As dusk fell, the night sky unfolded like a dark curtain overhead.
The train whistled sharply and rumbled along the tracks.
With a rhythmic clack-clack, it gradually slowed to a halt.
They had arrived at Hogwarts.
Ethan and Luna had already changed into their school uniforms ahead of time.
Warm black cloaks wrapped around them, the blue eagle emblem of Ravenclaw soaring proudly on their left chests.
Their luggage, directed by magic, wobbled down from the overhead racks.
It landed neatly in their hands.
Ignoring Michael, who was scrambling to pull on his uniform in a panic, Ethan yanked open the compartment door with a swift whoosh.
In that instant, it was as if someone had hit the pause button.
The bustling, noisy corridor fell deathly silent!
Every face turned toward Ethan, staring as if an octopus had just sprouted from the floor.
"Ethan! Wait for me—"
Michael had barely poked his head out when the eerie atmosphere hit him like a wall, and he jerked back inside stiffly.
The next second.
Bang, bang, bang!
A chaotic flurry of sounds erupted.
The crowded students parted like the Red Sea!
Fear etched plainly on their faces.
They looked as if they wished they could flatten themselves into paper-thin shadows.
In no time, they'd cleared a wide path straight for Ethan.
Ethan raised an eyebrow, nodding with satisfaction. "Not bad."
"It saves me the trouble of casting Finite Incantatem."
He glanced at a nearby Hufflepuff who was trembling like a leaf.
Slowly, he offered a benevolent smile.
Hufflepuff: !!!
The poor kid's eyes rolled back, nearly fainting on the spot... Mama, what happened to Hogwarts being the safest place in the world? QAQ
With a fugitive and his supposed accomplice lurking around.
Was this turning into a hotbed for dark forces?!
The naive, innocent Hufflepuff felt utterly betrayed.
The students' eyes tracked Ethan as he strode past.
Tense and on edge.
Sure enough, Ethan and trouble were like magnets... By the time he reached the door.
Michael couldn't hold it in anymore.
He whirled around and bellowed at the crowd:
"The Daily Prophet fools all you idiots with just a few words!"
"Ethan is so righteous! Just think about it—how many—how many—things has Ethan done—"
Michael faltered.
Images of tormented faces flickered through his mind.
Along with memories of Hogwarts getting bombed not once, but twice.
"—Go on, why'd you stop?"
Ethan's voice, gentle and utterly harmless, whispered right beside Michael's ear.
A shiver raced down his spine, raising goosebumps on his neck... Damn, that felt like something unholy brushing against him.
Sweat beaded on Michael's forehead like oversized raindrops.
He swallowed hard, then stiffened his resolve and shouted:
"In—in short! He's done tons of righteous and uplifting things! You'll see if you just think about it yourselves!"
Everyone: ...
The only "uplifting" thing they could recall was that blinding radiance from his second year.
In the heavy silence.
A voice suddenly cut in from outside:
"I trust Ethan."
It was Penelope, the Ravenclaw prefect, who had gotten off the train earlier.
Her eyes locked on Ethan, steady and unwavering.
Her tone radiated calm assurance.
Penelope: "Sure, Ethan's way of thinking is a bit... unconventional. But I believe he'd never team up with dark forces!"
Ethan was just a third-year, after all.
How could he possibly get mixed up with a mass-murdering fugitive like Sirius?
The Daily Prophet was always full of rubbish.
Ethan: "Haha, you never know, do you?"
Penelope: ...
Penelope's smile froze: "You're joking, right, Ethan?"
Ethan's eyes crinkled with a mischievous glint.
As if he were hiding a whole scheme in his back pocket.
As Penelope's expression grew more and more wary, Ethan flashed another bright smile.
He tilted his innocent face up and said:
"Thanks for believing in me, Prefect Penelope."
...N-no, it's nothing. It's what I should do."
Penelope's cheeks flushed faintly.
That flicker of doubt from moments ago evaporated instantly.
Of course.
A level-headed kid like Ethan wouldn't just blurt out that he and Sirius were best mates.
Ethan: "Speaking of which, next year in fourth year, I might become a prefect myself. I'll need your guidance then, Prefect~"
Head Girl Penelope: "...Huh?"
Ethan spun around: "Hagrid's calling us. I'll head out first."
With that, he grabbed Luna's hand and dashed off toward Hagrid, who was bellowing nonstop.
Leaving Penelope standing alone, forlorn in the chilly breeze... Maybe next year, I should apply for an off-campus internship early.
