#34 - Section 34

The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff prefects had arrived. He had sought out Penelope because she was the prefect closest to the scene.

Prefects had the authority to handle such matters, and he couldn't stand by and watch Ravenclaw suffer!

If it got any more serious, they'd have to call a professor.

"What's going on here?"

"The Gryffindors were throwing snowballs, but they hid stones inside and hit a Slytherin on the head. The Slytherins retaliated by throwing stones directly, which hit us Ravenclaws. Somehow, Hufflepuff got involved too, and now they've abandoned stones and are using wands."

"I'll go right now!"

After saying hello to Ethan, Penelope hurried towards the snowball fight.

As a prefect, Penelope had a duty to manage the younger wizards.

She just hoped Terry and the others were alright. Her roommates should all be there, but hopefully, there wouldn't be any major problems!

"Ethan, I have to go to Quidditch practice. Are you going to watch?"

Penelope had left, leaving only Cho Chang and Ethan. However, Cho Chang had to go to Quidditch practice at ten o'clock.

The Quidditch House Cup had already begun. Gryffindor and Slytherin had played last week, and because of Ethan's interference, Harry hadn't been selected for the Gryffindor team, which led to Slytherin's victory.

The next match was Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff, so both houses were seizing every spare moment to train, determined to win.

As the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, Cho Chang absolutely couldn't miss practice.

"I won't go. You know I'm not interested in Quidditch."

Ethan's flying talent was quite high, and Cho Chang wanted Ethan to sign up for Quidditch next year so they could play together.

But Ethan declined; he really couldn't get interested in it.

If it were betting on Quidditch, Ethan might be tempted to play, but actually playing himself was out of the question.

After separating from Cho Chang, Ethan planned to go to the library.

Professor Quirrell's pass to the restricted section was only valid until Christmas, and he wanted to see if there were any books related to alchemy or ancient runes.

Ethan had read several books on conventional alchemy and had even tried some simple alchemical creations, using materials he'd picked up in the Forbidden Forest.

The finished products included shoes with sticking charms and silencing charms, a crystal ball that could cast the same lighting charm as Seamus, and spider silk clothing that was cold-proof, warm, and self-cleaning, etc.

"Hey, what are you guys doing!"

On the way to the library, Ethan saw George and Fred acting suspiciously, both holding snowballs.

"Shhh, keep it down!"

The two were startled and turned around to see Ethan, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?"

"Professor Quirrell just went into his office!"

"And then?"

"Don't you want to see what's behind Professor Quirrell's turban?"

Fred looked at Ethan with surprise.

Since the beginning of the semester, Quirrell had always wrapped his head in a turban and never changed it. They suspected there must be some unspeakable secret behind the turban.

So today, after seeing Quirrell, they followed him all the way here.

"What are you planning to do?"

Ethan had almost guessed it. He had heard netizens say before that it was because the twins had hit Voldemort, who was now Quirrell's back of the head, with a snowball that led to one of them being killed.

"We'll hit him with snowballs. When the snow water wets the turban, I don't believe he won't take it off!"

Fred looked at Ethan with a smug expression.

He felt this idea was brilliant.

"Ethan, do you want to join us?"

George extended an invitation to Ethan!

"Alright!"

"But we have to do it my way."

As he spoke, Ethan used a Transfiguration spell to create a bucket that could be opened and closed at the bottom, and filled it with snow water.

"We'll use magic to place this bucket above the door, then use a thread to connect the bottom of the bucket to the door. As soon as the door opens, the bottom of the bucket will open. We'll hide here and not expose ourselves, otherwise, pranking a professor will definitely result in points being deducted. Professor McGonagall will kill you guys then..."

"Okay, we'll listen to you."

George and Fred exchanged a glance and agreed with Ethan's suggestion.

Being able to achieve their goal and avoid losing points, what could be better than that?

Soon Ethan had everything set up, waiting for Quirrell to take the bait.

Creak!

The office door finally moved. Under the gaze of Ethan and the others, Quirrell walked out without any precautions. Suddenly, the bottom of the bucket above his head was opened, and a large amount of snow water fell from mid-air with a "whoosh."

It directly drenched Quirrell.

"Ah!"

Quirrell shouted in agony, glanced around and, not finding anyone, quickly retreated back into the office and closed the door.

"It seems there really is something hidden there. He won't even take it off when it's so wet with snow water."

Fred was even more certain of his judgment.

"What's hidden doesn't concern us. Let's just leave it at that. Pranking a professor and getting caught will result in at least fifty points being deducted per person. Gryffindor doesn't even have a hundred points yet. Are you sure you want to challenge Professor McGonagall's bottom line?"

"It's all that damn bat's fault!"

George cursed Snape somewhat timidly. If it weren't for him, Gryffindor wouldn't be in such a miserable state!

Christmas was almost here. If Gryffindor's points were all deducted...

Then Professor McGonagall wouldn't have an easy time, and he and Fred would probably have an even harder time.

After giving a few more instructions, Ethan parted ways with the two.

If it were someone else, he wouldn't bother with this meddlesome affair.

It was only because he had a good impression of the twins, and they were now friends, that he gave them a hand.

Moreover, he had just completed an achievement.

