Chapter 197: Second Generation Quirrell? False News Fabricator
"Where is he?" Ethan sat back on the sofa, studying the old man's grave expression.
"See for yourself." Instead of answering directly, Dumbledore handed Ethan the letter he'd just finished reading.
"What? Tom's dead?" Ethan exclaimed after reading just the first two paragraphs.
The missing boy they'd just been discussing had been found.
The police, however, had discovered only a corpse.
What's more, the boy's body lay right next to that illegal Portkey in Hastings, but Voldemort's diary was nowhere to be found.
Ethan scanned the rest of the letter, then looked up at Dumbledore and said,
"There are signs of magical injury on Tom's body. He was killed by a wizard and dumped nearby.
"That means an unknown wizard got ahold of the diary. Perhaps Tom saw their face, so they killed him to silence him and made off with the Horcrux. Its whereabouts are now unknown.
"Based on the traces at the scene, this wizard probably went to France, just as we guessed. Right?"
Ethan's feelings were mixed. Part of him felt sorry for the poor boy, but another part was growing more vigilant.
After all, a Horcrux in the hands of a Muggle posed an entirely different level of danger from one in the hands of a wizard.
However, there was good news for Ethan.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, that's it."
"When I reported the diary to the Ministry of Magic, I didn't actually tell them it was Voldemort's Horcrux."
"I only told them it was a highly dangerous Dark artifact, so the investigators wouldn't deliberately conceal anything they found inside."
"You didn't tell them it was Voldemort's Horcrux. Was that because of Fudge, or for some other reason?"
At this, Ethan immediately thought of the chubby Minister for Magic he'd seen on Monday.
"There were several factors to consider. Fudge is a man who values stability. He wouldn't want any news of Voldemort resurfacing during his term.
"And right now, no one has seen him except for a few of us. So without sufficient evidence to prove Voldemort is still alive, it's not advisable to announce this to everyone. It would cause panic."
Dumbledore stroked his beard, clearly troubled by how to spread the word that Voldemort was still alive.
Speaking of Fudge, Ethan also remembered the interview invitation he'd received that morning.
"Headmaster, this morning Fred and George received an interview invitation from the Daily Prophet, and my name was on it too. They want to run a story on the alchemy wand.
"But I can't shake the feeling that it's because of the Lockhart situation. It's been three days, and there hasn't been any newspaper coverage about Lockhart being sent to Azkaban. Is the Ministry of Magic suppressing it?"
"The Daily Prophet? Fudge said we should handle Gilderoy's matter quietly. The Ministry of Magic should have released the results of that day's discussion to the major newspapers.
"If a visiting reporter asks about this, don't say anything. Just tell them it's a Ministry of Magic requirement."
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. He thought of someone, a woman who was certainly not to be trifled with.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Ethan already understood everything about Horcruxes, and staying here served no purpose. He stood up.
The old man stopped him again. "Wait, is Cyril in France or Britain?"
"He should be in London." Ethan wasn't entirely certain, but when his vacation started, Cyril should show up at the station to pick him up.
"Alright." Dumbledore nodded.
"Goodbye, Headmaster."
When Ethan left, Dumbledore was still gazing in the direction of the door, lost in thought.
In truth, he had chosen to tell Ethan the news of the boy's disappearance because he might need the Shafiq family's help.
However, when Ethan first stepped into the Headmaster's office, this idea had been merely a contingency.
After all, Tom was a Muggle. Having a wizarding family investigate the whereabouts of a Muggle who had entered illegally wasn't really their area of expertise.
But what he hadn't expected was that before their conversation even ended, things took another turn. Tom was dead, and the Horcrux had most likely fallen into the hands of a wizard, one who had probably gone to France.
Now, seeking the Shafiq family's help had become urgent.
"This summer will be busy." Shaking his head, Dumbledore began to write letters to Cyril and Nicolas Flamel, asking them to help track down the wizard carrying the Horcrux.
As Ethan walked back to the dungeons, he couldn't stop thinking about the Horcrux.
Although Tom's strength and knowledge were nothing compared to the fully realized Voldemort, Ethan wasn't sure how powerful the wizard who had obtained the Horcrux might be.
If it was one of those small-time wizards from Knockturn Alley, there was no telling whether they'd fall under its control.
Standing at the dungeon entrance, greeting Nancy, who happened to be heading out, Ethan let out a breath and sighed inwardly, *Hope he doesn't become the next Quirrell.*
At 9:45 the next day, Ethan arrived at the office that had originally belonged to Lockhart but had since been cleaned out.
He was very familiar with this office. After all, he had learned a lot about magic from dear Professor Quirrell here, back then.
But now things were different, and the office had already changed hands twice.
The photos of Lockhart that had once covered the walls were gone, and his various brightly colored decorations had disappeared as well. The office had returned to its original state, waiting for the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to impose his own decorative tastes.
Alone in the office, looking at the bare stone walls, Ethan thought, *Where did those photos and Lockhart's items go? Were they thrown away by the elves, or packed and stored somewhere, waiting for Lockhart to get out of prison?*
*That seems more likely. There are still plenty of empty rooms in the castle. They didn't have to throw everything out.*
*Besides, even if Hogwarts didn't want to keep Lockhart's things, they could've handed them over to the Ministry of Magic to deal with a criminal's belongings.*
*But is Lockhart's vault key even in his possession anymore?*
*Selling that many books from his vault. There's probably quite a fortune in Galleons saved up, right?*
As Ethan's thoughts drifted, the door swung open.
He turned and spotted Fred and George.
"You're here."
Ethan greeted them, then glanced around the empty room and spoken to the wall.
