Vincent Owens

Vincent Owens is the younger brother of Frances and Bridget Owens and one of the main protagonists in The Rules of Magic. He is the grandfather of Sally and Gillian Owens.

Appearance
Inheriting the Owens black hair and gray eyes, Vincent is an incredibly handsome teenager with the ability to swoon any girl and woman with his looks. He is also taller than his eldest sister, Franny, being somewhere above six feet. It is noted that he greatly resembles his ancestor, Maria Owens. After being committed to a mental hospital, his hair is cut.

Personality
Vincent is very charming and creative, but also immature and reckless. Unlike his sisters, he was spoiled at a young age, allowed to go wherever he liked. Due to the lack of limitation and abundance of adoration by others, he developed a carefree and bold, yet apathetic and mischievous personality. Vincent cares little for the girls and women who flock to them, seeing their adoration as a fun pastime before moving on. However, he does care much about his sisters, accompanying them almost everywhere and doing favors for them. He loves to play guitar and sing.

Early Life
Vincent Owens was born at 11:58 on All Hallows' Eve in New York to James Burke and Susanna Owens. The first boy born in the Owens family, he possessed a strong affinity for magic since the moment of his birth, usually taking the form of unearthly charm and handsomeness. So powerful was this that it caused a hospital nurse into trying to kidnap him, wanting to posses him herself.

He attended Starling School in New York along with his sisters, often getting in trouble for pranks or missing classes. His rebellious nature resulted in his father to write a book about troubled adolescents. But Vincent was never punished due to his magic, allowing him to proceed to places and do activities that were forbidden to Franny and Jet. Despite the unfair treatment, Franny and Jet still loved him in their own ways, and he cared about them, too, even when he was sardonic towards them.

Like his sisters, he grew up sensing that he, Frances, and Jet were different from everybody else, able to make things happen. Despite their mother's strict rules to censor the truth, Vincent knew he and his sisters possessed magic, embracing it and encouraging Franny to do the same. He purchased a rare copy of The Magus from an occult seller so he could study the subject and tested his magic whenever he could.

1960
In June, Vincent accompanied his elder sister Franny when she was invited to stay with their aunt Isabelle for the summer after having turned seventeen. He took advantage of Isabelle's laid back approach to taking care of children, often smoking by the house and going to Leech Lake to swim and sunbathe with Franny and Jet.

Sometime after their arrival came their distant relative, the wild April Owens, who arrived to escape her domineering parents. Seeing a kindred spirit, Vincent spent much of his time with her, going to the library to study The Magus, play strip poker, and other activities. Before returning to Boston, April asked if she could return with him, Franny, and Jet to New York, which he declined, saying it was impossible. Either unaware or apathetic to her feelings for him, he did not say goodbye to her when she tearfully left Magnolia Street, instead taking a nap on a hammock.

After April left, he began indulging in brief encounters with the local girls before entering an affair with the older Mrs. Rutler, often sneaking into her room at night. Vincent realized how much older she was compared to him after she declared her love for him, escaping her room while she slept and hid from her in the Owens house when she, under the influence of his charming magic, demanded him back. Aunt Isabelle was able to assist him, instructing him to perform a ritual at her house that would dissolve her feelings for him. Yet before this, she led him to a three-sided mirror, which revealed blips of the future as well as a identical self residing with him. This frightened him, realizing he was alone despite his charm and adoration from others. With the instructions from his aunt, Vincent visited Mrs. Rutler's home and performed the ritual, sensing her feelings for him fade away into nothing. This seems to have ended his sexual escapades with the townsfolk.

Vincent became determined to explore more of his magic, testing his limits by making swans and other things float while making objects move, such as books flying from shelves. He encouraged Franny and Jet to do the same, and was quick to defend Jet by throwing tomatoes at boys who were bewitched by her new magical beauty.

Soon, the Owens siblings' summer at Magnolia Street came to an end, and Vincent was impatient to leave, having coming to loathe the small-town life and eager to return to New York. As they left, Aunt Isabelle offered each a cup of either courage or caution. Like Franny and Jet, Vincent accepted the tea for courage.

A couple of months passed, and on Halloween night, Vincent met with Granny and Jet at the Alchemy Tree in Central Park to perform a wishing ritual, and witnessed Franny indirectly wish for her foundling crow, Lewis. He reminded her that The Magus demands specificity, which could be a reason why Lewis was bonded to her rather than her actual wish to fly.

The morning after Jet went on her first date with Levi, Vincent and Franny were confronted by Susannah and James about Jet's whereabouts. The siblings decided to go look for her in protest of their parents anger, but ran into her walking up the front steps. He and Franny defended her when confronted by their mother, who slapped Jet for going out with a Willard. Vincent also reveals he knew Susannah doesn't really love their father, only marrying him for a better life outside the usual Owens fate.

April visited his house in November, but was at guitar lessons and did not come home until late, not bothering to see her despite her wanting to see him. After she leaves early the next day, Franny confronts him about him avoiding April, where he admits he likes her somewhat, but gets defensive when his sister points out that it's not enough and that he is dismissive and interested in other things. To this, Vincent recalls that love is harder to get rid of than to find, obviously still affected by his time with Mrs. Rutler. Changing the subject, he decides to help Franny with a love spell that will bring her true love to their doorsteps, with him opening it to reveal Haylin.

December comes, and Jet asks Vincent to deliver a letter to Levi in Boston. Agreeing to it, he goes with the Starling School Band to play north of Boston, which is close to the town. Vincent meets Levi outside of the latter's school, giving Jet's letter to him. He later goes to the Owens house, where Isabelle reveals that Reverend Willard knew where he was and had him unknowingly step on a witch-hunter's nail. Isabelle helps remove it, and briefly reveals that the Willards and the Owens are related. Before she can say anymore, her associate, Charlie the handyman, drives him back to his hotel.

