Chapter 17: Chapter 17
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Unfortunately, by the time the class ended, Ethan had not managed to repair the matchstick. By the end of the class, one other person had managed to transform the matchstick ever so slightly, and it was Hermione.
However, the girl did not feel much joy at reaching Ethan's initial level after a whole hour, when he only took a single try. Still, she had earned her house 5 House Points, so there was at least that.
Following their Transfiguration class, the Slytherin students had Herbology. Ethan didn't like the class much, no matter how bubbly their teacher, Mrs Sprout, was. Ethan didn't like theory much, and Herbology was almost only theory, to learn about the different plants and their effects.
Then, in the afternoon, was yet another boring class, but for a whole different reason, known as Professor Binns, the ghost. Strangely not the most peculiar professor at Hogwarts, Binns was a ghost that died in Hogwarts, but did not even notice his new form.
Ghosts could be quite special as they often were one dimensional since they were nothing but remnants of their ancient selves, and for professor Binns, it was the way he taught. He didn't really care whether students understood his class or not, he was also the only teacher in Hogwarts who did not give out homework, not because they weren't needed, but because he wouldn't bother to read them.
Binns would go through his classes like a zombie, and saying it wasn't the most interesting class was a bit of an understatement.
Fortunately, Ethan's timetable made it less terrible than it should have been. Immediately following his History of Magic class, Ethan had Defence Against the Dark Arts.
And for such a class, Ethan decided to bring Miyuki with him as they could both learn from the class. History, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and basically every class were useless to Miyuki as it was filled with knowledge she couldn't use.
However, DADA was, as the name suggested, a class supposed to help one defend against the dark arts, but also against dangerous magical beasts.
Because students in Hogwarts only had ten minutes to go from one class to the other, Ethan didn't have the time to go fetch Miyuki between History and DADA, so he brought her at lunch, eating with her, and went to History with Miyuki.
So Ethan's History lesson ended up being not so boring as he mostly played with Miyuki, playing with Occlumency and Legilimency so as to not make too much of a mess.
Still, Ethan was quite happy when the class was over. As they headed to their DADA class, the most awaited class by the majority of the first years, Daphne uttered through gritted teeth, "I swear I would have cursed him if he wasn't a ghost."
Theodore grunted in agreement, "He even made sleep impossible. I feel like I'm going to become the next Dark Lord if I go through seven years of those classes."
Ethan chuckled, "If only the Daily Prophet knew my two friends were more prompt to become killers… sigh, what a world."
Theodore commented with a deadpan face, "Even if that was the case, that wouldn't really help your case. 'Don't worry, he's not going to become a Dark Lord, he's just surrounding himself with killers to water his plants.'. Yeah right."
Daphne laughed, while Ethan nodded, "I guess they will always find something."
Daphne retorted, "More like you will always give them something to use against you."
Ethan smiled at the teasing, and said nothing. Although the group had only known each other for a day, they had quickly bonded together. Finding friendship through shared adversity was quite effective, so Ethan did have to thank Binns for that.
But now, was time for the most awaited class, Defence Against the Dark Arts!!
And they weren't disappointed. When every Slytherin had arrived, Quirrell came into the room with quicksteps. Watching the professor he was currently the most curious about, Ethan couldn't help but take a peek into his mind as his blue eyes crossed the Professor's green ones, and he was quite surprised by what he found.
First, the level of the defences was quite… lacking, so much so that Ethan even felt some pity for the professor. Snape and Dumbledore must be reading him all day like an opened book.
Second, it was the teacher's surface thoughts, as Ethan had neither the time or the will to go any further.
Despite trying to appear confident, Quirrell's mind was pretty much a wreck as he was breaking down from the stress. Ethan was curious for more, but their gazes only crossed for an instant, and it was already quite rude to peer into his surface thoughts without his consent.
Quirrell, unaware one of his students (the one he feared the most) had read his mind, walked to his desk, on top of which was a large object covered by a sheet, and after uneasily clearing his throat, said, "My name is Quirinus Quirrell, and I will hopefully be your teacher for the next few years for Defence Against the Dark Arts. To start off, what do you think this class is about?"
Quirrell, despite his nervousness, quickly picked himself up and showed some more confidence. However, Malfoy, without raising his hand, scoffed, "Defend against the Dark Arts!"
Quirrell opened his mouth, but failed to find his words for a moment as his panic charged back into his mind. After a moment of awkward silence though, Quirrell lightly coughed and faintly said, "Please raise your hand before speaking. As for my question… although the name of the class mentions the dark arts, you will not only learn how to defend from dark magic, but against any kind of magical threats."
Then, his eyes turned toward Ethan, going back and forth between Ethan and Miyuki, the fear clear in his eyes.
"Now, children, may anyone tell me what this is?"
As he said that, he removed the sheet from the large object, which was revealed to be a cage. Inside, was a thin grey snake with black strips, and glowing red eyes. The snake was coiled around three red eggs covered by a layer of frost.
Malfoy, this time raising his hand, replied with a guffaw, "It's obviously a snake, we aren't stupid!"
Quirrell narrowed his eyes at the blond boy and muttered something under his breath, before turning to the rest of the class. After a moment, a girl rose her hand and, after a nod from Quirrell, said, "This is an Ashwinder, a snake born from a magical fire. This one must be stuffed though, as a real Ashwinder only lives for an hour, and treasure their eggs more than anything, so it wouldn't stay still in front of its frozen eggs."
Quirrell smiled and praised, "Excellent answer! Three points for Slytherin!"
Malfoy looked like he had something to say, but he clearly remembered what had happened with McGonagall, and he didn't want to lose any more points for his house so he remained quiet.
Quirrell, who had seen this and been ready to punish the boy, smiled even more as he asked the class, "Although we drift into another subject, does anyone know what the eggs of an Ashwinder are used for?"
This time, it was Theodore who raised his hand, and said, "If left alone, they produce such a heat that they can burn a house to ashes in a matter of minutes. However, if they are found in time and frozen, then they make for very valuable ingredients for potions."
Quirrell clapped happily as his stress finally drizzled out, "Just what I was expecting, two points for Slytherin."
The girl who had answered first sent a look at Theodore, who looked back impassively, while Ethan grinned from the side, elbowing Theodore who eventually grunted, a little annoyed by his antics.
Quirrell looked at Ethan, and although he wanted to reprimand him for bothering his classmate, he felt his newfound courage disappear in front of the young 'Dark Lord'. He decided inwardly that Ethan was a whole other danger than Malfoy.
However, he was glad to find through this class that the boy wasn't as annoying as his fellow blond, and even participated a few times. Even the Kitsune sitting with him was oddly calm and non aggressive… when he didn't look at it in the eyes.
And so Ethan learned about everything there was to know about Ashwinders during this class, which ended up being a pretty pleasant class.
Voldemort had a pretty nasty influence on the teacher in the original timeline it would seem.
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