Chapter 168: The Ritual
"Sean and Harry's jumpers are better than ours,"
Fred said, rubbing a hand over Harry's sweater.
"Clearly Mum puts more thought into gifts for people who aren't her own sons."
"Why don't you put yours on, Ron?"
George chimed in.
"Come on—look at it. It's warm, it's handsome, and it's knitted with love."
"I hate maroon,"
Ron grumbled half-heartedly as he pulled it over his head.
"Yours doesn't even have a letter on it,"
George said smugly.
"She probably figured you wouldn't forget your own name. We're not stupid either—though she still calls us Gred and Forge more often than not."
"What are you lot shouting about—oh. Mr. Green."
Percy Weasley approached, clearly trying to insert himself into the conversation. He was holding a parcel of his own, and one arm already bore a thick, bulging jumper. Fred snatched it away at once.
"'P' for Prefect! Go on, Percy—put it on! We've all got ours!"
"I—don't—want—to—"
But the twins were merciless. They forced the sweater down over Percy's head, knocking his glasses crooked in the process.
"You two—!"
Percy chased after the twins in outrage.
"…All right, that's not the point,"
Ron sighed, turning and poking Harry in the shoulder.
Harry, completely oblivious, was about to open a small box.
"Harry—go to the Room of Hope before you look at that,"
Sean said quickly, already guessing what it was.
"Oh—right…"
Harry blinked as if waking from a dream and glanced gratefully at Sean.
His head was buzzing with the joy of sharing secrets with his friends. Sean probably understood far more than the rest of them—but that didn't mean Harry wanted everyone to know.
---
The Christmas refreshments consisted of turkey sandwiches, toasted flatbreads, rum-soaked jam pudding, and a towering Christmas cake. Sean felt little either way about it, but by the end of the meal, both Harry and Ron were clearly drifting toward sleep.
"This is just lunch…"
Ron muttered drowsily.
"I heard dinner's got eight hundred barrels of spiced mead and a performance by the Weird Sisters…"
When Harry finally took out the Invisibility Cloak, the room fell silent.
It looked like liquid moonlight—silver-grey fabric that flowed like water as it slipped through his hands and pooled on the floor, shimmering faintly.
"This was… my father's,"
Harry whispered, clutching the note that came with it.
"He must have loved you very much,"
Sean said quietly.
"You should be the one to use it first."
Even Ron's lingering envy vanished at that.
Yes.
Harry should use it himself.
Which meant Harry would soon be sneaking out at night.
Sean already knew what that would lead to.
The Mirror of Erised.
He felt no great curiosity about the mirror. The magic he desired most—
he had already obtained it.
---
Christmas holidays swept over Hogwarts in a frenzy of laughter and mischief.
But Sean always had more important things to do.
He left the Room of Hope quietly.
"Harry… have you noticed Sean's been talking more lately?"
Ron whispered, nudging him.
"Like just now—he wouldn't normally say such long stuff…"
"Has he?"
Harry thought about it, then nodded slowly.
"Yeah… maybe."
The reason for Sean's strange behaviour was the same reason so many professors had all but vanished from the castle.
---
Headmaster's Office
Dumbledore was smiling more brightly than ever—especially as he noticed a certain Potions professor staring at a teapot for over ten minutes without moving.
"Oh—"
Dumbledore sighed suddenly.
Snape immediately shot a sharp glance at the door—then turned back and glared at the Headmaster.
"You should have your throat examined, Albus,"
he said coldly.
"The person I wish to see today is not Poppy,"
Dumbledore replied cheerfully.
"It is your letter, Minerva."
His beard practically twitched with excitement.
Minerva McGonagall took the letter from the owl's claws with visible tension. It bore the seal of the Ministry of Magic.
The ritual would begin at once. All relevant personnel were to be present.
Not only she—
Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and others had received the same notice.
Dumbledore gazed at the parchment as though his eyes could pierce the ancient walls of Hogwarts and see the anxious wizard who had arrived disguised as a cat.
"A black cat,"
he mused.
"What do you think of a black cat as the lucky statue for the third floor?"
"I think your taste is as dreadful as ever, Albus,"
Snape said flatly.
"A lucky black cat,"
Professor McGonagall said with a small nod.
"Indeed—"
Dumbledore folded his hands together and laughed softly.
He neither confirmed nor denied it—
only cast a meaningful glance at Snape.
---
At the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office—
A black cat leapt into the air and transformed mid-flight into a small wizard robed entirely in black.
For once, Sean didn't even need a password. He had just opened his mouth to try Cockroach Cluster when the gargoyle eagerly sprang aside.
The wall split in two, revealing the rotating spiral staircase beyond.
"He's here—oh heavens—!"
The Fat Lady rushed into her portrait frame.
"Grace, my dear lady,"
Sir Cadogan declared grandly atop his tiny steed,
"grace must be preserved most of all at critical moments!"
Lady Violet had even changed into a formal white gown. She pulled the Fat Lady toward her as they both stared anxiously at the entrance.
Then—
The griffin-shaped brass door knocker moved.
A head appeared.
Then a long black robe followed.
"What a truly thrilling moment—"
Dumbledore rose to his feet.
He wore the very robes from the Start-of-Term Feast, a deep violet cloak trailing across the floor, and high-heeled boots with polished buckles.
Behind half-moon spectacles, brilliant blue eyes shone with life.
"Now then—allow me to read—"
---
"…And now—
I hereby declare that the 'Special Joint Adoption Decree of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Ministry of Magic'
takes effect immediately!"
Dumbledore winked at Sean.
The next second—
He was enveloped in the elegant, nearly running embrace of Professor McGonagall.
Once, long ago, she had run to him like this.
Now—
Only the sound of rushing wind filled his ears again.
Professor Flitwick clapped with all his strength.
Professor Sprout smiled like winter sunlight.
---
Sean hardly remembered how he left the Headmaster's Office.
Only that a soft drizzle had begun to fall over Hogwarts—
And that he now stood within the castle, finally having a place to shelter from the rain.
On the desk inside the office, a name on a list quietly changed:
> Sean Green —
Guardian: Minerva McGonagall; Severus Snape
(End of Chapter)
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