A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 28 Mind Reading Magic

Following the route map he'd gotten from the Weasley twins, Owen sketched out a route on his own map that would allow him to explore the other areas to the greatest extent possible.

As for the method of getting information out of him, it wasn't mind manipulation, but rather micro-expression psychology. It's quite normal for a magician to be well-versed in psychology.

After walking around the third floor, Irving took a deep breath, glanced at the time, and realized it was already past midnight.

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts office is just ahead. Hmm, let's go around there." Owen glanced at the map. "Then take the stairs on the other side to the fourth floor."

Even with his best efforts to search the castle, Owen knew his chances of finding that damned fax machine tonight were slim. Luck played a significant role in the search alone.

Without any unexpected incidents, Owen climbed the stairs on the right-hand side of the third floor to the fourth floor. He glanced at the forbidden corridor, a straight, dark passageway where everything was clearly visible, but there was no trace of the fax machine. As for the door at the end, Owen had no intention of searching it; he didn't want to have a close encounter with a three-headed dog.

He wandered aimlessly along the route he had planned in his mind. The castle was dimly lit in the dead of night, with only the candles lit on both sides of the corridor emitting a faint orange light that could only illuminate a small area, making the areas that were not lit appear even darker.

The shadows of the people flickered and shimmered in the swaying candlelight, as if they possessed independent lives. The areas not covered by the light source were pitch black, from which strange rustling noises could be heard from time to time, as if some monster was spying outwards, stirring restlessly.

"This is a bit creepy..." Owen rubbed his arms and suddenly felt the temperature around him had inexplicably turned colder. Something was really about to emerge from the darkness in front of him!

He stopped, drew his wand, and the air grew colder. The darkness ahead churned, gradually revealing a faint silver light, like a bewitching, icy flame. Slowly, the light drew closer, gradually coalescing into the shape of a person.

A familiar ghost drifted over silently, seemingly glancing at Owen with haughty eyes. It was a slender ghost woman, floating a few inches above the ground, with long, curly hair reaching her waist, a robe trailing on the ground, and an extremely beautiful face, but with an arrogant demeanor.

"Phew, Ms. Grey, good evening." Owen recognized the Ravenclaw ghost and put his wand back in his pocket.

Ms. Gray raised her eyebrows, seemingly surprised to encounter students who greeted her so naturally after being spotted out for a night stroll. She nodded without a word, then turned to drift away.

"Wait a moment, Ms. Grey." Owen quickly walked alongside her, a very friendly smile on his face. "The night is so enchanting, would you like to stroll around the castle together?"

The Ghosts of Hogwarts! This group is easily overlooked, but because of their ability to pass through walls and explore freely within the castle, they are undoubtedly the most well-informed people in Hogwarts!

Irving had his eye on this group early on, so he might as well start planning now. However, starting with the aloof and arrogant Ms. Grey seems like choosing the highest level of difficulty... But, challenges make things more interesting, right?

Ms. Gray glanced at Owen, clearly not wanting to deal with him. She said rather coldly, "If you want to get any information from me, you can leave now."

"They've taken the bait!" Owen smiled mysteriously, speaking in a low, soothing, and seductive tone, "Of course not. If I wanted to get any information from you, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble... What I mean is, I know the magic of reading people's minds."

"I am a ghost." Ms. Grey glanced at him indifferently. The implication in her brief words was that even Legilimency wouldn't work on a ghost like her.

"But I always have some unique abilities." Owen raised his left hand, showing Ms. Gray his empty palm and back of his hand. Then, with a flick of his fingers, a stack of specially made tarot cards appeared in his hand, unfolding into a perfect fan.

"If you don't believe me, we can play a game." Owen's tone was light and mysterious, making people feel relaxed involuntarily, yet also captivating.

Ms. Grey tilted her head, looking at him with a scrutinizing and haughty expression on her beautiful, silvery-white face, along with a well-hidden curiosity. She wanted to see what tricks the little fellow was up to.

Irving put down the briefcase he was carrying in his right hand, smiled, closed the tarot deck, and said softly, "See this tarot deck? Do you believe me? I can read the cards you choose; what you see in your eyes will always be reflected in mine..."

"Now, Ms. Gray, please memorize one of these cards." He quickly unfolded and closed the card in his hand in front of the female ghost, the fluid movements were extremely beautiful.

"Got it?" Owen looked into the other person's eyes. "If you don't remember it, you can look at it a few more times."

"I've got it," Ms. Gray said quietly.

"That's good." Owen showed off his fancy shuffling, cutting, and throwing skills to the female ghost. After he finally gathered the cards in his hand, he smiled and picked up the first card from the back and turned it over in front of Ms. Gray.

"The High Priestess card," Owen narrated in a gentle, storytelling tone, "a serene, reserved, intellectual woman with exceptional insight. She will find a deep, spiritual friend, and through mutual support and encouragement, achieve boundless inner growth..."

For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Ms. Grey's usually indifferent face. Her brows furrowed slightly, and she looked quite puzzled.

"Well then, let's continue..." Owen put the High Priestess card back, then quickly shuffled the deck. He casually split the tarot cards in his hand into two parts and showed the cut cards to the other person. "Madam, what you see is what I see..."

Ms. Gray glanced at the card.

"Hmm, The Fool? It's the Major Arcana again, what a coincidence." Owen didn't even glance at the cards, but stared into Mrs. Grey's eyes, coaxing her, "It represents beginnings and endings, the end of a monotonous life, and the beginning of a new journey. Someone will surprise you; move forward and embrace infinite possibilities."

Seeing the ghost's flickering eyes, Owen performed the magic trick several times in different ways, and Ms. Grey's expression was no longer just surprised, but began to be wary.

At that moment, Owen closed the cards in his hand and scattered them like a shower of flowers. The tarot cards, like swirling snowflakes, drifted down and landed gracefully above the two of them.

"You see, they're just ordinary cards, they don't have any magic."

"But the card you choose in front of a magician is always the one the magician wants you to choose," Owen thought to himself, and winked his left eye at Ms. Gray.

(End of this chapter)