The chains formed by black smoke dissipated into wisps of darkness.
Sean regarded Fenrir's corpse lying motionless on the forest floor, casually conjuring a sphere of magical flame. He sent the fire rolling across the werewolf king's remains, reducing Fenrir's body to nothing but fine ash scattered on the wind.
Then Sean turned sharply and sprinted toward the location where the Dementors had congregated.
During his run, Sean opened his system panel to review his acquisitions from the battle.
The abilities granted by the ordinary wolves and werewolves proved entirely expected—identical to his previous extractions. However, Sean's Lupine Senses had upgraded to LV3, while Lupine Agility had reached an impressive LV4. His sensory perception and physical speed had now been enhanced to extraordinarily high levels. When facing werewolves again with these improvements combined with his existing advantages, Sean could easily crush their skulls with bare-handed strikes without sustaining injury himself.
He scrolled to the bottom of the panel display.
Sean examined the abilities Fenrir Greyback had provided upon defeat.
As the saying goes, a single extraction can produce miracles.
The werewolf king had proven exceptionally generous!
[Duel Victory! Due to opponent's exceptional strength, three abilities will be randomly extracted from duel opponent.]
[Extracting...]
[Extraction complete. Obtained: Moon's Blessing, Child of the Night, Canine Manipulation]
[Warning: Abilities were not extracted from same species as host. Perfect inheritance impossible. Calculating solution...]
[Calculating...]
[Based on host's physiological characteristics, solution calculation complete.]
[Modified extracted abilities to match host's racial characteristics and physical condition.]
[Obtained: Canine Manipulation LV3]
[Obtained: Child of the Night LV2]
[Obtained: Talent: Moon's Blessing LV3]
Two skills and one talent—this constituted Fenrir's magnificent parting gift to Sean.
Canine Manipulation, as the name clearly suggested, allowed Sean to exert control over canine creatures of all varieties. The talent Moon's Blessing enabled Sean to receive supernatural enhancement from darkness and lunar light during nighttime hours, with the blessing's strength weakest when the moon was obscured by clouds and strongest during the full moon's peak.
According to the panel's detailed descriptions, the blessing enhanced both Sean's physical attributes and his magical power reserves. However, Sean remained uncertain about the precise magnitude of these enhancements without further testing. Notably, Moon's Blessing demonstrated weaker effects on positive magic (commonly termed white magic) while providing stronger amplification for negative magic (black magic and darker spells).
An interesting mythological connection existed here.
According to legend, black magic originated in ancient Egypt, deriving its name from the dark continent where Egyptian civilization flourished. Considering this mythology, werewolves were also said to have first manifested in Egypt. That Moon's Blessing from werewolf bloodlines primarily enhanced black magic—which itself supposedly originated from Egypt—created a coherent mythological framework.
Finally, the Child of the Night ability, though currently the lowest level among his acquisitions, represented Sean's most surprising and tactically valuable new capability.
However, unlike Fenrir's original version of Child of the Night, this system-modified ability allowed Sean to temporarily overdraw his potential on full moon nights, gaining several multiples of his normal strength in both physical capabilities and magical power. In Fenrir's unmodified version, this overdrawing proved extremely powerful but also catastrophically damaging to the werewolf king's fundamental essence, requiring extended periods of complete rest to recover.
After the panel's modifications, however, overclocking Sean's Child of the Night ability wouldn't damage his core vitality whatsoever. It would merely leave him weakened and exhausted for one or two days following activation. Compared to the tremendous enhancement the ability provided, this cost was remarkably minor.
Of course, such a devastatingly useful ability could only be activated once monthly during the full moon's peak.
Closing the panel interface and bathing in the full moon's silvery light, Sean felt utterly refreshed and increasingly exhilarated as Moon's Blessing took effect.
BANG!
The earth and rocks beneath his feet erupted as Sean transformed into a supernatural blur, launching forward with explosive acceleration.