"Dodo, send in three chairs."
The instant he finished, three green velvet-covered chairs materialized out of thin air in the empty office.
"Thanks, Dodo." Ethan thanked the empty air.
"How'd you do that?"
Fred and George stared in amazement. They looked around, trying to locate this mysterious entity called Dodo.
"Thanks, Dodo." Ethan thanked the empty air anyway.
"How'd you do that?"
Fred and George stared in amazement. They looked around, trying to locate this mysterious entity called Dodo.
"Stop looking. The house-elves sent this. They're in the kitchen." Ethan gestured to the chairs, which were decidedly Slytherin in style, and solved the mystery for them with a grin.
"House-elves?! They can actually do that? We never knew!"
Fred and George prided themselves on knowing Hogwarts' secrets better than anyone. Discovering that the school still held secrets they didn't know came as quite a shock to both of them.
"As Hogwarts' servants, house-elves can hear the voices of everyone in the castle. They know everyone's needs.
"However, besides responding to the professors' requests, they mostly ignore everyone else.
"Once I got close enough to Toto, though, I was able to ask him to help with things that didn't violate their code of conduct."
Toto was the kitchen elf who had the closest relationship with Ethan. Over the past two years, every time Ethan visited the kitchen, Toto was the one to greet him, and Ethan never held back with praise.
Over time, Toto began offering Ethan services beyond the kitchen.
Of course, Toto had only told him about this recently. This was only the second time he'd taken him up on the offer. The first time had been when he'd asked Toto to bring him a glass of milk.
Fred's jaw dropped in envy. "This is too cool!"
Ethan's behavior instantly sparked the twins' curiosity.
The two secretly resolved to head down to the kitchen once the interview wrapped up, get on good terms with the elves, and earn the same privileges as Ethan in record time.
The three sat together and chatted for a while longer until ten o'clock came around.
Heavy footsteps approached, and the door opened again.
"You're already here." Professor McGonagall swept in wearing green robes.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall." The three stood up to greet her.
"Good morning. The reporter from the Daily Prophet and her assistant have arrived. I'll introduce you to them." Professor McGonagall nodded.
Behind her, a witch in magenta robes walked in with a stiff, professional smile that looked completely fake.
Her jaw was rather heavy, and paired with that hairstyle, the effect was even stranger.
The witch wore jeweled spectacles and clutched a crocodile-skin handbag. Her nails were very long and painted bright red.
As she drew closer, Ethan caught a glimpse of three gold teeth.
*Fake news spreader, Rita Skeeter,* Ethan thought as she entered. Her presence only confirmed his suspicion that this interview was about far more than just the alchemy wand.
Behind Rita stood a stocky wizard holding a black camera. The heavy footsteps had clearly come from him.
"Rita Skeeter, contributing reporter for the Daily Prophet. She'll be conducting this interview."
Professor McGonagall clearly knew this witch, notorious for her fabrications, and had even taught her directly. But given her poor opinion of Rita, she kept her expression neutral during the introduction.
Before the professor could introduce the other wizard, Rita cut in, "Ah, hello everyone. I'm the reporter for this interview, the famous contributing reporter and celebrated author for the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter."
Rita's practiced smile stretched even wider. She put on an enthusiastic act as she introduced herself to the three of them. Compared to Professor McGonagall's straightforward introduction, she'd clearly padded her own with self-aggrandizing titles.
Rita's eyes swept over the three of them with studied casualness, but Ethan could easily tell she was focusing most of her attention on him.
Glancing at the speechless wizard, and then at the office with only three chairs, Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and two more red velvet chairs materialized.
"You only have half an hour to complete the interview. I'll come back at ten-thirty to escort you out of Hogwarts."
After this spellcasting demonstration, a basic matter of etiquette, Professor McGonagall delivered her final words and departed without delay.
Once the professor had gone, Rita dropped her practiced smile and turned to the three of them. "You heard Professor McGonagall's instructions. Our time is limited. Let's begin."
Rita gestured to the wizard. "But before the interview officially starts, let's take a few photos to commemorate the occasion."
"Okay." The three nodded. Following Rita's directions, they posed for two photographs: one seated, one standing.
Ethan positioned himself between the twins in both images.
The flashbulb fired with a puff of purple smoke, capturing the shot.
"Very good. No retakes needed. Let's proceed with the interview."
Rita approved of the results. She pulled up a chair and sat facing the three of them. The wizard, having finished his task, grabbed another chair, sat behind Rita off to the side, and fiddled with the camera.
"To keep my hands free for a proper conversation with you, I'll use a Quick-Quotes Quill to take notes. You don't mind, do you?"
"We don't mind," the twins said in unison.
"I mind," said Ethan.
Surprise flickered across Rita's face. She had already reached into her crocodile-skin handbag for her quill.
"I seem to have misheard. Did you say you don't mind, or that you do?" Rita asked Ethan.
"You didn't mishear. I said I do mind. I hope you can write by hand." Ethan knew exactly what that quill was capable of. Naturally, he wasn't about to let her use it.
"So the two of them don't mind, but you do. Majority rules, so I can still use it, right?" She rolled her eyes as she rummaged through her bag again.
Although Fred and George didn't understand why Ethan objected, they didn't fall for Rita's trap either. They exchanged glances above Ethan's head and said:
"Actually, we've changed our minds. Like Ethan, we don't want you using the Quick-Quotes Quill."
The witch's face fell, making her already broad jaw look even wider.
"Fine."
The witch conceded. She pulled out an ordinary quill and a roll of parchment from her bag, practically forcing the photographer to give up his chair so she could use it as a table.
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