HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 448

Chapter 448: One After Another

Leaving Snape’s office, Sean frowned slightly.

Snape’s situation had always been one of the things that worried him most. As a double agent, the danger around him was obvious. And with Voldemort’s unstable mind, no one could predict when or for what reason he might suddenly decide to target Snape.

Now it seemed most likely that Sean himself would be the trigger. Voldemort had ordered Snape to kill him. On the surface, it looked like a mission; in truth, it was a test. If Snape killed Sean, Voldemort could trust him again. If Snape flinched at the end, then even if he had not truly betrayed Voldemort, he would still be useless in the Dark Lord’s eyes.

At that point, staying at Voldemort’s side would be truly lethal.

Fifth year was nearly halfway through, and Voldemort’s patience was wearing thin. He had endured the delay only because Snape had once saved Barty Jr. from Sean’s attacks, buying himself a sliver of goodwill. Without that, Voldemort would have run out of patience long ago.

Sean had spared Avery and Yaxley and gone to great effort to bring them under his control, branding them with his Ouroboros Pentagram, precisely so he could drive two nails into Voldemort’s ranks. When Snape needed help, those two could at least buy him time until Sean arrived.

Turning these thoughts over, Sean started towards the library.

He had barely taken two steps when he saw who was coming down the corridor towards Snape’s office. His face darkened at once.

Borell.

Gavin might have been brought back with the Resurrection Stone, but there had been far too much luck involved. If anything in that chain had gone wrong, Gavin would have been truly gone.

Sean’s hatred for this patricidal beast ran very deep.

In an instant, killing intent surged out of him, braided through his magic. It crashed over Borell like a wave, leaving the man’s face bloodless and strained.

If Gavin had once felt like a tiger to Borell, Sean was a dragon—and not just any dragon, but a dragon king.

Under that pressure, Borell had no doubt at all: if Sean chose to, he would not be leaving here alive today.

This level of power… it was already closing in on Voldemort’s.

“Borell,” Sean said softly, “you actually dare show yourself at Hogwarts. I must say, I admire your courage.”

He slowly drew the wand from his belt as he spoke.

The moment he saw the motion, Borell yanked out his own wand and levelled it at Sean. He had not truly believed Sean would dare act here in Hogwarts, but now it was clear that Sean fully intended to kill him.

“What do you think you are doing?”

The cold, emotionless voice behind them cut through the air.

At once, the suffocating force pouring off Sean vanished, disappearing back into him as if it had never been there. His wand slid back into place at his waist.

He walked forward, brushed past Borell without a glance, and faded into the darkness of the dungeon corridor.

Borell’s grip tightened slightly on his wand as he watched Sean’s back recede. Before he could shape the thought forming in his mind, Snape stepped up beside him.

“If I were you,” Snape said quietly, “I would abandon that ridiculous idea. Unless you wish to die here.”

“Snape,” Borell answered through his teeth, “the master sent me to ask why you have still not killed this Sean after all this time.”

“So now you see why,” Snape replied. “Do you truly think a man like that is someone I can simply kill?”

Borell fell silent for a moment, then turned his head. “Snape, I can understand your hesitation. But the master will not accept it as an excuse. He will not simply let you give up on killing Sean. I cannot help you there. You know that.”

“I do not need your help,” Snape said. “I will complete the task before this school year ends. That is my promise to the master. I have never intended to break my word to him.”

Borell held his gaze, then nodded slowly. “Very well. In that case, I have nothing more to say. I hope we can work together smoothly at Hogwarts, and see the master’s will done.”

Snape gave him a brief nod and turned back into his office.

Watching him go, Borell also turned and left the dungeons, returning to his own office. He had matters of his own to handle. His role at Hogwarts was not only the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. He was also here as a Senior Investigator for the Ministry.

Within a week of his arrival, several new decrees had been issued. Reading through them, Sean had no trouble recognising Dolores Umbridge’s hand in every line.

And speaking of Umbridge: she was now Acting Minister for Magic. Under her meddling, the Ministry was even more chaotic than Hogwarts. This was no longer the mess of a woman clawing for attention. It was deliberate, engineered disorder. It seemed almost certain that Umbridge herself had joined Voldemort as a Death Eater.

The situation was grim. Bad news came one after another.

Nor did it stop there.

At Christmas, Sean went home.

Normally, he would not have chosen to return just then. But with Elena to consider, he decided he needed to see for himself that everything at home was all right. The house was under the Fidelius Charm, and communication with the outside world was difficult at best.

When he arrived, he found Elena and Martha together, looking after Caesar. Seeing that Elena’s condition seemed stable, he finally relaxed a little. Yet as he stayed in the house, a faint sense of wrongness began to grow.

After dinner, Sean sat on the sofa with Caesar in his arms, beside Elena. She was watching a prime‑time romantic drama on television with great interest. For someone who had never watched TV before, its trashy charms were almost too powerful.

“Gran,” Sean said lightly, “television is actually rather a nice thing, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” Elena said. “Especially these dramas. They are excellent.”

“If you like them, watch more,” Sean replied. “Mum and Dad both know how to use the set. Just ask them.”

“All right. As expected of my grandson, always thinking of me.”

“Mm. Grandfather thinks of you too, does he not?”

“Of course he does!”

“So how did Grandfather find this place, then?” Sean asked casually. “This house is under the Fidelius Charm, is it not?”

“Your grandfather is such an old fox,” Elena said fondly. “As long as he is alive, he will always find a way to contact me…”

Her words broke off, sharp and sudden.