Things didn't seem quite the same as he'd imagined.
Snape gave Quirrell a long, hard look, then left Diagon Alley without another word.
Words can be dressed up and disguised; trusting anyone's account blindly is the mark of a fool.
The Dark Lord's former followers were either imprisoned or in hiding; these days, the ones who mattered were often the foolish, chance figures who stumbled into events.
And Quirrell… heh. Only an idiot would trust him.
Sean also left Diagon Alley. Professor Tayra lifted her hand slightly, and a book Abigail had been carrying flew neatly into Sean's grasp.
On the cover, in clear, simple letters: An Easy Introduction to the Empty Sigil.
"I must remind you, child," Tayra said quietly, "caution is the only rule Uagadou wizards brought back from the world behind the Veil."
"I'll remember, Professor."
Sean nodded. As he turned, he caught sight of Quirrell staring blankly at some distant point.
Ever since Voldemort's fall, Death Eaters had been the people most despised in the wizarding world. To carry that label…
Quirrell noticed the sky was already tinged with yellow.
Sunset draped itself over Diagon Alley; in the distance, rats skittered through the dark gutters.
He felt strangely adrift and rootless. Once he'd been a young wizard, looked down on and desperate to prove himself. Now he was still a revolting presence.
Because of one choice that he regretted for the rest of his life, he'd gone wrong all the way to the end. The surging crowd felt like a boundless sea at dusk, and he was the tiny boat putting out into it—far from home, with no idea of the way.
"Professor, it's time to stop being shackled to the past."
Sean's voice rose out of the crowd. When Quirrell turned, Fairy Tale House was already empty.
…
Sean very much wanted to test the Empty Sigil immediately, but he was due back in Diagon Alley the next day to buy the "Lockhart" books, so he set the plan aside for now and focused on organizing what he knew.
Empty Sigil:
Guides a wizard into the world behind the Death Veil.
That world helps a wizard master Soul Transfiguration; it almost certainly allows more than one kind of animal form, and highly skilled Soul Transfiguration can grant control over nearly all transformations.
Suspected additional effects: a limited ability to foresee events, and to "pull out" wandering souls.
Those abilities sounded outrageous, but there were hints of them scattered through magical history. Seers—Sybill Trelawney's ancestors and Trelawney herself—could glimpse the future through dreams, tarot, or crystal balls.
That pointed at a special role for dreams in prophecy. Even Harry had dreamt of Nagini attacking Mr. Weasley, and it had come true; it all suggested that prophecy and dreams really did share a deep connection.
As for "pulling out" wandering souls, Sean couldn't help thinking of one of the Deathly Hallows: the Resurrection Stone.
It could summon spirits back—but what returned were cold and sorrowful shades, separated by an invisible curtain, as though a veil hung between them and the living.
Lost in these thoughts and notes, Sean didn't notice how quickly Hogwarts slipped into its night-time hush.
Wind howled around the high towers, bringing a chill even to a summer night; the sound of it slapping the windows rolled on, and Book List Day finally arrived.
In Diagon Alley, Sean drifted past rows of shopfronts, glancing at the displays. A little wizard stood glued to the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, staring longingly at the full set of Chudley Cannons robes. Sean gave it a brief look, then turned away and ducked into the next shop to buy ink and parchment.
That was where he ran into Hermione.
"Sean!"
Hermione looked genuinely delighted; they hadn't seen each other in a month.
For young wizards, that felt more like a year.
"Long time no see, Hermione," Sean said.
Hermione hurried over, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.
"Did you see the book list? We have to buy Gilderoy Lockhart's books!" she said breathlessly. "Whoever the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is, he must be a huge fan.
"His books are really expensive, though… maybe they're worth it."
As they chatted, the shop bell rang. Justin walked in, the same warm smile on his face.
"Long time no see, Sean, Hermione."
After the three of them gathered, they agreed to meet at Gringotts later—it was the easiest place for everyone to find, and they all needed to take out some Galleons anyway.
That was when Ron came barreling up, out of breath and covered in soot. He didn't even greet the other two; he went straight to Sean.
"Sean, have you seen Harry? He said the Floo destination wrong and got separated from us!"
"Got separated?" Hermione frowned. She was used to Harry and Ron being unreliable, but she hadn't expected this level of chaos… especially with Knockturn Alley sitting right next door.
"Hopefully he only missed by one fireplace…" Ron said nervously.
"One fireplace?" Sean repeated. It was the first time he'd heard that phrase.
"Oh! Right, even when you mispronounce the name, the Floo network will still send you to the nearest match," Ron explained quickly—but then his face fell. "And from here, the only place that's 'one fireplace away' is Knockturn Alley…"
A mixture of fear and thrill flashed across his face, as if he was hoping Sean would say the word so they could charge in together and drag Harry out.
