Let Me See Which Poor Sap It Is

The owner of the hand that patted Capen on the shoulder smiled in the sunlight streaming through the tower.

"It seems Mr. Roman had foreseen everything all along?" Sean said with a smile.

If Madam Pomfrey saw Capen's expression now, she would probably call him a little liar.

The boy, whose face was still contorted with pain and tinged with sadness, put on a shy smile in the Hospital Wing; he was even a little embarrassed.

"No, not at all, sir." Capen scratched his head sheepishly.

Wallerup patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely, "A smart and bold plan, you did a great job, Capen."

Upon receiving praise from his idol, Capen was somewhat overwhelmed. He excitedly clutched his sleeve, suddenly feeling that everything he had done recently had been worthwhile.

Sean put his arm around the other man's shoulder and walked down the street, touching the spot where Madam Pomfrey had just applied medicine to him as they went.

Capen hissed.

A hint of surprise flashed in Sean's eyes. "Good lad, you're serious?"

Capen scratched his head sheepishly. "I had Milani cast a spell on me... I'm so sorry, Mr. Wallop, I haven't mastered the Illusion Charm you taught me yet, it can only cover a very small area."

Sean shook his head with a wry smile. It was already quite an achievement for a first-year student to be able to use the Illusion Charm. However, this kid was really ruthless to himself—he had to prepare well in advance in order to wait for the other party to take the bait. In other words, Capen was tormented by the Stinging Hex for at least several hours.

For some reason, Sean felt a little sorry for the kid.

He waved his wand, and a soft light fell on Capen's face. To Capone's surprise, his face, which had been stinging even after applying the medicine, immediately felt comfortable.

"A little healing spell." Sean winked at him.

Capen nodded gratefully, then asked somewhat apologetically, "Sir, was what I did inappropriate?"

Sean almost spat out his water. He looked at the person opposite him with amusement. "Ask me now? You even dared to scheme against Professor Rosier."

Sean didn't ask many questions about Capen's plan, trusting that the other party could do it well. However, to his surprise, the other party's performance was even better than he had imagined, and even bolder.

After receiving Professor McGonagall's Sean quickly grasped Capen's plan, but this was based on his thorough understanding of the entire situation. If anyone else had seen the plan, they would have simply shaken their heads in admiration.

This kid has enough patience and keen observation skills.

Thinking of this, Sean asked with great interest, "How did you come to think of Professor Rosier, um, Mr. Grindelwald, whom you greatly admire?"

Capen chuckled. "I was standing on the very edge of the Christmas Ball. Mr. Grindelwald went to dance with Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Rosier's gaze was a little too resentful... Besides, I've run into Professor Rosier many times inside the castle. She basically doesn't show any expression to the other students, but she'll give me a smile."

"I didn't know her before, and my father wouldn't know such an important person either—I knew at the time that she was only smiling at me because of you."

"My original plan was to have Mr. Lestrange caught red-handed by Professor McGonagall and Professor Rosier, and I was sure they would side with me—but Mr. Lestrange himself was too outspoken, so I just gave him a push."

Capen didn't say something, not only about his observations at these specific times and places, but also about the look in Professor Rozier's eyes whenever Professor Rosier and Mr. Grindelwald were both present...

He knew all too well that only someone who idolized another to the extreme would have such a look in their eyes, just like how he idolized Mr. Wallop.

Therefore, Capen knew that if anyone dared to make disrespectful remarks about Mr. Grindelwald in front of Professor Rosier, Professor Rosier would not let it go—just as if someone had been disrespectful to Mr. Wallop in front of him.

Listening to his little apprentice's words, Sean nodded approvingly. "Sharp observation skills, very good."

Capen clenched his fist with excitement and shyness, then asked with some doubt, "Sir, there's something I don't quite understand."

"What?"

"After meeting Mr. Grindelwald at Hogwarts Castle, I realized that the man I had met at Mrs. Bathilda's house was him—but the Mr. Grindelwald I saw there was much younger than he is now."

Sean blinked. "For a great wizard like this, changing one's appearance and physique is incredibly simple."

"I see," Capen, suddenly realizing.

Sean clapped his hands. "You did a good job this time, but I have a question—why did you make friends with so many people? Of course, one reason is to get information from the castle so that you can appear in the right place more 'coincidentally,' and another reason is to build your social image, but for you, it has taken a little too long."

Capen scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "Nothing can be hidden from you, sir—just as you said, when I have enough connections, I can quickly find out what's going on inside the castle—actually, Mr. Lestrange entered the castle a little earlier than I expected. My friend Reno Nick is an owl enthusiast, and he helped me calculate the approximate time when Young Lestrange's owl would deliver the message, but what I didn't expect was that the owl flew faster than I imagined."

"Fortunately, I had a trustworthy friend who helped me delay at the castle gate and also revealed that Professor McGonagall was right next to the library, so I was able to get there in time and just happened to run into Mr. Lestrange at that moment—in fact, the paintings in the Ravenclaw Common Room also helped me."

"As for what you said about me taking longer to plan, on the one hand, I wanted to be more cautious, and on the other hand, through communication with others, I realized that the knowledge you taught me cannot be acquired overnight. So, what I was thinking was to plan while communicating with more people."

"I want to observe them, I want to hone my speaking skills. In this way, I will not only be able to better digest what you have taught me, but I will also gain more friends and support. That way, if I encounter a second or third Mr. Lestrange, or even someone more capable Mr. Lestrange, I can react in time, even if my strength is not strong enough at the time."

Looking at Capen, who was earnestly explaining all his motivations and goals, Sean's smile widened, "So, you were after Mr. Lestrange from the very beginning?"

Capen looked puzzled. "Didn't you say this was a little test for me?"

