A ruined Hogwarts

Christmas in the Shafiq family was not noisy, just quiet and warm, as quiet as the snow on the lawn outside the window.

Everyone received a Christmas gift, and even the house elves each received a soft and warm quilt. This made the always hardworking people even more energetic and busy in the manor all day long. Every trace of dust in the corner must be carefully swept away.

At noon, the family enjoyed a delicious lunch. Mr. Albert and Ms. Adeline drank a bottle of red wine and couldn't help but dance a soothing ballroom dance to the beautiful music. Only Owen felt a little redundant.

After lunch, the family took a walk on the snow-covered lawn. The garden is full of flowers that only bloom in winter, and there is a fragrance in the cold wind. The lake next to the garden has been covered with thick ice and looks like a light blue gem.

Owen was helplessly dragged by his playful father to build a few snowmen, while Ms. Adeline sat on a bench in the garden and watched with a smile, like a black rose blooming quietly, making the surroundings The flowers seemed to have lost their color.

Until night came, the family lit several bundles of special fireworks. The colorful phoenixes and fire dragons performed a grand dance in the sky, and finally turned into golden stars flying all over the sky, reflecting the sky like daylight.

After Christmas Day, Owen refused to go on vacation with his parents and prepared to visit Lady Elizabeth.

"Are you going to visit your friends by yourself?" Albert raised his eyebrows meaningfully, "Are you going to the little girl's house?"

Owen thought for a while and said seriously: "No, I'm going to the old girl's house."

"Okay, but you have to know that underage wizards can't do magic outside of school." Albert spread his hands, "It's fine if you do magic at home or around us, they can't tell who's who. Curse, but when there are no adult wizards around you, the Ministry of Magic's warning will never be late."

Owen nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that he had better solve the problem of Zongsi first.

Every underage wizard will have a trace silk on his body, which will monitor the magic fluctuations within a certain range around the young wizard. Once the young wizard violates the rules, he will receive a warning, and in serious cases, he may even be expelled from school. Of course, generally speaking, the Ministry of Magic will only enable trace silk monitoring during student holidays, and will not use it during school hours.

When a minor wizard uses magic outside of school during the holidays, Trace can not only monitor the young wizard's location, but also detect what magic he is using, which is very inconvenient.

"Dad, you must have a solution to Zongsi, right?" Owen winked at his father and shamelessly started acting cute.

"Of course, but the trace silk is a good thing. At least it can help us determine your location at any time, so that you will not be kidnapped by the scary old witch or the ferocious fire dragon one day." Albert said with a smile, "Don't expect it Your mother and I will help you crack it, and you can try it yourself.”

"Ah, the weather is so nice today. Adeline, do you want to take a romantic trip on the go?" He extended his right hand to Adeline in a very graceful manner.

Adeline put her silk-gloved right hand on his palm with a smile, and after whispering a few words to Owen, the couple stepped into the fireplace and disappeared.

Owen, who was left at home, shook his head in amusement, holding his chin in one hand as he thought about Zusi's question.

Tracers have been in use for a long time, and are not attached to young wizards' wands, but connected to them. When the little wizards enter school, the Ministry of Magic will record their names in the register, and Trace will also begin to monitor them at this time.

As long as Owen can't get his name removed from the Ministry of Magic, Trace will remain. If the traces on a young wizard are blocked or eliminated, the Ministry of Magic will get the news immediately and conduct an investigation.

"Just because it can't be erased, doesn't mean it can't be removed." Owen thought of several transformation magics found in the Ravenclaw Chamber of Secrets, and began to try them with interest.

Although his parents ran away to play, fortunately there were many house elves at home, and Zongsi couldn't tell who was using magic. In fact, whether young wizards in wizarding families perform magic outside of school is basically supervised by their parents, and the Ministry of Magic's monitoring of them is very weak.

