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[HP] 69: Can You Really Call It a Lie When a Magician Does It?
🕑 Added 2025-08-01 15:30:02 +0000 UTCWizards are individually powerful—but their magical society is fragile and vulnerable.
Still, even if the entire wizarding civilization collapsed and wizards were forced to live in isolation or small groups, it wouldn’t really affect Louis all that much.
He spent the entire morning watching the twins create magical gadgets while teaching them some of his magic tricks.
And by afternoon? Louis ditched them without hesitation.
What kind of scene was it for three guys to hang around all day? Time to go find a girl instead.
Unfortunately, after searching the entire library, Louis didn’t find Hermione. He only spotted Padma among the crowded aisles, deeply immersed in a book.
“Padma? Hermione’s not with you?” Louis walked over and greeted her.
“Louis? Haven’t seen you in a while.” Padma looked up and smiled. “But it’s a bit rude, don’t you think? Meeting one lady and immediately asking about another.”
“The reason you haven’t seen me is because I haven’t seen Hermione lately,” Louis shrugged. “What’s she been up to these days?”
“Nothing unusual—just the usual classes and studying,” Padma replied. “But… it feels like she’s been avoiding you. Did you two have a falling out?”
“Nope,” Louis said innocently.
“Then maybe Hermione’s made some new friends?” Padma winked. “Lately, she’s been spending a lot of time with Gryffindor students—especially the legendary Harry Potter.”
“Harry Potter? How did they meet?”
“Probably started when kind-hearted Hermione found the Boy Who Lived wandering around, skipping breakfast for several mornings in a row,” Padma grinned. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“I told you, haven’t seen her in a while.” Louis frowned, but quickly forced himself to calm down.
“Want me to pass on a message for you?” Padma offered kindly.
“No, that’s okay.” Louis shook his head and walked out of the library.
As he left, a Ravenclaw girl nearby asked Padma, “That was Louis? The one rumored to be Merlin’s descendant?”
“He’s Louis, yes. As for being Merlin’s heir… I don’t know,” Padma replied.
The girl looked dreamy. “He’s really handsome—especially his eyes, like a starry sky. I wonder if he has a girlfriend…”
“Not that I know of,” Padma said. “But I think his heart already belongs to someone.”
Though judging by that someone’s strange behavior lately, Padma wondered if the girl realized what she was risking. Guys like Louis didn’t come around often. Was she really not worried about someone else snatching him away?
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“I didn’t expect fate to intervene this early… they’ve already crossed paths.”
Louis walked the corridors deep in thought. Students who saw him coming instinctively stepped aside to clear the way.
He wasn’t exactly thrilled that Hermione had crossed paths with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. But he wasn’t overly sensitive about it either. With Hermione in Ravenclaw and the boys in Gryffindor, there was a natural distance between them.
Still, sharing secrets had always been the fastest way to build bonds. And Gryffindors—especially Harry and Ron—were notorious loudmouths. Whispered plots weren’t even secret for five minutes with those two.
Hermione was bound to learn about the Philosopher’s Stone sooner or later. Maybe she already had.
And with her curiosity, she wouldn’t pass up the chance to join in on an adventure. Deep down, Hermione had the same reckless, impulsive streak that defined all Gryffindors.
“The disturbance and interference of fate… fate really doesn’t know how to give up, huh.”
Back at the Slytherin dorms, Quidditch practice had been cancelled due to rain. Students who had already finished their homework were scattered throughout the common room, chatting and playing games.
Louis’s four roommates were huddled in a corner with a girl, laughing and talking. Whether they were bonding over shared warmth or just good friends, Louis didn’t care.
He glanced meaningfully at his roommates—and at a few other Slytherins he’d mentally flagged as “untrustworthy.” Once he confirmed none of them were missing limbs or dragging broken legs, he nodded in satisfaction.
His weird gaze made the others shift uncomfortably. Some swore they felt a cold breeze blowing over their calves.
But thankfully, Louis didn’t actually do anything outrageous. He simply returned to his dorm quietly, and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Back at his bed, a blob of silver liquid rolled out from beneath the frame.
Magical combat attire: Volumen Hydrargyrum.
Louis didn’t want to store the Horcrux in his main inventory space. At the same time, he didn’t want someone accidentally touching it and triggering the wrath of the Voldemort-souled Ravenclaw Diadem.
So he left the Volumen Hydrargyrum behind as a defense mechanism—specifically trained to shatter the knees of anyone foolish enough to mess with it.
That was why he’d been staring at everyone’s legs before coming in.
As the Volumen Hydrargyrum resumed guarding the Diadem, Louis sat down at his desk and began writing a letter.
Even though Padma had offered to deliver a message, Louis didn’t trust her with the contents—some things weren’t meant to be read by nosy intermediaries. He also had a sneaking suspicion she might tweak his words.
Judging from her behavior since their first meeting, Padma had a bit of a scheming side. Louis didn’t want any misunderstandings.
The letter itself was simple. He shared some information about alchemical knowledge he’d "accidentally" discovered in the Restricted Section—and just happened to mention the name Nicolas Flamel.
He also dropped a hint about his “prophetic abilities.”
Whether or not Hermione believed him wasn’t even a question. As a skilled con—ahem, magician, Louis had confidence in his persuasion.
The real question was whether Hermione would tell Harry and Ron.
A prophecy, after all, could serve as powerful "evidence." If Hermione passed it along, then given Gryffindor’s love for gossip, the whole castle would know in no time.
And once rumors of his “prophetic abilities” spread, it would further validate his identity as a "descendant of Merlin"—not from his own mouth, but from the mouths of others. That made it all the more convincing.
All in all, it was a move that would yield multiple benefits. Since he was already writing the letter, why not throw in a little harmless manipulation? It would be disrespectful to his profession if he didn’t.
After all, a trickster—wait, no—a magician lives by deception.
But when a magician lies, can it really be called a lie?
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