Ethan stood in the darkness of the Chamber, his eyes fixed on the enormous stone doors at the far end of the room. Three people. His charm had confirmed it the moment they entered the tunnels. He had expected two, Harry and Ron, but the third didn't surprise him much either.
After all, Ethan couldn't really stop them from trying to get help. Even the Compulsion Charm he had used on Ron had been subtle enough that he hadn't noticed anything was wrong.
He'd tried, with the note and the timing of it all, to close off every path that led anywhere but here. But in the end, it really had just come down to whatever choices Harry and Ron decided to make on their own.
Ginny's body was also severely limiting how much magic he could draw on, and how powerful any of it could be.
That was the real reason he hadn't simply knocked Harry unconscious and dragged him down here himself, and rather had to orchestrate this entire elaborate chain of events.
It would have been far simpler, and there would have been no one else around to interfere with what was about to happen in the Chamber.
But simple had never really been an option available to him.
And there were other forces at play here as well. If the three people entering the Chamber really were Harry, Ron, and Lockhart, then it was almost impossible to believe that everything happening was simply a coincidence.
Something else seemed to be pushing events in this direction, arranging things so that they would arrive here exactly as they had.
In Harry Potter's world, Fate and destiny were not exactly abstract ideas. Prophecies existed, and more than one had already come true despite the people involved trying to avoid them.
Ethan knew enough about the story to understand that the idea of fate influencing events was not as far-fetched as it might have been in his old world.
Perhaps there really were forces beyond his understanding at work here.
Ethan didn't know whether to believe it, but he couldn't completely dismiss the possibility either
Ethan wasn't exactly opposed to Fate. After all, if Fate really was guiding events, then its apparent end result was still Voldemort's death. That was hardly something he could complain about.
But then another thought occurred to him. Wasn't he planning to absorb every Horcrux Voldemort had created?
Ethan's lips curled into an amused smile.
If Fate was truly pushing events towards Voldemort's downfall, and Ethan was going to absorb all of his Horcruxes himself, then what did that make him?
Those were thoughts for another time. Right now, the only thing Ethan cared about was whether he was going to win today or not.
If he lost because of plot, just like Tom Riddle would have lost in the book, then that would be enough to genuinely put him in depression.
Then again, he would probably end up dead if he lost, so his mental health wouldn't exactly matter much afterwards.
Ethan was feeling pretty relaxed today. Ever since he had come into this world, he had been constantly on edge, always planning his next move and thinking about how to survive. But today, all of that was finally coming to an end, one way or another.
He should have felt nervous, but instead, he felt almost joyful. After everything he had done to get here, the uncertainty was finally about to end. Whatever happened next, at least he wouldn't have to keep wondering when the moment would come.
Today, he would either win or die.
And for some reason, the thought made him smile.
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Harry, Ron, and Lockhart made their way deeper into the tunnel, with Lockhart leading the way. It wasn't a sign of any newfound courage. Harry and Ron were simply pointing their wands at his back, making sure he kept moving.
The first unexpected sound they heard was a loud crunch that echoed through the tunnel. Ron had stepped on the bones of some small animal scattered across the floor.
Then Lockhart suddenly stopped, forcing Harry and Ron to stop behind him. They stepped forward and looked past him, only to see something enormous lying motionless on the floor of the tunnel.
Harry cautiously stepped closer and raised his wand, illuminating the creature with its pale light.
The light slid over a gigantic snake, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor
"That's skin," Ron said, his voice gone strange and thin. " Something shed that."
There was a sudden movement behind them. Gilderoy Lockhart's knees had given way.
"Get up," said Ron sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.
Lockhart got to his feet. Then, without warning, he suddenly lunged at Ron.
The attack was so quick that Harry barely had time to react. Lockhart slammed into Ron, knocking him to the ground, and Harry immediately tried to help. But he was too late.
Lockhart was already on his feet again, panting heavily, Ron's wand clutched in his hand. The panic that had filled his face moments ago was gone, replaced by a gleaming, confident smile.
"The adventure ends here, boys!" Lockhart declared, his old confidence returning as he held Ron's wand aloft. "Really, you should be grateful. You've had the privilege of accompanying Gilderoy Lockhart himself on one final adventure."
He glanced towards the enormous creature lying on the floor, then smiled smugly.
"I'll take a piece of this skin back up to the school and tell them I arrived too late to save the girl. As for you two, well, I'm sure everyone will understand that the sight of her mangled body was simply too much for you.
A tragedy, really, but these things happen when children involve themselves in matters far beyond their abilities."
Lockhart raised the wand towards them, his smile widening.
"Fortunately," he added, "I'll be the one telling the story afterwards. No one contradicts the hero, you understand. Now, let's tidy up these memories of yours, shall we?
He swept the wand upward with a flourish. "Obliviate!"
The wand, rather than casting the spell, exploded into pieces with the power of a small bomb.
Harry threw his arms over his head and ran, scrambling over the coils of snake skin as great chunks of the tunnel ceiling came thundering down around him. The ground shook beneath his feet, and dust filled the air as the tunnel collapsed behind him.
Then, just as suddenly, everything went silent. Harry lowered his arms and looked around. He was standing alone, staring at a solid wall of broken rock.
"Ron!" he shouted. "Are you okay? Ron!"
"I'm here!" came Ron's muffled voice from behind the rockfall. "I'm okay, but this git isn't. He got blasted by the wand…"
There was a dull thud followed by a loud "Ow!" It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.
"What now?" Ron's voice came from behind the rocks, sounding desperate. "We can't get through. It'll take ages…"
Another thud came from the other side, followed by another loud "Ow!" They were wasting time. Ginny had already been in the Chamber of Secrets for hours, and Harry had no idea how much longer she could survive down there.
He knew there was only one thing to do. "Wait there," he called to Ron. "Stay with Lockhart. I'll go on."
There was a brief silence before Ron answered. "What? Harry, you can't go down there alone!"
"I have to," Harry said firmly. "If I'm not back in an hour..."
"I'll try and shift some of this rock," Ron said, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "Then you can… you can get back through."
"See you in a bit," Harry said, trying to inject some confidence into his shaking voice.
And he set off alone past the giant snake skin.
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