Snape was just being stubborn. Clearly he had been impressed by Sean's ability to cast with both hands, yet he still pretended to remain cold and dismissive.
Being able to perform wandless magic was already enough to prove a student's excellence at Hogwarts. Usually, only a few top students in their seventh year could manage wandless casting.
But casting spells with both hands at the same time was another matter entirely.
In the past hundred years of Hogwarts history, the number of students who could do that could probably be counted on one hand.
At this point, Tom Riddle had to be mentioned again. Perhaps he had learned to cast with both hands earlier, but when he first demonstrated that ability publicly, he was already in his fifth year.
Sean, however, was only in his second year.
And then there was Snape himself. He too had been a rare genius. In his seventh year, during a magical duel, he had used two-handed casting to catch his opponent off guard and defeat the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who had been sparring with him.
Because of that, Snape knew exactly how difficult it was to cast spells with both hands simultaneously.
It required splitting one's attention in two—constructing two completely different magical frameworks at the same time. The slightest mistake could cause the spells to collapse. In severe cases, it could even injure the caster.
Snape himself had been accidentally harmed by his own spells many times while practicing it.
"It seems we need to reconsider the team battle lineup," Professor McGonagall said, looking thoughtfully at Sean.
Originally, the professors intended to follow the usual strategy used in previous tournaments—adjusting the team battle lineup during the competition based on how the earlier events unfolded.
Rarely did they finalize the team battle pairing before the tournament even began.
Unless those two students were almost guaranteed to win.
Take Charlie and Theo, for example. One was a seventh-year and the other a sixth-year. Both the professors and the other students considered them the strongest among the six representatives.
Even so, the professors couldn't guarantee that Charlie and Theo would definitely win the team battle together.
After all, if the other schools also paired their sixth- and seventh-year representatives, the matchup would be roughly even.
At best, Charlie and Theo might have a slight advantage—perhaps a sixty-forty chance.
Kurt had once mentioned that Hogwarts had won seven championships in the last ten Friendship Tournaments.
But that referred to the final victory in the fourth event.
In the first three events, Hogwarts' strength hadn't been overwhelmingly superior to the other schools.
Before the fourth event in the Valley Forest began, Hogwarts had often already formed alliances with one or more other teams.
In at least four of those seven victories, Hogwarts had won thanks to clever strategy, outmaneuvering the other three schools.
After the other two groups finished their training, the professors gathered together to discuss something.
From time to time, they glanced over at Sean.
Sean could roughly guess what they were talking about.
They were probably considering keeping him out of the first few events, allowing the other schools to assume that Hogwarts would send its weakest member—the second-year—to the team battle.
Then, when the team battle actually began, Sean could surprise the opponents.
"Sean, how did you do that? It's unbelievable," Penelope said, still in disbelief.
From the air earlier, she had clearly seen a broomstick lift itself off the ground and float toward Snape. At the time she hadn't understood what was happening.
But after hearing McGonagall and Snape's conversation, she realized Sean had been controlling it with two-handed spellcasting.
"As long as you practice seriously, you can do it too," Sean said solemnly, encouraging her.
Who knew how much influence that offhand remark would have on Penelope?
With her natural talent, she likely would never have achieved two-handed spellcasting.
But because of Sean's encouragement, she later worked even harder. By the time she reached seventh year, she had actually managed to master wandless magic.
About ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall waved to Sean and Charlie.
Both of them walked over.
"Tomorrow, Charlie and Sean will train as a team," McGonagall said.
"Understood, Professor," the two replied in unison.
This was practically confirming a fixed pairing.
Among the six students, Charlie had the best mobility on a broomstick, and his magical ability was also among the highest—excluding the special case that was Sean.
With Sean's apparent second-year status hiding a magical level closer to a sixth-year, combined with his ability to cast with both hands, their chances of victory were already very strong.
"Come to my office," Snape said to Sean.
Sean was puzzled. Whatever it was, couldn't Snape just say it here?
Still, he replied, "Yes, Professor."
The others returned to their dormitories to rest, while Sean followed Snape toward the academic building.
In the first-floor corridor, Sean noticed a stranger.
He was a blond man in his thirties, dressed in a sharp suit, with a cold and stern expression.
The man didn't make eye contact with Sean. After leaving the corridor, he headed toward the main gate of the school.
"Professor, who was that just now?" Sean asked. "He's not the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next term, is he?"
That was the only possibility Sean could think of.
"A visitor from the Holy Tribunal," Snape replied.
The Holy Tribunal was the magical school located on the Balkan Peninsula.
They weren't even part of the Four-School Friendship Tournament, so why was someone from there visiting Hogwarts?
From the looks of it, Dumbledore himself had personally received him.
During Sean's first and second years, there had been very little known information about the plot and events around him.
Because of that uncertainty, Sean was always particularly cautious about unfamiliar outsiders.
Once Harry entered Hogwarts, events would begin following the storyline Sean already knew. At that point, he would be able to act with far greater confidence.
"Just a temporary visitor… hopefully not a Death Eater sent by Bellatrix," Sean thought to himself.
The two soon arrived at Snape's office.
Sean still didn't understand what Snape wanted. He asked,
"Professor, did you want to speak with me about something?"
Snape said calmly, "More than fifty years ago, there was a student at Hogwarts whose talent was extraordinary. His academic results left the professors speechless. By the time he reached the upper years, he had even begun inventing his own spells."
Sean knew exactly who Snape was talking about.
Young Voldemort had indeed been a shining star at Hogwarts. The professors had all admired that brilliant student.
"But deep inside, he harbored darkness," Snape continued. "After graduation, he devoted himself to the Dark Arts, achieving unprecedented accomplishments in that field. Later, he ignited a war in the wizarding world and became a name that inspired terror."
"Professor… are you talking about the Dark Lord? Voldemort?" Sean said calmly, speaking the dreaded name without hesitation.
Snape's cold eyes fixed directly on Sean.
Most wizards showed panic or shock when hearing that name. Snape, however, remained expressionless as still water, simply staring at Sean.
"In you, I see certain similarities to him," Snape said slowly. "Both of you are excessively talented—far beyond your peers."
He paused before continuing.
"To be capable of casting with both hands at the age of twelve… your magical talent is impressive."
After several sentences, Snape had done nothing but praise Sean's ability.
That alone made Sean suspicious.
This wasn't like Snape at all.
Snape gazed at him with deep, unreadable eyes.
"If you are willing to learn more advanced magic, I can teach you," he said. "For example… the Flying Spell, which allows a wizard to fly without using a broomstick."
Sean froze.
"What does Snape mean by this? Does he value my talent enough to take me as a personal student? The Flying Spell… that's an advanced spell invented by Voldemort himself, and he only ever taught it to Snape."
Just as Sean thought he had stumbled upon a great opportunity—
Snape's next words snapped him instantly back to reality.
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