"Harry, did you need something?"
After slipping away from some supporters, Harry gestured toward a nearby corner.
"What is it?"
"The first task is dragons. One for each of us."
Harry didn't beat around the bush and directly shared the news he had just learned with Ethan. Ethan already knew this information would reach him through Ron, and that Harry had used the Invisibility Cloak to see the dragons in person.
"Thanks, Harry."
As the two spoke, Ethan noticed someone secretly observing them. It was likely Mad-Eye Moody, who was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise.
He needed to ensure that Harry Potter would win the Triwizard Tournament and personally touch the winning cup, which had been turned into a Portkey. So now that the task had been revealed, he was beginning to think of ways to help Harry win.
From his perspective, Harry sharing information with a competitor was incredibly frustrating.
"You're welcome."
Compared to Cedric Diggory, Harry had a slightly better relationship with Ethan, and they had mutual friends. Although Ethan was a Slytherin, he wasn't arrogant and didn't mock others. His Muggle-born background also gave Harry a sense of familiarity after all, before coming to Hogwarts, Harry had only interacted with ordinary people.
It was precisely Ethan's presence that changed Harry's impression of Slytherin. Not all Slytherins were bad wizards.
Whether this would have an impact later was uncertain, but Ethan didn't care. What mattered now was how to deal with the unlucky creature he was about to face. While other contestants were worried about drawing a dangerous dragon, Ethan's concern was how to defeat one in a way that looked normal.
"You can't go all out, can you?"
"Probably... not."
If he went all out, not just the dragon but the entire arena or even Hogwarts itself might not survive.
Even without using magic, if Ethan just walked up and fought the dragon barehanded, leaving it covered in bruises before collecting the golden egg, it would be just as shocking.
"I'm curious how you'll handle that big guy when the time comes."
"Just use a few more spells, that's all."
Scáthach, her hair braided and hanging naturally on both sides, pulled out a newspaper from who knows where. It was the Daily Prophet, considered the most influential paper in the wizarding world.
However, Ethan didn't think highly of it. So when Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet's special correspondent, tried to interview the contestants, Ethan completely ignored her.
"What do you think of this article?"
Ethan turned to look. Rita Skeeter's reports on Fleur and Viktor were fairly normal, just basic introductions. Nothing out of the ordinary.
But the piece on Harry was outrageous, completely made up.
As for himself... Ethan found that the article about him could practically fill seven more books, each one a massive three-part movie trilogy.
Ethan Arendelle, a young wizard from a Muggle family, entered the wizarding world unexpectedly. Due to his Muggle background, he was harshly ostracized by his classmates after joining Slytherin. Ethan, determined to prove himself, made the most important and perhaps the most foolish decision of his life: to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, even if it meant cheating.
Scáthach blinked her large 'innocent' eyes, looking at Ethan with a face that said, "Is that really how it is?"
Of course, it wasn't true. Others might not know, but how could Scáthach not? She was just teasing him.
Ethan wouldn't take a tabloid article seriously, and no one at school would be foolish enough to bring it up and ask him if it was true.
The only ones who might do something like that were Draco Malfoy and his group. But Malfoy had long been intimidated by Ethan's strength and wouldn't act that recklessly.
"What are you going to do about her?"
Ethan rubbed his chin... Killing her would be overkill, but she still needed a proper lesson.
He couldn't just let it slide. She had to know why she was being punished, and who was doing it.
"I'll take care of her next time we meet."
She would show up again soon, since that reporter was known to sneak into the Triwizard Tournament venue to find scoops, like catching Hermione comforting Harry, then fabricating a love scandal between them, and later making up another one involving Hermione and Viktor.
That's how tabloids worked. Ethan seriously felt that the wizarding world was hopeless. Was this really how the most influential paper behaved?
Not long after learning from Harry that the first task involved dragons, the official day of the competition arrived.
The four contestants were gathered in advance and waited inside the tent. Through the next door, they would step into the arena, face their dragons, and be cheered by countless spectators, if they weren't immediately killed by the dragon.
When Ethan entered, Fleur and Viktor were already there. Upon seeing him, they nodded politely.
Now that they were competitors in a dangerous tournament, even if they wanted to be friends, there was no mood for it now.
Not long after, Harry arrived. The four contestants waited quietly, able to hear the noise of the crowd entering the stadium. The match was about to begin.
Just then, Harry, who was pacing nervously, heard something. He walked over to the edge of the tent, lifted the curtain, and saw Hermione.
"Here she comes."
Ethan knew what was about to happen. Hermione, worried about Harry, had come specifically to give him a hug, a moment the reporter would photograph.
What he didn't expect was to be included.
After hugging Harry, Hermione turned and hugged Ethan too. That's when Ethan realized she wasn't just worried about Harry.
"You were worried about me?"
"Of course I was. You're going up against a dragon! Don't you realize how dangerous that is?"
"..."
Ethan didn't know how to explain it. He couldn't exactly say that the dragon was the one in danger, not him. If not for the crowd and Ministry officials watching, he might have already skinned the dragon and prepared a full-course feast.
Just then, the sound of a camera shutter went off nearby. Rita Skeeter had arrived, perfectly on time, and captured the moment she wanted.
Ethan could already picture the Daily Prophet serializing a dramatic love triangle in tomorrow's paper.
"Oh, oh, oh, a young couple. If anything happens to you in this tournament, you'll instantly become celebrities in the wizarding world."
Hermione released Ethan and stared blankly at the woman.
Unlike Hermione and Harry, who were stunned, Viktor, who had more experience dealing with this sort of thing, stepped forward to handle it.
He directly said this area was for contestants and their friends only. His implication was clear: Rita needed to leave.
"It's alright, I've already gotten what I needed."
"No, you haven't gotten anything."
Ethan, who had been standing silently, raised his hand. The camera hanging from the photographer's neck suddenly floated into the air and flew toward Ethan. The strap was still around the photographer's neck, and the two were now tugging back and forth.
But Ethan wasn't trying to steal the camera. With a light clench of his fist, the camera instantly shattered into pieces, as if crushed by some invisible force.
"You!"
Rita was stunned. She never imagined someone would dare to do that to her.
But that wasn't the end. Ethan pointed a finger at the broken camera on the ground. A ball of fire ignited instantly, forcing the photographer, who was about to recover the negatives, to back away in fright.
"How could you?"
Rita swore she would ruin Ethan's reputation. The quill floating beside her scribbled furiously, working hard to invent a narrative.
In the next second, that quill also turned to ash in a burst of flame.
"Of course I can."
Ethan looked at the woman coldly. He was not a generous person. He had already decided to teach her a lesson and it wasn't going to stop with destroying a few of her tools.
"Enjoy your nightmares."
As Ethan walked up to Rita, he nearly chanted the curse directly in her face.
"When you were busy fabricating stories about others, did you ever think you might face retaliation? Enjoy it, witch."
Without waiting for her reaction, he sent Rita and her assistant flying with a blast of magic. They nearly crashed into Dumbledore and the others, who had just arrived.
"What was that just now..."
"Just someone who broke into the contestants' area. I've already taken care of it. Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore."
Barty Crouch was still looking behind him, as if recognizing that the person who was sent flying was Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet.
"That looked like..."
Unlike Barty, who had no idea who Ethan really was, Dumbledore quickly recalled Rita's recent article in the Daily Prophet. Understanding the situation, he casually stopped Barty from continuing.
"Barty, let's focus on the task at hand."
"Oh, right!"
Barty turned back around, lifted the cloth bag in his hand, and opened it slightly.
"Champions, please come forward one by one to draw your opponent."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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