Chapter 136: A Nail Planted in the Ministry of Magic
Evening, The Three Broomsticks!
Lockhart and Ludo clinked their glasses together.
Although the results were very different from his expectations, only three people made it to the finals, and only one remained victorious.
But today there were three upsets, in the third, fourth, and fifth-year matches.
Cedric and Lambert Crest were both recognized geniuses in the fourth year, but most people thought Lambert Crest would win, because no one knew what Dark Arts this Slytherin had hidden.
Therefore, the vast majority of those who bet on the fourth year chose Lambert Crest.
But the result was that Lambert Crest did indeed hide a trump card and didn't use it, but he was also tricked by Cedric using Transfiguration.
Specifically, when the opponent used a Fire Charm, Cedric transformed a stone into a dummy identical to himself, while his real body used the difficult and risky Human Transfiguration to become a groundhog and quickly burrow into the ground.
When Lambert Crest cast an Expelliarmus, sending the dummy Cedric flying, and his wand fell to the side, he lowered his guard. Suddenly, Cedric appeared and launched a surprise Petrificus Totalus.
It was this match that brought a large sum of income to the two of them.
"If there's anything like this in the future, come find me again!"
Ludo contentedly stroked the pocket at his waist, a full twenty thousand Galleons.
He had never won so much money in all his years of gambling.
"We'll have a chance to cooperate again in the future!"
Lockhart raised his glass and clinked it with Ludo's.
Of course, this was just polite talk. Lockhart was already preparing to flee. Away from Hogwarts, he had no ability to organize a major competition outside.
It was close to eleven in the evening when the two finally left the pub, seen off by Madam Rosmerta, the landlady.
"Mr. Bagman and Professor Lockhart, it's so late, where are you planning to go?"
As soon as the two walked onto the small path outside the village, they saw Ethan emerge from the shadows.
Startled by this, they immediately sobered up a bit.
"Adrian, Ludo and I came for a small drink to celebrate the successful conclusion of today's Duelling Tournament."
Lockhart stepped forward, flashing his signature smile, hoping to gloss over the matter.
"But the information I received is not like that. You two conspired to manipulate the matches, and now you should be here to split the Galleons, right?"
Ethan looked at the two with a playful expression.
He had originally just planned to ambush them, grab the money, and leave, but halfway there, Ethan felt that since he was already here, he might as well extract their full value.
Ludo Bagman's Department of Magical Games and Sports, though not large in scale or power, was at least a department head, considered a high-ranking figure.
With the popularity he had accumulated from playing Quidditch, his rallying power was still quite good.
Lockhart, though lacking in strength, was thick-skinned and good at conning people, making him very popular outside. Many, whether middle-aged women or young girls, liked his type.
Coming to Hogwarts as a teacher was a complete waste of talent. If the toad Umbridge could lick her way to a high position, why couldn't Lockhart?
Joining the Ministry of Magic was the correct path; many positions there didn't require strength.
And apart from strength, Lockhart could completely outshine Umbridge. Perhaps if he flattered the right person, he could rise to power instantly.
Ethan didn't have anyone in the Ministry of Magic yet. Amos Worre was Cassandra's father, and Ethan couldn't command him.
Lockhart and Ludo could serve as nails, helping Ethan infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and pave the way for him to become Minister later.
"As a Professor, and Ludo as the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, how could we do such a thing?"
Lockhart absolutely couldn't admit to this. Running a betting pool was fine, but rigging it—if those pure-bloods who lost money found out, there would be no place for him in Great Britain.
Lockhart just wanted to be far away from Hogwarts, not far away from Great Britain. His books weren't sold abroad, and without a fanbase there, it would be hard to make a living.
Ludo was the same, but he was already a bit flustered, not as composed as Lockhart.
"Mr. Bagman said last time he wanted to take me to fix matches to make money. Was that just talk, or did he find someone else?"
"Like Nidas Ancelo, Horace Yarling, Garcia Raelph. Do I need to say more?"
Ethan directly rattled off three names: the first, second, and third-year contestants chosen by the two of them.
"How did you know?"
Lockhart stopped pretending. His entire background had been thoroughly exposed; how could he keep up the act?
Then he glared fiercely at Ludo. He had told him not to find Ethan in the first place, but he didn't listen. Now that they were caught with their weakness exposed, was it good?
"Alright, never mind how I know. You just need to know that I can make all the pure-bloods who came to Hogwarts today aware of this at any time."
"If you two agree, then follow me!"
Unlike Lord Voldemort, he couldn't truly accept being your subordinate, even if it was Ethan's Lord Voldemort's offspring.
Speaking nicely, or making deals, or threatening, none of these would be very effective.
You could only make him fear you and hate you, while still not daring to disobey you. This was the correct approach.
Anyway, Ethan only regarded him as a very powerful tool for fighting. If he became inconvenient, he would simply destroy him.
