#90 - Section 90

In this cramped space, facing darkness and silence, endless despair had welled up in her heart.

Perhaps this little wizard could not only Apparate but also perform Legilimency, one never knew.

… …

The next day, after having breakfast with Cassandra, Ethan returned to the room.

He lifted the black pot from the glass, and the beetle inside, curled up, suddenly took flight upon seeing the sunlight, only to crash violently against the glass wall.

The crashed beetle, after righting itself, repeatedly slammed into the glass again and again, until it could no longer get up.

Could it be that he's driven her crazy!

Ethan was well aware of the importance of public opinion. Although Rita Skeeter was not yet the chief reporter of the Daily Prophet, she was one of the most popular. It was still useful to have her as a dog.

Immediately, Ethan opened the glass.

In that instant, Rita Skeeter flew into the air and reverted to her original form, her wand pointing directly at Ethan.

In less than twenty-four hours, she had grown to hate Ethan to the extreme. If she wasn't given a chance, so be it, but if she could find an opportunity, she would never let this little wizard go, even if he was associated with the Volore family.

After torturing him, she would use Obliviate to clean up. Who would know she did it?

But before Rita Skeeter could even utter a spell, she felt a piercing pain attack her. She collapsed to the ground, curling up into a ball. She couldn't even hold her wand, which rolled under the sofa.

She constantly moaned in pain, wanting to beg for mercy, but she couldn't even move, and her mouth couldn't utter any sound other than painful moans.

The Cruciatus Curse, it definitely was, no mistake.

Rita Skeeter had also experienced the Wizarding War and interviewed many victims of the Unforgivable Curses. The descriptions of the victims after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse were similar to what she was experiencing now.

If it were in the past, her first thought would definitely be to publish it in the Daily Prophet: a recipient of the Order of Merlin, a second-year student at Hogwarts, using an Unforgivable Curse in public. Was this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?

But now, in the midst of the pain, she couldn't think at all. She only wanted to beg for mercy, pleading with Ethan to spare her this time.

Ethan and Cassandra watched all of this coldly. Cassandra didn't care what magic Ethan used.

The pain of the Cruciatus Curse was unbearable for almost anyone. It was a double torment of the mind and body, and willpower couldn't withstand it.

Several minutes later, Rita Skeeter finally recovered a little. She shrank to the wall, leaning against it, her eyes revealing fear as she looked at Ethan.

Wandless, nonverbal Cruciatus Curse, suspected Legilimency. With this combination, even Apparition wouldn't allow escape, there was no chance at all, and her wand wasn't in her hand.

“｀Rita Skeeter, I will obey your orders.”

This was the only chance to survive she could think of.

No one knew she was here. Even if she died, at most it would be a missing person case that would never be solved. And Ethan, although young, was able to use the Unforgivable Curses. Would he dare not kill?

"It's good that you have some brains, otherwise, it would be time for it to have an extra meal!"

Ethan sat in the chair, pointing with a smile at the Flutterby Bush that flew in.

Ethan was definitely a professional in the reuse of corpses.

Rita Skeeter shuddered again. She didn't want to experience the taste of having her brains sucked out alive.

Immediately, she scurried to Ethan's feet, intending to kiss Ethan's boots.

Ethan didn't stop her. Anyway, this wasn't the first time this had happened. The national conditions of the British wizards were like this, and Ethan couldn't do anything about it.

"Raise your head!"

Hearing Ethan's voice, Rita Skeeter instinctively raised her head.

Then, she saw a wand pressed against her brain. What kind of curse was he going to cast?

Rita Skeeter wanted to dodge, but she didn't dare to move at all. She could only close her eyes and wait for the misfortune to come.

Soon, Rita Skeeter felt a gloomy and cold magic flow into her body along her forehead, merging with the magic in her body and pulling it until it stopped at the chest.

"A small curse, similar to Voldemort's Dark Mark. Even if you turn into a beetle and escape to Africa and burrow into cow dung, I can still find you."

After hearing this, Rita Skeeter felt a burst of despair. She had been preparing to agree to any of Ethan's conditions. After escaping, she would stay far away from Ethan and never see him again, but everything had become a bubble.

"Rita Skeeter, from now on, I will follow your instructions."

