Chapter 276: Merlin
Professor Snape's loathing for Quirrell was palpable. Ever since their return from Spinner's End, he had been looking for any excuse to corner the man.
"If I were you, after committing such foul deeds, I would have crawled into a hole far from Britain," Snape said icily. He spared Quirrell a glance usually reserved for the dead before sweeping into the shop.
There were many spells that could make a wizard vanish without a trace, and Snape happened to be an expert in all of them.
Quirrell's face paled. Being threatened by a wizard of Snape's caliber was a harrowing experience. He looked at the young students outside the shop, and his glazed eyes gradually regained a sense of resolve. He couldn't die yet; his life was no longer entirely his own.
As Snape stormed inside, Sean trailed behind. To his surprise, he spotted Professor Terra. She was currently occupied with buying up every single Chocolate Frog at a nearby stall with great interest.
Harry and Ron, who were waiting in line, watched her in stunned silence.
"I hope she pulls a Cornelius Agrippa," Ron muttered. Until last month, that had been the rarest card in existence.
But these days, if someone pulled an Agrippa, it was hard to say if their luck was good or bad. After all, the goals of the wizarding public had shifted toward a new rarity.
"Let's go get some raspberry sorbet," Harry suggested, noticing Ron's plummeting mood.
"Professor," Sean said softly, approaching the woman at the stall.
"Oh, what a pleasure to see you, my dear apprentice. Before Abigail finishes picking out her biscuits, let us examine these marvelous Chocolate Frogs."
Professor Terra snapped her fingers. Every Chocolate Frog box in her pile burst open simultaneously, releasing the cards within. They hovered in the air, orbiting Terra like a miniature galaxy. With a casual flick of her finger, a "Hermes" card flew out of the swarm.
"And an invitation to boot. It seems my luck hasn't quite run out after meeting you," she said with a smirk. She plucked the invitation from the back of the card and pressed it into Sean's hand.
The crowd outside erupted. They stared at the invitation in Sean's hand with wide-eyed disbelief.
"Sir! I'll give you a hundred Galleons for that invitation right now!" a shrewd-looking merchant shouted, sprinting toward them.
"Don't listen to him! I'll give you a hundred and thirty!" another voice yelled.
Journalists began snapping photos frantically, but they only managed to capture the back of Sean's head as he shook his head and retreated into the shop.
"It's Sean! He's here! He actually got the invitation!" Harry exclaimed, genuinely thrilled for his friend's luck.
"Blimey... Sean got it. Sean actually got it..." Ron sighed, sounding utterly defeated. Missing out on the card by mere seconds was agonizing.
It felt like a rigged game. How was it fair that a Professor could just clear the stock and hand the prize to her own student?
Inside the Shop.
Sean followed Professor Terra as she located the witch, Abigail. Abigail was staring at Sean with a mix of reverence and intense curiosity.
"Mr. Hermes, might I ask when the Cerberus biscuits will be available? And what comes after that? Your future direction is..."
Her expression soured the moment Professor Terra stepped between them.
"Terra, I have already honored our agreement and brought you the secret manuscripts. And yet you have the audacity to demand a Sacred Stone? I hope you remember what those stones mean to Uagadou. I hope you remember why we fought so hard last time!"
"I haven't forgotten. Sacred Stones are never to leave Uagadou," Terra said airily. "But are you quite sure you won't reconsider?"
"What has Hogwarts given you to make you so loyal to them?" Abigail's furious gaze bypassed Terra and landed on Sean. "I am sorry, sir. Unless the Council of Elders agrees, we will not hand it over—not even to you."
A small, knowing smile played on Terra's lips. she pulled out a piece of parchment that looked remarkably like a formal contract.
"I believe the Council has no objections."
Abigail snatched the contract, reading it over and over with a look of pure disbelief. Her voice was raspy when she finally spoke. "How? How is this possible? This has never happened before! What did you do?"
"It wasn't me," Professor Terra said, beaming as she led Sean away.
In a private partition, Sean heard Terra's voice drop to a whisper.
"A Sacred Stone—or a Void Rune—can never truly exist outside Uagadou's sphere of influence. Only a student of Uagadou has the right to hold one. To anyone else, it would be nothing but a cursed, ordinary rock. Only twenty-four of these stones are permitted to leave the school and retain their power. This... is one of them."
She placed a heavy stone into Sean's hand. It felt more like a small stone tablet than a pebble.
