Sean placed the consideration of Professor Snape's whereabouts as his top priority.
Even though Professor Snape had never explicitly told him that he was no longer allowed to use the dungeons for potion brewing, he still decided to avoid crossing paths with him.
And there was quite a bit of room to maneuver on that front.
After all, Professor Snape was one of the busiest people in Hogwarts.
First, as a professor, he had to grade students' homework, keep track of the progress of at least twelve different classes, and prepare for lessons.
Second, as a Head of House, he was responsible for mediating student conflicts, catching students engaged in early romances, and dealing with various student issues.
Lastly, there were the special assignments given to him by Headmaster Dumbledore.
Looking at it that way, Snape's infamous bad temper made perfect sense. Not only was his teaching schedule packed back-to-back, but he also had to deal with all sorts of troublesome students every day.
Sean could probably imagine the kind of situations Snape constantly faced—
Merlin's beard! Professor Snape, you'd better come quickly, the Gryffindors are stirring up trouble again!
His workload was absolutely over the limit, and he didn't even get an assistant.
If Sean remembered correctly, Snape's office was actually located on the other side of the dungeons...
Plenty of maneuvering space indeed.
With that thought, even the flames in the Great Hall's fireplace seemed warmer.
On the stone wall, the firelight flickered gently—until two blurred shadows passed by.
"Oh, I must say, I've never found writing Charms essays this easy before."
Justin spoke with a faint smile. In his left hand, he carried a magical lantern; in his right, he held a five-inch Charms essay and a light blue notebook, which he tucked into his bag.
"Well, Justin, that's funny coming from someone who was complaining just two days ago that magical essays are harder than horseback riding."
Hermione lifted her chin slightly and narrowed her eyes at Justin, giving him a look that said you're being ridiculous, then walked into the Great Hall carrying a tall stack of books.
They had clearly just returned from the library, still carrying a faint scent of ink on them.
Completing a good piece of classwork was no easy task—especially for Charms.
To summarize:
This is how you wave your wand, this is how you say the spell. Now, write me a five-inch essay on the Levitation Charm.
The expressions of the young wizards were usually something like: Huh? Me?
It might look simple on paper, but actually completing it required a lot of personal exploration and thought.
Without spending time in the library, it was nearly impossible to finish the assignments, and learning how to find proper references was the first crucial lesson.
That's why Hermione and Justin often spent long hours in the library.
Compared to Hermione, who had memorized the entire first-year curriculum and could quickly find the information she needed, Justin—who wasn't as familiar with the textbooks—progressed much more slowly. Add to that Professor Binns' confusing essays, and the young wizards—at least those who actually wanted to do well—suffered greatly.
But today, Justin had not only finished a one-foot-long History of Magic essay, he had also completed his Levitation Charm essay within three hours.
It was extra homework assigned by Professor Flitwick, so not even Hermione had finished it that quickly.
"You managed to write a decent Charms essay, but during practice this afternoon, your Levitation Charm didn't improve one bit…"
Hermione tilted her face toward him, casting him a quick glance.
"I'm guessing you borrowed someone's method. That someone was Sean."
"Oh, well, you're half right. Sean told me the method."
Justin didn't look embarrassed in the slightest; instead, he smiled genuinely.
"Even though I'm sure Sean wouldn't mind me sharing his method with you, I still need to ask for his permission first… Look, he's right over there."
Hermione let out an "Oh," not particularly impressed by the idea that a fellow student's method could be anything special—
Even if that student was Sean.
Still, almost unconsciously, her eyes searched the hall for the young wizard's figure.
The Great Hall was crowded with students in identical uniforms moving about, and Hermione started to doubt whether Justin had actually spotted him correctly.
Then Justin suddenly sat down.
"Sean!"
Justin greeted him warmly.
"Mm."
Even while locked in a fierce battle with a roast chicken, Sean still managed to respond in time.
"Would you mind—"
Justin lowered his voice.
"I wouldn't."
Before he could finish his question, a voice came from inside the roast chicken.
"Oh, good!"
Justin's smile grew even brighter as he passed the parchment to Hermione.
"You have to take a look at this, Hermione."
"All right, but I have to say, I don't really think—"
Hermione brushed her hair back and took the parchment from Justin.
Ten minutes later.
Sean sipped his pumpkin juice, the sweet taste always putting him in a good mood.
"I must say, this structure is absolutely brilliant. Oh… if only I'd seen it earlier…"
Just then, Hermione suddenly let out a soft, frustrated sigh. Sean's hand trembled, and his pumpkin juice wobbled dangerously.
He turned to look and saw Hermione's face gradually turning red, the tips of her ears flushing pink.
"Sean, ah, I mean…"
Hermione stammered, completely unused to having her words of praise overheard directly by the person in question.
Fortunately, Sean was always so focused on his own thoughts that he hadn't heard a thing, and Justin was quick as ever to react:
"I mean—no—Hermione said that your essay method is amazing! And your Charms notes too. If only I could apply the theory in practice…"
He always managed to respond just in time, not only answering the previous remark but smoothly steering the topic toward Charms.
"Mm, the important thing is practice."
Sean nodded.
He was still wondering whether the dungeons would welcome him tonight.
The answer was obvious.
The dungeons would be dangerous tonight.
Professor Snape had most likely gone down there to brew potions, and potion-brewing was never a short affair.
So Sean decided to dedicate his evening to the other six subjects instead.
And of those, Charms was by far the most practical.
So, finding a place to practice Charms became his goal for the night.
"We're going to practice Charms, Sean. Want to come with us?"
Justin suddenly asked, and as he spoke, his pale gray eyes seemed to brighten slightly.
Sean was a little taken aback.
A few minutes later, three figures slowly crossed the corridor and started climbing the spiral staircase.
There were a hundred and forty-two staircases in Hogwarts.
Some were wide and grand.
Some were narrow, small, and wobbly.
Some changed destinations every Friday.
Some would suddenly have a step vanish halfway up, and you had to remember exactly where to jump.
In addition, many doors wouldn't open unless you asked them politely or tapped the right spot.
Some weren't even real doors at all, just solid walls pretending to be doors.
It was incredibly hard to remember what was where, because everything seemed to be constantly shifting.
The people in the portraits kept visiting each other, and Justin swore up and down that even the suits of armor could walk around.
In a castle that changed like this, finding a hidden room didn't seem all that strange.
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