Dumbledore didn't say anything more to Chris. Whatever needed to be said, Barty Crouch Sr. had already told her.
"Focus on your studies. Leave the rest to us," Dumbledore said gently.
It was exactly the same thing her grandfather had told her.
The dangers and filth of the adult world were not meant for children to bear.
After Chris left, only Snape and Sean remained in the office. Dumbledore walked behind his desk and took out the Marauder's Map from a drawer.
"There must be a specific way to activate this," Dumbledore said.
After retrieving it from Wormtail, he hadn't had time to study it. Now, spread out on the table, it appeared completely blank.
Sean had a bad feeling—he probably wasn't getting it back.
He glanced at Snape, then said to Dumbledore, "Professor, do you know who made this map?"
"Who?" Dumbledore asked with interest.
"James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew," Sean listed the names of the Marauders one by one.
Snape's face twitched at the mention of those names. He felt an instinctive disgust toward them.
"So it was them," Dumbledore murmured. "Then the activation method should be… interesting."
"Are you going to keep the professor waiting? Open it," Snape snapped impatiently.
Sean stepped forward helplessly and said to the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Lines began to appear across the blank parchment, forming a detailed map of Hogwarts. Every corridor and passageway was clearly outlined.
But—
No names appeared.
"That's odd," Sean muttered. "Maybe it's just slow."
A few more seconds passed.
Still nothing.
Normally, the names would appear instantly. Now, even after ten seconds, there was nothing.
"What are you playing at?" Snape smacked Sean lightly on the head.
"I don't know! It wasn't like this before!" Sean protested.
He picked up the map, inspecting it from every angle. He even activated his Magic vision, but saw nothing unusual.
"Did it break?" he thought.
What Sean didn't know was that after Wormtail got his hands on the map, he had tampered with it.
When Wormtail activated it and failed to find Hoff, he realized the map had been in Sean's possession. Ever cautious, he modified it—hiding all the names behind an additional layer of protection.
Only a specific method could reveal them now.
In effect, he had encrypted the map.
"It seems… defective," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"Professor, can I take it back and try to fix it?" Sean asked, unwilling to give up.
"Something like this should be burned," Snape said coldly.
Dumbledore waved his hand dismissively. "Take it."
As Sean turned to leave, Dumbledore added, "Keep an eye on Chris. As her friend."
"I will," Sean replied.
Back in his dormitory, Sean studied the map all night.
Nothing worked.
The "key" to the encryption had died with Wormtail. No one else could unlock it now.
"What the hell went wrong?" Sean muttered, scratching his head.
"Do I need one of the creators to look at it?"
When something broke, you went to the manufacturer.
But of the creators still alive, one—Sirius Black—was imprisoned, and the other—Remus Lupin—was wandering in obscurity.
In truth, the map had been mainly created by the other three. But the cunning Wormtail had memorized every step, which was why he could modify it so easily.
Sean felt a headache coming on.
Without the Marauder's Map, it felt like losing a limb. At Hogwarts, it had been nothing short of a cheat code.
Meanwhile, Voldemort, who had escaped Hogwarts, hid himself in Hogsmeade.
At the Three Broomsticks, he overheard news of Wormtail's death.
The Dark Lord felt no sorrow.
Not even a trace.
Even in death, Wormtail wasn't spared from his scorn.
"Useless fool. Died at the worst possible time. There was still work to be done."
Voldemort could no longer tolerate this weak, humiliating body.
The Philosopher's Stone was out of reach. Possessing a wizard only led to rejection.
Thinking of Haierbo, who had successfully possessed another body for centuries, Voldemort made a decision.
He would reclaim part of his soul.
He would merge the fragmented pieces to strengthen himself.
That way, when he possessed a body, he wouldn't be as weak as he had been with Quirrell. He would gain full control—just like Haierbo.
Including the fragment currently inhabiting the rat, he had eight pieces of soul in total.
The diary. The Gaunt ring. Slytherin's locket. Hufflepuff's cup. Ravenclaw's diadem. Nagini. Harry.
Six of them were deliberate Horcruxes.
The fragment within Harry… even Voldemort himself didn't realize it existed.
He decided to retrieve three first—the easiest ones.
The diary, which he had given to Lucius.
The ring, hidden in the Gaunt family home.
And the diadem, hidden in the Room of Requirement.
If he could merge these three with his current fragment, his soul would become far stronger.
Though he would lose three Horcruxes, he would gain a usable body.
What he didn't know…
Was that Lucius had already lost the diary.
And it wasn't even his fault.
Lucius had no idea it was a Horcrux.
Time passed quietly.
Before anyone realized it, the school year had reached its end.
It was now June.
Students were overwhelmed with final exams and O.W.L.s, scrambling to prepare.
Sean, as always, remained relaxed.
But he was already thinking ahead.
Originally, the Chamber of Secrets incident would occur next year.
Now, Dumbledore already knew the chamber's location. Perhaps the basilisk wouldn't cause much trouble after all.
Still, Dumbledore didn't let Sean remain idle.
After Barty Crouch Jr. infiltrated Hogwarts through a secret passage, Dumbledore ordered all known secret tunnels to be sealed.
The most critical ones were the seven recorded on the Marauder's Map.
Since Wormtail had helped create the map, he knew every passage. He had already revealed one to Barty—and possibly more.
Of the seven passages, Filch knew four.
Sean identified the remaining three.
Snape and McGonagall personally sealed them.
As a result, aside from the one secret path Sean himself had discovered leading to the Forbidden Forest—
All known secret passages were now closed.
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