Even though it was Sean's first time hearing about "one fireplace off," he found it reasonable enough—if you misspoke by a little, the network couldn't very well throw you halfway across the ocean.
"Don't worry," Sean said at last. "I'll go have a look."
In the original timeline, Hagrid was the one who rescued Harry, but since he knew about it now, Sean didn't intend to ignore it.
His Disillusionment Charm had already reached expert level; it would be hard for anyone to notice him. All the same, it was best not to be caught—Knockturn Alley was not somewhere to wander around showing off.
He walked away under a chorus of hopeful stares. The others in the Hopeful Cottage group badly wanted to follow, but since Sean hadn't asked them to, they didn't push it.
He slipped into a narrow passage. Ahead lay a filthy alley lined with what could only be dark magic shops.
He saw a sign for Borgin and Burkes, likely the largest shop on the street. Across from it, in another display window, shrunken heads stared blankly through the glass.
Two facades down, a huge cage writhed with massive black spiders. In a shadowed doorway, two ragged wizards were whispering excitedly while staring at something on the ground.
That "something" was Harry.
Just then, an old witch with bad intentions tottered up to him. Balancing a tray piled with what looked horribly like whole, yellowed fingernails, she bared her mossy teeth.
"Lost, are we, dearie?"
Her voice was as disgusting and unsettling as her smile.
Harry's skin was already crawling when a pair of hands yanked him backward, and a tall figure appeared as if it had just slipped off an Invisibility Cloak.
The moment he appeared, two stone statues flanking the doorway creaked to life and stepped in front of the witch.
"I don't think he is," Sean said calmly, wand in hand.
The old witch stammered, eyes flicking between the animated statues and Sean's steady gaze.
"Y-yes, yes, dearie, of course…"
Harry stared, stunned, as Sean grabbed his arm and steered him away.
"Come on, Harry. Planning to sleep here tonight?" Sean asked lightly.
"O–oh…" Harry blushed and hurried to keep up.
The alley crawled with unfriendly eyes. When Sean sent a silent Sectumsempra slicing through a rat in a nearby wizard's hand, splitting the creature neatly in two, the onlookers flinched and decided to find easier prey.
Sean said nothing. Harry, on the other hand, was on edge the whole time, convinced Sean must be furious—that he was joking out of anger so deep it had looped back around.
In truth, Sean was annoyed—with himself.
The moment things got dangerous, his instincts had gone straight to dark magic. That wasn't a good sign at all. It meant that in a crisis, a wizard would react—and that reaction was to strike back and harm.
When panic took over, his first spell had been black magic.
If he couldn't control even ordinary dark spells, how could he hope to handle the Unforgivables?
Controlling magic was easy. Controlling a wizard's instincts? That was much harder.
Even Harry, driven by hatred and grief, had ended up using the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix.
Sean reminded himself that he needed to treat dark magic with the utmost caution. That was the attitude every wizard ought to have when facing something so mysterious, powerful, and vast.
More than one professor had told him as much.
On their way out of the alley, they bumped into Hagrid. Hagrid had clearly caught the tail end of what had happened; he gave Sean a massive thumbs up and boomed,
"Don't be wanderin' around Knockturn Alley, Harry, even with Sean at your side. Yeh've no idea—that's not a good place. Right, off yeh go, before anyone sees yeh—"
"What about you?" Harry spluttered, his body safe but his brain still scrambling.
"Oh, me, I'm lookin' for somethin' to get rid o' flesh-eatin' slugs," Hagrid said gruffly. "They're nearly finished off the cabbages up at the school."
"How can flesh-eating slugs eat cabbages?" Harry muttered.
Hagrid shoved him bodily out of Knockturn Alley.
With Sean, he was a little more relaxed. Keeping his voice down, he added,
"Shh—Sean, yeh know what I'm here to buy…"
Sean nodded. Sometimes Hagrid really did have to come here to pick up certain foods and supplies for magical creatures.
As soon as they left Knockturn Alley, sunlight poured over the cobblestones.
Harry ventured a quiet,
"Sorry, Sean. I got into trouble again."
"It's fine, Harry," Sean said.
As he spoke, Ron and the others came shoving through the crowd toward them, faces split in relieved grins.
"Harry! Thank Merlin you're all right! Where'd you end up? Was it Knockturn Alley?" Ron demanded.
"Yeah," Harry answered.
"Brilliant!" Fred and George yelled in unison from who-knows-where.
As they popped up, eyes still a bit red at the edges, Harry saw Mrs. Weasley hurrying toward them, the entire Weasley clan in tow.
~~~
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