Chapter 58: Chapter 58
December 21st.
Christmas is just a few days away, and Hogwarts has entered the Christmas holiday (winter vacation), which lasts for two weeks.
This Christmas, everyone in the dormitory decided to go home, and they had applied for it a few days ago.
After packing up their gifts, Ethan and his roommates went to the Great Hall together.
By this time, the Hall was already decorated, with colorful ribbons hanging on the walls, and twelve towering Christmas trees standing on both sides, adorned with colorful lights that flashed intermittently, all prepared for the students who were staying at school.
They would be spending this Christmas vacation with the professors at Hogwarts.
"Ethan, bring your roommates over."
At the Ravenclaw table, Penelope was calling Ethan, and several first-year wizards were reading something beside her.
"One per person. You can only leave school after signing this."
When Ethan and his group arrived, Penelope handed each of them a piece of parchment with the seal of the Ministry of Magic on it.
"Notice of Prohibition of Underage Magic Use Outside of School? Why do we have to sign this?"
Terry, holding the parchment, cried out in surprise.
He had been planning to show off his skills to his Muggle parents after returning home, but now he had to sign this? It was too much!
"Everyone has to sign, unless you don't plan to leave school before adulthood, then you don't have to."
"One more reminder, this is a contract bound by magic with a detection effect. You will be caught if you cast spells outside of school. Every year, two or three students get caught, though you can cast spells in a wizard gathering place."
Penelope kindly reminded them.
She had signed this in the first grade and thought that no one could cast spells. But those from wizard families said they had no restrictions and could cast spells at will.
At that time, Penelope realized the significant gap between the two sides. It can be said that this is a means to restrict Muggle-born wizards.
Ethan looked down at the notice:
First, wizards under the age of seventeen are minors and are prohibited from casting spells outside of school.
Second, it is illegal for underage wizards to cast spells outside of school. The Ministry of Magic will hold them accountable, and in serious cases, they will be punished by expulsion.
There were a total of nine prohibitions, all about not being able to cast spells and complying with the "International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy."
In the end, Ethan signed his name.
This thing is the legendary trace. Contract magic still has a strong binding force in this world. The Unbreakable Vow is so powerful that violating it can even cost one's life.
But it doesn't apply to Ethan. As long as he doesn't see any magic with his own eyes, he won't be detected. It can be said that cheaters can do whatever they want.
After breakfast, the students who were leaving school gathered together. This time they didn't have to walk the Founder's Path again; they took a carriage directly to the station.
"Harry, are you going home for Christmas too?"
On the way, Ethan spotted an unexpected figure. He remembered that Harry usually spent Christmas with Ron and didn't go home during this holiday.
"Yeah, I have to thank you for that. What you said to me last time made me think clearly. Last week, I sent some gifts and a letter to my aunt. I received a reply a few days ago. She asked me to come home for Christmas and even prepared a present for me."
Harry's face was full of emotion. He hadn't received a Christmas present for many years, let alone from his aunt's family. He would never have dared to dream of it before.
"Don't forget to ask about Snape."
Ethan reminded him.
He was looking forward to Harry finding out that his mother and Snape were childhood friends, but his father succeeded in winning Snape's childhood sweetheart. How would Harry react then? How would he face Snape?
"I won't forget! I'll definitely ask!"
Harry nodded seriously; this was also one of the reasons he was going home.
Snape had been acting crazy recently, and Harry's life had become even more difficult, which made him eager to find out the specific reason.
"By the way, Ethan, do you know Nicolas Flamel?"
Suddenly, Harry seemed to remember something and asked Ethan.
Recently, he and Ron had been frequenting the library to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. It was related to the package Hagrid had taken from Gringotts.
It could only be said that the curiosity of Gryffindors was really strong.
"Didn't you buy a lot of chocolate frogs from George last time?"
"The card inside has his information. If I tell you directly, your efforts over the past few weeks will be in vain."
If he and Ron had carefully read the card in Dumbledore's chocolate frog, they wouldn't have had to search for so long.
"Okay, I'll look for it when I get back from vacation. I remember Ron has a hobby of collecting chocolate frog cards."
Finally finding a direction, Harry felt a little annoyed.
He shouldn't have listened to Ron's nonsense about keeping this a secret, which made them look for clues on their own.
If it weren't for Ethan, who knows when they would have found out who Nicolas Flamel was.
While the two were talking, they arrived at the boarding point.
It was an open space with hundreds of carriages neatly lined up. The older students got on the carriages naturally, and the first-years boarded in an orderly manner under the class leader's guidance.
Ethan boarded a carriage with Hermione, Cassandra, and Cho Chang. The carriage still had the smell of straw and mold.
After everyone boarded, the carriage began to move. The front shaft was still empty, and the carriage flew up. The speed was quite fast, but it was a bit bumpy.
"Is this a self-driving magic flying carriage?"
Hermione looked around in surprise. If this were in the Muggle world, it would be considered a supernatural event. But in the wizarding world, everything made a lot more sense.
Anyway, many things moved at Hogwarts, and even the people in the portraits could move by themselves.
"The one pulling our carriage is a Thestral, a magical creature of XXXX classification. If you've read the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you would know it. Only people who have witnessed death can see it."
Ethan explained to the three girls, and from their reactions, it was clear none of them could see it.
