The impact of the new Wit-Recovery potion was far more far-reaching than Sean had imagined.
At the end-of-term banquet, owls of all shapes and sizes began flying into the Great Hall, dropping off letters and gifts addressed to Sean. At first, he still had time to manage them—carefully setting them into categorized piles behind him.
But as more owls arrived and the number of letters and parcels grew alarmingly, Sean began to feel overwhelmed.
"Sean, are these from people wanting to work with you?" Blaise asked.
Sean nodded, clearing the dishes in front of him to make space, and began sorting through the letters and gifts one by one. Under these circumstances, enjoying the feast was out of the question, so he simply gave up trying to eat.
"Some want to cooperate, some want to take advantage, and some just want to make connections," Sean explained. "There are even a few from outside the country. The Golden Crucible circulates across the Ministries of Magic in major European countries—and some wizards outside Europe subscribe to it too. So not all of these are from British wizards."
By the time the banquet was halfway through, the owl deliveries finally began to slow.
Only then did Sean grab a plate of desserts that had just appeared and start to fill his stomach.
As for the House Cup this year—it went to Gryffindor.
Partly due to the absence of Sean's usual extra credit contributions, and largely thanks to Gryffindor's stellar performance in Quidditch this term, they managed to secure the House Cup by the slimmest of margins.
During this time, someone had been glancing at Sean repeatedly.
It was no secret that his essay had once again appeared in The Golden Crucible, and many were expecting Sean to receive extra points for it. If he did, the House Cup would surely return to Slytherin's hands.
However, Sean no longer had any intention of earning points for Slytherin. And since he didn't bring it up, naturally no one else had the standing to raise the matter either. Dumbledore pretended not to notice, and Snape rarely expressed any opinion on it—so the matter simply faded into silence. And with that silence came the end of Slytherin's seven-year reign over the House Cup.
Naturally, there were those who were angry at Sean for it.
But after two years, Sean had already made a name for himself in Slytherin. And for those who were more observant, it was no secret that he was now regarded highly by Gideon, Head of the Bulstrode family. Whatever resentment lingered in some hearts, no one dared to voice it aloud in front of him.
Judging from the looks and mutterings of some nearby students, Blaise could more or less guess what they were thinking. He leaned in and whispered to Sean, "Ignore those people."
Sean understood what Blaise meant. He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I'm in a much better position now than I was at the start of last year. I was fine then—why wouldn't I be fine now?"
After the banquet, Sean gave his wand a small wave, and the gifts and letters that had piled up behind him rose into the air like a flock of birds, neatly following him as he walked toward the Slytherin common room.
The professors seated at the head table smiled in varying degrees as they watched the scene. From that one simple movement, they could tell that Sean's grasp of magic was already quite advanced. Even Professor McGonagall, who always maintained a stern expression, couldn't help but allow a faint smile to tug at her lips. Sean's use of Transfiguration was clearly well above standard, and her face lit up with something not far from pride.
While the professors quietly admired the display, the Slytherins seated around Sean felt a renewed sense of caution. With that level of magical strength, no one could afford to make trouble for him lightly. Even among the sixth and seventh years, there were few who could challenge Sean directly. Probably only the Slytherin Brotherhood's upper-year reserve members could still be considered close rivals.
-----
After returning to his room, Sean packed up his belongings and glanced at Kulkan, who was still fast asleep.
This creature had been in deep slumber for nearly two months. Over that time, her body had grown noticeably—larger, thicker, longer. If Sean didn't have the Troll Strength talent, there was no way he'd be able to carry her around.
Seeing that there was nothing abnormal about Kulkan, Sean sat down at his desk and began replying to letters.
Those who were clearly looking to take advantage of him—he tossed aside without a second glance. He focused first on letters from individuals who were genuinely reaching out for academic exchange. Those, Sean prioritized.
For those proposing business cooperation, he replied with a few polite and measured words and directed them to a contact point.
Of course, that "contact" was Aldridge.
Sean didn't have the time or energy to deal with such matters personally. He had far more important things to focus on—studying, research, experiments. The list went on. As for business and social coordination, all of that would naturally be left to Aldridge, who was, frankly, a social mastermind.
After finishing his replies, Sean leaned back in his chair and allowed himself a rare moment of rest.
Ever since entering the world of magic, his days had been filled with high-pressure studying, duels, and endless strategizing. He was constantly competing—matching wits, trading blows. The panel had certainly helped—accelerating his grasp of spells, talents, and magical knowledge—but the actual effort? The research, the studying, the thinking? That was all on Sean.
And with his departure from Hogwarts scheduled for early tomorrow morning, he decided to allow himself one rare luxury:
A single day off.
---------
After spacing out for a while, Sean suddenly remembered something. He opened the panel and checked his current detailed status.
[Sean Bulstrode]
[Occupation]: Wizard Apprentice
[Affiliation]: Slytherin House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Skills: Smoke Rope LV5 (Max), Obliviate LV5 (Max), Petrificus Totalus LV3, Stupefy LV2, Expelliarmus LV2, Venomous Surge LV2, Protego LV2, Imperio LV2, Cruciatus Curse LV1, Legilimens LV1…
[Talents]:
Troll Strength LV1
Troll Spiked Hide LV1
Agile Casting LV1
Swift Casting LV1
Skilled Casting LV2
Magic Awakening (3/7)
[Equipment]:
Ebony Phoenix Wand
Pocket Watch
Undetectable Extension Bag
Alchemical Tower Shield
Alchemical Chain Hammer
Looking through the details, and setting aside supplementary abilities like trick tactics in wizard chess, writing skills, and other non-combat talents, Sean had to admit: his current magical aptitude was already quite impressive.
Although he didn't possess any max-level talents yet, he guessed that talents—like spells—likely had level caps as well. In other words, while none of his innate gifts were maxed out, they were building steadily. And though individually his talents didn't seem powerful, some combinations—like Agile Casting and Swift Casting—had clear synergy. Together, they offered benefits far beyond their levels alone. One plus one was clearly greater than two.
Notably, Troll Strength and Troll Spiked Hide had risen from LV0 to LV1 as his body matured, suggesting talents could improve over time.
But as for how to reliably raise those talent levels… Sean still had no answer.