Back in his room, Sean caught Kurkan slithering up his leg. He hoisted the snake onto his shoulder, sat at his desk, and started reading.
Tomorrow was Saturday, when Marwood would meet him in Hogsmeade. When Sean had previously collected supplies from Marwood, he'd learned that Marwood had secretly placed the Imperius Curse on three people. It was now early November, and given Marwood's efficiency, those drawn to Voldemort's name were likely already under his control.
Perfect. These people could be useful now. Sean smirked.
The Quidditch season arrived as expected.
The first match was Slytherin versus Gryffindor.
Sitting in the stands, Sean watched the Quidditch players battling fiercely and turned to Blaise. "Was it a round-robin format last year too?"
"Why would you ask that? Hogwarts' Quidditch season is always round-robin."
"Huh?" Sean blinked, confused. "I could've sworn it was a knockout format last year."
"You must be remembering wrong."
"Maybe."
Dropping the topic, Sean watched Gryffindor getting thoroughly trounced by Slytherin. This year, Slytherin's team was well-prepared, with broomsticks a cut above Gryffindor's. Except for Harry, who rode a matching broom and had exceptional flying skills, Gryffindor's players struggled to keep up.
Sean's eyes followed Harry, who was darting around searching for the Golden Snitch. He vaguely recalled that in this match, Harry was attacked by a Bludger, manipulated behind the scenes by Dobby.
Sure enough, as Sean recalled this, the Bludger on the pitch suddenly went rogue, chasing Harry as if it had a mind of its own. At that speed, a hit would cause serious injury.
Watching the Bludger pursue Harry, Sean rested his hand on the wand at his waist. If anything went wrong, he could draw and act instantly. If events unfolded as he remembered, he wouldn't intervene—Harry's injury and hospital stay led to key discoveries about the Chamber of Secrets, and Sean didn't want to disrupt that.
"You're not saving the Chosen One this year?" Blaise remarked. "It's odd, though. That guy has an accident every Quidditch match. People say the Chosen One attracts trouble, and it sure looks that way."
Sean grinned at Blaise's words. "Trouble magnet? Harry's pretty close to that. Seems like only someone who stirs up trouble can be called the Chosen One."
As Sean spoke, the Bludger struck Harry, instantly breaking his arm. But in that moment, Harry gritted his teeth, charged at Draco Malfoy, and grabbed the Golden Snitch right beside him. Malfoy, stunned, had thought Harry was about to crash into him and froze, missing the Snitch entirely.
"Malfoy's such a waste!" Blaise fumed. "Last year, same story. This year, same thing! Harry's beaten him head-on twice now!"
Sean shook his head, amused. "Relax, it's just one loss. It's a round-robin format—we've got plenty of chances to win next time."
As he spoke, Sean saw the Gryffindor Quidditch team gather around Harry. Seeing his broken arm, they called for someone to fetch Madam Pomfrey.
But then, Lockhart appeared, flashing his signature grin, his teeth gleaming. He strode up to Harry, wand raised, ready to cast a spell on Harry's broken arm.
"Don't worry, Harry. This is a simple little spell. In a moment, your arm will be good as new. Trust me, I use this spell all the time. If you've read my books, you'll know I mention it in Travels with Ghouls and Wanderings with Trolls."
"No, I'm heading to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey can handle it," Harry said.
Covered in mud, Wood nodded quickly. "Yeah, Harry should go to the hospital wing. Or wait a bit—I've already sent for Madam Pomfrey."
"Oh, no need to trouble Madam Pomfrey. I can fix Harry's arm," Lockhart insisted.
Harry watched Lockhart, wand raised and determined to cast the spell despite his protests. A surge of anger rose in Harry's chest.
Sean's earlier advice echoed in his mind, and he suddenly felt he should stand his ground. Being firm might stop people like Lockhart from ignoring his wishes and forcing spells on him.
Looking at Lockhart, who was pointing his wand at his arm, Harry grabbed Lockhart's hand, snatched his wand before he could react, and snapped, "I said I don't need your healing!"
Lockhart stared at his stolen wand and Harry's stern face, eyes blazing with anger. For the first time, he felt a flicker of fear toward the Chosen One he'd been milking for attention.
His mouth twitched, but he forced a shaky smile, about to say something.
From the crowd, Colin suddenly raised his camera and shouted, "Harry, look this way!"
Hearing Colin's voice and the familiar click of the camera, Harry whipped around, raising Lockhart's wand and pointing it at Colin.
"Colin, I've told you before—I don't like photos!"
With his words, a white flash shot from Lockhart's wand, blasting Colin's camera to pieces!
In an instant, the entire crowd fell silent.
