"Herbivious!" Sean's wand slashed through the air.
Boom...
Unlike any previous casting, this time when Sean cast his Level 5 mastery of the spell, the ground instantly crumbled beneath them. Massive thorn-like vines, as thick as stone pillars, rose violently from beneath the surface. They unfurled and entwined with earth-shaking force, reaching out to entangle Peter Pettigrew completely.
This was Sean's first true encounter with the full power of a Level 5 spell. It must be said that any spell reaching Level 5 mastery possesses truly astonishing destructive power.
Peter Pettigrew gazed at the massive vines with a look of absolute shock on his rat-like face. He had long known of Sean's strength through rumors and observations, but he had never imagined Sean's power could possibly reach this terrifying level. A third-year wizard with such strength would have been a force to be reckoned with even among the Death Eaters themselves.
Unfortunately, you cannot catch me with just this magic alone!
Pettigrew continued to charge forward despite his fear. Just as a thick, thorny vine was about to wrap tightly around his body, Pettigrew's human form suddenly shrank rapidly, transforming seamlessly into a rat. He weaved skillfully through the narrow gaps between the massive vines, dodging them completely before regaining his human form and continuing to lunge desperately at Sean.
Sean's eyebrows raised slightly as he watched Pettigrew's fluid movements with genuine interest.
The ability to freely switch between human and Animagus form grants wizards immense tactical mobility in combat. So Animagus magic can be used in this manner! Fascinating.
The thick vines were far too cumbersome to grasp the small, agile mouse form.
Sean waved his wand gently, and a large number of smaller, thinner vines immediately extended from the main thick vine, wrapping toward Pettigrew with increased speed. However, as soon as these smaller vines wrapped around the mouse, Pettigrew's body expanded instantly back to human size, breaking free from the smaller vines with brute force. Although he was scratched by the sharp barbs covering the vines, the injuries were not a serious problem for Pettigrew to overcome.
Dodging and evading repeatedly, with Sean's deliberate allowance—as he wanted to observe the Animagus usage techniques more closely—Peter Pettigrew quickly approached Sean's position. However, as he drew closer and closer to Sean, Peter Pettigrew gradually developed a terrible premonition in his heart. He did not know where this ominous feeling came from, but the very fact that it existed made Peter Pettigrew feel increasingly uneasy with each passing moment.
At this moment, just as Peter Pettigrew was about to reach Sean's immediate vicinity, the vines that had been relentlessly chasing and attempting to entangle him suddenly withered and died. Sean looked at Pettigrew with a half-smile on his face and said calmly, "If I was not afraid that you would be crushed into minced meat by the vines, do you honestly think you could have come this close to me?"
"Anyone can talk big, you arrogant—"
"Glacius!" Sean interrupted, gently waving the wand held in his right hand.
A supernatural chill spread instantly through the air. Starting from directly beneath Sean's feet, the weeds and grass on the ground were quickly covered with layers of thick frost and ice. The frost continued to spread outward in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, the entire area in front of Sean was completely frozen solid—including Peter Pettigrew himself!
The mouse's small body was frozen within the expanding frost. Feeling the intense coldness penetrating his body that seemed to freeze his very blood, Peter Pettigrew immediately forced himself to regain his human form. He burst through the ice layer encasing his body, and upon returning to his larger human form, his natural resistance to the cold was also significantly improved.
Looking at Sean while trembling violently from the lingering cold, Peter Pettigrew finally knew with absolute certainty that he had made a grave and potentially fatal mistake. He had spent so much time living with Ron and Harry, and so many comfortable years hiding in Gryffindor Tower, that he had subconsciously assumed that third-year students were, at best, only as strong as Ron and Harry themselves—or at most, perhaps as skilled as Hermione Granger. No matter how naturally strong Sean might be, could he possibly be stronger than students in fifth and sixth years?
Even after directly witnessing Sean's devastating vine spell, he had merely assumed that Sean might have learned a few impressive magical skills beyond his year. Besides, the actual power of that spell had been somewhat limited in its ability to catch him due to his Animagus advantage.
However, the cold hard facts had proved beyond any doubt that he had indeed severely underestimated Sean Bulstrode.
"Sean, Sean, please listen—I can explain everything! You have got it all completely wrong! I am actually the victim in all of this! I am merely afraid of retaliation from Sirius and Lupin! It was Sirius, not me, who was the true murderer of James and Lily Potter!"
"Hmm..." Sean made a noncommittal sound.
Sean looked at Peter Pettigrew, who was trembling pathetically and whose eyes kept rolling around desperately seeking an escape route. In his previous life, he had deeply hated rats and mice, and this life was absolutely no exception to that aversion. The difference was that in his previous life, he did not possess magic, and the mere sight of mice had made him feel deeply unsettled and he had tried his best to stay far away from them. But in this current life, Sean had magic at his command, and when he faced rats again, he now had the power to decide their life and death with a simple spell.
Now, seeing Peter Pettigrew in this pathetic shape of a human-rat hybrid, Sean felt a profound sense of disgust rising from the very bottom of his heart. He looked at Peter Pettigrew, who kept desperately rambling about how innocent he supposedly was, and said to him with cold detachment, "Who killed James Potter and Lily Potter, and what does any of that have to do with me personally?"
"What, what do you mean?" Peter Pettigrew stammered in confusion.
Peter Pettigrew looked at Sean, who was displaying an expression of open disgust, with a completely confused look upon his face. For a moment, he was utterly bewildered by Sean's response and did not know what to say in return.
Sean looked directly at Peter Pettigrew and said to him clearly, "From the very beginning, my target was only you—only you specifically, Peter Pettigrew. As for who you killed and who persecuted or threatened you over the years, what do any of these things have to do with me?"
"You, you... are you not Harry's friend? Why would you—"
"I am indeed Harry's friend, which is precisely why there are many things I will not interfere with or try to solve for Harry without his permission. The task of taking revenge for his parents and avenging their friends properly belongs to Harry himself, along with Lupin and the others who knew them. If they invite me to help them in their quest, then I will naturally agree to assist them. If they do not ask for my help, I will not presume to decide for them without their authorization. This is not a difficult concept to understand, is it?"
"Then you, why are you—"
Frowning slightly with growing impatience, Sean said sharply, "I have already stated clearly that I am doing this for you—for Peter Pettigrew specifically—and that is all. You do not need to continue speaking this transparent nonsense in a pathetic attempt to delay time. At least before you can fully recover your ability to move freely, I have already taken action against you."
The precise moment he heard Sean's final words, Peter Pettigrew's pupils shrank noticeably in fear, and then he suddenly roared with desperate fury. He transformed into his rat form once again and launched himself directly toward Sean in a last-ditch attack.
But all that greeted Peter Pettigrew's desperate charge was Sean's calmly raised wand.
"Pain Extraction!" Sean cast firmly.
"Ahhhh!" Pettigrew's scream pierced the night air.
As Sean cast his spell with focused intent, all of Peter Pettigrew's joyful and happy memories began to transform into transparent, twisted ethereal threads. They were forcibly ripped away from his contorted face and poured directly into the glowing tip of Sean's waiting wand.
At that precise moment, Sean felt an indescribable surge of joy and happiness flooding through his consciousness. Simultaneously, his mental state—which had been growing slightly exhausted from repeatedly casting powerful magic—was instantly nourished and began to recover rapidly!
The Pain Extraction ability, derived directly from the Dementors themselves, actually possessed a hidden secondary effect that Sean had not anticipated!
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