A Worse Situation Than Expected

Charlotte frowned. She remembered Sean quite clearly—he had been the very first new student she recruited on her first day of admissions.

"Do you have a way? But I should remind you, the Summoning Charm can't summon the professors."

Sean nodded. "Of course I know that. I mean, we can summon something else."

"Something else?"

Sean turned to Fred and George. "Aren't you Quidditch players? Can you summon your Flying Broomsticks?"

The twins exchanged a glance, uncertain. "We've never tried using the Summoning Charm like that. Our broomsticks aren't too far from the Great Hall, but we can't guarantee it'll work..."

"Give it a try. It's better than doing nothing," Sean said with a shrug. "Miss Hawke, if you have a broomstick, you can try too. I trust your abilities."

"Just call me Charlotte," she said, raising her wand. "Are we preparing to fly over there?"

Sean nodded. "The most dangerous part of the route to the Hospital Wing is the moving stairway tower. If we use broomsticks, we can go straight out into the courtyard and fly through the air to the Hospital Wing."

"Good idea." Charlotte nodded in agreement.

Then several older students stepped forward. Together with Fred, George, and Charlotte, they raised their wands.

"Cleansweep Five, come!"

"Shooting Star, come!"

"Comet 260, come!"

The names of all sorts of Flying Broomsticks rang out. Fred and George squeezed their eyes shut, desperately picturing their own broomsticks in their minds.

Finally, amid everyone's eager anticipation, several Flying Broomsticks shot toward them.

"It worked!" Charlotte caught her broomstick. She was the first to succeed.

Fred and George summoned their Cleansweep Fives as well, while the owner of the other Comet 260 was a third-year Hufflepuff student.

He was a handsome, curly-haired boy. He held out a hand to Sean. "Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

An outstanding wizard... Sean gripped his hand firmly. "Sean Wallop."

Charlotte seemed fairly familiar with Cedric. She did not stop him just because he was only a third-year, instead telling everyone to make use of whatever they could. In the end, they assembled a makeshift stretcher.

As they placed Percy on the stretcher, her frown deepened.

"Worried about the Ashwinders in the Hospital Wing?" Sean asked.

Charlotte nodded. "Madam Pomfrey is only the school nurse. She should be able to protect herself, but..."

Sean tightened his Wizarding Robes and looked at Charlotte and Cedric. "Would either of you mind giving me a ride?"

The head girl's eyes immediately widened. She said firmly, "No. I can't let a first-year student take such a risk."

"My Petrification Charm is actually pretty good... Petrificus Totalus!" Sean drew his wand and froze an Ashwinder that had slithered past the doorway.

"But if we run into another one of those mutated Ashwinders..." Charlotte was briefly startled by Sean's crisp spellwork, but her brows remained tightly furrowed.

"Please rest assured, I'm very afraid of dying. I won't gamble with my own safety or anyone else's." Sean looked straight into Charlotte's eyes, his tone exceptionally solemn.

Charlotte had wanted to say more, but when she met Sean's gaze, the determination and sincerity in his eyes made her swallow the words.

"All right, Sean. I believe you."

Amid the uproar from the other older students, Fred and George lifted Percy onto the stretcher, while Sean followed behind Cedric.

"Sean, you're very brave. I'm glad to meet you. I mean it," Cedric praised in a low voice.

"Likewise." The two exchanged a smile.

Charlotte gave the others a few instructions, then moved to the front.

"They'll protect us as we break out. Once we reach the courtyard, take off immediately."

Hermione looked at Sean with a face full of worry. She took a step forward, as though she wanted to say something, but stopped herself.

Sean smiled at her and made a reassuring gesture.

He had not made this decision on impulse. His Magical Creature Affinity had already proven effective.

Besides, even if something unexpected happened, Sean still had other options.

He had yet to use Unicorn's Favor, and the improved Fiendfyre Curse could protect both himself and the others.

Sean did not care whether those things would expose his secrets. To him, the safety of these people he had long come to know was what mattered. They were only items and secrets, after all, and he trusted Dumbledore's character as well.

As far as Sean was concerned, doing everything he could to help others while ensuring his own safety was his way of living.

Besides, he never wanted to see the hollow sorrow in George's eyes from the films again.

"Move!" At Charlotte's command, the prepared older students raised their wands and shielded them.

Only after stepping outside did Sean understand why the professors had looked so grim.

There were forty or fifty Ashwinders in this one corridor alone. Red light glimmered in their eyes as they spat out fiery tongues with popping sounds.

"There's magic in Hogwarts' Great Hall as well, so many of the Ashwinders didn't manage to slip inside," Cedric said from ahead of Sean, petrifying an Ashwinder even as he found time to share a bit of knowledge with him.

He was only a third-year, yet Cedric was already this strong... Sean realized that Cedric was more capable than many fifth- and sixth-years.

Was that an advantage of Hogwarts, or a flaw?

Sean shook his head and focused on what lay ahead.

Without encountering any swollen Ashwinders, the group made it safely into the courtyard despite a few scares.

"Normally, Flying Broomsticks can't carry passengers, but we're both small. Hold on tight to me later," Cedric instructed.

Sean nodded, then squeezed onto the back of the Comet 260.

The four Flying Broomsticks slowly rose into the air. Aside from Cedric carrying Sean, the other three had tightly secured stretchers hanging beneath them.

"You three head back and protect the younger students." Charlotte waved her wand at the others, and the Flying Broomsticks slowly flew toward the Hospital Wing.

As they went around the tower, Sean even saw Ashwinders coiled outside the windows, searching for places to lay their eggs.

"Damn it, just how many of these things are in the castle..." Sean frowned. The situation was even worse than he had anticipated.

Giving the tower a wide berth, the group circled around and arrived above the Hospital Wing.

"Over there. No Ashwinders in sight for now—land first!" Charlotte directed everyone down.

Once they were low enough, she jumped straight off her Flying Broomstick. After using the Levitation Charm to slow her descent, she cast another spell and steadily caught Percy's stretcher.

"Madam Pomfrey, are you in there?" The anxious George shouted directly.

But no response came from the Hospital Wing.

Thanks to Ruoyu Hongchen for the donation, and thanks to all the bosses for your support.