More than half of the students in Slytherin hailed from pure-blood noble families, where domestic tasks were invariably handled by house-elves. Consequently, many Slytherins were unaccustomed to, and frankly unwilling to perform, mundane chores themselves. Therefore, from their very first year at Hogwarts, Slytherin students quickly mastered the art of summoning the castle's house-elves to attend to their needs.
This wasn't to say that students from other Houses were incapable of summoning house-elves; they certainly could. However, they generally didn't regard summoning house-elves as an integral, almost expected, part of their daily lives, as most Slytherins did.
Blaise, perhaps sensing the more serious nature of this summons, chose not to accompany Sean into his room with the prefects, opting instead to wait discreetly outside.
Inside Sean's private chamber, he, Samuel, and Irina sat comfortably, holding delicate teacups filled with fragrant tea that had been promptly delivered by a Hogwarts house-elf. They chatted amicably, their conversation carefully avoiding any direct mention of the duel that had just transpired, or any explicit talk of "investment." Nevertheless, the underlying implications of their discussion were clear: a potential alliance was being forged.
"It's growing late," Samuel eventually said, placing his teacup down. "So we won't impose on your time any longer. If you find yourself in need of anything in the future, Sean, please don't hesitate to come find us. If we are in a position to help, we certainly won't refuse."
"Then I offer you both my sincere thanks," Sean replied, his tone equally cordial.
"You're most welcome," Irina said with a slight smile. "That is the Slytherin way, after all – mutual assistance. One day, we may also find ourselves seeking your help, and I trust that you won't refuse us then."
"Of course not," Sean confirmed with a decisive nod. And with that, their unspoken agreement was solidified. From this point forward, both within the walls of Hogwarts and potentially beyond, Samuel and Irina would provide Sean with a certain degree of support and assistance. In return, if Sean grew in power and influence in the future, he would also bear a degree of responsibility towards them. If they had a request, Sean would be expected to provide appropriate feedback and aid. This was the nature of Slytherin investment – a calculated exchange of favors and influence.
After Samuel and Irina left, Sean noticed Blaise wasn't waiting outside his door anymore. He wasn't too worried about it, though. Sean just went back into his room, closed the door good and tight, and right away opened up his internal panel. He was really eager to see what he got from beating Jensen.
[Duel Won!]
[Conditions Met: Victory Against Jensen (Slytherin Student).]
[System Commencing Random Ability Extraction from Defeated Target: Jensen.]
[Extracting...]
That familiar little mental buzz happened.
[Extraction Complete!]
[New Ability Acquired: Shield Charm (Protego) (LV1)]
The Shield Charm! Sean thought excitedly.
And it was already Level 1, not just the basic Level 0 he usually started with…
Right then, Sean figured out another small but important rule about how his panel worked. When it was pulling abilities, the level of the skill he got wasn't always set to the basic Level 0. Instead, it looked like it was based on how good the person he beat – the "extraction target" – was with that skill.
So, basically, the stronger the person Sean duelled, the stronger the ability he could possibly get from them. That was definitely a good thing. But, to beat a really strong opponent, Sean himself couldn't be too weak. That made things tricky. Beating someone way stronger than him and then taking their awesome abilities to make himself stronger – that was almost impossible to pull off.
Unless, of course, a super strong opponent was first weakened by something else, and then they had the duel. If that happened, the ability he got wouldn't be weaker just because the person was in a bad state during the actual duel.
Speaking of the Shield Charm, that was a spell Sean hadn't even had a chance to learn or practice yet. After that tough duel he just had, Sean realized the Shield Charm could be super useful in a fight. If he'd been able to use the Shield Charm during that last duel, he could have fought in a much safer, less risky way and probably won even more easily.
Knock, knock…
From the distinctive rhythm of the knocking, Sean knew it was Blaise.
He called out, "Come in," and Blaise pushed the door open and strolled in.
Sean looked at Blaise, noticing a faint, tell-tale smudge of lipstick on his cheek, and said, a note of helpless amusement in his voice, "You actually managed to find that second-year senior sister in this short amount of time?"
"Who said it was that second-year senior?" Blaise retorted, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Sean blinked, momentarily stunned. He looked Blaise up and down, a disbelieving smile playing on his lips. "Really? This is another senior sister?"
