Chapter 196: Interview, Tears, The Boy's Whereabouts
At ten o'clock in the morning, Fred and George hurried out of the castle and found Ethan on the lawn by the Black Lake.
"You'll never guess what we saw on our way here," Fred said as soon as he reached Ethan.
"What did you see?" Ethan lay lazily on a lounge chair he'd transfigured, basking in the sun, still holding Salazar's manuscript in his hand.
He'd run into a small problem with his potion research over the past few days and hadn't been able to find a solution yet.
So on this beautiful sunny day, he'd taken out Nathaniel's and Salazar's manuscripts to study again, hoping to find some inspiration.
The two took turns describing the scene they'd witnessed on their way to find Ethan.
"Professor McGonagall stopped Percy from deducting points?"
"It's been three days, and Percy's still deducting points from Gryffindor?"
With the overall situation settled, this year's House Cup clearly belonged to Slytherin barring any unexpected moves from Dumbledore. They held a significant lead, so Ethan hadn't been paying much attention to the hourglasses in the entrance hall.
"Right? Maybe he's gotten addicted to deducting points. It's been several days, and he's still at it."
"If Professor McGonagall hadn't stopped him, he probably would've deducted at least another dozen points from us by the time the House Cup is announced."
Fred made a reasonable guess about his power-obsessed brother's behavior, based on the changes he'd noticed in Percy's expression whenever he deducted points from people over the past few days.
"I think you're right. When he first started deducting points from us, he was clearly angry. But later on, I could see he was starting to enjoy the kind of power that usually only professors had," George added.
But when Professor McGonagall stopped him again, his face was bright red.
"If he keeps deducting points like this, you'll drop below Hufflepuff and end up in last place. Professor McGonagall certainly wouldn't want that to happen."
Seeing that the twins wanted to keep talking, Ethan quickly changed the subject, "You probably didn't come looking for me just to discuss Percy's situation, did you?"
"Of course not. We just happened to catch what happened with Percy on our way here. This time, we have good news for you." At the mention of why they'd come to find Ethan, George's excitement was just as strong as when he'd been laughing at Percy's humiliation moments ago.
"Good news?" Ethan asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
But the twins simply smiled at each other and said nothing. Clearly, they wanted him to guess.
Ethan had no leads on the potion situation either, and their expressions made him genuinely curious. He sat up straighter and tried to figure out what good news might involve him and the twins.
"Could it be about the Wizarding Cards?" *No, probably not.* Before the two could answer, Ethan had already dismissed the idea.
If it were about the Wizarding Cards, they wouldn't be so mysterious about it.
Besides, they'd only messaged Ethan on the Communication Card a few minutes ago, so this had to be something sudden.
Moreover, they'd stopped to watch Percy get reprimanded on their way here, which meant they must have left the Gryffindor common room just to come find him.
And if it were news about improving the Wizarding Cards, they wouldn't be so secretive or so eager to track him down.
So it definitely wasn't about the Wizarding Cards. It had to be something else.
Ethan frowned and thought it over for a while, but still couldn't figure it out.
Finally, he waved dismissively and said, "I can't figure it out. Just tell me."
The two grinned at each other. Fred pulled an already-open letter from his pocket and handed it to Ethan.
"It's from the Daily Prophet. They want to interview us tomorrow."
Ethan was startled. He hadn't expected anything like this at all.
"Hmm? Why would they suddenly want to interview us?"
He took the letter and skimmed through it quickly.
"The potion wand incident was almost half a year ago. Why are they only just now getting around to interviewing us?"
If Ethan hadn't seen the Daily Prophet logo on it, he might've thought this was some kind of joke. After all, the whole thing had exposed some unusual circumstances.
"We don't know either. Professor McGonagall handed it to us. She mentioned she'd received one from the newspaper along with our owl, explaining what it was all about. She must have figured it was fine, so she brought it to the common room and handed it over." Fred shook his head.
"Once we finished reading, we sent word to you. But Percy apparently didn't realize the Professor was standing right there, so when he kept docking points from Gryffindor, she shut him down immediately." George held back a laugh.
