"Time to save the princess..."
Ethan mumbled drowsily, still in a deep sleep.
The already faint female voice choked, then called out more urgently. However, "its" voice grew smaller and weaker. Finally, it let out a shriek mixed with anger and terror and fell silent, as if dragged into the bottomless abyss.
Gentle moonlight streamed through the window, pouring into the room, but was blocked by the airtight curtains. Ethan liked the feeling of lying in a coffin.
He lay ramrod straight on the bed, his hands folded on his chest. His small face was porcelain white, his eyes lightly closed. If not for the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, he would be like a doll in a display case... or a beautiful corpse.
Beside the pillow, the leather bag enchanted with an Extension Charm, which Ethan used to store his paintings, trembled violently, as if something inside was struggling in pain.
Unfortunately, no one cared.
...
The news that Ethan would challenge all other contestants alone had once again spread throughout Hogwarts. It was even posted in the Daily Hogwarts Morning Post on the bulletin board.
In huge black letters, it was displayed on the front page for all to see:
[SHOCKING! ETHAN VINCENT DECLARES 'EVERYONE PRESENT IS TRASH' IN PROVOCATION TO ALL CONTESTANTS! INCITES PUBLIC ANGER! A FOOL'S MOVE OR CONFIDENT GAMBLE?]
Anyone who saw it would have to say it had the Rita Skeeter touch.
Newspapers were distributed, reaching the hands of every young wizard. They whispered and gossiped. Whenever a figure suspected to be Ethan walked by, every gaze would chase after him, filled with curiosity and speculation.
Adding fuel to the fire was the betting business that the Weasley twins took the opportunity to open.
"Come on, come on! Do you think Ethan will win or lose? Place your coin! Ten Sickles on Ethan to win! Not bad, little brother! Bet all your pocket money, did you?"
"Oh, shut up!" Ron shouted, his face turning red, which made his freckles stand out even more.
"I'll also bet ten Sickles on Ethan to win," Harry said, secretly putting a Galleon back into his pocket.
"Merlin, don't you think this kind of entertainment is very disrespectful?" Hermione said, her eyes wide. Then she took out a gold Galleon, tilted her chin up, and dropped it into the Weasley twins' hat. "I support Ethan to win, thank you."
"..."
Ron's jaw dropped in shock, his eyes following the gold Galleon as it disappeared into the hat.
"Thank you for your support! Miss Granger, we'll tell Ethan!" the Weasley twins cheered. Leaning close to their little brother, they winked and whispered: "If Ethan really wins, we'll treat you to ice cream~"
By the time they walked through the long corridor and reached the library, Ron was still muttering, "If Ethan wins, they'll earn a huge amount of money! And they're only treating their little brother to ice cream!"
"This also shows that almost no one thinks Ethan can actually win," Hermione bit her lower lip worriedly as she pushed open the library door. "The odds on whether he'll die in the competition are probably even higher!"
"Shh, keep it down, Madam Pince is looking over here," Harry lowered his voice, reminding them nervously.
They hadn't come to the library to study, although Harry and Ron still hadn't finished their homework. (Hermione: "Honestly, you two!"). They came to help Ethan.
"Look! He's there!" Ron excitedly raised his hand, pointing to a long table near the window.
A lone boy was sitting at the desk, quietly and intently reading a book. He was almost buried in the massive tomes surrounding him.
Sunlight streamed through the glass window, shining on him. It made his face look rosy and white, and even his usually placid cobalt-blue eyes were tinged with a hint of warmth.
Ron noticed that although no one sat at Ethan's table, the surrounding tables were almost filled with young girls. All blushing, secretly glancing at Ethan. Occasionally letting out a soft "Ah!", shyly falling into their friends' arms.
"How nice..." Ron couldn't help but murmur with envy.
Hermione, however, rolled her eyes and strode over. She greeted Ethan naturally and sat down beside him, ignoring the burning, jealous gazes around her.
"Good morning, Ethan," Harry also walked over, looking curiously at the book in Ethan's hands. "What are you reading? The Encyclopedia of Plants?"
It seemed to have a lot of illustrations.
Ethan's eyes curved, showing no displeasure at being interrupted. He flipped to the cover and showed it to Harry.
"Human Transmutation... The Fusion of Souls?"
Harry read the words on the cover and fell silent. Is that a normal book? It doesn't look like something you can just grab off the shelves!
As expected, Ethan continued: "I got this from the Restricted Section. It's about soul magic. I asked Professor Quirrell for a permission slip."
Hermione's eyes sparkled: "That's amazing! You're already reading books from the Restricted Section, Ethan. I need to work harder too!"
Harry and Ron: "..."
No, that's not something worth imitating. It feels like Ethan has already marched into the realm of Dark Magic. Wait, has Ethan ever left it?
Composing themselves, Harry and Ron wisely skipped this topic and nervously explained their purpose.
"Uh, we heard you were in the library, so we wanted to come help you find some information... aren't you participating in the challenge? Or maybe help you check your homework."
"Snape gave you a lot of extra homework again, didn't he? He's targeting you! Because you chose Professor Quirrell over him as a guidance teacher!" Harry shouted in a low, indignant voice.
"Haha," Ethan laughed easily. "How could that be? Although Snape seems cold on the outside, he's actually a warm-hearted and good person inside."
The homework he assigned seemed to be related to the Great Rotting Swamp, the competition's location.
"..."
Harry and Ron were silent. They didn't understand what connection Snape had with the words "warm-hearted" and "good person." They skipped this topic again.
Watching the three lions squirming nervously in their seats, Ethan couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth: "Then I'll have to trouble you to help me check my work."
"Okay!"
The three's eyes lit up at once with relief. Hermione even took Ethan's homework with both hands, as if holding a treasure, constantly muttering, "This is Ethan's homework, this is Ethan's homework."
"By the way," Ron looked up from the densely packed handwriting, frowning, "do you really have to learn from Professor Quirrell? He can't even teach his own class, he has no real skills at all! What can he teach you?! You'd be better off asking Professor Flitwick!"
What Ron didn't say was that some students were mocking Ethan's foolish choice of professor, calling him a "show-off." Especially some Slytherin students. Ron got angry just hearing it and almost started a conflict several times. He felt indignant for his good friend, both anxious and angry, not understanding why Ethan would choose Professor Quirrell.
"Hmm..."
Ethan grunted noncommittally, not answering. He stroked the uneven, soft cover of the book under his hand, which felt as if it were bound in tanned hide from some unfortunate bipedal creature, and thought:
Professor Quirrell is greatly capable... after all, he has two heads. Something like allowing me to borrow Forbidden Dark Magic books... could Professor Flitwick do that?
[Chapter Complete]
***
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