Standing silently around the corner, Sean finally saw Snape emerge from the potion storage room.
"After waiting more than an hour…"
Sean quietly exhaled.
"You're finally leaving."
Snape stood before the storage room door with his usual vigilance, his dark eyes scanning the corridor carefully.
Then he raised his wand.
One protective spell after another landed directly onto the door.
Barrier spells.
Alarm spells.
Concealment magic.
Detection curses.
Snape cast seven or eight layers consecutively before finally nodding with satisfaction and walking away.
Sean remained hidden several more minutes just to be safe.
Only after confirming Snape wouldn't suddenly return did he finally raise his wand.
"Lumos."
Buzz—
Bright light instantly illuminated the corridor.
Several portraits hanging nearby immediately became furious.
"Turn that light off!"
One old wizard in a painting yelled irritably.
"We're trying to sleep!"
Sean glanced toward him coldly.
"Shut up or I'll kill you."
The portrait instantly fled screaming from the frame.
Sean nodded in satisfaction before approaching the storage room slowly.
"Snape, Snape…"
He quietly muttered to himself.
"If I hadn't watched you cast the spells personally, I really might've triggered them."
Then Sean clicked his tongue softly.
"Seven protective layers plus a hidden alarm curse."
"You really think highly of me."
Sean slowly began dismantling the spells one by one.
For ordinary first-year students, bypassing Snape's security without triggering the alarms was impossible.
But Sean wasn't ordinary.
Even so—
It still took him over half an hour.
Finally—
Crack.
The final protective spell collapsed quietly.
Sean carefully opened the door.
The moment he stepped inside, even Sean's breathing paused briefly.
Shelves.
Endless shelves.
Filled completely with potions and magical ingredients.
Sean's eyes lit up instantly.
"These are worth hundreds of thousands of Galleons at minimum…"
He clicked his tongue.
"I didn't expect Snape to secretly be the richest man in Hogwarts."
Sean took one step forward—
Then instantly froze.
A faint magical pattern beneath his foot flashed briefly.
Sean's pupils contracted sharply.
"There's another one?!"
Cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.
"That almost triggered."
Without hesitation, Sean pointed his wand downward.
"Confundus."
The alarm array instantly dimmed quietly.
Only then did Sean finally relax.
Afterward, Sean immediately began searching for ingredients.
"Troll hide…"
"Fire saltpetre fragments…"
"Wolfsbane…"
Sean moved quickly through the shelves while collecting materials efficiently.
Soon afterward, Sean restored every protection spell exactly as before and quietly left the storage room.
But Sean's expression remained slightly troubled.
The most important ingredient for Ageing Potion still hadn't been acquired.
Silverblossom.
And unfortunately—
That ingredient only existed inside the Forbidden Forest.
Sean sighed while walking downstairs.
"Entering the Forbidden Forest during such a sensitive period…"
His expression darkened.
"My luck really is terrible."
.....
Before long, Sean finally arrived outside Hogwarts Castle.
The Forbidden Forest at night looked horrifying.
Strange beast cries echoed constantly from deep within the darkness.
Massive black shadows stretched across the trees like sleeping monsters.
Only one warm orange light remained visible nearby.
Hagrid's hut.
That warm glow somehow made the surrounding darkness feel less oppressive.
"What's Hagrid doing this late?"
Sean quietly approached the cabin.
Thanks to his size and careful footsteps, he barely made any sound at all.
At that exact moment—
[Congratulations to the host for discovering Hagrid's hut.]
[Reward: Premium magical creature feed ×100.]
Sean's expression became blank.
"...You want me to eat animal feed?"
Sean immediately ignored the reward completely.
Instead, he peered through the small window.
Inside the hut, Hagrid sat beside the fireplace rubbing his hands excitedly.
Suddenly—
"Who's there?!"
Hagrid instantly grabbed his suspicious pink umbrella and pointed it toward the window.
"It's me."
Sean calmly pushed open the door.
"Hagrid."
Hagrid looked surprised.
"Mr Sebastian?"
Then his expression became slightly wary.
"What are yeh doin' here this late?"
Sean casually sat down nearby.
"I came to see your dragon egg."
Instantly—
Hagrid's entire body froze.
His expression stiffened completely.
Sean understood perfectly.
As a half-giant, Hagrid possessed terrifying physical strength.
Fortunately, Hagrid had no intention of harming students.
Otherwise Sean definitely wouldn't have walked in so confidently.
"Relax."
Sean smiled lightly.
"I won't tell anyone."
Then he added calmly:
"Actually, I can help you."
Hagrid looked unconvinced immediately.
"Help me?"
He scratched his beard suspiciously.
"Yeh haven't even started Divination yet, boy."
Sean remained completely calm.
"Then how do I know you have a dragon egg?"
Hagrid froze.
Sean continued casually:
"And I also know you won it from a mysterious man in black."
Then Sean looked directly toward the egg beneath the blanket.
"A Norwegian Ridgeback."
Hagrid instantly became excited again.
"Yes!"
He happily uncovered the egg.
"Beautiful, isn't she?"
The massive red egg glowed warmly in the firelight.
Sean calmly leaned back.
"Let's make a deal."
Hagrid blinked.
"I'll help you protect the dragon once."
Then Sean narrowed his eyes slightly.
"In exchange, you take me to find Silverblossom."
Hagrid immediately shook his head violently like a rattling drum.
"No!"
This time Sean became genuinely surprised.
Originally, Sean had spent all this time talking simply because he wanted Hagrid to guide him safely through the Forbidden Forest.
But Hagrid actually refused.
Seeing Sean's confusion, Hagrid awkwardly explained:
"Silverblossom only grows near silver mines."
His expression became uncomfortable.
"And that silver mine…"
Hagrid scratched his beard.
"It's controlled by the centaurs."
Then he sighed helplessly.
"They don't like me much."
Sean immediately felt disappointed.
But then Hagrid suddenly continued:
"Still…"
"I know someone who might help yeh meet them."
Sean instantly looked back up.
"Centaurs aren't easy ter deal with though," Hagrid warned seriously.
"Their tempers are worse than stones."
Sean could only nod.
"That's still better than nothing."
Then Sean suddenly spoke again:
"Hagrid."
"When your Norwegian Ridgeback hatches, Harry and his friends will come see it."
Hagrid immediately listened carefully.
"And Malfoy will secretly follow them."
Sean calmly crossed his arms.
"After that, Malfoy reports everything to the school."
"And your dragon gets sent to Romania."
Hagrid stared blankly for several seconds before finally understanding.
"So…"
His eyes widened.
"I just can't let Malfoy see the dragon!"
Sean snapped his fingers lightly.
"Exactly."
Then Sean smiled faintly.
"Now it's time for you to fulfil your side of the deal, Hagrid."
.....
Read the next chapter on my p@treon for free.
Paid members can get more than 60 chapters.
Link: [email protected]/GalaxyWonder