From the moment magic came into existence, it had been destined to stand in opposition to science.
Even the scientist from over three hundred years ago who had an apple fall on his head and discovered gravity would probably never understand what principles allowed a wizard’s magic to lift objects of different weights.
“Reparo—”
The fifteen-inch alder wand with a phoenix feather core immediately flashed with a dazzling red glow at its slender tip.
“Shit!”
The violently trembling wand caused Vincent—who had shown remarkable foresight—to instantly crouch down and cover his head.
Pop-pop-pop-pop…
Every time another fragment exploded off the snack wrapper, Hoot’s tiny head twitched.
Apparently, the owl was counting how many firecracker-like sounds there would be.
At least— that was Vincent’s conclusion as he hid behind the sofa while pretending to remain calm.
Facts had proven one thing:
It wasn’t that he possessed absurd talent and learned spells instantly.
Instead, for some unknown reason, he could occasionally discover the correct answer under specific conditions.
“Future sight?
Sixth sense?
Superpowers…?”
Vincent was counting too.
Except he was counting all the strange abilities science couldn’t explain.
When the wrapper had finally been blasted into pieces all over the floor, Vincent and Hoot stared blankly at one another from opposite sides of the room.
“What do you think?”
“Whoo~”
“Is there really some magical talent this weird…?”
He had actually understood Owl language.
No— more accurately, it felt like he understood it.
“Felix Felicis…”
Muttering to himself, Vincent quickly opened his Potions textbook.
Only to discover first-year books didn’t mention it at all.
A potion that sounded like it brought extraordinary luck…
really did resemble his own feeling of absolute confidence whenever making a correct choice.
“You don’t mind taking a trip to Hogwarts, do you?”
Hoot immediately turned its tiny head away.
Vincent crawled out from behind the sofa and rubbed his hands together with a flattering smile.
“How about an unlimited field mouse buffet?”
“WHOO!”
Both sides felt highly satisfied with the transaction.
While Hoot flew toward Hogwarts, Vincent also investigated the object that had nearly been stolen from Gringotts earlier that day— the Philosopher’s Stone.
According to A History of Magic, the only known creator of the legendary item, Nicolas Flamel, had not only achieved limitless wealth through it— but was still alive even now through the continued use of the Elixir of Life.
“Six hundred and sixty-six years old…”
Curled up on the sofa and trembling slightly, Vincent concluded that this alchemy monster was probably the true strongest wizard alive.
Even with average talent, simply accumulating magical power over centuries would likely surpass even the great Albus Dumbledore.
Though in an actual fight—
Dumbledore, who had defeated the first Dark Lord alone, would definitely win.
A History of Magic also mentioned that early in the century, these two had jointly published several papers on alchemy. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Dumbledore.
Flamel.
Alchemy.
Philosopher’s Stone.
Money.
A glorious road instantly unfolded before Vincent Wayne—the future reviver of the Wayne family.
He absolutely had to cling to the Headmaster’s leg!
Just as he imagined a future version of himself holding immortality potions in one hand and mountains of gold in the other—
Hoot suddenly flew through the third-floor window carrying McGonagall’s reply.
Before opening the letter, Vincent wisely offered dried fish first.
Dear Vincent,
I do not know why you would ask such a question, but there truly are wizards born with special gifts…
The letter listed all kinds of strange magical talents.
For example, among this year’s graduating students from Hufflepuff was a girl born as a natural Metamorphmagus.
Without spells or potions, she could freely change her appearance and hair.
There had also been someone decades ago who joined the first Dark Lord’s forces— a natural master of Legilimency.
Because she could never switch off her ability to hear others’ thoughts, it had eventually led her down the wrong path.
Most importantly—
McGonagall had also carefully explained Felix Felicis.
It improves emotional control, allowing the drinker to enter a state where emotions no longer interfere and accurate actions can be taken even under extreme situations…
Vincent could confidently say his emotions weren’t especially unstable.
And things definitely didn’t always go his way either.
“So what exactly is it…?”
Curled lazily on the sofa, one human and one owl slowly drifted off to sleep.
That night—
Vincent had a dream.
In the dream, Bald Socket Man laughed like a madman while mumbling something incomprehensible about going somewhere to chew a big melon.
Avalon?
Or Wakanda?
When Vincent woke up, he only remembered one thing:
Big melon.
A big green melon.
“WHOO!”
The refreshed and energetic Hoot suddenly called out.
It sounded as though the owl were urging him about something.
“Alright, alright.
I’ll take you to find field mice in a bit~”
Vincent twisted his slightly sore neck and casually pulled a black tracksuit from his closet before walking into the small bathroom on the third floor.
The shower droplets pouring down instantly cleared his mind.
“Strange…
why did I suddenly think about Legilimency…?”
As he rubbed shampoo into his hair, he recalled the contents of McGonagall’s letter from last night.
Legilimency.
Cast with an incantation, it could delve into memories.
Without one, it could directly perceive a person’s current thoughts.
And yet that naturally gifted master from years ago had apparently been unable to control when the ability activated.
Occlumency.
A highly advanced form of magic requiring constant mental emptiness while suppressing emotions and memories.
“Wait…”
“If they couldn’t control turning it off…”
Vincent suddenly raised his head, his mouth opening slightly in shock.
Felix Felicis, when reduced to basics, simply placed someone into a state where they weren’t affected by external interference.
And Occlumency suppressed emotions and memories.
If a natural master also couldn’t control switching it on and off…
The shampoo bubbles nearly reached his eyes.
Instinctively, Vincent wiped at them.
“AH!
My eyes!”
Misfortunes never came alone.
Trying to navigate toward the showerhead through sound alone, he had barely washed away part of the shampoo— before his forehead violently collided with the bathroom tiles.
BANG.
“To hell with Felix Felicis!”
Something this unlucky obviously had nothing to do with a “luck bonus.”
By the time Vincent finished showering with his eyes tightly shut, he had become one hundred percent certain:
He was a natural master of Occlumency.
The supposed Felix Felicis effect existed only because of familiarity.
Knowing something well simply created the illusion of instinctive certainty.
For example— he already knew the Levitation Charm.
But he’d never learned the Repair Charm.
It wasn’t predicting the right answer in advance.
It merely lowered the chance of failure.
Wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, Vincent slung on his backpack and carried Hoot downstairs.
Eric, currently flipping through the Daily Prophet, looked puzzled.
“What happened to you?”
“Today there aren’t even any front-facing photos of you.”
“There will be eventually.”
Vincent walked over curiously.
Today’s headline was still about the Wayne family— except one section had suddenly become an advertisement promoting Gamp Ale.
Tom truly was a shameless businessman.
Under Evelyn’s deeply dissatisfied stare, Vincent grabbed a bread roll from a nearby plate.
“Mom, Dad, I’ll be back before noon.”
“Don’t bring home any weird animals again—”
Ever since last night, Eric somehow spoke with noticeably more authority.
“Remember.”
“We’re respectable people now.”
Whether they were respectable or not remained uncertain— but becoming arrogant?
That part was absolutely happening.