Besides Leah being Ethan's disciple, Dumbledore couldn't quite figure out the relationship between Illya and Ethan, but he was certain that Ethan doted on the child. Knowing that much was enough.
As for Rin, she seemed to be Scáthach's disciple?
Regardless, with these children staying at Hogwarts, the school essentially had several powerful guardians. Under such circumstances, anyone foolish enough to attack Hogwarts would be met with overwhelming retaliation.
With Ethan helping to stabilize the rear, Dumbledore could confidently lead the members of the Order of the Phoenix to confront Voldemort.
"Is the plan going smoothly?"
"Very smoothly."
Dumbledore replied with a smile, glancing at an inconspicuous ring on his hand.
Ethan narrowed his eyes and immediately saw the spell attached to the ring. It was linked to someone's life, alerting the wearer when that person's life was in danger.
"Moody?"
Dumbledore nodded. He didn't expect to hide it from Ethan.
As for why Ethan knew so much, Dumbledore was aware that Ethan had been researching the power of time, so it wasn't strange for him to glimpse some things from the river of time.
"Moody is already in the hands of the Death Eaters. According to our earlier plan, as long as his life isn't in danger, we'll pretend not to know."
Moody was prepared to sacrifice himself. In his view, even if his life was at risk, the plan should take priority over his rescue.
However, the members of the Order of the Phoenix weren't willing to abandon a comrade so easily. That was why they specially created such an item and entrusted it to Dumbledore, the strongest among them. Only Dumbledore could Apparate within Hogwarts, allowing him to arrive at the scene in time if necessary.
Not long after Ethan and the others returned their belongings to the dorms, the students arrived back at Hogwarts by train. During the opening ceremony that evening, Ethan also saw Mad-Eye Moody, who would be this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Many people present knew that this Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise. A Death Eater, he had imprisoned the real Mad-Eye and taken his place at Hogwarts to ensure Harry Potter would win the Triwizard Tournament.
In addition to introducing Mad-Eye Moody, Dumbledore also announced the upcoming Triwizard Tournament at the feast. Students from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute entered the Great Hall one after another.
The entrance of the girls from Beauxbatons, especially the one standing in the center, caught the attention of many boys. All the male students fixed their eyes on her.
Ethan knew she was Fleur Delacour, who had Veela blood. Her beauty was indeed eye-catching.
As for the Durmstrang students following behind... there wasn't much to see. Ethan took the opportunity to go out for a walk and collected some samples from the winged horses of Beauxbatons.
The opening ceremony proceeded without incident. The Goblet of Fire also made its appearance as expected. After Dumbledore explained the rules, the students continued eating and chatting about the upcoming tournament.
"It's a shame you have to be seventeen or older to participate."
The Slytherins sitting near Ethan were also discussing it. For young wizards stuck at school year-round, the Triwizard Tournament was a rare major event, certainly more exciting than daily classwork.
"If there were no age limit, Ethan Arendelle would definitely be qualified to represent Hogwarts."
As the conversation continued, the topic naturally turned to who would be suitable to represent the school. For Slytherin students, there was no way they'd think students from other houses were worthy. Among current Slytherins, most agreed Ethan was the best candidate.
Illya nudged Ethan beside her. Ethan glanced at her, indicating he'd heard.
Of course, while some supported Ethan, others disagreed. The reason was simple. Ethan was too young, having just entered his fourth year. No matter how good his grades were, he couldn't compare to older students.
"I think Ethan's strength is definitely not inferior to the older students."
Surprisingly, even the upper-year Slytherin students thought Ethan was the most suitable candidate, but unfortunately, he didn't meet the age requirement.
"Everyone thinks you're qualified to represent Hogwarts. Do you think so too?"
Ethan looked up at Draco Malfoy across from him, carefully observing his expression to confirm he wasn't trying to provoke him before answering.
"That question is meaningless. If I want to represent Hogwarts, the Goblet of Fire will choose me."
Draco didn't get angry or irritated by Ethan's answer. Instead, he asked curiously, "You mean you have a way to bypass the age restriction?"
"Of course."
Ethan knew that even if he did nothing, Dumbledore would intervene behind the scenes to make the Goblet of Fire accept his name.
However, instead of letting others think he had sneaked his name in, Ethan preferred to be upfront. The Goblet had just been placed, and he openly declared that if he wanted to enter, the so-called age restriction wouldn't stop him.
Ethan's words quickly spread throughout Slytherin House and even reached students in other houses. The professors also heard about it.
Normally, these professors would have taken action, but this time they merely exchanged glances and said nothing.
As for Barty Crouch (the father, not the Death Eater impersonating Moody), who had come from the Ministry of Magic, he just thought it was a child boasting and didn't take the claim seriously.
After the feast ended, the students didn't leave right away but stayed behind to watch the Goblet of Fire, glowing with blue flames, wanting to see who would step up to submit their names.
The method was simple: write your name on a piece of parchment and toss it into the Goblet. When the time came, the Goblet would "spit out" the chosen names.
In just under two hours after dinner, many had already submitted their names.
Plenty of students under seventeen also wanted to try, but without exception, they were blocked by the magic around the Goblet and couldn't get close.
Groups of younger students sat nearby, watching the older students enter their names and discussing Ethan's earlier words.
"I think he was just bragging."
"Would Professor Dumbledore's spell be that easy to bypass?"
"Look, he's just sitting there like he's not even going to try. Maybe he never intended to enter."
Many Slytherin students were watching Ethan. None of the ones making snide remarks were from Slytherin. Slytherins always stuck together when facing outsiders.
"Aren't you going to enter?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Now."
In response to Malfoy's question, Ethan casually took a piece of parchment, wrote his name on it under everyone's watchful eyes, then walked toward the Goblet holding the parchment.
At that moment, every eye in the hall turned to him, allowing Ethan to fully experience what it meant to be the center of attention.
But the gazes held a variety of emotions.
Some were expectant, some were waiting to see him fail, some were skeptical. Ethan didn't care about what others thought and slowly walked to the edge of the glowing barrier that blocked anyone who didn't meet the requirement.
"Can he really do it?"
"I don't know... probably not, right?"
Because there were so many Slytherins around him, Harry and Ron were far from Ethan. Hermione and Rin were on this side.
Seeing Ethan walk over so calmly, Ron, who had a decent relationship with him, was a little worried that Ethan might embarrass himself. That would be awkward. He used to think if a Slytherin messed up, it would be funny. But now that he and Ethan were friends, how could he laugh at him?
Just as Ron was torn, the students in the hall collectively let out a surprised "Oh~" because, under everyone's gaze, Ethan walked through the barrier without any resistance and casually tossed his parchment into the Goblet of Fire.
"Wait..."
"Did the spell fail?"
Immediately, two students from other houses grabbed their parchments and rushed forward, only to slam into the invisible barrier and get thrown back.
When the two dashed forward, Ethan was still standing inside the circle. After the two unfortunate students were thrown back, he slowly walked back to his seat and sat down.
That short moment was enough for everyone to understand what had just happened. Ethan, who had just entered his fourth year, had successfully submitted his name and entered the Triwizard Tournament.
The Slytherin students cheered in unison, seizing the opportunity to retaliate against those who had mocked them earlier.
Malfoy curiously asked how Ethan had done it, but Ethan didn't answer. At most, he gave a meaningful smile in return.
It wasn't that Ethan didn't want to explain, but that he couldn't.
"I don't even know how old I am. That restriction spell doesn't affect me at all!"
(To be continued.)
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