Chapter 239: The Outlier
"The Great Green!"
Fred, wearing a hat embroidered with red and green stripes, doffed it in a sweeping bow to Sean.
"So, have you decided to come with us to The Burrow?"
George popped his head out from behind a portrait next to Sean.
Sean was silent for a moment—Professor McGonagall had readily agreed and was even planning to take Sean to Diagon Alley during the summer holidays to pick out some gifts.
She had mentioned that the Weasleys were a fine wizarding family who had produced several excellent Gryffindors.
But Professor Snape...
The professor was busy to the point of exhaustion.
Literally. He barely had enough time for his classes each day. Even when Sean went to the dungeons to brew potions, Snape had a Ravenclaw student, who was doing advanced studies in Potions, supervise him.
Fortunately, Snape seemed to enjoy his identity as the "Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor," and despite his haggard appearance, he hadn't deducted a single point less from Gryffindor.
Especially Harry, who felt like he could barely breathe.
Before, he only had to be careful during two Potions lessons; now, he had to be cautious for four lessons a week. He spent all day complaining to Ron about Professor Snape's "atrocious behavior."
However, under Snape's tutelage, Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts skills had improved significantly.
This made his feelings toward Professor Snape even stranger—he didn't seem like a good professor, yet in some ways, he was.
The knowledge he taught, while not as scientific, interesting, or logically clear as Green's Notes, was far broader and possessed a depth that Green's Notes could not reach.
Because the professor was so busy, Sean couldn't find an opportunity to ask him.
Another point was that, even now, Professor Snape seemed unaware of everything that had happened at the trapdoor. He had only spoken with Headmaster Dumbledore, and the Headmaster didn't seem to have mentioned the young wizards' involvement.
At the caretaker's office door.
"Sorry, I can't decide right now."
Sean lowered his head slightly.
"Great Green—your followers are willing to wait a hundred years," Fred said dramatically.
Sean looked at the two of them and said nothing. Finally, Fred chuckled, and the twins began examining the doorknob of the caretaker's office.
"Strange doorknob. Can we replicate it, George?"
Fred poked the doorknob. It hissed and snapped wildly, but Fred's hand remained just outside its striking distance.
Sean's expression turned peculiar. Soon, he heard a cry of pain from Fred.
"Who improved it?! It bit right through my hand..."
"Not bad. Now you have a hole in your hand. Just one more..." George said cheerfully.
Before leaving, Sean suddenly realized that the Weasleys hadn't battled wits with Filch for a long time.
The night sky outside the castle was clear. It was perfect weather for observation.
Once again, Sean arrived deep in the Forbidden Forest. The dense canopy overhead blocked out all light. Sean felt eyes watching him.
Soon, his suspicion was confirmed as Fang ran over, rubbing against his legs.
Then came Hagrid and Wu-Wu. Hagrid was feeding the Thestral, habituated to giving Wu-Wu an extra meal at this time.
After all, as the first male Thestral in the forest, he always received extra care from the gamekeeper.
"Sean—looks like a fine night!"
Although Hagrid couldn't understand that mysterious astronomical knowledge, he was always happy when good things happened to his friends.
"See you later, Hagrid."
Sean nodded and bid Hagrid farewell.
The Centaur teacher was already waiting in the clearing, gazing at the night sky.
Not far away, young Centaur foals were running about. A group of the herd's wise elders had gathered there to teach the younger generation.
"Dark clouds obscure the path of the planets. Wait patiently for a while," Firenze said.
So Sean waited quietly alongside the Centaur.
The noise of the foals drifted over from a short distance away. Firenze spoke in a calm, steady tone:
"The Centaur herd never interferes with the trajectory of the Fate Stars. We believe everything is destined. We have abided by these rules for a very long time.
"Seeing the future has made us arrogant; we no longer care for other lives in this land. But one day, when other resisting lives fade away, the Centaur herd will also face a great crisis."
His eyes shone a brilliant blue.
"Sean, in the House not blocked by clouds—in a different part of the sky—Jupiter is so bright. My meeting with you was no accident. We are both outliers living apart from the herd..."
Centaurs always spoke in a mysterious and vague manner, much like their method of predicting signs from the Fate Stars.
Sean leaned against a large rock, looking up at the vast expanse of stars.
"Today, you will learn to discern the brightness of the planets," the Centaur teacher said.
Soon, Sean understood why stargazing was unreliable.
Discernment of planetary brightness was affected by all sorts of factors: clouds, seasons, the brightness of other planets.
Thus, relying purely on the brightness seen by the naked eye seemed extremely inaccurate.
The Centaur teacher's solution was: "Rely on experience and feeling."
Sean translated that as: Rely on talent.
[You have practiced Divination magic to the Novice standard. Proficiency +1]
This was his third success.
It seemed he had a little bit of talent after all.
"I believe you have found the guidance of the Fate Star."
Firenze, observing Sean, nodded.
They then ignited sage and mallowsweet. As the smoke rose, a wind swept through the Forbidden Forest, shaking the branches of the beech trees and twisting the smoke into strange shapes.
So they had to wait for the wind to stop. During this time, the Centaur teacher told Sean that in different seasons and for different Houses, Centaurs would choose different herbs to burn.
The material and condition of these herbs would also affect the observation of the Fate Stars.
While burning herbs and observing the stars, Sean inexplicably thought: Could this also be a type of ritual magic? And an ancient, profound one at that?
Although his progress in Divination magic wasn't fast, whenever the moon wasn't bright and the stars shone clearly, Sean would go to the Forbidden Forest to observe the night sky.
Bane, a slightly older Centaur, would occasionally come to retrieve curious foals who had wandered near them, snorting coldly at Firenze before leaving.
Firenze was not very popular among the Centaurs; in fact, he was ostracized. Although he sighed about this, he remained firm in his choice.
And so, Exam Week arrived.
The weather was stiflingly hot, and the large classroom where they took their written exams was uncomfortably warm for the wizards. The professors handed out new quills specifically for the exams, all bewitched with Anti-Cheating Spells.
Although the various exams seemed mixed together and chaotic, they could actually be divided into two categories: Theory and Practice.
The morning brought the first practical exam.
Charms.
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