Rita Skeeter knew that she could not escape for the rest of her life.

If she dared to disobey him, she would definitely be found, tortured by the Cruciatus Curse, and then fed to the Flutterby Bush. Maybe even her family and friends would not be able to escape.

This was the second Voldemort, no, even more evil than Voldemort.

"It's very simple. First, report my affairs extensively to increase influence. For the product sale the day after tomorrow, you can go to the store for an exclusive interview. I will contact you again if there is a need in the future. Any questions?"

Rita Skeeter's role was only these. She couldn't be expected to fight!

"Yes, absolutely. As long as it's your order, I will definitely do it."

Rita Skeeter immediately promised. Writing reports was her forte.

Although she would be controlled by others in the future, at least she had saved her life, and she didn't have to do something she couldn't do.

"Okay, then you can leave first. I hope to see your report as soon as possible."

"I'll go prepare now."

Rita Skeeter braced herself, stood up, picked up her wand, and ran tremblingly towards the door.

There were simply too many news hotspots here, but as long as she wanted to live, this was not something she could reveal.

[Thank you Boss 18810 for the reward and monthly ticket, thank you Boss! ]

Chapter 120: Christmas Date

Christmas Day.

Ethan woke up and came to the living room and saw the mountain of gifts.

This was Ethan's home in Surrey, the wizard's cottage in Godric's Hollow had a Fidelius Charm cast on it, and the owls outside couldn't find it at all.

All the gifts could only be sent here, and the little wizards at Hogwarts also knew this address.

Ethan had only returned about three nights ago.

The main thing was to buy Christmas gifts to send out, such as various candies, books, etc. Those with good relationships also had to give the cover of the wizard mailbox and the parchment inside. Ethan didn't need to do it himself, Diagon Alley was already selling it.

A total of five bottles of Magic Enhancing Potion were also sent out, one of which was added later in a hurry.

They were sent to Cassandra, Hermione, Cho Chang, Penelope, and Fleur respectively. Ethan felt that it was a bit insufficient, so on the day of picking up the goods, he placed an order for five more bottles for future gifting.

The owl post delivery alone cost over thirty Galleons for more than a hundred gifts. That was after a discount for the large quantity. Fleur, Gabrielle, and the Nicolas Flamel's gifts were the most expensive.

The post office had hidden international services. Pure-blood families didn't care about laws when it came to making money.

They concentrated all the international deliveries together that day and smuggled them across using Portkeys, then had the local owls deliver them. It was much faster, but the postage was quite high.

This year, Ethan wasn't in a hurry to open the presents. He had breakfast with his parents first.

No matter how busy they were each year, they would always be home on Christmas Day.

However, Philemon wore a long face the entire time, still thinking about his car.

Yesterday, when Nydia asked Ethan if he needed a few more, Philemon's eyes lost their light. Fortunately, Ethan refused; otherwise, he might not have been able to eat breakfast today.

After breakfast, Ethan went to the living room and randomly started opening gifts.

Most of them were still candies and chocolates, with books and alchemy tools making up a small portion.

Hagrid, the local tyrant, gave the most valuable gift: four Chimera fangs.

However, the number of gifts was even higher this year than last, probably exceeding two hundred.

Last year, he sent out several dozens of gifts and received over a hundred.

This year, he sent out over a hundred gifts. Ethan had kept records of everyone he sent Christmas gifts to last year and sent them return gifts this year, but he received over two hundred gifts today.

What about next year?

Choosing gifts every year isn't easy, and it's only getting more and more each year!

I really don't know how Dumbledore spends Christmas. He has so many admirers, old friends, and students who remember him. The number of gifts must fill his headmaster's office.

By the time Ethan finished opening and sorting the gifts, the morning had passed.

After lunch, Ethan went straight to the courtyard and took the McLaren-F1, which he had already modified, out of the box.

Yesterday, Ethan had contacted Penelope and the others through the wizarding mailbox, and they agreed to go to Diagon Alley together this Christmas afternoon.

It started a few days ago when Cho Chang was in Diagon Alley and heard a shop assistant say that there would be activities on Christmas Day, and not just in their shop.

After hearing this news, Cho Chang told Hermione and the others about it.

