"Professor, this isn't worth it."
Sean stood calmly beside Quirrell. The snarling wizard from a moment ago now looked nothing but respectfully subdued.
The crowd was dying to know what had just happened, but nobody quite dared to get too close.
The only person still moving was Lucius Malfoy, pale as death, scrambling up from the ground and very casually sliding a certain black diary in between Ginny's shiny new stack of Lockhart books.
The whole spectacle ended faster than anyone expected. The Weasleys had never seen Lucius slink away like that (not even a single dramatic threat on his way out).
As soon as Quirrell left, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny's eyes lit up like Christmas had come early.
"Professor Quirrell is the official agent for Number 77 Diagon Alley now," Hermione whispered excitedly but carefully. "Sean, you two are actually close? Oh, wait, of course you are!"
"Close?" Ron yelped, then slapped a hand over his mouth.
"You knew?" Hermione whipped around, one eyebrow arched dangerously.
The adults (Weasleys and Grangers) had gone off to the Leaky Cauldron for drinks, so the kids were left to their own devices.
Sean had originally been sandwiched between Hermione and Justin, but now Harry was poking his head in, and Ginny (who had somehow tagged along) was doing the same.
The two of them exchanged a quick glance and silently waited.
"I—I don't know anything!" Ron groaned. Why did he always open his big mouth?
"Sean… don't tell me you're actually the…" Hermione lowered her voice to almost nothing. She'd suspected for ages but never dared believe it.
"Yeah," Sean said with a small nod. He had never planned on hiding it from the Hope Cottage crew.
"You kept that from us this whole time?!" Hermione sounded half-mad, half-impressed.
"Technically you never asked," Ron muttered. "I did."
"Ron! Not everyone just blurts out life-altering questions like you do!" Hermione's cheeks went scarlet.
"Maybe you're right. Keeping secrets is hard. Next time I won't ask," Ron said gloomily, looking like a kicked puppy.
Hermione couldn't decide whether to laugh or scold him.
Harry and Ginny, meanwhile, had frozen solid. Something huge had just clicked.
"So…" Harry breathed.
Ginny had been confused at first, but then she remembered something. She pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet out of her little bag, compared the photo, and her eyes went wide.
"You're the Hermes who came back covered in glory!"
She couldn't help the squeak that escaped.
"Oh, really?" Ron said automatically. "Not a vampire or a werewolf or anything?"
Then it hit him: Wait—why is Ginny even here with us?
That was when the rest of the group finally noticed the extra redhead who had somehow infiltrated their circle. The trademark Weasley hair was a dead giveaway. Caught, Ginny turned beet red.
Ron might be thick sometimes, but even he felt the awkward shift in the air. They'd been through life-or-death stuff together and earned each other's trust the hard way. Ginny hadn't.
He quietly stepped in front of his sister.
"It's fine," Sean said softly.
"Oh—" Justin glanced at Ginny, thoughtful.
"You decide who gets to know," Hermione said firmly, chin high.
"I—I'm sorry," Ginny mumbled, suddenly realizing she'd barged in where she maybe shouldn't have.
"It's okay," Sean repeated, gentle.
His eyes flicked to her bag. He'd already spotted the corner of a black diary poking out.
Looks like the plot was right on schedule. Tom's diary was now in Ginny's hands, and the Chamber of Secrets arc was about to kick off…
He needed to deal with it fast. The original books never said whether Ginny suffered any lasting damage after pouring her soul into Tom Riddle, and Sean preferred to assume there wasn't any, but Horcruxes were nasty, unpredictable things. The sooner it was gone, the better.
And the solution? He could get the raw material he needed the next time he baked cookies.
Ginny, suddenly gifted with trust she hadn't expected, pressed her lips together and edged to the very outside of the little circle. Hermione's expression softened.
"You already noticed Ginny was here ages ago, didn't you, Sean?" She moved next to the younger girl and winked at him.
"Yep."
"See? Sean never does anything by accident. But lips sealed, okay?"
Ginny nodded furiously. In one smooth move, she'd gone from accidental eavesdropper to officially in-the-know.
