Sean appeared in his room on the second floor of The Leaky Cauldron completely drenched from head to toe.
(He had originally intended to return to King's Cross Station, but because the train was constantly moving, Apparition to an unknown location was impossible.)
There were still more than five hours before the train arrived at King's Cross.
Sean needed rest to recover some magical power.
He shivered violently.
Then he removed his robe, soaked through with Black Lake water.
Against his pale skin, a bloody wound on the left side of his chest looked especially shocking.
Sean pressed his hand against the spot where Herpo's Killing Curse had struck him.
Fortunately, the dragon scales had absorbed most of the damage.
The wound was not fatal—
but blood continued seeping out nonstop.
Going downstairs was impossible right now.
The pub below was crowded with people.
Sean looked around the crude little room but found nothing suitable for bandaging.
Left with no choice, he opened the tiny wardrobe, took out a short-sleeved shirt, and cut it into strips using scissors.
Gritting his teeth, he awkwardly wrapped the makeshift bandage around his shoulder and chest.
"So exhausted…"
After crudely stopping the bleeding, Sean cast a Cleaning Charm on his robe.
Then he collapsed onto the bed, slowly recovering his magic.
Once enough time passed, he planned to Apparate to King's Cross Station.
"I wonder if Dumbledore's reinforcements arrived yet…"
Even now, Sean remained worried about the situation at Hogwarts.
Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts—
the basilisk was extremely weak.
After hearing Herpo's command, its bright yellow snake eyes slowly shifted toward Gilderoy Lockhart.
A chill ran down Lockhart's spine.
He suddenly had a terrible feeling.
The rubble beside the collapsed wall began rumbling loudly.
Lockhart lowered his gaze and glanced backward.
The basilisk was slithering toward him.
He could already smell the nauseating stench from its mouth.
"M-Master…"
Beneath the mask, Lockhart's face had practically collapsed into tears.
Herpo ignored him completely.
The basilisk drew closer and closer.
Looking at the shadow stretching across the ground, Lockhart saw the serpent rise upright before lunging toward him.
Only then did he finally realize—
the basilisk intended to eat him.
Lockhart went mad with terror and sprinted desperately toward Albus Dumbledore.
Perhaps fear had shattered his ability to speak coherently.
He shouted frantically:
"Help—Professor—I don't want to die!"
As he ran, he wildly fired spells backward without even looking.
Three spells shot out in total.
One struck the basilisk.
The other two either missed completely or were dodged.
Dumbledore mounted his broom, intending to save him—
but Herpo was watching him closely.
At that critical moment, Severus Snape shot through the air.
Snape grabbed Lockhart by the collar and yanked him upward.
Lockhart's feet left the ground as they rose into the air.
For one brief moment, Lockhart thought he had survived.
But at only three meters high, escaping the basilisk was impossible.
The serpent launched upward with terrifying speed and clamped its jaws perfectly around Lockhart's lower body.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Lockhart's scream was horrifying.
Snape felt the tremendous force pulling downward through Lockhart's body.
If he refused to let go, he might be dragged into the basilisk's mouth as well.
"Snape! Don't leave me!"
Blood sprayed from Lockhart's mouth as he screamed.
Snape dared not lower his eyes toward the basilisk.
He feared the monster's gaze might already be fixed upon him.
Finally—
Snape released his grip and accelerated away at full speed.
"No!"
Lockhart screamed in despair.
The next second, the basilisk swallowed him whole.
Dumbledore frowned deeply.
Though Lockhart had betrayed them and sided with Herpo—
Herpo's willingness to sacrifice even his own subordinate still enraged him.
"You will not take the staff."
Dumbledore flew directly toward Herpo.
His wand rose high toward the heavens.
Dark storm clouds instantly gathered above Hogwarts.
Thunder roared.
Lightning flashed violently.
This was the prelude to Dumbledore's magic.
Herpo glanced calmly at the sky.
"This Dumbledore… he may not be weaker than you."
"You've never truly seen my full strength."
Another ancient voice echoed from beneath the cloak.
After Salazar Slytherin had been possessed by Herpo, control over the body almost entirely belonged to Herpo himself.
Salazar had effectively become a trapped spectator within his own body.
"Thunder Spear!"
Dumbledore shouted.
The thunderclouds exploded.
A lightning bolt shaped like a divine war spear crashed down from the sky.
Herpo neither dodged nor countered.
