"Enough."
The deep voice echoed through the village, instantly silencing the arguing centaurs.
A larger centaur slowly approached from the crowd. His body was covered in dark silver fur, and unlike the others, his presence carried an overwhelming pressure that made the surrounding centaurs instinctively lower their heads.
"I ordered them to bring him here."
The centaur's sharp eyes landed on Sean before softening slightly.
"At last," he said quietly, "you've arrived, child."
Before Sean could respond, the centaur leader suddenly raised both arms toward the sky.
"My brothers!" he roared. "Look to the stars and tell me what you see!"
The surrounding centaurs immediately lifted their heads toward the heavens.
The night sky above the Forbidden Forest was unusually clear. Countless stars glittered brilliantly between the drifting clouds, forming constellations that stretched endlessly across the darkness.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then suddenly, one centaur's eyes widened.
"I see Lupus watching its prey!"
Another centaur spoke immediately afterward.
"I see Leo toying with its food."
The murmuring throughout the village instantly grew louder.
The centaur leader nodded excitedly, his breathing growing heavier.
"That's right."
His eyes burned brightly as he stared directly at Sean.
"My kin… my brothers… I saw a cat playing with a mouse."
Then he slowly lifted one hand and pointed toward Sean.
"And you," he declared solemnly, "are that cat."
Sean blinked.
"…What?"
"The rat is awakening," the centaur leader continued as though he hadn't heard him at all. "Its servants crawl through every filthy corner of this world."
His voice suddenly became strangely reverent.
"But only you, child… only you see them as prey."
The centaur stepped forward and grabbed Sean's hand with trembling fingers.
"Above the savior sleeps a giant dragon," he whispered. "You are the wolf who sees the prey. You are Leo who toys with its meal. You are the cat who hunts the mouse."
The centaur's expression turned almost fanatical.
"You are the dragon, my child."
Sean stared at him blankly.
"…Do I look that inhuman to you?"
The entire atmosphere froze instantly.
Several nearby centaurs looked horrified.
Meanwhile, the centaur leader's face stiffened completely.
After several seconds of silence, his expression turned cold once more.
"A pity," he said flatly. "You lack the eyes to see the future, Sean Sebastian."
Sean shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry about that."
"Still," the centaur leader continued, "you will forever remain a friend of the centaur race."
He gestured lightly behind him.
"This is what you came for."
Another centaur stepped forward carrying a wooden tray.
Resting atop it was a silver flower with translucent petals that shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight. Strange magical energy flowed through the delicate plant like liquid mist.
Sean's eyes lit up immediately.
Moonsilver Flower.
Finally.
"Thank you."
Sean performed a proper gentleman's bow before carefully accepting the flower.
Now that he had obtained the potion ingredient he needed, the bizarre centaur leader suddenly seemed far more pleasant in Sean's eyes.
After putting away the flower carefully, Sean couldn't help asking again.
"So what exactly did all that stuff about wolves, lions, cats, and dragons mean?"
The centaur leader merely shook his head.
He turned and slowly began walking away.
"If every riddle were explained clearly," he said calmly, "then riddles would lose their meaning."
Without even glancing back, he waved one hand dismissively.
"Return now, Mr. Sebastian. It grows late."
Sean still had plenty of questions, but before he could step forward again, two centaurs moved directly into his path.
The meaning was obvious.
No more answers.
Sean sighed helplessly.
"Fine."
With no other choice, he returned toward the edge of the village.
Buckbeak was still waiting exactly where he had left him.
The moment the hippogriff saw Sean approaching, it immediately let out a happy cry before lowering its head affectionately against him.
"Looks like you didn't abandon me after all."
Sean laughed softly while stroking the creature's feathers.
Not long afterward, Buckbeak spread its wings once more and carried Sean back through the moonlit skies toward Hagrid's hut.
The flight back felt much smoother this time.
By the time they landed near the cabin, Hagrid was still sitting beside the fire with the dragon egg clutched carefully in his arms.
The moment he saw Sean riding the hippogriff, his jaw practically hit the floor.
"Blimey!"
Hagrid nearly dropped the egg in shock.
"Yeh actually got Buckbeak ter approve of yeh?!"
Sean climbed down casually.
"It might've been easier if someone had explained the proper greeting first."
His tone was clearly unfriendly.
After all, anyone would be annoyed after realizing Hagrid had intentionally left out the most important part.
If Sean hadn't remembered the original story, Buckbeak probably would've carved him open already.
Hagrid immediately looked guilty.
"I jus' thought—"
"You thought I'd get scared and run away."
