Chapter 117: Halloween Plans
For the next while, Shawn devoted his time to planning for one thing.
The approaching Halloween.
Early in the morning, Shawn caught the sweet, enticing scent of roasted pumpkin drifting through the corridors.
He looked out through the stained glass. The Quidditch pitch looked especially empty under the grey, overcast sky.
An unusually large figure was crossing the yellowed lawn like a moving mountain. He cradled an enormous pumpkin in his arms – alarmingly large, with a grinning, gap‑toothed face already carved into its orange skin. Through the hollow eyes you could see his fuzzy moleskin coat behind it.
Few people knew that the pumpkin lanterns at Hogwarts' Halloween came from Hagrid's garden. Each one was the size of a small shed.
The Hope Room.
Bat decorations had already been put up. Justin was busy making sweets. A faint milky fragrance wafted from the table.
The door opened gently, but no one was visible. Then it closed again.
Hermione was practising the nonverbal Levitation Charm, but whenever she could not speak aloud, she could not help being distracted.
That distraction quickly drew her attention to Neville, who was trembling. He stared nervously at the door, shaking, lips quivering as if he wanted to say something but could not get it out.
"Shawn!"
"Shawn?"
Hermione and Justin spoke at the same time. Shawn appeared in his seat, as if shedding an Invisibility Cloak.
His gaze turned to them with mild curiosity, as if waiting for something.
"The smell, Shawn. Your scent is easy to recognise," Justin said, shaping the soft candy mixture as he looked up with a smile.
"The light, Shawn. At night I definitely would not have spotted you," Hermione said, frowning in disbelief.
"Was that… the Disillusionment Charm?"
Shawn nodded.
"Really – I thought it was some kind of magical artefact. That is a spell only older students can learn! I have only seen it in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6…" Hermione said in amazement. Then she looked at the feather that stubbornly refused to levitate silently, then at Shawn, looking somewhat troubled.
She had not even finished The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, let alone Grade 6. That was two whole books away!
Neville, who had been shaking constantly, suddenly stopped trembling. The moment he saw Shawn, he relaxed.
"Oh, it is Shawn…"
The small interruption quickly ended.
Shawn gazed at the Fanged Geranium on the table. It loved making squeaking sounds and had faithfully accompanied Shawn's Quietus practice.
Today, his Quietus proficiency was about to advance.
[You practised Quietus once at Expert standard, Proficiency +50]
[A new Charms domain title has been unlocked.]
Shawn opened the panel expectantly.
[Title: Charms Proficient]
[Greatly increases sensitivity to Charms. Greatly enhances Charms talent.]
Increased perception?
In the afternoon's Disillusionment Charm practice, Shawn deeply felt the effect of heightened perception.
With stronger perception, Shawn could better sense the intensity changes when casting spells and adjust his pronunciation and gestures accordingly.
As a result, he quickly reached Entry.
When he opened the panel again, there was some visible progress:
[Name: Shawn Green]
[Identity: Wizard]
[Title: Charms Proficient]
[Proficiency]
[Levitation Charm: Expert (600/9000)]
[Finite: Expert (120/9000)]
[Quietus: Expert (10/9000)]
[Disillusionment Charm: Entry (6/300)]
…
[Advancement: Twelve Expert‑level spells or five Master‑level spells will unlock the Expert title in the Charms domain.]
How many?
Shawn thought he had misread it.
He quietly closed the panel and reopened it, feeling like he must have opened it the wrong way.
[Advancement: Twelve Expert‑level spells or five Master‑level spells will unlock the Expert title in the Charms domain.]
Now Shawn saw it clearly and calmly accepted it.
He had come to deeply understand what Madam Miranda Goshawk had written in The Standard Book of Spells:
"One fact of learning magic is to master as many spells as possible, including many ancient magics. The more spells you know, the more you can accomplish.
"Another fact is that once you have mastered a spell, you must practise it constantly. There is an enormous difference between fluent and clumsy spellcasting."
Simply put:
The more you know, the stronger the wizard.
The more proficient the spell, the stronger the wizard.
The panel's Charms advancement combined both points.
But it seemed becoming a Charms expert was not going to be easy.
Based on his previous analysis:
Proficient was the spell level of some older students and adult wizards.
Expert likely corresponded to Auror level.
In that case,
Master should be the level of professors.
As for levels beyond Master, Shawn had no idea.
…
In front of the Fanged Geranium,
Shawn took a sip of hot pumpkin juice. His Quick‑Quotes Quill scratched away, recording.
Before long, it would be Halloween.
For young wizards, the festive holiday meant another chance to play wildly. But for Shawn, it meant change was coming.
On Halloween eve, Professor Quirrell would release a troll to cover his attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and Hermione would face grave danger in the girls' lavatory.
At the same time, the troll's arrival would mark the opening of Harry and Voldemort's second battle.
The Chosen One, the greatest white wizard, the Dark Lord, the two‑faced man – all would be drawn uncontrollably into the drama.
As the prophecy described: one must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.
And for Shawn,
The stability of the plot was most advantageous. It meant he could learn magic under relatively safe conditions.
In the original story, the troll arrived, Harry and the others defeated it, then passed the trials in the fourth‑floor room. That was the main storyline of first year.
By all accounts, everything should be under Dumbledore's control. But Shawn could not help wondering: the original story had no wizard named Shawn Green. What if his presence introduced new variables?
Would Hermione truly be in danger? And would others be in danger too?
So Shawn had made a new plan: to control as much as possible.
If he could avoid Voldemort while cleverly observing the troll from the shadows, even if variables appeared, he would know in time.
In this plan, the Disillusionment Charm and Shawn's own combat ability were the most important factors.