However, it turns out that the Ministry of Magic's methods cannot be cracked in a short while, even though Owen's current level of magic theory has surpassed that of most seventh-grade students. In the end, Owen searched through the family library and his parents' study, and successfully found a note left by a certain ancestor.

"I just said that for a family with such a long history as the Shafiq family, someone should try to crack the traces." Owen rubbed his brows helplessly, and his father was indeed fooling him again.

The existence of trace silk does have more advantages than disadvantages for most underage wizards, but it is obviously not the case for some wizard families. Because it will indiscriminately monitor all the magic fluctuations around the little wizard during the holidays and confirm what magic they are. No one would like this kind of constant surveillance, especially since many members of pure-blood families know a thing or two about dark magic.

Owen knew that his parents even studied some dark magic. This was not unusual. Many inheritances of pure-blood families were studied by generations of ancestors. His grandparents even died in magic experiment accidents.

If Mr. Albert and Ms. Adeline had not decided to travel away from home during this time, they might have hurriedly helped Owen get rid of Tracer's surveillance. After all, being detected using black magic is a big deal. Problems can easily be exploited by adversaries.

Following the method in the handbook, Owen spent half a day making a bottle of magic potion. After dripping his own blood into it, the bottle of magic potion turned a beautiful fiery red.

This magic potion can transfer the traces on his body to other creatures, but it can only last for about seven days at a time. After it expires, it needs to be remade. But that was enough time for Irving.

He fed this bottle of magic potion to one of his rabbits. After watching the fluffy white rabbit obediently lick off the last bit of the magic potion, Owen felt as if his body became a little lighter. He didn't know if it was an illusion. .

After changing places and confirming that Zongsi was indeed no longer with him, he looked at the sky, picked up his suitcase and stepped into the fireplace.

After several twists and turns, Owen came to a small wizard's fair in southern Cornwall and met Ms. Gray at a stone monument at the exit.

This ghost lady wears a floor-length robe, and her silver-white figure floats quietly a few inches above the ground, blending in with the surrounding snowy scene. She was looking up at the sun in the sky with her hazy but beautiful face, looking cold and distant, with her usual arrogance.

"Helena, I'm not late, am I?" Owen greeted with a smile.

"The time is just right." Ms. Gray nodded slightly, raised her hand to smooth her long hair, and let it float lightly into the distance.

Owen walked along the mountain road for a long time, and after climbing over a high mountain, he finally came to a valley covered by a black forest. Outside the valley stood a long-decayed wooden sign with the words "Stop coming" written in vague handwriting. It was probably a warning sign set up by Muggles.

There was silence in the valley, even the raging cold wind stopped here. Most of the dense trees have black trunks, which contrast with the white snow on the ground, giving the place a strange feeling. Some trees have lost all their leaves, exposing their curved branches, while some trees still have dark green and yellow leaves hanging on them, trembling in the windless environment.

"Is this Ms. Elizabeth's nightmare forest?" Owen breathed out softly, and his breath condensed into white mist in the air. Ms. Gray looked at the forest in front of her quietly and nodded slightly.

Owen took out the map that Ms. Elizabeth gave him and stepped into the secluded forest in the valley first.

There are thick fallen leaves buried under the snow in the forest, which creak when stepped on, which is especially harsh in this quiet jungle. Owen walked deeper and deeper into the forest along the path marked on the map. The snow on the ground became less and less, and the land took on a dark color. Evergreen trees gradually increased in number, and their branches and leaves blocked the sunlight, making the forest dim all year round.

Gradually, Owen heard whispers coming from the depths of the jungle, like many people whispering to each other. He listened intently but could not hear clearly, like meaningless babble. Soon, those whispers turned into sharp and long howls. The sound was resentful and shrill, like a lost girl crying desperately. There was also a faint laughter, which made people feel fearful. .

The cries and laughter echoed one after another, instantly filling the dead forest. There seemed to be ghostly white figures passing by in the depths of the dark jungle, making the atmosphere here become eerie and gloomy. If a Muggle or timid wizard walked in, he would probably be so frightened that he would crawl away and run away.