"You going to do the interview? We are. First time in the paper, still pretty pumped about it." Fred clenched his fists excitedly.
"Come with us. You're in it too, you know." George sensed Ethan wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the interview and tried to persuade him.
Ethan noticed his own name there as well. He thought it over and figured it couldn't hurt. "Sure. Let's do it together, then."
"That's great. We'll go send a reply, then."
"Let's meet at Lockhart's old office tomorrow at ten."
"Okay."
Watching the twins walk away cheerfully, Ethan quietly repeated the name Lockhart.
When they mentioned the interview location, he felt certain this interview was connected to Lockhart. After all, the newspapers hadn't reported on the matter in days. Things had been too quiet.
*Still, what does that have to do with me? I just watched Lockhart's trial. Instead of asking other Wizengamot members, they come to me, a student. There must be something wrong with their heads.*
Ethan shrugged, lay back down, and picked up the manuscript.
He wasn't sure if it was the effect of this unexpected news, but he found he couldn't keep reading.
He laid the manuscript over his face and tried to clear his mind.
But as he did, he suddenly remembered Camille's letter from yesterday.
This enthusiastic French girl had been corresponding with him all this time. She sent him at least one or two letters a month, all of them making the long journey to Hogwarts.
And this letter was slightly different from the previous ones.
The others had been about school life and academics.
And this time, besides asking Ethan about his exam grades, Camille had also asked about his summer vacation plans, wondering if he wanted to visit France again.
The girl said she could act as a guide, showing Ethan around and introducing him to more Beauxbatons students.
He still hadn't replied to her letter because he wasn't sure if he would be going to France this summer.
This summer, Ethan had planned a few things:
First, a trip to Egypt.
Ever since last summer, Cyril had been mentioning that he wanted to take him to Egypt to search for the Book of the Dead, following clues that had already been uncovered by his parents and grandparents.
Second, a visit to St. Mungo's Hospital.
He was going there mainly because Snape had said his new potion was proving to be more effective. So he wanted Cyril to receive treatment at the hospital for a while, and he planned to drop by and visit Vartan Ohajian as well.
If there was still time after those two, Ethan also wanted to catch the finals of the British Wizarding Cards Tournament, being held in mid-August. After all, it was their first time hosting an event of this scale. Quite an occasion indeed.
After those three things, if there were no other plans, he would consider a trip to France.
With that in mind, Ethan set aside the manuscript he'd been reviewing and stood up from the lawn.
He wanted to find Snape again to confirm the efficacy of the new potion.
Ethan smoothed out his slightly wrinkled clothes and strode toward the castle.
As for the lounge chair, he didn't cancel the Transfiguration spell, planning to leave it for the next person who came along.
"Though if the Transfiguration suddenly wears off while you're sitting in it, don't blame me." Ethan took one last look back at the chair.
He headed down to the dungeons, going straight to Snape's office.
"Come in." Snape's voice was as indifferent as ever, though now tinged with irritation.
"Professor, I still wanted to ask about that potion." Ethan looked at Snape, who wore an impatient expression as he rapidly graded a stack of exam papers. He didn't waste time on pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"Haven't I already told you? St. Mungo's has been using it on patients recently. The results are good, and no obvious adverse effects have been found."
"If you have any further questions, ask St. Mungo's directly. I've already told you everything I know."
As he spoke, Snape slashed his red pen across the exam paper twice. It looked like he had just given a student a "T."
"Yeah, I know."
Ethan got it, he really did. Snape had already told him everything he knew. But because he cared so much about whether the potion would work on Cyril, he couldn't help feeling anxious.
Letting out a slow breath, he decided he would take Cyril to St. Mungo's for treatment at the start of the holiday.
Seeing Snape's unhappy expression, Ethan took a step back, intending to leave.
"Wait. You came at just the right time. Saves me the trouble of looking for you. Come to my office after lunch. I need to isolate a batch of salamanders."