Sean laughed out loud, "Of course, what I mean is, you did a great job."

"Thank you, sir!" Capen said excitedly.

Sean secretly shook his head. The test he had originally set aside was for Capen to deal with that Young Lestrange, but he hadn't expected that he would even include the other's own father in his scheme.

Moreover, Mr. Lestrange was also a foul-mouthed man who had to insult Capen, and Capone seized the opportunity to launch an even sharper attack.

Tsk, Professor Rosier is much more ruthless than Professor McGonagall...

Before dinner, Sean ran into Vita Rosier around the corner. The headmaster of Newmontgard was wearing a cloak and didn't look like he was going to dinner.

"Good evening, Professor," Sean greeted politely.

However, Rosier nodded, then handed over a thick stack of parchment and said in a low voice, "He asked me to give this to you."

Sean suddenly realized that what he had asked Grindelwald for in his letter had arrived.

I peeled back the parchment and saw familiar cursive script: a topographical map of Durmstrang Castle and a list of secret locations.

With this, their plan to Durmstrang became much easier.

Sean blinked excitedly. "Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, I'm just running an errand." With that, Professor Rosier straightened his cloak and headed towards the door.

"Professor, is there anything else you need so late?" Sean asked.

Professor Rosier simply waved his hand. "I told Professor McGonagall that I had to go back to Newmontgard to take care of some things—and of course, some people need to be punished."

"I understand, have a safe trip."

I wonder which unlucky person it was...

——

The next morning, Sean and his group were having breakfast. Although the Ministry of Magic had long lost its credibility and various well-known media outlets were controlled by the Ministry of Magic, Hermione still maintained her habit of reading the Daily Prophet.

She took a sip of Pumpkin Juice, then pushed the newspaper closer. "Sean, do you know this person?"

Upon hearing this, Sean looked over and saw a news article published on a small page.

"Mr. Lestrange, head of the Counterfeit Defensive Spell and Protective Equipment Investigation and Confiscation Office, a department under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, broke into Hogwarts Castle without cause yesterday and acted irrationally—while being escorted back to the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Lestrange appeared to have completely lost consciousness. He attacked the escorts and then unfortunately fell from his Flying Broomstick. He is expected to spend more than six months in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and Sicknesses. This incident will be further investigated..."

Sean: "..."

He knew which unfortunate person Professor Rosier had punished yesterday...

"Sean?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

Sean shook his head. "I don't know him."

——

Life at Hogwarts continues, and despite the undercurrents, nothing seems outwardly amiss.

As the final match of the Triwizard Cup draws ever closer, the weather is getting increasingly hot.

However, Sean couldn't find a time to go outdoors and play with his friends anymore; to be precise, fifth graders didn't even have the inclination for that anymore.

Although a year has been skipped, the procedures still need to be followed. Instead of the usual final exams, they will face the OWL, which is the Ordinary Wizarding Level.

The compulsory subjects for this exam include Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, Astronomy, and Herbology.

Of course, the subjects that students choose to take in the third grade will also be included in the exams.

Even now, with the Ministry of Magic's credibility greatly declining, the Ordinary Wizarding Level has not been abolished, and for the vast majority of ordinary wizards, having this certificate is still very necessary.

The same applies to people like Sean Hermione who have taken a lot of elective courses.

Only by passing the exams can you continue your studies in sixth grade—most wizards will drop a few subjects in sixth grade, such as Potions or Transfiguration. Of course, if you fail too many subjects, you may have to retake them to continue your studies.

For Sean, there are two main tasks: preparing for the Triwizard Cup, planning for Durmstrang after the tournament, and hosting weekly member gatherings for the Golden Dawn. Now, with the addition of the OWL, even he is finding it difficult to keep up.

Initially, since there was no precedent for fifth-year students participating in the Triwizard Cup, Professor McGonagall and others were willing to vouch for Sean so that he would not have to take the exam. However, Sean ultimately decided to take the exam himself.

He's now surprisingly regretting it for once.

However, now that the decision has been made, I still need to study hard.

Sean was a little embarrassed to go to Professor McGonagall and tell her he didn't want to take the exam—that's probably a kind of teenage trouble.

"Sean, here—" Hermione handed over a thick notebook in the library.

"What is this?" Sean took it.

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Of course it's all the knowledge points and must-know questions in the History of Magic. You haven't looked at any History of Magic at all since you started reviewing."

Sean grimaced. "No way, Hermione... I was planning to give up on History of Magic in sixth grade."

"But you can't just hand in a blank paper, and besides, I can't allow my best friend to get excellent grades in all other subjects but only a Troll in History of Magic— " Hermione said, tilting her head back in an undeniable tone.

Daisy, who wasn't under much pressure to study, ate a marshmallow. She licked the frosting from the corner of her mouth and nodded in agreement. "That's right. If word got out, wouldn't it mean that the super-achiever Miss Granger, couldn't even provide her friend's study notes?"

"Shut up! Don't think I'll ignore you just because you don't have to take the Ordinary Wizarding Level. If you don't get first place in the fourth-year exams, you're not going to have a good life from now on." Hermione glared at the Little White Flower.

"But... the professors said I don't have to take the exam and can focus on preparing for the Triwizard Cup..." Daisy said pitifully with a bitter face.

"And then what? You're not going to participate? If you don't participate, how will you prove your learning achievements this semester? If you don't participate, how will you..."

Watching Hermione launch into a long speech, Sean and Daisy exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

At times like these, never provoke Hermione...

In the evening, when they came out of the library, many students were heading to the playground.

Sean grabbed a student he knew well. "What's wrong?"

"Sean? You're the one in charge, go and see, I heard they've started setting up the venue for the final Triwizard Tournament."