Chapter 323: The Time Has Come
If Sean had been alone, he would certainly have followed Hagrid's path back into the Forbidden Forest to investigate. But since he wasn't alone, Sean merely watched Hagrid lead Fang away from the forest without taking any action.
As night deepened, the music and laughter from Hogwarts castle gradually faded.
Sean brought Luna down from the tree, and they walked hand in hand back to Hogwarts castle, where they parted ways.
"Sean, I'll return these clothes and jewellery to you tomorrow."
Shaking his head, Sean smiled. "No need, keep them. Consider them a gift from me."
"In that case..." Luna thought seriously for a moment, then nodded gently. "Alright, then I'll keep these things."
"Good night, Luna."
"Goodbye, Sean."
The Christmas holiday wasn't long, and with the Triwizard Tournament matters, Sean only wrote letters home instead of choosing to return.
The paper he had previously submitted to Animagus would need to undergo review after the holidays ended, so Sean wasn't in a hurry to check whether it had passed review. After all, when Hogwarts resumed on January 3rd, the Wizengamot would also start working again, and by then there would be a response about the paper's review results.
Early the next morning, Hogwarts after the Christmas Ball suddenly had far fewer people.
Most students chose to go home, and many of the guests who had come to Hogwarts also left, making the usually bustling castle suddenly quiet.
Of Sean's group of four, Andy and Jensen had both gone home.
Conversely, Blaise, who usually went home frequently, chose to stay at school.
Sean knew this was because Blaise and Rowena wanted to spend more time together during the break. Andy originally didn't want to go home, but his father had written repeatedly urging him, forcing Andy to change his plans at the last minute and return home for Christmas.
Andy had been clear with Sean about this. He knew his family's sudden interest in him was because of his relationship with Sean. They had even previously hinted that Andy should hand over the business rights to the new Pepperup Potion that Sean had given him to the family. However, after experiencing betrayal by a good friend, Andy was very clear-headed about such matters and completely ignored their hints, so the matter came to nothing. Now Andy had grown strong enough that the Morgan family could no longer control him.
Of course, from the Morgan family's perspective, Andy had now grown wings and become ungrateful. But they failed to realise that since they had only ever treated Andy like a dog, how could they blame him for being ungrateful?
At noon the day after the Christmas Ball, Sean and Blaise were eating lunch together.
The two were chatting casually when suddenly an owl flew in and delivered a letter to Sean.
When Sean saw this letter, he immediately realised who had sent it, so he read it very carefully, inconspicuously blocking Blaise's view as he quickly scanned it, then put the letter away.
"Sean, whose letter was that?"
"From home. Something suddenly came up. I might need to go back temporarily this afternoon and evening, returning tomorrow morning. If anyone at school asks about me, help cover for me."
"Is it something important? Do you need help?"
"No need, just some small matters. I'll go back tonight, and that'll be it." Sean smoothly changed the subject. "Don't you and Rowena have any activities today?"
Mentioning his girlfriend, Blaise immediately forgot about everything else and smiled. "Of course we have other activities. We're planning to go to Hogsmeade today, and then..."
Sean listened to Blaise's plans with a smile.
By the time they finished eating, Blaise had completely forgotten about Sean receiving a letter and needing to leave temporarily.
After lunch, Sean returned to the Slytherin common room, rested briefly, then cast a Disillusionment Charm and left the common room and Hogwarts, heading directly to Hogsmeade to find Marlowe, who was already waiting at the Three Broomsticks.
This time, Marlowe was still using Polyjuice Potion to appear as an intellectual witch in her thirties. Sean noticed she sat with her legs crossed and held her shoulders differently—small adjustments to match her assumed identity.
"Master, you're here."
Sean was now quite certain that Marlowe had developed some peculiar obsession with these disguises.
You were once a Dark wizard under Voldemort! Joining my ranks and immediately becoming like this – what will people think!
"Cough, Marlowe, let's talk business."
"Master, I..."
"Just speak naturally, Marlowe. The physical transformation is sufficient."
"I've been studying this woman's mannerisms to perfect the disguise," Marlowe explained, adjusting how she held her hands. "Small behavioural details help sell the transformation—how she sits, her hand gestures, her usual expressions. These finishing touches make the difference between a good disguise and a perfect one."
Sean's mouth twitched slightly. At least she had a professional justification for it now.
"Alright, I understand. Your attention to detail is... thorough."
"Thank you, Master."
Seeing Marlowe return to normal, Sean asked, "Your letter was vague. Has something major happened?"
"That's right, Master. Recently, following your instructions, I've been wholeheartedly working for Howard. Plus, a batch of werewolf wizards recently appeared in Knockturn Alley with ruthless methods, and they've had several conflicts with Boss Howard's men, causing him heavy losses. This finally caught his attention.
Starting six months ago, he began trying to win us over while secretly creating divisions. I also pretended to let Howard's people successfully turn me against my companions, agreeing to his recruitment. Over these six months, our surface conflicts have become increasingly severe, reaching the point where we're like fire and water.
At this time, Howard was publicly mediating between us while privately trying to recruit the various factions he had divided us into. Recently, we've been pretending to be won over by him one by one. Currently, Howard has taken us all as subordinates, and some have even been made his trusted confidants. This incident comes from intelligence sent by those who became his trusted confidants."
Hearing Marlowe's words, Sean immediately realised that the opportunity he'd been waiting for had arrived.
Sure enough, Marlowe continued, "Howard is planning to negotiate tonight with the Aurors from the Ministry who support him, seeking their help. His recent losses have been too severe, and those werewolves who appeared midway are still gradually eroding Howard's power, so he can only turn to the Aurors backing him for assistance."
"Finally, the time has come," Sean murmured, then looked at Marlowe. "Since the opportunity has arrived, it's time for us to act. Tell them to get ready."