As for Ludo and Lockhart, they weren't as arrogant as little Tom. With their weakness in Ethan's hands, plus the threat of force, that was enough.
Suddenly, Ludo abruptly drew his wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
A grayish-white spell was flung by Ludo, reaching Ethan's eyes in the blink of an eye.
A dark green light suddenly shot out from Ethan's eyes, and the moment the two made contact, Ludo's magic was defeated.
The dark green light infinitely magnified in Ludo's pupils, and a sense of despair arose within him; he knew what he was facing.
The Avada Kedavra of the Unforgivable Curses.
Lockhart also retreated in surprise, as his most reliable Shield Charm protection necklace couldn't defend against this thing.
Boom!
About thirty centimeters from Ludo's head, the green magic suddenly exploded, and the green light illuminated Ludo and Lockhart's pale faces.
Ethan, of course, could perfectly control a maxed-out Unforgivable Curse; ending it early was too simple.
This was the first time Ethan had displayed the Avada Kedavra released from his eyes to outsiders.
"We'll give you the Galleons; please spare us."
Lockhart immediately took out his pocket; compared to his life, these Galleons were no longer so important.
He also couldn't think of any other purpose for Ethan's visit besides wanting Galleons.
However, after exposing the Avada Kedavra, it was uncertain if it would be so easy to get away with it.
He hadn't expected the curse from his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor to fall upon Ethan Adrien.
"Mine too!"
Coming to his senses and realizing he wasn't dead, Ludoalso took out his money bag.
With an Accio, the two money bags flew directly into Ethan's hand; after putting them away.
Ethan turned and walked towards a fork in the path, which led to a small valley where few people usually went.
Lockhart and Ludo unconsciously followed behind Ethan, both showing expressions of happiness and pleasure.
Please give flowers 0
"Adrian, you can cast a Memory Charm on us, just spare our lives, really."
Lockhart immediately knelt down the moment the Imperio was lifted; it was another Unforgivable Curse.
Regardless of whether Ethan used it himself or used an Alchemy tool, it showed that his mastery of these Unforgivable Curses was quite high.
He hadn't known it when he didn't understand Alchemy, but after consulting some material, he realized that to create Alchemy tools related to magic, one must first be sufficiently familiar with it, which is the most basic requirement.
It could be said that the more he understood, the more he realized Ethan's power.
And what happened to Ron that day, although Lockhartdidn't know the details, Dumbledore had chased after him, and Hogwarts was under martial law at the time; could this be a minor incident?
But Ethan resolved it.
"You brought us here; there must be something else."
Ludo looked at Ethan with some fear.
The money was already in hand, and Ethan had countless opportunities to kill him and Lockhart, but he didn't; instead, he brought them here, so there must be another purpose.
"That's right, I'm here to invite you to join me."
"Is it an organization?" Lockhart asked with a sense of having escaped a disaster.
"An organization that fights for my goals and cause?"
Ethan was silent for a long time; calling it a makeshift group would be an overstatement.
There was no organization at all; it was just a few guys Ethan had forcefully subdued and gathered.
Should I start an organization?
Grindelwald's banner was for the future of Wizards, for ideals; Lord Voldemort's banner was pure-blood supremacy; what banner should I raise?
"We'll join!"
Ludo and Lockhart exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Lord Voldemort at least pretended and drew them a picture, but Ethan didn't even pretend; it was just for himself.
But with a knife at their throats, what else could they do but agree?
Seeing this, Ethan gave each of them a Ghost Servant Mark and kindly introduced it to them.
"Ludo, you go back to the Ministry of Magic; I don't care about your gambling, but don't lose your Head of Department position."
It's unrealistic to change a thorough gambler.
"I know."
Ludo nodded knowingly.
"Lockhart, you go back to teaching until the end of this year, and then, based on being the only Professor to complete a full year in Defense Against the Dark Arts Class without incident, and as the host of the Duelling Tournament, join the Ministry of Magic."
Both of these identities could add points, plus Lockharthad a good public base and was thick-skinned enough, so he should be able to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Magic in a very short time.
"Continue teaching, but what about that curse?"
He had already left his resignation letter in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, planning to run away today.
As a result, he unluckily met Ethan, and now Lockhartbelieved in this curse even more.
"There are only two weeks left until vacation; what could happen?"
Unless the matter of Lockhart casting Memory Charms on people exploded, nothing else should happen in the remaining days if he didn't cause trouble himself.
"Alright, I'll follow your arrangements."
Lockhart grit his teeth and agreed.
"Ludo, you continue in your Head of Department position, Lockhart, you should have connections to enter the Ministry of Magic; then just climb up. Currently, there's no need for you two, but I'll tell you when there is."
[Thanks to Boss 18868 for the monthly ticket, thanks Boss!].
Chapter 137: End of the School Year and Achievements
Time came to June, already entering the height of summer.
It was also Hogwarts' exam week.