【Drawing Sword Against the Demon King】

Clad in shining armor, wielding a sharp sword, with a determined gaze and resolute steps, the Demon King's roar shattered the heavens and the earth, yet the hero was fearless, courage coursing through his veins.

Achievement Objective: Deal damage to the Dark Lord (1 / 1)

Achievement Reward: Parseltongue

Walking along the path in the library, Ethan closed the panel, considering the reward better than nothing.

The Parseltongue ability only allows communication with snakes and opening the Chamber of Secrets; otherwise, it's not very useful.

Like Harry, it was only used once during the Chamber of Secrets incident, and then it became a mere decoration.

Entering the library, it was much larger than it appeared from the outside, with dense rows of bookshelves linked together, each containing at least five or six thousand books. Madam Pince was inside maintaining order.

There weren't many students inside today, but Ethan still saw Hermione. After greeting her, Ethan headed straight for the restricted section.

Madam Pince glanced at Ethan and then ignored him, as he had entered the restricted section more than once, and his pass was still with her.

Although she didn't understand why Quirrell would give Ethan a pass, it wasn't her concern.

Last time, Ethan had searched for "Advanced Dark Arts Decryption," a rather famous book, but the library simply didn't have it.

It contained records of profound dark magic, including the method of creating Horcruxes, but there was another copy in the Black family's possession.

After spending nearly an hour, Ethan finally selected three books: "Runic Inscriptions Explained," "Ancient Runes: Lost Power," and "Alchemy: Equivalent Exchange."

Alchemy was arguably the most complex subject. At Hogwarts, there were only twelve O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams, so why were there thirteen subjects?

Simple, Alchemy was a sixth-year course. That's right, it could only be taken after completing the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams.

And alchemy was closely related to ancient runes, especially the complex and profound aspects of alchemy.

Ancient runes were quite mind-boggling. Many Hogwarts graduates who had taken ancient runes as an elective could only memorize some of the content from the textbook; understanding and using it was out of the question.

Chapter 58: The Trace

December 21st.

Christmas was only a few days away, and Hogwarts was about to welcome the Christmas holidays (winter break), with a total of two weeks off.

This Christmas, the entire dorm decided to go home and had applied for it a few days ago.

After packing his luggage, Ethan went to the Great Hall with his roommates.

The Great Hall was now decorated, with brightly colored streamers hanging on the walls, and twelve towering Christmas trees standing on both sides, sparkling with colorful lights, all prepared for the students staying at school.

They would spend this Christmas holiday with the professors at school.

"Ethan, bring your roommates over here for a moment."

Penelope was calling out to Ethan from beside the Ravenclaw table. Several first-year wizards were reading something next to her.

"One for each of you. You can only leave the school after signing this."

When Ethan and his group arrived, Penelope gave each of them a piece of parchment with the Ministry of Magic's seal on it.

"'Notice Regarding the Prohibition of Underage Magic Use Outside of School.' Why do we have to sign this?"

Terry, holding the parchment, exclaimed in surprise.

He was planning to show off a thing or two to his Muggle parents after returning home. Signing this would ruin that!

"Everyone has to sign it, unless you don't plan on leaving the school before you come of age, then you don't have to sign it."

"A little extra reminder, this is a contract magic with detection effects. Casting spells outside of school will get you caught. Every year, two or three young wizards get caught, unless you're casting spells in a wizarding community, of course."

Penelope kindly reminded them.

She had signed this when she was in first year and thought everyone was forbidden from casting spells. But those from pure-blood families said they had no restrictions and could cast spells at will.

At that time, Penelope realized the great difference between the two, which could be said to be a means of restricting Muggle-born wizards.

Ethan looked down at the notice:

First, wizards under the age of seventeen are considered minors and are prohibited from casting spells outside of school.

Second, it is illegal for underage wizards to cast spells outside of school. The Ministry of Magic will pursue their responsibility, and in severe cases, they will be expelled.

… …

There were a total of nine prohibitions, all about not being allowed to cast spells and having to abide by the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and such.

In the end, Ethan signed his name.

This thing was the legendary Trace. Contract magic still had a strong binding force in this world. The Unbreakable Vow was so powerful that violating it could even cost you your life.

But it was useless against Ethan. As long as any magic he used wasn't witnessed, it wouldn't be detected. It could be said that cheaters could do whatever they wanted.

After breakfast, the departing students were gathered together. This time, they didn't have to walk the Founders' Path; they went directly to the station by carriage.

"Harry, are you going home for Christmas too?"

On the way, Ethan spotted an unexpected figure. He remembered that Harry usually spent the Christmas season with Ron and had never gone home for the holidays.

"Yeah, I have to thank you for that. What you said to me last time made me think clearly. Last week, I sent some gifts and a letter to my aunt, and a few days ago, I received a reply. She asked me to come home for Christmas and even prepared Christmas presents for me."

Harry's face was filled with a smile. He hadn't received Christmas presents in so many years, let alone his aunt's family wanting to give him Christmas presents. In the past, he wouldn't have even dared to think about it.

"Don't forget to ask about Snape's matter."

Ethan reminded him.

He was looking forward to seeing what Harry's reaction would be when he found out that his mother and Snape were childhood sweethearts, but his father had successfully intervened and stolen Snape's sweetheart. How would Harry face Snape then?

"Yeah, I will ask!"

Harry nodded very seriously. This was also one of the purposes of his going home.