Before Halloween

Seated at the long table in the Great Hall, Sean watched the Slytherins who either gave him slight nods, greeted him with smiling faces, or at worst simply acted as if he did not exist. He let out a headache-inducing sigh.

Why were they being so friendly to him?

Weren't they supposed to stand up for Malfoy?

Weren't they supposed to dislike a son of a Squib like him and keep causing him trouble?

Why had they suddenly all become so friendly?

Who was he supposed to Duel now?

He couldn't exactly challenge someone to a Duel after they greeted him with a smile, could he?

At that point, the only reason for challenging them would be that their smiles were too ugly, wouldn't it?

Speaking of ugly smiles, Sean glanced at Marcus Flint, the sixth-year Slytherin Quidditch captain, then helplessly turned away. When that guy was not smiling, he could at least pass for a cold-faced villain. But when he smiled, with those two rows of wildly uneven buck teeth and eyes squeezed shut until they vanished, few could rival him in the department of ugly smiles.

"Sigh..."

Sean sighed again, feeling rather reflective.

Strength and family background.

Strength had earned Sean respect, while family background had made others smile at him.

When he had challenged Malfoy to a Duel, Sean had already considered what he would do if most of Slytherin turned against him. At the time, his plan had been to find a room in the Room of Requirement that belonged solely to him, rest there, remain apart from Slytherin, attend classes as usual, and look for chances to Duel anyone he disliked.

But Sean had never needed that plan. All the potential consequences of his Duel with Malfoy had been completely eliminated by his nominal grandfather personally stepping in.

For my nominal grandfather to go this far, he must be after more than simply using me as Millicent's whetstone. What exactly does he want? Why is he so concerned about a grandson he has only just gotten to know?

He can't possibly be after me personally, can he?

Only a ghost would believe that!

Sean did not spend all his time speculating about what schemes his nominal grandfather might have.

At this stage, regardless of what his nominal grandfather had in mind, what he had done truly benefited Sean. Sean simply played dumb and accepted the benefits first. As for any other intentions his nominal grandfather might reveal later, he would deal with them then. At worst, he could slip off to Hong Kong and pursue his entertainment career. It was not as if the old man could control him anyway.

After stuffing the last spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth, Sean suddenly heard loud laughter from the Gryffindor table across from him. Looking up, he saw that the Weasley Twins had pranked someone again, triggering laughter from Gryffindor and a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Goyle on the Slytherin side wanted to laugh too, but Malfoy drove the urge back with an elbow. For Slytherins, laughing loudly in public was already embarrassing enough. Laughing because of Gryffindor was even more humiliating.

Most Slytherins found the laughter irritating. They preferred quieter surroundings. If Hogwarts did not have school rules restraining them, they would never have eaten in an environment like this.

Unlike most Slytherins, Sean did not have much of an opinion about the laughter. Looking at how much livelier the other three Houses were than usual, Sean suddenly realized that tomorrow was Halloween. That was likely why the other three Houses were so animated. After all, holidays themselves were deeply enticing to students who had yet to come of age.

Halloween?

Sitting at the long table, Sean suddenly remembered that whenever Halloween came around at home in previous years, his old father would set aside time from the gym and martial arts dojo to decorate the house in Halloween fashion. Unfortunately, he would not get to see that scene this year.

Wait...

Sean frowned slightly as something suddenly occurred to him.

He vaguely remembered that something seemed to happen on Halloween that threw Hogwarts into unrest. Harry and the others in particular seemed to run into some trouble. Though they escaped without real harm, it was still something worth paying attention to.

However, Sean had been in this world for so long that only a few key plot points remained in his memory. Many details and side plots had become blurry, and he could not recall them completely for the moment.

Forget it. I'll take another look when the time comes. They'll get through it safely anyway. It has nothing to do with me.

With that thought, Sean stopped dwelling on it and picked up another piece of bread to eat with bacon.

At that moment, Blaise arrived late. Seeing the exhausted look on his face, Sean's expression turned slightly strange.

"You didn't go fool around last night, did you?"

"How can you call it fooling around?" Blaise said righteously. "How can you slander me out of nowhere? What do you mean, fooling around? I was seriously dating! Can intimate contact between people in love be called fooling around?"

"Oh..." Sean said with an unchanged expression. "So I wasn't wrong, was I?"

"More or less."

Sean had long grown accustomed to Blaise's chaotic private life. Besides, Blaise really was rather shameless about this sort of thing.

"Enough. Eat quickly. Transfiguration is next, and Professor McGonagall will not give Slytherin special treatment. If you dare fall asleep in class, she will definitely dock you heavily. Gryffindor's points have dropped badly lately, after all. Within the rules, Professor McGonagall will probably be more than happy to deduct a few points from Slytherin."

While stuffing food into his mouth, Blaise chuckled. "Isn't that thanks to you? It's been less than three months since school started, and you've nearly earned back all the points you lost before. If you keep it up, then with the Gryffindor Savior's rate of losing points, Slytherin's Seven Consecutive Championships should be a sure thing."

Hearing that, Sean looked at Blaise with a somewhat strange expression. He vaguely remembered that Slytherin's winning streak was supposed to be ended by Gryffindor this term. With Dumbledore here topping up Harry's points, awarding fifty or even a hundred points at a time, even two Slytherins might not be able to withstand it.

Then there was Harry's talent at Quidditch, which meant more points were practically guaranteed. When it came to earning points, even if three or five Seans were tied together, they still would not be able to beat Harry.

All Sean could do now was make up all the points he had lost. If conditions allowed, he could earn a few more. That way, even if the winning streak ended, no one could blame him. That would be enough.

Please bookmark, please vote, please keep reading—please keep reading, please keep reading. Important things should be said three times. Also, thanks to Goneee for the 100 Qidian Coin reward. Many thanks.