Ethan could see the Thestral because he had killed the wizard with the large melon.
These creatures don't look particularly appealing; they're skinny, with all their ribs exposed. Completely black, with heads resembling dragons, and large bat wings on their backs. Ethan just didn't know which one provided the core for his wand.
"None of us mentioned this last year. Like Hermione, we thought the carriage was empty."
Cho Chang realized that she had been curious when she first boarded the carriage but hadn't pursued it further. "When my family went to the farm for vacation, I saw the farmer killing sheep, but I still couldn't see it."
Asking questions when in doubt or seeking answers—this was Hermione's habit. "This experience of life and death is not about animals but people. You have to kill someone with your own hands, or have a loved one die in front of you. You must be deeply saddened and impressed by it."
Ethan explained helplessly that he could only see the Thestrals because he had witnessed death of a person in a car accident.
Ethan then described the Thestrals' appearance to the three of them.
Not long after he finished speaking, the Thestrals brought them to the station. The speed was indeed fast.
After boarding the Hogwarts Express, the four of them found a compartment to sit in. Ethan used magic to place their gifts on the shelf.
"Ethan, do you want to spend Christmas at my house? You've signed the Notice of Prohibition of Underage Magic Use Outside of School, so you can't cast spells outside of school, but you can at my house. It's really big."
Cassandra wanted to strike first. Ethan was so outstanding; her parents wouldn't refuse!
"My dad said he would take me to Santa Claus Village in Finland for Christmas this year. Ethan, do you want to go with me?"
Glancing at Cassandra, Hermione also extended an invitation.
Although her house wasn't as big as Cassandra's and she couldn't cast spells, who could refuse spending Christmas in Santa Claus Village?
Cho Chang just smiled and said nothing.
"Is it possible for me to spend Christmas at home?"
Ethan looked at the two helplessly. Fortunately, Penelope had gone to the prefects' compartment, where they were responsible for patrolling and maintaining order. Otherwise, with her personality, she would most likely have intervened.
"Cho, where are you going to spend Christmas?"
Seeing that Ethan wasn't going to anyone's house, Hermione had nothing to argue about, so she turned to Cho Chang, who was sitting next to her.
As far as she knew, many places in Asia didn't celebrate Christmas because they didn't believe in Jesus, and Cho Chang was Asian.
"I'm celebrating at home too!"
"Does your family celebrate Christmas?"
"Yes, but not in a big way. Both my parents are Chinese."
Both of her parents had come to Great Britain as liaisons, which is similar to working at an embassy in the Muggle world.
She stayed at Hogwarts to study in order to be closer to them.
"Have you been back to China?"
"Yes, I went to my grandfather's house last summer vacation."
Time passed as the group chatted until the sky darkened, and the train finally returned to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Ethan, I will definitely find the magic you want when I go home this time!"
Cassandra promised Ethan as she walked off the train with her suitcase.
After the competition, she sent a letter home to her father, asking him to send her the methods for practicing the magics: Fire Escape and Gubraithian Fire. However, she was refused on the grounds that these magics were too difficult and dangerous, and that they weren't suitable for her to learn at her age.
At that time, Cassandra was sure there must be these magics at home. She didn't know if they were complete, but there had to be at least one.
If her family wouldn't give them to her, couldn't she find them herself?
This Christmas, she was determined to find them even if she had to turn the house upside down.
"Okay, but I won't force it. It would be great if you could find them, but it's fine if you can't."
"Don't worry, I definitely will..."
"Cassandra, over here!"
Belinda Worley had been standing there for a long time, but her daughter had been talking to the little boy next to her and seemed not to have noticed.
Fortunately, she had come to pick her up today.
If her husband had seen this scene, what would have happened? (A woman takes her husband's surname after marriage)
"This is Ethan Adrian, the one I mentioned in my letter."
Cassandra's face flushed as she pulled Ethan over to her mother and introduced him, then pointed to the two people behind her.
"These two are Hermione Granger and Cho Chang!"
Mrs. Worley winked at Cassandra.
"Hello, Mr. Adrian. Cassandra has mentioned you many times in her letters, saying that you take good care of her. When will you have time to visit our house?"
It was a bit of a stretch to say she mentioned him many times—more like three times.
But Mrs. Worley, who knew her daughter well, could easily interpret what Cassandra's repeated mentions of a little boy her own age meant. In the past, Cassandra had always disdained others.
Being favored by her daughter meant that he was exceptional, otherwise, he wouldn't have caught Cassandra's eye. After seeing him today, she could definitely accept him as a son-in-law!
As for the other two girls, they were definitely her daughter's competitors.
After all, excellent boys are always popular with girls.
"Next time, next time for sure!"
Ethan was a little embarrassed by Cassandra's mother's enthusiasm.
But the mother and daughter really did look alike!
Blonde hair, blue eyes, wavy hair, long legs, and a slim waist. He wondered how many years it would take for Cassandra to grow to look like her.
"Then it's settled. Next time, for sure!"
After that, she greeted Hermione and Cho Chang, then Apparated away with Cassandra.
Next came Cho Chang's father, a middle-aged Asian man.
After exchanging greetings, they also left on their way home.
Outside the station, Hermione introduced Ethan to her parents once again. Only after Hermione got on the bus did Ethan go to where the driver was waiting for him.
Meeting three sets of parents in one day was really tiring for him.
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