When he returned to Hogwarts again, Ethan didn't let anyone notice his appearance.
Dumbledore still hosted Ethan in his office. The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts could be considered a relatively safe and private place.
"So... you've already destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes?"
"Since I encountered it, I just conveniently helped you deal with one."
"Nagini?" Dumbledore suddenly fell silent, as if recalling something, and finally sighed helplessly. "Perhaps such an ending is a release..."
"A release?"
Someone who didn't know the full story would be completely bewildered upon hearing Dumbledore's words. But Ethan knew why Dumbledore felt this way, because he knew Nagini.
"You thought I killed Nagini?"
"Didn't you just say..."
Ethan waved his hand, and an image appeared beside him. Dumbledore looked at the scene before him and was surprised to see the once-familiar Nagini kneeling in a bright hall that resembled a church, a look of bliss on her face, her hands clasped in front of her chest, eyes closed, lips moving incessantly. Was she praying?
"This is..."
"I merely killed the large snake that served as Voldemort's Horcrux and, while I was at it, rescued Nagini from that body which had completely transformed into a snake."
Extracting a soul from a body was not an easy task. Even though Nagini had been killed by Ethan at that time and her body no longer held her soul captive, Nagini's situation was very complex. It was equivalent to having two souls within her body.
One belonged to Nagini, and the other was a beast's soul born from a curse that had seized control.
As for Voldemort's soul fragment, it was destroyed directly by Ethan.
At that time, Ethan extracted Nagini's soul with a casual wave. In fact, he utilized the inherent attraction of 'Heaven' itself to 'good' souls to successfully separate, extract, and guide Nagini into that small world.
In any case, his little world of Heaven would become more lively in the future, and one more or one less didn't matter. Besides, he could save this poor woman.
As for whether she could grow into an excellent angel, Ethan wasn't concerned about that.
Dumbledore listened as Ethan briefly introduced the situation of this small world. Besides being happy that his acquaintance had found a good ending, he was also once again shocked by the power of Ethan's strength.
To be able to open up a small world equivalent to Heaven, what kind of being was this? Then, thinking of the other person, Scáthach, who was also said to be the Queen of the Land of the Dead in legends, it seemed logical. How could people with such vastly different statuses agree to hang out together?
For a moment, Dumbledore even wanted to ask Ethan for help in dealing with Voldemort, but he immediately suppressed this thought as soon as it arose.
Ethan didn't owe them anything at all. He wasn't even from the wizarding world, and Dumbledore wasn't a follower of this lord before him. There was truly no reason to ask the other party for help.
Watching Ethan put away the image spell, Dumbledore briefly told Ethan about the recent situation.
According to Dumbledore's description, the wizarding world would regain peace within the next few months.
Hogwarts could completely avoid this turmoil. Or rather, the struggle in the wizarding world had reached a higher level, and Hogwarts was no longer a place of concern for either side.
Listening to Dumbledore's account, Ethan realized that Voldemort was truly the catalyst for shaking up the wizarding world, because he jumped out so decisively, directly, and mindlessly, and in a very short time placed himself in opposition to the majority, which rendered many Death Eaters' most powerful tactic unusable—stirring up trouble secretly while blending in with good people.
And with an attitude of "I am invincible, whoever disagrees gets killed," he was practically setting up a battle formation for a decisive showdown with his opponents.
Many Death Eaters loyal to Voldemort, even if they didn't want to reveal their identities, couldn't help but do so at this time. They either had to show their true colors or be killed by Voldemort to make an example.
This led to many hidden Death Eaters being discovered and purged from the Ministry of Magic.
Although Fudge, whom Ethan particularly disliked, didn't step down directly, he would no longer be foolishly used as a pawn by the Death Eaters. Now he was openly opposing Voldemort to secure his position as Minister for Magic.
"That's good then."
Ethan wasn't worried at all that Voldemort could rule the entire wizarding world with a single decisive battle. Voldemort's own stance was becoming increasingly niche, and more importantly, he simply didn't possess the power to crush everything.
Although Voldemort was strong, there were still wizards in the current wizarding world who could stand against him.
When a real war breaks out, who would still fight you one-on-one? At that time, a group of people would charge forward together, and Voldemort couldn't guarantee that he could fight ten people at once every time.
"It seems there's nothing to worry about."
