A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 21 The Miraculous Magician

"magic?"

"No, it's magic."

Owen raised his empty right hand and waved it in front of Peeves, then flipped his hand and with a "whoosh," his wand appeared in his hand as if it had appeared out of thin air.

"Magic is about making thorough preparations beforehand, using superb skills and professional knowledge to deliver an incredible performance for the audience."

"Isn't this just a circus act? You think Pikachu would even look at something like that?" Pikachu puffed out his breath.

Irving raised an eyebrow, gazing at him with a smile: "I admit, magic is a trick. But in essence, it's a deception."

"I've got your attention..." He opened his empty hands and casually moved his slender fingers.

He clasped his hands together, then pulled a snow-white handkerchief from his palms. Holding the handkerchief up with both hands, he showed it to the imp, displaying both sides: "I've gained your trust..."

Then, he suddenly shook his right wrist, and the white square handkerchief exploded into a shower of confetti in his hand, leaving Owen with only a white rose in his hand.

"I'll deceive you again, just like I always have." He said in a playful tone.

"It's not just a trick, it's a spirit, a belief." Irving put the flowers in his pocket. "I deceive the audience, but I give them joy and surprise, and people get entertainment and inspiration from it, so I am a magician."

"However, if I exploit other people's weaknesses, manipulate their trust, fool their minds, use lies and deception to satisfy my own desires, and win the audience's helpless angry roars and desperate cries, then I am a fraudster."

"I'm not a con artist, though for me, taking that step is just a matter of a moment's thought," Owen said with a half-smile, "but I can teach you how to fool people and execute even more perfect schemes..."

"Tell me quickly!" Mischievous Ghost jumped around like a ball, urging impatiently.

"Teaching magic without expecting a price is one of the fundamental rules of a magician," Owen said with a sly smile. "Find me something with special magical powers that appeared at Hogwarts this year, and that will be your tuition."

"Alright, just you wait and see!" Pikachu made a face at him, ripped off the curtain and threw it over Owen's head, then quickly flew through the wall and disappeared.

Owen shifted his feet to the side, deftly dodging the curtains that suddenly appeared over his head. He then squinted at the soft, bright sunlight outside the window and muttered softly, "That's why I look down on those wizards who treat magic as a kind of trick. It's just acrobatics at best, without any intellectual core. It's just a trick that anyone who knows magic can pull off."

Wizards pursue the wonder of magic, while magicians pursue miracles. They constantly enrich themselves with knowledge, push their limits with creativity and imagination, and pursue miracles that no one else can accomplish, unique and unrepeatable miracles, miracles that astound the world!

Owen's desire to revive magic isn't about simply reconstructing the framework of magic from his previous life in this world—that's impossible. What he wants to revive is the spirit and belief behind it; or rather, he wants to become a miracle magician himself, reach the pinnacle of magic, and announce its revival with a spectacular magic show that will amaze the entire world!

Every magician wants to be the best!

"So, I don't reject the combination of magic and sorcery, but only I can create that supreme and brilliant miracle," Owen muttered to himself.

This was his ambition, pure yet more arrogant than anyone else's, perhaps one of the reasons the Sorting Hat sorted him into Slytherin.

"Perhaps some people think my ideas are dangerous," Owen said slowly as he stepped onto the lawn outside the castle. "After all, miracles that shock the world can be magic... or they can be fraud."

He sat on the sun-drenched lawn, the setting sun bright and warm, yet a slight chill in the air. Owen closed his eyes slightly, feeling a touch of drowsiness.

"Hey, Owen, what are you doing here?" Harry's voice woke him up. "I thought you'd be huddled in the fireplace in the common room right now."

"Getting some sunshine is good for your physical development." Owen stretched, glancing somewhat disapprovingly at the pale skin on the back of his hand. "Are you going to find Hagrid?"

"Yeah, that's right," Harry said in a low voice.

"Can I come with you?" Owen asked after a moment's thought. He was quite interested in the magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest, since many spells were inspired by and based on them. Getting to know them beforehand, asking Hagrid about their distribution, and maybe even getting a map of the Forbidden Forest was all he needed.

