand and holding the brim of his hat with one hand. He squeezed between people's shoulders with long strides and headed towards the end of Diagon Alley.

Just as they were about to walk out of the most crowded area, a young wizard wearing a dark purple pointed hat pushed through the crowd in front and ran towards them. The short boy was holding a tan suitcase in his hand. He seemed to be running too fast and didn't pay attention to the front, so he collided with the tall man.

The tall wizard couldn't escape in the crowded crowd and was knocked straight into the boy's arms. The hand holding the suitcase was hit hard by the corner of the suitcase in the boy's hand, causing a dull pain in his bones. His fingers loosened and the suitcase in his hand fell to the ground.

In the blind spot of everyone's sight, the boy raised his left hand to firmly catch the black suitcase that was about to land, and quickly weighed it.

Then he gently shook the tan suitcase in his right hand, and with a "brush", the tan leather shell easily detached from the box, revealing the black box inside.

There was a small opening on the side of the box, and several transparent thin lines extended from the inside of the box. The boy hooked his little finger and ring finger and pulled two small strings out of the box, thus reducing the weight of the box.

Then he suddenly let go of his hand, and the remaining string retracted into the box with a "swish". The opening on the box closed with a "snap", and the entire suitcase turned into a black suitcase and flew out diagonally.

In the moment when he and the tall wizard made contact, the boy clasped his hands together, and the tan shell removed from the suitcase was put on the other suitcase smoothly. With a subtle "click" sound, the outer shell wrapped the box tightly.

Finally, the boy let go of his hand, and the box drew a graceful arc in mid-air and then fell to the ground.

This series of small movements was just a flash of lightning. In the blink of an eye, the boy was knocked to the ground, and the wizard's hat on his head buried his entire face in it.

With two "bang bangs", the two suitcases fell to the ground almost at the same time, stirring up dust on the ground.

The tall wizard didn't take a step back, his face gloomy. The few wizards following him looked around cautiously, and invariably put their hands into their pockets.

"Ouch!"

The boy who fell to the ground screamed in pain, his cheek buried in his hat, and his voice seemed a little muffled.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said in a clear voice.

The tall wizard didn't even look at the boy who fell to the ground. With a cold face, he directly picked up the black suitcase from the ground, walked around the boy and continued walking forward.

The boy got up from the ground with a hiss, raised his hand to straighten the pointed hat on his head, looked back at the group of people disappearing into the crowd, and raised the corners of his mouth slyly.

He patted the dust on his body, bent down and picked up the box on the ground, and walked leisurely in the opposite direction.

If Diagon Alley is brightly lit even in the deepest darkness, then Knockturn Alley is its opposite, hiding in rich shadows even on a bright sunny day. In the evening when the sun was setting, Knockturn Alley, which was already cramped and dark, entered the night early.

The four people headed by the tall wizard entered the entrance of Knockturn Alley, took out their wands from their pockets, and walked along the narrow alley in a familiar manner.

There was a burst of chaotic footsteps in the dark alley ahead, mixed with rude shouts:

"Grab that little thing! I'm going to torture him to death!"

"He ran this way!"

"If you dare to rob our Black Bone Guild's things, I really don't want to live anymore..."

"I can feel the mark we left on the box, it's so close!"

Several figures in dark robes poured out of the alley. They all held wands in their hands, their faces hidden under their hoods, and they carried a cold and dark aura.

The two groups met on a narrow road and each stopped in their tracks. The tall wizard narrowed his eyes and led the three people behind him to move two steps to the side, intending to avoid these madmen whose brains had been eroded by black magic.

"It's over there! That box!" A little wizard on the opposite side suddenly shouted in a sharp voice, pointing to the black suitcase in the tall wizard's hand: "That has our magic mark on it!"

A group of dark wizards wearing hoods raised their wands in unison, and the four people headed by the tall wizard could only point their wands at the people opposite. The atmosphere suddenly became cold and depressing.

"I think you have misunderstood something." The tall wizard said.

"You stole our things and you dared to show up in front of us..." A thin man on the opposite side said in a hoarse and evil voice, "You are so bold, so bold."

"I didn't steal anything from you." The tall wizard frowned, "This is our box."

"Haha... Then you don't mind checking us out, right?" The thin man let out a dry and unpleasant laugh.

