Warning

He did not immediately open the note Snape had given him.

It was not until he returned to his room and finished washing up that Sean sat down at his desk and opened the note. Looking at the names of the twelve Potions-related books written on it, he was first surprised, then grateful.

Sean had always seen Snape as cold and tragic. He had never imagined that he would witness such a human side of Snape in person.

To be honest, while he had been at the Potions Club earlier, Sean had genuinely considered temporarily withdrawing. He simply could not keep up with the pace of their discussions. Sean's Potions skills might have been considered outstanding among first-years, perhaps even second-years, but before those Potions elites, they were still somewhat lacking.

Now that he had the reading list Snape had given him, it could not immediately improve Sean's abilities, but it was equivalent to showing him a shortcut. He could use that shortcut to catch up with those ahead of him, and that was already an enormous help to Sean.

After memorizing the titles on the note, Sean placed it in his desk drawer before getting into bed to sleep.

"Sean, did you hear? Malfoy seems to be planning to duel that Savior from Gryffindor."

"A duel?"

The word "duel" immediately caught Sean's attention. He swallowed his oatmeal, looked at Blaise, and asked, "Malfoy wants to duel Harry?"

Perhaps because they belonged to different houses, and the two houses had a longstanding feud, Sean had not interacted much with Harry lately. At most, they exchanged greetings when they met or chatted briefly in class. After all, to Harry, Sean was a Slytherin, a house known for producing Dark Wizards.

Sean found that somewhat regrettable, but he was not overly upset by it. Mentally, he was not truly an eleven- or twelve-year-old child. His soul belonged to an adult, and he had some experience with letting go.

Still, Harry was Sean's friend. So when he heard that Malfoy had challenged Harry to a duel, he instinctively felt that something was wrong. He knew full well that someone like Malfoy was nothing more than a spoiled young master. He was excellent at making people uncomfortable, but Sean did not believe for even a second that he would risk being defeated or injured just to challenge Harry.

Moreover, Sean vaguely remembered that Harry seemed to encounter some sort of mishap during this duel with Malfoy. Though it ended without real danger, Sean still felt that, as a friend, he should warn him.

"Blaise, did Harry agree?"

"I heard he did, but I didn't pay attention to the details."

"Alright, thanks."

Sean wiped his mouth and glanced toward the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron had just finished breakfast and were preparing to leave. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Blaise and said, "Blaise, hold my books for me. I'm going over there."

Seeing Sean rise to leave, Blaise immediately grabbed his wrist and asked in a low voice, "Sean, you aren't going to warn that Savior, are you?"

Sean looked down at Blaise and nodded slightly.

Seeing him nod, Blaise frowned and continued, "Sean, I know you and the Savior get along fairly well, but friendship has never existed between Slytherin and Gryffindor. You may treat the Savior sincerely, but he may not believe you."

Sean understood Blaise's concerns. He was also well aware of the problem, so he nodded slightly and said, "Blaise, don't worry. I'm prepared for it. I'm only doing my duty as a friend. Whether I succeed or not won't affect me."

Blaise looked at Sean and, after making sure Sean was not merely brushing him off, nodded slightly. "Since you're prepared, I won't try to stop you. Be careful, and don't let the others notice."

By "the others," Blaise meant the other Slytherins. Sean understood what he meant, nodded, then got up and followed Harry and the others out of the Great Hall.

"Harry!"

Hearing someone call him, Harry immediately turned around. When he saw Sean, he hurried over. In truth, Sean had always been Harry's friend in his heart. It was only because of everything that had happened afterward that he had developed some reservations toward Sean, but not to the point of pretending not to know him.

"Sean, what do you need?"

News of Sean defeating Janson in a Pureblood Duel had spread to the other houses as well. Harry greatly admired Sean for daring to accept a second-year's challenge, and that was also why he had agreed to Malfoy's challenge so readily.

Sean grabbed Harry and led him and Ron to the corner of the corridor beside the Great Hall, then asked in a low voice, "Harry, I heard you're planning to duel Malfoy?"

"That's right. I already agreed to it!" Harry nodded and admitted it readily.

"Harry, listen to me. With Malfoy's personality, challenging you is definitely a scheme. If I were you, I absolutely wouldn't go tonight. Otherwise, there's a good chance you'll fall into Malfoy's trap."

Hearing Sean's words, Ron froze for a moment. He looked at Sean, then at Harry. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He merely stood to one side, watching Sean and Harry nervously.

Harry frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Sean, it's not that I don't believe you. But whether Malfoy shows up or not, as long as there's even the slightest chance that he will, I have to go. I don't want to be a coward."

"Harry, I'm not asking you to be a coward. Malfoy definitely won't show up. He may even have set a trap for you. If you go, you'll be walking right into it."

"I'll bear the consequences. Thank you, Sean."

After answering Sean stiffly, Harry turned and left.

Ron looked at Sean, then at Harry's retreating back, and hurried after him.

Watching Harry and Ron leave, Sean shook his head helplessly. He had said what needed to be said and fulfilled his duty as a friend. Since Harry insisted, then he could go. One's life belonged to oneself; no one could control another person.

Still, after this, regardless of the outcome, his friendship with Harry was probably nearing its end. But perhaps that was for the best. Being Harry's friend was not easy. Becoming friends with Harry in the first place had been an accident, and now it was not bad for them to go their separate ways.

Please bookmark, vote with recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, follow along, and invest. Please...