"Professor Dumbledore knew the whole time… and he just let You-Know-Who hide in the Forbidden Forest? How could he do that?"
Hermione's face was white as parchment. It felt like something inside her had crumbled.
"Don't worry, Harry. We're all here," Justin said, trying to keep his voice steady even though last night had scared him too. "And the Philosopher's Stone is locked down tighter than Gringotts—Dumbledore's got traps on top of traps. Voldemort wouldn't dare go for it… So why hasn't he left? Is he just too greedy? And what made him drink unicorn blood in the first place?"
Justin's calm words were doing wonders in Hagrid's empty hut. With Sean gone, he'd become the voice of reason keeping everyone from losing it.
Harry's panic from the night before started to fade a little. "Only someone who has nothing left and wants everything would commit a crime that evil… No, wait…
To save your own life, you killed something pure and defenseless. The second that blood touches your lips, you're cursed to live half a life—a cursed life! I get it now!"
"Voldemort—murder?!"
Neville finally lived up to his reputation and passed out cold after hearing the full Forbidden Forest horror story.
Harry and Justin didn't say anything. They just carried him to the couch.
"He hasn't killed the unicorn yet," a calm voice cut through the tension. "He's not strong enough."
No one got annoyed at the interruption. Instead, every head whipped around in delight.
"Sean's back!"
Ron yelled first.
"Sean…" Even Neville twitched, half-conscious, and dragged himself up from the couch.
"Sean, you're here! How was the conference?" Justin forced a shaky smile.
"Sean, where's Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, eyes full of hope. Hermione flinched at the name but still looked over with desperate expectation.
"I'm fine… but Dumbledore has to stay and run the conference. He won't be back for two days."
The room went dead quiet.
"Dumbledore's gone. If Voldemort kills that unicorn and gets his strength back, then Quirrell hands over the Stone… Hogwarts is done for. He'll burn the place to the ground or turn it into a dark arts academy. He won't let any of us live—none of us would ever join him."
Harry muttered, sinking into despair.
Sean took the head seat. He'd already confirmed one piece of good news: Quirrell's soul wasn't completely lost to the curse yet. They still had a chance.
England had been nothing but storms since April. Rain hammered the windows, drenching everything from the tower spires to the courtyard below.
Inside the hut, the air felt heavy enough to suffocate.
"We're not letting him win," Justin suddenly declared, his voice ringing with a courage nobody expected from him.
"I saw the centaurs scare him off—he's terrified of being exposed! The professors might not believe You-Know-Who's in the forest, but we do!
If we can find him and snap a photo, the staff will take over the forest.
Until then—we hold the line. We protect the unicorns. We stand our ground and don't take one step back! We'll guard the forest with the centaurs. We'll guard it with Hagrid!
My mom always said real nobility never surrenders!"
His crazy-brave speech didn't scare anyone. Neville started clapping with shaky hands, then Ron, then Hermione and Harry joined in.
"Sean, we need you to lead us," Justin said softly. "You're the strongest and smartest one here. Please—say something."
Every terrified, hopeful, desperate pair of eyes landed on Sean. A thousand plans flashed through his mind.
Voldemort himself wasn't possessing Quirrell yet, but a desperate, puppeted Quirrell would still come for the unicorns. Spotting him would be nearly impossible—he'd look just like Voldemort at that point. But right now Voldemort was weak, only just starting to drink unicorn blood. He wouldn't risk exposure or a straight fight with the staff…
If they could just keep the unicorns safe, a powerless Voldemort without the Stone would have to hold back—for now.
Two days. Once Dumbledore returned, maybe they could actually save Quirrell.
After all, the professor still had one Squirrel Cookie in his pocket.
Sean knew the plan wasn't perfect—far from it. There were a million things that could go wrong. But no plan was ever perfect.
He looked at the eyes staring back at him. They all knew they weren't strong enough to fight. They knew they might fail. Their hands were still shaking.
But none of them were backing down. They'd fight to the end.
"I'll upgrade the Marauder's Map. If anyone spots anything, tap the signal and instantly use a Protean Protego Cookie to transform and hide.
Before sunset I'll make five upgraded brooms—high-speed, invisible, auto-tracking. You can ride them to get around, escape, or distract if needed.
Two or three to a team, paired with Hagrid or Firenze.
Third Round Table meeting: we hold the Forbidden Forest until dawn."
Sean said it calmly.
The Room of Hope went silent for a heartbeat—then exploded into wild applause.
The rest of the day passed in a weird mix of dread and excitement.
Justin and the others tried telling the professors about centaur prophecies and the Dark Lord's return. Nobody bought it. Even Hermione got a gentle lecture from Flitwick.
Down by the Black Lake, a dragon the size of a first-year roared to life, fire-salamander patterns writhing across its scales.
Sean poured every drop of magic he had into it. The dragon swelled, exploding into a massive wave of flame.
[You practiced advanced transfiguration to master standards. Proficiency +3000]
Another spell—boom—a rock turned into a two-meter-tall animated stone guardian.
[You practiced advanced transfiguration to master standards. Proficiency +3000]
A few seconds later, Sean lowered his wand.
His transfiguration was almost master-level now. He still couldn't take Quirrell head-on, but he could send a signal and buy a little time.
That little time would be enough for the others to arrive—or for someone to fly straight to a professor yelling about "students night-wandering in the Forbidden Forest."
That was Plan B. Getting caught would mean detention for four of them; Sean and Neville could add "nighttime forest trespassing" for extra fun.
Hogwarts rules weren't messing around.
In the pouring rain, the shattered mirror-surface of the lake reflected a pair of calm green eyes.
Which unicorn would a weakened Voldemort go for?
Easy guess. Hagrid and the centaurs could keep the herd safe for a bit.
Sean would guard the wounded one himself.