The two of them walked deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
A bad feeling slowly crept into Sean's heart.
Just a few minutes earlier, he had activated his Magic vision to help search for Buckbeak. By accident, he had glanced at Hagrid beside him.
And that was when something felt wrong.
"This Hagrid isn't right."
On the surface, Sean couldn't see anything unusual about him. But the amount of magic he sensed was far too different from normal.
Hagrid had half-giant blood. Regardless of magical skill, his raw magical power was always abundant. Yet the Hagrid beside him now seemed to possess nearly one-third less magic than usual.
Sean didn't dare act rashly.
Even with that reduced amount, the fake Hagrid still had far more magic than he did.
"Damn it… Polyjuice Potion," Sean thought bitterly. "Someone drank it and lured me into the forest."
Regret surged through him. A moment of carelessness had placed him in serious danger.
But he didn't attack immediately.
If he couldn't defeat the opponent in a single strike, he would lose his final chance. So he continued playing along.
Sean repeatedly cast "Lumos", the light flickering in the darkness—much like the restless turmoil in his heart.
Suddenly, he noticed a small spider crawling beneath the fallen leaves near his feet.
An idea formed instantly.
"Hagrid, let's check over there," Sean said, pointing toward a direction.
Hagrid nodded meaningfully.
"Mm. That place works too."
"What?" Sean asked.
"Nothing. Let's search over there."
Sean deliberately walked behind him.
Polyjuice Potion had a time limit.
From the moment he had met Hagrid in the corridor until now, more than three hours had passed. Polyjuice Potion normally lasted about an hour, which meant the impostor must have taken another dose during dinner.
"Judging by the time… it should be wearing off soon," Sean thought.
He glanced around.
They were now in a shallow depression. About a dozen meters ahead, beneath a small slope, was a dark cave entrance.
That was exactly the place he had been looking for.
"Sean Grylls," the fake Hagrid suddenly said. "The Boy Who Lived. Care to tell me how you survived the Killing Curse?"
Sean knew immediately that the impostor had no intention of continuing the act.
The whole reason he had been lured into the Forbidden Forest was because there would be no one to interfere.
Even if Sean cried for help, no professor would hear him here.
"Hagrid, I was two years old back then," Sean replied innocently. "Do you really expect me to remember anything?"
"That's unfortunate," the fake Hagrid said slowly. "Then I'll just have to see for myself."
From his tone, it sounded like he planned to use Legilimency to search Sean's memories—trying to uncover what magic Sean's parents had used to protect him from Bella's curse.
"Petrificus charm!"
Sean struck first.
The Petrification Spell formed quickly, a beam of white light shooting toward the fake Hagrid.
But the impostor reacted with shock and immediately cast a silent Protego, blocking the attack.
Sean had lost his opportunity.
Now he was on the defensive.
"Sean Grylls," the fake Hagrid said angrily, "you always manage to surprise me."
"You think your little tricks will fool me again?"
"Again?" Sean frowned. "You're… Jovic?"
Before the fake Hagrid could answer, the muscles on his face began twitching uncontrollably.
Sean instantly understood.
The Polyjuice Potion had worn off.
The massive body shrank rapidly before his eyes, until Jovic's true form appeared. Wearing Hagrid's oversized clothes, he looked absurd and grotesque.
Jovic grinned as he walked toward Sean.
"Grylls, you've humiliated me again and again—made me lose face in front of students and professors. But it doesn't matter."
"I didn't come to Hogwarts to teach those idiots."
"I came here for you, the Boy Who Lived."
"When Bella learned you were still alive, she nearly went mad."
Sean's eyes flickered as he slowly stepped backward.
"Bella sent you?"
Jovic shook his head.
"No, no. My job at Hogwarts was pure coincidence."
"But when Bella discovered I was here, she wrote to me on Halloween and told me to kill you."
Jovic bared his blackened teeth in a grin.
"I'm very curious… how did you survive Bella's Killing Curse?"
He paused, then said something that stunned Sean.
"You know, I was one of the three Death Eaters who chased down your parents that night."
"I saw Bella kill your traitorous parents with my own eyes."
"And then she cast the Killing Curse at you."
"But somehow… you were still alive."
Sean had never known this.
He had only transmigrated after the original Sean died.
He didn't even know Bella had killed the Grylls couple until Hearn told him later.
Spiritually, Sean had no emotional connection with them.
But blood was blood.
This body belonged to the Grylls family.
And now one of the people responsible for their deaths stood before him.
A surge of uncontrollable rage rose inside him.
"Jovic," Sean said through clenched teeth, forcing himself to remain calm, "I've been thinking…"
"Bella must be very lonely in Azkaban."
"Why don't you go keep her company?"
Jovic burst into laughter.
"Grylls, you're just a kid. Tonight you'll die in the Forbidden Forest."
"You don't seriously think you can send me to Azkaban, do you?"
"Draconic Serrations!"
Sean unleashed the most powerful Dark spell he currently knew.
But Jovic blocked it again with Protego.
Both spells consisted of eight magical frameworks, and Protego could block or reflect spells with fewer than eight frameworks.
The only spell Sean knew that could bypass Protego was Sectumsempra.
But he was still missing one final framework to complete it.
"Impressive Dark Magic," Jovic said mockingly. "You surprise me again."
"I couldn't even use something that advanced at your age."
Sean understood the gap between himself and a full-grown wizard.
Whether in raw magical power or mastery of advanced spells, he was still lacking.
The Wizard's Heart had solved his magic capacity problem.
Given time, he could accumulate advanced spells.
But right now—
Jovic was here to kill him.
And Sean had no time left to prepare.
Simple spells wouldn't harm Jovic.
And the spells capable of harming him… Sean hadn't fully mastered yet.
Although Sean had secretly learned Protego from Snape and could now cast it, Jovic was an experienced adult wizard and a former Death Eater. Many of the spells he knew could bypass that defense entirely.
"Protego!"
Jovic launched a Dark spell.
Though he hadn't spoken the incantation, Sean recognized it instantly.
Ghoul's Kiss.
Sean couldn't perform silent magic, so he shouted the incantation and raised Protego, barely blocking the attack.
Jovic looked at him with a strange expression.
"I didn't expect you to know Protego as well."
"It's truly a pity to kill a genius like you."
"If Bella hadn't ordered your death, I would've gladly used the Imperius Curse on you."
"You could've become a valuable member of the Death Eaters."
To Read 100+ advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146