"Professor Snape wants to see Sean?" Andy looked at Sean and said, "Sean, is it because of this incident? Then I'll go with you. At the very least, I need to explain the whole situation to Professor so he doesn't misunderstand you."
"Misunderstand what? That I beat up Dorian? That's a fact, so there's no need to explain anything. Besides, with our little mess, if Professor Snape wanted to know, he'd already know. It doesn't matter if we explain or not. Don't worry, I'll be fine. At worst, Professor Snape will deduct some points or give me detention. There won't be any other issues. If you go, it'll be fine if you don't explain, but explaining will only make things worse."
Patting Andy and Blaise on the shoulders, Sean turned and left the Slytherin common room, heading to Snape's office and knocking on the door.
"Enter!"
As always, Snape was sparing with words.
Sean pushed the door open and closed it behind him.
"Professor, you wanted to see me?"
Snape looked at Sean, silent for a moment, before speaking slowly. "I think you know why I called you here. This matter is serious, so I have no choice but to deduct twenty points from Slytherin and give you detention. Starting next week, come to my office every Sunday evening at seven to process potion ingredients for one hour, for four weeks. Any issues?"
"No issues, Professor."
"Good. You may leave."
Snape was never one for pleasantries, so when he told you to leave, you left immediately—or you'd face the disapproving glare of the Head of Slytherin.
Hearing Snape's dismissal, Sean turned to go.
But at that moment, he looked back at Snape and said, "Professor, I'll earn back the deducted points as soon as I can."
"That's your choice. It's none of my concern."
"Alright. Goodbye, Professor."
Stepping out of the office, Sean stood at the door, feeling that Snape was in a decent mood today. Normally, if he'd caused Slytherin to lose points, Snape would have unleashed a two- or three-minute barrage of biting sarcasm, dousing him with verbal venom. Instead, Snape had simply stated the punishment—a relatively light one at that.
As Sean left Snape's office and headed back to the common room, Blaise and Andy, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over, eyeing him up and down as if checking for missing limbs.
"Alright, stop staring. I'm fine. Snape didn't give me a hard time—just some punishment. Deducted points and detention, that's all."
"How many points?"
"Twenty. It's no big deal. I'll make it up in a month or so. As for Dorian, we need to figure out how to take him down for good. If we let him keep stirring up trouble, we might block him once or twice, but we won't always catch him three or four times."
Hearing Sean's words, Andy said, "Leave Dorian to me. I'm going all in this time—it's either him or me. If I lose, I'll just give up my family's inheritance. It'd be easier that way."
Blaise looked at Andy and said, "Andy, if you lose, I've got your back. I have some money—left by my father after he passed away. I was planning to use it to start a business or open a shop if I didn't find work after graduation. If you're in, I can get that money from my mother. We could partner up—I'll provide the funds, you handle the effort, and Sean brings the expertise. The three of us together? Foolproof."
Andy looked at Blaise, visibly tempted, and the two began talking quietly.
Sean watched them, smiled, and said nothing more. He returned to the Slytherin common room with them, ready for some much-needed rest. The effects of the Wit-Sharpening Potion had worn off, and he was utterly exhausted, wanting nothing more than to sleep.
October was a calm month.
Sean spent it working to earn back the twenty deducted points. He attended two meetings of the Slytherin Brotherhood Reserves, keeping a low profile as usual—speaking little and voting with Samuel and Irina. Some tried to recruit him to their factions, but he brushed them off, and everything remained stable.
Andy, on the other hand, was the opposite. He and Dorian were now openly competing in business. By late October, Andy had even commissioned Sean to brew a batch of rare potions and borrowed money from Blaise. He was steadily grinding Dorian into the ground.
"Not bad. Slightly better than I expected."
Snape looked at the processed horn and gave a satisfied nod.
The horn came from a magical creature called a Graphorn, whose horn secreted a highly lethal liquid. The Graphorn could inject this liquid into its target through its horn, causing the target to explode instantly—a highly dangerous creature. The Graphorn was a dangerous and aggressive magical beast native to the mountains of Europe.
Correspondingly, Graphorn horns were both valuable and hazardous potion ingredients.
Sean wiped the sweat from his face. During these four detentions, Snape had treated him like a hired worker, fully utilizing him. The potion ingredients were numerous and challenging, making Sean feel like he was in the Potions Club.
Quickly tidying up the processed materials, Snape glanced at the time and said to Sean, "Sean, your detention ends today. Starting next Sunday, you don't need to come here."
"Professor, I could actually come every week. I'm happy to help with these…"
"Hmph…" Snape let out a derisive scoff, looking at Sean. "Who gave you the confidence to think you can handle these ingredients for me? Your technique is laughable. In front of true Potions masters, your handling might just barely avoid making them furious."
"It's… not that bad, is it, Professor?"
"Hmph…"
With another cold sneer, Snape stepped aside from the door. Seeing this, Sean knew his Head of House was dismissing him. Scratching his head, he slunk out of Snape's office.
Passing the Great Hall, Sean suddenly noticed it had been transformed. Countless live bats adorned the ceiling, enormous pumpkins stood in groups of three, and colorful ribbons and candles floated about. Halloween was clearly approaching.
And with Halloween came Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party. Sean's plan was about to begin.