Snape's loathing for Quirrell was practically a living thing. Ever since they got back from Spinner's End, the Potions Master had been itching to hunt the man down.
"If I were you," he hissed as he brushed past, "after all the filthy things you've done, I'd disappear so far no one would ever find the body."
The look he gave Quirrell could've frozen dragon's blood. Then he swept into the shop.
There were plenty of spells that could make a wizard vanish without a trace, and Severus Snape happened to be very, very good at them.
Quirrell's face went the color of old parchment. That wasn't an idle threat; it was a promise from one of the deadliest wizards alive. He glanced at the small figure outside the shop, and something hardened behind his eyes.
He still couldn't die. This life wasn't just his anymore.
Once Snape stormed inside, Sean lagged behind, and who did he run into but Professor Tella? She was gleefully buying up every single Chocolate Frog card in the place.
Ron and Harry, still in line, stared like she'd lost her mind.
"I hope she pulls a super-rare Cornelia Agrippa," Ron muttered.
That used to be the rarest card, at least until last month.
Now pulling a Cornelia Agrippa didn't even feel lucky anymore.
The wizarding world's priorities had quietly shifted.
"Let's go get raspberry ice cream," Harry said, noticing Ron's mood tanking.
"Professor," Sean called softly from the back of the crowd.
"Oh, there you are, my favorite apprentice!" Tella beamed. "Before Abigail finishes picking out Fairy Tale Cookies, come help me with these delightful little frogs."
She snapped her fingers. Every box ripped itself open. Cards floated into the air, swirling around her like colorful birds. With a flick of her wrist, one shot straight into her hand: Hermes.
"Invitation acquired. My luck's not completely gone after meeting you, it seems," she said with a smirk, and tucked the shimmering card into Sean's hand.
Outside, the crowd lost it.
People gawked at the invitation now sitting in a kid's palm.
"Sir! One hundred Galleons for that invitation, right now!" a sharp-faced merchant shouted, already elbowing his way forward.
"One-thirty!" someone else yelled.
Cameras flashed like mad, but all they caught was Sean shaking his head and walking inside.
"It's Sean! He's here too! He got an invite!"
Harry was grinning ear to ear for his friend.
"Sean got one, Sean got one, great…" Ron mumbled, absolutely gutted. They'd been queuing for hours, and now the organizer herself just handed one over? Felt like the world's most elaborate prank.
Inside the shop.
Sean followed Tella over to Abigail, who was staring at him with open reverence.
"Mr. Hermes, sir, when is the Fluffy Cookie dropping? And what's next? What direction are you—"
Her face fell the second Tella stepped between them.
"Tella, I brought the secret texts like we agreed. And you have the nerve to ask for a Sanctuary Stone? You know what the Stone means to Wagadou. You know why we fought last time!"
"Of course I remember. The Stone never leaves Wagadou control. But are you sure you won't reconsider?" Tella asked, clearly enjoying herself.
"What did Hogwarts ever give you to make you so loyal?!"
Abigail's furious glare slid past Tella and landed on Sean.
"I'm sorry, sir. Unless the Council of Elders approves, even for you, we can't."
Sean watched Tella's lips curve into a triumphant little smile. She pulled out a parchment that looked exactly like a contract.
"I believe the Council already has."
Abigail snatched it, read it, read it again, voice cracking.
"This is impossible. How did you— this has never happened. What did you do?"
"It wasn't me," Tella said sweetly, steering Sean away.
In the private booth, she lowered her voice.
"The Sanctuary Stone can never leave Wagadou's possession, and only a Wagadou student is allowed to use it. Otherwise it's just a cursed rock. There are only twenty-four real ones that can be taken out and still keep their full power. This is one of them."
She placed something in Sean's hand. It looked more like a slate tablet than a stone.
"I'll hold onto it until you know what you're doing. Once a month, no more. And when you use it, remind yourself: do not get lost in pretty lies. In the dream, you can have all the power in the world, live forever, anything you want.
