Brothers, They Blocked My Door and Forced Me to Do Magic

Dumbledore sighed. "You really can't judge a person by appearances."

Kingsley nodded in full agreement. "Albus, surely those Dark magic fluctuations weren't caused by some child, were they?"

Dumbledore glanced at Kingsley. "Barring any surprises, they were. Is there a problem?"

Kingsley's expression suddenly turned serious. "A huge one. If he were an adult wizard, he'd be sent to Azkaban. If he enrolled at Hogwarts, his wand would be snapped. But even you don't know this child, which means he hasn't attended Hogwarts, and the Ministry has no suitable measures to punish or control him."

"You've forgotten one place, Kingsley. Hogwarts exists precisely to handle matters like this. I imagine this child's admission letter is already sitting on Minerva's desk, waiting for her signature," Dumbledore said. "For now, our task is simply to investigate this young gentleman's astonishing Dark magic."

As he spoke, Dumbledore led Kingsley slowly toward Kane.

"I believe such a good child, using Dark magic to perform tricks for wealthy ladies in exchange for pounds, wouldn't refuse to perform a trick for an old man, would he?" Dumbledore said with a smile.

If Kane could have heard Dumbledore, he might have performed for him. But he hadn't heard Dumbledore's words. Instead, he heard Maxwell's.

"Two wizards have set their sights on you."

Kane jerked his head up and immediately spotted Dumbledore and Kingsley. They wore bizarre clothes, held little wooden sticks in their hands, and practically had the words I'm a wizard written all over them.

Fortunately, he had been far more efficient today than yesterday. The two wealthy ladies had generously tipped him a full hundred pounds. With a hundred pounds in hand, it was naturally time to pack up and hurry home!

Kane quickly left, leaving the two wealthy ladies somewhat puzzled. But soon, they saw two strangely dressed men with menacing airs chasing after him.

The two ladies, whom Kane had just delighted beyond measure, were overflowing with righteous indignation and moved to stop Dumbledore and Kingsley.

However, Kingsley merely gave his wand an inconspicuous little flick, and the two poor ladies dazedly returned to their car.

"Maxwell? See if they're still there?" This time, Kane ducked into a bustling alley. Yesterday, Harry had merely been an untrained young wizard, someone Kane could dismiss with a wave of his hand.

But today, one of these wizards was middle-aged, while the other was white-haired and ancient. They looked terrifyingly powerful. He had to avoid confronting them head-on.

Yet he quickly relaxed. There was no point having Maxwell watch behind him, because Dumbledore and Kingsley were now standing right in front of him.

"Young gentleman, would you be interested in performing a magic trick for us? I saw you at the crossroads just now," Dumbledore asked gently.

Kane sighed inwardly and took the hat from his head. "Of course. Please hold this hat with both hands."

Dumbledore readily accepted the hat. In an instant, he sensed its nature: bone-chilling, incomparably bizarre Dark magic.

Even the Dark magic energy wielded by a great wizard in his seventies or eighties might not have been this pure. This little wizard was only eleven... Could he be a natural-born wielder of Dark magic?

Unlike Dumbledore, who was deep in thought, Kane was tirelessly working out his escape plan.

The two men before him had already made their identities as wizards obvious, so there was no need for him to hide anything anymore.

He simply had his own shadow beneath his feet produce a second black top hat. It slowly crawled up onto his hand, and he handed the second hat to Kingsley.

"Sir, this one is for you as well." Kingsley glanced at Dumbledore and, after receiving an approving look, accepted the hat with both hands.

"Next, please press the openings of the hats together. Then comes the moment to witness a miracle," Kane said mysteriously.

Dumbledore and Kingsley cooperatively pressed their hats together. When they looked back at Kane, all they saw was his retreating figure sprinting away at top speed.

The hats in their hands had already turned into a tangled mass of Shadow Chains, locking their hands together. One chain even trailed along the ground, preventing either of them from moving freely.

"Hm. An instinctive application. You could say it's etched into his bones," Dumbledore commented.

"So some unknown dark wizard had disguised himself as a child..." Kingsley murmured.

"What I mean is, this Dark magic is likely innate to the child. He uses Dark magic as naturally as breathing... I certainly can't use Transfiguration as naturally as breathing."

After saying that, Dumbledore began working on freeing himself from the Shadow Chains around his hands. Overall, it wasn't difficult. After all, Kane's eleven-year-old shadows simply couldn't withstand Dumbledore's more than a century of magical power.

"Where do we go next?" Kingsley broke free of the chains as well.

"He's merely a young gentleman who isn't evil. He probably won't play the three-burrows-of-a-crafty-rabbit game with us. Go to his motel," Dumbledore ordered calmly.

While Dumbledore and Kingsley waited for their prey, Kane stood nearby eating a hot dog and looking at Maxwell.

"We've known each other for so long, yet you never offered to help."

Maxwell raised a brow. "Even without me, you handled it quite beautifully on your own. Besides, this isn't the Eternal Realm. I can't use my Authority here. I'm not like you—I have no idea what method you used to openly steal the Shadow Authority out here."

"Maybe it's talent. Who knew that after I escaped the Eternal Realm, these shadows would latch onto me?" Kane sighed and took two more vicious bites of his hot dog.

Besides, the Shadow Authority wasn't as useful as ordinary people imagined. The one in the Eternal Realm had definitely suffered after having part of its Authority stolen. That was why it had sent Shadow Monsters after Kane last night, hoping to bring both the Authority and Kane's life back.

Maxwell seemed to understand Kane's worries and offered reassurance. "You're in the real world. Shadows from the Eternal Realm are weakened when they extend here, but your shadows aren't. This is your opportunity. Prepare yourself tonight, and you may be able to snatch a little more shadow from its hands."

"I understand what you mean. I won't be so pathetic tonight," Kane said as he arrived at the somewhat run-down motel.

He took out his key from his pocket and walked all the way to his room, but suddenly frowned.

He decisively left the key on the ground, turned around, and prepared to leave, only to run into Dumbledore and Kingsley once more.

"Young gentleman, your magic trick isn't finished yet," Dumbledore said gently.