The sun was setting, and warm golden clouds hung along the horizon like a fringe of hair. Training by the edge of the Black Lake had just ended.
The six students emerged from the woods covered in dust and dirt. Professor Sprout had supervised today's training, and the kind-hearted witch smiled with satisfaction as she looked at their exhausted faces.
"You've all improved a lot. When the competition comes, don't be nervous. Just perform as you normally would and believe in yourselves."
"Yes, Professor," they replied weakly.
An hour and a half of high-intensity training had completely drained their magical energy. With their magic exhausted, the six of them trudged along the path back toward the castle.
"Look, someone's sitting over there," Zach said, pointing at a pile of rocks by the lakeshore.
Theo followed his gaze. "Oh—it's Hagrid's assistant."
Everyone had heard about Hagrid getting an assistant two days earlier, but no one seemed particularly interested in the man. Only Sean watched him like a suspicious guard watching a thief.
It was said that Mick Jarger lived with Hagrid. But since Hagrid's hut contained a ferocious beast, Sean wondered how Hagrid could possibly allow Mick to move in.
Did Hagrid release Fluffy into the Forbidden Forest to roam freely? Sean thought.
If that were the case, getting Fluffy's blood would become even harder. The Forbidden Forest was full of dangers—last year he had nearly lost his life there.
To confirm whether Fluffy had been moved, Sean decided to sacrifice another ten minutes of dinner time and check Hagrid's hut again.
"You guys go ahead. I'll stop by Hagrid's place," Sean said.
"Alright, but hurry up," Theo replied.
Sean jogged all the way to Hagrid's hut. The lights were on inside. He called out twice from the door, but there was no response.
"Not here again," Sean muttered.
The last time he had sneaked here, the lights were on but no one was inside—though music had been playing. This time the hut was completely silent.
Sean considered the possibilities.
Either no one—and no dog—was inside, or a ferocious three-headed dog was standing inside staring intently at the door.
If it was the second scenario, sneaking inside would definitely end badly.
So Sean chose to circle around and peek through the window instead.
"What are you doing here?"
A cautious voice came from behind him.
From the accent alone, Sean knew Mick had returned. He turned calmly and smiled.
"I was passing by and thought I'd check on Hagrid. Is he not here?"
Mick glanced at him coldly but neither answered nor entered the hut. He simply stood there, as if waiting for Sean to leave.
"You live here with Hagrid?" Sean asked casually, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Yes," Mick replied curtly.
"Aren't you afraid of Fluffy? I mean—the three-headed dog inside?" Sean asked, probing carefully.
Mick frowned immediately. The fact that Sean knew about Fluffy clearly displeased him.
"Hagrid told you?" Mick asked.
Sean instantly sensed something was off. It seemed Mick already knew about Fluffy—and didn't want anyone else to know it existed.
"Well… if Hagrid's not here, I'll head back. I'll miss dinner if I'm late," Sean said, quickly changing the subject before leaving.
Mick watched Sean's departing figure, suspicion and vigilance written all over his face.
Even though Sean was just a young student, Mick trusted no one. For certain reasons, he suspected hidden motives in everyone—even children.
As Sean walked back toward the castle, he kept thinking about Mick's identity. But with so little information, he couldn't reach any conclusions.
One thing was certain, though: Fluffy definitely hadn't simply been bought by Hagrid at a bar. There had to be another reason the creature was at Hogwarts.
Was it meant to guard the Philosopher's Stone?
But the Stone wouldn't arrive at Hogwarts until next year. As for why Dumbledore would move it to the school, perhaps his intelligence network had detected signs that Voldemort was becoming active again.
Someone brought in by Dumbledore probably shouldn't be suspicious… right? Sean thought.
Still, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.
When he had glanced through the window earlier, he hadn't seen Fluffy anywhere. Where had Hagrid taken it?
Could it already be placed in that room at the end of the third-floor corridor in the castle?
Probably not. If that were the case, Filch would have already warned students not to go near that room. Yet Filch hadn't said anything these past few days, meaning the room was still normal for now.
After dinner, Sean returned to his dormitory.
The moment he stepped inside, Jerry leapt toward him. Sean had already gotten used to this. Looking around at the messy room, he cast an advanced Repair Charm, restoring everything to the way it had looked when he left that morning.
Compared to the simple beginner repair spell Reparo, restoring an entire room required the far more complex spell Revertio.
Before entering Hogwarts, Sean had only taught himself Reparo. But this term, after bringing Jerry to school, he specifically asked Snape to teach him Revertio on the first day of school—and he mastered it that same night.
Looking at Jerry sprawled lazily across the bed like some kind of noble lord, a thought suddenly occurred to Sean.
"Jerry, staying in the dorm all day must be boring. Tomorrow I'll take you out for some fresh air."
Jerry acted as if he hadn't heard him and continued licking his fur. But the moment Sean took the Wizard's Heart out of his suitcase, Jerry's fur instantly bristled.
"Relax, relax. It'll be over soon," Sean said, trying to calm the frightened creature.
A few days earlier, Sean had come back from training completely drained of magic. Not wanting to waste a magical recovery potion, he experimented with the Wizard's Heart and discovered it could function like a reservoir of magic.
After replenishing his magic using the Wizard's Heart, Sean began his nightly study—constructing the magical framework of the Flight Charm.
Just like the Killing Curse, the Flight Charm required twenty-eight magical frameworks.
But the Flight Charm required simultaneous casting with both hands—fourteen frameworks in the left hand combined with fourteen in the right.
Even for Sean, this was a serious challenge. He had to concentrate with absolute focus, memorizing the sensation of constructing each framework.
His nightly study session didn't end until nearly eleven o'clock, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid finally emerged from the trees alone.
Mick had been waiting outside the hut the entire time. When he saw Hagrid return, he stepped forward and asked,
"Well?"
"The centaurs agreed to guard it. Fluffy has been placed nearby as well. With the dangers of the forest, plus the centaurs and Fluffy, I think it should be safe," Hagrid said.
"You're sure the centaurs can be trusted?" Mick asked skeptically.
"The centaurs are allies of Hogwarts. Dumbledore has always treated them well. He trusts them."
Mick said nothing more.
He stared toward the depths of the Forbidden Forest, concern flickering in his eyes.
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