"Now that the potion has been approved, St. Mungo's will need a large supply in reserve. Salamander blood alone won't be enough."
"All right, I'll come by this afternoon." Ethan nodded in understanding and headed back to the dormitory to write a reply to Camille.
Ethan seemed destined to be busy today. Ever since Fred and the others had come looking for him that morning, he had been occupied with one thing after another.
In the afternoon, after Ethan finally finished dealing with a large batch of salamanders, Fawkes brought another note, summoning him to the Headmaster's office.
Ethan, who had just been planning to rest for a while, had to climb out of the dungeons and make his way to the eighth floor.
"What's wrong? You look exhausted." Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and a cup of black tea appeared on the table.
"Just helped Professor Snape with some work." Touching the very hot teacup, Ethan drew his wand and cast a low-powered Freezing Charm, letting the tea cool down quickly.
"Then I'll make this quick so you can get some rest."
Dumbledore nodded. He didn't press for details.
"I've called you here to update you on the Horcrux situation you were worried about.
"We already have leads on that missing boy's whereabouts. But from what we've gathered so far, the boy and the Horcrux may have left Britain for France."
"France? How did they get there? Wizard travel or Muggle travel?" Ethan was surprised. How did a Horcrux that couldn't cast spells and an eleven- or twelve-year-old child manage to go abroad?
"Probably wizard travel. Portkeys, you know?"
"Got it."
"They might have escaped Britain using an illegal Portkey."
The old man continued. According to a letter from the Ministry of Magic, Muggle police had confirmed that, based on various clues, the missing boy had been spotted in Hastings. But they had lost track of him shortly after.
*Hastings?* Ethan searched his memory for the location.
Soon, he had his answer. "That's the city in southern England, the one facing France across the English Channel, right? So you're saying they went to France?"
"At the moment, we aren't entirely sure. There is indeed an illegal Portkey in Hastings that leads to France, but it's only existed for about ten years. Tom shouldn't have known about it, should he?"
Dumbledore shook his head.
"The Ministry of Magic has already banned this Portkey. They're investigating, trying to determine exactly who appeared near it."
"All right." Honestly, hearing that Tom might have gone to France, Ethan was no longer particularly worried.
After all, he cared about the Horcrux's whereabouts because he feared attracting Tom Riddle's attention and bringing trouble to his family.
If the Horcrux had left the UK, whether it had gone to France or not, it could no longer threaten their safety.
Feeling relieved, Ethan downed his tea, which was the perfect temperature, in one gulp. He was about to say goodbye when he heard an owl pecking loudly at the Headmaster's office window.
Dumbledore waved his hand, and the window opened.
A black-and-gray owl swooped in and dropped a letter directly onto the table. It didn't even wait for payment or food before flying back out the window.
"I'll take my leave, then, Headmaster."
Seeing that Dumbledore was busy, Ethan stood up. After saying goodbye to the old man, he headed for the door.
"Wait. The letter is from the Ministry of Magic. It's about Tom."
The old man stopped him after just a glance at its contents.
"Hmm? Already? That was quick."
Ethan paused mid-step.
While the old man read through the letter, Ethan wandered over to the phoenix. Stroking its feathers, he softly asked, "Fawkes, could you spare me a drop of your tears?"
Ethan had wanted phoenix tears for a while but never found the right opportunity. Now, with the old man distracted, he seized his chance to ask Fawkes.
The phoenix opened its eyes, turned its head to look at him, and nodded gently.
Ethan grinned and hastily pulled a small bottle from his bag.
He watched Fawkes close its eyes. After a moment, a single tear welled up in the corner of the phoenix's eye and fell into the waiting bottle.
Fawkes tilted its head slightly. Ethan carefully placed the reagent bottle beneath its eye. A soft sound was all he heard before a tear fell into the bottle.
Ethan corked the bottle with care, then wrapped it in a cloth before tucking it into his bag.
"Thank you so much." He gently stroked Fawkes' feathers, murmuring his gratitude.
"Come here. I've found that boy." Dumbledore's voice was somewhat serious.
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