Hagrid's friend in the Forbidden Forest?
"Hmm," Ethan mused, "I did see him wander off with a stack of books about spiders."
"Spiders?"
Ron frowned, instantly leaning back with a grimace of disgust.
"I hate spiders! I hope Hagrid's just figuring out how to get rid of those pests, and not secretly breeding them in the Forbidden Forest!"
Just then, Hermione fixed her gaze on the windowsill and whispered, "Look!"
The others turned to see.
A thin trail of spiders was marching across the windowsill, scurrying out through a crack as if they were escaping something.
"I've never seen spiders behave like that before—"
Hermione murmured in astonishment.
Ron's face looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
Seeing his best mate in such a state, Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't know you were that terrified of spiders, Ron."
Ron grumbled, "If your teddy bear suddenly turned into an eight-legged, hairy monster scampering around when you were a kid, you'd be scarred for life too!"
"That's an easy fix," Ethan said brightly.
"This Christmas, I'll get you a doll that crawls across the floor in the dead of night, and you'll start finding spiders downright adorable."
Ron: "..." "I want to cure my fear, not end up curing myself out of existence."
Ethan, however, furrowed his brow in thought.
Spiders...
It felt like an idea was on the tip of his tongue, ready to jump out.
But it stayed stubbornly hidden.
The young wizards soon switched gears to chatting about homework.
Hagrid himself was basically a mythical beast; his complicated relationships with his "friends" weren't something mere mortals like them could weigh in on.
Ethan set the thought aside for now.
He helped Ron—who was begging, "Please! It's just two inches short!"—revise his history assignment.
He looked on with satisfaction at the lengthy new paragraph on "Medieval Plagues and Their Manifestations" that he'd tacked on.
"I even sketched a quick diagram beside it."
Ethan clapped Ron on the back, leaving him too stunned to speak:
"Trust me, you're guaranteed an 'O' for Outstanding."
Watching Ron's horrified, stricken expression, Hermione burst into laughter.
Ever wonder why Ethan's so approachable, yet nobody ever asks him to handle their homework?
Sharp-eyed Hermione had already figured it out.
Luna had finished her own assignment early and had even sprinkled some tiny stars across the parchment.
"The stars imitate the night sky, so the words will all drift off to sleep and stay put," Luna explained seriously.
"...Words don't move [normally]," Hermione said, arching her eyebrows high.
Luna didn't reply, as if Hermione had a massive pumpkin sprouting from her neck.
"Legend has it there's a half-human, half-spider woman named Arachne—absolutely stunning. I wonder what it's like to command eight legs."
Luna leaned in close to Ethan, their shoulders brushing as she peered at the insect book with him.
Across the table, Hermione's eyebrows climbed even higher.
8:30 PM, Round Table Council.
Double-sided Mirror: "So, you're telling me—Ethan dismantled the Slytherin Society, instantly won the admiration of the whole school, and a massive terror incident actually struck Hogwarts?"
Just heading off as an exchange student abroad, and the world turns this thrilling??
Was he really going to come back to no school at all!!
One member ground his teeth and replied, "Yes, Mr. Arthur!"
"You didn't witness Ethan's fiery speech! In just a few sentences, he whipped up the emotions of every student in the place!"
"It was like, in an instant, Ethan became Hogwarts' savior!"
Though that display of wealth with the hundred Galleons certainly helped.
Hearing this, the man behind the Double-sided Mirror couldn't help but scowl.
How could it be such a perfect coincidence?
Ethan had barely founded his society when a terrorist attack hit.
He stepped in as the calming force, soothing everyone right away and positioning himself as the students' pillar!
...It was as if fate itself was rolling out the red carpet for Ethan.
The members started venting their frustrations in a torrent.
Until a deep voice boomed from the mirror:
"Enough! All of you, be quiet!"
"You idiots! You're only seeing how Ethan's capitalizing on this crisis—why not consider how we can turn it to our advantage too?"
"If we nab the culprit before the Enlightenment Society does, won't that catapult us to fame overnight?"
The members blinked in surprise, then nodded eagerly.
