"Thank you, Professor Quirrell..."
"Thank you..."
"Thank you..."
Ethan's words echoed in the empty room, the sound lingering and ringing in Quirrell's ears over and over again.
Quirrell stared blankly at Ethan, as if he suddenly couldn't understand English. The Mirror of Erised reflected his current appearance... his nose looking red and round. A killing blow to both body and soul.
Harry watched, looking at Ethan with deep admiration. Truly worthy of being Ethan. Ron was right... there was no need to worry about Ethan's safety. What needed worrying about were Ethan's enemies, who would suffer torment both physical and mental.
Suddenly, Harry hissed and pressed his forehead. His scar, which had been magically calmed, suddenly began throbbing violently again!
Kill them... kill those two arrogant brats!
Voldemort's hoarse roar echoed from behind Quirrell's head. A twisted power rose from Quirrell's body. Like being injected with stimulants, his form suddenly swelled. He shot upward!
His tattered robes billowed like a terrifying Dementor as he raised his branch-like hands and lunged at Ethan with unbridled rage and hatred!
"Kill you!"
"Uh, Ethan!" Harry called out, wanting to raise his wand, but the severe pain in his forehead blurred his vision.
At this moment, a strong and steady hand grasped Harry's shoulder.
"Leave this to me," a calm voice said. "How troublesome."
Ethan's expression remained unchanged. He calmly watched Quirrell rapidly approaching like a vengeful spirit. Raising his wand, a long string of incantations flowed from Ethan's mouth. With the help of Level 2 Knowledge, this took only an instant.
Finally, they formed a single character: Destroy
In that moment...
"BOOM!"
Crimson light exploded outward from Ethan as the centre! It instantly engulfed the lunging Quirrell! A massive explosion accompanied by tsunami-like flames swept in all directions!
Harry stared blankly at the scene before him. Flames danced and swirled around them like golden-red silk. Incredibly beautiful... just looking at it filled one with tremendous vitality! Yet it was also deadly.
The surrounding temperature instantly soared to over a thousand degrees. The extreme heat made Harry break into profuse sweat one moment, only for it to evaporate completely the next. His lips cracked, and his mouth and tongue went dry. Harry desperately swallowed, feeling his throat scraping like sandpaper.
Like an ocean driven by storms, carrying tremendous force, it completely overturned everything it touched! Quirrell had already turned to ash. Only a wisp of Voldemort's remaining soul continued to wail in this fiery torment, roaring in fury:
I won't let you go... do you think you alone can oppose me, oppose my army of Death Eaters?! When I resurrect, that will be the day of your death...
"Noisy," Ethan said calmly.
In the centre of the fiery vortex, his black hair gently floating, he looked like a king who controlled life and death. Ethan raised his hand and pointed lightly. The skull-like remnant was immediately swallowed by flames, screaming as it fell silent.
Specks of ash-like matter floated into Ethan's body. The flames gradually receded. When the surrounding scene was revealed again, Harry was shocked to see that everything around had become charred black. The wall plaster had peeled off, completely unrecognisable from its original appearance. Even the precious Mirror of Erised had melted into a puddle, sticking to the ground like congealed oil.
So amazing, so powerful! What terrifying destructive power!
Harry was stunned, unconsciously gripping Ethan's robes tightly, fearing that with one careless moment, he might be cremated as well.
"Phew," Ethan exhaled, murmuring, "The consumption is still a bit much."
In just half a minute, it had consumed most of his magical power. But the power was also quite considerable. Even Voldemort could be burnt to nothing. More powerful than any spell he knew! Burning everything, consuming everything. Was this the power of dragons?
You have lit the lamp in your skull, illuminating more hidden places!
You have received a reward: Salazar Slytherin's Chamber Key
What appeared in Ethan's hand was an object resembling a flute.
