After the last class on Friday, the castle was filled with the sounds of laughter and chatter. No matter their house, the second-years were finally relaxing, ready to enjoy a weekend free from assignments and expectations.
As usual, Sean and Blaise headed to the library, spending the afternoon in quiet focus until dinner.
After the meal, Blaise excused himself to visit his upper-year girlfriend, leaving Sean to follow his own plans. He retrieved the ingredients from Andy and made his way to the Room of Requirement. The room, as always, adjusted itself perfectly for his needs—quiet, well-stocked, and ideal for potion brewing.
Tomorrow night, he and Andy would sneak out to Hogsmeade. The cover story was ready: they were heading out to buy ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion—for Harry and his friends.
Technically, Sean could've left it all to Andy, but he had reasons for wanting to go himself. Andy, predictably, had asked questions at first. But the moment Sean mentioned that he'd been feeling a bit burnt out and wanted to take a walk, Andy dropped the subject entirely and agreed to every request without another word.
Several hours later, Sean emerged from the Room of Requirement, his body aching slightly from standing over the cauldron for so long. Still, the potion was complete, bottled, and tucked securely in his robes.
He began heading back toward the Slytherin common room, mind half-drifting in thought—until he reached the second floor.
There, a sudden chill prickled the back of his neck.
Something felt off.
He paused for a moment, frowning, but then resumed walking at a steady pace. He had learned by now to trust those instincts—but not to let them show.
He had barely rounded the corner when a blur of chaotic motion shot out from behind a statue, and a screech echoed through the corridor.
Peeves.
The poltergeist zoomed past in wild spirals, shrieking gleefully at the top of his lungs:"Dead! Dead! A first-year girl from Ravenclaw is dead! Dead-dead-dead! A first-year girl from Ravenclaw is dead!"
Sean froze.
Ravenclaw?First-year?Dead?
Sean's heart sank. He immediately pulled out his wand and rushed in the direction Peeves had flown.
By the time he arrived, Harry and Ron were already there. They were staring at the large, bloody writing on the wall. When they noticed Sean approaching, they turned to him as if they wanted to say something—but before they could speak, more students began arriving, drawn by Peeves' shouting.
The crowd that formed quickly fell into stunned silence. On the ground lay a small figure in Ravenclaw robes, unmoving.
Luna Lovegood.
Sean didn't waste time. Ignoring the growing number of students behind him, he stepped forward and knelt beside her, quickly checking her condition.
It didn't take long to realize: Luna wasn't dead—she was petrified.
Sean stood up slowly, eyes scanning the corridor. Then, in the corner, he noticed something that caught his attention—a suit of armor, polished to a mirror-like shine.
He immediately understood. Luna must have seen the basilisk's eyes reflected in the armor. Because of that, she was only petrified instead of killed.
Sean's brows furrowed slightly.
He had noticed something before—now it stood out even more.
From the original timeline to now, everyone who had seen the basilisk—students, ghosts, even a cat—had always done so indirectly. Reflections, ghosts, water, cameras… never directly.
Was this just a coincidence?
Or was there something more to it?
Is there someone, or some force, influencing the basilisk, or preventing it from looking directly at the victim?After all, petrification caused by indirect eye contact can still be reversed. But if someone truly looked directly into the basilisk's eyes, even if all the mandrake roots in Hogwarts were harvested, it would be impossible to bring that person back.
Dumbledore?Thinking about it, he's the only one in Hogwarts who might have the power to do something like that, right?Or… could there be another force in Hogwarts protecting the people here?
But if such a force really existed, then why was Voldemort able to release the basilisk in the past and kill Moaning Myrtle?
Am I just overthinking it?Are all of these really just coincidences?
"Sean, is she… is she okay?"
Hearing Harry's anxious voice, Sean looked at him, then shook his head and replied calmly, "She's definitely in trouble—but she's not dead. She's just petrified for now. That means she can be saved. But she might miss most of her classes this year."
"Mr. Bulstrode is right," came a new voice. "Miss Lovegood may indeed miss most of her classes this year."
With those words, Dumbledore arrived at the scene, followed by Professor McGonagall, several other heads of house, and other professors. Gilderoy Lockhart was among them. As soon as he saw what was happening, he eagerly stepped forward to make himself noticed. But the moment he spotted Sean standing there, he stopped abruptly, turned smoothly on his heel, and quietly repositioned himself behind Dumbledore, just enough to stay out of Sean's direct line of sight.
Sean, of course, noticed Lockhart—but had no intention of acknowledging him.
Instead, he turned to Dumbledore and the professors, gave a polite nod, and said,"Hello, Professors. This was already the situation when Harry and I arrived.Oh, and I came here because I heard Peeves screaming.Perhaps you might be able to learn something from him."
While speaking, Sean subtly observed the students gathering behind the professors. Among them, he clearly saw Miles Bulstrode standing just outside the crowd.
Miles' cheeks were flushed, and he was breathing heavily—looking, on the surface, as if he had either run too fast or was anxious about the situation. But Sean could tell with just one glance: it wasn't panic. It was excitement.
He knew.
Miles had received the diary on Thursday night, and by Friday night, this had already happened. Sean wasn't sure whether it was the diary that was too eager, or if Miles simply had too low of a bottom line.
Either way, the result was the same: Luna had been petrified, and the person responsible for it was right there in the crowd, trying to act like any other curious onlooker.
Dumbledore turned to Sean and gave him a slight nod.
"Thank you, Mr. Bulstrode. You've helped us a great deal. Now, next…"
He turned toward the staff behind him. "Severus, Minerva, Filius, Pomona—take your students back to their respective common rooms immediately. Make sure they stay there and don't wander. The attacker may still be roaming the castle."
He looked back at the petrified Luna and continued calmly, "As for this place, I'll take care of it…"
"And me. Just leave it to me."
Dumbledore paused for a moment, clearly having heard Lockhart's interjection, but chose to ignore it entirely.
"I will personally bring Miss Lovegood to Madam Pomfrey. She'll receive proper treatment. In addition…"
He turned to Professor Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology teacher. "Pomona, please proceed with the matter we discussed earlier. It's important that it's completed as soon as possible."
"Dumbledore, I thought you might want to leave potion matters to me—" Snape began.
But before he could finish, Dumbledore interrupted him gently but firmly. "Severus, you have more important responsibilities right now. Let Pomona handle this one. She has a deep understanding of Mandrake root cultivation and should be able to complete the potion preparation in time."