Just as Owen was about to continue his friendly approach with Neville, four screams suddenly echoed down the corridor.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps and an angry roar: "Owen!"
"Hey! I'm here! I'm right here!" Owen stood up and poked his head out, only to bump into Hermione, whose face was full of rage. "If you weren't blind…"
"What did you do! You cast a spell on them, didn't you!"
"Huh?"
"I say, Miss Granger. How can you slander someone's innocence so easily?" The murderer leaned nonchalantly against the partition of the cubicle, lazily gripping the end of his wand. "Did you see it? What proof do you have that I did it?"
"You—" Hermione glared at him fiercely, "That was a petrification charm, wasn't it? I've seen it in books!"
"Friendly reminder, Miss Granger, I'm just a poor, helpless first-year student. Petrification is such a profound spell that even fourth or fifth-year wizards might not be able to cast it." Owen's gray eyes reflected the demonic phantom.
A faint smile always graced his face, just like his impeccably tailored clothes, exuding the air of a hellish gentleman.
"You—you're being unreasonable!"
"Alright! So, Miss Granger, would you like to make a bet with me?"
"What?"
"A Galleon for this. I didn't do it, how about it? If you win, you can do whatever you want with me. If I win, you give me a Galleon." Owen's lips curled slightly as he spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Okay! I agree." Hermione agreed without hesitation.
Hmph, this was only on the way to Hogwarts, and serious bullying had already occurred right before her eyes. When she got to school, she would definitely report this to the professors—no—to the headmaster.
"Let's go." Owen walked ahead, giving Hermione a 'you've already lost' smile as he passed by.
"Hmph!" Hermione responded with a light snort.
This guy is really annoying.
The little witch was seething with anger, and now she found Owen utterly repulsive.
—Harry
and Ron's cubicle was only a few steps away from theirs, separated by only three cubicles.
Owen bumped into another familiar face.
A handsome blond young man and his two henchmen.
"No wonder there were four screams just now."
"Oh~ isn't this young master Malfoy?" Owen's eyes narrowed into slits as he quickly walked over.
Draco! This was his money bag!
The Malfoy family—one of the families his grandfather often robbed.
They were rolling in money.
If there were a Forbes rich list in the wizarding world, they would definitely be among the top.
As for the specific twists and turns of their story...
well, that's a long story.
"Owen Sanchez!" Upon seeing Owen, Draco took two steps back, almost falling.
"You—you, don't come any closer. Let me tell you, Owen, without your grandfather, my father can easily—" He held up a weapon, his pale blond hair suddenly losing its luster. He spoke haltingly.
"Can easily? What can he do?"
Owen took a step forward.
Draco, like a frightened mouse, took four or five steps back, his face pale. "My father is a Hogwarts board member!"
"Oh! So what?"
"I—I warn you not to do anything reckless. I'm going to tell my father." Draco felt a wave of dizziness, his memory seemingly returning to that afternoon when he was dominated by a grandfather and grandson.
Then, perhaps fueled by the Malfoy family's deep-seated pure-blood pride, he surprisingly mustered the courage to meet Owen's gaze.
Driven by this courage, the boy merely glared at him before turning and running away, completely ignoring his two lackeys.
"Draco? Draco!"
Seeing Draco flee in panic, the two lackeys lost all interest in swaggering and immediately chased after him towards the back of the carriage.
"Oh dear! Looks like I've inadvertently left the child with a deep psychological scar," Owen muttered dismissively, scoffing.
He then turned and stepped into the compartment.
Inside, Harry and Ron seemed frozen in place; if you looked closely, you could even see a stone-like sheen on their exposed skin.
"Admit it! You did it." The girl following behind Owen first glanced in the direction Draco had fled.
Her face darkened.
Another victim.
Just how many people had this guy bullied!
Then she turned to look at Harry and Ron.
Draco's actions just now further proved that it was this annoying guy who had petrified them.
"When we get to school, I'll definitely tell the professors about this,"
Hermione said seriously, tilting her head back and showing her long, slender neck, "even the headmaster."
"Don't be in such a hurry!" Owen glanced at her.
Hiss—if he cast a cutting charm right now,
things would be much quieter—right?
"Remember our bet?"
"You still want to argue?"
"No, I mean, you should get that Galleon ready." As he spoke, Owen gently tapped Harry and Ron's heads with his wand.
A stream of light swept over them, and the two immediately recovered.
"You!" Ron, who had just regained his freedom, immediately widened his eyes and opened his mouth to accuse someone.
But the next second, he was abruptly interrupted by Owen, who was holding his wand.
"Oh dear! You're so careless, Ron."
"Huh? What?"
"Look at your wand, the unicorn hair in the core is sticking out. You must have messed up your spell with this wand and petrified yourself and Harry, right?"
"W-what are you talking about?" Ron's blank eyes were full of confusion.
"Luckily I found out, otherwise you would have been petrified for hours on the train to Hogwarts. There are no professors on the train to undo the spell. If you were even more unlucky, you might have been left behind on the train and missed the opening ceremony!" Owen held up his wand, waving it in front of the two unfortunate boys.
"Is-is that so?" Ron swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on Owen's wand.
"But it's okay, we're classmates, we'll see each other often. If you want to learn how to undo the spell, I can teach you." Owen's kind smile was convincing to the two boys.
Obviously, this convincing was very effective.
Ron's face turned deathly pale, and his body stiffened as he uttered the key phrase of self-consolation: "Later?"
"Often?" Harry chimed in.
"Yes!" Owen blinked, continuing, "So now, Ron, can you tell this girl next to you? Were you just petrified by a spell, your wand malfunctioning?"
"And you?" Owen turned to look at Harry.
"I—I think Ron is right." Harry immediately yielded. Having just left the Dursleys, he wasn't yet the reckless Gryffindor he would become.
When it came to admitting defeat, he—Harry Potter—was a master!
~~~~~~
(End of Chapter)