Sean initially thought it was Peeves messing with him again, so he immediately activated his Magic vision. But to his surprise, there was no trace of Peeves's magical aura.
The Marauder's Map shot out of the drawer and flew straight toward the door. As if it had a mind of its own, it suddenly lowered its altitude and slipped through the gap beneath the door.
Sean rushed after it and flung the door open.
It continued the same way through the common room—flying low, weaving through corridors, down staircases, and finally out of the castle.
"Where the hell is it going?!" Sean panted, still in his cotton sleepwear.
Giving up on running, he cast the Flying Charm and took to the air in pursuit.
Once outside, the map sped toward the Whomping Willow without slowing.
Under the cold moonlight, Sean spotted a short figure standing beneath the tree.
"That must be the one controlling it."
Wormtail stood waiting. The map arrived—but so did a flying figure behind it, startling him.
Sean was just as shocked.
As he drew closer, he realized that the small figure matched someone from his memories.
"Wormtail!" Sean blurted out.
"Sean Grylls!" Wormtail recognized him at the same moment.
Sean halted midair as the map flew into Wormtail's hand.
They stared at each other.
Wormtail's beady eyes were filled with confusion. "Why does Sean have the Marauder's Map?"
"What's going on? Wormtail is making a move now—does that mean Voldemort is already acting?" Sean remained on guard.
Wormtail kept his eyes on Sean while opening the map and reciting the activation phrase.
The map slowly revealed its contents. As one of its creators, Wormtail only needed a glance to confirm—
Hoff's name wasn't on it.
Coincidentally, Hagrid's hut lay just outside the map's detection range.
Without hesitation, Wormtail decided to abandon the map and extract the information directly from Sean.
"Get down here!" Wormtail raised his hand and muttered, "Black Mist."
Above his head, a mass of darkness—blacker than the night itself—rapidly condensed.
Sean had never seen this spell before, but instinct told him it was dangerous. He turned and flew straight back toward the castle.
Wormtail's generation had been full of prodigies—James, Sirius, Lupin, Lily. The professors had focused on them, overlooking Wormtail.
But that didn't mean he was weak.
Compared to those geniuses, he seemed insignificant—but in reality, his skill was solidly above average.
His wandless casting alone proved it.
The "Black Mist" spell consisted of thirteen magical frameworks, executed smoothly.
Sean immediately sensed danger and tried to retreat for help.
But the black mist was relentless. It was fast—and worse, it began to change shape.
"Damn it, you're really trying to kill me?!" Sean cursed as the mist transformed into a net, blocking off the airspace behind him and closing in.
Thinking quickly, Sean shot upward, trying to escape the spell's effective range.
Most spells weakened beyond ten meters and became ineffective past twenty.
But just as he rose—
A figure suddenly appeared above him, cutting off his escape.
A stranger.
Light blond hair. Pale skin. Tall and thin.
Then the man licked his lips in a twisted, unsettling gesture.
Sean's heart skipped.
"Barty Crouch Jr… Damn it, what is he doing here?! What does Voldemort want?!"
The next instant—
A spell struck from above.
Sean lost consciousness instantly.
Barty looked down coldly as Sean's limp body fell through the air.
Wormtail hurried forward, catching him with a Levitation Charm.
The sudden ambush had turned Sean into Voldemort's prisoner.
He never imagined Barty would appear at Hogwarts.
Even more alarming—Dumbledore's warning crystal showed no reaction.
Barty had entered through the tunnel beneath the Shrieking Shack. The magical detection network couldn't detect that passage, allowing such a dangerous figure to slip in unnoticed.
"What are you doing here?!" Wormtail hissed, anger barely contained.
Barty shot him a disdainful look. "If I hadn't come, would you have caught him?"
He stared meaningfully at the unconscious Sean on Wormtail's back.
In truth, even Barty had been surprised.
The Flying Charm was Voldemort's invention. As far as he knew, only Snape, Bellatrix, and himself had been taught it. Bellatrix was in Azkaban.
That left only one possibility.
"Severus actually taught this kid the Flying Charm. He's betrayed the Dark Lord," Barty said coldly.
Wormtail was also suspicious, but didn't dare speak so bluntly.
"The Dark Lord trusts Severus deeply. Saying that in front of him might not go well," he muttered.
Carrying Sean, Wormtail headed toward the Whomping Willow. They planned to take him to the Shrieking Shack and force him to reveal Hoff's whereabouts.
"Who are you?"
A voice suddenly stopped them.
Wormtail turned.
Hagrid—and a middle-aged man he didn't recognize.
"Peter Pettigrew?!" Hagrid's eyes widened in disbelief. "Weren't you dead?!"
"Long time no see, Hagrid," Wormtail replied indifferently.
"And you… Barty Crouch Jr.?" Hagrid asked uncertainly.
Beside him, Hoff didn't recognize the two, but his expression turned wary.
Dumbledore's crystal hadn't reacted—but Hoff's had.
He had placed a warning crystal in Hagrid's hut. After curfew, it monitored a hundred-meter radius. Anyone approaching would trigger a bright red alert.
Sean, while fleeing the black mist, had inadvertently activated it.
"Take them out," Barty said, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green light shot from his wand.
They were only fifteen meters apart.
Hagrid had no Magic vision to warn him. And despite his size, he wasn't exactly nimble. The deadly green light came too fast for him to react.
Barty didn't hesitate—no wasted words, just instant lethal force.
Hoff didn't have time to cast a counterspell either.
If Sean had been conscious, he would have been stunned by what happened next.
In a blink—
Hoff stepped in front of Hagrid.
Faster than any spell.
Both attackers were momentarily stunned.
Someone had used their own body to block the Killing Curse.
That kind of sacrifice… wasn't something anyone would do lightly.
"Who is he to Hagrid?" Barty asked, frowning at Wormtail.
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