The twin-headed black dragon Sean had transformed into stunned everyone present.
Even Herpo the Foul, a thousand-year-old monster, had never seen a dragon like this before.
None of them could possibly imagine this black dragon was actually Sean.
In fact, the idea that it might be a human transformation never even crossed their minds.
According to every magical theory they knew, wizards simply could not transform into magical creatures.
Herpo stared warily at Albus Dumbledore through the shadows of his cloak.
He assumed this terrifying dragon had been summoned by Dumbledore.
Dumbledore and the others were equally shocked and utterly confused.
The dragon's actions clearly showed it had come to help them.
"Go after the basilisk!" Herpo abruptly stopped attacking Dumbledore.
His only goal was the Golden Staff.
After entering the Chamber of Secrets and discovering the staff could not leave Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart had the basilisk swallow it whole, waiting for Herpo to retrieve it personally.
After hearing Adam's information the previous night, Sean had deduced that the staff had to be inside the basilisk.
So, to reverse the disadvantageous situation and stop Herpo from reclaiming the staff, he seized the basilisk and carried it away.
Most importantly—
his Animagus form had a time limit.
Unlike Wormtail, Sirius, or McGonagall, who could remain transformed for extended periods, Sean's twin-headed black dragon form could only last one minute.
Sean had researched this himself after mastering Animagus transformation.
He concluded that Wormtail's ability to remain a rat for years likely stemmed from the type of creature they transformed into.
Wormtail's rat, Sirius's black dog, and McGonagall's tabby cat were all ordinary animals.
They only consumed magical power at the moment of transformation.
Once transformed, they no longer drained magic continuously.
That was why Wormtail could hide in the Weasley household as a rat for years.
But Sean was different.
He had transformed into a magical creature—
and not just any magical creature, but a twin-headed dragon unseen anywhere in the wizarding world.
Maintaining this form continuously consumed enormous amounts of magical power.
Sean's claws gripped the basilisk tightly.
No matter how violently it struggled, it could not break free.
Carrying the basilisk, Sean flew above the castle gate tunnel, where Hagrid's hut and the Black Lake were already visible in the distance.
His plan was simple:
drag the basilisk to the lakeshore, kill it there, transform back into human form, and Apparate directly to King's Cross Station.
But just as he was about to fly beyond the castle walls—
the basilisk suddenly became incomparably heavy.
The abrupt weight nearly threw Sean off balance.
"Damn it."
Sean instantly realized the problem.
"The staff inside the basilisk has Dumbledore's enchantment on it. It can't leave Hogwarts. Which means the basilisk can't leave either."
Without hesitation, he dove downward and smashed the basilisk violently against the castle wall.
The supposedly sturdy stone bricks crumbled like paper beneath the basilisk's enormous body.
Forget everything else.
Kill the basilisk first and relieve Dumbledore's pressure.
Sean was running out of time.
Fifteen seconds had already passed from his sixty-second transformation limit.
The twin-headed dragon raised both heads skyward.
Its posture clearly resembled a beast charging power.
By now, Herpo had already flown after them.
The Black wizard Roira carried Lockhart into the air as well.
Dumbledore and McGonagall pulled broomsticks from their magically expanded bags while Severus Snape flew directly through the air.
The distance from the courtyard to the gate was not far.
But Hogwarts Castle was enormous.
Even running there would waste half a minute.
No one wanted to lose that much time.
By the time Herpo arrived—
Sean had already completed charging his attack.
One dragon head radiated freezing frost.
The other burned with blazing fire.
Two devastating magical breaths erupted simultaneously toward the basilisk.
From beginning to end, Sean never once looked at the basilisk's face.
Legend said any living creature that met a basilisk's gaze would instantly lose its life.
Even though transformed Sean appeared stronger than the basilisk—
he still refused to gamble with his own life.
Flames and frost struck the basilisk's body simultaneously.
The collision between ice and fire created an entirely new effect.
