Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Hoooo..."
The dark red steam train let out an urging low whistle. Ethan carried his suitcase, now refilled with snacks, clothes, and carving tools, and tipped his hat to Luna:
"See you during summer vacation, Luna. I really need to board the train."
Ethan glanced at Luna's sleeve, which she was gripping and wouldn't let go.
"Otherwise, I'll have to ride a three-headed dog all the way to school... mmm, that would be quite majestic though. Then use a Disillusionment Charm to make the heads invisible, and we could have a thrilling Hogwarts Express chase scene."
Of course, that would also exhaust him half to death.
Between suffering through showing off and comfortably nestling in a seat eating snacks while watching the scenery, Ethan chose the latter.
Luna pressed her lips together, a trace of melancholy flashing in her eyes. But soon, she raised a smile again and said cheerfully: "Alright then, I'll wait for you at home while reading books. That book you gave me is absolutely fascinating! I think I could spend an entire day holding it in the reclining chair."
Luna was referring to the birthday gift Ethan had given her: a thick fairy tale book. Recommended by Professor Flitwick, it had been found in a hidden antiquarian bookstore.
This book was as thick as the Oxford Dictionary and as heavy as a brick. For Ethan and Luna, they could only hold it while reading.
The most magical thing was that the protagonists inside existed independently. Even characters who died in their stories would come back to life if you flipped back a page. They would chatter and complain about why they had been written to death. Very interesting.
What Luna gave Ethan was a portrait of him that she had painted herself. Although the technique was childish, it made Ethan look like a humanoid creature that had just crawled up from some otherworldly realm.
But if you looked closely, you'd discover this painting was composed of thousands upon thousands of repetitions of the letters "Ethan Vincent." A beautiful gold chain was tied to the frame, made of the word "friend" written countless times in golden ink.
Ethan felt this artwork couldn't be traded for all the gold and silver in the world. This was the power of friendship!
Incidentally, his other little friends at Hogwarts had also sent him gifts. Harry gave him a set of self-cleaning paintbrushes. Ron gave him a large bag of dark chocolate, remembering that Ethan didn't like overly sweet things.
It came with a note that read: Thank you for winning the challenge! I got a new wand! Willow, 14 inches, unicorn tail hair! It works a hundred times better than my old one!
Hermione gave him a book called The Origins of Classical Art Development, very characteristic of her. Actually, most of the gifts Ethan received were art-related books. As if everyone had bought into the equation "Ravenclaw + painting = art books."
Ethan had specially given Harry a unique gift: an oil painting of Lily. However, he'd added some anti-addiction measures. If someone stared at the painting for more than thirty minutes straight, the gentle Lily in the painting would suddenly turn stern and reach out to snap the viewer back to reality.
It took several days before Harry wrote back. In trembling handwriting, he expressed his love for the painting. He regretfully mentioned that while admiring the painting in the Great Hall, he was unfortunately spotted by Snape.
The naturally suspicious Snape immediately confiscated the painting and deducted ten points from Gryffindor for "possessing questionable contraband."
The next day, for some unknown reason, half of Snape's face was swollen.
Ethan thought innocently: "..." This had nothing to do with Ethan... Ethan knew nothing about it.
"Hoooo!"
The train's engine released a puff of steam, and the doors were about to close.
"Bye-bye, Luna, I'll write to you." Ethan smiled, raising his hand to gently pet the now rather aloof owl, Carrot.
"Bye... bye... Ethan..." Luna bounced vigorously on the platform, waving her slender arms.
"Hoot hoot!" The owl on her shoulder also flapped its wings.
Ethan stuck his head out the window, waving goodbye as well. He didn't pull back until the train turned a corner and he could no longer see her, his face numb from smiling.
So this was what it felt like to be seen off.
"It feels so good to have someone see you off," Ethan murmured contentedly.
A passing student beside him fell backward in alarm at the wistful tone.
Life after returning to school was simple and fulfilling. Ethan planned to prepare all the "components" for his mural before bringing them together to assemble beneath the trapdoor.
After all, he couldn't possibly run back and forth every day. That would be both conspicuous and troublesome. He might one day be grabbed by the collar by old Dumbledore, who would question what wonderful little surprises this pure and innocent young artist was up to now.
According to his plan, the mural's components included: the carved model of Sen Castle, summoned living armor (common guardians), and one final boss.
Ethan had considered whether to let the Hell Cerberus take on this honor. But he felt something was missing.
"The final boss must be able to guard the entire ancient city and make Quirrell smile happily at first sight..." Ethan pondered, still undecided.
Since the start of the school term, whenever Quirrell saw him, he would start shaking like a frightened animal. Please, it wasn't like he had an on/off switch in his hand.
