"I never handed out signed photos," Harry protested heatedly.
"If Lockhart is still spreading that nonsense—"
But then he saw Hagrid laughing.
"I'm joking," Hagrid said warmly, giving Harry a friendly pat on the back—hard enough that Harry's face bumped into the table.
"I know you didn't. I told Lockhart you didn't need to do anything like that. You're already more famous than he is without even trying."
After chatting with Harry, Hagrid pretended to casually strike up a conversation with Sean beside him.
"Sean, I—I…"
Whenever things got emotional, Hagrid just couldn't hold it in.
The young wizard had helped him so much that Hagrid sometimes felt "Little Dumbledore" really was the perfect nickname for him.
Outside, the clouds drifted apart, revealing the bright, golden sun.
The snow that had piled up around Hagrid's hut for decades melted into thin streams not long after he arrived.
…
That day, Hogwarts was buzzing with excitement.
Third-years and above could freely visit Hogsmeade Village—something the first- and second-years envied terribly.
"If we're going to Hogsmeade, I'm counting on you to handle the details, Sean," Justin said inside the castle, holding several copies of The Green Notes Collection.
It was the new edition they were about to release, covering nearly all second-year material.
Sean needed to sign them so they could sell the copies as collector's editions.
"Sure," Sean said with a nod—just as the Weasley twins poked their heads out from behind a painting of a wheat field.
"Great Green!" Fred announced breathlessly, crumbs still clinging to his robes as if he'd run all the way back.
"Please tell me you've got it."
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up," George said, unable to contain himself.
Under Justin's confused gaze, Sean pulled out the Marauder's Map.
He took out his wand, tapped the parchment, and said:
"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
It was honestly pretty funny—neither the twins nor Justin believed that line for even a moment.
"To get to Hogsmeade," Fred said, covering his mouth to stifle laughter as he traced a passage route with his finger, "there are seven ways in total. Filch knows about these four—"
He pointed them out one by one.
"—We're pretty sure only the two of us know the remaining three. Forget the one behind the fifth-floor mirror; we used it up until last winter, but it's collapsed—totally blocked."
"This one here is probably unused too, since the Whomping Willow sits right on top of the entrance."
"And this last one leads straight to Honeydukes' cellar. We've used it loads of times. You've probably noticed—the entrance is right outside this classroom, behind the hump of the One-Eyed Witch."
As soon as they finished, the twins dashed off—clearly very busy.
The Marauder's Map had a fun little feature: it could guide a wizard as they used it.
For example—
Justin stared in surprise as a new black dot appeared on the map labeled Sean Green.
It stood exactly where Sean was in real life—midway down the fourth-floor corridor. Justin leaned closer.
Little-dot-Sean appeared to be tapping the hump of the statue.
Justin glanced at real Sean's impassive face, then back at the map, trying not to laugh.
He pulled out his wand and tapped the statue—nothing.
He looked down again. A tiny bubble appeared beside Sean's dot, reading:
Dissendium.
"That's brilliant—Dissendium!" Justin whispered as he tapped the stone again.
Immediately, the witch's hunchback swung open, revealing a space just big enough for a slim person to crawl through.
"That's real magic…" Justin breathed.
"So—are we heading out?"
Sean nodded, and Justin practically dove headfirst into the tunnel.
"Lumos."
Sean's wand lit up like a bright lamp, illuminating the twisting passage ahead.
They slid down a long stone chute, landing on cold, wet earth.
Then they walked through a cramped, winding tunnel—more like a giant rabbit burrow.
Ten minutes later, they reached the base of a worn stone staircase stretching upward, out of sight.
Justin leaned forward to climb—but Sean flicked his wand.
On the other side, a staircase grew upward on its own, lifting them gently.
"Watch your head—"
Sean didn't finish before Justin ducked quickly, narrowly avoiding a trapdoor swinging open.
When they pushed it aside, lively chatter and shopkeepers' calls rushed in:
"Grab another box of Jelly Slugs, dear! They're practically clearing us out—"
A woman's voice drifted over. The two boys froze as she glanced in their direction.
"Not good—" Justin muttered, quickly casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
When he turned his wand toward Sean, the small wizard had already vanished from the stairwell—
Only a black cat sat there, staring calmly back at him.
"I've heard cats have seven times a human's reaction speed," he murmured for no reason at all.
…
Honeydukes was packed with Hogwarts students.
Sean and Justin squeezed sideways through the crowd, eyes scanning every shelf.
Row upon row of colorful sweets gleamed under the lights: creamy butter almonds, sparkling pink coconut ice, glossy honey-colored toffees, hundreds of neatly stacked chocolates, a huge barrel of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and another full of Fizzing Whizbees…
Against the opposite wall were the "special effects" candies:
Blow-Blue Bubblegum (filling rooms with floating, bellflower-blue bubbles for days), feather-light Peppermint Slivers, tiny black Pepper Imps ("Make your friends breathe fire!"), Ice Mice ("Hear your teeth squeak!"), frog-shaped peppermint ice cream ("It'll hop in your belly!"), spun-sugar feather toffees, and exploding marshmallow clusters.
"We need to get to Green Books—they should be opening now," Justin said, pulling out a map-like sheet marking the Hogsmeade shops.
"I've got to say, Sean… we still don't have enough staff.
Back when we weren't running a proper storefront, delaying releases was fine. But with a shop, we need a real schedule…"
The two walked through Hogsmeade.
Justin grinned ear to ear, watching the snow dust the rooftops. He talked while Sean murmured replies beside him.
Hogsmeade looked like it had stepped out of a Christmas card—straw-roof cottages and shops coated in fresh snow, winter holly wreaths hanging on doors, trees decorated with enchanted candles that twinkled warmly.
Snow was always falling. The village was always lively.
They walked quietly for a while, hearing only the soft crunch of snow underfoot.
Then, as they passed the Three Broomsticks, Sean spotted an unexpected figure:
A person with their face hidden under a hood.
Sean recognized him instantly—
Remus John Lupin.