Snake Flute: Made from a snake's spine, a relic of Salazar Slytherin, one of Hogwarts' four founders. Hold it in your mouth while speaking to produce snake language, commanding all serpents.
It doesn't matter if you understand what employees say... as long as you understand the boss's orders.
Well, this description was as cheeky as always.
Additionally, this item is also the key to opening Salazar Slytherin's true chamber.
If one of the four founders knew that posterity believed he left Hogwarts only a snake and underground passages beneath a girls' bathroom, he'd probably jump out of his coffin in anger.
The key to Salazar Slytherin's true chamber? Could there be another chamber besides that filthy snake nest? That made sense. If it were merely housing a snake, it couldn't really be called a "chamber". There must be more precious things left behind!
Ethan's curiosity was piqued. He examined this finger-sized snake flute, pale white and cold in appearance. Raising his hand, he put one end in his mouth. Turning to Harry, he said: "Hiss hiss hiss..."
Harry froze, then showed a terrified expression. Ethan smiled. Good, it worked. It could convert human speech into Parseltongue.
Next, Ethan thought of the giant basilisk beneath Hogwarts. Holding the snake flute, he tentatively called out a few times.
The basilisk is hibernating. Please come back in spring.
Ethan thought with amusement: "The area ahead will be explored later, right?"
However, this proved that the snake flute could indeed control the basilisk. In that case... Ethan pondered, strange dark gleams swirling in the depths of his eyes.
Beside him, Harry suddenly shivered, rubbing his arms and thinking, 'Why do I suddenly have an ominous feeling...?' But Voldemort, who had infiltrated the school, had been easily eliminated by Ethan. Nothing else should go wrong, right?
Even his scar, which had been painfully throbbing like being slashed with a knife, no longer hurt. Only then did Harry finally realise that Quirrell, who had been a peripheral character throughout, was actually an undercover agent controlled by Voldemort...
Hogwarts really was the "safest" place in all of Britain.
Just then... "Whoosh!"
The opposite wall suddenly erupted in black flames, and several figures stepped out from behind them.
"Oh... Merlin! What on earth happened here?!"
Professor McGonagall, following Headmaster Dumbledore, exclaimed in shock. She quickly approached, carefully examining both Harry and Ethan. Seeing that both were unharmed, she let out a long sigh of relief: "Thank Merlin, you're both all right..."
Ethan said matter-of-factly: "Not entirely all right. Professor Quirrell is dead."
Professor McGonagall stared wide-eyed: "What?"
She looked as if someone had suddenly told her that next term's Defence Against the Dark Arts class would be taught by a troll.
So Ethan methodically explained everything from beginning to end. He emphasised how excellent his mural was and glossed over the cause of Quirrell's death...
Ethan explained simply: "He had Voldemort on the back of his head, so I burnt them both to death."
Hearing this, everyone jumped violently, their bodies involuntarily stiffening. Voldemort?! What... what exactly happened?! What did you accomplish in one night?!
Ethan thought for a moment, pointed at the ashes on the ground, and said considerately: "If you want to perform an autopsy, well, there it is. Sweep it up and you can gather a pile."
Professor McGonagall nearly fainted. She had many things she wanted to say but didn't know where to begin. Also, when did Ethan add another mural obstacle? Don't let everything become part of Hogwarts' legacy!
Following Dumbledore were also Hermione, Ron, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Snape. Professor Flitwick looked ready to jump up, excitedly saying: "Did you create that explosion just now, Ethan? Good heavens! Look at the power of that spell... probably even more powerful than Fiendfyre! The latter is uncontrollable dark magic!"
"Ravenclaw gets... cough."
Professor Flitwick's excited words were swallowed back under Snape's dark gaze. Well, now wasn't the time for awarding points. Anyway, Ethan had made such a great contribution protecting the Philosopher's Stone and saving the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter... Headmaster Dumbledore would surely reward him.
What? You say Ethan was a bit excessive? Please, where was he excessive? He's always been like this!