To comfort poor Professor Quirrell, Ethan would always give him a brilliant smile. Then he would gleefully watch him become terrified and tremble even more violently.
Living Armor
Type: Portrait
Grade: First Tier White Rare
Description: This path is blocked
Effect: Common summon, can consume magic power to summon multiple suits of armor with different weapons; can make them act autonomously or control them with magic power
Evaluation: There are old friends ahead
"Perfect." Ethan looked with satisfaction at the card in his hand.
It depicted an armored knight holding a long sword, looking imposing and righteous. At first glance, it perfectly suited his ancient mural city, bright as the rising sun.
He just didn't know why, after Ethan finished the painting, all the armor ran away from him. Some even crashed into walls and fell apart on the spot, unable to dodge in time.
They must have been moved by his dedicated academic spirit, Ethan thought modestly.
After the Quidditch match, one afternoon, a letter was delivered to Ethan. Was it from Luna?
Obviously not. This letter... or rather, this note... was written hurriedly in elegant handwriting: Could you please come to Hagrid's hut immediately? Hermione Granger
Hagrid's hut? What had happened?
When Ethan directly opened a portal and rushed over quickly, he immediately knew what had occurred. All the curtains were drawn tightly, and a suffocating heat rushed out from the door.
A black creature the size of an arm was wagging its head and tail on Hagrid's table, sweeping all the empty brandy bottles to the floor. A Norwegian Ridgeback hatchling. Professor Quirrell's "hush money" to Hagrid.
Ethan was pulled into the door like a rag doll the moment it opened, yanked in forcefully by Hagrid. The latter seemed not to have expected him to arrive so quickly, nervously peering outside through the window crack.
Ethan straightened his wrinkled collar. Under the nervous gazes of Harry and his two friends, he said gently to Hagrid: "I'm going to tell Dumbledore."
Hagrid's eyes went wide with panic: "No, no! Please don't... sorry, I was too hasty just now, a bit rough..."
The massive Hagrid fidgeted with his fingers helplessly.
Ethan laughed heartily: "I'm just kidding."
Looking at Ethan's smile that hadn't changed from beginning to end, the others couldn't tell which statement was true.
Harry spoke first, changing the subject: "Well, Ethan, we called you over because we wanted to hear your opinion. You can see what kind of mess we're dealing with here."
Ethan looked at the little black dragon's chittering appearance, frowned in distaste, and said mercilessly: "So ugly."
Hagrid was horrified, as if learning that some people actually ate beloved pets. But Harry, Ron, and Hermione showed relieved expressions. Finally, someone had said it.
Harry continued: "Sorry, we didn't mean to hide this from you. We didn't want to get you involved in trouble. But now we really have no choice. Hagrid doesn't want to let it go, but his hut will be burned to charcoal sooner or later. And keeping this thing... keeping dragons is illegal."
Ron added: "We want to send it to my brother, but we still wanted to hear your opinion. That's what Hermione said."
The last sentence was muttered by Ron. Hermione beside him had flushed cheeks, pretending to be overheated by the fire, constantly fanning herself with her hands.
Ethan stared at that ugly creature, raising his eyebrows. Although he really wanted to paint a dragon, a hatchling didn't seem worth painting...
Just then, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck! Right! A dragon!
Ethan's eyes widened as excitement surged through his heart! He knew what to use as the final boss of his mural castle! It would be a dragon!
Dragons were inherently massive, with their sharp claws and fangs, soaring wings, and scorching breath naturally bringing tremendous presence to any encounter! Moreover, if Quirrell saw that the final boss was actually a familiar Norwegian Ridgeback, he would surely be delighted!
But this black dragon hatchling wouldn't work. It wasn't majestic enough.
Harry spoke up: "So... Ethan, what do you think?"
Ethan looked up, meeting the curious and expectant gazes around him, and smiled slightly: "Of course we can't raise this hatchling alone."
"No!" Hagrid cried out in anguish.
Harry and Ron breathed sighs of relief. Great, Ethan thought the same way.
Hermione frowned, staring at Ethan, sensing something wasn't quite right.
Ethan continued cheerfully: "So, we need to find a mother dragon to raise it."
Perfect... a magnificent adult female dragon would be the ideal boss for his mural.
At these words...
"Pfft! Cough cough cough!"
Violent coughing immediately filled the hut! Harry and Ron gasped while looking at Ethan like he was completely insane. Even Hagrid looked utterly dumbfounded.
Only Hermione curved her lips, thinking with admiration: As expected, Ethan was truly different. He could approach things from a humane perspective and propose methods that completely defied normal thinking patterns!