"Don't worry," Quirrell muttered nervously. "I'm loyal."
Ethan ignored him completely.
The two of them continued forward.
After unlocking the door with the winged key, they entered McGonagall's giant chessboard chamber.
The enormous black stone pieces towered overhead like silent executioners.
Quirrell immediately froze.
"I-I don't know how to play wizard's chess…"
"Then stand there and watch."
Ethan stepped forward casually.
To be honest, he barely understood the rules either.
But compared to Ron Weasley's suicidal style of chess, Ethan preferred something simpler.
Violence.
The moment the stone queen raised her sword toward him, Ethan raised his wand.
"Bombarda."
The explosion shattered half the queen's torso instantly.
Quirrell stared in horror.
The remaining stone pieces immediately began charging toward Ethan like an army.
Then—
"Bombarda."
"Bombarda."
"Bombarda Maxima."
Stone fragments exploded across the chamber.
Within less than thirty seconds, the entire giant chessboard resembled a demolished ruin.
"What?" Ethan glanced sideways at Quirrell's expression. "Didn't you say you didn't know how to play?"
"…Can this even count as passing the challenge?"
Quirrell's voice trembled slightly.
"Why not?" Ethan replied calmly. "The objective is reaching the opposite side alive."
"Now we've reached the opposite side."
That sounded strangely reasonable.
After crossing the shattered battlefield, they entered the next chamber.
A mountain troll lay unconscious on the floor.
"This should be your work," Ethan commented.
Quirrell looked mildly embarrassed.
"I-I knocked it out earlier…"
"It's pretty weak."
Ethan poked the troll's stomach with his shoe.
The troll instinctively twitched in its sleep.
Then Ethan immediately cast Petrificus Totalus on it.
This time the troll stopped moving completely.
"Safety measures," Ethan explained.
Quirrell suddenly felt that Ethan's understanding of "safety" differed significantly from normal people.
The next room contained dozens of potion bottles lined up neatly beside black flames and purple flames.
A logic puzzle.
Quirrell stared blankly at the parchment beside the bottles.
"…I hate these."
"You graduated from Ravenclaw," Ethan reminded him.
"Yes, but I specialised in Dark Arts…" Quirrell muttered weakly.
Ethan grabbed the parchment.
Then he fell silent too.
"…I suddenly understand your feelings."
The two dark wizards stared at the logic puzzle together.
One minute passed.
Three minutes passed.
Five minutes passed.
Quirrell was beginning to sweat nervously.
"Should we just try random bottles?"
"Then we'll die."
"…Right."
Another two minutes later, Ethan finally solved it through violent trial-and-error deduction mixed with probability guessing.
"This one."
He handed Quirrell the smallest bottle.
Quirrell looked moved to tears.
"You actually solved it…"
"I'm beginning to understand why Voldemort lost."
Ethan drank his potion without expression.
The black flames vanished.
Beyond them stood the final chamber.
And inside—
The Mirror of Erised.
Quirrell's breathing instantly became ragged.
"The Stone…"
His eyes gleamed with greed.
"It's here…"
Ethan quietly observed the room.
No Dumbledore.
No traps.
No ambush.
Everything was proceeding exactly according to plan.
Quirrell immediately rushed toward the mirror.
"I see myself!" he gasped excitedly. "I'm giving the Stone to the Dark Lord—he's praising me—"
Then his face twisted.
"But where is it?!"
The mirror reflected the Philosopher's Stone inside Quirrell's pocket.
But when he searched himself frantically, there was nothing there.
"Master… I can't find it…"
Voldemort's cold voice hissed from beneath Quirrell's turban.
"Use the boy."
Quirrell immediately turned toward Ethan.
"Stand before the mirror."
Ethan obediently walked forward.
He had no intention of retrieving the Stone himself anyway.
When Ethan looked into the mirror, he saw himself standing inside an enormous black castle.
Behind him stretched countless Dementors like an endless ocean.
The Ministry of Magic burned.
Azkaban floated above the sea like a throne.
And in his hand—
He held the Philosopher's Stone.
"…Interesting."
Ethan murmured softly.
Then he felt something appear inside his pocket.
Success.
The mirror had acknowledged him.
Not because Ethan lacked desire for the Stone.
But because Ethan genuinely wanted to obtain it without immediately using it.
At least not yet.
"Did you get it?!" Quirrell demanded urgently.
Ethan slowly reached into his pocket.
Then—
A loud bang echoed from behind them.
The chamber door burst open.
Harry Potter stumbled inside.
Behind him came Ron and Hermione.
"…I knew it," Harry breathed.
Quirrell spun around violently.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
Then Quirrell smiled.
A thin, ugly smile.
"Well done, Potter," he whispered.
"You arrived exactly on time."
....
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