"Actually, we've got a suspect," the members said warily, their eyes lighting up with eagerness.
"And that's—Harry Potter!"
"Harry's a member handpicked by Ethan himself."
"If we dig up proof that Harry opened the Chamber of Secrets, it'd be a crushing blow to Ethan as president."
"A club member turning out to be the terrorist? He'd have no choice but to slink away in shame and step down!"
Most of them agreed with this line of thinking.
A few, like Penelope, stayed quiet.
They were all here chasing their own gains.
With their interests on the line, they'd naturally claw back with everything they had.
Penelope knew she couldn't halt it.
The best she could do was sit this one out.
And slip Ethan a warning when the chance arose.
Sigh.
Ethan had already endured a brutal assault, and now he was tangled in this Chamber of Secrets mess. Poor kid!
Penelope's heart twinged with sympathy.
Meanwhile, the plan was locked in.
Double-sided Mirror: "Then dispatch someone to get close and keep tabs on their every move!"
"Unearth evidence that'll torpedo Ethan's society."
"Cho Chang, would you accept this honorable mission?"
At those words, Cho Chang shuddered hard, her face draining of color in an instant.
Then she bowed her head, an odd flush climbing her neck.
Keep tabs on Ethan's every move... just how close?
From the Double-sided Mirror came the man's voice, brimming with confidence:
"Our venerable Round Table Council will never fall to some upstart little club."
"That Ethan Vincent is just a kid at the end of the day, fooling around—he can't pull off anything big."
"We've got the smarts, we've got the skill."
"We'll quietly take out our rivals."
"We won't make Slytherin's blunders again!"
Two weeks flew by.
In the Chamber of Secrets.
Ethan tilted his head back, admiring the second snake body painting.
This one depicted the "snake tail."
It linked up with the snake's body, like a dragon parting the clouds to reveal a sliver of a shadowy mountain range.
But this "mountain range" wasn't static—it writhed, clad in scales.
It radiated an aura of twisted, unholy malice.
To squeeze out the blood, Ethan had nearly shredded Tom Riddle's diary with his scratches.
The script inside was no longer elegant and fluid, but dim and feeble, like it had been bled dry and left utterly spent.
"It's about time to orchestrate the second attack—cough, I mean, no."
"The second grand surprise."
Ethan whispered, his eyes gleaming with fervor.
"I wonder who'll be the lucky one to bathe in that ultimate glory..."
Ethan drew in a deep breath of the Chamber's chill, moldy air, savoring it with his eyes shut.
...Being alone felt so damn good.
Lately, for whatever reason, third-year Cho Chang had been orbiting him nonstop.
Be it mealtimes, classes, or free periods, she'd fix him with those dark eyes from afar, never blinking.
Sometimes her cheeks would flush with this weird glow.
It sent a shiver down Ethan's spine, stirring a rare wave of revulsion.
This had to be a Round Table Council plot!
That's what Ethan figured.
When he floated this theory to Michael, his roommate erupted with shouts like "Damn it!", "Are you seriously not just bragging?!", "I'm gonna end you!"
Then he lunged in fury.
Only to get effortlessly dropped to his knees by Ethan.
Today was Sunday.
It was still early after wrapping up the painting.
Ethan slipped out of the Chamber of Secrets via the portal, heading to the Great Hall to satisfy his growling stomach.
But he'd barely taken a few steps when that clammy stare latched onto him again.
Ethan: "..."
Cho Chang, what happened to you?
Ethan pulled out his Pupil of the Door card, ready to strike back.
—"Ethan! There you are—we've been searching everywhere!"
He turned to spot Harry and his two pals waving as they jogged over.
Suddenly, Harry skidded to a halt, pointing at Ethan with a mix of shock and doubt:
"You... it looked like you had an eyeball sprouting from the back of your head just now..."
Ethan: "Haha, you're spot on."
Harry: "..."
Harry wisely chose not to pursue it.
"We got a note from Hagrid asking if we could swing by his hut after dinner!"
"Not sure what's up... but it sounded pressing."
"So, we wanted to see if you'd join us, Ethan."
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