"Sean Bulstrode! You will regret this, you will definitely regret this! Ah..."
Holes gradually appeared on the ethereal Tom's body. Under the corrosion of the toxin, most of the diary had turned into a charcoal-like state, completely destroying the magic and soul fragment within it.
As Tom's final threat fell, the ethereal Tom completely transformed into points of fluorescent light and disappeared.
At this moment, notifications appeared on Sean's panel after defeating Tom.
[Duel Won!]
[Conditions Met: Victory Against Legendary Magical Opponent.]
[System Commencing Random Ability Extraction from Defeated Target: Tom Marvolo Riddle.]
[Opponent Strength Assessment: Exceptional. Drawing Three Abilities.]
[Extracting...]
A torrent of dark knowledge flooded Sean's mind—ancient spells, forbidden techniques, and raw magical theory that felt both exhilarating and terrifying. The power coursed through him like liquid fire, reshaping his understanding of magic itself.
[Extraction Complete!]
[New Curse Acquired: Blasting Curse LV3]
[New Skill Acquired: Transfiguration LV3]
[New Talent Acquired: Magical Awakening (3/7)]
Having drawn three abilities, although this was only the student-era Voldemort, the abilities extracted truly excited Sean greatly. Not only was there the LV3 Blasting Curse, but also LV3 Transfiguration and another higher-level talent—Magical Awakening!
Additionally, it must be said that the LV3 Transfiguration successfully helped Sean break through the LV2 Transfiguration bottleneck and made significant progress toward LV3 Transfiguration. Many things he couldn't understand before now became clear with just a little thought. Truly worthy of being Teacher Voldemort—really generous and powerful!
Of course, besides the three excellent abilities given by Teacher Voldemort, Marcellus Bulstrode, who served as a puppet, also gave Sean one ability.
[Duel Won!]
[Conditions Met: Victory Against Magical Opponent.]
[System Commencing Random Ability Extraction from Defeated Target: Marcellus Bulstrode.]
[Extracting...]
Sean felt a tiny, barely perceptible tingle of energy—so weak it was almost insulting compared to the overwhelming power he'd just absorbed from Tom.
[Extraction Complete!]
[New Spell Acquired: Lumos Charm LV2]
A level-two Lumos Charm...
After fighting for so long, this was all he got. It really fit Marcellus's useless character setting.
"Phew..."
He exhaled.
People shouldn't be so ungrateful—that's not good.
The abilities from the diary were already good enough. Sean could accept the garbage from Marcellus.
Thinking of Marcellus, Sean looked at the barely breathing Marcellus, pulled out two potions from his waist, and poured them directly into Marcellus's mouth. With these two potions, Marcellus wouldn't die. This was only for the sake of his cheap grandfather Gavin—otherwise, the Bulstrode family would have one less person today.
Feeling the surging magical power within his body, Sean knew his third magical awakening was about to begin. Before that, Sean quickly ran to the Basilisk's head, removed the two already ruined eyes, put them in a box, then collected some Basilisk blood and cut some meat. After finishing these tasks, Sean felt he could no longer suppress his magical awakening, so he immediately packed up his things, found a place, and comfortably lay down on the ground to welcome his third magical awakening.
The moment his head touched the ground, Sean lost consciousness.
This time Sean slept for an extraordinarily long time. When he woke up, it was already three days later.
Sitting up from the bed, Sean felt the surging magical power within his body. He felt that if he were to duel with Tom again, he could probably achieve victory through magic alone.
There was still a small portion of the second year remaining. For the rest of the time, Sean could enjoy normal school life to his heart's content. Of course, during this period, Sean still had to complete his thesis, especially the paper on mental recovery potions. Sean wanted to try to mail the paper to The Golden Cauldron before the end of the second year, so his upcoming schedule would still be quite tight.
Click...
The hospital room door was pushed open.
A familiar person, familiar voice, familiar scene.
Gavin stood in the doorway, saying with some sentiment, "Perhaps next year I'll have to see you again in the same place?"
"Next year..." Sean thought about next year's situation and shook his head. "Next year probably won't be possible."
"Why are you so certain?" Sitting beside Sean's hospital bed, Gavin smiled.
"This is part of my personal planning. Next year I'll probably study quietly and write papers quietly. Actually, I quite like that kind of life. The current life is too busy—I don't like it as much."
Nodding with a smile, Gavin continued, "You handled Barrett's matter quite well."
Hearing Gavin say this, Sean raised an eyebrow slightly. "I'm not surprised at all that you know about this."
Without continuing to discuss Barrett's matter, Gavin looked at Sean and said, "We need to thank you for Marcellus's situation. Without you, he probably would have been killed by that dark magical object from the Malfoy family."
"If it weren't for me, Marcellus wouldn't have suffered so much either."
"One thing at a time—the fact is you saved Marcellus's life."
Sean didn't know whether Gavin had caught the hidden meaning in his previous statement, but regardless of whether Gavin understood the hidden meaning, his response was appropriate.
"What happened to the Malfoy family? The Bulstrode family wouldn't let this opportunity pass, would they?"
Gavin smiled and nodded. "I took their dragon reserve in Romania. The dragon materials produced there annually are worth a fortune—enough to compensate for the losses.
Of course, as thanks for your rescue of Marcellus, this dragon reserve that serves as compensation is now under your father's name. I think for you, having it under your father's name would make you happier, right?"
"Thank you, Grandfather."
"You only call me 'grandfather' when there are benefits. I've seen through you, little guy."
Although he said this, Gavin didn't have the slightest bit of blame in his tone.
Looking at Gavin, Sean thought for a moment and asked, "If—I'm saying if—my brother or sister is born and they're also a Squib, what would you do?"
"Whether this grandson or granddaughter of mine is a wizard or not, they will have a grandfather and grandmother who love them. Are you satisfied with this answer?"
"Thank you, Grandfather."
"After this semester ends and you go on vacation, come home for dinner. Your grandmother misses you very much. She wants to see you and meet your parents. You can blame me, blame your uncle, but please don't blame your grandmother. She's always been thinking about you all, thinking about your parents. It was I who didn't let her see you before. If you feel uncomfortable, you can blame me."
"As long as my parents don't hold grudges, I have no problem at all. Please rest assured, Grandfather."
Gavin looked at Sean, slowly nodded, then said no more and got up to leave.
Just before he left, he turned around again and said to Sean, "By the way, Sean, the notebook I gave you contains many spells that you can learn, but most of the magic in it is dark magic. So remember, don't let that notebook be seen by others, and don't let others know about the magic you learn. I think you understand what I mean, right?"
"I understand. Thank you for the warning, Grandfather."