HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 403

Chapter 403: Funeral Before and After

Walking to Snape's side, Sean actually saw a trace of something in his eyes.

Guilt?!

Showing a faint smile, Sean stepped before Snape and said, "Professor, you're coming to attend the funeral."

"Sean, I didn't know about this."

Nodding, Sean said, "Of course, I know. If you had known, Professor, you definitely would have told me. I've never doubted that. So please don't put too much pressure on yourself. I can handle this matter. Rest assured."

Snape looked at Sean, then surprisingly stepped forward and embraced him.

Though it was only an embrace, for Snape, it was an extremely rare display of affection.

"Professor, thank you."

"Right, go on."

Nodding, Sean pushed open the door and left the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.

After sending out letters from the original home, Sean returned to his current residence.

The atmosphere at home was somewhat oppressive. Even Caesar made very little sound, only staring intently at everyone.

When Sean returned home, he embraced his parents, then went to Elaine's room.

Seeing Sean return, Elaine managed a faint smile and said, "You're back. You've had a long day."

"Just running around a bit. It's nothing difficult. Grandmother, are you alright?"

Holding Sean's hand, she let him sit beside her. Elaine sighed softly and said, "If I say I'm fine, I don't believe it myself. But what else can I do?"

After spending some time talking with Elaine, Sean went down to the basement, preparing to arrange Gavin's appearance. He opened the coffin's lid and looked at Gavin, who, beneath magical preservation, appeared no different than when alive. Sean took out the Resurrection Stone. He was certain that if he activated the Resurrection Stone's effect right now, Gavin could be revived immediately.

But for some reason, a premonition from somewhere deep inside kept telling Sean that now was not the time for resurrection.

Frowning slightly, Sean put the Resurrection Stone away and reached out to grasp Gavin's hand. His eyes opened and closed, his pupils growing bright with white rings. Immediately, a white mist emanated from his pupils as he actively used Spirit Vision ability, observing Gavin's past, present, and future for the first time.

However, this use of Spirit Vision was completely different from before.

Sean felt as though he had entered a movie, inhabiting Gavin's body. He saw Gavin walk into that café, saw the conversation between Gavin and Boreal, saw Gavin attempting to Apparate but unable to leave, saw Boreal and the Flint family members appear, and finally the Death Eaters' arrival, Lucius Malfoy's appearance, and ultimately Voldemort's appearance!

At first, though Gavin was somewhat outmatched by Voldemort, through Spirit Vision ability, he could maintain a stalemate. However, his battle with Voldemort was on a massive scale, countless curses pouring toward each other like water from a broken dam. Then Voldemort cast a Killing Curse that happened to catch Boreal, causing Gavin to lose focus and get struck by a curse on his right leg. His movement ability became severely restricted. Finally, forced into a curse exchange with Voldemort, his wand shattered, and he died from Voldemort's Killing Curse.

That bastard Boreal.

Grinding his teeth, Sean prepared to exit Spirit Vision when, with Gavin's death, Sean's vision became pitch black. Just as Sean was about to exit, the black suddenly became bright. A diamond-shaped black stone emitted a faint glow, rotating rapidly. Finally, a hand slowly rose and grasped the stone. Sean's Spirit Vision ended there!

In the coffin...

This way...

Sean pondered, nodding slowly. He realized something.

Perhaps his grandfather was not completely unaware of his own death.

The funeral arrived as scheduled. Gavin's friends came one by one. Whether it was Ogden or Marchbanks, or Dordolian and others Sean had seen before, all wore expressions of sorrow. Dumbledore and Order of the Phoenix members arrived in batches. They had no communication between them, preventing detection by the Ministry. They subtly positioned themselves around the house, preventing any possible problems.

After the funeral ended, Yadel and Martha hosted the guests for a meal.

Sean accompanied Gavin's circle of friends.

"Sean, was it really Vol—the Dark Lord?" Marchbanks asked.

Nodding, Sean said to Marchbanks, "Indeed, it was the Dark Lord. And there's also participation from Boreal and the Flint family involved. The Dark Lord and Death Eaters were likely hired by them."

"The Flint family and Boreal?!"

Everyone exchanged glances, each seeing disbelief in the others' eyes.

But soon they believed Sean's words. This wasn't because they knew Sean so well, but because they knew Gavin. Since Gavin had introduced them to Sean, it meant Gavin had already acknowledged him. Based on their understanding of Gavin, they naturally believed Sean's words.

"Boreal came to find me earlier, looking like he wanted to take over Gavin's network of connections. Fortunately, we considered the matter of Gavin introducing you to us previously, so we didn't rush to agree. If we had really agreed, that would have been like stepping in dog shit."

Sean knew these words were deliberately spoken for his benefit.

And he also grasped the meaning behind them. Dordolian said he hadn't rushed to agree, not that he had refused outright. This indicated they hadn't completely trusted Sean, still held some reservations. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been not rushing to agree, but rather a firm refusal.

Of course, Sean had no dissatisfaction with this. They were only his grandfather Gavin's friends, not his own friends. Having reservations about him was the correct approach. If they completely believed him from the start, Sean would have suspected they had ulterior motives.

Therefore, Sean listened to Dordolian's words without any displeasure.

"Next year I will sit both my O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. examinations simultaneously. After the exams conclude, I will enter the Ministry. That's when I'll need your assistance.

Additionally, there's another matter. Fudge may continuously target Professor Dumbledore and the Order next year. You are all friends of Professor Dumbledore and very likely will also become targets. So you may need to prepare yourselves to prevent Fudge from purging dissidents within the Ministry."

Hearing this, everyone frowned in thought.

And just then, Marchbanks suddenly realized something. She asked Sean quietly, "Sean, are you the same as Gavin?"