Chapter 303: The Time Is Nearly Right

She felt the warm breeze brushing her left cheek fade slightly.

“If you turn the ancients upside down, you’ll see they’re incantations that turn enemies’ ears into tangerines.”

Luna, holding the inverted Quibbler, murmured dreamily, her eyes fixed on Wizard Sean.

“You come every day to watch the land snore? It must be well cared for, or it wouldn’t snore so constantly.”

Wizard Sean nodded slightly.

In a way, Luna was right.

Meanwhile, he noticed the earrings Luna had worn were gone—two carrot-shaped ones.

This made him frown.

“Oh, don’t worry, the Nargles stole them, but they’ll reappear soon.”

Luna sang the words out.

Her eyes were slightly bulging, yet they didn’t ruin her facial structure—instead, they gave her an elfin quality.

“The magical plant in white mistletoe?”

Wizard Sean replied, and as he raised his wand, several lost items drifted to Luna’s back.

“Yes…”

Luna always sounded as if she were dreaming, her voice and gaze both drifting.

When she turned her head to look at Wizard Sean, she spotted the lost objects.

“Look, the Nargles returned my things… You must have tamed them—was it with mistletoe juice?”

“Wand.”

Wizard Sean answered. He called out to Bai Yi, and the snowy owl with lustrous feathers landed on his shoulder.

Luna stared at him without blinking, and at Tila peeking out from his pocket.

At the edge of Heihu, Wizard Sean paused as he turned to leave.

He gazed at the pale blue Black Lake, now like a vast mirror reflecting flocks of flying birds.

Here, a wizard’s eyes are mirrors of the self—some wizards cannot see the malice directed at them, because the mirror always shows only pure, clear water.

“Next time you lose something, you can ask me for help.”

Wizard Sean said.

Then he left Heihu.

Following the sloping lawn, Wizard Sean arrived at Hagrid’s backyard garden, where twelve giant pumpkins had grown.

In the non-magical world, no one had ever seen pumpkins this large—each stood half a person’s height.

“You’re here—come in and have some toffee, just baked.”

Hagrid was as warm as ever; he’d only just returned from Fairy Confectionery.

It was always packed there, and wizards often argued over the last cookie.

Luckily, he had privileges—Professor Quirrell had pulled him in through the back door, completely unaware that Hagrid alone could block the entire entrance.

“Look at my little sweethearts—aren’t they growing nicely?”

Hagrid noticed Wizard Sean staring at the pumpkins and beamed.

“For Halloween feast—they’ll be big enough by then. Want to carve jack-o’-lanterns with me? I’ll give you plenty.

Imagine putting one in your room or dorm—it’ll glow nonstop all semester.”

Wizard Sean nodded. For a wizard, completing such a task was no difficulty.

…

Toffee was an extremely sticky candy; Wizard Sean took a bite and nearly choked.

He looked again at Fang, panting and spinning with his teeth bared… he was doing fairly well.

The warm sun of the Forbidden Forest slowly sank until it rested on the beech tree’s tips, until Wizard Sean stepped out of Hagrid’s hut with the final ten points of proficiency.

Since beginning his material transfiguration practice, he rarely used his leisure broom for travel—after all, the walk back to the castle gave him more time to practice.

【You practiced material transfiguration at the standard of a Master-level beginner. Master-level proficiency +3】

The ground rose and fell; stones shifted into all manner of bumps and hollows.

As Wizard Sean walked, the Forbidden Forest seemed to come alive.

Suddenly, Wizard Sean felt a searing heat in his chest—he quickly pulled out the Plan Map. The markers for “Basilisk” and “Alchemical Toad” were shifting rapidly.

Wizard Sean frowned, flicked his finger, and a broom shot to his palm like lightning.

The Soul Relic had greatly weakened Voldemort’s power—what could have happened now?

The broom streaked across the sky like a meteor; the castle remained noisy.

In the girls’ second-floor bathroom, a figure appeared as if shedding an Invisibility Cloak.

On the Plan Map, Ginny’s location was in Gryffindor Tower, yet the Basilisk and Alchemical Toad were now dangerously close to Wizard Sean.

Without Parseltongue to control it, how could the Basilisk have awakened?

Or… had it never truly slept after being awakened?

It must feed—and in that process, anything could happen.

Wizard Sean, wearing his magical refracting glasses, stared at the ordinary-looking sink.

“Mr. Green!”

A voice came then.

“Oh, well… I’ve been thinking—if you die, you’re welcome to share this toilet with me.”

Moaning Myrtle said, blushing silver-white.

Ghosts have no logic; therefore, anything they say is unsurprising.

“Oh, I can’t even imagine someone who can make Peeves obey.

Only people like Headmaster Dumbledore can do that—such great figures…”

Moaning Myrtle chattered on, while Wizard Sean thought in silence.

On the Plan Map, the Basilisk prowled nearby, circling as if hunting, then turning away.

The Chamber was spacious, but for such a massive creature, rats alone couldn’t sustain it.

It would have to show itself eventually.

“Preparations… are nearly complete.”

As Wizard Sean murmured, he turned and left, heading to find the Sorting Hat.

Meanwhile.

Downstairs corridor.

Harry jerked violently.

“...tear you... tear you apart... kill you...”

That voice again—the cold, murderous tone he’d heard in Lockhart’s office.

He stumbled to a stop, gripping the stone wall, listening intently, scanning the dim corridor with narrowed eyes.

“Harry, what’s wrong?”

Ron asked, puzzled.

“That voice came again—don’t speak—”

“...so hungry... so long... so long...”

“Listen!”

Harry urged. Ron and Hermione froze, staring at him.

The voice grew fainter.

Harry was certain it was moving—upward.

He stared at the dark ceiling, a mix of fear and excitement rising in him; how could it move upward? Was it a ghost, able to pass through stone?

As he wondered, he saw a figure dart past them.