“Slytherin, it is rumored that he came from the marshes of eastern Ireland, though this has never been fully confirmed.
Now, if you think carefully, you can deduce the origin of Lady Ravenclaw.”
Sean paused, waiting for a moment.
“England, Wales, Ireland...”
Compared to Justin, who was deep in thought, Hermione’s eyes grew brighter as she spoke.
“It’s Scotland!
The four founders of Hogwarts each came from one of the four parts of the British Isles
Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland!”
“Exactly.”
Sean confirmed.
“Remember? The Sorting Hat’s song—‘Fair Ravenclaw, from glen.’”
Sean recited that line.
“The word ‘glen’ here is defined as ‘a Scottish term for a mountain valley.’”
“Sean, you must be a walking collection of stories!”
Justin whispered, and Hermione also lifted her chin and nodded.
Sean gave a hum, picked up his wand, and walked to the back of the classroom, where some books with brittle, yellowed pages were scattered on the floor.
“Scourgify—”
Sean waved his wand, tracing a smooth S-shape, and the dust-covered books were cleaned in an instant.
【You have practiced the Cleaning Charm at an introductory level, proficiency +3】
【Introductory Cleaning Charm unlocked】
【New spell category title unlocked, please check】
Sean didn’t rush to check it; instead, he picked up the books, put them back on the shelf, and scanned the classroom—
The desks and chairs, which had been covered in cobwebs, were now clean and neatly arranged by Justin and Hermione;
The massive bookshelf, though still crooked, was now fully stocked, with every book cleaned inside and out by Sean;
The strange-looking instruments piled in the corner had also been stacked and categorized by the three of them.
All in all, it finally looked like a classroom in use, rather than an antique from a thousand years ago.
Sean opened his panel
【Title: Spellcasting Novice】
【Slightly increases perception of spells, significantly boosts spellcasting talent】
Significantly?
Full of anticipation, Sean continued reading.
【Wizard Sean, Spellcasting Talent: Blue (Boosted by the Spellcasting Novice title; original talent was White) Note: Average wizards are Green】
I... I suppose I can barely count as half a spellcasting genius now?
Sean thought.
The effect of talent was significant.
The difference between white talent and blue talent was like the difference between a common snake and a Basilisk.
Long ago, Sean had wanted to learn the four spells from Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he had little success. *The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1* didn’t describe them, and *Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection* remained vague.
It seemed they required a professor’s guidance, but counting on Professor Quirrell was less likely than Professor Snape throwing open the doors to his dungeon.
So, Sean tried to teach himself.
Unexpectedly, in just a short time, guided by some mysterious intuition, he unlocked the Red Sparks and Green Sparks spells.
Only ten tries.
Just ten tries.
It made the young wizard wonder if his former white-talent self had been considered defective in the wizarding world.
As for these two spells—Red Sparks and Green Sparks.
They looked pathetic, but in actual combat, they served two purposes
First, as a signal for emergency help. Sean remembered them being used in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Second, as low-level offensive spells in combat
When Harry was in his first year, Ron said
Harry and Malfoy, having only had a few classes, could at best shoot sparks at each other with their wands.
The sparks mentioned here were exactly the Red and Green Sparks.
As Sean walked out of the classroom, he could occasionally hear Mrs. Norris’s yowling in the corridor, and—
“Sir Cadogan, a bet is a bet. You must go to the portrait of the drunken monks and get me a bottle of fine spirits—”
A lady’s voice came from the wall beside him. Sean looked up and saw a portrait of a plump witch in a white gown, smiling as she spoke to the portrait next to her.
In that portrait was a short, stout knight with an oversized sword, his knees stained with grass.
He sighed heavily
“Merlin’s beard—my dear Violet, how can you not even care about Quidditch?
You just hide in the library,
Returning so late!
Look, now my share of the fine wine is one bottle less!”
Sean knew at a glance that Sir Cadogan and Lady Violet had made another bet.
This happened quite often.
Given that they were hung on walls with nothing to do for eternity, the portraits naturally amused themselves with their surroundings—
For instance, betting on Hogwarts students behind their backs.
Just as wizards might guess which raindrop on a window would fall faster when they were bored, these portraits would quietly hold competitions involving the students.
A common one was seeing who could reach their destination first by using the moving staircases.
(Of course, there would be neutral portraits following along to act as judges.)
Sean didn’t respond to Sir Cadogan, otherwise, the knight would chatter all the way to the common room.
Revealing his name to him once was enough to make Sean regret it; the knight had managed to invent five or six jokes based on his name
“Sean Green decided to become a painter, but he failed because he had only ever seen one color. Do you know why?
Because he only—
Seen Green! Hahahaha—”
Sean Green felt that was not funny at all, so he had briefly moved the portrait of the drunken monks to a hidden location.
...
The night passed quickly.
Hogwarts was about to welcome a new week, and Monday was the only day that caused Sean any significant emotional fluctuation.
Perhaps it was also the most nerve-wracking day for all the Ravenclaw first-years.
Because this morning, they had their second Potions class.
Sean had practiced the ritual three times the night before and repeatedly reviewed his notes on the Boil-Cure Potion.
In fact, to prepare for today’s brewing, he had finished his Potions essay only yesterday, all to ensure his understanding of potions reached an excellent state.
In the silence, the dungeon door banged open.
Professor Snape’s billowing black robes accentuated his sallow, gloomy face. Although his movements were elegant, the young wizards still felt the powerful, oppressive aura he brought with him.
“—The alliance between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, hah—”
His voice was deep and forceful.
“A week has passed, and if I notice that some people still stubbornly maintain an astonishing deficit in intelligence and operational ability—”
Before he could finish, the young wizards were already shivering, some turning pale.