Standing nearby, Sean watched as Snape forced Jovic step by step into one of the bathroom stalls.
The sight made Sean chuckle inwardly.
Keith had chosen a backer who was clearly not very reliable.
After that night, Keith truly disappeared from Sean's sight.
Even during meals in the Great Hall, Keith deliberately avoided sitting anywhere near him.
After enduring a full day of classes, Sean finally had time to brew the Muggle Experience Potion.
After curfew, he slipped into the second-floor girls' bathroom with the Marauder's Map.
Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the sink, watching Sean play with the cauldron with an amused expression.
"Myrtle," Sean said awkwardly, glancing up at her, "you won't tell anyone, right?"
"Hmph. Another boring secret."
Looking thoroughly uninterested, Myrtle dove straight into the toilet and vanished.
After more than fifty years as a ghost here, the little secrets students carried out in this bathroom had long since ceased to interest her.
During the day, Sean had repeatedly gone over the potion-making process in his mind during class.
Now every step was clear.
Carefully, he added the ingredients into the cauldron one by one, stirring and simmering as required.
By the time the eleven ingredients were used up, an hour had already passed.
In his hand was a small ampoule filled with Thestral saliva, collected two days earlier.
According to the recipe, the saliva had to be added twice, three minutes after the potion began boiling.
"Damn… that was close."
Sean wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
While adding the saliva, his nervousness nearly caused him to pour the entire vial in at once.
After completing the N.E.W.T.-level potion, Sean stared at the dark red, viscous liquid in the cauldron and swallowed unconsciously.
"Well… here goes nothing."
Holding his breath, Sean lifted the cauldron and drank the entire potion in one gulp.
The next second—
His mouth, throat, and stomach felt as if they were being burned by fire.
The cauldron slipped from his hand with a loud clang.
Sean staggered to the toilet and began retching violently.
Cold sweat spread from his forehead across his entire body.
He collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach, veins bulging from his neck, his face flushed bright red.
He wanted to scream.
But he couldn't.
About five minutes later, the burning sensation finally subsided.
Sean gasped for air, breathing heavily.
Supporting himself on shaky legs, he stood and walked to the sink to splash cold water on his face.
Then he noticed something—
A snake-shaped engraving on the faucet.
Sean instinctively stepped back.
"Relax… I'm pure-blood," he muttered.
"Stop scaring yourself."
This bathroom was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
The basilisk inside traveled through the school's plumbing system.
Fortunately, the chamber remained sealed, so the basilisk would not emerge.
Sean pulled out his wand and tried to construct the magical framework for a Levitation Charm.
Nothing happened.
He couldn't feel any magic at all.
The potion had worked.
Sean didn't bother cleaning up the cauldron.
Instead, he hurried toward the library.
Luckily, the library remained unlocked at night.
Otherwise, without magic, Sean wouldn't even be able to use the Unlocking Charm to get inside.
He passed through the public section and walked straight toward the Restricted Section.
Taking a deep breath, Sean stepped forward slowly.
His right toe crossed the red boundary line dividing the public area from the Restricted Section.
Then his foot.
Then his leg.
Sean knew immediately—
It worked.
He quickly stepped fully across the line.
"Demons of the Fifteenth Century… Famous Fire-Eaters…"
Sean muttered while scanning the titles on the shelves.
"Where's the book on Occlumency?"
Row by row, he searched rapidly.
Then a familiar title caught his attention.
"Advanced Dark Magic?"
"Isn't that the book Tom Riddle read back then?"
Sean pulled the book off the shelf.
Years ago, when Voldemort was still a third-year student, he had entered the Restricted Section with permission from Professor Horace Slughorn.
It was from this very book that Riddle first learned about the creation of Horcruxes.
"Hm?"
Sean flipped through the pages.
"Looks like Voldemort tore these pages out back then."
Five pages were clearly missing.
Sean returned the book to the shelf and continued searching for material on Occlumency.
Half an hour later, on the second level of the sixth bookshelf, he finally saw it:
Occlumency
"There's about an hour and a half left."
"I need to copy this quickly."
Sean took out his notebook and quill.
He didn't dare try to sneak the book out.
Books in the Restricted Section might very well be enchanted.
Without magic, he couldn't risk it.
So he would copy everything on the spot.
Without magic, he couldn't use the Quick Record Spell.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Sean began writing furiously by hand.
Nearly fifteen pages later, he finally finished copying the contents.
Just before the potion's effect wore off, Sean stepped out of the Restricted Section.
Over the next few days, Sean studied Occlumency whenever he had free time.
The magic was extremely complex.
Even ignoring the magical frameworks, the emotional control involved was something Sean had never encountered before.
"So this means creating a false memory space inside the mind?"
"And using real emotions to make it believable?"
"The magical framework I might be able to figure out…"
"But how do you fabricate the emotional decoration?"
Sean sat at his desk, staring blankly at his notes.
At that moment, during Charms class, Professor Flitwick called his name.
"Sean, please demonstrate for the class."
Sean looked up blankly.
Cassius whispered beside him:
"Lumos. That's today's spell."
Sean nodded.
"Of course, Professor."
He raised his wand and cast Lumos with practiced ease.
A bright beam of light shone from the wand tip.
Professor Flitwick smiled with satisfaction.
After class, Cassius approached him.
"Sean, are you ready for flying class this afternoon?"
"Flying class?"
Sean froze.
"Wait… today's already Thursday?"
Since obtaining the Occlumency text on Monday night, time had flown by for Sean.
He had been completely immersed in his own world.
The professors rarely bothered him either—after all, he was an exceptionally outstanding student.
After Herbology came the class Sean dreaded most:
Flying Lessons.
Sean had intended to practice flying sometime during the week.
Unfortunately, his schedule had been more packed than most students' entire month.
"Yes," Sean sighed.
"I'm fully prepared… to fail flying class."
Out of eight first-year subjects, Sean could easily earn Outstanding in seven.
But Flying would likely become the most eye-catching mark on his report card.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, Sean sat alone on the grass.
Above him, his classmates soared through the sky on their broomsticks.
Sean tilted his head at a 45-degree angle, gazing up at the sky as a strange sadness filled his heart.
"Am I really this bad?"
"Everyone's flying… and I'm the only one sitting here."
He had just attempted flying again.
And once again, he had fallen off the broom.
The laughter of his classmates still echoed in his ears.
"No."
Sean clenched his fists.
"If I can't fly on a broom…"
"Then I'll invent a flying spell."
"I'll fly without one."
He had made up his mind.
This humiliation had to be avenged.
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