Even if Voldemort could fight ten at once, having received the magical items gifted by Ethan, Ethan didn't believe Voldemort could hold out when, after finally killing a group, his opponents all resurrected on the spot with full health and condition, getting back up to gang up on him again.
"Oh, right, is Snape going to be a spy?"
This was also why Ethan felt Voldemort was doomed. Snape, that excellent spy, would definitely be arranged by Dumbledore to go to the opposing camp and cause trouble from within.
"He should be leaving soon."
"Did you give Snape that life-saving item?"
"For safety's sake, I specifically set some aside and will give them to him before he leaves."
Ethan thought for a moment. He had already decided back then that Snape absolutely could not die.
Although he hadn't announced it to anyone or even told the person concerned about his decision, since he had made the decision, he had to see it through.
"No need. I will prepare Snape's protective item separately."
Dumbledore didn't press further, and after chatting about some trivial matters like Illya, Rin Tohsaka, and Leah for the next year, he saw Ethan out of his office.
After leaving Dumbledore's office, Ethan cast a layer of illusion on himself. In the eyes of other students, he was just an ordinary-looking, ordinary-height Hogwarts student.
Anyway, with so many students, plus new ones every year, it wasn't strange to encounter classmates one didn't know.
He smoothly made his way to Snape's office. Ethan had already confirmed he was there beforehand, then unceremoniously opened the door and walked in.
"What do you..."
Snape was busy at his desk. Hearing the sound, he merely glanced casually, and seeing it was a student, he asked about the purpose of the visit without much thought.
However, the sound of the door locking the next second immediately put him on alert. His wand was drawn instantly, and he watched the student opposite him with full vigilance.
Ethan had no interest in having a spar with Snape, so he readily dispelled the illusion.
"No need to be nervous, I'm just here to give you something."
"I apologize for being so rude."
"Don't be like that. I know the situation you'll be facing. Staying alert is the only way to succeed."
Ethan came this time to ensure Snape wouldn't be killed. He didn't give Snape any magical items but instead directly left a special energy mark within his body.
This required Snape to completely lower his guard for the spell to be completed smoothly and quickly.
Facing Ethan's request, Snape didn't have a single doubt.
If Ethan truly wanted to do something to him, he would have no room to refuse at all.
As for whether it was a Death Eater disguised as Ethan, even if the Death Eaters knew about Ethan and could impersonate his appearance, they wouldn't know some unique casting techniques.
And Snape had learned a lot from Ethan, so both sides already had ways to confirm each other's identity.
However, if Ethan wanted to conceal his identity, Snape still wouldn't be able to detect it. This was just a safety measure to prevent someone from impersonating him.
The spell was completed smoothly and quickly. Ethan only told Snape, "This spell can ensure your life won't be threatened." He didn't say much more than that.
In reality, besides protecting Snape's life, this spell could also directly teleport him away in a moment of crisis.
Moreover, it was an interdimensional teleportation that couldn't be easily restricted or intercepted, and the destination was, of course, Artemis.
If any special circumstance truly arose that prevented this teleportation from being completed, Ethan would be notified immediately, and Ethan could directly appear by Snape's side through this mark.
Having said that Snape cannot die, then he absolutely cannot die. Even if Ethan arrived a step late and he had already been killed by the enemy, Ethan could resurrect Snape on the spot.
With this power mark providing protection and location tracking, he wasn't worried about Snape's soul being harmed or captured and imprisoned.
Having finished all of this, everything in the Harry Potter world was basically taken care of, and the school year was also coming to an end. All he had to do was take Illya and the others back to the ship.
Standing in front of Snape's office door, he thought for a moment. Ethan decided it would be better to say hello to Hermione. After all, not long ago he had called himself her friend, only to fake his death and run off, which inexplicably gave him the feeling of being a scumbag.
He wandered around Hogwarts and found Hermione in a corner of the Great Hall.
Miss Know-It-All wasn't holding a book as usual, nor was she chatting with her friends or planning how to spend the summer vacation. She was just sitting there, propping up her chin, lost in thought.
When Ethan sat down across from her, she didn't even react at all, her gaze still fixed at a position roughly forty-five degrees upwards.
It wasn't until Ethan adjusted the illusion on himself so that Hermione wouldn't be affected, and also reached out and snapped his fingers several times in front of her, that he finally attracted the girl's attention.
"Hey, snap out of it!"
(To be continued.)
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