Sean had no interest in the whole prefect business. What caught his attention instead was Zacharias mentioning the Defense Against the Dark Arts class they had taken that morning with Professor Morrissey.
"Professor Morrissey is really interesting," Zacharias said enthusiastically. "During class he told us about some of his travel experiences. He's way better than last year's Yovich."
Zacharias clearly held Morrissey in high regard.
Sean, however, remained skeptical.
Could he just be another smooth-talking fraud who did nothing in practice?
"Did he actually demonstrate any magic?" Sean asked.
"Of course he did," Zacharias replied. "Professor Morrissey's magic is impressive. Have you heard of the advanced spell Patronus? He demonstrated it in class. That spell can repel terrifying Dementors."
Sean was momentarily stunned.
So he could cast the Patronus Charm?
That meant Morrissey definitely had real skill.
Could it be that this time Hogwarts had finally hired a normal Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
But that didn't make sense either.
If Morrissey was legitimate, how would Quirrell take over the position next year?
"I'll see for myself the day after tomorrow," Sean thought.
The six representatives' training sessions by the Black Lake had already spread throughout the student body.
However, the professors strictly forbade anyone from watching. Perhaps they feared careless students might accidentally reveal information to the visiting schools.
Sean and Charlie had become a fixed team.
Since Sean couldn't fly, their strategy relied on coordination between ground and air—one above, one below.
The six of them had to make the most of their time.
Once the other three schools' teams arrived, the Black Lake training grounds would be reserved for the visiting teams. From the end of September until the end of February, Hogwarts, as the host, would not be allowed to conduct team training there.
Although Hogwarts had the advantage of being the host school, losing five months of team training before the competition would weaken their coordination and rhythm.
The rule was clearly a concession to the visiting teams. Otherwise, the home-field advantage would be far too strong.
At five o'clock, training ended.
The group walked back toward the castle along the lakeshore.
On the way, Sean noticed Hagrid talking with a stranger as they walked together.
"This semester has way too many unfamiliar faces," Sean thought.
To him, every stranger represented a potential danger.
He immediately stepped forward.
"Hagrid, where are you headed?"
"Dumbledore arranged an assistant for me," Hagrid said. "I'm taking him to see the pasture—and introduce him to Fang, the hardworking guard dog."
"An assistant?"
Sean looked at the young man suspiciously.
He had short blond hair, bright blue eyes, and stood about 1.78 meters tall. He looked quite young—young enough that someone might mistake him for a seventh-year student.
"Hello, I'm Sean Grylls," Sean said politely.
"Mick Jalger," the young man replied simply, giving only his name.
"Alright, I'll take him to the pasture first," Hagrid said.
Sean nodded.
Although he had only heard the man's name, Sean could already tell from the accent that Mick Jalger wasn't British.
As for whether he was another Greek like Quintus, Sean couldn't be certain.
Unlike Old Tom, Sean didn't have the experience to identify someone's nationality purely from their accent.
"Sean! If you don't hurry, you'll miss dinner!" Charlie shouted from ahead.
"Coming!" Sean replied.
At that moment, Hagrid had already left the hut.
It was the perfect opportunity.
Sean wanted to collect a little blood from Fluffy.
Conveniently, he happened to have a syringe and a small harmonica with him.
Convenient—or perhaps carefully planned.
Sean ran all the way to Hagrid's hut.
Before even stepping inside, he heard music coming from within.
Hagrid must have played music to put Fluffy to sleep and keep it from wandering around.
"That saves me some trouble," Sean thought.
He quietly unlocked the door with a spell and slipped inside.
Fluffy's three enormous heads rested near the fireplace, snoring loudly. Each breath released a foul gust of air.
"Ugh… that stinks."
Holding his nose, Sean cautiously walked around to Fluffy's side.
From inside his robe, he pulled out a golden syringe.
Then he carefully jabbed it toward Fluffy's rear.
But what Sean hadn't anticipated at all was that the needle simply wouldn't penetrate Fluffy's thick fur.
He tried applying more pressure.
The needle actually began bending, yet it still couldn't pierce even a fraction of the skin.
Instead, Fluffy seemed to sense something.
Even in its sleep, the massive beast frowned slightly, as if it might wake at any moment.
"That was careless," Sean thought bitterly.
"How could a three-headed dog's defenses be broken by an ordinary needle?"
He felt embarrassed by his own naïve plan.
With his blood-collecting attempt completely failed, Sean quietly slipped out of the hut.
By the time he returned to the Great Hall, dinner had already begun.
"Sean, where did you disappear to again?" Cassius asked. "If you hadn't shown up soon, Chris was going to pack some food to bring back for you."
Chris shot him a sharp glare from across the table, silently telling him to shut up.
"On my way back I ran into Hagrid and his assistant," Sean said. "Have you heard that Dumbledore assigned Hagrid an assistant?"
Sean wasn't omniscient.
Sometimes he was so focused on his own affairs that he missed gossip and news around the school.
That's when Cassius proved useful.
"I saw him this afternoon," Cassius said. "Right when you were training by the lake. Dumbledore brought a man to the Headmaster's office."
Once again, Cassius didn't disappoint.
"Dumbledore personally received him again…" Sean thought, considering the possible connection between this man and the earlier Greek wizard, Quintus.
"So how's the training going?" Cassius asked curiously.
"Sorry," Sean said apologetically. "That's not something I can really talk about."
Chris glanced at Cassius.
"If they were allowed to talk about it, the professors wouldn't forbid us from watching their training in the first place."
Sean nodded.
Since the team lineup for the group battle had already been decided, the professors had even arranged the match order ahead of time. In previous tournaments, they usually decided the lineup after each round.
The first event—potion brewing—would be handled by Theo.
He was a sixth-year with Outstanding grades in Potions, making him the most reliable choice for crafting advanced potions.
The second event consisted of three rounds of individual duels.
The participants would be Zacharias, Penelope, and Percy in that order.
With this arrangement, Penelope's chances of winning were quite low—unless she happened to face another third-year from the opposing team.
The third event, the crucial team battle, would be fought by Sean and Charlie.
Even if Hogwarts lost every duel in the second event, winning the team battle would earn them three points—enough to remain undefeated.
"Oh right," Chris suddenly said. "Kurt was looking for you earlier."
Her gaze flicked toward the seventh-year table.
"Could it be about the diary?" Sean thought.
"No way… would Lucius really tell someone else about something like that?"
During the early training period, Sean had already hidden Tom Riddle's diary inside the Room of Requirement—placing it beside Ravenclaw's diadem.
Lucius had planned to use Sean to release the basilisk and open the Chamber of Secrets.
That scheme would have worked perfectly on almost anyone.
Unfortunately for Lucius, he had chosen Sean.
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