During this school term at Hogwarts, several things were happening—or about to happen—that lay completely outside Sean's knowledge.
The mysterious package, the sudden appearance of Hagrid's assistant, the disappearance of Fluffy, the seemingly kind and dedicated Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and the Four-School Friendship Tournament beginning next month.
Sean's second year was destined to be full of uncertainty.
Even though he knew parts of the future, the events that occurred at Hogwarts before Harry's enrollment were things he knew very little about.
Sean's "magical creature companion plan" had also been delayed because of Fluffy's disappearance. Originally, he had wanted to absorb another magical creature to keep Fawkes company.
Now it seemed he would have to wait until next year.
The first weekend of the new term arrived.
Some students went to Hogsmeade to wander around, others laughed and played with their friends in the castle. The first-years were especially curious about everything, roaming through every corridor and staircase.
Sean, however, remained busy.
At nine o'clock on Saturday morning, he went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom for his scheduled lesson with Professor Morisse to learn the Patronus Charm.
"Give me a little cooperation and stop struggling."
Sean carried Jerry all the way from the dormitory to the classroom. During the trip, Jerry tried to escape his arms at least a hundred times, but Sean kept pushing him back down.
When Professor Morisse saw that Sean had brought a Kneazle into the classroom, he looked surprised.
"This is the first time I've seen a student bring a Kneazle to Hogwarts as a pet."
"Sorry, Professor. Jerry has been stuck in the dorm for a week and was getting bored. I thought I'd bring him out for some fresh air this weekend," Sean said apologetically.
In reality, he had brought Jerry here on purpose.
Kneazles were intelligent creatures and had the uncanny ability to sense a person's character. If Morisse had any ill intentions, Jerry's reaction would be very obvious.
Sean deliberately walked closer to Morisse while holding Jerry, carefully observing both Jerry's reaction and Morisse's expression from the corner of his eye.
Morisse looked completely calm, showing no concern that the Kneazle might attack him.
Meanwhile, Jerry simply remained curled in Sean's arms, clearly uninterested in Morisse.
No reaction? Does that mean Morisse is actually a decent person? Sean wondered, glancing down at Jerry suspiciously as if its "moral-detection radar" might be malfunctioning.
Among all the questionable Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, the appearance of a normal one felt almost unbelievable.
At least Sean found it difficult to accept.
Because he knew too much, he tended to overthink things. Other students saw Morisse as a great professor, but Sean couldn't fully relax his guard.
"Your Kneazle's fur is very glossy. Its bloodline must be quite pure," Morisse commented.
Jerry lazily lifted its head and glanced at him with round eyes. Then it kicked off with its hind legs, jumped out of Sean's arms, and landed on a desk in the second row.
It stretched its back, opened its mouth wide for a long yawn, then tucked its paws beneath its body and closed its eyes again, as if preparing for a nap.
"Sorry, Professor. I'll take him back," Sean said.
Morisse waved his hand casually.
"It's fine. Let him sleep there. Let's begin."
"The incantation used to summon a Patronus is Expecto Patronum. This spell only works when your thoughts are focused. To summon a Patronus, you must concentrate on a very happy memory—something filled with love or hope."
"These memories are precisely what Dementors feed on. The Patronus Charm not only protects you but also drives Dementors away."
"The Patronus usually takes the form of a silver-white translucent animal, like a ghost in the mist. Its shape varies from person to person and is influenced by the wizard's personality and nature."
"A Patronus is not necessarily permanent. If someone experiences great emotional change or trauma, the form of their Patronus can change as well."
"Advanced Patronuses can even speak. They can carry messages for the caster and act as a means of communication."
Professor Morisse stood at the podium and taught a full lesson for a class of one.
Even though there was only a single student present, he still explained everything carefully.
But Sean already knew all of this.
He even knew that the advanced Patronus used for sending messages had been invented by Dumbledore.
What Sean really wanted was simple:
To watch someone proficient cast the Patronus Charm once.
If he could see it performed, his Magic vision could record the magical framework, and he could practice it later on his own.
Although fifth-years had already begun learning the spell, it would likely take them four or five months before any of them mastered it. Sneaking a look at their casting wouldn't help him anytime soon.
"Professor, what form does your Patronus take?" Sean asked, activating his Magic vision.
"A dog."
Morisse raised his wand.
"Expecto Patronum."
Magic gathered at the tip of his wand. The magical threads twisted and formed twenty-one frameworks invisible to ordinary eyes.
Moments later, a white spectral shape appeared—a dog.
The shining figure landed on the floor and ran around the classroom twice before dissolving into mist when Morisse ended the spell.
Sean had already achieved his goal.
His Magic vision had recorded the magical framework of the Patronus Charm.
For the remainder of the lesson, as Morisse explained the theoretical aspects of the frameworks, Sean pretended to listen attentively.
Two hours later, Morisse's generously donated time came to an end.
Sean thanked him and left the classroom, carrying Jerry as he walked toward the castle entrance.
On the way, he ran into the Weasley twins, who were wandering around the castle with nothing to do.
Seeing the pet in Sean's arms immediately caught their interest.
"We heard you brought a pet to school this year. Is that a cat?" Fred asked, reaching out to touch Jerry.
Sean quickly stopped him.
"That's not a cat. His name is Jerry—he's a Kneazle. And he's pretty fierce."
"He's still smarter than Percy's stupid rat," George joked, taking the chance to tease his older brother again.
Sean suddenly froze.
Percy's rat?
Wasn't it Ron's?
"How did I forget about that…" Sean muttered, tapping his forehead.
Ron had brought Scabbers to school because Percy had given it to him as a hand-me-down.
Peter Pettigrew had been living as the rat Scabbers in the Weasley family for twelve years, serving as both Percy's and later Ron's pet.
Yet Sean had never seen Scabbers at school.
Nor had Peter Pettigrew's name ever appeared on the Marauder's Map.
"Percy had a pet too? Why haven't I ever seen it?" Sean asked casually.
"He had a fat, stupid rat," George explained. "But by second year he thought it was too embarrassing, so he stopped bringing it to school."
Sean nodded.
That explained why he hadn't seen Scabbers last year or this year.
If Scabbers had been at Hogwarts, Jerry would have had a very interesting playmate.
"So where are you going?" Fred asked curiously when he noticed Sean wasn't heading back to the dormitory.
"Don't tell me… you've found something interesting again?"
Sean was actually heading to Hagrid's hut.
He wanted Jerry to test Mick's character as well—and maybe chat with Hagrid to find out where Fluffy had gone.
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146