The sparring session by the Black Lake lasted more than twenty minutes. Sean fought on the ground while Charlie dominated the skies, and the two worked together with perfect coordination.
Zacharias and Theo initially tried to focus their attacks on Sean, who was running across the ground. But Charlie was no easy opponent. The moment they lost concentration, Charlie would dive down from above and force them back on the defensive.
The professors and the other three team members hovered in the air on broomsticks, watching the match unfold.
Penelope, however, felt a little disappointed.
Sean hadn't displayed his two-handed spellcasting this time.
Theo and Zacharias were nowhere near Snape's level. Sean had only attempted that trick earlier because he couldn't find any weakness in Snape's defense and had been forced to try something unexpected.
Now, even Theo—the strongest of the two opponents—was not Sean's equal in terms of pure spellcasting.
Their only advantage was their position in the air. Flying on broomsticks created some trouble for Sean and lowered his accuracy somewhat.
But hitting Sean was still far from easy.
With the Magic vision activated, Sean could predict the formation of incoming spells. As long as he reacted quickly enough, he always had time to dodge.
Around fifteen minutes into the duel, Sean seized his chance.
"Stupefy!"
Zacharias had just begun forming a Shield Charm when the spell struck him. His defense hadn't even finished forming before he was blasted off his broom.
Five minutes later, Theo met the same fate. Under the combined assault of Sean and Charlie, he was knocked out of the air and landed awkwardly among the branches of a fir tree.
After that training match, the professors became even more certain about the team arrangement for the team battle.
Sean, a once-in-a-century prodigy, would serve as the perfect surprise weapon.
"Sean's our secret weapon now," Zacharias said, even though he had just been knocked off his broom. "We can't let the other schools gather any information about him."
Zacharias spoke generously.
As long as the team members and professors didn't reveal Sean's two-handed spellcasting, the other schools wouldn't pay much attention even if they heard rumors about a talented second-year at Hogwarts.
After all, he was only a second-year.
"Slytherin will definitely be proud of you," Theo added with approval.
No one on the team felt jealous of Sean's extraordinary talent. That made Sean's life at Hogwarts very comfortable. Even Keith—the troublemaker from last year—had long since toned down his attitude.
"It's an honor to represent Hogwarts," Sean said sincerely. "When the time comes, I'll give it everything I have."
"Severus, sometimes I really envy you for having such an outstanding student," Professor Sprout remarked.
Professor McGonagall smiled.
"Pomona, your house has excellent students too—Nymphadora, Zacharias, and Cedric."
At the mention of those names, Professor Sprout's smile grew wider.
Those three were among the most outstanding students in Hufflepuff, and she was very satisfied with them.
A voice suddenly came from below.
Everyone lowered their gaze to see Professor Flitwick standing there.
"I think I should be the one feeling envious."
Among the six representatives this year, only one—Penelope, a third-year—came from Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw didn't currently have any particularly famous students.
There might be one among the new first-years this year—a Chinese girl named Cho Chang. But Sean didn't think she became well known because of academic talent.
Another famous Ravenclaw would enroll two years later.
Luna Lovegood.
Her eccentric clothing and unusual behavior would make her famous throughout Hogwarts, and despite her odd reputation, she would still rank among the top students in her year.
"Professor, I'm still standing right here," Penelope said quietly from the side.
No one had noticed when she walked over.
Professor Flitwick burst into laughter.
"Oh dear, how could I forget you?"
The following afternoon, the training camp came to an end. September 1st was only two days away, and the new Hogwarts school year was about to begin. The six representatives were given a short break to return home, rest, and then come back to school on the Hogwarts Express.
The six of them returned home through the Floo Network at the Three Broomsticks. The moment Sean stepped out of the fireplace, he received a rather enthusiastic welcome.
"Jerry… let go," Sean gritted through his teeth.
The moment Jerry saw Sean emerge from the fireplace, it pounced forward and clamped its teeth onto Sean's arm. It was hard to tell whether it was greeting him or taking revenge.
Sean had known Jerry for less than a week before leaving for the training camp. Jerry didn't seem to like Hearns or Old Tom very much either, so it spent its days running wildly around the Leaky Cauldron, driving Old Tom nearly insane.
After biting Sean for a while, Jerry climbed onto his shoulder and sprawled there lazily.
"Sean, take that thing away already!" Old Tom complained, pointing at the chaotic state of the bar.
Sean glanced around and shrugged.
"Old Tom, wasn't the bar always like this?"
Old Tom's mustache twitched angrily.
Sean waved dismissively. "School starts the day after tomorrow. I'll take it to Hogwarts then. Don't look so grumpy—look how cute it is."
In Old Tom's eyes, Jerry wasn't cute at all.
It was the same way Hagrid insisted that Fluffy was adorable.
At that moment, Sean noticed someone sitting among the customers.
A middle-aged man with blond hair, a sharp nose, and a cold expression sat alone against the wall, sipping the rather mediocre red tea served at the Leaky Cauldron.
"It's him."
Sean had seen the man once before—in a corridor on the first floor of Hogwarts.
The man didn't notice Sean. He calmly sipped his tea while reading The Daily Prophet.
Sean walked over to the bar with Jerry on his shoulder. Old Tom glared at Jerry with obvious disgust.
Sean nodded slightly toward the man and asked quietly,
"Old Tom, is he from Greece?"
Old Tom paused in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"I saw him at Hogwarts."
"He's been here about a week," Old Tom whispered. "I think he's waiting for someone."
Sean grew more curious about the mysterious Greek.
Could he be the one who sold Hagrid the three-headed dog?
But that didn't seem right.
Selling dangerous magical creatures like that was illegal. Yet this man had been openly received by Dumbledore. Snape had also said he came from the Holy Tribunal.
Most likely, he was some sort of academic or official.
The man seemed mysterious.
Sean decided it would be best not to get involved.
After another day and a half of hard work at the Leaky Cauldron, September 1st finally arrived.
Before Sean left, Old Tom handed him ten Galleons.
Hearns didn't have anything material to give him, so he simply pulled Sean into a big hug.
"No need to see me off. I can go by myself," Sean said.
His suitcase had already been taken back to Hogwarts during the training camp. Now he carried only a small basket—with Jerry inside.
"Old Tom, keep an eye on that Greek guy," Sean said quietly at the bar. "Something about him feels strange."
"Since when did genius Sean become an Auror?" Old Tom joked dismissively.
Sean shook his head.
Perhaps he was just being overly cautious.
According to the storyline, nothing particularly dangerous should happen this school year.
He took a carriage alone to King's Cross Station.
After passing through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he immediately saw several familiar faces.
"Hey! Our genius Sean!" the Weasley twins shouted, waving at him.
Their nickname for him had upgraded from "smart kid" to "genius."
Cedric was standing nearby as well. He smiled at Sean.
Sean noticed that Cedric had grown even taller—and somehow even more handsome.
"Sigh… some people are just born handsome," Sean muttered.
At that moment, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
Before Sean could turn around, the person jumped in front of him.
"Look at our Slytherin star!" Cassius shouted loudly.
"Cassius, keep your voice down. We're in public," Chris said helplessly behind him.
Sean boarded the train together with his old friends.
As the whistle sounded and the train began to move, Sean once again set off on his extraordinary journey at Hogwarts.
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