"Together? Sure!" Harry's eyes lit up. He had been worried that his Slytherin companions didn't seem to like Hagrid very much, so having Owen as a supporter made him very happy.

Owen glanced at him, then stood up and walked with Harry toward the cabin at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't really trying to support anything; he was just someone who wouldn't do anything without a reason. But seeing Harry's enthusiastic expression, he didn't want to spoil the fun.

"Actually, Hagrid is a very good person. He's very friendly, but he doesn't interact with people much..." Along the way, Harry told Owen about Hagrid's situation and how they met, his face filled with genuine joy.

Owen listened with a smile, occasionally responding, until the two stood in front of Hagrid's hut, and Harry knocked on the wooden door.

A tense struggle and low barking came from inside the house, followed by a deep voice: "Back off, Tooth."

The door opened a crack, revealing a large, bearded face. His gaze towards Harry was complex and filled with pity, as if he were about to cry. He blew his nose and said, "Harry, you're here… Oh, wait, back off, Toothpick!"

A huge black hunting dog was struggling and leaping, trying to pounce, but a large hand gripped its collar tightly.

Harry went into the hut first, and Owen peeked inside and greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Hagrid."

"No...no need to be so polite," Hagrid finally noticed Owen, and quickly waved his large hand, his black beetle-like eyes sparkling. "Just call me Hagrid."

"Okay, Hagrid." Owen glanced at the big dog that Hagrid was holding before slowly walking into the house. He sat down on a chair near the door, silently surveying the interior of the small house.

The simple wooden cabin had only one room. Hams and turkeys hung from the ceiling, a copper kettle boiled water in a brazier, and a large bed in the corner was covered with bedding pieced together from scraps of cloth. Although it was a bit cramped, it wasn't too dirty or messy.

"Hmm, wait a minute, is that feather duster on the wall made of unicorn hair?" Owen's expression faltered for a moment. "The decorations over there look like unicorn horns that shed during their growth, and also the horns of a horned beast..."

In addition, Owen recognized many useful magical creature materials, some of which were extremely rare, some were very common, and some were completely useless, but at this moment they were all treated equally and placed together to collect dust.

"So, Hagrid may live a simple life, but he's actually a hidden little tycoon." Owen rested his chin on his hand and casually tossed a homemade magic fire paper to the drooling dog, Tooth, who was trying to pounce on him. The fire paper turned into a spark on Tooth's face and disappeared, but Tooth, who was completely unharmed, was startled and jumped up, almost knocking Harry to the ground.

"Hagrid, this is Owen, Owen Shafik." Harry finally managed to push away the big head that was frantically licking his cheek and introduced him to Hagrid.

"Oh, would you like some rock-skin flatbread?" Hagrid looked rather awkwardly at Owen, who sat elegantly in his chair; the guy seemed completely out of place here. He scratched his head and piled a large amount of flatbread, as hard as rocks, onto the plate on the table.

"Thank you. I've been hearing about you from Harry these past few days." Owen broke off a small piece of rock biscuit, popped it into his mouth like a hard candy, and winked his left eye at Hagrid. "I've heard you're very familiar with the Forbidden Forest, and no one knows more about its magical creatures than you. I happen to really enjoy them..."

Harry looked at Hagrid with curiosity, struggling to eat the rock bread, his face full of anticipation.

Without Owen prompting him further, Hagrid quickly launched into a long-winded explanation of the magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest, once he brought up his favorite topic and faced the expectant and curious gazes of the two men.

For example, there are the proud and loyal hippogriffs, the pure and beautiful unicorns, the cute and obedient giant spiders, the timid and shy bowbellies, the moon-obsessed beasts that love to dance in the moonlight, and a large group of secluded centaurs, etc.

Owen and Harry listened with great interest. After the topic was finished, Owen took out his notebook and wrote down their approximate distribution, while Harry told Hagrid about his classes over the past few days.

(End of this chapter)