The written exams were no different from last year, except that the cheating methods were slightly more sophisticated than last year.
But the results were unchanged; in Charms Class, Transfiguration Class, and similar subjects, those who cheated were still caught, simply unable to escape the Professors' eyes.
In History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, as long as you showed up, no one cared how you cheated or plagiarized; the main thing was freedom.
For the practical exam, this year's Transfiguration was turning mice into goblets, which was the topic from a while ago.
Ethan completed it on the spot, turning the mouse into a magnificent glass goblet, earning an O grade immediately.
As for the scene, it could only be described as horrific.
Since this was taught content, everyone was able to make some changes to the mice, but this made it even more terrifying.
Cups covered in black mouse fur, inside and out.
Cups with mouse feet that could run around.
Cups with mouse heads as patterns on the outside, but these mouse heads were three-dimensional, moved, and bit people.
And some were simply mouse-shaped cups.
Various situations emerged endlessly, giving people goosebumps.
Charms Class was the same as last year; due to the Duelling Tournament, everyone's skill had indeed improved significantly compared to last year. Originally, Ron was assigned Goyle by Professor Flitwick, but Goylerefused on the spot, so Ron still dueled Harry.
Although Harry was hospitalized for several days because of Ron, the two had reconciled while still in the hospital, so Harry agreed on the spot.
This time, Ron, who did not use Dark Arts, lost to Harry.
However, his strength had indeed improved. It was unclear whether this diary was good or bad for Ron, but at least it truly helped him reach a relatively high level among second-year Little Wizardss, though Percysuffered for it.
Ethan's opponent was Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff, whom he defeated in one move without any suspense.
As for Hermione, this time she was not assigned Cassandra but dueled Pansy Parkinson.
It must be that Professor Flitwick also noticed Cassandradeliberately targeting Hermione, always giving her a "Densaugeo" to embarrass her.
Potion Class involved making a revealing Potion, which wasn't too difficult, and most students were able to complete it.
But there were still explosion accidents.
Herbology Class was about repotting Mandrakes, and many accidents also occurred; several Little Wizardss, due to lack of attention, were knocked out by the Mandrake's scream.
The start of Defense Against the Dark Arts Class was quite interesting.
Lockhart brought over a cage of Cornish Pixies who were extremely afraid of him; even after Lockhart opened the cage, they huddled inside, afraid to come out.
Clearly, these were specially trained by Lockhart; with the ring Ethan sold him, dealing with these little things was simply too easy.
Perhaps Lockhart specially prepared this to wash away his past humiliation!
The assessment content was to knock down a Cornish Pixy, and Lockhart would grade based on this process.
Facing a single Cornish Pixy, no one would fail.
...
On the night before leaving school, in the Great Hall.
Blue and bronze decorations filled the entire Great Hall, and on the wall behind the high table hung a huge banner depicting the Ravenclaw eagle.
Undoubtedly, this year's glory still belonged to Ravenclaw.
The Ravenclaw eaglets who arrived early in the Great Hall were also unusually lively, speaking a few decibels louder than usual.
Ethan also came to the Great Hall with Penelope and others and sat down at the Ravenclaw long table.
"I thought you would choose five elective courses, but you only chose three."
Penelope was somewhat surprised by the timetable Ethan submitted.
Elective courses for the third year could be chosen starting two months ago, but Ethan delayed submitting his until today.
"If there was no other way, I wouldn't want to take even one elective course."
Ethan was a bit helpless; Hogwarts elective courses required everyone to choose at least two.
These elective courses were useless to Ethan. Take Ancient Runes Class, for example: was Ethan teaching the Professor, or was the Professor teaching Ethan?
Besides the school regulations, Ethan also chose based on whether there were any "study fanatics" in the second year.
After all, the first place in the final exams each year could earn rewards, and he couldn't let others snatch that away.
Only after confirming that the maximum for the entire year was three electives did Ethan submit his elective timetable (because Hermione was persuaded not to take more).
This year, Ethan was still first in the second year, with all O's; Hermione and Cassandra also had all O's, but they were still ranked below Ethan.
While they chatted, the dinner began, and Dumbledorecame to the stage at the front.
In front of him were four hourglasses, representing the House points for the four Houses this school year.
The blue hourglass representing Ravenclaw was the fullest, almost overflowing.
At the teachers' table, Professor Flitwick's face was flushed, and the smile on his face simply couldn't be suppressed.
Regardless of the reason, today's Ravenclaw House points had broken Hogwarts' thousand-year record.
After the usual clichéd opening speech, Dumbledorefinally got to the point.
"Now, we must first proceed with the House Cup award ceremony. The specific scores for each House are as follows."
"Fourth place: Hufflepuff, five hundred thirteen points!"
"Third place: Gryffindor, five hundred fifty-two points!"
"Second place: Slytherin, one thousand one hundred seventeen points!"
"First place: Ravenclaw, one thousand five hundred ninety-six points!"
