The final event of the highly anticipated Triwizard Tournament was underway, with countless spectators seated in the stands, quietly waiting for the return of the champion.
Mad-Eye Moody stood silently at the entrance of the maze, a very faint smirk playing on his lips.
The plan had succeeded. Harry had been sent directly to Voldemort through the "key" hidden within the trophy, and Voldemort was about to be resurrected.
A crucial element needed for Voldemort's resurrection was Harry's blood. After this resurrection, he would no longer be affected by the protective charm cast by Harry's mother and could deal with him as he pleased.
As for why Voldemort was so obsessed with Harry, it was because Harry had left a major stain on his record. To preserve his prestige, Voldemort had to erase it with his own hands, ensuring no one in the wizarding world would ever dare question his power again.
Just like now, the successfully resurrected Voldemort, possessing a "healthy" body, was preparing to kill Harry Potter in a one-on-one duel before the Death Eaters he had summoned, thus officially declaring the Dark Lord's return.
"Are we just going to watch?"
Due to Ethan's intervention, although the trophy had transported all four of them, they were not sent to the same location.
Harry had been "kicked" aside by Ethan to push the plot forward.
Fleur and Viktor were sent to a slightly more distant spot. They had initially seen Harry and the trophy in the distance and were about to charge forward to fight for it, but Ethan had stopped them.
"So this was Hogwarts' plan?"
Fleur drew her wand, believing that Hogwarts had deliberately sent two champions so one could assist the other in grabbing the trophy at the last moment.
"Something's wrong. Let's hide first."
Fleur didn't even get the chance to cast a spell before unfamiliar figures began appearing in the distance.
More importantly, neither she nor Viktor had the strength to resist and were easily subdued by Ethan, who forced them to hide and watch the entire event unfold. By now, anyone with half a brain could figure out what was happening, especially since Voldemort made no effort to conceal anything. The three hiding in the shadows knew that all the strange developments in the Triwizard Tournament had been orchestrated by Voldemort, the most terrifying dark wizard in the wizarding world.
Because they were so shocked, it took a while before Fleur and Viktor noticed that Ethan had been holding a strange object in his hand, pointing it toward the scene in front of them.
"What are you doing?"
"Recording."
This wasn't some impulsive idea. The device in his hand had been built recently. Because the wizarding world had various wards and anti-muggle enchantments, some areas even had specific interference spells that rendered modern electronics useless.
So Ethan had specially developed a magic-tech hybrid recording device to capture the entire scene of Voldemort's resurrection, the summoning of the Death Eaters, and his intention to kill Harry.
Surely Fudge wouldn't be able to suppress this, would he? Even if he denied it repeatedly, the Ministry of Magic wasn't a place where one man made all the decisions.
Seeing that the "plot" had reached the right stage, Ethan gave the other two a signal.
"I'll draw Voldemort's attention. You two take this chance to save Harry, then use the trophy to get out of here."
Fleur and Viktor looked at Ethan in surprise. Viktor even wanted to say that he should be the one to distract Voldemort, but Ethan shut him down with one sentence.
"You're too weak. You won't last long. We don't have time to argue. Just follow my plan."
Without waiting for a response, Ethan immediately moved away from the hiding spot, circling around before revealing himself.
"Harry, don't worry. I'm here to save you!"
"..."
Voldemort and the group of Death Eaters turned to look at the young man who had suddenly appeared, as if he were a fool. They didn't know whether to admire his bravery or lament the ignorance of today's youth.
Facing the infamous Dark Lord, he had jumped out so boldly and even declared that he would save someone?
"Is this the kind of idiot Dumbledore is raising now?"
Voldemort had originally put Harry down, planning to toy with him for a while, but now his attention shifted to Ethan.
"How could a fool like you end up in Slytherin?"
Ethan's tournament uniform clearly showed his house, so it wasn't strange that Voldemort noticed.
Because of that, Voldemort gave him a bit more attention, allowing Ethan to successfully draw everyone's focus.
Harry, lying on the ground, also noticed Fleur and Viktor slowly approaching. They were signaling him with winks.
