Sean returned to the training room and opened the package Hart had delivered.
The first thing he took out was an exquisitely crafted bracelet. The entire piece was shaped like a leaping cat chasing its own tail, forged from pure gold, with a tiny Gringotts emblem engraved along the inner curve.
This was a gift Sean had specially prepared for Professor McGonagall.
Next, he took out a ring designed in the shape of a curved wand. It was elegant, delicate, and clearly made with the terrifying precision only goblins could achieve.
That one was for Professor Flitwick.
Sean held both pieces of jewellery in his hands and activated the defensive magic array again.
This time, he didn't weaken it too much.
He kept the automatic activation function and the ability to absorb magic from the surrounding air. Even after reducing the array's full power, he still left around thirty percent of its original defensive strength.
That was already heavily weakened.
But even so, protection at this level would have no problem blocking one or two Unforgivable Curses.
"Good," Sean muttered. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick's gifts are ready."
He put the jewellery aside carefully.
"Next are Mum, Raymond, and Seth."
Sean reached into the package again and took out a pair of matching rings made from solid gold and diamonds.
The craftsmanship was almost flawless.
The names Alice and Raymond were engraved on the inside.
This time, Sean didn't hold anything back.
He engraved the complete defensive magic array onto both rings without weakening it at all.
As long as Raymond and Alice wore them, even if Voldemort personally attacked, he wouldn't be able to break through the defence immediately.
And if either ring was attacked, Sean would receive the warning at once.
The final piece belonged to Seth, the family butler.
It was a formal signet ring engraved with the Sebastian family crest.
Sean left fifty percent of the defensive array's power on that one before finishing the enchantment.
After carefully packing all the jewellery away, Sean suddenly realized he hadn't prepared anything for himself.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave it for later.
After all, he was still at Hogwarts.
What danger could he possibly face there?
Once everything was done, Sean picked up another book and began reading again.
As for the system's third stage, he had no intention of entering it for now.
Just like the second stage before, the moment Sean considered entering, the system immediately warned him of danger.
That meant his current strength still wasn't enough to overcome the third trial.
For now, he could only wait until both system missions were completed before attempting it again.
…
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, another month had gone by.
The temperature dropped quietly, and the young wizards at Hogwarts had already changed into thick jumpers.
During that time, Sean sent a clone to attend the coronation ceremony.
When the clone returned, Raymond had apparently been worried about Sean's safety and had stuffed a pistol into its hand.
Sean stared speechlessly at the pistol after receiving it.
It was something he'd made when he was younger.
A gold-plated Desert Eagle, .357 calibre.
At close range, it was powerful enough to smash through a human skull.
Sean's name was engraved across the side in curling letters.
Back then, he hadn't known this was the magical world, so he'd created the pistol for self-defence.
Now, Sean genuinely struggled to imagine what use it could still have.
After some thought, he still branded it with his own magical mark.
Just in case he ever needed it, a Summoning Charm would bring it instantly to his hand.
During that same month, Gringotts held the wizarding world's first product launch.
The response was explosive.
Countless wizards were already waiting to grab the defensive cloaks the moment they went on sale.
Of course, Sean only released ten thousand of them.
Scarcity marketing.
The harder something was to obtain, the more people wanted it.
The official release date was tomorrow.
Coincidentally, Hogwarts also began Christmas holiday tomorrow.
That morning, Sean packed his luggage, threw most of it into the training room, and waited for Malfoy in the first-floor Great Hall.
According to the original plot, the Weasleys were going to Romania for Christmas.
So Sean had to arrive at the Burrow today.
Not far away, Hermione was dragging her suitcase while helplessly watching Harry and Ron play wizard chess.
"Can you two show even a little ambition?"
Harry and Ron both sighed.
"We already searched the library," Harry said. "There's no trace of Nicolas Flamel anywhere."
Hermione pointed toward Sean in the distance, looking utterly exasperated.
"You two idiots. Sean is standing right there. Go ask him."
Ron hesitated immediately.
Hermione crossed her arms.
"He knows practically everything. In fact, he's probably almost finished reading the entire library by now, while the two of you haven't even properly read the textbooks you were supposed to finish."
Her face became firm.
"Anyway, I absolutely trust Sean."
Harry and Ron exchanged awkward looks, still hesitating.
"Hurry up," Hermione urged. "Sean is about to leave for holiday."
Under Hermione's relentless pressure, Harry and Ron finally dragged themselves over to Sean.
"Merry Christmas, Sean," Harry said awkwardly.
Sean looked slightly surprised that they'd come to greet him first, but he nodded.
"Merry Christmas. What's wrong?"
Harry and Ron both looked painfully conflicted and couldn't speak for several seconds.
