Daylight had fully arrived.
The ward was still quiet.
Sean's hospital bed was ringed by an entire circle of sweets.
Somewhere along the line, it seemed like everyone at Hogwarts had learned he had a weakness for sugar.
So the Chocolate Frog boxes and drinks could no longer fit on the tabletop—they had to be stacked on the floor.
Sean had arranged them neatly, leaving the aisle clear, so Madam Pomfrey allowed them to stay.
Now, seen through the cardboard of a Chocolate Frog box, a peculiar photograph awakened with Sean in the thin morning mist.
It was a picture Sean kept on him—originally a Christmas Great Hall group photo Justin had taken—yet it now seemed to have been touched by some strange magic.
When other witches and wizards looked at it, nothing seemed unusual. But when Sean stared at it, some of the once-lively figures began to lose their color.
Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes remained kindly—only grey-white now. Professor Snape's grey-white robes still felt oppressive even in stillness.
Every so often, another grey-white figure appeared in the photo. No one knew what it meant, and no one knew why this spell had been cast.
In that bright morning, a squirrel suddenly burst out of Professor Quirrell's still-colored body inside the photograph. Sean quietly watched it sniff about, then scamper back into the picture.
Learning the Patronus Charm had given him a new kind of insight. As sunlight climbed the infirmary's stone walls and lit the photo in his hands, he studied the extra people who had appeared in it.
A handsome, weathered Sirius drank red wine in great swallows. Lupin, in new clothes, held a goblet as the crimson liquid sloshed gently inside…
The only odd thing was that compared to Sean in the picture, their bodies looked ruined—washed out into a broken grey-white.
The Hogwarts bells rang. Sean put the photograph away.
The Patronus Charm had exposed something in him—thoughts that had been hidden, now showing a corner of themselves.
This was what he feared…
Did those witches and wizards' endings truly match the suffering they had endured?
As for him, he had already gained enough at Hogwarts.
With the day fully bright, Sean left the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey had informed him: he was being discharged.
…
In the corridor, Sean continued practicing wandless magic. He guided books to float in the air, feeling for the technique in the way the spell moved.
Because magic without a wand was wild.
That was Sean's term. After careful comparative experiments, he'd found that casting without a wand produced greater destructive power—but also became far easier to lose control of.
Like the uncontrolled surges young witches and wizards displayed during bouts of accidental magic: violent, stubborn, hard to tame.
And once magic went out of control, it no longer necessarily followed the caster's will.
Which meant the wizard needed a stronger mind—and more mature skill.
Under Sean's practice—or rather, under Ravenclaw's guidance—he had only managed to grasp two spells at a basic level so far.
One was the Levitation Charm. The other was the Cleaning Charm.
Both were among his most familiar spells.
It was early, so the corridors were still empty. His notebook floated out beside him, and new words had appeared at the top:
[Raise four spells' proficiency to Master]
[Verify whether Legilimency can stack]
These were Sean's near-term plans—necessary plans.
Because in the wizarding world, the most important thing was always to keep raising one's magical strength.
He watched with mild satisfaction as his Levitation Charm proficiency rose by another three hundred points, then lifted his head without thinking—and ran straight into two familiar witches and wizards outside the Transfiguration office.
"Professor McGonagall, is it true? Can I take all the classes?" Hermione could barely suppress her grin.
"Miss Granger, you are Hogwarts' model student. You've earned it," McGonagall said. Her mouth was a tight line, but her severity had softened.
"Oh—model student, Professor, I…" Hermione looked like she was about to say a name, but stopped herself.
What was she thinking? Any magical item she could apply for, that person had probably already obtained…
"What is it?" McGonagall asked.
"Nothing, Professor—I mean, this is just wonderful!" Hermione let out an excited little gasp.
"I agree, Miss Granger. I hope you make good use of it," McGonagall said, then turned and walked away.
Hermione watched her go, then looked out at the grass where snow was melting. She warmed her hands with a breath, then left with cheeks reddened by the last of the wind and sleet.
Sean gave them a thoughtful glance, then left the corridor as well.
By the time he reached the Great Hall, it was already buzzing.
He looked at the notice board: Hogsmeade Weekend was approaching.
No wonder everyone seemed more lively…
Then he noticed new announcements beneath it—course selection was coming up.
Sean froze.
Everyone knew Hogwarts classes were divided into required and elective subjects. He'd been studying the required courses for almost two years, but electives weren't officially opened to students until third year.
Partly because younger students had limited energy, and partly because Hogwarts waited for their magic to mature.
"All right, everyone—listen," Justin said. As soon as Sean sat down, Justin produced several notebooks as if by magic.
"In third year, Hogwarts offers five electives: Care of Magical Creatures, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, and Divination. I asked an older Hufflepuff student about them and organized the basics into notes."
"That's brilliant, Justin!" Hermione praised, then turned to Harry and Ron. "We need to be careful—this could affect our entire future."
They were all studying the list, making marks beside different subjects.
"Thanks, Justin—you're always thoughtful. But I just want to drop Potions," Harry said.
"Impossible," Ron said gloomily. "You still have to take the old subjects, or I'd have tossed Defense Against the Dark Arts ages ago."
"But that class is important!" Hermione said, shocked.
"With Lockhart's teaching? I'm not so sure," Ron shot back. "Other than don't let the pixies out, I didn't learn a single thing from him.
Besides—remember? Look at all the 'indispensable contributions' Mr. Green made to Lockhart's 'growth.'"
The moment he said it, none of them could hold back their smiles.
Justin and Hermione even exchanged a quick look with Sean.
Hermione's eyes sparkled with pride: they'd exposed Lockhart's crimes to everyone.
Justin's gaze was gentler—quietly satisfied, because he'd done the right thing.
~~~
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