The tall wizard's eyes hidden under the brim of his hat suddenly became sharp and fierce. He understood that these people were here for the things in their hands.

"Do it!" He gestured to the three people behind him, and then without hesitation shot a white light towards the opposite side, hitting the skinny man who might be the leader.

The skinny man flew out like a broken sack, hit the wall behind and became motionless. Taking this as a signal to start the war, the two groups fought fiercely in the dark and cramped alleyway.

"Thunderbolt explosion!"

"Shattered to pieces!"

"Flying sand and flying rocks!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"..."

The violent explosion was mixed with the sound of high-pitched mantras, and the fire exploded the surrounding walls and illuminated the dim alleys and doorways. Beams of various colors were flying around, figures were running around in the firelight, and the light and shadow were distorted, like a strange ritual.

On the roof of a small building not far from here, two figures sat and stood, watching this scene quietly.

"Natasha, look, what beautiful fireworks." Owen said with a smile, his sweet voice soft and full of temptation.

He was sitting on the edge of the roof, one leg hanging casually on the edge and swaying slightly, and a dark purple pointed hat placed aside.

At this time, he was tilting his head slightly, condescendingly admiring the duel that was not yet over, with a cold and teasing smile at the corner of his pale mouth. The flash of the magic spell reflected in his eyes, adding a hollow and brilliant light to his dark and deep black pupils.

"Well, it's very impressive!" Natasha twitched the corner of her mouth, and then praised her seriously, "Although I think it is much easier to just do it..."

She stood aside with her hands behind her back, tiptoeing a little restlessly, her long dark red hair gently blowing in the wind.

"Let them destroy themselves in confusion and despair, isn't this a more gorgeous and moving drama?" Owen asked leisurely, watching the situation below with interest, not thinking about the people who died in the duel. Produce the slightest emotion.

"I can't do such a fancy operation." Natasha curled her lips, glanced at the tan suitcase next to her, and asked curiously: "You changed the suitcase under their noses... What on earth did you do? How did you do it?"

"All it takes is a little skill..." Owen got excited when he mentioned this. His eyes lit up, and the smile on his face became cunning and bright, and he truly looked like a boy of his age.

"But these guys who have been hanging out in Knockturn Alley all year round are very sensitive to the fluctuations of magic. How can you hide it from them?" Natasha said.

"Because I'm not using magic." Owen smiled and blinked his left eye.

Natasha tilted her head in confusion, and then muttered: "Why do you have to make things so complicated when you can solve them with just your hands?"

"Because it's fun." Owen said seriously.

"Okay, as long as you're happy." Natasha shrugged, "Actually, you don't need to interfere at all. I'm very good at solving this kind of thing. Although they come to the bookstore to harass me from time to time, Remus and I can deal with it. Come on."

She hugged her shoulders and watched the ongoing battle, and sneered: "Those guys from the Black Bone Society just want to extort more protection money. As long as you let them know that you are not easy to mess with, you won't be afraid of them doing those murderous things to you. "

"As for the group of people you exchanged boxes for... they always like to sneak around outside the bookstore and poke their heads in. One time they sneaked in late at night and were beaten out by Remus... They are probably a group of thieves. ."

"If you ask me, we should have killed the guy who dared to sneak into the bookstore, so that they would no longer dare to stare at us." Natasha raised her eyebrows in annoyance, "Remus, really, he has never been like this. Big, I won’t even kill an individual.”

Owen shook his head in amusement, glanced at the suitcase he got from the group of people, and said thoughtfully: "I remember this time last year, I threw out two people who came to make trouble in the bookstore. Among them is an old friend of yours. Which organization are they from?"

"Riley?" Natasha frowned and thought for a while before saying, "I have seen him hanging out with the sneaky guys outside. He should be a member of the thief organization."

"A group of thieves will go to the bookstore to cause trouble and force you to join them?" Owen raised his eyebrows.

"What's the matter?" Natasha stroked her hair without surprise, "This kind of thief organization usually looks timid, but they always like to show off their power in front of those they think are weak and can be bullied, and they don't mind making a guest appearance occasionally. Robbers and kidnappers.”

"But they are not timid at all, and their fighting ability is not ordinary." Owen said meaningfully as he glanced at the battle that was coming to an end.