A thunderous cheer erupted at the Ravenclaw table; although they already knew the result, the moment Dumbledore announced it, they were still quite excited.
The other three Houses also applauded quite generously.
"In addition, Ethan Adrien, for destroying the Dark Artstool controlling Ron Weasley and saving seven Gryffindor students, is awarded an additional two hundred points and the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award."
With this, Ravenclaw's House points directly reached one thousand seven hundred ninety-six points; it's unknown if this record can ever be broken in the future.
Amidst applause and cheers, Ethan walked onto the stage.
Professor Dumbledore personally placed a medal on Ethan's chest, and another one was to be displayed in the trophy room.
"Ethan, show me. The last time someone received the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award was fifty years ago."
As soon as he stepped off the stage, Ethan was surrounded by several Ravenclaw students.
To this day, they still didn't know that the one who controlled Ron was the previous recipient of the Special Contribution Award. If they knew, who knows what their reaction would be.
At the same time, Dumbledore waved his wand, and a lavish dinner appeared on the long tables of each year group.
The weather was already a bit hot by then, so Hot Potnaturally wouldn't appear; it was all normal Western food.
After the banquet, another one was held in the Ravenclaw common room.
Last year, the seventh-year senior sister wouldn't let Ethan leave, but this year wasn't as crazy. Around eleven o'clock, after everything concluded, Ethan finally returned to his dormitory.
As soon as he received the House Cup, a notification popped up that an achievement had been completed.
Adding that to the achievement from when grades were released, and the achievement for being the second-year champion of the Duelling Tournament.
A total of three.
Ethan had been saving the Duelling Tournamentachievement, just waiting to open them all at once this time, as the time difference between them wasn't significant.
[Duelist's Debut]
Wielding strength and skill, fighting for supreme glory, the champion's wreath on your head is the reward for struggle and courage.
Achievement Goal: Duelling Tournament Champion Club (1/1)
Achievement Reward: Reaction speed increase
[Outstanding Student Hogwarts Second Year]
The spark of command shines in the mind, soaring through the ocean of knowledge, diligently exploring unknown realms, bravely climbing the peak of academics, the future path is wide and bright, the star of dreams is always ahead.
Achievement Goal: First in year-end summary (1/1)
Achievement Reward: magic power increase
[House Cup Ravenclaw 1992-1993]
The light of magic intertwines and flies, courage and wisdom lean on each other, the power of unity is indestructible, the dream of glory soars in the heart.
Achievement Goal: Help the House win the House Cup, and personally gain fifty House points (1/1)
Achievement Reward: One self-selected magic spell
The latter two were exactly the same as last year.
In other words, if one could continuously obtain this reward seven times, their magic power could increase seven times. This reward is absolutely explosive, as magicpower is the foundation of a Wizard.
Reaction speed is also extremely useful, especially in combat.
It allows for a quicker response to impending crises and faster casting of magic, giving an edge in everything.
The situation where the brain makes a move but the body can't keep up would be impossible.
First, he claimed these two rewards. Immediately, a cool sensation rose from within his body, and at the same time, he felt a tingling sensation all over.
The entire process did not last long before it ended.
Finally, only the self-selected magic spell remained.
Last year, Ethan chose Fire God Opens the Way, mainly because he hadn't found a way to learn this magic but wanted to.
This year, the choices were still the same few.
After some thought, Ethan still decided on Cloud Mist.
This was the magic Dumbledore used to cover the entire London in mist to conceal his tracks.
As for Expecto Patronum and Animagus, he'd consider them next year!
He'd find an opportunity then to tie up a Dementor; that wouldn't be difficult for him at all. Spirit Expulsion Curseis the bane of those things.
Dementors are the best tools for practicing Expecto Patronum. Ethan didn't believe he wouldn't succeed then.
If, and he meant if, he still couldn't learn Expecto Patronum when facing a Dementor, it wouldn't be too late for Ethan to choose Expecto Patronum after his third year.
It wasn't that this magic was particularly powerful, but Ethan was quite interested in it and wanted to know what animal was most compatible with him.
As for Animagus, Ethan could practice it anytime. His eighth-level Transfiguration was already sufficient to support him in completing all of it.
Professor McGonagall couldn't be sure, but the Marauders and Rita Skeeter's Transfiguration levels were definitely not higher than Ethan's.
If they could complete it, there was no reason for Ethan to fail.
It was just that he didn't have the time to complete Animagus this year.
After all, this process alone required holding a Mandrakein one's mouth for a month, and then waiting for a storm to arrive. The steps were too troublesome, so he'd save it for next year.
Considering everything, Cloud Mist was the most suitable.
Chapter 138: Enemy's Blood in Hand
"Potter!"
Hearing the voice behind him, Harry, pulling his suitcase, turned his head in confusion.
"Malfoy, is something wrong?"
Seeing that it was Malfoy, Harry's expression turned a bit sour.