Still, she kept sneaking tiny glances at Sean, completely baffled why Green (no, Hermes) trusted her so easily.
Diagon Alley's cobblestone street stretched out, packed with the most tempting wizarding shops in the world. The kids wove through the crowd, buying everything they needed.
All kinds of customers passed by: funny little country witches doing their shopping, frail-looking wizards arguing over the newest Transfiguration Today article, scruffy wizards, noisy goblins…
Even though Hermione and Justin had been here several times, the street still felt magical.
They bought six huge strawberry-peanut-butter ice creams and wandered happily, licking away and window-shopping.
At dusk, a chubby figure finally tumbled out of the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Neville! What took you so long?" Hermione called.
"After I got seventh in the year-end rankings, Great-Uncle Algie sent me a biting top hat as a reward…" Neville rubbed his thinning hair and swollen nose, tears already starting. "Great-Aunt Enid dug out some Nose-Biting Teacups from the attic, and Uncle Damon gave me a knee-bashing umbrella…"
After hearing the list, everyone agreed it was a miracle he'd made it at all.
"Fred and George sometimes put spiders in my room too," Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder in solidarity.
Neville sniffled, but then froze when a black-robed figure loomed up behind him.
"Move."
Snape's cold stare swept over the group, lingering only on Sean.
"See you at Hogwarts."
Sean waved lightly and followed the Potions Master out.
"Anyone else feel like Professor Snape's… not as scary anymore?" Hermes said, surprised.
"Really?" Ron scratched his head, doubtful.
…
Night at Hogwarts was perfectly still.
Sean sat holding a flat stone tablet. Wisps of mist were already curling off its surface, exactly like the mist he'd seen in dreams.
The rune itself wasn't particularly dangerous. If the danger didn't come from the rune, then it had to come from using it.
He reread Easy Introduction to Runes one last time. When the moonlight hit a certain brightness, the mist wrapped around him completely.
His first time using a Wagadou soul relic.
Time lost all meaning.
Sean's awareness was fuzzy, but he knew he still existed (not just thoughts floating free of a body). He could feel himself lying on something solid. He had sensation. Whatever was beneath him was real.
So this… was probably his soul form.
He looked at his "arm." Black paw, white undercoat. Definitely a cat.
He lay in bright mist, but it wasn't normal mist. It wasn't that the scenery was hidden by fog; the fog hadn't decided what scenery to become yet.
The ground was white, neither warm nor cold, just flat, empty existence.
Within minutes, the system dinged:
[You have practiced soul transfiguration at a skilled-master level. Master proficiency +10]
His first ever skilled-level attempt, just from being here.
The black cat's emerald eyes watched the white mist swirl. Strange, colorful scenes flickered inside it. He leaped away nimbly.
He padded through the empty world. Soon, wisps of mist started drifting off his own body.
This time he saw them clearly: some looked like cat-leopard hybrids, some had wings…
He was studying them intently when his consciousness began to blur (time to wake up).
Then a massive black paw landed on his back.
The little cat wobbled and looked up into the face of a huge, majestic black panther.
The panther spoke in a human voice.
"At last we meet, dear child. Look how gifted you are in alchemy and transfiguration… The supreme god Kasanga doesn't bother with mortal affairs, which is why you ended up in the wrong place.
Come home to Uagadou, my child. We've waited far too long."
Sean couldn't speak in this form. He just stared, confused.
"Forgive me—I forgot to introduce myself. I am the current headmaster of Uagadou. I've come to bring you home."
The panther circled him, huge tail occasionally brushing the cat's fur.
The cat was curious how the headmaster had managed to trap him here and how a panther could talk.
He started to panic, then heard a loud, indignant yowl.
A new voice boomed.
"By the supreme god, his eldest son is finally returning to his glorious homeland—"
The panther was practically purring with joy. The cat had no idea what delusion it was under.
"Babajide Akingbade, get lost—"
The black cat's ears swiveled. An old wizard in flowing deep-blue robes strode through the mist toward them.