Hogwarts was as quiet as ever.
Other than Sean returning, Hogwarts had not allowed a single other young wizard to stay over the holiday.
The professors, on the other hand, rarely left, which meant Sean could receive one-on-one guidance from every one of them—assuming he could get out of the dungeons.
On the very morning he returned from the Leaky Cauldron, Sean began practicing the Fiendfyre Curse.
A faint breeze drifted through, and the roaring flames gradually spread to fill nearly half the underground classroom.
While listening to the panel rate his control this time as [Expert], Sean kept thinking about how to reshape Dark Magic.
Yes—reshape Dark Magic.
Magic was born from the order within a wizard's heart, and Sean could imagine that cruelty and killing had always existed within wizardkind's beliefs.
After all, what ancient wizards faced was a dangerous magical world, along with raw, savage magic itself. To survive in such a world, wizards had to make sure they possessed power just as violent.
And from that, it followed that in their pursuit of greater strength, ancient wizards had twisted their own hearts and built cruel beliefs for themselves.
But if ancient wizards had been able to create powerful Dark Magic that corroded the mind, then now Sean, too, could reexamine Dark Magic at its source—rebuild its "order" for a different purpose, and seek "wisdom."
It was a plan so fantastical it could almost be called absurd, and so far it existed only in Sean's thoughts.
But if it could be completed, the entire magical world would be changed for real.
Dark wizards had always been known for brutality and power. The moment they embraced Dark Magic, they also sacrificed their conscience.
But if one day Dark Magic no longer required the good-hearted to be filled with hatred, or the gentle to burn with rage—
then would Dark Magic become a power wizards could truly wield, just like any other spell?
Sean knew cruelty would never disappear.
But perhaps… it would no longer serve as a shortcut, no longer lure fallen wizards toward corruption.
It was an exceptionally bright morning at Hogwarts.
The sky was clear, hazy, and pale pink-blue.
Even through the narrow window, Sean could still see that towering beech tree.
Its green branches looked soft and feathery, edged with gold, silently watching generations of Hogwarts witches and wizards.
Sean knew that Professor Snape had once studied exam questions beneath it too, brow furrowed just as tightly as it was now.
"You're distracted…"
Snape's cold, unpleasant voice rang out again.
"Sorry, Professor."
Sean snapped back to attention at once.
"Heh—"
Snape stared at him for a moment, his expression unchanged.
"Control, Green. Unless you want to end up like some of my idiotic students and be burned to ash by your own Fiendfyre, then keep control of yourself at every second—even when you're about to extinguish it at the very end…"
As he spoke, he stepped down from the platform and approached the young wizard, who had clearly grown tired after practicing Fiendfyre for so long.
"Now…"
He fixed his eyes on Sean.
"I'm going to teach you how to resist the Imperius Curse. You'd better remember every single word I say…"
At that, Sean raised his head and neatly put away the wand in his hand.
"Listen carefully—Dumbledore does not want you exposed to this—
but Green, accidents never choose the right time, and they do not choose their victims—
if you'd prefer to learn the hard way—by waiting for someone to cast it on you and take complete control of you—fine.
I do not agree."
After saying that, Snape tightened his grip on his wand.
"I'm going to teach you to resist it, to fight it—watch closely—"
Snape turned toward the living creatures in the display cabinet and cast the Imperius Curse on them.
Under the spell's influence, Sean watched the animals perform one bizarre action after another.
A rat hopped in circles three times in front of a cat, and even when the cat bit down on it, it did not resist.
A toad tried to imitate a squirrel and climb the oak tree outside the window.
A venomous snake performed a whole series of astonishing movements—things it could never have done in a normal state.
Their bodies were completely no longer under their own control. Only after Professor Snape lifted the spell did they return to normal.
"Green,"
Snape said in a low voice,
"your turn. Remember—resist me."
Sean paused slightly, then walked to the center of the underground classroom.
The room was crowded with cauldrons standing between the wooden tables, while copper scales and jars upon jars of ingredients rested on top.
In the haze of potion fumes, Snape came closer.
He raised his wand, pointed it at Sean, and said:
"Imperio!"
Sean felt something strange.
He seemed to grow light, almost weightless. Every thought and worry in his mind was swept away, leaving behind only a hazy, intangible kind of joy.
He stood there, feeling wonderfully relaxed and completely carefree.
Then he heard Professor Snape's voice echoing from some distant corner of his hollowed-out mind:
Come here… come here…
But why? another voice stirred awake in the back of his mind.
Why should he go over there? the second voice said.
Come here… the first voice returned.
Why… the second voice said again, firmer this time.
Come here! the first voice grew louder.
Just as the two voices were locked in stalemate, they both paused—and were soon drowned out by other voices.
"Sean Green, my student—don't fall asleep."
One voice said.
"Sean Green, my friend—wake up."
Another voice repeated.
And with that, Sean recovered control of his body. At that very moment, Snape saw, in astonishment, wisps of mist drifting out from the amulet hanging against the young wizard's chest.
The mist was pale and white, but unlike ordinary mist, it felt more like something not yet fully manifested.
Snape studied it carefully, then froze.
"Professor?"
Sean walked over and asked, a little curious.
"Not bad—"
Snape said quickly.
"You resisted it. No… it wasn't you who resisted it…"
As he spoke, he fell into thought.
Sean could see Professor Snape's brow knotting tighter and tighter. One moment he was looking at Sean's chest, the next he narrowed his eyes.
"What exactly are you still hiding from me?"
He paced back and forth, then finally bent down in front of Sean, his face dark as storm clouds.
…
It did not take Sean much effort to explain the Borderland.
Snape stared at him coldly, and the first words out of his mouth left Sean stunned.
"The Void Sigil—Uagadou's sacred relic, a legendary artifact that has never once left Uagadou…
A magic that grants a wizard the power to walk through a land of legend, to pass through the dreams of souls… so it isn't just a rumor after all—
Tell me, Sean Green… then what about mine? My dream?"
~~~
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