Sean returned, dejected.
But only a few seconds later, the crease between his brows slowly smoothed out.
Next time, he could still find Lady Ravenclaw. That was fine.
What mattered was that he had his answer.
The air was bitterly cold, and the moon still hung high in the sky.
Only on the far horizon did a faint gray-green line appear, showing that dawn was gradually approaching.
Sean stepped out of the Ravenclaw common room. When he looked back at the Ravenclaw portrait, he felt strangely dazed.
Something even stranger than sending a ghost on had happened—he had spoken with a dead soul.
In truth, he still had countless questions.
For example: why had Ravenclaw chosen him as her heir? Was there some special method of selection?
For another: what power did that ancient book in Ravenclaw's hands hold? Sean had clearly seen the words The Book of Ghosts appear on it.
But it didn't matter. He had plenty of time to explore the mysteries of magic—and better yet, he happened to be good at exactly that.
This weekend, Sean had far too much to do.
On the Marauder's Map, several special items were easy to spot:
[Go to the dungeons to practice Legilimency], [Make a low-cost "telephone"], [Grind the panther-cat cookie up to "proficient"]…
But none of those was as important as what he needed to do right now.
He stepped into the corridor. A thin layer of white frost coated the floor.
On the armor displays to either side, bright flowers left over from Valentine's Day were still tucked in place.
It seemed too early—not only were the students all still asleep, even the ghosts didn't seem to have started drifting about yet.
At the corner where the Grey Lady usually appeared, Sean transfigured a soft cushion and sat down, reading for a while.
A long time passed, and the Grey Lady still didn't come.
Just then, the Marauder's Map flared with an enormous red exclamation mark.
So Sean packed up his book and prepared to head for the Forbidden Forest.
It was freezing; the students all wore gloves.
Passing through the fourth-floor corridor, Sean paused in surprise to see the black-cat statue wrapped in a scarf, surrounded by young witches and wizards praying with blissful faces.
He'd meant to hurry past, but now he stopped.
He watched them share sweets beside the statue, trade jokes, and warm themselves with steaming grapefruit juice.
The Castle Spirit Cat Club no longer felt like a simple club. It had become something that connected the students' lives—almost like those "yarn-balls," those lines.
Sean suddenly understood something, and something in him shifted again.
Next time, he decided, maybe he would look into the club members' dreams.
For instance—how had President Hannah come up with this club in the first place?
…
Outside the castle, the snow was soft; the woods were a world of white, as though each tree had been dusted with cotton.
Snowflakes spun slowly in the air, then settled onto Sean's slightly reddened cheeks and melted.
"Sean—!"
Hagrid called out from far away. Behind him, smoke climbed from the chimney of his hut.
"Good morning, Hagrid," Sean called back, lifting a hand.
"Oh—listen, I've got great news! Come in, I'll tell you—"
Hagrid swept him inside with one big arm.
"Dumbledore said yes—have a cup of pear-and-dragon-milk stew, Finleary from Hufflepuff taught me—he said yes, I knew he would! Next term, you'll be Care of Magical Creatures teaching assistant!"
Hagrid talked as he brought Sean a mug of something that looked overwhelmingly sweet and warm.
Being an assistant was new to Sean, too. He nodded, his cheeks growing rosier as soon as he stepped into the heat.
"Yes, yes—an' I heard, right—Scamander said… I've got a connection with him… an' you've got a special magical creature…"
Hagrid grew bashful, twisting a little.
"A panther-cat?" Sean asked—more a confirmation than a question.
"Merlin's beard! It really is a panther-cat!"
Hagrid yelped.
"Sorry, Hagrid—I need to ask Iffa," Sean said after a second's thought.
"You can talk to it?!"
Hagrid slapped the table—
"—Oh, sorry…" he muttered, pulling his hand back.
"I've got to leave Hogwarts for the Ministry soon. They say they might drop the charges—oh, it's all thanks to you!"
A genuine smile appeared on Sean's face.
He knew—Rita had said the professors had helped a lot.
And of course, the Headmaster was probably the key.
"So… you might need to help me manage the forest. But be careful. Norbert might've come back—I saw a lot of… spider bodies before."
Hagrid stammered, then immediately looked stricken, as though he'd just realized how dangerous that sounded for a second-year.
"I'll help. And… can I ask someone to help me?" Sean agreed.
Perfect timing. Iffa hadn't been out much lately.
And for managing the forest, Sean had an excellent choice.
Like his pukwudgie butler.
"Oh, Sean! Of course you can!"
Hagrid's eyes instantly shone wet. Then he suddenly looked guilty—
He couldn't believe he was leaving something as dangerous as the Forbidden Forest to a kid!
It was only after he saw Baiyi transform into a fire dragon and romp around the forest that he slowly remembered a few things.
In the forest, thestrals bolted into the sky; bowtruckles clung to trees, trying to turn invisible; a group of centaurs arrived, saw the familiar fire dragon, gave Sean in the hut a strange look, and melted back into the woods.
"Baiyi," Sean called.
Only after melting a patch of snow did Baiyi finally return, reluctant.
"I think… that's all then," Hagrid said, subdued.
He'd probably found the culprit behind the acromantulas' deaths. After a moment of gloom, his excitement came flooding back.
"Right—here's the hut key. See you, Sean."
Reassured, Hagrid pressed the key into Sean's hand and hurried out.
Sean watched a motorbike belch black smoke and vanish into the sky.
Hagrid was going to have his name cleared for good—far beyond Hogwarts.
Thinking how oddly wonderful that was, Sean opened the Wizard's Book.
…
The pukwudgie butler loved the vastness of the forest, so Sean left Baiyi with him as well.
Crossing the snow, Sean looked up: every window in Hogwarts seemed to glow with warmth.
In the distance, he spotted a familiar figure. He lifted his hand; his broom shot out like lightning.
A dozen seconds later, Sean appeared near Ravenclaw Tower.
Ahead was a corridor doorway. At the far end, the Grey Lady drifted away, fading farther and farther into the dim.
"Lady Ravenclaw," Sean called.
"Green…" the Grey Lady murmured.