The two opposing forces detonated violently upon the basilisk's body.
Its tough flesh exploded apart into a mangled, bloody mess.
The basilisk's agonized scream pierced the heavens.
There was no doubt—
this was a fatal wound.
"What kind of dragon is this…?"
For the first time, even Herpo felt genuine fear.
Every known dragon species catalogued by the Ministry of Magic had been classified as XXXXX-level magical creatures.
They were deadly and could slaughter ordinary wizards with ease—
yet truly powerful wizards could still defeat them one-on-one.
But this twin-headed black dragon had clearly surpassed even the Ministry's highest danger classification.
Seeing Herpo approach, Sean had no intention of holding back.
His time was nearly exhausted.
If he could eliminate Herpo here and now, life at Hogwarts afterward would become wonderfully peaceful.
The dragon heads charged power once more.
Cold mist poured from the left mouth.
Sparks burst from the right.
Herpo instantly recognized the attack.
He raised his wand and fired a streak of green light toward Sean's dragon body—
the Killing Curse.
Herpo intended to interrupt the attack before it fired.
The green light struck above the dragon's left forelimb.
But the dragon scales possessed absurd magical resistance.
The Killing Curse merely drew blood.
It failed completely to interrupt the charge.
Realizing the danger, Herpo immediately cast another spell.
The freezing blast and blazing flames surged toward him—
yet they seemed to pass straight through his body without truly touching him at all.
Another massive explosion erupted.
Everyone saw Herpo caught directly within the blast.
Moments later, a figure burst from the smoke.
Herpo had survived.
Not only survived—
he appeared almost entirely unharmed aside from some ash and sparks staining his robes.
When Herpo invaded the Valley of Shadows before, the centaur Firenze had attacked him with arrows.
Every shot struck perfectly—
yet not a single arrow truly pierced Herpo.
Herpo possessed some kind of advanced spatial magic.
At the time, Sean had not witnessed it himself.
"That didn't work?!"
Sean was startled.
Focused entirely on charging his attack earlier, he had not activated his Magic Eye and thus failed to notice how Herpo had escaped.
Thirty seconds of transformation remained.
Sean intended to launch one final attack before fleeing Hogwarts.
At that moment—
a bright phoenix cry rang across the skies above the castle.
Sean looked toward the sound.
Fawkes had returned.
That meant the reinforcements it had gone to summon would arrive soon.
Sean immediately abandoned the idea of continuing to battle Herpo.
He had already solved the basilisk problem for Dumbledore.
From this point onward, the situation should begin tilting in Dumbledore's favor.
The black dragon turned and flew toward the Black Lake.
Herpo had never been interested in the dragon itself.
He did not pursue.
Instead, he flew toward the dying basilisk.
Dumbledore glanced once at the departing dragon before locking his gaze back onto Herpo.
Herpo clenched a fist toward the basilisk's mangled abdomen and twisted his wrist.
The dying basilisk let out one final agonized scream.
Then—
the Golden Staff burst violently through its shredded flesh and flew out from inside its stomach.
Roira and Lockhart landed behind Herpo.
Holding the bloodstained staff, Herpo gave a quiet snort.
"A simple binding curse."
He had discovered the enchantment Dumbledore had placed upon the staff.
But to him, breaking such a spell was not difficult.
Two minutes would be enough to take the staff away.
Herpo glanced at the basilisk—
then at Lockhart.
"There's something I need your help with."
Lockhart nervously lowered his head.
"Please command me, Master."
Herpo let out another eerie laugh.
Then, using Parseltongue, he ordered the basilisk:
"Eat him. Restore your strength. Continue fighting for me."
Lockhart could not understand what Herpo had just said.
He only knew a few simple snake phrases.
Meanwhile, Sean had already plunged into the Black Lake and reverted to human form.
Holding his breath beneath the water, he used the last of his magical power to Apparate directly to The Leaky Cauldron.
But the battle at Hogwarts was far from over.
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