While he was still in the hospital a while ago, Dobby had sought out Harry again.
This also made Harry understand the entire development of the matter: everything was caused by Draco Malfoy's father. It would be a ghost if his attitude could be good now.
"Have you eaten?"
"No!"
Harry shook his head in confusion, not understanding what Malfoy was up to.
But he really hadn't eaten breakfast. Both he and Ron had woken up late, and their roommates hadn't called them.
There wasn't enough time for breakfast, as they had to rush to catch the train home. If they were late, the train wouldn't wait.
"If you haven't eaten, take this punch!"
With that, Draco walked up to Harry and swung his fist, giving Harry's nose a fierce blow.
It knocked Harry's glasses right off, and he squatted on the ground in pain, clutching his nose, blood continuously flowing through his fingers.
"Malfoy, are you here to fight?"
Ron, standing nearby, immediately drew his wand and pointed it at Draco.
"So what if I am? Come on, hit me!"
Draco looked at Ron with a slight sneer, speaking disdainfully.
Even though Ron had become much stronger this school year, he was still not intimidated in the slightest.
During this competition, Draco saw many people cheating by using Alchemy items, so he naturally wrote back home to get some equipment.
It was just that he hadn't encountered Ron and Harryduring this process; otherwise, he would have definitely given those two a hard time.
"You…"
"Wait!"
Harry, one hand covering his gushing nose, the other pulling back Ron, who was about to charge forward.
"If you have nothing to do, then get out of the way, otherwise I don't mind finding a Prefect."
"Watch yourself in school from now on, and if you point your wand at me again, I'll snap your wand."
After delivering a harsh threat to Harry, Draco turned his gaze to Ron, who was still looking defiant.
Seeing Ron about to rush forward again, Harry quickly pulled Ron back, signaling him to put away his wand.
"That's more like it!"
"Let's go!"
After displaying a very arrogant expression, Draco then left with his two cronies.
"Harry, why did you stop me? Malfoy came right up and hit you."
"His family is also the main culprit who caused us to be like this."
Ron was extremely frustrated. He didn't believe he would lose to Malfoy now.
He clearly had a chance just now to knock Malfoy down, embarrass him in front of everyone, and get revenge for being tricked.
"On the dueling platform, you saw that Malfoy had Shield Charm protective items, and other offensive ones. It's debatable whether we could beat him, and what if you used Dark Arts again?"
He was also thinking of Ron, otherwise, after taking a punch to the nose just now, he definitely wouldn't have let Malfoy off so easily.
"I won't use Dark Arts."
Ron argued.
"Do you still remember Professor Dumbledore's words?
Don't be swayed by emotions, otherwise, once you carry negative emotions, it's very easy to unconsciously use Dark Arts.
Can you guarantee that when fighting Malfoy, you won't use Dark Arts?"
"I…"
Ron was speechless. He was indeed very angry just now, and if he had acted, it would have been very easy to use Dark Arts.
At this moment, Ron was even thinking, if he wasn't a Gryffindor, could he just use Dark Arts freely?
Look at the final dueling platform, there were quite a few who used Dark Arts, and they weren't ostracized by their Housemates.
"Harry, your blood is everywhere, your clothes are dirty. Wipe it first."
Just as Ron and Harry were about to say something else, Ethan walked over with a few girls and pulled out a white towel.
"Ah, thank you!"
Harry also came to his senses; his nose was still bleeding!
He quickly took the towel, pressed it against his nose to stop the bleeding, and then tilted his head back.
Draco's punch was too powerful; the blood flowed like a faucet.
But as he kept pressing, Harry realized something was wrong. The towel showed no sign of blood, and even the blood on his hand was absorbed, yet the towel remained white.
However, Harry couldn't worry about that much at the moment. Being able to deal with the blood on his body and stop his nosebleed was a good thing.
"Did you two have another conflict with Malfoy just now?"
It was then that Ethan turned to look at Ron.
"Malfoy suddenly came up and punched Harry, making his nose bleed profusely. I advise you to stay away from those purebloods."
Ron looked at Ethan with displeasure, and even glanced at Cassandra.
On the day of the final, many people saw Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, chatting and laughing with Ethan outside.
Although he saved him, associating with them wasn't a sign of a good person.
"You seem to forget, you're also a pureblood, or are you saying the Weasley family is preparing to expel themselves from the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"
Ethan didn't indulge him at all.
"Our family is different from theirs."
Ron stewed for a long time before managing to blurt out that sentence.
"Indeed, you're different. You're also different from your brothers and sister. You're the most special one, right?"
"I…"
"Ethan, Ron didn't mean it. He's just been too frustrated lately."
Harry could only helplessly pull Ron back. The current Ron could argue with anyone.
Even the dormitory wasn't peaceful, causing no one to tolerate him, and by extension, affecting himself.
Otherwise, no one would have woken them up, causing them to miss breakfast.
