Sean knocked on the door of Snape's office.
In that instant, Blaise darted to the side, clearly unwilling to have too much private interaction with the head of Slytherin, even as a Slytherin himself.
Sean gave Blaise a helpless look, finding his reaction a bit over-the-top. Sure, their Head of House was a bit cold, strict with points deductions, sharp-tongued, intimidating, and perhaps a tad biased, but other than that, he wasn't that bad. Was all this dramatics really necessary?
"Enter!" The response was, as always, curt.
Sean pushed the door open and stepped inside.
When Snape saw it was Sean, his brows furrowed slightly. Though Sean was arguably his favorite Slytherin student, Snape was well aware of Sean's knack for stirring up trouble. He looked at Sean and said brusquely, "What is it? Speak!"
"Professor, I'd like to borrow some, er, potion ingredients. A batch of them."
At those words, Snape's already sour expression darkened further. In that moment, Sean suddenly understood Blaise's reaction.
Snape was terrifying right now!
Taking a step back, Sean pursed his lips and said awkwardly, "Er, Professor, I'll pay it back. One week—just one week, and I'll return everything, not a single ingredient missing."
"Mr. Bulstrode, do you even realize what you're asking?"
Sean took a deep breath, meeting Snape's gaze earnestly. "Professor, I know exactly what I'm asking. I really need those ingredients right now."
"Are the materials you've been getting from Mr. Morgan not enough to satisfy you?"
Mr. Morgan was Andy, and Sean wasn't surprised that Snape knew about his dealings with him. Though Snape seemed like the type of Head of House who didn't care to meddle in student affairs, he was keenly aware of everything happening in Slytherin. Nothing escaped his notice.
"Professor, Andy's run into some trouble recently. He's my friend, and I don't want to see him dragged into the mud because of those dirty pure-blood family games. I want to help him out."
"Mr. Bulstrode, are you aware that the ingredients here aren't just mine? Many were purchased with the school's funds, and I'm merely their temporary custodian."
"I'll replace the school's ingredients in advance, Professor. I won't put you in a difficult position."
"Three published papers in The Golden Crucible before you graduate."
Sean let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Snape. "Thank you so much, Professor."
"Take what you need and leave. Don't disturb me."
"Yes, Professor."
Sean didn't hesitate. He immediately began selecting the ingredients he needed from the cabinet on Snape's office wall. The materials here were quite valuable, so Sean chose carefully. Fortunately, the list didn't require too many high-grade potions, so he only needed nine types of ingredients. The rest—lower-grade materials—were stored in the potions classroom warehouse. With Snape's permission, Sean could select those directly from there.
"Professor, I'm heading to the warehouse now. Sorry for disturbing you."
No response came. Snape continued sitting at his desk, reading. Sean gave him a respectful nod before quickly leaving the office.
Closing Snape's door gently, Sean let out a breath. He knew Snape had made an exception for him. If it had been anyone else, they'd likely have been thrown out of the office. Snape hadn't even mocked or scolded him—not a single harsh word. Sean suddenly felt that the Head of House's heavy favoritism toward him wasn't entirely without its perks.
Though the number of papers he owed for The Golden Crucible was starting to pile up…
"Sean, I'm seriously impressed," Blaise said. "You actually walked out of the Head's office alive."
Sean rolled his eyes, ignoring Blaise. He shoved the bag of ingredients into Blaise's arms and said, "Be alert tonight. If you're struggling, chug a Wit-Sharpening Potion like it's water. From tonight until noon tomorrow, I need all the potions on that list ready."
"Sean, even with a full night and morning, there might not be enough time."
"Of course there's not enough time. That's why I'm not brewing one potion at a time. Come on, no more talking. We're at the potions classroom. When we get to the warehouse, I'll pick the ingredients, and you sort them into categories and pack them."
"Got it. Leave it to me."
The two entered the potions classroom and opened the warehouse door. Sean stepped inside and began selecting materials. These were relatively low-grade ingredients, but the quantity was substantial—enough for Sean to brew the large number of low-level potions required.
Blaise stood behind him, sorting the ingredients Sean handed him into small bags, then packing them into larger ones.
Once they'd gathered everything, they prepared to leave.
Sean left first carrying a bag, and Blaise followed behind him carrying a bag. However, Blaise's bag was a bit heavy, and he accidentally tripped over the door frame as soon as he walked out of the warehouse. He stumbled and bumped into a locker next to him, shaking the locker. Some old books and sundries inside fell out.
Seeing the mess, Sean quickly set his bag down, checked that Blaise wasn't hurt, and then crouched to pick up the scattered items and return them to the cabinet.
As he gathered the old books and objects, Blaise let out a curious hum, his tone teasing. "This book's interesting. Wonder whose it was. They called themselves the 'Half-Blood Prince.' Weird name."
Half-Blood Prince?
The name caught Sean off guard for a moment, but then it clicked. He turned to Blaise, who was holding an old Potions textbook. Sean immediately realized who it belonged to.
"Blaise, let me see it."
Blaise, uninterested in the textbook, handed it to Sean and continued picking up the scattered books and items.
Standing up, Sean flipped through the book. After a bit of searching, he found what he was looking for. The old textbook contained notes on certain spells.
For example…
Levicorpus!
Sectumsempra!