Chapter 171: Holiday Arrives, Shattered Souls
On Sunday morning, Ethan met Dumbledore in the familiar clearing where he had previously performed the phoenix Transfiguration. He was still practicing the same three forms, having just swapped the red deer for a lizard. Without the danger that had loomed over their last encounter, Dumbledore seemed entirely at ease.
It did not look like a teaching session, but more like a camping trip. The old man sat comfortably in a chair with a fire crackling before him, a teapot hanging over the flames. Another chair sat opposite him, and a conjured table between them held several of Dumbledore's favorite sweets.
"How goes the research into dragon Transfiguration?" Dumbledore asked, sipping sweet tea between Ethan's attempts.
"I have nearly memorized the structural diagrams, but without comparing them to the real thing, I lack confidence. So I plan to visit the dragon reserve during the holidays to study a live dragon's physiology before I attempt the Transfiguration." Ethan poured himself a cup of hot tea from the small pot by the fire and drank slowly.
"It's wise to be cautious. Every magical creature's Transfiguration is different." The old man still appreciated Ethan's cautious attitude.
"Mm." Ethan said nothing more, just held the teacup quietly and listened to bird calls drifting from the Forbidden Forest.
After a while, thinking about dragon anatomy, the question that had surfaced in his mind countless times finally slipped out: "Professor, where did you see those phoenix organs you showed me?"
"That's a secret." The old man paused, then blinked, refusing to answer.
"All right." Not getting an answer only made Ethan more curious. He suspected it might involve Fawkes, but without confirmation, he could only guess.
Since today's lesson only covered animal Transfiguration and offered nothing new to practice, it ended earlier than last time.
Before they packed up, Dumbledore said, "If you decide to do the dragon Transfiguration at Hogwarts, tell me in advance. I can set aside more time to watch over your first attempt."
"Of course I'll do it at school." Underage magic is forbidden outside of school anyway. Ethan wasn't about to pass up this opportunity. He could try at home, but Cyril's Transfiguration skills were nowhere near Dumbledore's level.
Dumbledore understood his meaning immediately. The headmaster glanced at him, chuckled softly, and said nothing more.
They packed their things, reversed the Transfiguration spells on the objects, and extinguished the bonfire. Afterward, the two of them headed to Hagrid's hut for lunch. Dumbledore had forewarned Hagrid of their visit, so the half-giant had prepared his signature dish, a hearty rabbit stew.
Honestly, the rabbit stew was a step up from the stew Hagrid had made last time. Dumbledore ate with relish, repeatedly complimenting the meal until Hagrid's massive face flushed a deep crimson.
Time slipped away into April. With Easter falling on the eleventh this year, the professors began piling on the homework to prepare students for the end-of-year exams, now just two months away. The pressure was crushing.
As Easter break drew closer, Ethan grew busier. Determined to head into the holiday with a clear mind, he worked frantically to finish all his assignments.
On the last night before the holiday, Ethan set down his quill in the dormitory and rubbed his sore wrist. He spread several parchments across the desk to let the ink dry. Crossing the completed assignments off his list, he breathed a sigh of relief at having only two items left. Just two History of Magic essays remained. *I can easily finish those over the break. I could even do them after I get back to school.*
After staying up late for several nights in a row, Ethan finally went to bed early and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
After completing his morning Charms practice, Ethan returned to the dormitory and packed quickly. He walked briskly to the castle entrance, boarded a carriage to the station, and stepped onto the Hogwarts Express heading home.
He found an empty compartment, took out his borrowed reference materials and parchment, and set to work on his final assignments. Perhaps because of the heavy workload, there weren't many students on the train for the holiday. No one entered his compartment during the entire journey.
Ethan hadn't gone home last year, so he didn't know if the train was usually like this, but it suited him perfectly. A quiet, undisturbed compartment was exactly what he needed to work on his homework and think.
This year, the situation in Ethan's dormitory was completely reversed. Last Easter, everyone except him had gone home. This time, only Ethan was leaving. All three roommates had chosen to stay at school to tackle the heavy workload.
Why? Because of homework, of course.
Last holiday, those three had gone home and enjoyed two weeks of freedom, then scrambled to copy homework after school started. But despite their frantic efforts, some assignments never got finished or were discovered and returned by the professors.
The professors punished them. Whether they had coordinated beforehand was unknown, but their methods were remarkably consistent: write two essays for every one missing.
Sour-faced, the three spent a week after school started writing three to five extra essays while also keeping up with their regular assignments. It taught them a lesson.
They were wiser this time. Staying at home was pleasant, but staying at school had its own appeal. With the long summer holiday only two months away, they had all chosen to remain and borrow Ethan's completed homework to 'reference.'
As for Hermione, since she hadn't gone home last year, she certainly wasn't going this year either. Though most of her assignments were already finished, her competitive nature drove her to start reviewing for the end-of-year exams.
After writing for over an hour and completing one essay, Ethan closed his eyes to rest, deciding to save the remaining one for when he got home.
As he waited for the train to depart, the compartment door opened. "Ethan?"
Ethan had been wondering whether his three-headed dragon Transfiguration should differ from his Patronus, considering a redesign based on the Swedish Short-Snout. He opened his eyes and glanced at the visitor. It was John Stephen from Ravenclaw, Cornelius Fudge's nephew.