However, Harry could also understand Ron. His parents' blame, Percy's animosity, Fred and George's alienation, and even Ginny didn't visit him while he was hospitalized.
It was as if he had been abandoned by everyone at once, similar to how Harry felt when he was at his aunt's house, perhaps even worse than him, which was why Harry could forgive him so quickly.
"Whether he felt wronged, only Ron knows. That memory core spoke out what he wrote. A long time ago, Ron was dissatisfied with me and his brothers. As for whether there were others, it didn't say, because those people weren't present, so he didn't need to mention them. Ron, am I right?"
"As for whether he wrote anything about you, Harry, I think he did. He's jealous of everyone better than him."
Since Ron jumped out to pick a fight, Ethan didn't want to let it go so easily.
"Give me back the towel first. This is a blood replenishing Potion, though I don't know if you need it."
After taking the towel from Harry's hand, Ethan handed him a bottle of blood-red Potion.
This towel was specially made with Alchemy. It has a strong adsorption effect on blood and can preserve blood for a long time without spoiling, making it convenient to extract when needed.
It was specially made by Ethan.
Even Malfoy was sought out by Ethan.
Naturally, it was for Harry's blood.
"Harry, don't listen to him, I didn't write those things, believe me."
Ron looked at Harry nervously. He really didn't expect that his most trusted friend would betray him.
"Hmm!"
Harry nodded, deep in thought.
From Ron's expression, it was clear that Ethan was telling the truth, and Ron most likely wrote something about himself.
But if he said it directly, they wouldn't even be friends anymore.
He hadn't made a single friend in the Muggle world for so many years. The first and best friend he made after coming to Hogwarts was Ron, so even if he knew about this, he could only pretend to be blind.
At the same time, he also understood why Mr. Weasleyand Mrs. Weasley were so angry, and why Fred and George alienated Ron. It turned out that Ron had been dissatisfied with his family long before he came into contact with the diary. Otherwise, Ron wouldn't have been bewitched.
As for Percy, there was even more reason. It could be said that his future was largely ruined by that explosion; there wasn't a single high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic who was disabled.
His three roommates probably also knew about Ron's petty mind and didn't like Ron anymore.
...
"For the summer holiday, you can come to my house in the Wizarding World, where you can cast spells freely."
This was mainly directed at Hermione and Penelope, who were almost bored to death at home during the summer holiday.
"Okay, but I need to go home first. Then I'll stay at your place for at least a month."
Hermione readily agreed. It was truly unbearable not being able to use magic at home last summer.
Cassandra fell silent. 'I gave you the house so you could invite the big-toothed girl over?'
'What does that make me?'
Thump! Thump!
The carriage door was knocked. Ethan waved his hand and opened the door.
Seeing Draco outside, Ethan nodded at him and followed him out.
They walked all the way to his compartment.
"You two, out first."
After sending the two followers out to stand guard, only Ethan and Malfoy remained in the compartment.
"What Dark Arts do you want?"
This was the condition Ethan promised him.
This morning, Ethan found Draco and asked him to make Harry's nose bleed, with a Dark Arts spell as payment.
Draco agreed on the spot, without asking Ethan's intention for doing so.
"I want something powerful, at least not worse than Ron's!"
With all his equipment, Draco was confident he could beat Ron, but without it, he couldn't win.
He knew he couldn't avoid that Dark Arts spell. His father at home didn't teach him advanced Dark Arts, and all he could find were minor ones like Ulong Escapes. 217
"Avada Kedavra?"
"No...not that one!"
Draco shook his head slightly, trembling. He wanted to beat Harry and Ron, not kill them.
Besides, Avada Kedavra couldn't be used.
"Alright, I know what to teach you."
Saying that, Ethan restored and opened the shrunk suitcase, taking out a piece of parchment.
On it was Sectumsempra and its counter-curse.
"That magic Snape used against Lockhart was very powerful, and not very difficult to learn."
"I accidentally found it in an old book of a senior, but you cannot say that you got it from me. If you agree, this is yours."
Ethan knew Sectumsempra, but he hadn't used it; after all, there were better options, so who would use that!
But it couldn't be denied that it was an excellent Dark Arts spell.
"I know, I won't say you taught me."
Draco excitedly took it.
"By the way, what material is your wand made of?"
Ethan only remembered that Draco's wand core was Unicorn hair, but he didn't know what material the outside was.
Although Unicorn hair wands are loyal, they repel Dark Arts.
It can succeed, but the difficulty is higher than wands with other core materials.
This always made Draco a joke; he admired Dark Arts but couldn't cast any decent Dark Arts spells.
That Ulong Escapes was simply ridiculous; if it were someone else, it wouldn't have been a small snake over a meter long.
Even if Ethan gave Sectumsempra to Draco, Ethan doubted if he could cast it with that wand.
"Hawthorn wood, Unicorn tail hair."
Draco remembered this very clearly.
