“…As the saying goes, if it’s a blessing, it won’t turn into disaster; if it’s disaster, there’s no hiding from it.
When that Dark Wizard saw me break through his magic circle, fury rose in his heart and evil gave him courage.
He lifted his hand, gave the slightest flick, and a Killing Curse came flying straight at me.
”
“In that split second, I saw things were going badly and rolled sideways out of the way.
The green light brushed right past me.
When I turned back and looked closely, he had already vanished…”
Night had fallen over Gryffindor Tower.
Beside the four-poster beds in the dormitory stood a table, with a wooden clapper placed on top.
Ethan sat behind it, holding a folding fan and gesturing with it as he launched into a lively storytelling performance for Harry and the others.
Harry and the other three gasped and cried out with every twist and turn of the story, their eyes fixed on the folding fan in Ethan’s hand, their heads swaying back and forth with its movements.
Three hours earlier.
While Ethan was out of the Great Hall, his four dormmates compared notes on his Riddler-like behavior from the night before.
After roughly five minutes of discussion, the four reached a consensus on interrogating Ethan that evening.
They agreed that Ethan should be made to fulfill his promise as soon as possible, and that they absolutely could not let him drag it out into “next time for sure.” They quickly established their strategy: Ron would play the hardliner and press him relentlessly, Harry would play the friendly role while secretly taking sides, and the other two would act as shit-stirrers… no, mediators, to smooth things over.
“Do you think this will actually work?” Neville asked doubtfully.
“It has to.
My mum uses this trick every time she talks my dad into buying her a handbag.” Seamus gave them a thumbs-up, looking perfectly confident.
“Isn’t it a bit wrong to scheme against Ethan like this?
What if… he doesn’t actually want to talk about it?” Harry felt a little guilty.
“It’s fine.
Ethan said last night he’d tell us, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Besides, can wizard business really be called scheming?
That’s called tactics,” Ron said breezily.
The air around them immediately filled with cheerful laughter.
“But…” Harry hesitated.
But it was not the same.
Saying something willingly and being forced into saying it were completely different things.
Even if Ethan had acted as though he did not care last night, who knew whether he had only been forcing a smile?
Harry was still thinking it over when Ethan’s voice suddenly sounded beside him.
“What?
Thinking about me?”
Ethan walked over with three thick reference books in his arms, stopped at the empty seat next to Harry, dropped the heavy volumes onto the long table, and sat down.
The three quickly exchanged glances, all feeling that this was the perfect moment to strike.
As the saying went, if not now, then when?
Ron launched the first attack.
“Ethan, about, well… what happened last night.
You said you’d talk about it when you had time, so…”
“Sure.
If you want to hear it, I’ll tell you tonight.”
Ron/Neville/Seamus: ??
I haven’t even made my move, and you’ve already gone down?
Turns out we were the clowns.
Harry: ??
And here I was adding drama for you.
Pay me back for my feelings!
Turns out I was the only clown.
Ethan looked at the four of them, whose faces all looked as if they had swallowed something unpleasant, and was deeply puzzled.
“What’s wrong with you lot?
Do you want to hear it or not?”
Hermione, who had witnessed the whole thing from the side, shook her head and sighed helplessly.
“Honestly, men…”
The four little jokers finished dinner absentmindedly, then followed the crowd back to Gryffindor Tower.
Ethan got himself a cup of tea from the common room, returned to the dormitory, and called to the four of them, “Come on, come on, story time.
Ron, you and Harry help me carry my suitcase over here.
Neville, give me your quill and ink bottle.
Seamus, go find some snacks.
Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, whatever you can get.”
The four were baffled, but they still went off to do as Ethan had asked.
Ethan directed Harry and Ron to put the suitcase in place, then cast a Transfiguration Spell and turned it into a long teakwood table and a grand armchair.
Then he took the quill and ink bottle Neville handed him and transformed them into a folding fan and a wooden clapper.
Setting his teacup on the wooden table, Ethan settled into the armchair and lightly tapped the table with the wooden clapper, making a quick, crisp tapping sound.
“All right, all right, everyone sit properly on your beds.
Everyone got snacks in hand?”
The four sat obediently on their beds with snacks in hand, nodding so hard their heads nearly blurred.
“Good.
Then let us officially begin.”
Ethan took a sip of tea, then brought the wooden clapper down heavily on the table.
“Virtuous rulers rose and fell; dynasty after dynasty took its turn in history.
Hegemons and warring kings plunged the land into chaos, yet their glory vanished in the blink of an eye.
A few names made it into the history books, while countless others were left in forgotten graves.
One generation plants the seeds, the next reaps the harvest.
In the end, it is all just dragons and tigers battling for dominance.”
“The tale we are telling today took place in a distant Eastern land.
They say that one day, a dark wizard came to that foreign country.
This old villain stood a little over eight feet tall, with a long, narrow frame, broad shoulders, and a body so thin he was all skin and bones.
He had a long donkey face, a clay-gray complexion, two cross-eyed brows, a great yellow beard, high cheekbones, hollow cheeks, and a pair of little eyes burning with ghostly fire…”
…
“…At long last, the dark wizard fell in the center of the magic circle, without a breath left in him.
Truly, good and evil meet their reward in the end, and the righteous path of the world endures through hardship.”
Ethan drained the last of the black tea in his cup, struck the wooden clapper heavily, and brought his nonsense to an end.
“To know what happens next, listen to the next installment.”
The four little ones sat on their beds, clapping for Ethan in unison, still wanting more.
“Hey, Ethan, when are you going to tell us the next part?” Neville asked as he clapped.
“What next part?
I already told you the whole thing today.”
Ethan stood up, changed the table, chair, and assorted props back to their original forms, and returned them to their places.
“But just now you said something about listening to the next installment.” Neville took back his quill and ink bottle, scratching his head, his small face full of question marks.
“That’s just a closing line.
It’s the same as ending a speech with, ‘That concludes my speech, thank you all.'”
“Oh, right.” Neville nodded, half understanding.
“Why do I feel like that’s not quite the same as what my dad told me?” Ron sat cross-legged on his bed, one hand against his chin, deep in thought.
“That’s called artistic license.
All right, all right, stop thinking about it.
We’ve got History of Magic first thing tomorrow morning, so get to sleep.”
As Ethan spoke, he picked up his teacup and headed for the door, planning to go back to the common room for another cup of water.
He pulled the dormitory door open, only to find the hallway packed with Gryffindor students.
“What are you all…” Ethan felt disaster looming.
“We heard everything,” said Parvati Patil, a first-year, her eyes shining with admiration.
“I had no idea you were that amazing.”
“You… how much did you hear?” Ethan tried one last desperate struggle.
“We’ve been listening since ‘Virtuous rulers rose and fell; dynasty after dynasty took its turn in history,'” Hermione said, closing in on Ethan step by step.
“Ethan, don’t move.
Let me see that skull-shaped scar on your back.”
“Everyone, calm down…” Ethan slowly backed away, then turned to Harry and the others for help.
“Harry, Ron, save me!”
Hearing that, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then looked past Ethan at the dense crowd outside.
They decisively pulled their blankets over their heads and began pretending to be asleep.
No saving him.
Just lie down and wait for death.
“You…” Ethan raised a trembling finger, wanting to condemn these fellows for refusing to help, but when he saw the crowd of admiring boys and girls slowly squeezing into the dormitory, he could not help letting out a wail.
“Don’t come any closer!”