Chapter 117: The Hallowe'en Plan
For the next several days, Sean was completely focused on a plan for one specific event: the upcoming Hallowe'en feast.
Early in the morning, the delicious, sweet scent of roasted pumpkin already wafted through the corridors. He looked out the stained-glass window. The Quidditch pitch looked vast and empty under the grey sky. A particularly large figure was crossing the yellowed lawn like a small, moving mountain. He was hugging a giant pumpkin—it was enormous, its orange rind already carved with a leering face, and through its hollow eye sockets, Sean could see the man's furry, moleskin overcoat.
Few people knew that the source of Hogwarts's jack-o'-lanterns was Hagrid's pumpkin patch, where they grew to the size of small sheds.
In the Room of Hope.
The room was already decorated with paper bats. Justin was busy making sweets, and the faint, milky scent of candy filled the air. The door to the room opened softly, but no one seemed to be there. It then closed again.
Hermione was trying hard to practice her non-verbal Levitation Charm, but every time she tried to cast without speaking, she found herself getting distracted. This distraction led her to notice Neville, who was staring at the door, trembling, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Sean!"
"Sean?"
Hermione and Justin spoke at the same time. Sean shimmered into view in his usual seat, as if an Invisibility Cloak had just been pulled off him. He looked at them with mild curiosity, as if waiting for something.
"Your scent, Sean," Justin said, smiling as he shaped a piece of soft candy. "It's very distinct."
"It's the light, Sean," Hermione said, frowning, her disbelief clear. "I'm sure I wouldn't be able to spot you at night. Was that… the Disillusionment Charm?"
Sean nodded.
"It really was! I thought you were using a magical artifact... That's a spell for upper-year students! I've only ever seen it in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6..." Hermione said in awe. She looked from her stubbornly motionless feather to Sean, her expression frustrated. She hadn't even mastered everything in Grade 1, let alone Grade 6. There were two whole books in between!
Neville, who had been shaking, immediately relaxed upon seeing Sean. "Oh, it's just Sean..."
This little episode quickly passed.
Sean turned his attention to the Fanged Geranium on the desk. It was still squeaking faithfully, his constant companion for practicing the Silencing Charm. Today, his Silencing Charm was about to level up.
[You have practiced the Silencing Charm to the Expert standard. Proficiency +50]
[A new Title in the field of Charms has been unlocked.]
Sean opened the Panel with anticipation:
[Title: Charms Adept]
[Effect: Significantly increases perception of Charms. Significantly improves Charms talent.]
Increased perception? In his Disillusionment Charm practice that afternoon, Sean immediately felt the difference: With enhanced perception, he could better feel the fluctuations in his magical output and adjust his (non-verbal) incantations and gestures accordingly. As a result, he reached the Novice level much faster.
Opening the Panel again, his progress was visibly powerful:
[Name: Sean Green]
[Status: Wizard]
[Title: Charms Adept]
[Proficiency]
[Levitation Charm: Expert (600/9000)]
[Finite Incantatem: Expert (120/9000)]
[Silencing Charm: Expert (10/9000)]
[Disillusionment Charm: Novice (6/300)]
[Next Tier: Twelve (12) Expert-level spells or five (5) Master-level spells to unlock the Charms Expert title.]
How many? Sean thought he'd misread. He silently closed the Panel and reopened it, feeling he must have done something wrong.
[Next Tier: Twelve (12) Expert-level spells or five (5) Master-level spells to unlock the Charms Expert title.]
This time he saw it clearly and calmly accepted it. He now fully understood Miranda Goshawk's words in Magical Theory: "One truth of magical study is to master as many spells as possible… the more spells you know, the more you can accomplish; ...another truth is that once a spell is learned, it must be practiced to mastery..."
Simply put: The more you know, the stronger you are. The more proficient you are, the stronger you are. The Panel's progression system combined both.
However, it seemed becoming a true Charms Expert was no easy task. Based on his previous analysis: [Adept] was the level of some upper-year students and average adults. [Expert] was likely the level of an Auror. By that logic, [Master] was probably the level of a Professor. As for any level beyond Master, Sean had no idea.
In front of the Fanged Geranium, Sean sipped his hot pumpkin juice, his Quick-Quotes Quill scratching away.
It wouldn't be long now until Hallowe'en.
For most students, the feast meant fun and games. For Sean, it meant change was coming.
On Hallowe'en night, Professor Quirrell would release a troll as a diversion to get to the Philosopher's Stone, and Hermione would be in grave danger in the girls' bathroom. The troll's arrival would also serve as the curtain-raiser for Harry's second major confrontation with Voldemort.
The Chosen One, the Great White Wizard, the Dark Lord, the two-faced man... all would be irresistibly drawn into the drama. Just as the prophecy foretold: either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.
For Sean, the stability of the original plot was his greatest asset. It meant he could continue to study magic in relative safety. In the original story, the troll's arrival, Harry's victory, and the journey through the third-floor corridor were the main events of the first year.
Logically, everything should be under Dumbledore's control. But Sean couldn't stop thinking: the original story didn't have a Sean Green in it. What if my presence has created a new variable?
Would Hermione be in real danger? Would others be in danger?
And so, Sean made a new plan: to master everything he possibly could. If he could avoid Voldemort himself, and cleverly observe the troll incident from the shadows, he could be ready to react if any new variables emerged.
In this plan, the Disillusionment Charm and his own combat skills were the most critical components.
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