Ethan understood why Draco chose this wand at Ollivander's wand shop. Hawthorn wands are favored by those with contradictory personalities or those going through a period of confusion.
"Your wand might suit you, but it favors healing magicmore than casting Dark Arts."
"If you really want to learn Dark Arts, get another wand."
After speaking, Ethan pulled open the carriage door and walked out.
Wizards always have deep affection for their first wand, but there are also cases where they actively replace it. For example, Bill replaced his old wand, and it eventually ended up in Ron's hands.
Chapter 139: Cassandra: I was here first
With a twist in space, Ethan, Cassandra, and Penelopeappeared in the small house in Gordrics Hollow.
Today, Cassandra had arranged with her family in advance, and no one came to pick her up; she went with Ethan to his place.
As for Penelope, she could just call her family from the village later. This place was much closer to Plymouththan London, and if she wanted to go home, Ethan could get her there with a single push of the accelerator.
"Master, dinner is ready."
Hatch arrived immediately. When Ethan went to school, he naturally left a wizard mailbox here for convenient communication.
"Go and tidy up two more guest rooms."
Ethan nodded, then instructed again.
After sending Hatch away, Ethan opened the box that had been expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
"Nagini, we're home, you can come out now."
For the past two months, Nagini had been living in the Ravenclaw Chamber of Secrets. Now that it was holiday, he naturally had to bring her back, otherwise she would have to spend more than two months living alone.
Hearing Ethan's voice, Nagini quickly emerged from the box and gave Ethan a hug.
He didn't know if it was because Animal Affinity was still effective on her, but she was still very clingy to him.
"Alright, Nagini, let's go eat!"
After carefully feeling the soft touch, Ethan finally separated from Nagini.
Then he led the girls to the dining room, where Naginiskillfully found a place to sit.
She was quite familiar with this place. She had lost her memories as a human, but her memories as a snake remained, especially the memories from recent years were particularly clear.
During Christmas, Ethan had brought her to stay here. At that time, she was still in snake form and had almost crawled through the entire house.
Dinner was very rich, especially the meat, which was prepared in ample supply.
Ever since Ethan drank Magic Blood and became a Dragon-veined Wizard, his appetite had doubled. His three roommates combined didn't eat as much as Ethan.
Moreover, he particularly liked to eat meat and hardly ate fruit anymore. Ethan used to like fruit very much, and as for vegetables, he had never liked them much.
"Master, the rooms are ready!"
Soon, Hatch came to Ethan to report the situation.
Cassandra had a room here, and it was cleaned daily, so it didn't need tidying.
So, only Penelope and Nagini's rooms needed to be prepared.
And the rooms were already tidy; only some necessities needed to be arranged. With the help of magic, this was extremely simple.
After dinner, Cassandra and Nagini took Penelope on a tour to familiarize her with the house.
Ethan, on the other hand, went to the Potion brewing room. Even before returning, Ethan had notified Hatchusing the wizard mailbox.
He asked him to prepare some Potion ingredients and sent over the list of requirements. The needed Galleons were also sent back by owl.
It was not uncommon for House-elves to run errands for their masters, shopping in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade.
Hatch did not disappoint Ethan and prepared all the necessary items immediately.
Entering the Potion room and closing the door, Ethan took out a huge, tub-like object.
This was made with Alchemy when he was at Hogwarts; such a large cauldron couldn't be bought outside.
After heating the giant cauldron with a constant flame, Ethan added a large amount of River Styx water. All the material requirements for this Potion were extremely large, but not very rare.
Then he began to process the magical materials needed. The entire brewing process would take seven days.
This spell and Potion were also found by Ethan in the Ravenclaw Chamber of Secrets. They were ineffective against ghosts and Peeves.
When a soul remains in the present world, either having not yet descended or being intentionally preserved, this resurrection magic, combining the spell and Potion, can be used.
As for where Lord Voldemort found this magic, Ethan didn't know, but Tom certainly didn't have it.
Ethan spent over three hours on the Potion processing time.
"You haven't slept yet?"
Ethan, coming to the living room, saw Cassandra and the others still there and asked in surprise.
"No, I wanted to ask you, where is the maid outfit?"
"Didn't you say you wanted me to be a maid?"
"I'm here now, so where's the maid outfit!"
Penelope glanced at Cassandra, then smiled at Ethan.
When Ethan was in his first year, she had agreed to be a maid at Ethan's house for the summer holiday, but plans change.
Later, she said she would consider it then, but in fact, she had already agreed. Now that she was here, Penelopedidn't intend to break her promise.
"Where would I get a maid outfit here? If we were in London, I could make a call, and someone would deliver it tomorrow morning."
Ethan glanced at Cassandra, whose face was grim, and said somewhat exasperatedly.
Penelope was definitely doing this on purpose, and she had already annoyed Cassandra during the time he was out.
He could Transfigure one, but Ethan wasn't good at controlling many details, so he probably could only create something odd.
