"Ah... ahhhh..."
Hamburg made meaningless sounds, his eyes bulging to the extreme, endless terror rising from the depths of his heart. As if facing not a child of eleven years, but some indescribable monster!
His wand clattered to the ground. There was no point in fighting anymore. The opponent was a monster, a demon who could even defend against the most powerful Killing Curse. What could he possibly do?
For the first time in his life, as a Slytherin excellent student selected for the challenge, a noble pure-blood, Hamburg felt how utterly insignificant he was, how powerless.
"No, please, please... I was just momentarily possessed..." He fell to his knees, incoherently begging through tears and snot streaming down his face.
Suddenly, inspiration flashed in his mind. "It was the Hog's Head Inn! Yes! I was cursed by a hooded man at the Hog's Head Inn!"
Hearing this, Ethan raised his eyebrows slightly. The Hog's Head Inn, a hooded man. It sounded like in the original story, Hagrid had also encountered this person and been tricked into revealing the secret of the three-headed dog, Fluffy.
Are you talking about you, a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who acts differently in public versus private?
And wait, this savage was actually a Hogwarts student?! How had he become like this...?
However, the other party didn't seem to be under the Imperius Curse. Probably just had the evil thoughts already in his heart amplified by outside influence.
Seeing Ethan's reaction, a glimmer of hope rose in Hamburg's bloodshot eyes.
"Yes, Ethan, that's it! I only realized it now! I was being controlled; none of this was what I wanted to do!"
Listening to the other's heart-wrenching defense, Ethan raised the corners of his mouth and smiled warmly: "It's fine. Merlin will forgive you."
"And I'm in charge of sending you to meet Merlin."
Hamburg's hopeful smile froze, the light in his eyes instantly shattered.
"No, please, have mercy, no..."
Before him, golden light blazed like judgment from the gods. Like a wheel crushing an ant, unstoppable and irresistible, it swallowed him whole.
"BANG!"
Outside the mansion, Auror John Dawlish, who had been crouching on guard, shot to his feet in alarm, staring in shock at the scene before him!
The bottom of the mansion suddenly exploded, smoke and dust rolling out like a bursting dam! Golden light blazed, countless brilliant streamers of light swirling within. They shot like arrows toward the pitch-black night sky, the massive impact causing the surrounding viscous swamp to ripple slowly.
What happened this time?!
Dawlish gritted his teeth and Apparated over with a sharp crack, arriving outside the mansion. Coughing continuously while waving away the smoke and dust, his heart anxious: Don't let anything else happen, his salary wasn't enough to cover the deductions...
However, when the smoke cleared, the scene that met his eyes completely shattered Dawlish's remaining composure.
A blood-stained youth was pinned to the ground by golden arrows. His hands and feet were broken, limbs twisted, and pierced through by sharp projectiles. His eyes stared sightlessly, filled with bone-chilling terror!
Without needing to go to St. Mungo's, Dawlish could tell at a glance that this person was beyond saving.
"What... what exactly happened?" Dawlish said tremblingly, "Dark wizard attack?"
But looking at the golden birds still circling in the air, he couldn't help but roar internally: What kind of Dark wizard would use such holy magic?!
Suddenly, Dawlish felt something. Looking up, he met the gaze of a figure standing calmly on the ruins.
The newcomer stood there quietly, with handsome features. Yet despite his slender frame and youthful face, his entire being radiated a cold, murderous aura. The torrential magical power surging around him made Dawlish's heart race with instinctive fear.
Being looked down upon by those cobalt-blue eyes, he felt like a field mouse spotted by an eagle, completely unable to move.
This incident would definitely be investigated. But at this moment, Dawlish just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
Under that figure's piercing gaze, Dawlish slowly crouched down, grasping the youth's mangled arm. Then with a crack, he Apparated away.
Points of black matter drifted into Ethan's body, making the lamp in Ethan's skull burn several degrees brighter.
You have collected darkness, igniting the lamp fire.
You have illuminated more hidden places and obtained a secret treasure: Star Color.
Star Color (Pigment): A mineral pigment made from meteorites fallen from the depths of the universe, radiating magnificent colors that human eyes cannot fully perceive. Extraordinary pigment is required for second-tier artworks and above.
A glass bottle with an elegant, slender neck appeared floating in midair. Within it flowed a silver liquid. When Ethan gazed at it, he saw countless indescribable brilliant colors, like a living kaleidoscope. As if all the colors in the universe that humans could perceive, or couldn't perceive, were contained within.
"So beautiful..." Ethan murmured.
Carefully reaching out to take it, staring at it in fascination, unable to let go. This was the perfect gift.
Ethan couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, his heart filled with pure joy.
"I know how to deal with you now, Professor Quirrell..." Ethan murmured, inspiration flashing in his mind.
"Your ultimate goal is to steal the Philosopher's Stone, isn't it? The path to the Stone is full of challenges Dumbledore left for Harry, very simple ones. Then, let me redecorate a bit. Using the newly learned second-tier mural, I'll create a challenge worthy of your abilities."
"Hehehe..."
Ethan grinned with delight, gripping the glass bottle tightly. There wasn't a sound around. All creatures had hidden away, not daring to make noise, everything deathly silent.
At this moment, a ray of morning light appeared in the clouds, shooting toward the earth, splashing golden warmth on Ethan. He looked up, taking a deep breath of the fresh post-rain air.
Smiling contentedly: "Dawn has broken."
What a pleasant challenge it had been. He'd come again next time.
Ethan took out the Portkey, preparing to teleport away. His gaze shifted, suddenly noticing something stuck in the ruins.
"Hmm?"
Ethan bent down and picked it up, discovering it was a broken wand.
"Seems like... it's that Dark wizard student's wand from just now?"
Ethan thought for a moment and tucked it into his pocket. Maybe it would be useful.
"Bye bye, my beloved house. Now, I'm going to claim the honor that belongs to me."
Ethan turned his head, waving reluctantly at the mansion. Then, injecting magical power into the Portkey, he disappeared from the spot with a whoosh.
Shortly after Ethan left, Gemma Farley and Penelope, their faces somewhat complex, hurriedly departed, teleporting away one after the other.
Then...
"RUMBLE!"
The mansion collapsed. Like an old man who had stood for a thousand years and finally drew his last breath. Wood chips shattered, dust flew everywhere, burying everything under ruins and earth. Returning to dust.
"Crack."
Dawlish, who had been worried and Apparated back anyway, opened his eyes just in time to see the mansion collapse.
Dawlish stared in complete shock: "?!?!"
After a long while, he muttered blankly: "Wonder if Gringotts gives loans..."
This job was impossible to continue.
Outside the Great Rotting Swamp, at the starting point, Cedric, who hadn't even entered the mansion before being eliminated, stared intently in the direction of the great swamp. Expectantly and anxiously clenching his fists.
Ethan still hadn't come out... had something happened, or could he actually get a ranking? Could he make the top ten?
With so many contestants being taken straight to St. Mungo's after coming out of the thick forest, Cedric had no idea what had really gone wrong in there.
He thought rationally: "This time I should have lost, but I think the distance between Ethan and me isn't that great. Probably just the difference between tenth and eleventh place."