Lying amidst the chaos of the Room of Requirement, Sean lay thinking about what had just happened.
Magic Awakening normally happened only once for each wizard, and young wizards at that stage couldn't possibly see what Sean had just witnessed. Moreover, Sean could only see those scenes thanks to his automatically activated spiritual sight. Without spiritual sight, even awakening magic hundreds of times wouldn't reveal those threads.
Though Sean couldn't be certain he was the only person in magical history to see those threads, he felt he was definitely one of very few who had.
Were those threads the source of magic in this world?
Unfortunately, there is currently no way to see these threads outside of Magic Awakening. Otherwise he could study them properly. Of course, he could ask Teacher Antonius and Teacher Nicolas—perhaps they might know some related information.
Having remained conscious through his fourth Magic Awakening, Sean could clearly feel the changes within himself. Because of this, he immediately noticed that this awakening's amplification far exceeded previous ones. Perhaps because his current magic was already quite strong, awakening again produced exponential growth. Or perhaps it was due to capturing that thread during awakening. Regardless, Sean's already substantial confidence had grown even stronger.
His power had increased dramatically—perhaps more than he'd ever dared hope.
Leaving the Room of Requirement and looking through a nearby corridor window at the completely darkened sky outside, Sean chose not to return to the common room or elsewhere, but walked straight to the Black Lake's edge.
Kulkan had been gone for many days now, and it was impossible not to worry.
Sean had worked out fairly accurately why Kulkan left—clearly she had sensed something that could help her bloodline develop. Sean just didn't know what exactly could have driven Kulkan to leave so urgently.
Of course, Sean hadn't come to the Black Lake to pine for Kulkan—he was waiting for someone.
"Sean, you're early."
Turning towards Harry, whose expression looked somewhat troubled, Sean said, "I**'ve** just arrived myself. You asked me to meet here—what is it you need to discuss that requires being away from others, especially Ron and Hermione?"
"It's not that I want to hide from them. I just... I just don't want everyone fussing over me anymore."
Sean understood Harry's feelings. When he first arrived at Hogwarts, Harry had quite enjoyed being noticed, having spent his whole life being ignored. Suddenly having so many people pay attention to him felt wonderful. But gradually, as Harry learnt about his scar and encountered people constantly asking about suffering he didn't remember and parents he had no memory of, he stopped enjoying the attention.
Harry had come to understand that people paid attention to him only because his parents had sacrificed themselves so he could live, because of his past suffering—not because of who he actually was.
This term, Harry had finally found rare peace. He truly enjoyed school life now. Occasionally he could even meet Sirius and Lupin in Hogsmeade. Harry had always considered Sirius, his godfather, to be his only real family. He thought he could live this way forever.
Graduate peacefully, then live with his godfather. He could have a home, family, friends. Harry had believed he really could live like this forever, until that night when Sirius suggested Harry live with him after the holidays. It felt like all his wishes were coming true at once—that day Harry was truly happy, happier than ever before.
But that very night, Karkaroff completely shattered Harry's dream.
Karkaroff's actions showed Harry that while Voldemort and the Death Eaters remained, his wish could never be realised.
When Harry later found Dumbledore, Dumbledore rejected Sirius's idea of Harry living with him. Because Voldemort and Death Eaters still existed, Harry needed to continue staying at his aunt's house. He would never have his own home, never have his own family!
That night, Harry had woken earlier, so he witnessed Sean's battle with Karkaroff (actually Barty Crouch Jr). He realised that magic could be used that way, that such magic existed, and that Sean had become so powerful.
It was at that moment that Harry understood—if he could be as powerful as Sean, or even just half as powerful, he could protect himself, protect his home, protect his family. Then he could stop living at his aunt's house. Then he could finally have his own home and a peaceful life.
"Harry, you should know this attention was bought with your parents' lives. It's what has kept you safe, and it will help smooth your path in the future. Of course, I understand why you don't want it. But it exists whether you want it or not—it won't disappear just because you don't want it. You understand?"
"I understand, Sean, but..." Harry shook his head without continuing. He looked at Sean. "Sean, I want to learn magic from you. Will you teach me?"
Sean looked at Harry. His lake-green eyes were steady and determined.
After a moment's thought, Sean decided to agree. First, his relationship with Harry was indeed very good—they were excellent friends. Second, Harry needed some ability to protect himself. Without experiencing the Triwizard Tournament's trials, he needed other training. Third, Sean could see Harry possessed very rare talents. Moreover, with a Voldemort soul fragment inside him, Sean had many opportunities to extract abilities from it.
For all these reasons, Sean had no reason to refuse.
"Harry, my instruction is very strict. Are you sure you want to learn from me?"
"I can do it, Sean! Please teach me magic!"