There will be six people in Black Bone. Although one of them was killed by a surprise attack at the beginning, the four wizards of the thief organization showed no fear at all against the remaining five people, and it seemed that they were almost winning.

"Hmm -" Natasha made a long nasal sound, as if she suddenly realized, "They must be brave thieves!"

"..." Owen turned his head expressionlessly. Faced with Natasha's daily stupidity, he didn't want to speak at all for fear of being infected.

As the light of the setting sun became increasingly dim, this sudden battle in the dark alley was about to end. There were five or six figures lying on the ground. It was unclear whether they were dead or alive. Two wizards from the Black Bone Society escaped midway. The remaining two people from the Thief Organization were working together to deal with the last opponent.

Their opponents had no time to escape. Facing the two menacing enemies, he madly and cruelly released the last killing curse in desperation. While hitting an enemy, he was also submerged in the flames of the explosion.

The fireworks soaring into the sky engulfed everything around them, including those lying on the ground. Finally, the tall surviving wizard rushed out of the explosion area with his suitcase. He raised his hand to wipe his burned face, turned his head and stared at the explosion area fiercely, with an expression as ferocious as if he wanted to eat people.

Glancing at the intact suitcase in his hand, he was slightly relieved, but his expression suddenly changed when he saw the silver buckle on the side of the suitcase. He hurriedly opened the suitcase and looked at the mess of materials and sundries inside, as well as some scattered coins. He fell into a daze.

"Why?" He rummaged around in the box and murmured, "Is this the box for those people?" He couldn't believe that so many people died just for such a small thing.

Most importantly, where was his own box?

He suddenly thought of the boy who bumped into him before... Only then would others have the chance to change their boxes!

But then he realized that he had not seen the boy's face at all!

"No!" The man let out a shrill roar. The hoarse shout was filled with unwilling resentment and doubt, as well as deep despair for the world.

It wasn't until the man's hunched figure disappeared deep into the alley that Owen burst into laughter, and the cold lake in his heart finally filled with waves of joy.

"Tsk, poor guy." He sighed without any real feelings, and then opened the box next to him. Seeing that the wizard valued the contents of this box so much made him look forward to and curious.

The black box slowly opened, and there weren't many things inside. The bottom of the box is padded with white fluffy animal fur, and an exquisite sandalwood box is placed on top. There are some exquisite baubles around it, such as necklaces and rings inlaid with gems, and a copper trident covered with patina. A dog statue, a very short wooden staff, and something resembling a conch shell.

Owen's eyes swept over these small objects one by one, and finally stopped at the sandalwood box carved with beautiful patterns. He carefully opened the silver lock on the box, and a deep blue light came out from the gap in the box, like light reflected from the deep sea.

Lying quietly on the red velvet base in the box was a dark blue gem. The crystal clear triangular prism gem was as long as a finger. The whole thing shone with a charming shimmer, making Natasha's eyes sparkle. .

"It looks so expensive." She swallowed, imagining how many shiny gold galleons this gem could sell for.

"This kind of gem... I've never seen it before." Owen quickly went through the relevant knowledge he knew in his mind. "The glowing stone... does it have magic power or radiation?"

He closed the sandalwood box in his hand with a "snap", then carefully sealed it, and carefully recited several magic spells for isolation before putting it away. The tall wizard probably valued this gem, and he planned to go back and study it carefully.

After placing the sandalwood box containing the gems, Owen looked at the remaining items in the box, and his eyes finally rested on the pattern printed on the inside of the box lid.

It was a skull scepter pattern, surrounded by connected large and small circles. The whole thing looked like a variant of the letter "D", which looked very aesthetic.

"Is this the mark of that organization?" Owen stared at it with interest for a while, then looked at Natasha and warned seriously: "Pay more attention to this organization. I'm afraid they are not simple. There may be deeper reasons for paying attention to our bookstore. the goal of."

"I know." Natasha was surprised, then nodded, keeping this in mind.

Owen closed the box and asked casually: "Speaking of which, where was Lupine today?"

"He asked for leave." Natasha said casually, "He said he was going to see an old friend he hadn't seen for many years."

"I know, I'll go back first." Owen smiled slightly, turned around and jumped off the stairs. (End of chapter)