Ethan didn't see Harry again until dinner.
Apparently, Harry hadn't left the Gryffindor common room all day.
"Where's Harry?" Ethan asked casually while sitting at the table.
Ron, who had somehow stuffed two chicken legs into his mouth simultaneously, answered through a wall of grease and half-chewed meat.
"Dunno. He said he wanted some quiet…"
"Maybe he's still in the dormitory," Ethan replied. "I spent most of the day practicing spells in an empty classroom, so I haven't seen him either."
He slowly continued eating his Christmas dinner.
Naturally, he ignored the roast turkey completely.
The thing looked disgusting.
No amount of gravy could disguise the dry, hay-like texture of the meat. Honestly, it tasted even worse than potato goulash.
The Great Hall was unusually quiet tonight.
Many of the professors' seats sat empty. Only Snape and Dumbledore remained at the staff table, speaking quietly to each other. The rest had probably gone to Hogsmeade for drinks.
Ethan glanced toward Quirrell's usual seat.
Empty.
Quirrell was most likely at the Hog's Head right now, disguised beneath a hood while playing cards with Hagrid.
Very few students had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas. Each House table only held scattered groups of children. Most students preferred spending the holidays with their families.
Still, Ethan noticed one familiar face sitting at the Slytherin table.
Platinum blond hair.
Draco Malfoy.
Ethan frowned slightly.
Why hadn't Malfoy gone home?
That confused him because, before Christmas break, Draco had very loudly mocked students forced to remain at Hogwarts because their families "didn't want them around."
Originally, the insult had been aimed at Harry.
Unfortunately, since Rose and Edward weren't spending Christmas with Ethan this year, the stray comment had accidentally hit him too.
As a result, Draco had received a small lesson.
After Ethan dragged him into the bathroom that day, Draco had spent the rest of Potions class trembling like a traumatised rabbit. His hands shook so badly he could barely hold his fork during dinner.
What puzzled Ethan even more was that he distinctly remembered Draco leaving Hogwarts with the other students before the holiday.
So why had he suddenly come back?
"I'm gonna bring some food to Harry," Ron announced after finishing dinner at terrifying speed. "He's probably starving by now."
Then he looked toward Ethan.
"You coming back to the dormitory? Fred caught some weird red Christmas elf thing. Honestly, I think it might just be a goblin wearing decorations."
"I'm not done eating," Ethan replied calmly while taking another sip of pumpkin soup. "You go ahead."
The real reason was much simpler.
Draco kept glancing nervously in Ethan's direction.
Ethan could practically smell the anxiety radiating off him.
Clearly, Draco was waiting for a chance to speak privately. For some reason, the boy still couldn't fully abandon his pride.
Only after most people had finally left the Great Hall—including Dumbledore and Snape—did Draco slowly approach.
He looked deeply uncomfortable.
"Your…"
Draco hesitated awkwardly, his eyes wandering everywhere except Ethan's face.
"My father asked me to apologise to you."
"Oh."
Ethan immediately understood the situation.
"I said I'm sorry," Draco repeated stiffly, as though the words physically hurt him.
"I heard you the first time," Ethan replied.
Apparently, Lucius Malfoy wanted his son on good terms with Ethan.
That made sense.
Lucius possessed extensive connections throughout the wizarding world. He almost certainly knew about Ethan's existence—the Ministry experiment that had supposedly failed to die for over ten years.
That was probably why Draco had spent the entire first half of the school year avoiding open conflict whenever Ethan was nearby. Even when bullying Harry, Draco had carefully watched Ethan's reactions.
Unfortunately, children rarely understood how the adult world actually worked.
Especially not the part where swallowing your pride could be necessary for survival.
Clearly, Ethan's response wasn't what Lucius had expected from Draco's apology mission.
Draco inhaled deeply.
"…Sorry."
"That's the third time you've said it," Ethan replied impatiently. "Get to the point. Is your father planning to give me something?"
"How did you know?!" Draco blurted out in horror.
His face instantly paled.
The memory of what Ethan had done to him before Christmas clearly still haunted him. That entire day, Draco had been trapped in endless despair and terrifying thoughts.
Even now, he secretly suspected Ethan had cursed him somehow.
"I know everything," Ethan said calmly without raising his voice. "Last time, you insulted both Harry and me, so I punished you a little. Since your father sent an apology, we'll consider the matter settled. Now either say what you came here to say, or I'm leaving."
"Wait!"
Draco panicked when he saw Ethan stand up.
"My father wants to invite you to Malfoy Manor," he said quickly. "Any time."
"Why would I go to your house?" Ethan asked lazily. "Besides, I don't exactly have much free time during the school year."
Then, suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Azkaban.
Rose and Edward would never allow him anywhere near a place like that. No excuse in the world would convince them.
But Lucius Malfoy was different.
The darker and more dangerous Ethan appeared, the more Lucius would view him as a future Dark Lord candidate worth investing in.
And if Ethan used a visit to Malfoy Manor as cover…
"What about summer holiday?" Draco asked anxiously.
Lucius had practically given him a death order regarding this invitation.
"Do you have plans for the summer?"
"I don't currently," Ethan answered thoughtfully. "But if you want me to visit, you'll need to come up with a reason convincing enough for my parents to let me travel with you."
He paused briefly.
"Fair warning—they probably don't want any connection to your family whatsoever."
Draco's expression immediately became miserable again.
"If you can't think of anything," Ethan continued casually, "you can always explain the problem to your father."
Finally, Draco handed over a small gift box.
"Father said it's an apology gift."
The conversation ended shortly afterward.
Draco had clearly hoped this apology would somehow repair his relationship with Ethan, though there had never really been any friendship between them in the first place.
But Ethan's cold attitude made Draco understand something important.
This wasn't friendship.
It was business.
The moment the exchange ended, Draco practically fled the Great Hall.
Ethan carried the gift box back to the Room of Requirement with him. Originally, he planned to toss it into a corner before heading back to bed.
After all, studying during holidays violated the natural order of the universe.
Dying from overwork was a very real possibility.
Practicing magic earlier today already counted as extraordinary effort by Ethan's standards.
For the rest of Christmas break, he planned to avoid books entirely and either spend time with Hagrid or cause chaos around Hogwarts alongside Fred and George.
Back inside the Room of Requirement, Ethan finally opened the gift box.
Inside rested a lake-blue gemstone engraved with countless intricate patterns.
At first glance, it looked like some kind of magical item.
The Count waddled over curiously before snorting.
"Trying to warm up to a Dementor after offending one is unbelievably stupid."
"Dementors are cold creatures," he added smugly. "Especially little bastards like you."
"The Malfoy family survives by attaching themselves to whoever holds power," Ethan replied indifferently.
From a purely strategic perspective, Lucius's actions made perfect sense.
If Ethan were in Lucius's position, he would also try maintaining good relations with an immortal dark creature that the Ministry had failed to kill for over a decade.
"Still," Ethan said calmly while turning the gemstone over in his hand, "Draco clearly wasn't educated very well."
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