Halloween Eve

Life at Hogwarts continued as usual. To raise his proficiency quickly, Sean spent nearly all his free time practicing spells.

Not only that, he and Hermione had become regulars at the library. Though he dearly envied all the fun and interesting pastimes like Wizarding Chess, Sean gritted his teeth and immersed himself in the sea of magic.

The only thing he did not envy was Quidditch. Sean had performed fairly well in Flying Class, but he had no plans to pursue it further. There was no other reason—he simply found Quidditch boring.

Besides, even with a Seat Charm, the Flying Broomstick experience was rather mediocre. After flying for a while, his hair would be a mess and his face would be stiff. That did not suit Sean's usual elegant style.

Fighting and killing could be left to Gryffindor's little lions. Sean had decided to be a quiet, book-reading handsome man in Eagle House.

Besides, Hermione, who studied with him, was so pretty.

Halloween Eve arrived. Before attending the feast, Sean specifically checked his system panel.

Name: Sean Wallop (born to a Muggle Family, bloodline unknown)

Magical Items: Elm Wand (purple), Hand of Glory (purple), No-Wash Wool Socks (special), Self-Securing Collar Pin (special)...

Charms Talent: 5 (Barring any surprises, you can graduate normally.)

Transfiguration Talent: 9 (Unparalleled talent! Professor McGonagall's greatest regret is that you aren't in Gryffindor!)

Potions Talent: 2 (When Brewing Potions, you have only one primary goal: staying alive.)

Magical Creature Affinity: 9 (Are you a natural-born Grand Druid?!)

Ancient Runes Talent: 2 (Fortunately, your IQ is enough to be interviewed by a reporter. He's here to find out why you're so stupid.)

Dark Arts Talent: 10 (Ha! If you weren't in Azkaban, surrounded by a hundred Dementors, then the entire Ministry of Magic should resign in shame!)

Sean: ...

The system's comments were really irritating...

Alone in his dormitory, he rolled his eyes without the slightest concern for his image, then continued reading.

Repairing Charm: lv1, proficiency (268/5000)

Quieting Charm: lv1, proficiency (368/5000)

Levitation Charm: lv1, proficiency (109/5000)

Looking at the long list of spells that had reached level-one proficiency, Sean could not help smiling.

Although his Charms Talent was not particularly outstanding, his diligent study and hard work had finally borne fruit.

At the same time, he had discovered the system's greatest use besides the Lottery Draw: displaying proficiency!

Every morning when he woke up, he could watch his proficiency increase bit by bit. The sense of accomplishment brought by that positive feedback was immense. It was no exaggeration to say that even without the Lottery Draw, Sean believed he could become an excellent wizard with this panel alone.

At the bottom of the system panel were several other special spells.

Transfiguration: lv1, proficiency (599/50000)

Yes, with the help of Professor McGonagall's notebook, Sean's Transfiguration had finally broken through level zero.

He had already done quite a few experiments himself. First-year Transfiguration assignments had become far too easy for Sean. After Halloween, he intended to find Professor McGonagall and ask whether he could begin studying second-year material.

However, the other two magical spells he had obtained from the Lottery Draw were still at level zero.

Fiendfyre Curse (Grindelwald's Improved Version): lv0, proficiency (969/10000)

Occlumency: lv0, proficiency (1680/5000)

He could only practice these two spells on his own, so his progress was indeed rather slow.

But Sean had no good solution for the time being. He planned to wait a year or two, then seek out Dumbledore to help him use that little glass bottle—the one containing Grindelwald's spell insights.

He could sense it himself: if he went now, his current strength might cause him to waste much of it.

After stretching, Sean took out the Magical Creature Egg for one final look.

Its size, temperature, and texture had not changed at all. If it had not come from the system, Sean would have thought the thing had been boiled.

He truly had no idea how to hatch it. He had asked Hagrid, but Hagrid did not know either. And during this time, Sean had deliberately avoided Professor Kettleburn.

It did not matter if this thing took a little longer to hatch. He had no desire to get involved in the teachers' messy affairs.

I just want to be a quiet, book-reading handsome man.

As night fell, Sean and Hermione arrived in the Great Hall. It was Halloween Eve, and the school had prepared a lavish feast.

A thousand bats fluttered around the walls and ceiling, while another thousand wheeled above the dining tables like low black clouds, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker again and again.

Sean sat down laughing and chatting with his classmates. Though he rarely took part in student entertainment, he still had an excellent reputation and was well-liked. Aside from his handsome, elegant appearance, another important reason was that he was willing to share his over-ten-inch-long History of Magic homework with others.

Though Hermione was quite dissatisfied with this, she had also lent Sean her homework to copy, so she could not really say anything. She could only snort coldly at Sean's sheepish smile.

Then lend it to him to copy again next time.

Once everyone was seated, delicious food appeared once more on the golden plates, and everyone began eating heartily.

Even as the feast drew to a close, no one burst into the Great Hall to announce that a troll had entered the school.

Looks like my life as a wizard can remain peaceful forever.

Sean thought with satisfaction.

However, five minutes later, his smile froze on his face.

"All students! Stay in the Great Hall!"

Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at her throat, her voice booming like a bell.

Her stern tone immediately threw everyone into a panic.

The students preparing to leave the Great Hall were stopped and herded back by the prefects. The hall instantly became extremely noisy, with everyone asking what had happened.

Sean stood where he was. Beside him, Hermione frowned deeply. "Why aren't we allowed to return to the Common Room? Is there some announcement to make?"

"Not necessarily..." Sean replied. He had a bad feeling about this.

Then, through the Weasley brothers' grapevine, Sean finally learned what had happened.

Hundreds of Ashwinders had flooded into the entire castle. These creatures, which lived for only an hour, had crawled out of magical flames and slithered into every corner of the castle.

They would lay eggs within an hour. If those eggs were not discovered in time, they would ignite everything around them.

"Oh no..." Hermione covered her mouth in terror.

Just as Sean was about to speak, a commotion erupted in the crowd nearby.

"An Ashwinder got in!" someone shouted fearfully.

The crowd instantly fell into chaos.