Snow blanketed Hogwarts Castle in a shimmering layer of frost, making the longing between people feel even stronger.
Still, Sean didn't have a single letter to send. And, he figured, no letters were coming his way either.
A week had passed, and Sean was still bouncing between the dungeons, the Transfiguration office, and the Alchemy room. Alchemy was starting to click, but his talent was still locked:
[Featherlight Quill: Apprentice Level (1/300)]
[Craft three apprentice-level alchemical items to unlock the Apprentice Alchemist title]
Like most magical disciplines in the Harry Potter world, Sean needed to craft a few simple alchemical creations to level up. Meanwhile, Professor Terra had given him some homework: make a Howler and pick another alchemical project of his choice.
The Weasley twins, Fred and George, were very eager for Sean to choose one of their wild inventions.
"Look at this! Peruvian Vanishing Smoke Bomb!" Fred had popped out from behind a painting in the corridor yesterday afternoon, holding a dark, round object. The moment he tossed it, the area was swallowed in pitch-black darkness—not even Lumos or Incendio could pierce through.
But Sean could navigate from the corridor to the Great Hall with his eyes closed, so the twins' hopes were dashed.
"I told you the Great Hall's food smells are just too tempting!" Fred wailed dramatically, pretending to be heartbroken.
"Why are you guys so set on me picking your invention?" Sean asked, eyeing the goofy Weasleys.
"Those old-school projects are so boring," Fred said, practically bouncing with excitement. "But if you use one of our creations—"
"—Professor Terra might take notice!" George chimed in.
"And if she likes it, we could get investors!" Fred added, his eyes gleaming.
"All it'd take is one 'Not bad, has potential' from Terra," George said with a wink.
"And wizards from Beauxbatons and Uagadou would be throwing Galleons at us!"
"You'll see how big a deal Terra is in the alchemy world!" the twins said in unison, their voices practically harmonized.
In the end, Sean chose Canary Creams (or some kind of transfiguration food) as his practice project. Along with the Howler, he had to finish both alchemical creations before Christmas. That meant figuring out the materials, fusion rituals, and rune arrays for both. His schedule was getting tight.
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December had officially arrived. One morning, Hogwarts woke up to a thick blanket of snow, several feet deep, with the lake frozen solid.
Sean stepped out of the castle with Professor Terra's notes in hand. Outside, a gaggle of young witches and wizards ran around, laughing and chasing each other through the snow.
Even though Sean could run and jump now, he still preferred quiet corners. He cast a beginner-level Incendio to light some dry grass in a fireproof jar, then summoned two fire salamanders. They left scorch marks in the snow, darting around until their flames fizzled out, vanishing into Hogwarts' snowy grounds.
For a while, Sean had been mulling over what kind of transfiguration to focus on. Advanced transfiguration—turning one living thing into another—was tricky, and with his limited time, he could probably only master one type.
After some thought, the most interesting choice, and the one he'd studied the closest, was the wizarding world's trusty messenger: the owl.
Sean pulled out a piece of loose parchment, waved his wand, and a flock of transfigured owls took flight from his hand.
"Merlin's beard!" Ron gasped, wide-eyed.
"It's not that shocking. Sean's transfiguration skills are already better than some upper-year students," Justin said calmly.
"Some? Try all of them," Ron muttered under his breath.
Ever since the pact at Hagrid's hut, the six young wizards—Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Justin, and Sean—had been sticking closer together. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, all Gryffindors, usually moved as a pack. Their mission was simple: find Justin, because where Justin was, Sean wasn't far behind.
[You practiced advanced intermediate transfiguration with expert precision. Proficiency +100]
The system pinged in Sean's mind. He knew even advanced intermediate transfiguration wasn't enough to make a dent in the tens of thousands of proficiency points he needed. Only by pushing into high-level transfiguration could he speed things up. He hadn't forgotten how practicing expert-level advanced transfiguration last time gave him a tenfold proficiency boost.
Right now, his big task was turning a living creature into an owl. Professor McGonagall had given him some beetles to practice with and drilled him on the key points of advanced transfiguration.
While Sean was poring over her notes about owl transformations, Justin, Hermione, and the others got swept up in the snowy chaos, their inner kids taking over. Before long, they were in a full-on snowball fight.
Wizard snowball fights were a bit different from Muggle ones. When Justin dodged Hermione's first snowball, she waved her wand, muttering a spell, and a barrage of snowballs followed. Justin, knowing his [Skilled] level Wingardium Leviosa was no match for Hermione's, didn't try to fight for control of the snowballs. Instead, he got creative, casting Aguamenti to create a stream of water that froze into an ice wall.
Watching the chaos, Harry and Ron quietly dropped their snowballs, pulled out their wands, and joined in. Their Wingardium Leviosa skills were getting better with practice.
"What's up with Sean?" Hermione asked Justin during a brief truce, nodding toward Sean, who was reading notes off to the side.
"My mom always says everyone finds joy in their own way, but real friends can feel each other's happiness," Justin replied, raising an eyebrow. Just then, Sean glanced over, catching Harry and Ron trying to ambush Hermione. She turned them into snow-covered statues with a flick of her wand, and Sean's lips twitched into a small smile.
In the blue-white haze, a few owls soared through the snowy sky, delivering mail despite the storm. This time of year, they'd need Hagrid's care to recover before flying again.
"Eat my giant snowball, great Gryffindor!" Fred's voice rang out.
Sean glanced up. One of his fire salamanders suddenly swelled, gobbling up Fred's snowball before charging straight at him.
"Oh no!" Fred yelped, sprinting through the snow with the salamander hot on his heels.
George doubled over laughing—until Fred barreled toward him, and soon both twins were being chased in circles by the fiery creature.
"Fred!" George shouted.
"George!" Fred hollered back.
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