"John, can I help you?"
"Nothing important. I just heard people in our house say they saw you get on the train. I wanted to see if it was true." John closed the compartment door with a pleased smile and sat across from Ethan.
"Haven't seen you around school in a while. What have you been up to? Draco says you're hardly ever in the dormitory."
"Learning some new things. The dorm isn't good for practice." After that unsuccessful gathering, Ethan never organized another one. John and Draco got along well, though, and kept in touch privately.
"I see." John nodded and started chatting about random topics, interrupting Ethan's train of thought and testing his patience.
"Is there something you need? If not, I'd like to rest. I was up late rushing to finish my homework before the holidays. I'm a bit tired," Ethan spoke bluntly.
"Uh, I heard from Draco that you're practicing to become an Animagus?" John seemed slightly startled. He paused for a moment, then got to the point.
"You want to learn, right? Simple enough." Seeing him cut straight to the point, Ethan snapped his fingers and readily agreed. He rummaged through his bag, pulled out the Animagus guide he'd compiled from family archives, and made a copy for him.
"Here, these are notes I put together. You can also ask your parents or elders when you get home. Your family probably has their own Animagus methods too. It's not exactly secret knowledge."
John had clearly done his homework. He took the copied parchments, skimmed through them quickly, and asked, "Is it really that simple? Then why are there only seven registered Animagi this century?"
Because most wizards simply do not want to learn it. You saw the steps yourself. Many of them rely heavily on external conditions, making failure very likely. Even if everything goes smoothly, it takes about half a year to fulfill all the requirements. The final Transfiguration involves excruciating pain and potentially unpredictable dangers. Furthermore, some discover their Animagus form and decide it isn't worth the effort, so they quit. With all those obstacles stacked against them, only a tiny fraction of wizards successfully become Animagi.
"You can know your Animagus form before you even start?" John looked surprised. He clearly hadn't researched the connection between the Patronus Charm and the Animagus transformation.
"Of course. Once you learn the Patronus Charm, you will understand why."
John repeated the words quietly a few times, then said, "Okay, I understand. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
John accepted the answer and left. Ethan shook his head, pushing the visit from his mind as he returned to working out the details of his Transfiguration.
As the train neared the station and the announcer began calling out reminders, he opened his eyes again and changed his clothes to prepare for departure.
*John coming all this way to find me... I wonder if his parents put him up to it. The Stephens are a pureblood family, so they would definitely know about Animagus transformation. He could have just written a letter. No need to track me down.* Recalling Isabella Stephen's attitude during the Christmas holidays, Ethan felt this was quite likely.
*But why come to me? I'm just a student. Are they trying to build connections so soon? That seems unnecessary, too. Shouldn't they be going to Grandpa?* Ethan was confused.
However, as the platform came into view, he quickly pushed those distracting thoughts aside. Whatever they were planning wouldn't affect him anytime soon.
Soon, Ethan was home, trunk in hand, greeted by family members who had come to pick him up.
After lunch, Ethan and Cyril walked to the villa next door. Ethan retrieved the damaged Vanishing Cabinet from his bag, which he had expanded using an Undetectable Extension Charm, and placed it beside the intact one.
"You actually found another one." Cyril examined the two nearly identical cabinets carefully.
"The school only has this one Vanishing Cabinet, and it's broken, completely unusable. Nobody cares about it. I took it from the staff room easily, and nobody even looked for it. They probably thought the house-elves threw it away." Ethan casually grabbed a decorative vase from nearby, placed it inside the damaged Vanishing Cabinet, closed the door, and immediately opened the intact one.
It didn't work. The inside was empty. The vase hadn't appeared.
Ethan opened the damaged cabinet and retrieved the vase. "I think we should send it to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley for repairs. He's had the intact Vanishing Cabinet for so long, he ought to know how to fix it."
"Sure, let's go tomorrow. Good excuse to check on the shop anyway. It's been open a few months now and is one of the busiest places in Diagon Alley. Adult wizards love having Wizarding Card battles there almost as much as they love the Leaky Cauldron." Cyril nodded, stowing the cabinet in his bag.
Ethan agreed. He could restock his stationery while they were there. His recent writing and drawing had used up quite a bit.
Sitting on the sofa, Cyril said, "I've arranged everything with the dragon reserve. We leave in three days."
"Okay." Ethan studied Cyril's soul and asked softly, "Grandpa, do you want to make a Horcrux? Looking at your soul now, it's like shattered porcelain glued back together. Perfect for making one."
After his third magic surge, once Ethan had mostly mastered his new abilities, he had written to Cyril about it. Because of this, Cyril wasn't surprised that Ethan could see his soul.
He smiled. "I have considered it. However, I want to clear up one issue first before creating a Horcrux."
"What issue?"
"How resurrection works using a Horcrux."
Cyril tapped the armrest of the sofa. "I've gone through every record on Horcrux creation in the family collection. I also read your transcription of Secrets of the Darkest Art. But I still haven't figured out how a wizard resurrects after creating a Horcrux."
He spread his hands. "Every record mentions that a wizard with a Horcrux won't truly die before it is destroyed. But when it comes to how an incomplete soul resurrects and claims a new body, none of the records explain that."
*This requires careful research.*
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