Upon hearing this, the Slytherin students' faces turned ashen.
They wanted to shout, to pound on the tables, to accuse and roar in protest!
Why?
All five of them had been defeated!
One of them was even the Quidditch team captain; this year, they might lose to Hufflepuff!
Why did they still have to fulfill the bet?
Couldn't they just let it go?!
However, they did not possess Ethan's courage and eloquence.
As they met the silent gazes fixed on them from across the Great Hall, their eyes gradually filled with terror!
It was as if they had become an isolated island.
"We lost—" a Slytherin said, feeling ashamed.
For a moment, he even wanted to lie down in the infirmary like those five.
After a few seconds of dead silence, as if finally unable to resist the pressure from the entire school, a tall, thin boy with sharp features unsteadily stood up.
"I, I am the Slytherin Prefect—and also the head of the club, Yaxley—"
"I represent all of Slytherin in apologizing to you."
Ethan blinked, looking at the male Prefect who stood there like a post.
He tilted his head and sincerely suggested, "I can't hear you. Why don't you come over and say it?"
He wanted to be done with it just by standing there?
Dream on.
....
The thin, tall Prefect's face looked even paler.
In the dead of winter, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
No! Impossible!
You are a noble pureblood, how can you bow to a mudblood?!
However, looking into those cobalt blue eyes fixed on him, Yaxley trembled violently from the depths of his soul.
His limbs instinctively moved on their own.
Stiffly, under countless gazes, he walked step by step to Ethan's front.
"I apologize—"
Ethan narrowed his eyes, his lips parting to utter one word: "Bow."
"Ugh!"
More sweat poured down Yaxley's forehead.
Facing this child, who was several years younger than him, sweat practically streamed down like rain.
Yaxley glanced, seeing that Headmaster Dumbledore remained silent.
Despair filled his heart instantly.
He gave up struggling, trembling, slowly, slowly, bending his family's waist, which had been held proudly upright in front of others for hundreds of years.
"I, I'm sorry, Mr. Ethan Vincent. As the Slytherin Prefect—I failed to manage my classmates, and I sincerely apologize to you—", "Effective immediately, I will disband all affairs of the Slytherin club—and will no longer hold any activities—", "And, I will restrain the students, ensuring that we will not cause you any more trouble—"
Yaxley finished speaking, but still dared not straighten up.
"Anyway, there's no honor left, is there?"
In the Great Hall, everyone was stunned.
When this truly happened, they realized how incredible it was!
"I actually saw a Slytherin male Prefect bowing and apologizing to someone."
Percy held his hand up blankly, completely unaware that he wasn't holding a cup.
"Merlin! He always looked down on me, and last time he even threw away a handkerchief I accidentally touched!"
On the other side, with a "click," little Colin, who loved taking pictures, instinctively aimed at Ethan and the Slytherin male Prefect and pressed the shutter.
Ron: "Ha! Well done, Colin! Look at Slytherin's face! Like they ate a dungbomb! Hahahaha!!"
Harry couldn't help but laugh as well, which somewhat dispelled the gloom from last night.
He couldn't help but glance at Snape.
The latter's terrifying expression made Harry both scared and thrilled.
At the Hufflepuff long table, Cedric clenched his fist, the size of a sandbag, staring at Ethan with burning eyes!
Too cool!
Ethan truly deserved to be the object of his lifelong pursuit!
There was still so much, so much, to learn from Ethan.
Hmm, what did Ethan do just now?
Cedric twisted his features.
Justin beside him said in horror, "Senior, are you having a seizure?!"
Cedric: "...—"
He put his handsome features back in place one by one, expressionless.
Just then, a figure stood up from the Slytherin long table.
Draco Malfoy.
Under everyone's gaze, Malfoy carried a wooden box, two sizes smaller than a briefcase, and walked to Ethan with steady, arrogant steps.
A brilliant smile immediately bloomed on his face!
Ron was stunned: "Bloody hell, give me a basin, I'm going to puke."
Malfoy: "Congratulations on your victory, Ethan."
"This is a small token of respect from the Malfoy family, please accept it~"
Ethan calmly took it and opened the golden clasp.
In an instant, the golden light that burst forth almost blinded Ethan's eyes!
"Bang!"
Ethan slammed the lid shut, still feeling a lingering fear.
So, so close!
He was almost swallowed by the golden light!
Is this the power of corrupt money?
It's terrifying!
Seeing this, the smile on Malfoy's face grew wider.
"The first layer contains some Galleons, roughly equivalent to a dozen or so Firebolt 2001s—"
"The second layer is pearls, gems, and rare minerals—"
"The third layer, then, is some Potions, such as Felix Felicis—"
As Malfoy introduced them like a menu, Ethan's eyes gradually trembled.
He felt that the seemingly ordinary wooden box in his hand became more and more pleasing to the eye.
Ethan solemnly put away the wooden box.
He would bear the sin of this money!
He patted Malfoy's shoulder, giving him a look of approval.
Malfoy couldn't help but grin.
This mudblood was getting more and more skilled, more and more comfortable. He squinted, looking disdainfully at the dumbfounded Prefect Yaxley beside him.
Useless.
Doesn't even know how to give gifts.
He's doomed sooner or later.
At the teachers' table, Professor McGonagall was puzzled.
She watched Ethan and Malfoy huddled together, whispering, not knowing what they were doing.
"Are they friends? Friendship is truly wonderful."
Flitwick, with his better hearing due to being part-goblin, was sweating profusely.
He didn't expect Ethan to have already become a member of society before even leaving school—and the one at the top!
Malfoy's action was deeply imprinted in the eyes of the Slytherin students, filling them with a touch of admiration.
..."It turns out the Malfoy family was the smartest one—"
"We were too foolish before. I'll write home in a bit. If it were before, they would have severely despised Malfoy's subservient behavior!
But now, the water in their brains had been cleared out.
It was suddenly clear.
Who said Ethan was a mudblood?
His blood was pure, purer than anyone present!!
Under a multitude of admiring gazes, Ethan returned to his seat at Ravenclaw, as if returning to his throne, laden with spoils.
His steps were noticeably heavier.
"Here," Luna handed him a full sandwich and a plate of sliced apples, "Breakfast is over, eat this to tide you over for now."
Ethan almost blurted out "Mom."
Beside him, Michael was envious.
Childhood sweethearts, overflowing with wealth.
In this scene, one could only exclaim—
Dad!!!
Just then, on the podium, Headmaster Dumbledore wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and said solemnly, "Now, I will explain what happened last night."
The Great Hall quieted down.
Ethan, while biting his sandwich, couldn't help but lean forward, listening intently.
Dumbledore: "Please don't worry. The five Slytherin students are not in life-threatening danger."
"Last night, after I and the Professors sent the students to the hospital wing, we also conducted a thorough search of Hogwarts. No abnormalities were found."
"As long as I and the Professors are here, we will ensure your safety."
"We will never allow evil to defile the pure land of Hogwarts!"
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