Chapter 198: “Another Soul”

In the middle of the night, Hogwarts Castle was empty, and Filch was still lying on the infirmary bed. Professor Sprout’s mandrake is still immature, and Filch has to wait until the end of the term to resume his work.

However, since the news of Sean’s disappearance had spread throughout the castle, the students who had just experienced the Chamber of Secrets incident and witnessed the corpse of the Basilisk did not dare to wander out in the middle of the night.

Sean walked quickly in the corridor. His direction was Professor Dumbledore’s office. He thought of an excuse but didn’t know whether he would believe it.

However, before he reached the office, he happened to meet three people.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Scamander.

“Merlin’s beard! Sean!” Professor McGonagall was surprised.

“Oh, professors. Good evening.” Sean replied with some embarrassment.

He didn’t expect that in the middle of the night, several professors didn’t sleep. It seemed that they had just walked out of the staff lounge.

The three professors almost ran over, and they carefully examined Sean’s body while muttering “Thank God…” in their mouths.

“Sean, where have you been?!” Professor Flitwick shrieked.

He had just cast several spells in a row, all of which were body-enhancing spells. His wand was still shining at this moment, which could effectively affect his well-being and had a certain effect on negating curse-type spells.

Feeling a warm current rising from his body, Sean’s weak and cold body suddenly became warm.

“Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I feel better now.” Sean thanked.

Professor McGonagall is carefully checking whether there are any injuries on Sean’s body, but apart from the haggard face caused by not eating for a long time, Sean is fine. The Unicorn’s Favor can replenish energy, but his body still needs food and water.

“Sean, where have you been?” Professor McGonagall was relieved to see that there was nothing wrong with him.

“Actually, I don’t know,” Sean scratched his hair helplessly. “It seems that I accidentally entered a room in the castle and fell into a coma.”

“Secret room?” Upon hearing this word, their expressions became serious.

Professor McGonagall did not ask Sean to explain everything clearly. She took Sean’s hand and walked towards the infirmary.

“I hope Pomfrey isn’t asleep. I have to ask her to check you up right away. Newt, please go and inform Albus. He shouldn’t be asleep at this point in time.”

“Professor, I don’t think there’s a big problem with me. I’m just a little hungry. Can I have something to eat first?” Sean was very clear about his physical condition and didn’t want to bother Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey will most likely let him stay in the hospital to rest and observe his condition. He thought that the beds in the infirmary were not very comfortable.

“No, I’m afraid that there will be hidden wounds in your body. But I don’t know it. Moreover, some unknown spells will not show on the surface. We must check it thoroughly.” Professor McGonagall firmly said.

“Oh, well…” Sean could only helplessly be dragged to the infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey was apparently asleep and put a robe over her pajamas when Professor McGonagall called her.

However, her drowsiness did not affect her. After a careful inspection, Madam Pomfrey said, “There is no problem, but you are right, Minerva. I think Wallup should stay in here for a moment.”

“Can I have something to eat first?” Sean was sitting on the hospital bed.

Professor McGonagall looked at Madam Pomfrey and nodded, “I have notified the kitchen, and your food will be ready in a while.”

“Thank you so much.”

After waiting for a while, the food was delivered. However, before Sean could eat the delicious pies, two figures appeared at the door of the infirmary. Newt came with Dumbledore.

It was the first time Sean saw Dumbledore with such a complicated expression. He walked up to Sean quickly and grabbed his wrist. Dumbledore’s hand was strong, and the food Sean had just grabbed fell back onto the plate.

Madam Pomfrey was about to be mad at him, “Albus, you can’t treat my patient like this. He-“

Professor McGonagall stopped what she was going to say next. Dumbledore didn’t look at Sean, holding Sean’s wrist, and his left hand, hidden in his robe, seemed to be doing something.

Sean noticed that Dumbledore’s left hand seemed to be outlining some kind of symbol. Sean understood immediately this should be some kind of ancient magic inspection spell.

After a while, Dumbledore let go of his hand and looked at Sean.

He smiled, “Sean, good to have you’re doing fine.”

“Me too, professor.”

Dumbledore turned his head to look at the others, “I’m sorry, everyone. But can you give me a little time alone with Sean?”

The professors looked at each other and pulled Madam Pomfrey out of the infirmary.

“Okay, Sean,” Dumbledore sat on the edge of the bed, “You can enjoy your food now. But tell me about your experience during this time.”

Sean nodded. He took a bite of the soft and fragrant pie, chewed it casually a few times, and swallowed it quickly.

Feeling the burst of deliciousness on his taste buds, Sean swallowed and said, “I seem to have strayed into a certain room…”

Dumbledore nodded, motioning for him to continue.

