The notice remained pinned to the Gryffindor board for the rest of the day, drawing a steady stream of students who stopped, read it, and walked away talking in low, interested voices.
During the day, Ethan had taken control of Ginny for a brief period and deliberately started a conversation about Harry while Draco happened to be nearby.
The conversation eventually drifted toward Harry's fear of snakes, and Ethan made sure Draco heard enough to remember it.
By the next day the Great Hall had been cleared of its usual long tables.
Instead, a large space had been left open in the centre, bordered by ranks of chairs for the students.
The enchanted ceiling still showed the dark December sky, but the floating candles had been raised higher than usual, casting a brighter light over the polished floor.
In the evening, the students made their way to the dueling club. Ethan observed everything through Ginny's eyes as she found a seat near the middle of the Gryffindor section. He kept his presence light, content to watch and wait.
At the front of the hall, Gilderoy Lockhart stepped onto the raised platform, resplendent in deep plum-coloured robes. Beside him stood Professor Snape, dressed in his usual black robes.
Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!
"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions; for full details, see my published works.
He launched into a long, cheerful explanation of the club's purpose, liberally illustrated with references to his own supposed adventures.
Ethan paid only enough attention to confirm that the man had no real control over the room. Students were already whispering, shifting in their seats, more interested in the novelty than in Lockhart's stories.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin.
Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry; you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"
Snape's expression darkened.
Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably.
Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.
"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."
"One. Two... Three..."
Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: "Expelliarmus!"
There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light, and Lockhart was blasted off his feet. He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.
'That went about as well as expected.' Ethan thought to himself with some amusement.
Lockhart recovered with forced brightness and began pairing students off with Snape's help. Ethan noted the pairings only in passing until Snape's voice rose again.
"Time to split up the dream team, I think," Snape drawled, his black eyes glinting. "Weasley, you can partner with Finnigan. Potter..."
Snape's thin lips curved into an unpleasant smile.
"Malfoy, step up. Let's see what you make of the famous Harry Potter."
Draco sauntered up the steps of the golden stage, smirking arrogantly as he drew his wand. Harry followed, his jaw clenched, looking weary under the intense wall of staring eyes.
Lockhart counted down with theatrical flair. "Three . . . Two . . One . go!"
Malfoy didn't wait for the countdown to finish. He whipped his wand through the air and snarled:
"Serpensortia!"
The tip of his wand exploded with a sharp, concussive crack.
A thick, jet-black serpent, nearly ten feet long, shot out from the sparks and slammed heavily onto the golden floorboards between them.
It raised its head, its yellow eyes fixing on the crowd, and let out a vicious, warning hiss.
Ethan felt Ginny's breath catch.
Screams rippled through the front rows. Students scrambled backward, shoving and tripping over one another to escape the reach of the reptile.
"Don't move, Potter," Snape said lazily, clearly savouring Harry's momentary panic. "I'll get rid of it..."
"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake, and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack.
Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.
The Hufflepuff second-year froze in sheer, paralysing horror.
Harry acted on pure instinct.
He took a step forward, his eyes locked onto the black serpent, and opened his mouth.
What came out was not English. It was a raspy, eerie hiss that spread across the whole hall.
The serpent paused mid-strike, turning its triangular head slowly toward Harry.
Harry hissed again, his voice echoing eerily off the stone arches.
The black snake lowered its head, flattening its coils against the floorboards in complete, placid submission.
Harry blinked, exhaling in relief, and looked up with an earnest smile, expecting the hall to understand that he had just defused a disaster.
Instead, the Great Hall was dead silent.
Justin Finch-Fletchley was staring at Harry not with gratitude, but with absolute terror. His skin was pale, his eyes wide with horror.
"What do you think you're playing at?" Justin choked out, his voice cracking, before turning on his heel and sprinting toward the double doors.
Snape vanished the serpent with a flick of his wand, his dark eyes fixed on Harry with cold, calculating scrutiny.
Ron grabbed Harry's sleeve, and together with Hermione, dragged the bewildered boy off the stage and out of the hall before the crowd could turn hostile.
From within the parchment void, Ethan watched the trio retreat through Ginny's trembling gaze.
The silence in the Great Hall broke like shattered glass the moment the double doors slammed behind the trio.
"He spoke to it..."
"You saw him! He was egging it on!"
"Parseltongue. Salazar Slytherin's own gift; he's the Heir!"
The whispers quickly grew into a wave of frightened voices, spreading through the students as more and more people began talking over one another.
Ginny stood rooted to the spot, her small hands clutching her robes so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Her heart was beating wildly against her ribs, a chaotic storm of confusion and denial tearing through her thoughts. Harry had saved everyone. He couldn't be the heir.
Ethan observed her rising distress from the parchment void with detached precision. He could feel the confusion running through her mind, mixed with the fear that had already been building since Colin's petrification.
The crowd began to disperse under the sharp orders of the prefects, students moving in tight, panicked clusters up the marble staircase.
******************************************
That night, long after the dormitory curtains were drawn, Ginny opened the diary.
*Ethan… Harry spoke to a snake today. In front of everyone. They're all saying he's the Heir of Slytherin. But he can't be.*
Ethan let a few seconds pass before answering.
*People are frightened. When they're frightened, they look for the simplest explanation. Harry did something they don't understand, so they're deciding it must be dangerous.*
*I'm scared for him.*
*I know. Try to sleep. Things will look clearer in the morning.*
She closed the diary after a long moment and eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep.
**************************************
The information about Harry Potter speaking Parseltongue had spread throughout the entire school by the next day, and so had the suspicion that he was the one who had opened the Chamber of Secrets.
Now Ethan was thinking about the next stage of his plan.
This was probably enough to push Harry into actively investigating the Chamber, especially with the growing number of students who now believed he was the Heir of Slytherin.
Two more attacks should be enough to keep the fear alive.
And more importantly, create pressure from the Board of Governors to force Albus Dumbledore's suspension from the castle.
Removing Dumbledore from Hogwarts was a vital prerequisite before Ethan could initiate the final confrontation.
The next target would be Justin, but after him, Ethan needed to decide who should be targeted next.
Justin was useful for several reasons. He was already suspicious of Harry after the incident at the Duelling Club, and another attack on him would only strengthen the connection in the minds of the other students.
There was another part of his plan that needed attention as well.
Ethan wanted more contact with Harry.
The eventual confrontation in the Chamber would be much easier if Harry already had a connection with him.
It would make the eventual takeover of his body much easier for Ethan.
'So much work just to end up at the same point where most transmigrators begin their journey,' Ethan mused to himself.
A faint smile crossed his face as he considered the absurdity of it all.
*************************