Ms. Gray flew around in the air as lightly as a little girl, and suddenly passed through the trunk of a huge ancient tree. A pale white little thing with the size of a human head was frightened and let out a "wow!" He cried and drifted away.

"Is this a nightmare? It's rare to see it outside." Owen said with a smile, looking down at the map to himself, "It's just a few hundred meters away from here."

He put away the map and ignored the nightmares' threats. After passing through a natural barrier surrounded by black trees, he saw a two-story cabin located deep in the jungle.

The wooden house in front of me is made of black wood, and it can be seen that it must have been repaired from time to time. The entire wooden house is entangled with vines. The evergreen vines are still dark green in color and appear full of vitality. These vines will bloom bright red flowers in spring and summer. I think it will be a beautiful sight.

Owen walked up the creaking wooden stairs to the door, raised his hand and knocked on the door. He didn't have to wait long before a handsome and dull head popped out of the door. After seeing Owen and Ms. Gray, his red eyes flickered slightly and nodded to them.

"Ms. Elizabeth, excuse me." Owen said with an elegant smile, "This is what I told you, Ms. Grey."

Ms. Elizabeth nodded again, then suddenly retracted her head. After a moment, the wooden door opened with a click, and the petite ghost lady floated quietly in a somewhat dim environment. Her skirt and hair were fluttering in the wind, like a white rose blowing in the wind. Only her pair of red eyes seemed... Glowing.

"Welcome." She opened her lips, speaking briefly and without any fluctuations in her tone.

Owen looked at the simple furnishings in the wooden house. There are only some old furniture here, and the original exquisiteness and beauty can be vaguely seen from the blurred patterns, but all the items have gradually worn out over time, and their former glory cannot be seen. He also noticed some letters that were kept safely on a table. Those were all letters he had sent, but they were unexpectedly carefully collected by Ms. Elizabeth.

"What a thoughtful lady." Owen sighed in his heart, and then happily talked to Ms. Elizabeth and exchanged some questions about opera.

Ms. Elizabeth still doesn't talk much. Her indifferent expression and concise words can easily make people think she is impatient. In fact, she is just not good at talking, and her identity as a cursed spirit makes it difficult for her to express too many expressions.

Ms. Gray also quickly discovered the other party's true character and relaxed a lot. The relationship between the two ghost ladies quickly became closer, and even Ms. Elizabeth seemed to have an expression that looked like a smile.

After chatting for a while, everyone got down to business.

"Your problems have become much more serious." Ms. Elizabeth looked at Owen in confusion, as if she didn't understand why he let herself sink deeper and deeper even though he knew something was coveting her body.

Owen smiled and stroked his heart, a rich darkness welling up in the depths of his eyes. He blinked and said in a relaxed tone: "There are always some things that cannot be done."

Lady Elizabeth just glanced at him without showing any curiosity. She floated to a trap door that seemed to lead to the basement and motioned to Owen.

Owen pushed open the trap door and saw a long downward staircase inside. He pulled out his wand and said "Lumos", then followed Ms. Elizabeth's silver figure and walked in. Finally, he came to an underground room with ancient notebooks placed in the room.

"These notes are all written by me. They are all my research on souls over the years. You can read them at will." Ms. Elizabeth said quietly. Facing Ms. Gray's puzzled eyes, she explained numbly: "As a curse Spirit, I still have some means of recording."

"Ms. Elizabeth, have you been studying souls?" Owen picked up a relatively new notebook with burning eyes, flipped through it eagerly, and at the same time quickly copied all the surrounding notes into the space facing the wall. There is no magic applied to these notes, making them easy to copy.

"Well, in order to break the curse on me and seek relief." Ms. Elizabeth said expressionlessly, her red eyes blinking slightly.