Hermione, growing impatient, pushed them aside and spoke directly.
"We have an important question. We want to know who Nicolas Flamel is."
She hesitated briefly before continuing.
"Because we know someone is trying to steal something from him and Professor Dumbledore."
That finally opened Harry and Ron's mouths.
"Yes," Harry said quickly. "Sean, Snape is trying to steal whatever Professor Dumbledore hid on the third floor!"
Sean frowned.
"Why do you think it's Professor Snape?"
Harry answered immediately.
"He cursed me during the Quidditch match."
Hermione nodded as well.
"Sean, you were there too. When casting a spell, you need to keep your eyes on the target. Snape didn't blink once."
Ron quickly added, "And Snape doesn't look like a good person anyway."
Sean took a deep breath and pointed at all three of them.
"Remember this carefully. Professor Snape is not the person you think he is."
His voice became unusually firm.
"No matter who you suspect, I believe in Snape unconditionally."
Then he looked directly at Hermione.
"And you, Hermione. Do you remember what I told you before? Think twice."
Hermione opened her mouth but didn't speak.
Sean was about to say more when he turned and saw Malfoy walking down with his luggage.
"Remember what I said," Sean continued. "As for Nicolas Flamel, the answer is in the public section of the library. You can find it yourselves."
Sean actually wanted to tell Harry the truth.
But he was afraid it might affect the plot too much.
If things changed and Harry foolishly rushed to find Voldemort while Sean was away, the problem would become much worse.
After all, Sean still had a mission requiring him to hold the Philosopher's Stone for one hour.
"Alright, I still have something to do. I'm leaving first."
Sean quickly left the Great Hall with Malfoy.
Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, then shrugged helplessly.
"Looks like accusing Professor Snape upset him."
Ron looked disdainful.
"Of course it did. He's always with Snape."
Harry turned anxiously toward Hermione.
"Hermione, you're the smartest. Think of something."
Hermione shook her head and pulled her suitcase toward the exit.
"That's your problem now. I'm leaving first."
She paused briefly.
"Merry Christmas."
Then she walked away quickly, leaving only Harry and Ron behind.
The two boys looked at each other, sighed, and returned to the Great Hall.
At that moment, on the second-floor balcony, Snape quietly gripped the railing and watched everything below.
His eyes followed Sean's departing figure.
For once, the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.
…
At King's Cross station, Sean and Malfoy stepped off the train together.
The moment Malfoy saw the surrounding Muggles, disgust appeared all over his face.
"Boss," he asked, turning toward Sean, "what do we do next?"
Sean walked unhurriedly to the roadside.
Then he stretched out one hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Tiny sparks flickered faintly from his fingertips.
Boom.
Malfoy suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble violently.
Strangely, none of the nearby Muggles reacted at all.
BOOM!
After a loud bang, a purple triple-decker bus suddenly appeared in front of them.
The door sprang open.
A pimply young conductor stepped out with the expression of someone reciting lines he'd repeated a thousand times.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for stranded witches and wizards."
He yawned slightly.
"Stick out your wand, get in, and we'll take you wherever you need to go. My name's Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor tonight."
Sean climbed aboard first.
After waiting for a moment, Stan looked back toward Malfoy, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Not getting on, sir?"
Malfoy finally snapped back to his senses and hurried into the bus.
Sean found a seat and sat down.
"The Burrow."
Stan nodded, then glanced at Malfoy.
Sean smiled faintly.
"Malfoy, I suggest you sit down."
Malfoy was still looking around in shock.
"Wizards have buses like this? I never knew."
Of course he didn't.
Lucius Malfoy considered himself wizarding nobility. There was no way he would ever ride something like the Knight Bus.
But young wizards weren't allowed to cast magic outside school, so Sean had no choice but to use it.
Even if he had two wands, he couldn't be too obvious.
"Right then," Stan shouted, "destination, the Burrow!"
The moment his voice fell, the bus shot forward like an arrow.
Malfoy failed to stand firm and flew backward instantly.
Sean gripped the rail beside him tightly and watched with amusement.
The Knight Bus was so fast that Sean couldn't even clearly see the scenery outside.
He could only vaguely tell that they were racing through the crowded city at several hundred miles per hour.
In the back, Malfoy clutched his head and struggled to stand.
Suddenly, a strange voice sounded from the front.
"Hold on tight. Car ahead."
The bus didn't slow down at all.
Instead, it continued charging forward at terrifying speed.
And right ahead of them—
A fuel tanker.
Under Malfoy's horrified gaze, the Knight Bus screeched to an emergency stop and halted less than ten centimetres from the tanker.
Malfoy, once again thrown by inertia, slammed directly into the windscreen.