--------------
From the stands, Sean clearly saw Harry's actions.
Honestly, Harry's change surprised him, but a smile soon spread across his face. As he'd told Harry before, Sean hoped—and liked—to see Harry be true to himself, not bending over backward to please others.
Colin stared at his camera, now shattered on the ground, beyond repair.
He looked at Harry, mouth opening as if to speak, but no words came. Finally, with red-rimmed eyes, he ran off.
Harry's anger faded. Seeing Colin flee, a pang of guilt hit him. Despite Colin's constant pestering—second only to Lockhart's annoyances—Harry's kind nature made him feel bad about smashing the camera in a fit of rage.
Shoving the wand back into Lockhart's hand, Harry left the Quidditch pitch with Wood and Ron's support, heading straight to the hospital wing.
Sean stood and returned to Hogwarts castle with Blaise. He lingered in the library, reading for a bit, before heading to the hospital wing.
As expected, when Sean arrived, the Gryffindors had already left. Even Ron and Hermione were gone, leaving Harry alone in the ward, resting on a bed. Without Lockhart's meddling, Harry had taken a potion from Madam Pomfrey. In a day or two, his broken arm would heal completely.
Knocking on the door, Sean stepped inside.
Seeing Sean, Harry tried to sit up.
Sean moved quickly, helping him up and propping a pillow behind his back. "How're you doing, Harry?"
Harry glanced at his bandaged arm and said, "I'm okay. No big deal. I took Madam Pomfrey's potion, and I'll be fine in a day or two."
"How's the taste of her potions?"
Harry checked the door to ensure Madam Pomfrey wasn't nearby, then whispered, "Honestly, Madam Pomfrey's great at everything—except her potions. They might be worse than old bat… I mean, Professor Snape's."
"What, like you've tasted Snape's potions?" Sean teased. "Maybe his are even worse."
"Could be," Harry chuckled.
Sean grew serious. "I saw what happened at the Quidditch pitch."
Harry's face showed a flicker of guilt. "With Lockhart, I don't feel bad. I know he'd only make things worse. But with Colin… I know he's just, well, kind of idolizes me."
His cheeks reddened, as if embarrassed. Noticing Sean wasn't mocking him, he cleared his throat and continued, "I know he admires me, so he keeps taking photos. But I really don't like it. I've told him so many times. Today, I was hurt, Lockhart was being a nuisance, and I just… snapped."
Sean looked into Harry's green eyes, filled with sincerity and confusion about the day's events. He knew Harry wanted advice. After a moment's thought, Sean said, "Harry, from my perspective, you didn't do anything too wrong today. But I'm not you, and my opinion isn't yours. Based on what you said, I think you could handle this with some follow-up."
"Follow-up? What's that?"
"Do you have money, Harry?"
Harry blinked, caught off guard, then nodded. "How much do you need, Sean?"
Sean, recalling Harry's vault full of Galleons at Gringotts, shook his head. "Not for me. I'm saying, since you feel guilty, buy Colin a new camera. Include a letter explaining how you really feel about him constantly taking your picture. Be honest in the letter. That should make up for breaking his camera and remind him not to photograph you anymore. What do you think?"
"Yes!" Harry's face lit up. "That's a great idea. Once I'm better, I'll write to Diagon Alley for a new camera."
Sean nodded, smiling. "But, Harry, one thing—don't apologize in the letter. You didn't do anything wrong. Lockhart and Colin were in the wrong. The new camera is compensation, maybe because you know he admires you. If you apologize, it defeats the purpose. Got it?"
Harry nodded earnestly. "I understand. I'll remember that."
"Alright, let's talk about something else. Next week's Potions class…"
Harry's face soured at the mention of Potions.
Seeing his expression, Sean laughed, and Harry joined in.
They chatted for a long time until Madam Pomfrey came to shoo Sean out. He said goodbye to Harry and left the hospital wing.
After Sean left, Dobby, the Malfoy family's house-elf, emerged from a shadowy corner outside the hospital wing and slipped into Harry's room.
Time passed quickly. The next day's match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor was thrilling. Ravenclaw's team was weaker than Slytherin's, with less impressive equipment, so Gryffindor won.
Though Harry didn't catch the Golden Snitch this time, he successfully blocked Ravenclaw's Seeker from doing so, earning major credit for the win.
As the Gryffindors flooded into the Great Hall to celebrate, an owl swooped in, delivering a package to a dejected Colin.
Surprised, Colin opened it, delighted to find a brand-new camera. He fiddled with it before reading the enclosed letter. Soon after, he rushed to Harry's side, thanking him profusely and mixing in apologies. In that moment, Colin became Harry's devoted fan.