I'm Still Just a Child

Sean's eyes trembled.

The flame, which had remained calm all this time, suddenly leaped up. The voice in Sean's mind grew ever more seductive.

"I can help you—"

"I can teach you how to control your power—"

"I can let you—"

"Gain glory."

"Unparalleled glory—"

Sean lowered his head.

After a long while, he asked with difficulty, "How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

The voice gradually rose. "Do you see this magical flame? Ashwinders are born from it endlessly, yet its power has not weakened in the slightest. This is the ultimate goal every wizard pursues: eternity."

Sean's eyes grew increasingly lost as he murmured, "But... how are you going to save me?"

"Your emotions need a powerful vessel for magical power to bear them. As a gift for our first meeting, this magical flame will become that foundation—and the starting point of your glory."

"Then... then what do I have to do..." Sean raised a trembling hand toward the flame, but did not dare truly reach out and touch it.

"Come, touch it—" the voice became even more alluring. "Open your heart to it. Imagine a bridge of communication being built between you."

"Connect your magical power. Let it preserve those thoughts, and then you will preserve glory—"

Sean's lips trembled, and his face twisted uncontrollably into something ferocious.

"As long as... as long as I connect our magical power...?"

"Yes, yes, that's right. It is such a simple thing—"

"I see..."

Sean let out a breath, took several steps back, and bowed slightly with a hand over his chest.

"Thank you for your guidance." He forced out a smile.

The mismatched pupils in Sean's eyes remained cold and violent, but the confusion in his other eye had vanished, replaced by clarity.

He maintained an aristocrat's elegance, though his words were far less polite. "I'm still just a child. How could you trick me like this?"

The blue magical flame flickered, then began to shake violently.

The voice turned cold again, though it could no longer suppress its fury. "You... very well—"

"Thank you for the compliment. Ah, no time to chat. I need to deal with things over here. Good night, Mr. Magical Flame?"

Sean quickly retreated to the other side of the corridor, took a deep breath, and pulled out something.

As for a vessel capable of carrying magical power, he did have one.

It was an egg covered in bluish-green patterns. Even beneath the glow of the blue flames, the fluorescence on its surface continued to glimmer stubbornly.

"I'm counting on you..."

Sean inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and placed his hand over the egg.

"Connect our magical power, build a bridge, then open my heart..."

Sean's handsome face kept twisting as pain and violence flashed wildly across it. The egg began to sway softly as well.

After a long while, Sean finally opened his eyes.

The white rings around his pupils gradually faded, and the violence and gloom on his face disappeared.

"It really worked..." Sean panted heavily, feeling himself out in delight. The uncontrollable thoughts in his mind had all vanished!

Utterly exhausted, he leaned against the wall and touched the gently swaying egg.

"You saved my life... If you can hatch someday, you'll be my blood brother—no, my own son!"

Sean raised his eyelids and glanced toward the end of the corridor, where the blue light was still flickering.

But he was not worried in the slightest. If the other party had been capable of acting, how could it possibly have held back until now?

However, Sean had no strength left either. His physical and mental energy had been completely drained; he did not even have the strength to raise his wand.

As for his spell... Sean looked at the blue flames burning quietly beside him.

Under Grindelwald's modifications, the greatest feature of Protego Diabolica was its controllability—though this so-called "controllability" was only in comparison to the original Fiendfyre Curse.

With Sean's ability, he could cast the spell in half a second and take half an hour to withdraw it...

He looked at the ward, which had nearly burned down, and helplessly leaned back against the wall.

He had no energy to call it back now. Fine, he would wait for Dumbledore to return...

Sean let out a breath and closed his eyes.

"Mm... where am I?" Sean struggled to open his eyes and look around.

It was a spacious, beautiful circular room filled with all sorts of amusing little noises. Many strange silver instruments sat atop tables with slender legs, spinning as they puffed out little clouds of smoke.

The walls were covered with portraits of former headmasters, both male and female, all snoring softly in their frames. There was also an enormous claw-shaped desk in the room, and on a shelf behind it sat a tattered, wrinkled Wizard Hat—the Sorting Hat.

The Headmaster's Office? Sean pushed himself halfway up. He was lying on a huge red velvet cushion.

"Looks like you're awake?" a gentle voice came from behind him.

Sean turned around and saw Professor Dumbledore smiling at him.

"Professor?" Sean blinked, then suddenly remembered something and immediately asked, "How is it? The school—and Percy and the others?"

Dumbledore walked over to him and sat down on the steps without any concern for appearances.

"They're all fine. Madam Pomfrey woke up, and Percy has been treated." He clasped his hands together, his wise eyes gleaming with a smiling light. "The castle suffered some damage, but fortunately, no one else was hurt. We only need to repair the castle."

As he spoke, he spread his hands as though something wonderful had happened.

As if infected by his smile, Sean grinned as well.

It's good that everyone's okay... he thought happily.

"To be honest, I should have taken you to the Hospital Wing, but..." Dumbledore spread his hands. "It is a ruin now, and I couldn't very well put you on half a stone wall."

"A ruin?!" Sean's mouth fell open, and then he suddenly felt guilty.

Dumbledore nodded. "The culprit behind the incident left behind a mass of blue flame. That flame came from the Fiendfyre Curse. Even I found it difficult to deal with, so in the end, I could only contain it within a certain area."

"Then," he spread his hands again, "when poor Poppy saw the Hospital Wing, she nearly fainted a second time."

Dumbledore did not mention Sean's Protego Diabolica.

Sean blinked. The Headmaster had definitely noticed it, but since he wasn't bringing it up, Sean would just pretend he didn't know...

"What about Professor Kettleburn?"

"Oh—" Dumbledore's expression became much more serious. "Silvanus was hit by the Imperius Curse and has yet to regain consciousness."

"As for the culprit behind the incident, it was most likely a radical Pure-blood Wizard organization."

"They call themselves—the Death Eaters."