Time passed quickly, and before long it was Halloween.
Last month, Sean had finally completed the Magic Power Restoration Potion in the second-floor bathroom. Unfortunately, the ingredients had been limited, and he had only managed to brew eight bottles.
After practicing Witch's Kiss, Sean tested one.
Normally, when his magic was exhausted, it would take at least six hours to recover.
But after drinking the potion, his magic returned to peak condition in about five minutes.
This year's Halloween at Hogwarts passed peacefully.
There were no trolls.
No basilisks.
Students gathered happily in the Great Hall, enjoying the feast.
Sean was in a good mood as well.
Over the past month he had mastered two more Dark Magic spells—Witch's Kiss and Dragon Fang Serration.
He could now construct the eighth framework of Sectumsempra, getting closer to the full twelve.
Unfortunately, his progress in Occlumency was still painfully slow.
Across the table, Cassius was chatting excitedly with Graham about Quidditch.
Suddenly he turned to Sean.
"Sean! Did you know the Hogwarts Quidditch season starts next Wednesday?"
Sean replied seriously,
"If we don't talk about Quidditch, we can still be friends."
Chris, sitting diagonally across from them, overheard and spoke gently, almost like she was comforting him.
"It's alright, Sean."
"All your other subjects are Outstanding."
"Even if you fail Flying, it won't affect your grades."
"Besides, the O.W.L.s exams don't test flying anyway."
Sean wasn't really bothered by people mentioning his flying abilities.
Did flying always have to involve a broom?
There were many ways to fly.
He wasn't about to wage a lifelong war against broomsticks.
"Chris, your flying lessons went pretty well though," Sean said.
"I heard Marcus Flint say in the common room that Slytherin plans to beat Gryffindor two hundred to zero this year," Cassius said enthusiastically.
As a future Slytherin Chaser, Cassius clearly cared far more about Quidditch than about Potions class.
Whether Gryffindor would end up with zero points, Sean didn't know.
But he did remember that Gryffindor only began ending its long losing streak after Harry enrolled.
This year's champion would probably be either Slytherin or Hufflepuff.
Even though Sean didn't understand Quidditch well, Slytherin's past record suggested they had the better odds.
At that moment, a flock of owls flew into the Great Hall.
Each owl carried something—either in its beak or claws.
As they swooped over the tables, they dropped their packages.
"Halloween presents!" Chris said excitedly as she watched a package descend toward her.
As expected from the daughter of a powerful family, four owls delivered packages to Chris—each one larger than the last.
Under the envious gazes of nearby girls, Chris began opening them.
Sean had no interest in watching someone else unbox gifts.
Just then, a slightly foolish-looking owl dropped a small box about the size of a fist directly onto Sean's head.
"You buy your flying license from a cereal box?" Sean muttered at the owl while rubbing his head.
He checked the sender's name.
Hernes.
"…Not again."
Before even opening the box, Sean already knew what was inside.
"Sean, what did you get?" Cassius asked excitedly.
"Look at mine!"
"My mom knitted this pumpkin eye mask for me. Cool, right?"
He proudly wore the ridiculous mask.
Sean sighed and opened his gift.
Inside was a Chocolate Frog.
Since Sean was five years old, his uncle Hernes had given him Chocolate Frogs for every occasion—birthdays, holidays, everything.
Because they were cheap.
"Ooo! Let me see the card!" Cassius grabbed it eagerly.
"Ah… Merlin again."
"I already have eight of these."
Disappointed, Cassius returned the card.
Many young wizards loved collecting Chocolate Frog cards.
But Sean had already grown tired of card collecting in his previous life.
He never kept the cards.
The Halloween feast lasted longer than usual.
Sean decided to give himself a night off.
No practicing magic.
No studying Occlumency.
He lounged lazily on a sofa in the Slytherin common room, eating fruit while chatting with Cassius and Chris.
"Sean, I heard you live at the Leaky Cauldron," Cassius asked.
"Yeah. In a storage room upstairs," Sean replied casually.
"That's amazing! You must be able to go to Diagon Alley anytime you want!" Cassius said enviously.
Sean blinked.
"That's a strange way to think."
"Shouldn't you be sympathizing with me for living in a storage room?"
Cassius scratched his head awkwardly.
"My family has seven kids. Our room is basically a storage room too."
"It's a mess and no one ever cleans."
"Chris's house must be huge though," he added.
"My home is a manor," Chris said calmly.
Sean and Cassius looked at each other.
Their eyes seemed to say the same thing:
Rich people.
Before they knew it, the clock reached 9:30 PM.
Students gradually left the common room for their dormitories.
Sean stood up to go take a shower.
"Sean, you dropped something," Cassius said, pointing at the sofa.
"What?"
Sean turned back.
It was the Merlin card.
Strangely, he remembered leaving it on the table in the Great Hall.
How had it ended up here?
Sean picked it up.
"You want it?" he asked Cassius.
"I don't collect these."
Cassius shook his head.
He already had eight Merlin cards.
"Alright."
Sean casually tossed the card into the common room trash bin.
Back in his dormitory, Sean finished his shower and prepared to go to bed.
Then something strange happened.
"…How did this get here?"
Sean stared at the Merlin card lying on his desk.
In the Great Hall, maybe he had misremembered and accidentally put it in his pocket.
Then it fell onto the sofa.
That was possible.
But just now—
He had clearly thrown it into the common room trash can in front of Cassius.
And his dormitory door had been locked.
No one else could have entered.
"A supernatural event at Hogwarts?" Sean muttered.
"Ever since I enrolled, I've been the one causing trouble."
"Now trouble is coming to me?"
He picked up the card and spoke to the picture of Merlin on it.
"Old man… who put you here?"
Using his Magic vision, Sean examined the card.
Since Chocolate Frog cards were minor alchemy items, they emitted a faint white glow.
But Sean saw nothing unusual.
"Could this be Cassius playing a prank?"
Sean considered the possibility.
But Cassius didn't even know the Unlocking Charm.
There was no way he could have entered the room.
Sean shook his head and tossed the card into the trash bin beside his desk.
The next morning, a loud voice echoed from Sean's dormitory.
"Shit."
The Merlin card he had thrown away was once again sitting neatly on his desk.
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