"Calm down, Hermione! Calm down!"
Sean barely managed to dodge a furious Stunning Spell while running through the corridor.
"As long as you clear the first level, the punishment disappears!"
Hermione's fluffy explosion-like hair bounced wildly while she chased him with her wand raised.
"That's not the point!"
A red spell blasted past Sean's shoulder and exploded against the wall.
"How could you not warn me beforehand?!"
Several nearby students instantly fled in terror.
Sean spent nearly ten full minutes soothing Hermione before she finally stopped trying to murder him.
By the time the two reached the entrance to the Great Hall together, they immediately noticed a large crowd gathered around the notice board.
"What happened now?" Hermione asked curiously.
Sean shrugged before walking over with her.
A freshly posted notice hung on the wall.
Due to the recent criminal activity involving illegal magical creature smuggling, several highly dangerous magical beasts have escaped into Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest.
Therefore, all Care of Magical Creatures lessons above second year are temporarily suspended.
Students are strictly forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest until further notice.
The surrounding students immediately began discussing excitedly.
"What kind of magical creature escaped?"
"Please don't let it be dragons…"
"If it's dragons, the school will probably shut down immediately!"
Hermione looked thoughtfully toward Sean.
"What do you think escaped?"
Sean casually yawned.
"How would I know?" he replied lazily. "Let's eat first."
Then he naturally led Hermione toward the Slytherin table again.
The moment they sat down, Hermione immediately joined Charlie and the others discussing first-level strategies enthusiastically.
At this point, she looked more comfortable among Slytherins than many actual Slytherin first-years.
Meanwhile, Sean quietly unfolded the newspaper and began thinking seriously.
Because something had bothered him since reading the notice.
In the original timeline, no dangerous magical beast had escaped into Hogwarts.
So why did it happen now?
After reading the article fully, Sean quickly understood.
Yesterday's smuggler incident had escalated after the criminals fled toward the villa district near Sean's home.
Then—
They encountered the goblins Hart secretly stationed there.
During the battle, one magical creature escaped and fled into the Forbidden Forest.
In the original story, no goblins protected that area.
But because Sean had ordered Hart to station guards near his parents, the entire chain of events changed.
"So it really is butterfly effect…"
Sean quietly narrowed his eyes.
Still, another detail interested him even more.
The newspaper deliberately avoided naming the escaped magical creature.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Unfortunately, Hart hadn't appeared this morning, otherwise Sean could've learned more details immediately.
"Sean."
Hermione suddenly poked his arm.
"There's a letter underneath your newspaper."
Sean blinked before finally noticing the pink envelope hidden below the paper.
The handwriting instantly made him smile slightly.
It was from Alice.
Sean calmly opened the letter.
My dear Sean,
How have you been lately? Your father and I miss you very much. The weather is becoming colder recently, so make sure you dress warmly.
Don't worry about us. We're doing very well, and something wonderful happened recently.
The royal family has officially decided to elevate the Raymond family into the nobility. Your father will become a Duke, and you have been granted the title of Earl.
You know there are only twenty-four Duke families in the entire kingdom.
Your father has become so excited that he introduces himself as "future Duke Raymond" to nearly everyone he meets.
The official ceremony will take place next month. I already contacted your Headmaster, Mr Albus Dumbledore, and he kindly approved your leave request while offering congratulations.
Also, there were strange noises near the villa last night. I suspect something magical happened nearby. Your father wanted to investigate personally, but thankfully I stopped him.
We hope you're doing well.
Love,
Mum
Hermione immediately leaned closer curiously.
"What did your mother say?"
Sean simply handed her the letter directly before pulling out parchment and beginning a reply.
The moment Hermione finished reading, her eyes widened.
"Oh my God…"
"Sean, you've become an Earl?"
Then her expression became even more complicated.
"And your father becoming a Duke means your family is practically entering the royal aristocracy…"
She forced a small smile.
"You might even marry a princess someday."
Sean ignored the strange tone completely and calmly continued writing.
Dear Mum,
First of all, I'm very happy the Raymond family received such an honour. I'll attend the ceremony as scheduled.
School has been wonderful lately, so don't worry about me. I've made many friends here, including Hermione Granger, whom you already met before.
She asked me to send greetings on her behalf.
Also, the magical world is more dangerous than you imagine, so I asked Hart to station ten goblins near the villa for protection.
There was indeed a dangerous incident nearby last night. The goblins fought several criminals. I'm very glad you didn't investigate personally.
The Ministry of Magic should resolve everything soon.
By the way, if you ever need assistance, you may contact the goblins directly. They can handle many things for you.
I'll continue writing regularly.
Love,
Sean
After finishing, Sean sealed the letter and handed it to his owl.
Meanwhile, Hermione's face had quietly turned red.
Especially after seeing Sean specifically mention her in the letter.
For some reason, that tiny detail made her strangely happy.
So happy, in fact, that when speaking with Charlie and the others afterward, her smile became noticeably brighter.
Unfortunately—
That bright smile looked extremely unpleasant from the Gryffindor table nearby.
Ron stared toward Hermione with an ugly expression.
"Look at her."
His voice carried obvious dissatisfaction.
"She's completely betraying Gryffindor now."
Harry hesitated slightly.
"Ron… maybe she's just making friends."
Ron immediately shook his head firmly while absentmindedly stroking Scabbers.
"Harry, Slytherins are all scheming."
His tone became serious.
"Most Dark Wizards come from Slytherin. They're experts at manipulation and dark magic."
Then Ron lowered his voice suspiciously.
"And lately they've suddenly become polite."
"That's obviously suspicious."
Harry quietly touched the scar on his forehead.
Whenever he saw Snape recently, the scar always hurt strangely.
So Ron's words inevitably affected him somewhat.
"Trust me, Harry," Ron continued confidently. "There are no good people in Slytherin."
Then he added bitterly:
"Especially Snape."
Harry slowly stood up after a long silence.
.....
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