The Sudden Explosion!

"Don't panic!" Professor McGonagall's highly authoritative voice calmed the restless crowd somewhat. She hurried toward the source of the disturbance.

A slender, grayish-white snake was beside the Gryffindor table. Its eyes glowed red as it hissed at the screaming students.

"Petrificus Totalus!" With a flick of Professor McGonagall's wand, the Ashwinder that had been about to spring into the air was frozen in place.

Her brows tightly furrowed, she summoned several people over and gave them a few quiet instructions before swiftly leaving the Great Hall.

The prefects quickly gathered the students from fifth year and above, who took up positions around the perimeter of the Great Hall, while the younger students were protected in the middle.

"Listen, everyone." Sean spotted a familiar face: Charlotte Hawk.

She said to the older students, "You only need to use the Petrification Charm to immobilize those annoying snakes. Don't be afraid."

The female student president held considerable authority. Under her direction, the Great Hall gradually became orderly.

Sean stood behind the older students, wand raised, ready to deal with anything that slipped through.

After spending so much time with Hermione, he had become quite proficient with the Petrification Charm as well.

The Ashwinders darted through the castle, but most of them were stopped outside the Great Hall. The younger students protected in the center had even begun treating the incident as an interesting story.

But Sean didn't see it that way. More than a dozen stiff Ashwinder bodies already lay in front of him, and these creatures were completely unlike what the books described.

Ashwinders only lived for an hour. During that brief time, they did everything they could to find a secluded, shadowy place to lay eggs. Though they possessed some aggression, avoiding enemies to reproduce was an Ashwinder's ultimate mission.

Yet the Ashwinders that had slithered into the Great Hall seemed to have gone mad. They lunged at anyone they saw, with no intention of avoiding people at all.

They looked much like the Magical Creatures in the Forbidden Forest that day. But Ashwinders' pupils naturally glowed red, making it impossible for him to tell.

Just then, an Ashwinder crawled toward Sean from directly ahead.

Sean held up his wand, his eyes fixed firmly on the Ashwinder.

At last, his gaze met those vertical pupils flashing red.

He couldn't sense any emotion... Sean's heart sank. Was his guess wrong?

At that moment, the Ashwinder froze for a second, then swiftly turned around and slithered toward the shadows.

It worked?!

So whether he could sense emotions was also related to a Magical Creature's intelligence? After all, Ashwinders, which could only survive for an hour, possessed almost nothing but instinct.

In other words, these Ashwinders had indeed been affected by a potion or Ancient Magic, just like what had happened in the Forbidden Forest that day.

Sean anxiously looked around. He needed to tell the professors as soon as possible.

But all the professors had gone into the castle to put out fires, leaving only students in the Great Hall.

Just as he frowned deeply, he happened to spot a transparent figure.

It was a tall woman in a court gown—the Ravenclaw ghost, Lady Helena.

Sean's eyes lit up, and he squeezed through the crowd to her side.

"Hello, milady. Could you help me with something? Just find the professors and tell them that the Ashwinders are in the same condition as the ones in the Forbidden Forest." He spoke extremely quickly. With the situation so urgent, Sean had no time for gentlemanly formalities.

Lady Helena looked at Sean with her sorrowful eyes. After giving a slight nod, she passed through the stone wall.

Just when Sean thought he could finally relax, cries of alarm rang out from the Great Hall's main entrance.

"Merlin's underpants! Why is that Ashwinder so huge?!"

An enormous, bloated Ashwinder was coiling down one of the stone columns by the entrance. It was more than ten times the size of an ordinary Ashwinder, and the red glow in its pupils had nearly merged into a single red line.

"Maybe it ate too much." A boy's voice rang out, and he stepped forward with his wand raised.

It was Gryffindor prefect Percy Weasley.

Ashwinders were supposed to be Magical Creatures with very little individual variation... Sean, lost in thought, suddenly widened his eyes. He remembered a story, an old incident he had asked others about after he began suspecting that Professor Kettleburn was up to something...

When Armando Dippet had been headmaster, the wizarding fairy tale "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" had been adapted into a pantomime at Hogwarts. In the play, an Ashwinder had been used to portray a bloated, blind earthworm. Professor Kettleburn had cast an Engorgement Charm on it, and afterward...

"Watch out!" From afar, that was all Sean managed to shout.

"Bang!" The bloated Ashwinder coiled around the stone pillar suddenly exploded. Sparks and dust engulfed Percy.

"No!" The red-haired Weasley twins rushed over at once, followed by Ron, whose eyes had turned red.

The students immediately descended into panic. When the dust cleared, Percy lay unconscious on the ground, his body covered in wounds.

"Damn it!" Sean gritted his teeth and ran over. Fred had already gathered Percy into his arms.

Half of Percy's body had been blown into a bloody mess. It seemed he had cast an incomplete Shield Charm at the last moment, barely managing to protect his head.

Fred held his brother with one arm while his other hand trembled against Percy's face. His voice was grief-stricken. "Quick... save him! Please save him!"

Sean pushed aside the onlookers and took a vial from his wallet. It was a healing potion he had bought in Diagon Alley for emergencies. Though Professor Slughorn had said its effects were nowhere near as remarkable as the advertisements claimed, it could still slowly heal many kinds of injuries.

Sean crouched down, supported Percy's chin, and poured the potion into his mouth.

"How is he?" the three Weasley brothers asked in unison, their eyes full of anxiety.

"It only has some healing effect," Sean answered truthfully. His wallet was only so large. After making room for Galleons and his pistol, there had only been space for one vial of potion. He could only choose something with broad applications, and injuries caused by an Ashwinder explosion still required specific treatment.

The Weasleys all looked worriedly at Percy.

Charlotte hurried over and asked in a grave voice, "How is he?"

"We still need to find Madam Pomfrey," Sean replied.

Charlotte frowned tightly. Wand raised, she walked out of the Great Hall, only to back away inside again a moment later.

"The corridors are full of Ashwinders slithering around. I didn't see any of the teachers," she said grimly.

Everyone fell silent. Without the teachers, a few older students alone could not escort Percy.

"No! I have to save him!" Fred scooped Percy up and started toward the exit.

Charlotte stopped him. "Calm down. To get to the Hospital Wing, we have to pass through the tower with the most moving staircases. If we run into those Ashwinders again, there'll be nowhere to hide! Wait a little longer—the professors... they should be back soon!"

"He's dying!" Fred roared, but then his voice began to tremble. "He's my brother..."

George kicked Ron back toward Harry, then stepped up beside Fred. His meaning was obvious.

Just as neither side would back down, Sean stepped forward.

"I have a question." Both groups looked at him. Sean shrugged. "Whose Summoning Charm is the best?"