Detailed Plans and Thorough Preparations

"Andy, send me the materials I asked for as soon as you can."

"I'll do my best, but there are simply too many materials on your list. I need some time."

"That's fine. Just get them to me within three days."

After seeing Andy off, Sean sat at his desk and continued pondering his plan.

Sean had not told Andy about the matter, so as to prevent him from making any connections. He planned to tell Andy that someone had been digging into him only after Tarkoon was dead. As for how to deal with it then, they could discuss it when the time came.

As for why Sean had suddenly asked Andy to purchase a large quantity of materials, the official reason was to practice brewing potions. Potions was inherently practical in nature, and after joining the Potions Club, Sean naturally had a need to try brewing potions himself. Buying those materials was therefore perfectly normal. He merely mixed the things he actually wanted into the materials Andy brought over in batches. Besides the ingredients needed for the curse, there were also materials Sean intended to use to brew Polyjuice Potion.

According to Sean's plan, he needed enough Polyjuice Potion. Fortunately, all the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion could also be used in other potions. By purchasing them separately, he could minimize the chances of arousing suspicion.

Nor did Sean buy materials solely through Andy. He had also asked Samuel and Ilina to purchase some potion ingredients for him. He had even approached a fourth-year Ravenclaw girl he was not very familiar with. She did this kind of business at Hogwarts as well. Sean had observed that she was not close to Andy, which would best ensure that information about the materials he bought would not leak.

Fortunately, Harry still seemed to be investigating Nicolas Flamel. Sean had also kept an eye on Hagrid, but there had been no major developments. It appeared Hagrid had not yet obtained that dragon egg, and Harry's group would not be punished by being sent into the Forbidden Forest for the time being. Sean had plenty of time to prepare.

After all, the curse required fresh magical creature blood. Blood that had been stored for a few days could still be used, but if it sat too long and spoiled, he would need to find fresh magical creature blood again.

Sean had already planned out everything he needed to prepare. All that remained was figuring out how to get to Hogsmeade without making a sound.

As far as Sean knew, there were three passages from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. Two of them led to the Hog's Head Inn and Honeydukes respectively. Unless something unexpected had happened, the owner of the Hog's Head Inn was Dumbledore's younger brother. Sean ruled that one out immediately. He did not believe he was capable of concealing his trips between Hogwarts and the Hog's Head Inn from the man.

According to what Sean knew, the entrance to Honeydukes was on the third floor of Hogwarts, but he did not know its exact location yet. Finding it would inevitably take time and carried the risk of being discovered. If he merely wanted to sneak out of Hogwarts and go play in Hogsmeade, it would not matter whether he was found while searching for the secret passage. But Sean wanted to kill someone, so the more secretive, the better.

After weighing his options, the only route that almost no one knew about was the passage from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack. As long as he went there secretly, the possibility of being discovered was negligible.

Now, only one problem remained.

The Disillusionment Charm!

Only with the aid of the Disillusionment Charm could Sean carry out his plan more discreetly.

In the Great Hall, Sean took a sip of hot Pumpkin Juice and glanced at Blaise across from him. He noticed that not only had this guy rarely been seen over the past two days, but the dark circles under his eyes were getting worse and worse.

"Blaise, could you get some rest? You're only twelve. Your body hasn't even fully developed yet. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to spend every day fooling around with your girlfriend?"

Blaise, who was wolfing down his food like a starving ghost, raised his head and said to Sean with a mocking look, "My dark circles are from being with my girlfriend. What about yours? Did you get them from staying up all night with a cauldron and books?"

Hearing that, Sean reached up and touched beneath his eyes. Recently, especially after the materials he had bought through three different sources had arrived, he had been studying Polyjuice Potion and the Disillusionment Charm nonstop. Aside from classes, he spent most of his time in the Room of Requirement.

"I'm enriching myself. Unlike you, wasting all your time on pointless personal relationships."

"How could someone like you understand the softness and fragrance of girls?"

"Heh. Girls only slow down the speed at which I swing my wand. Someone like you couldn't possibly understand the fragrance of brewing potions or the joy of learning from books."

After trading insults for a while, the two exchanged smiles and continued chatting about this and that.

Blaise looked at Sean. He could vaguely sense that Sean had been busy with something recently, but he could also tell that Sean did not want him involved in it.

For a Slytherin, knowing one's boundaries was important. Even between friends, there had to be boundaries. Since Sean had not told him and had not asked him for help, Blaise treated the matter as if it did not exist and did not ask any further questions.

After eating, Sean and Blaise went their separate ways again. Sean continued to the Room of Requirement to practice the Disillusionment Charm and brew Polyjuice Potion, while Blaise went off to fool around with his third-year girlfriend.

"Hey, what are you planning to do during Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow?"

"Obviously, buy some Honeydukes sweets, then head to The Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer. What about you?"

"Rani asked me to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. I won't be going with you to The Three Broomsticks tomorrow."

"You betrayed us! Just like that—once you get a boyfriend, you forget your sisters!"

Two older Ravenclaw girls passed in front of the tapestry by the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

Just then, Sean came out of the Room of Requirement. Carrying his things, he left the floor directly and returned to the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons, then to his own room.

He lay directly on his bed. Sean was truly exhausted.

After nearly half a month of effort, he had finally gained a preliminary grasp of the Disillusionment Charm and brewed enough Polyjuice Potion. In the process, he had spent almost all the money he had saved up.

Of course, Sean had not come away empty-handed.

Both his ability to brew Polyjuice Potion and the Disillusionment Charm he had learned were tremendous gains. Together, they could greatly increase Sean's ability to survive outside Hogwarts.

Tomorrow was Hogsmeade weekend. It was time to make his preparations.

Tarkoon happened to visit the Hog's Head Inn every Hogsmeade weekend. Then I'll make the Hog's Head Inn my target and get Tarkoon's hair, blood, and teeth in one go!

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