Sean looked at him sympathetically.
"I told you to sit down. Don't blame me."
…
In front of the Burrow, Malfoy climbed off the bus and immediately crouched on the ground to vomit.
Apparently, Malfoy suffered from motion sickness.
"Don't act like a pregnant Beedle, Malfoy. Let's go."
Sean walked toward the Burrow first.
The Weasley family home was a crooked four-storey building that looked as though it might collapse at any moment.
In the downstairs garden, several ugly garden gnomes could still be seen scurrying about.
From a distance, Arthur Weasley noticed Sean and took the initiative to greet him.
"Hello there. I didn't know you were—"
His voice suddenly stopped.
"Malfoy?"
Arthur frowned immediately.
"What are you doing here?"
"Arthur?" Molly Weasley's voice came from inside. "What happened?"
She walked out quickly, then froze the instant she saw Draco.
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
The reactions of husband and wife were not merely similar.
They were exactly the same.
Sean, who had been completely ignored, touched his nose and politely introduced himself.
"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, hello. My name is Sean. Sean Sebastian."
Arthur stared at him in shock.
His lips moved several times before he finally managed to speak.
"You… you're Sean?"
His eyes widened further.
"The brother of Gringotts' mysterious general manager?"
Then his voice rose sharply.
"Your family just became a ducal family!"
"Oh my goodness!" Molly exclaimed. "Sean! Fred and George wrote to us about you."
Her attitude changed instantly.
"Come in, both of you!"
Molly warmly invited Sean and Malfoy into the Burrow.
After pouring them tea, Arthur sat across from Sean with obvious awkwardness.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know why you've come to the Burrow…"
Before Sean could answer, Molly immediately stepped in.
"Arthur! He's Fred and George's friend. What's wrong with visiting?"
Arthur scratched his head with a wry smile.
Sean smiled and took out a package.
"This is a small gift for the two of you."
"Merlin's beard," Molly said warmly. "Thank you, dear. You must have put so much thought into—"
Her voice suddenly stopped.
Then she gasped strangely.
Arthur hurried over to look.
The moment he saw what was inside, his expression became solemn.
He immediately pushed the package back.
"Mr. Sebastian, this gift is far too expensive. We can't accept it."
Molly, however, couldn't stop glancing at the gift box.
It was obvious she liked it very much.
Sean chuckled.
"This gift is purely my personal intention. It has nothing to do with what we'll discuss next."
He met Arthur's eyes calmly.
"I promise."
After hearing that assurance, Arthur reluctantly accepted the gift.
"Children, sit down for a bit," Molly said quickly. "I'll make something to eat."
Then she carried the gift and headed upstairs with remarkable composure.
Once Molly left, Arthur's expression became serious.
"Two deluxe defensive cloaks. Together, they're worth more than seventeen hundred Galleons."
His eyes sharpened.
"They haven't even officially been released yet. What exactly do you want from me?"
Every pore on Arthur's body seemed to be filled with vigilance.
Sean knew the gift was indeed too expensive for the Weasley family, so he simply smiled.
"Let's talk outside. It's not very convenient here."
After Arthur followed Sean out of the house, Sean nodded toward Malfoy.
Malfoy took out a small box and placed it on the ground.
The next moment, an emerald-green luxury sports car appeared in front of Arthur.
Arthur's eyes went completely straight.
His hands trembled as he reached out to touch it.
"Don't touch—"
Malfoy instinctively frowned when he saw Arthur about to put his hands on the car, but Sean immediately interrupted him with a warning.
"Malfoy, watch your attitude toward Mr. Weasley."
Malfoy shrank back and closed his mouth.
Arthur finally regained his senses and looked between the two boys.
"So you came to me because of this car?"
Sean nodded.
"Invisibility enchantment. Flying enchantment. I need you to modify it."
Malfoy took out a small bag containing one hundred Galleons and handed it over.
Sean explained, "This is the fee. One hundred Galleons."
Arthur's pupils shrank, and he immediately shook his head.
"No, no, absolutely not. You already gave us such an expensive gift. I can't accept this as well."
Sean leaned slightly closer and whispered into Arthur's ear.
"Mr. Weasley, this isn't a one-time collaboration. This is a new Gringotts product."
His smile deepened.
"You understand what I mean, don't you?"
Arthur's expression finally eased.
"So… one hundred Galleons, and I help you modify every car?"
Sean raised one finger and waved it lightly.
"Not every car."
He spoke calmly.
"One hundred Galleons each."
Thump.
Arthur sat down directly on the ground.
Malfoy glanced at him with instinctive disdain.
"The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office only pays eighty-five Galleons a month. He must never have seen this many Galleons before, Boss."
.....
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