"Since you are unfamiliar with it, I shall keep it safe for you for now. Remember: it can only be used once a month. When you use it, remind yourself never to drown in the false dreams it creates. In that Dreamland, you can have all the power and longevity you desire. You can be a god."
She looked at him with profound intensity. "Power and long life—the two things humans crave most. The problem is, humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them."
She took the stone back after her warning.
"I understand, Professor," Sean said. Based on her description, the Dreamland connected to this stone was far more complex than he had imagined.
It reminded him of a line from Dreamland Tales: "He experienced many adventures there, adventures so wondrous he never wished to return..."
In that book, the place was described as the "World Behind the Veil," whereas Professor Terra called it the "World Behind the Death Veil."
Was there a connection?
"Professor, have you read Dreamland Tales?" Sean asked directly.
"A fascinating book. I'm surprised you found a copy. Read it well, my apprentice. The protagonist is based on a very famous man—one you British wizards are always muttering about," Terra said with a wink.
"Merlin?" Sean guessed.
"This is the downside of having a brilliant apprentice," Terra sighed, looking slightly forlorn. "I never get to enjoy the satisfaction of being the all-knowing teacher."
"My apologies, Professor," Sean said, lowering his eyes.
"Oh, don't be, child. Being a teacher to someone who grasps the truth so quickly is what alchemists dream of. But remember: for an alchemist, practice is the only path to the ultimate truth. That book contains a great deal of speculation. It takes place in a dream. It can serve as a reference, but never as your compass. As for whether it's truly about the great Merlin... well, no one can say for sure."
"So, at least some parts of the book are based on truth?" Sean asked keenly.
"It is a story about the ethereal things that happen in a man's dreams, child," Terra said slowly. "But why should that mean it isn't real?"
Sean fell into deep thought. He realized the book was likely much more than a collection of fairy tales. Much like The Tales of Beedle the Bard, it used metaphors to transmit hidden, ancient information.
But Sean quickly shook off the distraction. He wasn't one to waste time on vagaries. He would rather spend his time on another Soul Transfiguration session.
There was always a subset of the wizarding world that obsessed over "hidden truths" in books—people who believed that owning the three Deathly Hallows made one the "Master of Death," interpreting it as being invincible or immortal.
The truth was usually the exact opposite.
Sean set aside his thoughts on the Dreamland Tales. If the stories were true, he would eventually reach that level of power through practice. If they were false, what use was there in dreaming about them?
He turned his attention instead to the manuscripts Abigail had provided. These were the secret treasures of Uagadou, and their practical value far outweighed any guidebook to dreams.
Beside him, Professor Terra watched him with a proud, subtle smile.
The legends in Dreamland Tales had originated from Uagadou. Countless African wizards had been obsessed with them, which had led to their flourishing advancements in Astronomy, Transfiguration, and Alchemy. But the truth of the stories remained as elusive as the Hallows themselves.
As the Fairy Tale Workshop prepared to close for the day, the invited wizards began to depart, using various eccentric methods to leave Diagon Alley.
Sean, having gained several new insights into Soul Transfiguration from his reading, went to find Professor Quirrell to deliver a batch of potions.
He arrived just in time to hear Snape erupt in a towering rage.
"What are you doing?! Damn it—get over here!"
Snape knew better than anyone that a former Death Eater could never truly be trusted. If a man could succumb to violence, greed, or fear once, he would easily lose his way a second time.
The sudden outburst caused the departing Abigail to turn back, and Professor Terra to sit back down, looking quite entertained.
"Terra, what is going on?" Abigail asked.
"Be quiet and watch," Terra replied calmly.
Abigail bristled but held her tongue. "I'll give you the 'Sacred Stone User's Guide' as well," she added, sounding like she was making a painful sacrifice.
"Oh?" Terra hadn't expected an extra bonus. She gave Abigail a deep look. "I've always admired your little schemes..."
Sean didn't have to work hard to explain that he had hired Quirrell as his agent. Snape, however, remained stony-faced. He had been wondering why so many potions were disappearing from the boy's vault; now he knew Sean was "feeding a rat."
"You had better... be very clear about what you are doing," Snape said, his voice devoid of emotion. He stepped toward Quirrell. "I am watching you. This time, I will kill you before you have the chance to do something stupid."
Quirrell was pale, but he didn't cower or whimper as he had done at Hogwarts.
"I have only one life to give to Mr. Green," Quirrell said steadily. "I will not waste it on something as pathetic as betrayal."
Snape actually froze for a moment, stunned by the man's resolve.
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