Learning that Dumbledore was also inside, Ron and Hermione didn't feel anything was amiss. They left with clear consciences.
They didn't even ask why Owen was staying behind...
It was only Hermione, after walking a dozen steps, who realized something and trotted back. "Owen, are you waiting for Dumbledore and Harry?"
"No, I'm waiting for a legendary fellow. I want to see what he looks like now..."
Before he even finished speaking, a cloud of black smoke billowed from the entrance, and a nose-less, open-mouthed wraith rushed out.
Hermione was startled and instinctively hid behind Owen. Because of this, she didn't see the flash of green light that ignited at the tip of the young wizard's wand.
The Killing Curse. Owen had learned it a long time ago, back when he didn't even have a wand. But he generally looked down on the spell. Sure, it was instant death on contact, but it could be blocked by physical objects...
An Unforgivable Curse that no magic could resist, yet it could be blocked by a table.
The wizarding world was truly bizarre.
But recently, he had been diligently practicing it in the Chamber of Secrets. At the very least, he had reached the level of silent casting. He had been waiting for this moment.
Wasn't it said to specifically attack the soul? Fine then. Let's test the power of the Killing Curse on the Dark Lord's soul. If this doesn't kill him, then back to the drawing board for deeper research!
Who said there could only be three Unforgivable Curses?
One begets two, two begets three, three begets ten thousand. With a little cruelty and time, he could surely invent five, six, seven, or eight more. One of them had to work, right?
If even that failed, he'd just have to take off his magic suppressors and demonstrate the beauty of raw numerical superiority.
The Philosopher's Stone theft failed. His host body was destroyed. The infiltration plan at Hogwarts was completely ruined. Voldemort, whose sanity wasn't exactly intact to begin with, was now even more frenzied. What he didn't expect was a camper waiting to ambush him.
A Killing Curse struck the spectral form of Voldemort squarely. But to Owen's disappointment, it only made the black smoke slightly more transparent and the scream a bit louder. It didn't kill Voldemort.
This Killing Curse... really isn't all that great!
"Let's go."
Owen pulled the young witch up from behind him and walked out together. When they saw Fluffy again, they found the giant dog had cornered Ron. The boy was trembling in fear but somehow remembered to hum a tune.
"Good dog, Fluffy."
Owen communicated with the three heads, fed them some raw meat, and then led Ron and Hermione out. "Alright, I won't walk you back. Remember, the after-action report is due in three days. Especially you, Mr. Weasley. I assume you don't want me coming to the Gryffindor common room to find you, right?"
Ron nodded weakly, ignored Hermione, and turned to leave.
The young witch, however, tugged on Owen's sleeve. "That... who was that?"
"Voldemort. Although he was possessing Professor Quirrell. That's why Quirrell wore the turban."
Hermione's face paled slightly. But coming from a Muggle family, she didn't have the ingrained, bone-deep terror of the Dark Lord that wizard-borns did. She was more curious about something else. "Did you use magic? I saw a green light. Was that..."
"The Killing Curse."
"Oh my god! Owen, how could you use Dark Magic? Don't you know that using Dark Magic for a long time will corrupt your soul?"
Owen laughed. He led her to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore hadn't returned yet, but the portraits of the past Headmasters, seemingly asleep, were secretly observing the young wizard. They were quite curious—bringing a young witch to the Headmaster's office at this hour? What for?
A date? Isn't that a bit bold?
Hogwarts has stood for over a thousand years, and no student has ever come to the Headmaster's office for a date. Gasp, thinking about it is so exciting!!!
"Dark Magic doesn't corrupt the soul."
Owen poured a cup of hot cocoa for the young witch—a treat only available in the Headmaster's office.
Watching her take a sip, he smiled and explained, "What truly gets corrupted is the mind. I once discussed this with Mr. Grindelwald. In my view, Dark Magic is simply combat magic that is easy to learn and powerful. Many people, upon discovering how easy and effective it is, undergo a shift in mentality, which makes them appear more crazed."
Hermione frowned. "But I've read in books that wizards who engage with Dark Magic for extended periods have their souls tainted. Especially the Killing Curse. Frequent use makes a wizard bloodthirsty, cruel, and insane... especially after killing, it twists the soul."
Owen laughed. He laughed for quite a while before looking calmly at the young witch. "That is a misunderstanding born of perception. Of course, killing is wrong. But if it's someone truly evil, like Voldemort? Letting him go would be the greater sin. Therefore, when using the Killing Curse, you must be absolutely certain the target deserves to die—the kind where killing one saves hundreds. In that case, there is no problem at all. As for inner demons..."
The young wizard stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe inner demons only come from failing to kill them?"
Good heavens!
Hearing this, it wasn't just the young witch who was dumbfounded—the portraits of the past Headmasters were equally shocked!
How can such a cute, obedient, perfect little wizard have such a twisted perspective?
No, this is too dangerous. He must be corrected!
The portraits emptied instantly. They rushed to find Dumbledore, urging him to return immediately and fix the boy's moral compass!
Hermione stared blankly for a long time before cautiously asking Owen, "Aren't you afraid the Ministry of Magic will arrest you?"
"With justice in my heart, I have nothing to fear. Though, honestly, I've kind of wanted to visit Azkaban for a while now. Just haven't had the chance."
The young witch's worldview crumbled...
She didn't know when she got back to the dormitory, how she got into bed, or when she fell asleep.
Owen, meanwhile, sat in the Headmaster's office until Dumbledore returned.
"My dear Owen, I've just been informed that you expressed some... rather dangerous opinions? You..."
Before the old wizard could finish, a flash of red light appeared. Fawkes returned, diving straight into the young wizard's arms and rubbing his head against Owen's face so vigorously that Owen's cheeks squished.
"Ho ho, Fawkes likes you as much as ever. I'm almost jealous. By the way, Owen, why don't we take another look at this mirror?"
With a wave of the old wizard's hand, the Mirror of Erised appeared before Owen again. Looking at the scene reflected in the mirror, Owen suddenly blushed...
The old wizard paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.