1961
Back in New York, Vincent begins to experience a growth in his clairvoyance, having visions that are longer. It isn't until spring where he sees an unfortunate future involving the death of someone close. He attempts to block it out by drinking at a bar called the Jester, but is intervened by Franny, who was called by the bartender to pick him up. She forced him to drink a sobering potion, in which he warns her that death is coming. She waves this off and takes him home, where swarms of bees are trying to get in, foretelling imminent demise. Upon entering, he finds a deathwatch beetle and tries to kill it. This convinces Franny that something bad will happen.

It isn't until Jet's birthday that tragedy strikes, claiming the lives of his parents and Levi. Unable to process this and the revelation that their family is nearly broke, Vincent begins to spiral out of control; confiding in his room, hooking up with various women, and visiting the bars more often. At his parents' funeral, Vincent finally reunites with April, though he is drunk. He says hello to her infant daughter, Regina, unaware that she is also his child.

1962
When Franny has a realtor show prospective buyers the house, he locks himself in his room, not wanting to leave. The siblings do later move to a cheaper house downtown, where they open a herbs and potion shop and sell their Aunt Isabelle's famous black soap bars. Vincent begins to appreciate downtown, exploring it more and coming back with pieces that will help reconstruct their new home. He also helps paint the store's walls, ending up with gray paint in his hair for weeks.

1963
At first, he tried to get extra money as a waiter to help for bills and food, but quit eventually and took up selling black magic to anyone willing to pay. This caused him much pain, loosing sleep, and wandering around. On his eighteenth birthday, he found his familiar, Harry, who followed him home and been with him since.

Vincent later meets another male witch named William Grant, who also has the sight and predicted meeting him. Vincent falls instantly in love, and spends the next week staying at William's, having sex and getting to each other more. He returns to his worried sisters, and assures them that he is fine, only in love. Granny voices her worry that the curse will affect him if he is in love, but he brushes it off by saying everybody is cursed in one way or another. Vincent continues to see William, often staying at his place more than at his own.

1966
April and Regina visit him and his siblings on their way to California. He read Regina's favorite story to her, making her laugh with funny voices before leaving to be with William again, unaware that April still had feelings for him.

1967
Celebrating four years of their relationship, Vincent and William fly to San Francisco for the Summer of Love. While exploring the city and meeting various people, William convinces him to play a song at one of the concerts, which received loud applause. April and Regina meet the couple right after, and invite them to stay the night at their place. While Regina shows William all the plants they have in their greenhouse, April reveals that Vincent is Regina's father, and that she will live a short life. Vincent is distraught by the news, but agrees to keep it a secret to protect Regina.

1969
Vincent came with Jet to the Owens house after Franny informed them that Isabelle was dying in little over a week. They stayed with her even as she passed, and he handed out alcohol to the siblings once she was buried. He and his sisters inherited the house, but all three left soon after, not wanting the burden of the house.

Much to his surprise, he was the first ticket drawn for deployment to Vietnam. Knowing it would destroy him and cause his loved ones grief, he tried to break things off with William. When that didn't work, he attempted a ritual that would get rid of William's feelings for him, but back out at the last second, preferring to find a way out of deployment so he could be with him and the sisters. He agreed to Franny and Jet's plan to consume a bit of wolfsbane so it looked like he had asthma. The physical exam instantly went wrong when the doctor found that there was nothing wrong with his lungs, and called in a military officer to question Vincent. Upon asking why he lied about his medical history, Vincent said he was a homosexual and a wizard and couldn't join the military because of those reasons.

He was forcibly taken to a mental hospital with the prediction of being in there for months. Vincent became physically uncontrollable, having to wear a straightjacket in a confided room to not hurt himself, and was injected with Thorazine to make his mind fuzzy. It wasn't until Haylin arrived as a medical officer that Vincent escaped, staging it so that it would appear Vincent had mugged him and taken his passport and ticket to Germany. After the fake mugging, Vincent drove Haylin's car to Kennedy Airport, and flew to Germany.

1970
After arriving in Germany, Vincent hopped around before finally settling in Paris, France. He was still afraid of being discovered, and mourned his loss of William, unable to return to him. During his dinner, an older witch introduced herself as Madame Agnes Durant, an old friend of Susanna's. She spoke about how despite him hiding and running from the United States, he was still a witch, and had a place among the French witches. He tried to turn her down, but upon her statement on how he could start a new life, he agreed to her plan.

Vincent and Madame Durant decided that he had to fake his death in order to keep the American government from looking for him. Buying a record player for Regina and writing letters to Franny and Jet, he played his new guitar in front of an audience in the Marsais, only to collapse right after. A friend of Madame Durant's signed his death certificate for 11:58 pm, October 31st, 1970.

He stay hidden as his sisters arrived to Paris with William, who received a letter by Madame Durant about Vincent faking his death. After the funeral, he and William disappeared together.

As Vincent technically was dead to the world, the curse no longer affected him, allowing him to live happily with William under a new identity. His music, "I Walk at Night", became a classic throughout the world, with many fans coming to visit his grave. They moved somewhere in the countryside where sunflowers grew, which they often gave to Madame Durant during their occasional visits to Paris. He never made contact with his sisters.

Powers and abilities
Vincent was exceptionally talented both musically and magically. He possessed such an unearthly charm that only hours after his birth a nurse in the maternity ward, spellbound and unable to resist him, had attempted to steal him away.

Besides his magical charm, he also can see bits of the future, with this ability growing over time after his time with Aunt Isabelle.

Other abilities he possesses are mind-reading, moving objects, and affecting electricity.

Frances Owens
Sister

Bridget Owens
Sister

William Grant
Lover

April Owens
Cousin

Regina Owens
Daughter