Ethan desperately wished systems came with proper instruction manuals.
Harry and Ron were still celebrating the successful defeat of the trolls when Professor McGonagall stormed into the bathroom like an incoming natural disaster.
Snape followed close behind.
Then Quirrell arrived last.
The moment Quirrell spotted Ethan standing there unharmed, his eyes widened in complete disbelief. Apparently, the idea that Ethan Norton might actually save people ranked somewhere between "troll ballet" and "Lucius Malfoy donating to charity" in terms of realism.
Still, Quirrell remained committed to the performance.
He let out a weak sob, staggered dramatically sideways, and collapsed against a sink clutching his chest.
Snape immediately bent down to inspect the unconscious trolls.
Then he gave Ethan an extremely strange look.
Probably because surviving two trolls at once as a first-year student sounded deeply unreasonable.
"What exactly were you thinking?" Professor McGonagall demanded sharply.
The worry in her eyes quickly transformed into icy fury.
"You are fortunate beyond belief not to have been killed! Why weren't you safely inside your dormitory?"
Harry and Ron immediately panicked.
Neither knew how to explain the situation properly.
Ethan was about to invent something helpful when Hermione suddenly interrupted.
"Professor McGonagall… they came looking for me."
"Miss Granger!"
Hermione slowly stood from the corner where she had been hiding.
"I—I went looking for the troll myself," she admitted shakily. "I'd read about them in books, so I thought I could handle it…"
Ethan immediately developed renewed respect for fate itself.
Even with his involvement, Hermione's explanation somehow remained almost identical to the original version.
Reality clearly refused to abandon certain traditions.
Fortunately, Ethan's attention had already drifted elsewhere entirely.
Specifically:
Ravenclaw's diadem.
The last time he checked, the Horcrux fragment inside possessed exactly twenty soul strength.
Now Ethan himself had reached twenty as well thanks to the selfless nutritional contributions of the Acromantulas.
Which meant—
Dinner time.
"If they hadn't found me," Hermione continued bravely, "I would've died…"
She completely accepted responsibility for breaking school rules herself.
Harry and Ron looked stunned for several seconds before quickly pretending they absolutely understood the situation already.
Professor McGonagall eventually awarded five points each to Harry, Ron, and Ethan while deducting five from Hermione for reckless behaviour.
Overall, Gryffindor technically profited.
Again.
Hermione fled immediately afterward while the boys wandered slowly back toward Gryffindor Tower.
"Honestly, Ethan should've gotten more than fifteen points," Ron complained. "I've never even heard of that spell you used."
"That sounds like a personal educational issue," Ethan replied calmly. "Everything I cast came from books."
Admittedly, not books intended for first-years.
"Actually, it's only ten points," Harry corrected. "Professor McGonagall deducted Hermione's points first."
Then he lowered his voice slightly.
"But Hermione did save us from trouble by lying for us."
"Am I invisible?" Ethan demanded. "I also worked very hard improving Professor McGonagall's opinion of me."
Ron snorted.
"You skip Transfiguration constantly. Professor McGonagall always looks ready to murder someone during attendance."
That was technically Quirrell's fault.
Dark Arts tutoring constantly overlapped with Transfiguration lessons, and weekends alone simply weren't enough time to learn everything Ethan wanted.
Once they returned to the common room, Hermione quietly thanked all three boys before hurrying upstairs.
Meanwhile, Fred and George had already distracted most of Gryffindor by setting off enchanted fireworks near the fireplace.
Perfect.
Nobody noticed Ethan slipping away again.
Honestly, he couldn't help it.
It felt exactly like unlocking a level twenty reward pack in a game after grinding endlessly for experience points.
Then, just as you finally reached the required level, your mother told you to stop playing and go to bed.
Naturally, any reasonable person would obediently agree…
Then secretly continue playing under the blankets afterward.
The moment Ethan entered the Room of Requirement, he discovered the Count cuddling with Hedwig inside the owl nest near the fireplace.
The two birds were rubbing affectionately against each other.
Unfortunately, Ethan's brain immediately connected this image with the troll incident.
"Please," he said weakly, "don't remind me of the horrifying things I witnessed earlier."
"You entered without knocking!" the Count cried indignantly.
"This is my room!" Ethan snapped back. "And stop acting like I interrupted something sacred. I've seen your balls before. They're smaller than my fingers."
"Evil little pervert…"
The Count immediately grabbed Hedwig and escaped through the window in outrage.
Ethan ignored him completely.
At this point, he had developed near-total immunity to the bird's complaints.
Instead, Ethan crossed toward the hidden cabinet and carefully removed Ravenclaw's diadem.
The ancient crown glittered beautifully in the firelight, though dark corruption had begun spreading across the metal frame due to the Horcrux hidden inside.
"Stop hiding," Ethan said softly. "I can see you, Mr. Voldemort."
Why did he suddenly feel like the villain in this situation?
Deep within the gemstone, the fragmented soul trembled weakly.
Unfortunately, pretending to look pitiful could not change its fate.
Just as Ethan prepared to devour the Horcrux properly, the soul fragment apparently realised helpless weakness would accomplish nothing.
Darkness burst from the crown like black smoke and rapidly condensed into a hideous humanoid figure.
Clearly, it intended to fight desperately for survival—
"Urp."
Ethan suddenly burped.
The soul fragment froze.
Then, before Ethan even inhaled intentionally, the Horcrux flew directly into his mouth on its own.
Straight into the stomach.
"…So this is how prey feels when it voluntarily jumps into a tiger's mouth," Ethan muttered thoughtfully.
He immediately opened the system panel.
Ethan Norton
[Race: Dementor / Human / ? / ? / ?]
[Soul Completeness: 22%]
[Special Abilities Unlocked: Spirit Shaping (1/10), Emotional Drain (1/10)]
[Soul Strength: 22]
[Current Goodwill Value: 2000]
[Current Sin Value: 711]
Ethan stared at the numbers thoughtfully.
Two full percentage points.
Equivalent to roughly twenty adult Acromantulas.
Voldemort truly was incredibly nutritious.
Still, Ethan cared far more about the other notifications.
The moment his goodwill reached two thousand, two entirely new systems had appeared.
The Kindness Branch.
And the Backpack System.
Originally, Ethan assumed the system was merely a glorified magical shop.
Apparently not.
The backpack feature proved extremely convenient.
Once activated, Ethan's usual system panel transformed into a nine-slot storage grid.
Each physical object occupied exactly one slot regardless of size. However, items could not stack together because no two objects were truly identical.
Even two leaves differed microscopically.
Duplicated objects created by magic also failed completely because they consisted purely of magical energy.
Living creatures couldn't enter either.
Ethan tested that using the surviving rabbit rescued from Quirrell's office earlier.
For now, he mostly planned to store his wand there.
Instant wand access without reaching into pockets felt incredibly useful.
Then came the important part.
[Kindness Branch Quest (1/7)]
Prevent Tom Riddle from obtaining the Philosopher's Stone.
[Reward: 1000 Goodwill Points]
[Reward: Death Stalker Cloak]
[Note: Future kindness quests will change according to your choices. Carefully consider your position.]
Ethan stared thoughtfully at the reward description.
He had absolutely no idea what a Death Stalker Cloak actually was.
But it sounded unbelievably cool.
Which naturally raised another question.
If two thousand goodwill unlocked the kindness path…
Then what exactly would happen at two thousand sin points?
....
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