"I can't believe I forgot…"
Ron muttered to himself.
"What are you talking about?"
Hermione asked with a frown.
"Ha—"
Ron said mysteriously.
"Do you think Sirius could beat Sean?"
Hermione thought for a moment, then shook her head.
Much as she hated admitting it, Sean had long since stopped being just another young wizard like the rest of them.
Hagrid had said Sean's magical ability was on par with a professor's, and Hermione had never doubted that for a second.
"So… if Sean goes to Hogsmeade, can he handle our safety?"
Hermione guessed.
"Exactly…"
Ron said, and then his face suddenly went red.
He remembered they were supposed to be in the middle of a cold war.
Hermione, seeing his awkward, half-hesitant, half-flustered expression, remembered too.
In the end, the two of them went right back to glaring at each other.
…
In the corridor,
Sean could still hear the wizards' excited discussions.
From the way the third-years were talking, it sounded as though visiting every single shop in Hogsmeade was a sacred duty.
"Dervish and Banges, the magic shop, Zonko's Joke Shop… and hot butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, plus loads of other places… Merlin, could there possibly be a better day than tomorrow?"
"I'm telling you, we should go to the Post Office first, Abbott! I heard they've got nearly two hundred owls perched on shelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to go!"
"Oh, and Honeydukes has brought out a new kind of fudge—they say you can sample it for free…"
"The Three Broomsticks gets all sorts in there—someone swore they saw a man-eating ghoul in there once, honestly—"
"I just want some butterbeer. It makes you feel warm all over—"
While passing through the chattering crowd, Sean quietly planned out tomorrow's tasks.
Going to the Hog's Head was necessary. If possible, during that trip, he might also learn what Lupin had meant by "changes."
After that, he could head to Gringotts with Professor Quirrell.
There was nowhere else more likely to have large numbers of goblins.
As for whether the goblins would be willing to share their ancient contract magic with Sean, according to Professor Quirrell, they would.
After hearing Fairy Tale Workshop's proposal, the goblins had not refused. They had simply sent word inviting further discussion.
"Creatures as shrewd as goblins will trade anything, as long as the price is high enough,"
Professor Quirrell had said.
That reassured Sean a little.
By this point, the amount of Galleons he had stored in Gringotts already put him in the top tier.
Mountains of gold lay there quietly waiting, and Sean himself had no idea how rich he actually was now.
The sky gradually darkened, and the castle—once glazed in honey-colored light—lost its sweet outline.
The evening clouds burned red along the horizon.
The day before Halloween slipped away very quickly.
For the entire day, Sean spent his time grinding Dark Magic and Transfiguration proficiency.
Then that evening, he was suddenly assigned a rather odd task.
Professor Snape told him to deliver two potions to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
Wolfsbane Potion.
It was a potion that eased the symptoms of a werewolf's transformation and prevented them from losing their mind after changing.
Wolfsbane Potion allowed a werewolf to remain sane on the night of transformation, turning into an ordinary, listless wolf instead, though it could not actually cure someone who had been bitten and turned.
Damocles had invented the potion in the latter half of the twentieth century, and there were very few potions masters in the wizarding world capable of brewing it.
Fortunately, Sean had learned it not long ago.
Professor Snape had been only mildly satisfied with that, as though the boy's performance had finally risen to a passing grade after having been dragged downward countless times by his standards.
The biggest beneficiaries, however, were the Gryffindors. Their nightmare—the hook-nosed professor—had gone an entire week without docking points over their minor mistakes.
At the Defense Against the Dark Arts office,
Sean arrived carrying books.
Some of them had been given to him by Headmaster Dumbledore—books on advanced Dark Magic.
He had been a little surprised when owl post delivered them.
After all, Hogwarts strictly forbade the use of Dark Magic.
But then, since the rules were made by the headmaster, Sean had not thought too much about it. Instead, with faint hope, he had searched for that one particular book…
Unfortunately, it wasn't there.
Secrets of the Darkest Art.
"Professor Lupin."
Books and two potion bottles floated beside Sean as he knocked on the door.
"Mr. Green."
Lupin said, quickly opening it.
The first thing he noticed was the potion floating beside Sean. He gave the young wizard a surprised look, then a faintly troubled expression appeared on his face.
"Has the time come…? What instructions do you have for me…"
he said while stepping aside to let Sean in.
"I came to deliver your Wolfsbane Potion."
Sean cut off his speculation.
He followed Lupin into the office. In one corner stood a large water tank.
Pressed up against the glass was a disgusting green creature with small sharp horns, pulling faces and constantly flexing its long, bony fingers.
"That's a Grindylow I just received for next lesson. A water demon, basically."
Lupin glanced at the Grindylow as he spoke.
"It shouldn't be too hard to handle, especially after you've dealt with Kappas. The trick is to break free of its hands. Have you noticed how unnaturally long its fingers are? Very strong, but brittle and easy to break."
The Grindylow bared its green teeth, then buried itself in a clump of tangled waterweed in the corner of the tank.
"Would you like some tea?"
Lupin asked, glancing around for his teapot.
"I was just about to make some."
Sean nodded quietly.
Lupin tapped the teapot with his wand, and steam immediately burst from the spout.
"Professor Snape very kindly brewed a potion for me,"
he said, looking at the potion bottles.
"I'm not much good at potions myself, and this one is especially complicated."
He lifted a goblet and sniffed it.
"Pity. It stops working if you add sugar."
Then he took a sip and shuddered.
Sean fell silent for a moment.
Wolfsbane Potion did not actually work that way.
"Oh, two bottles. That explains it. He won't be in the castle tomorrow."
Lupin added.
"Won't be?"
Sean was a little curious.
Professor Snape had been patrolling the castle non-stop lately.
"Of course…"
Lupin looked at the young wizard with a gaze full of complexity and meaning.
It was easy enough for him to notice the Dark Magic books in Sean's hands.
He had studied books like those himself back at Hogwarts, before Dumbledore had hidden them away.
So it really was true… very alike…
Lupin lowered his eyes.
There's another chapter later tonight.