Power and immortality: the two things humans want most. The problem is, humans always pick whatever's worst for them."
She gave him a meaningful look, then took the stone back.
"I understand, Professor."
Sean stared at it for a few seconds, curious. From what she'd said, the dream it connected to wasn't simple at all.
It reminded him of a line from Tales of Dreamers:
"He had many adventures there, adventures he never wanted to leave…"
In the book, that place was described as "the world behind the veil." Professor Tella called it the world after the veil of death.
Was there a connection?
"Professor, have you read this book?" He pulled out Tales of Dreamers.
"Fun little story. You actually found a copy, good for you. Read it carefully, my apprentice. Its main character is based on someone you lot never shut up about."
"Merlin?"
"Having a smart student really takes all the fun out of dramatic reveals," Tella sighed theatrically.
"Sorry, Professor."
"Oh, no, child, I mean that in a good way. Alchemists live for the moment a student figures it out themselves."
She looked genuinely proud.
"But remember: alchemy is about practice. That book is full of daydreams. It can be useful reference, never a roadmap.
As for whether it's actually about the greatest wizard who ever lived… we'll never know for sure."
"So at least some of it is real, right, Professor?"
"It's something that happened in someone's dream, something fleeting and unreal. But who says dreams can't be true?"
Sean fell quiet, thinking hard. The book suddenly felt heavier.
Some stories, like The Tale of the Three Brothers, weren't just stories. They pointed at something bigger.
But Sean quickly shrugged it off.
He'd rather spend the time practicing soul transfiguration twice more than chasing fairy tales.
There would always be a tiny group of wizards convinced that certain mysterious books contained secret, opposite meanings only the truly clever could decode.
Take the line about mastering the three Deathly Hallows and becoming "the Master of Death." Most people thought that meant invincible, maybe immortal.
The truth was the exact opposite.
Sean set Tales of Dreamers aside.
If the things in that book were real, he'd get there eventually. If they were fake, obsessing over them was pointless.
He pulled out the secret texts Abigail had reluctantly handed over: genuine, never-shared Wagadou treasures. Those were way more tempting than any dream guide.
Beside him, Professor Tella gazed at him with a faint, proud smile, a little distant.
Tales of Dreamers had leaked out of Wagadou centuries ago. Countless African wizards had obsessed over it, and it fueled whole eras of astronomy, transfiguration, and alchemy.
But no one actually knew if the story was real, just like no one knew about the Three Brothers.
The shop was closing.
Wizards trickled out, some Apparating, some Portkeying, a few even leaving the country entirely.
Sean had already mined a ton of soul-transfiguration tips from the Wagadou books. Satisfied, he headed toward Quirrell to hand over the potions he'd promised.
That's when Snape exploded.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Get over here, now!"
Ex-Death Eaters could never be trusted. Snape knew that better than anyone. If they bowed to fear and desire once, they'd do it again.
The sudden shouting made Abigail turn back, and sent Tella sliding gleefully into the nearest chair to watch the show.
"Tella, what is going on?" Abigail demanded.
"Shut up and watch," Tella said calmly.
Abigail went red but bit her tongue.
"I'm throwing in the Sanctuary Stone user manual," she muttered through clenched teeth.
"Ooh, unexpected bonus." Tella gave her an approving look. "I always did like the way your mind works."
Sean explained the whole hiring-Quirrell-as-potion-brewer situation without much trouble. Snape just stood there, face like thunder.
He'd already suspected where all those missing potions from the kid's vault had gone. Feeding rats, honestly…
"You'd better know exactly what you're doing," he said flatly, then turned to Quirrell.
"I'll be watching you. This time, if you step one toe out of line, I'll kill you before you get the chance to do anything stupid."
Quirrell went pale, but for once he didn't whimper or cower like he used to at Hogwarts.
"I have only one life, and it belongs to Mr. Green. I won't waste it here."
Even Snape was momentarily speechless.