They climbed into the self-propelled carriage and trundled up the path to the Great Hall.
They reached Hogwarts, where the majestic castle loomed under the moonlight, warm orange light spilling from the windows set in its shadowy walls.
However.
Inside the Great Hall.
The atmosphere was oppressively solemn.
Dumbledore stood behind the brass owl lectern.
Through his half-moon spectacles, his gaze swept sternly over the worried faces.
It lingered on the Aurors positioned around the hall, watching like hawks.
He spoke in a grave tone:
"At the start of this term, some unpleasant rumors have been circulating."
The Aurors fidgeted uneasily.
"What I want to say is: believe what you feel you should believe, form your own judgments, and don't let outside influences sway you."
Hearing this.
Ethan nodded approvingly.
In the original timeline.
During the Chamber of Secrets incident in second year, the Goblet of Fire in fourth year, and even the final battle.
Poor Harry, the Boy Who Lived, was always the one under suspicion.
It was like people would swallow whatever nonsense others spouted—or whatever the Daily Prophet printed—without a second thought.
"This won't cut it," Ethan murmured, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "Beyond raw power, I need to toughen up their willpower too!"
"Otherwise, how are they supposed to hold their ground and stay true to themselves amid all the future rumors and whispers?"
If someone branded him the "Demon King of Destruction" down the line, would they just buy into that too?!
Beside him.
Michael pressed his hands together, muttering:
"Believe in Ethan, and gain eternal life."
"Amen."
After the headmaster's words, the students traded glances.
As one, their eyes settled on the striking figure at the Ravenclaw table.
Over at the Slytherin table.
Miss Gemma Farley snorted dismissively.
She casually lifted her goblet for a sip.
Her red lips glistened with a trace of the liquid.
Nearby.
A student leaned toward Malfoy, asking curiously, "Draco, what do you make of all this?"
"Hmm..."
Malfoy mused:
"I heard from my father that the Minister for Magic is actually pretty irritated by that article too."
"But it's already out there, so whatever. Might as well use it to stir things up."
Anyway.
If things went south, Minister Fudge could just distance himself from it.
After all, Sirius had been convicted by the Ministry of Magic—that was a fact no one could deny.
Malfoy let out a leisurely sigh, glancing at Ethan as he whispered:
"This time, it's tough to rattle the Ministry of Magic's foundations..."
At the Gryffindor table.
Hermione was staunchly defending Ethan.
But Harry, unusually for him, stayed quiet.
Ron: "What's up, mate? Don't dwell on that Sirius stuff! With Headmaster Dumbledore around, you'll be alright!"
Harry shook his head.
All through the Christmas break, that name he'd spotted on the Marauder's Map kept replaying in his mind.
At the same time, he mulled over what Ethan and Dumbledore had said: believe what you think you should believe.
But could there really be a twist in Sirius's case?
The young Boy Who Lived was tangled in confusion.
Time marched on.
The one thing Harry envied was Ethan's carefree attitude.
Even when everyone dodged him like he had the plague in the hallways, he didn't bat an eye.
Ron: "Come on, hasn't it always been like this?"
Ask anyone at Hogwarts—who'd dare get in Ethan's way?
Hermione: "Oh, I wonder what Ethan's been up to lately. He vanishes the second class ends."
And she meant that literally.
The instant the bell rang.
The moment the professor uttered their final word, he'd whip open a portal and slip away.
Hermione: "Plus, Professor Lupin and Professor Snape seem to be dashing around because of Ethan's business. I can't even catch them to ask questions!"
As she spoke.
Hermione couldn't help thinking: How great would it be if Ethan passed some of that work to her?
Ron: "Speaking of which, over the holidays, the Weasley twins dug up this bag of seeds from Merlin knows where, swearing they were heirlooms from our ancestors!"
"They dragged Neville into it all excited, wanting to plant them together... And Dean, their roommate, popped over too, all hyped up, saying:
'Hey! Have any of you felt the castle rumbling at night lately?
'It seems like it's coming from underground, and some folks are saying it's Salazar Slytherin's ghost stirring things up!'"
Listening to his friends' banter.
Amid the familiar rhythm of daily life.
Harry felt himself easing back into a sense of normalcy.
Ethan had nothing to do with any of this—he was sure.
Harry knew he should trust Ethan.
As for Sirius or whoever, if he showed up, Harry would just duel him!
However.
Trouble always strikes out of nowhere, like in the middle of Care of Magical Creatures class.
That's when the fugitive Sirius made his appearance.
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