Sean rolled his eyes.
Hagrid coughed awkwardly and pretended not to hear that.
Then Sean suddenly looked back at Buckbeak with a grin.
"Oh, right, Hagrid. I think Buckbeak and I get along pretty well now."
Hagrid puffed his beard proudly.
"Course yeh do. I raised him from a baby."
Sean smiled wider.
"So he'll probably be following me around from now on."
Hagrid instantly looked horrified.
"Impossible!"
He clutched the dragon egg tighter as though emotionally wounded.
"Buckbeak's been with me fer years! There's no way he'd go with yeh!"
"Really?"
Sean gently stroked the hippogriff's neck.
"Then call him over and see what happens."
Hagrid snorted.
"Easy enough."
He bent slightly and spread his arms confidently.
"C'mere, Buckbeak! Dad's got food fer yeh!"
Buckbeak glanced at Hagrid once.
Then it looked back at Sean.
After several awkward seconds, the hippogriff ignored Hagrid completely and instead rubbed its head affectionately against Sean's shoulder.
Hagrid froze.
"…Traitor."
Sean nearly burst out laughing.
"Looks like I'm just better with magical creatures."
Hagrid muttered something incomprehensible under his breath while looking utterly heartbroken.
Sean patted Buckbeak reassuringly.
"Oh, and one more thing. He changes his name later."
Hagrid blinked.
"What?"
"He'll be called Hurricane from now on."
Sean nodded seriously.
"Hagrid, your naming sense is genuinely terrible."
"Buckbeak's a brilliant name!"
Sean ignored him completely.
Before leaving, he pulled out fifty bags of premium magical creature feed and handed them over.
"Take care of him for me."
Buckbeak looked immediately reluctant after hearing Sean was leaving, even biting lightly onto his sleeve as if trying to stop him.
Sean spent several minutes calming the creature down before finally returning toward the castle.
By the time he reached the dormitory, the entire castle had already fallen silent.
Sean shut the door behind him before speaking calmly.
"System. Enter the training room. Set time ratio to five-to-one for four hours."
"I'm making the potion tonight."
[Adjustment successful.]
[20 energy points deducted.]
[Remaining energy points: 0.]
The next second, the world around Sean twisted violently.
When his vision cleared again, he found himself standing inside a dark stone chamber.
A massive cauldron sat in the center of the room surrounded by shelves packed with potion ingredients, crystal vials, silver knives, and delicate glass instruments.
If Snape saw this place, he would probably faint from happiness.
Thinking about Snape immediately made Sean grin.
Monday was going to be extremely interesting.
Especially once Snape realized some of his potion ingredients had mysteriously vanished.
Shaking away the thought, Sean took a deep breath and began preparing the potion.
Every step already existed perfectly inside his mind.
He had repeated the process tens of thousands of times mentally.
Failure was not an option.
"Alright…"
Sean picked up the Moonsilver Flower carefully.
"First ingredient."
One by one, ingredients entered the cauldron in precise order.
The fire beneath the potion shifted constantly between blue, green, and white. Strange steam rose from the surface while Sean adjusted temperatures with near-obsessive precision.
Time passed minute by minute.
Then hour by hour.
By the end, Sean's face looked pale and exhausted while dark circles formed beneath his eyes.
Still, his hands remained steady.
Finally, after nearly three and a half hours of nonstop work, Sean slowly picked up the final ingredient.
Aconite.
His expression became serious.
"The last step."
He stared silently at the cauldron bubbling before him.
"Success or failure depends on this."
Carefully, Sean dropped the aconite into the potion.
BOOM.
Purple mist exploded upward instantly.
Sean staggered back in shock before staring at the cauldron.
The potion inside had completely stabilized.
A rich silver-purple liquid swirled slowly beneath the surface, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Sean's exhausted face immediately lit up.
"It worked."
At that exact moment, the system notification rang inside his head once more.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully brewing the potion.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Severus's Proud Disciple.]
Sean immediately had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the system continued.
[If Severus Snape saw the potion you brewed, he would definitely feel proud of you.]
[Then he would assign you one year of toilet cleaning detention and demand compensation for every stolen ingredient.]
[If I were you, I wouldn't let him find out.]
Sean's smile disappeared instantly.
[Achievement Effect:]
[Severus Snape Favorability +50]
[Potion Brewing Speed +200%]
[Potion Success Rate +100%]
[Achievement bonuses may stack infinitely.]
Sean stood there silently for several seconds.
Then he finally twitched helplessly.
"How stupid would I have to be for Snape to discover I stole his potion ingredients?"
.....
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