Upon hearing this, Penelope was dumbfounded.
A first-year wizard fighting a troll?
Are you insane?!
No matter how capable Ethan was, he had only been at school for a few months. First-year Charms class had only covered the Levitation Charm!
Creatures like that, with their thick skin and tough flesh, had resistance to most magic. Excellent upper-year students might have a chance of dealing with them alone.
But a first-year...
If they encountered a troll and didn't collapse from weak knees, that would be impressive enough!
Even Ethan's teleportation magic probably couldn't transport such a massive creature.
This was completely unreasonable harassnt—an excuse to prevent Ethan from joining them!
"You—"
"Let's wait a bit longer," Prefect Robert interrupted their argunt, consoling them. "We can recruit Ethan into the society when he advances to second year."
Though he might not even want to join anyway.
By then, he'd have already moved on to the Ministry of Magic, away from all this scheming.
Robert glanced at the smug Sean and shook his head internally.
Sean, oh Sean, the attitude toward a potential rival shouldn't just be constant alienation and suppression.
Look at the Malfoy family—they knew when to bend and when to stand firm. Even with half their face swollen from being hit, they'd offer the other half, saying, "Master's grace."
That's what you call smooth.
Sean was still too naive.
Penelope pouted and dejectedly shrugged her shoulders: "Fine..."
She turned her head, her bright eyes scanning the crowd, searching for that tall, conspicuous figure.
She really had high hopes for Ethan.
He was good-looking and capable, and his personality... though a bit sinister, geniuses were always different.
Joining the society early would let him learn internal knowledge and help him build future connections ahead of ti.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Unfortunately, he was being obstructed by jealous people... Hmm?
Penelope suddenly paused, frowning with confusion on her face.
Sothing was wrong—she'd been searching for so long, why couldn't she find Ethan in the crowd?
Where was Ethan?
...
At that mont, Ethan hadn't followed the crowd to the common room.
He turned and headed in another direction, following Harry and Ron, who had also quietly slipped away.
Unlike the two boys whom no one noticed, everyone around observed his departure from the group.
But no one bothered to intervene.
They just thought:
Ah, who's going to be unlucky now?
Being targeted by Ethan was quite a misfortune.
Just look at Professor Quirrell floating in midair with blood at the corner of his mouth.
Leaving the crowd, Ethan turned the corner as the noise gradually faded behind him.
Moonlight stread through the diamond-paned windows, like gems refracting countless colors, falling into this ancient and silent castle.
Ethan couldn't help but stop, looking up at that bright, clear, round disk for a long ti.
Taking a deep breath, he sighed:
The moonlight is truly beautiful tonight.
I wonder what Luna is doing now?
Is she also gazing up at this silver disk?
Or, as her letter ntioned, is she dressed as a Dentor going door-to-door for candy?
So adorable...
The atmosphere was peaceful and serene. Ethan's handso features appeared even more gentle and distinguished under the moonlight, like a garden sprite from a dream—pure, beautiful, and spotless.
Around him, the moving portraits had all fled completely.
Red paint seeping from his wand dripped steadily to the ground, spreading a bloody trail behind him.
Unfortunately, Hermione was sulking and missed his Halloween surprise.
He had to make up for this regret for the little girl.
He wanted to share his blessings equally.
Let everyone have a complete childhood.
Today, Ethan was also praising himself for his kindness.
Just then—
"Ahhhhh—!"
A piercing scream ca from ahead!
At the sa ti, there were banging sounds like things breaking.
Chaotic footsteps arose, with panicked shouts of "Run! Run!" echoing through the corridor.
Imdiately after, three figures burst out from around the corner.
It was Harry and Ron, with Hermione supported between them.
Oh, not a bathroom battle this ti?
Ethan raised an eyebrow but didn't mind—the outco wouldn't change.
He raised his wand and saw that Harry and Ron, running frantically toward him, beca even more terrified the mont their eyes t his.
They even instinctively slamd on the brakes, wanting to turn around and run back.
Hermione: ?
Hermione was stunned, looking at the two in confusion.
The troll was behind them—why would they want to run back?
Harry and Ron's faces were ashen as they looked at the smiling Ethan ahead, not knowing how to explain to Hermione:
Maybe there was a terrifying troll behind them.
But ahead—that was hell!
However, the situation didn't allow them to think much.
"ROAR—!"
A thunderous roar ca from behind.
A massive creature like a small mountain, nearly four ters tall, ca rumbling toward them.
Its bulk reached the ceiling, its skin was like granite, making it impossible to imagine what effect spells would have on it.
Two trunk-like short legs shook the entire corridor with each step.
In its hand, it gripped a wooden club that dragged on the ground.
Ethan smiled and waved: "Co over here~"
Harry and Ron: "..."
They both stopped in their tracks, their faces turning paper-white.
Hermione cried out in panic and confusion, "What are you doing?! Co over quickly!"
Perhaps it was because of Ethan's calm deanor.
Even though he was also a first-year, standing behind Ethan felt very safe.
Finally, the three little ones ran behind Ethan while pulling at each other.
They imdiately breathed a sigh of relief.
Then they saw Ethan raise his wand toward the troll.
The three little ones: ?!
"You—you don't want to challenge the troll, do you?!" Ron cried out in alarm, pulling at his face with both hands. "Bloody hell, we're dood!"
"Shh—"
Ethan raised a finger, gently telling Ron to be quiet.
Then he turned to Hermione:
"Miss Granger, do you know the Avis spell?"
Hermione was startled, but even in crisis, her academic instincts made her automatically answer:
"It's a spell that can summon a flock of chattering birds, right? The birds can be shot at enemies as an attack thod."
"But—you're not thinking of using that against the troll, are you?! Its skin is as hard as rock—that kind of spell absolutely cannot cause damage!"
As she spoke, Hermione paused and bit her lower lip.
She couldn't help lecturing others again...
But Ethan didn't mind, just watching the gradually approaching troll and smiling:
"Miss Granger, have you noticed that even with the sa spell, the effects produced by adult wizards and young wizards are different?"
"That's due to differences in soul strength, or what we call 'magical power.'"
"Like the size of water tanks, human bodies are the sa."
"So..."
Ethan raised his wand, and a hint of color scattered from it.
A pungent sll mixing nuts and minerals wafted out.
Hermione slowly widened her eyes, reflecting in them the wand that was changing shape.
—Finally, it beca an incredibly beautiful paintbrush.
The lines were smooth and straight, the wood grain elegant and understated, yet impossible to look away from.
At the tip, the bristles were snow-white, as if freshly plucked from a unicorn's tail, shimring with pure light.
All three little ones were srized, staring at the paintbrush in fascination.
Then they suddenly realized—this was the "perfect paintbrush" Ethan always talked about.
"..."
The three little ones fell silent.
Their expressions beca strange.
Looking at Ethan's delighted expression, they wanted to speak but hesitated.
—Admittedly, this paintbrush was very beautiful, clearly ant for soone noble and pure.
But it was completely opposite to Ethan's character!
Just how skewed was Ethan's self-perception?
"Ah—this is the paintbrush that perfectly matches ."
Ethan sighed contentedly.
Gripping the smooth, cool handle, he felt it had beco an extension of his arm.
Magic flowed from his body into it incredibly smoothly, like water from the sa pool.
The unity of person and brush brought imnse satisfaction.
"Now, Miss Granger, here cos a key point—pay attention."
Hearing "key point," Hermione instinctively perked up, focusing intently on Ethan.
"I'm going to show you just how much magical power can affect a spell."
"Avis."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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