“I have almost no memory of this time period. I passed out and saw something…”

He continued, “I was on an empty island at the time, but it was very strange. The clothes I wore were not the clothes I am wearing now, and it felt very strange to me being there. Under the empty island is magma, and it feels weird to me. Like a lot of negative emotions gathered together in that magma. When I woke up at that time, I was already lying in the castle.”

Sean uttered the reason he had thought up, which is the weird place in his body.

This is not just to conceal his experience this time. Sean intends to use this to reveal a little bit of the situation in his body. He knew nothing about the situation, and with his knowledge, Dumbledore may know something about it.

After listening to his words, Dumbledore frowned and fell into deep thought. Sean stuffed the pie into his mouth, trying to lower his swallowing sound as much as possible.

After a while, Dumbledore said slowly, “Sean, that is probably the world in your soul.”

Sean swallowed the last bit of food and nodded.

Dumbledore continued, “Actually, I have been thinking about a problem for a long time.”

His eyes and Sean’s eyes met, “I was thinking, what is the essence of ‘Pride’?”

“Essence?” Sean frowned.

“Yes,” Dumbledore nodded, “I originally thought it was a special kind of blood or some kind of powerful dark force residing in your body. But according to your description, I have a guess.”

He took a deep look at Sean, “Maybe it’s another soul.”

Sean stayed where he was. He never thought that Dumbledore would come to such a conclusion. The power in his body is another soul. Sean almost couldn’t restrain himself and looked down at his body.

Dumbledore continued, “Remember the Misty Land I mentioned to you? I told you that it’s a place between reality and the underworld. Where there are often only undecided souls and all kinds of weird creatures of magic. The Misty Land is inaccessible without the Key.”

Sean took a deep breath, and he understood the meaning of his words.

“Professor, are you saying that the place I entered is not only my soul world but also that world?”

Dumbledore nodded, “It’s just a guess, but it’s very likely. I’m inclined to say that the world you entered is actually your own part of the Misty Land.”

“Remember the prophecy? ‘Pride is born from darkness’. In the wizarding world, most people believe that the power of darkness comes from various negative emotions in the world, and its essence comes from the underworld. Then, if ‘Pride’ does exist, the world in your body is a part of the underworld.”

Sean nodded. He originally thought that ‘Pride’ was a huge force that was difficult to control, but it was another soul in his body.

Dumbledore smiled, “Don’t worry about it, Sean. The more thoroughly we understand the nature of things, the stronger our ability to solve problems will be. The more you understand ‘Pride’, the more chance you can control him more and more.”

He spread his hands, “No matter what, you are still Sean Wallup. You will always be Sean Wallup in the future.”

Sean smiled, “Professor, you are right. But I think we should set aside this topic for now.”

“Then let’s change the topic,” Dumbledore said with a smile, “I didn’t expect you to stray into a mysterious space in Hogwarts. Please forgive me; this castle has too many secrets, and I can’t tell you where to avoid them. Do enjoy your dinner.”

Looking at the plate, Sean scratched his head, “Oh, I’m so hungry, and this pie looks delicious.”

“It’s best not to eat too much after you’ve been hungry for a while. However, it seems that you don’t need to be shy about it. Later, another food will be delivered when you return to the common room.”

“Thank you. Oh, Professor, you mean I can go back to my common room now?”

“Of course, you can go back and have a good sleep. I have to go out because of your disappearance. Some things need to be dealt with.” Dumbledore stood up straight.

“Things?” Sean asked suspiciously.

Dumbledore shook his head, “It’s quite serious. There is a person who took advantage of the situation. However, the matter should still be within the controllable range. It should be.”

After saying this, Dumbledore didn’t explain anymore. After saying goodbyes, he disappeared in the flames.

“Professor?” Sean was dumbfounded. He hadn’t had time to talk about the fact that he used the phoenix tail feather. Maybe he could ask him about it later on some other day.

After greeting several professors, Sean walked towards the Ravenclaw’s common room. As he ascended the final steps of the spiral staircase, he heard two familiar voices.

“It’s been a week, Hermione.” There was sadness in the voice.

“He’s just missing, just missing.”

Sean took a few steps up and saw two girls at the common room door. The two of them seemed to be in a bad mood and didn’t even notice Sean behind them.

“I’ll go to the Restricted Books Area tomorrow in the library and look for it. Maybe some books have a piece of information about other secret rooms in Hogwarts.” Hermione said.

Daisy nodded, then stepped forward and pulled the knocker.

“In the afterlife, which comes first? Life or death?” Both of them frowned and thought about it.

At this time, another voice sounded.

“The two start and end simultaneously, creating a new world.”

The door was opened. Hermione and Daisy turned their heads in unison.

“Sean!” The two were surprised to hear that voice.