The morning after the attack on Gringotts.
Hogwarts.
Inside the Great Hall.
Headmaster Dumbledore, adopting a heavy, somber tone, announced the "unfortunate" news that "Ethan has been temporarily detained in Azkaban."
"...So, I am afraid I must regretfully inform everyone that Ethan will not be able to attend classes for some time."
The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched twice.
He could barely hold back his laughter.
Even Professor Snape, seated at the staff table behind him—usually a figure of perpetual gloom—couldn't suppress the look of sheer joy surfacing on his face!
...Finally, they had sent that great menace away!
Ministry of Magic, you've done a wonderful job!!!
As soon as these words were spoken, the Great Hall erupted into an uproar!
Malfoy shouted in astonishment, "Azkaban? They finally locked Ethan in Azkaban—cough, I mean..." He quickly corrected himself, assuming a serious expression. "How could they possibly lock Ethan in Azkaban?"
Hermione let out a gasp of "Ah!" and covered her mouth, her eyes filled with distress.
"This is too much! How can they treat a pure, innocent student like this! Ethan is just a child!"
Ron, wearing a deadpan expression, deadpanned, "A 'child' who could blow the entire Hogwarts sky-high."
Hermione continued, "Oh—Azkaban is such a terrifying place! Ethan might have his soul sucked out by Dementors, or be bullied to tears by those heinous dark wizards!"
Harry: ???
I feel like the species you're talking about and the species we're talking about are two completely different things.
Ethan getting bullied by dark wizards?
Which timeline's Ethan are you talking about?!
Hermione took a deep, jagged breath and reached a conclusion:
"We must rescue Ethan as soon as possible!"
At that moment, Harry glanced at the staff table where a seat sat empty—Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Norn was absent.
This further verified his inner suspicions.
At the same time, it allowed Harry to relax, just a little.
...Professor Norn's main body was probably sitting in a jail cell right now among the simple, rustic folk of Azkaban!
This was the best opportunity for them to act!
Harry leaned in close, whispering to his companions, "Actually, last night, Dobby the house-elf came to my dormitory and told me about a secret location..."
What they failed to notice was the wall not far away.
There hung a portrait of a woman holding a green apple.
Her beautiful face suddenly twisted into a spiral shape!
"Huh?"
A student eating breakfast accidentally caught a glimpse of it.
He froze instantly!
He nearly choked to death on his milk.
"Cough, cough, cough?!"
Ignoring the milk spraying from his nostrils, the student stared back at the painting in horror.
—There was nothing there.
Just a normal face with distinct features.
"...Did I see it wrong?" the student muttered.
He lowered his head again, heart pounding with lingering fear.
...Sigh, he really had developed PTSD from Professor Norn.
It felt like every painting in the castle bore that terrifying spiral face.
It was probably just his imagination.
Evening, on the eighth floor of the castle.
A group of people bustled in front of a large expanse of blank white wall.
Opposite them hung a tapestry titled Barnabas the Barmy Clubbed by Trolls.
In it, the foolish-looking wizard was shouting something while dancing about, attempting to train a group of trolls—
The result of which could be easily guessed from his name.
"Are you sure there's a classroom here, Harry?"
The Weasley twins looked around curiously, bouncing up and down with excitement.
"We've passed by here I don't know how many times and never noticed anything peculiar."
"The Marauder's Map—you know, it doesn't show up on there either."
"That just proves how hidden this place is," Harry thought to himself.
"If what Dobby said is true..."
He looked around anxiously, afraid that an Auror—or Professor Norn—would suddenly pop out from a corner.
—Professor Norn hadn't appeared all day.
Even when it was time for his class, he was nowhere to be seen.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
The other students naturally breathed a sigh of relief, wishing that this professor, who was so "passionate about practical application," would stay missing every day.
But in the eyes of the Enlightenment Society, they believed Professor Norn must be busy going off to "harm" Ethan.
This only intensified their sense of urgency.
Regarding this, Ron stated:
They really had to hurry.
Otherwise, Ethan was going to blow up Azkaban.
A fixed-term sentence would turn into a life sentence.
Following Dobby's instructions, the group concentrated their minds, thinking, "I need a place to train."
At the same time, they paced back and forth past the wall.
On the third pass, an incredible scene unfolded—
A magnificent, tall set of double doors appeared.
Like ink spreading on paper, they slowly emerged before them.
"Wow..."
The Weasley twins' jaws dropped as they exclaimed in wonder, "It's magical! I never thought there was a hidden location in Hogwarts that even we hadn't found!"
Hermione said joyfully, "Now we can focus on our training without being disturbed by anyone!"
Looking at the doors that had appeared out of thin air, Harry felt a surge of excitement within him.
...Ethan definitely didn't know about the existence of the Room of Requirement.
Otherwise, Ethan would have long chosen this place for the club's activities.
"Thank you, Dobby," Harry murmured.
He followed his companions through the doors, his eyes flickering with determination.
—From now on, this was their safe house!
No one would be able to find them!
However, what no one noticed was that, at some unknown point, the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy on the wall behind them had fallen silent.
Quietly, he watched them.
Azkaban.
Ethan's cobalt-blue eyes were deep and unfathomable.
He stared into mid-air without focus, as if his gaze were traversing the distance of space to look upon something far away.
After a long while, the corners of his lips suddenly curled up, and he whispered with interest:
"So the Room of Requirement is there... Right, opposite the wizard Barnabas. How could I forget?"
He had once passed that corridor.
He had even passionately recommended a method for controlling trolls to Barnabas.
Unfortunately, after listening, Barnabas had screamed and fainted from the "surprise."
Ethan's finger tapped lightly against his diary, again and again.
He mused, "The surveillance was so obvious, yet still no one noticed."
"Thinking I (Professor Norn) am gone, and relaxing your vigilance... that simply won't do."
"I'll just have to teach you a lesson on the consequences of underestimating your enemy."
It was perfect timing.
He had absorbed a portion of some dark wizards' souls.
He could scrunch them up and paint a new picture.
The soul within Ethan's mind began to stir, itching for action.
Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts.
For several days in a row, the Enlightenment Society secretly conducted their training in the Room of Requirement.
And the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor they wished to avoid never appeared.
Even the Aurors' patrols had relaxed significantly.
It seemed everyone was focusing their energy on Azkaban.
All of this made the club members relax more and more.
Subconsciously, they seemed to have decided that the Room of Requirement was omnipotent.
No one would find them.
But complacency is the most terrifying thing of all.
—On that day, just like usual.
After finishing the day's classes and eating dinner, the young wizards stealthily made their way to the eighth floor of the castle.
Silently chanting "We need a training ground" in their hearts, they walked past the wall three times.
The familiar carved doors emerged.
However, the scene that greeted their eyes inside the doors was not the training ground they were familiar with!
Instead, it was a wide, dim corridor.
The floor was covered with a soft, crimson carpet.
Dim, muddy yellow light shone from above, barely illuminating the gloomy paintings lining the walls.
There was a painting titled [Sky], filled entirely with eyes.
There were frantic dancers in a piece named [Feast].
The twisted shadows made one feel physically ill just by looking at them.
This gallery, which seemed to have no end, exerted an immense pressure upon them.
As well as...
A familiar feeling of coming home.
—Bloody hell, Ethan is still chasing us!!!
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