Sean and Chris returned to the Slytherin common room just as the students had finished their afternoon classes. Cassius spotted them and immediately walked over with enthusiasm.
"Chris, you're finally back. Did something happen at home?" he asked.
Chris glanced at Sean before replying, "Nothing serious. My mother wasn't feeling well, but she's better now."
"That's good to hear," Cassius said. Then he turned to Sean. "Where were you all day? Did you go out with Dumbledore again?"
"It doesn't really matter whether I'm around or not," Sean replied casually.
Chris still hadn't fully recovered. After greeting them briefly, she returned to her dorm to rest. Fortunately, she showed up at dinner later, otherwise Sean would have worried she had fainted again.
Lately, Harry and his friends had been bored out of their minds. Their days were no different from any other student's. Even Draco had stopped bothering them as often. Life at Hogwarts felt dull, nothing like the thrilling magical world they had imagined.
"Harry, Christmas is next Wednesday. Are you going home?" Ron asked while gnawing on a chicken leg.
Harry hesitated before shaking his head. "I think I'll stay at school."
"You can come to my house for Christmas," Hermione offered. "My parents would love to have you."
"Or come to mine," Ron said eagerly. "My mum really likes you."
Harry didn't want to intrude on their family gatherings, so he politely declined. Staying at Hogwarts was still better than going back to the Dursleys.
Sean glanced at Harry from the Slytherin table. The trio had completely lost interest in the Philosopher's Stone. If he wanted them to take action again, he would need to give them a little push.
Draco was sitting four seats away, chatting with his two lackeys. An idea suddenly struck Sean. He leaned forward and called out, "Draco."
Draco continued chatting as if he hadn't heard him. In truth, he had heard—but he didn't want to respond.
"What does he want now? Another lecture?" Draco thought to himself.
"Draco, Sean's calling you," Goyle helpfully pointed out.
"Shut up and eat your food," Draco snapped.
Goyle looked confused after being scolded, then nudged Draco again. "Draco."
"What?" Draco replied irritably.
"Your hearing seems fine. So you're just pretending not to hear me?" Sean's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Draco stiffened. "Sean… were you calling me just now?"
"Come to my dorm after dinner. I need to talk to you."
"I'm not going," Draco refused immediately.
Sean patted him on the shoulder, smiling kindly. "Are you sure about that?"
A chill ran down Draco's spine. He grimaced. "Fine… I'll go."
Satisfied, Sean returned to his seat and continued eating. Chris looked at him curiously. "Bullying Draco again?"
"I'm not bullying him. Why would I? And even before, that wasn't bullying—it was education," Sean defended himself.
Not long after Sean returned to his dorm, Draco knocked on the door. Sean let him in, though Draco seemed a bit wary of Jerry.
"It's fine. He doesn't eat good kids," Sean joked.
Jerry only glanced at Draco before curling back up on the bed and closing his eyes.
From Jerry's reaction alone, it was clear Draco wasn't a bad person—just arrogant.
"There's something I need your help with," Sean said.
Draco relaxed instantly. So that was it—Sean needed something from him. His confidence returned.
"I thought it was something serious. Go on, what do you need?"
"You have Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor, right?" Sean asked.
"Yeah. So?"
"Good. Starting from your next class, I need you to attract Harry's attention. After class, deliberately go to the room at the third-floor corridor—the one that was previously forbidden—and stay there for about three minutes."
The classroom was on the same floor as that room. Draco and Harry already disliked each other. If Draco went there deliberately, it would naturally arouse Harry's suspicion.
"Why? What's in that room?" Draco asked, puzzled.
"You don't need to know. Besides, isn't messing with Potter your favorite pastime? Help me mess with him a bit," Sean said.
"You don't like Saint Potter either?" Draco's eyes lit up. Finding a kindred spirit, his opinion of Sean improved instantly.
"Uh… yeah," Sean replied vaguely.
"Say no more. I'm great at messing with Potter," Draco said confidently.
Sean didn't bother correcting him. More often than not, Draco ended up embarrassing himself instead.
Even if Draco's first attempt didn't catch Harry's attention, Sean wasn't worried. Dumbledore hadn't finished setting up the trials yet.
Five days later, December 25th arrived—Christmas Day.
Ron had to stay at school since his parents went to Romania to visit Charlie, so he spent the holiday with Harry.
Sean also stayed at Hogwarts, as he did every year, avoiding part-time work.
Early in the morning, Ron was opening presents in the Gryffindor common room. Mrs. Weasley had sent him a sweater with his initial knitted onto it—and she had made one for Harry as well.
To Sean's surprise, he had received one too.
It warmed his heart. Compared to his uncle Haines, who always sent the same Chocolate Frog sweets every year, Mrs. Weasley's gift felt far more thoughtful.
"S… not bad. Kind of cool," Sean muttered, looking at the large "S" stitched onto the sweater.
"Harry should have received the Invisibility Cloak from Dumbledore by now," Sean thought with a hint of envy.
But in truth, it was simply returning the item to its rightful owner. The Invisibility Cloak was one of the Deathly Hallows, passed down through the Potter family. It was no ordinary cloak—it could even evade Death itself.
Harry was thrilled. Wearing it in the dorm wasn't enough, so that night he put it on and wandered around Hogwarts.
He visited the library, the hospital wing, the clock tower… and eventually made his way to the third floor.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to check the room in the corridor. Recently, Draco had been seen sneaking in there alone, which made Harry curious.
"Truly worthy of a Deathly Hallow."
Sean stood behind a pillar, holding the Marauder's Map. He had guessed Harry wouldn't be able to resist sneaking out tonight, and there was a high chance he would come here.
So after curfew, Sean had been waiting.
But on the map, Harry Potter's name had disappeared. Even Sean's Magic vision couldn't detect the usual white glow.
If he hadn't seen the door to the room open, he wouldn't have even realized Harry had already gone inside.
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146