"Show so respect to the honored Mr. Green, you giant!"
Will roared, letting fly an arrow that hissed through the air and thudded deep into the trunk of a tree right next to Hagrid's ear.
"Se—the honored Mr. Green... didn't he tell yeh I'd be comin' back?" Hagrid asked, looking thoroughly oppressed.
"Mr. Green inford that my task was complete once the master of this dwelling returned," Will replied, tilting his head with an air of imnse importance. To him, executing a mission for Sean was the highest possible honor.
"I am the master of this dwelling!" Hagrid bellowed at the top of his lungs, his face turning a dark shade of plum.
"Mr. Green did not specify a na—"
Will shifted his aim, pointing his arrow directly at the bridge of Hagrid's nose.
"You stubborn little creature! Use yer head and ask 'im!" Hagrid growled.
According to the Pukwudgie's logic, the owner was permitted entry, but since he didn't technically know who the owner was, it ant no one was allowed inside. It was a perfect, maddening circle of goblin-logic.
"You overstuffed mole! How dare you presu to interpret the deep designs of Lord Green!" Will countered, not yielding an inch.
Sean watched the standoff from the edge of the undergrowth. A silver-white owl glided down and settled on his shoulder; clutched in her beak was a very bedraggled-looking Owl Gentleman.
Rav wasn't injured, rely catatonic from exhaustion. He had lasted three rounds against Snowy in her owl form, and his desire to prove himself her superior had been thoroughly crushed. Had he witnessed her defeating dozens of owls to reclaim her spot on Sean's shoulder earlier in the year, he might have been more cautious.
"Snowy," Sean said, tapping her lightly on the head.
"Hoo... hoot..." Snowy grumbled, sounding quite pleased with herself.
The forest was quiet, save for the tense confrontation by the hut. Sean finally stepped out into the clearing.
"Will, this is the master of the house, Hagrid."
"Ah! My apologies! Please, co in, Mr. Hagrid!"
Will's face transford instantly into a mask of polite deference. He stepped aside and swung the door open, acting as if the previous ten minutes had never happened.
Hagrid scratched his head, staring at the grey-skinned steward with a mix of confusion and awe. Talk about a one-track mind, he thought.
"Sean, co in, co in! You too, Will," Hagrid called out.
The gakeeper's black beard looked shiny and well-grood, and he was wearing a long overcoat made of beaver skin. His face split into a massive grin the mont he saw Sean.
Inside the hut, the hearth was warm. Hagrid poured them all mugs of eggnog and began to recount the harrowing details of his trip to the Ministry.
"...Fudge didn't want to drop the case at first. Thought it'd look bad for the Ministry. But he changed his tune soon enough... Professor Dumbledore showed up, and word of what you lot did in the Chamber got to his ears. Bliy, Sean, did yeh really tell the papers I was yer best friend?
"The Ministry finally yielded... Oh, and Fudge asked to send yeh his regards—as if that matters. Once they agreed, the Wizengamot reopened the case. Yeh know the Wizengamot? Highest court in the Wizarding World. Well, they're talkin' 'bout namin' yeh a Youth Representative, but they can't find yeh. Professor Dumbledore won't let a soul near the castle..."
Hagrid had been away for a long ti, and he seed determined to vent every word he'd been holding back. Sean listened patiently, nodding at the appropriate intervals.
"Was it a difficult journey, Hagrid?" Sean asked.
"Not at all! I'd walk to the Ministry three tis over if it ant more news like this." Hagrid's face glowed in the firelight. "Though there was plenty o' trouble—they liked to kick the paperwork back and forth like a Quaffle."
Hagrid's beard knit together as he recalled the bureaucracy.
"But you saw it through," Sean noted.
"Aye... I s'pose I did..." Hagrid laughed boisterously.
They spoke for another hour until the moon hung high over the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid finally saw Sean off, waving an enormous hand as the boy's silhouette vanished into the ink-black night.
Sean walked through the dark corridors toward Ravenclaw Tower. The business with Hagrid and Lockhart was effectively concluded. As for the outside world—the Wizengamot invitations and the like—Sean had little interest. This was the Wizarding World; Magic was the only true currency.
Rather than giving interviews to Transfiguration Today or publishing an alchemy manual, Sean was more interested in pushing his Charms mastery to the [Expert] level.
He opened his panel:
Levitation Charm: Master (600/?)
Finite Incantatem: Expert (1201/9000)
Quietus: Expert (1011/9000)
Disillusionnt Charm: Expert (2380/9000)
[Promotion: Twelve Expert-level charms or five Master-level charms required to unlock 'Charms Expert' title.]
Normally, it would have taken him until his third year to achieve the "Expert" title for Charms. But after the direct "tutoring" from Rowena Ravenclaw's mories, Sean was confident he could manage it before the end of the term.
He needed to select five spells to push to the Master level. Even the Shield Charm (Protego), which he had once found dauntingly complex, no longer seed like an insurmountable obstacle. With the difficulty of the learning curve flattened, it was now purely a matter of tactical selection.
As the night deepened, Sean's quill moved across his parchnt.
[THE PATRONUS CHARM], [PROTEGO], [LEGILINCY].
He wrote these three at the very top of his list. The Patronus was essential for the coming year, and the Shield Charm was a universal necessity. As for Legilincy... that was a key part of his ongoing research into the mind.
Hogwarts had fallen into a deep sleep. Only the occasional owl flitted past the windows, the rustle of its wings a faint whisper in the dark.
Sean's Magic Hand Mirror suddenly rippled. He pulled it from his pocket and saw that the image of the tabby cat was gone. In its place was the stern, furious face of Professor McGonagall.
Sean realized with a jolt that he was currently standing in a deserted corridor. He quickly summoned Will.
Nearly forgot again...
"Sean Green!" McGonagall's voice was sharp through the mirror as she scanned the background behind him.
"Professor," Sean replied calmly.
With a snap of Will's fingers, the Pukwudgie vanished back into the To, and Sean was instantly transported through the spatial anchor. He materialized seamlessly on his bed in the hospital wing.
Beside him, Madam Pomfrey rubbed her eyes and muttered sothing about "eccentric children" before returning to her work. She was a healer; as long as the patient was in their bed, she didn't care much for the chanics of how they got there. She had seen too many oddities from Dumbledore to be surprised by a student appearing out of thin air.
"Mmm," McGonagall's expression softened as she saw the familiar hospital curtains behind him.
They sat in silence for a mont through the mirrors. Outside, the final snow of winter was beginning to lt away. The castle was losing its frigid bite, and Sean finally felt he could do without the many scarves his friends had gifted him.
"Professor," Sean asked suddenly. "Would you be willing to teach the Patronus Charm?"
[End of Chapter 426]
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