Yesterday, under the joint request of the girls, Ethan had no choice but to agree to accompany them to Diagon Alley.

"Looks like there's no difference!"

Philemon also came here when Ethan took out the McLaren-F1.

The silver-white paint, sharp and unique headlight design, smooth and dynamic body lines, low-slung body, and wide wheel hubs complemented each other perfectly. Everything was so perfect, but it wasn't his anymore.

"Come inside and you'll see!"

Ethan said as he opened the car door.

Ethan hadn't made any changes to the exterior. He just replaced some materials with alchemy, engraved some magic runes, and magic circuits inside the shell. The real changes were the internal space, various functions, and power.

"I want to see what you've done to my car..."

Philemon, who had just entered and was about to sit in the car seat to observe, couldn't speak anymore. It looked like nothing from the outside, but as soon as his body entered the car door, he found that the seat was actually two meters away from him.

Although there were still three seats, with the driver's seat in the middle and the passenger seats on both sides.

But the space behind the two-meter-wide aisle was larger than his own living room and had been turned into a leisure area.

After looking around, Philemon came out with only one thought.

Fortunately, the wizarding world and the Muggle world are separate; otherwise, if wizards joined the ocean freight industry, he would probably go bankrupt in minutes.

After saying goodbye to his dad, Ethan drove straight into the sky and pressed the invisibility button.

The moment Ethan stepped on the gas pedal, the McLaren-F1 made a sonic boom.

Under normal circumstances, the McLaren-F1 accelerates to 100 kilometers in 3.2 seconds, but after Ethan's modification, with the burst of magic power, it can break Mach 1 in 3.2 seconds at the fastest. The top speed is Mach 1.8, directly turning this year's new Nimbus 2001 into scrap, and next year's Firebolt won't even have the qualification to eat dust.

It's still a bit inferior to the current high-end fighter jets, after all, they have already broken Mach 3. The key is that the magic power source is not up to par. If the Philosopher's Stone is installed, it will let the fighter jets eat exhaust fumes behind it in minutes.

As for Arthur Weasley's modified small car, basically no parts have been replaced, only some magic runes and magic circuits have been added. The car's hardware can't withstand Ethan's speed, and the output power is insufficient, reaching a speed of about 100 kilometers per hour.

In just over ten minutes, Ethan drove from Surrey to the door of Penelope's house in Plymouth according to the address. After parking on the road and disguising it as a normal sports car, he unlocked the invisibility mode.

After taking out the wizarding communicator and sending a message to Penelope, he saw her walking out with a suitcase in a few minutes.

After leaving with Ethan today, she didn't plan to come back for this holiday anyway; there were only a few days of rest left.

Behind her were a middle-aged, slightly chubby woman, a teenager, and a six- or seven-year-old girl.

Ethan got out of the car and handed the three of them small gifts that he had prepared in advance.

Penelope's mother was quite enthusiastic and wanted to invite Ethan in, but Ethan was in a hurry and had to refuse.

Her younger brother kept trying to run to the car. Anyone who was even slightly interested in cars knew this was the new McLaren-F1-XP4 this year.

Unfortunately, he was ruthlessly suppressed by Penelope. Even if it wasn't modified, it wasn't something her younger brother should touch. Given their family's situation, they wouldn't be able to afford it in this lifetime.

Penelope's younger sister was amused by Ethan's teasing and kept calling him 'brother'.

After saying goodbye to her family, Penelope skillfully opened the car door and carried the luggage inside.

Although she hadn't ridden in this car, she had come in a lot when Ethan was modifying it.

"The potion you gave me is really useful; my magic power has increased a lot."

Penelope was quite excited after getting in the car. The increase in magic power also meant an improvement in strength. She would be able to get better grades in the N.E.W.T.s exams next school year.

"The raw materials for this bottle of potion cost more than a thousand Galleons. How are you going to repay me?"

"I'm giving you my whole self. How's that for repayment?"

"That works too!"

While chatting, they quickly arrived at the Voray family's manor.

Cassandra and Penelope didn't live too far apart. Finally, they returned to London to pick up Cho Chang and Hermione.

However, Cho Chang's father was still staring at him like a thief and told her to come back early tonight. Her mother didn't say much.