What happened next didn't play out exactly as Ethan had expected. Voldemort's grudge toward Harry had nearly reached the breaking point, so he continued keeping an eye on Harry's movements.
This brought Ethan some trouble, but he eventually succeeded in "dying" in front of Harry and the others, giving them the opportunity to escape.
Harry acted quickly.
Because Ethan had just been killed by Voldemort's Killing Curse while protecting him, Harry, in a burst of emotion, wanted to rush forward and fight. But Fleur and Viktor stopped him just in time. Fleur used a Summoning Charm to pull the Triwizard Cup into her hand, gripping Harry with the other.
Along with Viktor, who also held Harry tightly, the three of them were pulled away together.
Watching Harry vanish, Voldemort flew into a rage, lashing out at several of his followers and ordering them to gather more Death Eaters. He was preparing to announce his return to the wizarding world.
Just as the Death Eaters scattered and Voldemort was about to leave, he was shocked to see the boy who should have died standing right in front of him.
"?"
He couldn't understand. Why was Ethan still alive? Had his spell failed? Could there be another Harry Potter?
Turning his head slightly, Voldemort saw the body lying on the ground begin to dissolve into blue points of light, which then drifted over and merged into the Ethan in front of him.
"Who are you?"
The servant beside him, Peter Pettigrew—Wormtail—spoke up.
"He's Ethan Arendelle, Harry Potter's friend..."
Voldemort glared at Wormtail, making him swallow the rest of his words.
He didn't care about Ethan's name. He cared about who Ethan truly was.
Harry's friend? A fourth-year Slytherin student? Voldemort wasn't a fool. A spell that could condense magic into a form as solid as a real person, he had never even heard of such a thing. How could a student at Hogwarts possibly have that kind of mastery?
"Your mind is much clearer than I expected."
Voldemort's expression darkened. In the next second, he raised his wand and cast the Killing Curse.
Watching the movies, one might think the Killing Curse was as common as candy, like anyone could throw it around.
In reality, it was an extremely difficult spell. Many wizards never mastered it in their lifetimes. The reason it seemed so common in the plot was that the ones using it were top-tier wizards.
Among them, Voldemort had the highest mastery of the curse. His speed and power made it deadly. Many died before they even knew what hit them.
But none of that worked on Ethan.
As the green magic rushed toward him, Ethan casually waved his hand, as if brushing away a mosquito, and deflected the deadly curse to the side.
Almost at the same time, a black shadow attacked from behind. For the first time, Voldemort revealed a hint of satisfaction.
Unfortunately, that satisfaction lasted less than a second before turning to shock, disbelief, and a trace of fear.
Nagini's ambush had been perfectly timed. Voldemort had drawn attention with the Killing Curse, and the strike from behind was meant to ensure the kill.
He couldn't believe anyone could block it.
But Ethan didn't even move. Nagini's lunging form froze in midair behind him.
Her jaws, wide open and poised to devour Ethan's head, were halted just inches away. That short distance became an unbridgeable gap.
Ethan turned slightly, glanced at the massive snake, and raised two fingers on his right hand. With a light flick, the snake's head separated from its body.
The cut was smooth. No blood spilled. Only after Ethan lowered his hand did the lifeless serpent drop to the ground with a thud.
"I was originally planning to just leave."
Voldemort stayed silent. He couldn't comprehend Ethan's background or power. He couldn't even understand the magic he was casually using.
Worse, the ease with which Ethan killed Nagini and with that, destroyed one of his Horcruxes, proved how dangerous he truly was.
His instincts screamed that this was the most terrifying enemy he had ever faced. If Ethan wanted to kill him, he might not even get the chance to fight back.
Voldemort found it hard to accept the thought. Could such a monster really exist in the wizarding world? Was he some ancient creature that had slumbered for eons?
Just as he was about to speak, he noticed the figure across from him becoming faint. Only a blurry phantom remained, still speaking.
"Never mind. Destroying one Horcrux is enough. Your life still has some use."
As if remembering something, Ethan glanced at the snake's corpse, raised his hand, and a gray-white mist floated from Nagini's body into his palm and vanished.
"Enjoy your last performance, Tom."
(To be continued.)