"Professor… is it the stone?"
Sean sounded like he was asking, but he already knew the answer.
The clue had come from Professor Tella last time: every student accepted into Wagadou receives a message from the current headmaster through a dream messenger. Along with the message, the dream messenger leaves a token—usually a stone engraved with runes.
"Brilliant intuition," Professor Tella said, beaming with pride.
"It's called the Holy Stone, sometimes the Blank Rune. Legend says it's the mythical empty rune tablet from the old tales—the one that holds the deepest wisdom and the essence of the self.
I personally think it's an incredibly advanced alchemical device, very similar to the Deathly Hallows in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
It's not as omnipotent as the stories claim, but it's powerful enough to let a wizard step into a unique domain. That's why Wagadou wizards are so extraordinary at self-transformation.
Normally no Holy Stone is ever allowed to leave the school… but there are always exceptions.
Be patient until the next opening, my dear student."
Professor Tella gazed into the distance. High in the clouds, a paper airplane wobbled its way across the sky.
…
The mention of the Deathly Hallows sent Sean straight to the library. He remembered exactly where The Tales of Beedle the Bard lived.
The place was almost deserted—summer holidays meant empty tables instead of the usual crowd. Floating lanterns lit his path as he scanned the shelves:
- The Adventures of the Mad Muggle Martin Miggs (Ron's favorite comic series—there was still a towering stack of them on his usual table in the Gryffindor common room).
On the same shelf sat Magic Storybook, The Christmas Owl's Voyage, and a bunch of other thick red books with gold lettering in gold.
Then he spotted it—the bright blue cover of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
"The Tales of Beedle the Bard? Oh my, I almost forgot you're still such a little one," Madam Pince said, suddenly appearing with a feather duster and a fond smile.
"That reminds me of that dreadful play… More than one parent tried to get this book banned from the library after that disaster."
Sean had come for the Deathly Hallows tale, but now he was curious.
"Could you tell me…?"
"Of course! Back then the Herbology professor was Herbert Beery—an absolute theater nut. He decided to adapt one of the kids' favorite stories, 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune,' into a Christmas pantomime for the whole school.
It all went horribly wrong because of, well, human drama. Beery never noticed the love triangle happening right under his nose. The girls playing Amata and Asha were both fell for the boy playing Sir Luckless, and right before opening night Sir Luckless dumped one of them for the other.
The second the curtain went up, chaos erupted. Amata and Asha started dueling for real on stage. Professor Beery got dragged into the crossfire. The fake Ashwinder they were using for the knight's quest set the Great Hall on fire. The hospital wing was packed for weeks, and the smell of burnt wood didn't leave the castle until Easter.
Headmaster Armando Dippet banned all future pantomimes, and Hogwarts has kept that glorious tradition ever since."
Madam Pince finished the story with a nostalgic chuckle, then pulled another book from the shelf and handed it to Sean.
"You're on holiday—relax a little. Beedle is wonderful, but try this one too: Dream Stories."
Sean took it, amazed at how many wild tales this castle held. Wizards might never have seen that play, but they definitely got a better comedy show than any script could've delivered.
After Madam Pince glided away, he settled in to read the Tale of the Three Brothers. While flipping through the second book, one phrase froze him in place:
Soul Relics.
He abandoned Beedle immediately and dove into Dream Stories.
It told of a wizard who, with the help of a Soul Relic, could travel to a "world behind the veil."
At first he only shapeshifted into animals and had marvelous adventures.
Later he discovered he could read the future in the stars there.
Eventually he even met wizards who had died, and he could temporarily "pull back" those who lingered—souls who didn't want to become ghosts yet weren't ready to move on.
Incredible…
When he finally closed the book, the windows were pitch-black outside.
He made it to the front desk just before curfew to check the book out. Madam Pince looked shocked.
"You're actually stopping? Miracles do happen. Come on, I'll sign it out for you."
…
The rest of the summer at Hogwarts passed peacefully and productively.
Sean spent most of it flipping between cat and boy. Every clean, complete shift nudged his Soul Transfiguration skill a little higher.
Example notification that popped up constantly:
[You have practiced Soul Transfiguration to Apprentice-level standards within the Master domain. Master proficiency +1]
After turning back human, he'd work on regular Transfiguration—his best shot at beating the basilisk if it ever came to it.
And because of certain people were still furious with him, Snape's "special" dark-arts tutoring had become even more brutal. Sean's dark magic proficiency was skyrocketing.
In the early mornings he'd slip into the Forbidden Forest to visit a certain giant black dog.
After one particularly packed week, an owl dropped a very official-looking letter:
"Please return to Hogwarts on September 1st via the Hogwarts Express departing from King's Cross Station."
Sean glanced up at the highest tower where the owl was already winging its way back to the headmaster's office.
Looks like the letters went out to everyone—even the kid already inside the castle. Classic Dumbledore move.
He kept reading:
"Second-year students are required to purchase:
Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart"
Sean blinked at the endless list of Lockhart titles.
He could already feel his wallet crying.