If not, then you can't blame me, and Nagini also agreed to come with me."
"Nagini, am I right?"
Nagini nodded obediently. During this time, Penelope and the others had taught Nagini a lot of common sense, and she also knew the meaning of a maid.
But to be Ethan's maid, she didn't object. If Hermione and the others hadn't forced her to change her address, she would still be calling him "master" now.
"Hatch, take the Galleons to Tailor Shop des Beaux Artsand ask the proprietress to work overtime to make a few best-selling styles."
Ethan quickly made up his mind. Isn't it just a maid outfit?
Arrange it!
Tailor Shop des Beaux Arts is a high-end custom clothing store. When Ethan went in before, he saw samples of maid outfits, so it was clear they also took orders for such clothes. Perhaps Wizards played even more extravagantly than Ethan imagined.
Even if the proprietress was already asleep at this hour, what of it?
Knock on the door, add money, and he didn't believe she wouldn't work overtime for the sake of Galleons!
Anyway, Ethan's Galleons came easily, so he didn't feel bad about spending them.
"Cassandra, do you want a set too?"
Penelope looked Cassandra up and down with ill intentions. Her looks were undeniable, and her figure was quite tall. At thirteen, she was already one meter sixty-five, which was quite good among her peers, but her chest was a bit flat and couldn't fill out the clothes.
"Yes!"
Cassandra nodded fiercely. Among the three girls, wouldn't the one who was different be the awkward one?
Unless she could convince Penelope and Nagini to drop the idea, but she had obviously failed.
Before Ethan came out, she wanted to stop them, but the effect was obvious.
Cassandra had always had no way with Penelope. Sarcasm had no effect, she couldn't win an argument, and she couldn't even beat her in a fight.
Penelope didn't learn the Fiendfyre Curse; instead, she focused her energy on Mjölnir. Her efforts over the past year had paid off well. One hammer strike could directly disperse her own Fiendfyre. When she aimed it at herself, she needed her necklace to save her.
Because she hadn't even started learning defensive spells like Protego, spending most of her time researching how to set fires, she couldn't do anything about Penelope's lightning hammer. The range was too large, so she could only endure it. Dodging or countering with spells was useless.
Hermione was still easier to bully. Missing Hermione on day one.
With Cassandra's agreement, the three huddled together, writing down their body measurements. Of course, for custom-made clothing, personal measurement would yield better results.
When the note was handed to Ethan, he glanced at it casually. With that one glance, Ethan converted their specific measurements.
Nagini was an E, Penelope was a D, and Cassandra, at most, was an A+. If she could reach her mother's level, she would probably be similar to Penelope now.
Of course, Hermione wasn't doing much better now. Cho Chang was only slightly stronger, and Fleur was probably one size smaller than Penelope, by estimation.
After handing the note and a bag of Galleons to Hatch, he vanished in a flash.
".Let's go, time to sleep!"
The moment Ethan walked past, Cassandra immediately grabbed Penelope and headed upstairs. She had figured it out: this woman was in heat and needed to be watched closely.
"Don't pull me!"
"Nagini, you come up too."
Cassandra stopped at the staircase and turned to look at Nagini, who was sitting motionless on the sofa.
This made Cassandra even more determined not to go home this summer.
…
The next day, early in the morning, as soon as Ethan opened his eyes, a white figure stood by his bedside.
As expected of a masterpiece from Tailor Shop des Beaux Arts, the white skirt floated lightly, like a blooming lily.
A cute black bow was tied at the neckline, and the waist was cinched slim and elegant. Her long legs were encased in pristine white stockings with delicate lace at the edges, and she wore a pair of small black leather shoes.
Her hands wore pure white lace gloves, and a small string of silver bell bracelets adorned her wrists.
"Master, please allow me to serve you as you get up!"
Her voice was clear and sweet, and as Penelope moved her hand, the bracelet jingled.
It was already a fiery morning, and she was going to pull this stunt?
Ethan immediately pulled Penelope onto the bed and pinned her beneath him.
Early in the morning, who could endure such a provocation?
Penelope was already of age under Wizard law, so she was not protected by law.
Penelope, pinned beneath him, showed a faint, imperceptible smile at the corner of her mouth. This summer was the best opportunity, as meeting times would be much less after graduation next year.
Downstairs, Cassandra, also wearing a white maid outfit, though a simpler one, looked upstairs in confusion. Did it really take Penelope so long to wake Ethan up?
After sitting for a few more minutes, Cassandra grew impatient and immediately stood up, walking towards the stairs.
As soon as she reached the second floor, hearing faint sounds from nearby, her face changed instantly.
What the hell was I even guarding against?
Only for one night?
She felt like a clown!
Her small hands clenched, turning pale.
She then took a few more steps forward, and after confirming she hadn't misheard, she walked downstairs in a daze, murmuring, "I was first, I was first…"