"The curse on me comes from a very powerful dark wizard. Because I stopped the plague he spread, and discovered his traces by mistake. Before he was surrounded and killed, he cursed me with his life, making me After death, you can only stay in the world as a ghost, turning into a cursed spirit that only knows how to kill." Ms. Elizabeth spoke of her past in emotionless language.

"Before death, I barely found a way to keep a little sanity, but what accompanied me was endless struggle and struggle. My clear mind and evil instincts were fighting and pulling in my body all the time. , like walking on the edge of an abyss, unable to relax at all..."

"I drifted unconsciously in the world for a long time, constantly dominated by instinct, and then pulled back by reason. It was only a hundred years later that I gradually recovered my past memories. I asked Merlin for help. He may not be able to save me, but He could destroy me, but he refused to destroy an innocent soul. So I came to this forest and secluded myself from the world, focusing on finding a solution."

Ms. Elizabeth spoke very indifferently, looking like a puppet without any emotion, but it made people feel sincerely sad. Ms. Gray sighed deeply and took the other person's hand.

"You can study the nightmares in the forest, but don't harm them. None of them have harmed anyone." Ms. Elizabeth just continued.

"Okay, thank you." Owen nodded solemnly, showing more respect for the ghost lady. A woman who has been able to restrain and restrain her instincts for thousands of years and is unwilling to hurt anyone deserves respect.

In the following time, he carefully read through Ms. Elizabeth's notes, moving carefully. Most of these notes are very old, and although they are well preserved, the paper is already very brittle.

Several naughty nightmares slipped in from outside and circled around Owen without fear of anyone. They looked extremely curious about him, making the surrounding air much colder.

These little things have illusory shapes like ghosts. They are only the size of a human head and are pale in color. They have round little heads that look a bit like humans, and a pair of small, unblinking black eyes. There are two thin arms under the head, and there are no legs under the short body, as if it has turned into a wisp of smoke.

They will cover the eyes of sleeping people with their invisible palms, causing people to fall into nightmares and find it difficult to wake up. This is just a prank. Evil nightmares will infiltrate and live in people's bodies, gradually absorbing people's life, making people become dazed, tired and weak, and finally they will never wake up. Nightmares will control people's physical actions.

These little things possess people, which is very valuable to Irving.

He used gentle tricks to coax a seemingly innocent nightmare, and touched its foggy body with his fingers. The cold touch seemed to take away a trace of his body temperature. He used some magic that would not harm them to collect information, but it would not be of much use if he could not study it in depth.

Owen could only conduct research based on Ms. Elizabeth's notes, until a slightly different nightmare got into the basement. This nightmare's eyes are red, like Lady Elizabeth's.

"It is the product of an experiment. It came from a wizard who wanted to help me." Ms. Elizabeth reached out and stroked the nightmare. "But it failed in the end. But it is different. It can possess and control two people at the same time." biology."

Owen instantly looked at the little thing in front of him, showing an interested expression.

Facing Owen's probing gaze, Ms. Elizabeth shook her head and said: "I can't figure out the principle. It can't split itself into two, but it can possess one creature and control the body of another creature at the same time... "

Owen caught two mice and watched as the nightmare passed through the first mouse and entered the body of the second mouse under the command of Lady Elizabeth. Soon, the movements of the two mice became synchronized, jumping around the ground in unison, as if they were performing a strange dance.

Owen looked at this scene with deep eyes, and he had a hunch that this little guy would be very helpful to him.

He instantly entered the space facing the wall, looked at the little guy with red eyes outside, and used the copy function on living creatures for the first time in a long time.

[It is detected that the target has magic power, which requires 1 connection point. 】

Owen chose to copy without hesitation, and wisps of white mist quickly condensed and took shape around him, eventually turning into the appearance of the nightmare outside. It opened its red eyes unconsciously and floated up and down in the space facing the wall. It was not as lively as the one outside, but it also didn't look like a stiff puppet.

Owen left the wall-facing space with satisfaction. After staying in the forest for two days, he said goodbye to Ms. Elizabeth and left the Nightmare Forest.