Chapter 56: Rising Tension
In the blink of an eye, a new week arrived. Flying lessons had officially ended last week, giving the busy Tuesday a little breathing room.
During class, Quirrell glanced at his position from time to time. He could only play the ostrich, keeping his head down throughout the class, avoiding eye contact with Quirrell, hoping to avoid detention after class.
Whether his strategy succeeded or Voldemort felt he had just given him a set of materials last week and he wouldn't digest it that quickly, Quirrell didn't keep him after class this week.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief, but he knew he couldn't go on like this, or he would sooner or later be destroyed by the fear gradually breeding in his heart.
Having made up his mind, he planned to ask Snape for help today.
Even the Transfiguration class he was usually interested in became somewhat unbearable. He wanted to finish all today's classes quickly so he could go find Professor Snape, who looked indifferent and was actually not enthusiastic at all, for a good chat.
Finally, after Transfiguration class ended, he was the first to run out of the classroom and went to Snape's office, only to find the big boss wasn't there; he was teaching next door.
He didn't leave either, just squatting at the classroom door, peeking inside from time to time, causing a group of students taking advanced Potions to look at him involuntarily.
Of course, Snape saw him too, but Snape didn't know what he wanted to do looking like that. He wanted to rush out and chase Ethan Jones away several times, but he didn't want to interrupt his teaching rhythm.
So the students in this class suffered. Snape, who was already unkind, was even more irritable today. Any mistake was met with a scolding.
This made the group of people who originally looked at Ethan Jones with amusement change their gazes.
If hateful glares could kill, Ethan Jones would probably be riddled with holes by now.
When this Potions class ended, Ethan Jones quickly stood up, smiled apologetically to send off the senior boys and girls, and slipped into the classroom.
"Professor! Help!" If Snape hadn't dodged quickly, he would have hugged his thigh.
Snape had never seen such a scene before. He was stunned and dodged several times, but in the end, he still let Ethan Jones hug his thigh.
"Get up!"
"Oh." Seeing Snape was really getting angry, Ethan Jones quickly let go and scrambled up from the ground, casting a Tergeo to clean the dust off his body.
"Go to my office." Snape walked aggressively towards the office not far away.
"Speak, what exactly is the matter!" Snape sat in the chair, his tone very bad.
"Professor! Help!" He quickly took out a stack of manuscripts and handed them to Snape.
Just glancing at it, Snape roughly snatched all the parchment from his hand and flipped through them quickly one by one.
"Where did you get this!" Snape couldn't figure it out. He hadn't signed a permission slip for the Restricted Section for him, so how did he get these Dark Magic materials? Who would sign for a first year to borrow such profound Dark Magic knowledge?
"Professor Quirrell gave it to me." He quickly told Snape about being kept after class twice.
Snape pointed his wand and cast a spell on the parchment. Nothing happened. He pointed again, a light appeared at the wand tip, and touched the parchment. Still, nothing happened.
Only after both spells detected no problems did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sit down first." After speaking, he left Ethan Jones hanging and slowly read the parchment manuscript in his hand.
Ethan Jones sat on pins and needles like a prisoner awaiting trial, waiting for the final judgment to fall.
Snape finished reading the manuscript and patted it on his hand: "There's nothing wrong with the stuff, but why would Quirrell give these to you?
Moreover, as far as I know, Quirrell isn't good at Dark Magic. How could he write such an organized summary? This looks like the masterful work of a Dark Magic expert."
Ethan Jones breathed a sigh of relief. Since Snape, who was also deeply researched in Dark Magic, said there was no problem, he could temporarily rest assured. As long as he didn't get too close to Voldemort, there shouldn't be any issues, right?
"I don't know, Professor. Professor Quirrell said my performance in class was very serious, so he intended to teach me some more profound knowledge."
"Him?" Snape smiled contemptuously. He had felt something was wrong with Quirrell since the start of the term, and now that feeling was even stronger.
Throwing the parchment to Ethan Jones: "Keep it. If anything happens, come to me anytime. Although I don't know what he wants to do, since he gave you this manuscript, he must have a motive. Wait, the fox tail will show itself one day."
"Okay, Professor." Having received a definitive answer, Ethan Jones knew in his heart that he had caught Voldemort's eye, and it was too late to back out now. All he could do was become stronger as quickly as possible in the days before Voldemort fully revived.
"A piece of advice, Ethan, don't get addicted to Dark Magic, especially when you are not alone." Snape's words were heavy.
He looked straight at Snape and said solemnly: "I know, Professor. I will handle it well."
With heavy steps, he left the office.
With this manuscript approved by Snape, Ethan Jones also let go of his concerns.
He didn't know Quirrell's, or rather Voldemort's, specific purpose, but as Snape said, the day of exposure would come sooner or later. And from the current look of things, he didn't want to use him as the next parasitic vessel.
What made him feel more at ease was Snape's behavior. Although this professor didn't say anything, he often called him to the office during dinner time to ask about changes after practicing Dark Magic.
Of course, it might also be because he had successively obtained a batch of Salamanders, asking Ethan Jones to fulfill his promise, and asking in passing.
Although the truth might be this cruel, Snape's concern was also real.
In the following days, after Snape's repeated confirmations, Ethan Jones truly determined that he indeed had no changes for the time being after learning Dark Magic.
"It seems Quirrell has a good eye. You are indeed very talented in Dark Magic, but again, don't ignore the people around you because you are obsessed with magic."
Watching Ethan Jones feed fireballs one by one to the Salamanders, making them struggle and mutate, Snape said that sentence again.
"Of course, Professor. I will cherish my current life. No one can break it!" His tone was relaxed but firm.
Glancing at him, Snape politely told him to leave quickly: "Remember what you said. Alright, you can get out."
"Use people when needed, discard them when not!" Ethan Jones muttered and went to the library alone again.