The lightning struck directly through his body and shattered the stone beneath him into fragments—
yet Herpo himself remained standing there completely unharmed.
This was the second time Dumbledore had witnessed such a phenomenon.
The twin-headed dragon's ice-and-fire blast earlier had also failed to injure Herpo.
Even with Dumbledore's wisdom, he still could not decipher what kind of magic Herpo was using.
Meanwhile, after swallowing Lockhart, the basilisk's body began changing once more.
New dark-green scales slowly regenerated over the wounds torn open by the black dragon.
It had absorbed the magical power from both Lockhart and the Pain Mask.
The serpent's strength rapidly recovered.
Then the basilisk lifted its head and released another deafening roar.
At that exact moment—
Cornelius Fudge and the others had just Apparated outside the gates.
Hearing the terrifying roar, all of them felt their hearts tremble.
Earlier, Fawkes had teleported directly to the Ministry of Magic.
The phoenix found Fudge—
though communication between them was impossible.
Fortunately, Fudge was not stupid.
Knowing a basilisk had appeared at Hogwarts, he immediately guessed Dumbledore must be calling for reinforcements.
However, Fudge himself was not a capable combat wizard.
So he immediately summoned the head of the Auror Office:
Rufus Scrimgeour.
To put it simply, Aurors were the Ministry's elite combat force.
The Auror Office belonged under Magical Law Enforcement.
Though everyone at the Ministry was technically a wizard, only Aurors were true specialists in battle magic.
Training to become a full Auror required three brutal years of field preparation.
Sometimes an entire year passed without even one trainee qualifying.
Fudge had brought the Ministry's strongest fighters:
himself, assistant Kane, Scrimgeour, Gawain Robards, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and trainee Auror Nymphadora Tonks.
Interestingly, in the original timeline, after Fudge was removed from office, Scrimgeour would later become Minister of Magic.
After Scrimgeour's death at Voldemort's hands, Kingsley would succeed him.
All three carried tremendous influence within the Ministry.
Fudge had originally believed this group could handle even a XXXXX-level magical creature.
But after seeing Snape's earlier struggle against the basilisk, he realized the cost of victory would likely be at least one or two dead Aurors.
The six of them rushed into Hogwarts.
Herpo seemed to notice the approaching reinforcements.
Using Parseltongue, he gave the basilisk a command.
The basilisk's body rapidly shrank until it became only a little over one meter long.
"Roira, take the basilisk and retreat," Herpo ordered.
Roira looked terrified.
Only after confirming the basilisk's eyes were closed did he dare pick it up.
Just as Fudge and the others arrived—
Roira took to the skies.
But Snape would never allow him to leave so easily.
Snape immediately flew after him.
Herpo rose into the air as well, blocking the space between them.
Snape halted instantly.
Herpo had been mere moments away from completely breaking Dumbledore's binding curse on the Golden Staff—
but now Fudge's group had already reached the gate tunnel.
Herpo's voice echoed sharply through the air:
"You have no reason to safeguard it for the Sanctuary."
(The predecessor organization of the Tribunal had once been called the Sanctuary.)
"If you choose to oppose me, prepare yourself to welcome death."
Dumbledore answered fearlessly:
"When an old friend entrusts me with something, I never betray that trust."
Two years earlier, the headmaster of the Tribunal, Oleg Silky, had foreseen the approach of his death.
Before dying, he entrusted the staff to Dumbledore through intermediaries.
"Do not forget," Herpo warned coldly, "you still have students."
"I will protect my students," Dumbledore replied sternly.
"And I will never allow you to harm them."
At that moment, Fudge stared upward at Herpo.
"Who is he?!"
Unwilling to continue the battle any longer, Herpo threw down the staff he had nearly obtained and flew away from the castle.
Dumbledore did not pursue him.
Instead, he picked up the Golden Staff.
"Dumbledore," Fudge asked while staring at the devastated battlefield around them, "what exactly is going on here?"
"You wouldn't want to know."
Dumbledore's reply carried deeper meaning.
He understood Fudge very well.
At this stage in his career, Fudge desired stability, achievements, and public praise—
not terrorists capable of threatening the wizarding world.
One mishandled disaster like this could destroy his position entirely.
McGonagall, Snape, and Tonks remained outside repairing the castle.
Meanwhile, Fudge and the others followed Dumbledore into his office.
They demanded an explanation for everything that had just happened.
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