Sean walked along the path and arrived at the Cottage of Hope.
Mr. Owl was unusually quiet today. Instead of chattering as usual, he simply opened the door for him right away.
Inside the cottage, the fireplace crackled cheerfully, and the wooden bookcase kept rearranging itself as if it were reorganizing Sean's collection just to be helpful.
Sean tapped on the shelf. The wooden planks shifted, clacked together, and soon spat out a Pensieve.
A swirl of silvery memories churned inside. Sean leaned over it.
In an instant, his feet lifted off the ground…
He plunged through darkness again, falling into countless memories.
"Ravenclaw's…"
When he resurfaced from the memory and found himself back inside the Cottage of Hope, he froze.
He couldn't remember what Ravenclaw had left behind.
Hufflepuff had her golden cup; Gryffindor his sword; Slytherin the locket… but what about Ravenclaw?
He tugged on a strand of memory, and the Sorting Hat's voice murmured beside him:
"Of course, of course—Ravenclaw's diadem for wisdom beyond compare, Hufflepuff's cup filled with sincerity, the sword summoned by courage—"
Ravenclaw had left a diadem… so why couldn't he remember it?
Once he found the word, more related memories trickled back.
…but everything still felt like it was covered in a thick gray fog.
He frowned and lifted his head. Mr. Owl's portrait had slipped inside without him noticing, staring at him with big, expectant eyes.
As soon as Sean spotted him, Mr. Owl's portrait darted back outside.
"Mr. Owl?"
Sean called out.
"Clever little wizard—"
Mr. Owl muttered with his back turned to Sean, then fell silent.
Sean watched him for a while… something was definitely off.
But since Mr. Owl clearly wasn't planning to talk, Sean could only return to thinking about Ravenclaw's diadem. Was he really the one who forgot?
There was a way to check—Occlumency.
Whether he'd been affected by some unknown magic or had merely forgotten on his own, Occlumency could help him uncover more details.
…
Upper-year students were already leaving Hogwarts in groups, while younger students crowded the windows, staring enviously as they went.
Sean held his planning map—on it, the location of the staff lounge lit up with a red exclamation point.
Below it, a line of runes read:
[Professor Flitwick – Undetectable Extension Charm]
This weekend, Sean would get to learn the Undetectable Extension Charm from Professor Flitwick, helping him create an extension-type storage item.
Learning the charm from Flitwick was one thing—but what about Occlumency?
Sean knew that only those who mastered Occlumency were considered true Occlumens.
Known Occlumens included Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Lord Voldemort, Horace Slughorn, Severus Snape, Barty Crouch Jr.…
So… could he learn it from Professor Snape?
And if he asked for it, how was he supposed to explain his reason?
Lost in thought, he arrived at the place where he and Professor Flitwick had agreed to meet—the staff lounge.
This long room was reserved for faculty. Two talking stone gargoyles guarded the entrance, and mismatched old black wooden chairs lined the paneled walls inside.
Even old Professor Binns was there resting, patiently waiting for next week to stand up and go teach again.
Well… he'd done that for a few hundred years now.
"Professor Flitwick?"
Sean knocked.
"Come in, child."
But it wasn't Flitwick who answered—it was a voice Sean knew well.
"Professor McGonagall."
Sean quickened his steps.
"Learning the Undetectable Extension Charm requires a great deal of patience," McGonagall said, holding a cup of steaming tea, the warmth clouding her square spectacles.
"Yes, that's correct. Now, now, Mr. Green—come in," Flitwick said, cheerfully pulling Sean inside.
"I'm not at all surprised that you want to learn this charm. But tell me, child—what is the Undetectable Extension Charm?"
"The Undetectable Extension Charm allows you to expand the interior capacity of an object without changing its outward appearance, and it also reduces weight.
To cast it, you usually need a sealed container and magical materials to maintain stability.
The principle involves restructuring spatial dimensions to achieve geometric expansion."
Sean paused two seconds, then finished his explanation.
"Excellent!" Flitwick beamed.
"But you should also know that casting this charm privately without authorization is a serious violation, punishable by Azkaban."
Sean nodded. The charm preserved an object's external dimensions while hiding spatial anomalies from magical detection.
Which meant that without strict regulation, people everywhere could hide themselves illegally—and the chaos that would bring the wizarding world wasn't small.
"But the Ministry approves permits rather quickly," Flitwick added with a grin, handing Sean an approval form.
That genuinely surprised Sean—he hadn't even expressed his interest for long…
Under Flitwick's expert guidance—his deep mastery of Charms shining through—Sean progressed quickly, even with only a basic affinity for the magic.
It didn't take long before he caught on.
"Undetectable Extension!"
With a sweep of his wand, something shifted inside the little cardboard box. If you poked a finger inside, the tiny box—small as a fingertip—could now swallow an entire finger.
[You practiced the Undetectable Extension Charm once at apprentice level. Proficiency +1]
[Undetectable Extension Charm: Locked (1/30)]
Sean held the box, a faint smile tugging at his eyes.
Once he reached the required baseline, the only obstacle left was time.
Of course, the box quickly returned to normal—the effect couldn't hold without the proper materials.
And the most important material for creating an extended object?
The skin of a Occamy.
Inside the staff lounge, the planning map floated out on its own. The sky-blue quill scratched across it, writing yet another task.
Seeing the many locations and folded plans, Flitwick was momentarily stunned.
Then he chuckled helplessly.
"This is your plan for half a term, Mr. Green?"
"No… just for this week, Professor Flitwick."
Completely unfazed, Sean folded the map away.
Even after Sean left the staff lounge, Flitwick was still staring in mild shock.
"Minerva—oh dear, did you already give him that?"
"That's the problem, Filius. I haven't had the chance yet."
Warm firelight flickered in McGonagall's eyes.
She knew there would always be those who walked their chosen path with steadfast determination—slowly, but without ever stopping.