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[HP] 24: The Current of Fate
🕑 Added 2025-07-06 18:27:58 +0000 UTCHermione had deliberately used the word sorcery to distinguish between magic and stage magic.
Neville also looked at Louis with curiosity. As a pure-blood wizard, Neville had received basic magical education since childhood and understood how incredibly complex some seemingly simple transformations could be.
If what Louis had just performed was actual magic, it would’ve been remarkable. Instant costume transformation involved highly advanced Transfiguration spells and required exceptional skill.
“Oh, not at all. Transfiguration is quite difficult—I haven’t mastered it yet,” Louis said, holding up a finger. “I can tell you both the truth, but you mustn’t tell anyone else. This is a magician’s secret.”
“No problem! We’ll keep it a secret,” Hermione readily agreed, casually speaking on Neville’s behalf as well.
This assertiveness was probably one of the reasons Miss Granger had a hard time making friends at school.
Neville, however, was an exception—a round-faced boy like him could definitely use a strong-willed friend.
“Well then, I’ll let you in on it.”
Louis smiled and patted the hem of his robe, which gave off a thump thump sound.
“It’s actually a very common costume-change mechanism. I just did a little modification to the robe,” Louis said, lifting the hem slightly to show them. “It’s a double-layered outfit. Inside is an inverted tailcoat. Fasten it this way and it’s a tailcoat, let it down and it’s a robe.”
He demonstrated for them, then started dismantling the robe’s inner lining right in front of their eyes.
“Why are you taking it apart? That’s such a waste!” Hermione asked, clearly distressed.
“I won’t be needing it again anyway. Besides, the extra layers make the robe uncomfortable,” Louis replied, taking off his top hat and stuffing the lining inside.
The linings had been cut from high-quality tailcoats, and once stuffed into the relatively small hat, the space was filled to the brim.
“But why not use it again? Isn’t this a reusable prop?” Hermione said regretfully, looking at the broken threads.
“A true magician never repeats a simple trick—unless he's sure the execution is flawless.”
Louis tapped the brim of his hat with his wand. Instantly, it was as if a hidden hole had opened beneath it. The packed fabric linings slipped through and vanished.
He turned the hat upside down and showed it to them—empty. It didn’t look at all like it had held that much material.
“This… this is magic too?” Hermione stammered slightly, her words tumbling over each other. “What’s the principle behind this one?”
“That, I’m afraid, I can’t tell you. I haven’t retired that trick yet.”
Louis set the tall hat aside, letting Hermione and Neville examine it while his inconspicuous ring sparkled faintly on his hand.
The ring’s surface was inlaid with tiny, unidentifiable gemstones, blending in naturally. Plus, Louis had intentionally adorned himself with more eye-catching accessories to divert attention, making the ring even harder to notice.
The disappearing-cloth trick had been done using the ring’s hidden portable space—a teleportation point into a private pocket dimension. It was effortless.
But the secret behind it was not something he planned to share.
[You used a vanish trick to conceal a portable private space teleportation point and deceived two curious underage wizards.]
[Due to repeated deceptions in a short time, the targets developed cognitive inertia—your rewards have been halved.]
[A harmless deception]
[You’ve earned 100 Trick Points.]
[Current Trick Points: 2660]
Back-to-back tricks can lead to audience fatigue.
A single dazzling performance might spark awe and curiosity—but too many in a row? The audience simply becomes numb.
Louis interpreted the system’s feedback with the experience of a stage magician and made a note to space out his tricks in the future—give the young wizards time to breathe.
And that wasn’t wrong. From a certain point of view, magicians and tricksters do the same thing—it’s just their goals that differ.
"Wooooo… woooooo… woooooo…"
With the train whistle blowing, the locomotive slowly started to move. As the clattering of the outdated steam engine—at least fifty years behind the times—filled the air, Louis looked out the window, his expression calm.
In just a few hours, he would arrive at Hogwarts—the legendary castle. But once there, he would face his first major test:
A direct encounter with the legendary wizard Albus Dumbledore.
If it had been the old Louis, armed with only a replica Sharingan and Magic Hand, he might have felt some panic.
But now, with the power of the Twelve Talismans won from the legendary draw, he was beginning to wonder…
Could Dumbledore even beat him?
“But I’m not here to conquer,” Louis muttered. “Wizards are walking gold mines. Violence won’t earn me Trick Points.”
He pulled out a Galleon and let it spin between his fingers. His dexterous hands kept it dancing, no matter how fast it twirled.
Across from him, Neville stared in amazement, nearly popping his eyes out following the spinning coin.
And right then—distracted—his toad grew restless. With a wet splut, it leapt off the seat, landed on the floor, and before Neville could react, jumped out of the compartment.
“Ah! Trevor!” Neville shouted, rushing after his runaway pet. In his panic, he accidentally kicked poor Trevor mid-stride, sending the toad bouncing away even faster.
Louis watched the fleeing toad thoughtfully.
There was no doubt—this was part of “the plot.”
Neville losing his toad.
Hermione, bossy but kind-hearted, offering to help.
Which led to her chance meeting with Harry and Ron…
Thus forming an unbreakable bond and becoming the brains and backbone of the trio.
Basically, the one who played both dad and mom in the group.
Louis suddenly felt a strange sensation—an inflated feeling like he was standing before the flow of fate itself…
And had the power to bend it.
...