In his normal baseline state, Sean's speed already reached superhuman levels. Now, with both his magical reserves and physical attributes enhanced by Moon's Blessing, he could genuinely rival a Ministry Auror in direct confrontation. If he combined his various accumulated abilities strategically, an ordinary Auror would prove absolutely no match for him whatsoever.
Sean burst through the forest undergrowth into a clearing. Bright white light illuminated the scene ahead—a white phantom resembling a stag, wreathed in substantial silvery smoke, soared through the air while desperately resisting the descending swarm of Dementors.
Talent truly is an insurmountable advantage, Sean reflected with bemused admiration.
During first and second year, Hermione had undoubtedly been the most magically gifted member of the Golden Trio. However, in third year, Harry had met Remus Lupin, and his magical capabilities had skyrocketed—especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts. In barely half a semester of focused instruction, Harry's mastery of the Patronus Charm had reached approximately the same proficiency level as Sean's own.
This was particularly remarkable considering Sean had begun learning the Patronus Charm considerably earlier than Harry.
When Sean reached the valley's edge, he observed Dementors swarming everywhere across the landscape. Below, Harry desperately protected the unconscious Sirius Black while Peter Pettigrew cowered nearby, pathetically feigning unconsciousness to avoid notice.
However, Harry's Patronus Charm appeared on the verge of collapse from sustained effort.
Due to Sean's earlier interventions throughout the year, Harry hadn't used Hermione's Time-Turner to travel backward and assist his past self as in the original timeline. Without that temporal intervention, Sirius Black would likely have his soul consumed by the Dementors within minutes, transforming into a mindless living corpse.
"Expecto Patronum!"
With a focused wave of his wand, Sean released his Patronus from the cliff's elevated position.
White smoke coalesced and revealed the phantom form of a massive white serpent, which launched itself into the Dementor swarm. The spectral snake rampaged through their ranks with devastating effect, immediately relieving substantial pressure from Harry's failing defense.
Before joining Harry directly, Sean deliberately refrained from using the Smoke Rope Curse in his presence—that spell remained far too distinctive and recognizable as Voldemort's signature magic. Instead, he employed his acquired house-elf levitation abilities to descend smoothly from the cliff face.
Under his Patronus's protective presence, Sean reached Harry's position. He quickly examined the unconscious Sirius Black, then waved his wand to summon thick vines that firmly bound Peter Pettigrew in secure restraints. Only then did he address Harry directly. "Harry, how are you holding up?"
"Sean, there are too many Dementors—I can't maintain this much longer!"
Sean reached out and grasped Harry's shoulder firmly, gently pulling him back from the edge of panic-induced magical collapse. He spoke with quiet intensity and absolute conviction. "Harry, the Patronus Charm requires positive, genuinely happy, and joyful memories as fuel. These memories can originate from experiences you've already lived, expectations you hold for the future, or certainties about encounters you know will come."
Sean's voice grew warmer. "You have friends now, Harry. You have teachers who care about you. You have a godfather who loves you. They will always stand beside you. To protect them—remember the happiness and joy that belongs to you!"
Harry met Sean's steady gaze, a genuinely happy smile slowly spreading across his exhausted features. He raised his wand once more, no longer fearful or confused. With happiness and unwavering determination filling his heart, he recited the incantation.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A brilliant flash of pure white light erupted from his wand tip, followed by rising columns of silvery-white smoke. A magnificent stag constructed entirely from this luminous vapor leaped forth from Harry's wand, fully corporeal at last. The Patronus unleashed powerful bursts of protective light that shattered through the Dementors' encirclement, driving them back with overwhelming force.
Sean observed the now-fully-materialized stag with satisfaction, then turned his attention to Peter Pettigrew lying bound beside them. A chilling smile crossed Sean's features—a smile that seemed to freeze itself directly into Pettigrew's terrified soul.
"Peter," Sean said with dangerous quietness, "it's time for you to contribute some happy and joyful memories to our cause."
"Pain Extraction!"