"That's right," Blaise confirmed with a smug grin. "This time, it was a third-year senior. I met her just before dinner, when you weren't around. She's a very… enthusiastic individual."
Sean truly didn't know his friend possessed such a remarkable, almost magnetic, "playboy" constitution. Shaking his head and chuckling, Sean asked again, "So, what happened with that second-year senior sister from before?"
"Ah, her," Blaise said dismissively. "We just went on one date. We quickly realised we weren't particularly compatible, so we broke up."
Blaise said it casually, but Sean sensed there was more to the story. He pressed, "What exactly happened, Blaise? Don't try to lie to me."
Sitting down on a nearby chair, Blaise scratched his head, a slightly sheepish expression on his face. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "That second-year girl… she was actually on rather good terms with Jensen. She originally thought Jensen was practically guaranteed to win the duel, so she didn't particularly care about me telling you about his plans. But, as you know, Jensen lost. And she, rather unfairly in my opinion, blamed me for his defeat, claiming it was my fault because I gave you advance warning. So, we broke up."
Hearing Blaise's explanation, Sean was genuinely taken aback. He really hadn't expected such an unexpected and rather convoluted turn of events.
After hesitating for a moment, Sean reached out and clapped Blaise on the shoulder. "I owe you for this one, Blaise," he said sincerely.
Blaise shrugged off Sean's hand, a look of mock indignation on his face. "Owe me what? I wasn't actually that fond of the second-year girl anyway. Even if this whole incident hadn't happened, I wasn't planning on continuing to see her." He paused, a sly grin spreading across his face. "But… if you really feel bad about it, why not let me reference your homework? I've been so busy… pursuing romantic entanglements lately that I haven't had nearly enough time to write those tedious essays."
Sean laughed and playfully scolded Blaise, then readily packaged up all his completed homework and handed it over.
Blaise, despite his roguish exterior, was still a Slytherin at heart. He wouldn't resort to simply copying homework verbatim. He would use Sean's work more as a detailed reference, a template to guide his own efforts.
After the Pure-Blood Duel, Sean's overall situation within Slytherin didn't magically improve overnight. However, a subtle shift did occur. No one used the initial deduction of points as a pretext to openly trouble him anymore. Occasionally, some students would even offer a curt nod or a brief greeting when they encountered him in the corridors. Strength, much like pure bloodline, was a hard, undeniable currency within the ambitious and often ruthless world of Slytherin House.
Time passed, marked by the rhythm of classes and the quiet pursuit of knowledge. In what felt like the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed since the start of term.
During this past month, Millicent Bulstrode had become noticeably more subdued, almost uncharacteristically low-key. It was as if he wasn't the same arrogant boy who had instigated Jensen's challenge against Sean in that Pure-Blood Duel.
Reaching out, Snape picked up the vial of burn-healing paste that Sean had just finished brewing. He uncorked it, sniffed the pungent aroma, then carefully poured a small drop onto the back of his hand. After observing its consistency and effect for a moment, a faint, almost invisible smile touched Snape's thin lips. The sight was so unexpected that Harry and Ron, who happened to witness it from across the dungeon, exchanged bewildered glances, as if they had just seen a ghost.
"A very… perfect burn-healing paste," Snape offered, his voice a low murmur, as his brief, almost perfunctory evaluation. He then looked at Sean, nodded slightly, and added, a rare note of genuine satisfaction in his tone, "This is, by far, the highest quality potion you have brewed in my class to date. Clearly, the clumsy and… insincere Zabini did not cause you any undue trouble today."
Having said this, Snape pondered for a moment, then added, "Slytherin gains one point."
Returning the vial of potion to Sean, Snape turned and swept back to the podium, effectively ending that day's Potions class.
And just as Sean and Blaise were gathering their belongings, preparing to leave together, Snape, in a rare and uncharacteristic move, called out to him.
"Sean. Come with me."
Without waiting for Sean to answer, Snape, his black robes billowing dramatically behind him, took the lead and strode out of the Potions classroom.
Sean exchanged a quick, questioning glance with Blaise, then hurried to follow Snape, arriving moments later at the Potions Master's private office, which was also located deep within the Hogwarts dungeons.
***********
✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
p@treon.com/meowthtl