Capítulo 38: Chapter 38
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Ethan sat alone on top of the Astronomy Tower as he looked down at Hogwarts' grounds, and while he did not want to, he couldn't help his gaze wander to a certain hut.
Things had gone terribly wrong. Ethan thought that things would follow their natural order; he wasn't a sucker for canon always remaining canon, especially since he was involved in the world, but he still thought that things would remain relatively close to their normal course of events.
They hadn't. Well, at first, they somewhat did. The dragon was hatched and successfully sent away to Romania; at least as far as Ethan knew, this was what had happened. Then, the Potter twins were sent to the Forbidden Forest, which was where things had gone astray.
Malfoy and Longbottom were fine, just scared half to death, while the Potter twins had suffered quite a bit more, both having suffered from broken bones from what Ethan heard.
As for Hagrid, the kind half-giant Ethan had come to appreciate as a person, more than as a memory of a character, had died. No one knew what had attacked them that night, but it had ripped open Hagrid's carotid, who bled out to death in the Forbidden Forest.
To the wizarding world, this was not a very important death. Hagrid was only the groundskeeper of Hogwarts; it wouldn't take long for the school to find another. Even for the students, although a funeral had been made for him, most of the students could not care less. It was just the silly giant who had died.
Ethan, on the other hand, took it hard. He hadn't managed to bring himself to the funeral.
It wasn't just that Hagrid had become a friend, although he was, but it was the guilt that truly gnawed on Ethan.
Because while no one else knew about it, Ethan did have a hand in his death through his inaction. All it would have taken him would have been a single letter, and this all could have been avoided. But he hadn't, because he didn't think it was worth it. Because he thought meddling too much would create more chaos than anything else.
The result was that four students had been traumatized, two were badly injured, and Hagrid had died.
As a result, Ethan found himself full of guilt and anger.
"I thought I had felt some strong emotions from here. No wonder the birds were scared away."
Although he hadn't sensed his approach, Ethan did not need to turn around to know it was Dumbledore who had spoken.
His legs hanging from the edge, Ethan reigned in his mind as he said, "Sending students in the forbidden forest was dumb."
Ethan would have minced his words, but he couldn't help but direct some of his anger towards the headmaster.
Dumbledore stopped a couple of meters behind Ethan and said, "I am saddened by my dear friend's passing, but it is not at me that you are truly angry, are you?"
Ethan glanced over his shoulder at the old man but found no twinkle behind his eyes. Only a soft smile as he added, "Not everything is about magic."
"Ironic, coming from the greatest wizard alive."
"Maybe. But the point still stands. Now, I am here to make sure you do not do anything dumb, as you would say. Such as attacking one of your Professors."
Ethan clenched his fists, his magic boiling inside of him as he said through gritted teeth, "But I know he is the one trying to steal the package! Inaction has already led to an innocent's death."
Dumbledore remarked, "It seems to me that you are forgetting something important. You can be quite similar to your grandfather in some ways."
Ethan narrowed his eyes, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Dumbledore's gaze was on the horizon, however, as he replied, "Selflessness. For all your talents, you are only in your first year. Hagrid was a man of great experience, highly resistant to most spells, and much more clever than most attributed him. But you already know this. So you surely understand that your own chances against whatever assaulted Hagrid and the children were subpar."
Ethan stopped himself from fingering the small hidden blade strapped on his forearm and merely said, "I have made preparations."
Dumbledore seemed amused by his words, "I am sure you have. And maybe they would be enough. Or maybe they wouldn't. What would happen then?"
Ethan felt a sense of irritation rise within him as he spoke through clenched teeth, "I do not have a hero complex if that is what you are implying."
Dumbledore let out a small chuckle, "Oh no. Young Harry is growing up. What you have is the exact same condition your grandfather had. Something I have struggled with as well."
"And what would that be?"
"A mix of morals, overconfidence, ability and pride. In short, you fear losing control."
Ethan couldn't help but snort, Dumbledore being a control freak felt like the understatement of the century.
Ethan heard Dumbledore walk away, although he added one last thing before leaving: "You should try putting your trust in others, Ethan. They can be a lot more competent than you expected them to be."
Left alone, Ethan remained on top of the tower for a while longer. He wasn't supposed to be here, but he thought that since Dumbledore was fine with it, no one would come to bother him.
Unfortunately, things were only set to get worse.
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'MURDER IN HOGWARTS? RISE OF THE DARK LORD!'
Daphne had to refrain herself from tearing apart the newspaper as she read the title. Dropping it like it was a hot piece of garbage, she groaned, "This is so dumb! He was probably the closest person to Hagrid!"
Theodore had his head in a book as he replied, "Not sure the Aurors exactly care."
Daphne, Tracey, and Theodore all sent a glance at the squad of Aurors surveying the Great Hall with spite in their gaze, and Tracy scoffed, "It's not like they are going to find him anyway."
Suddenly, they heard Malfoy ask from nearby, "You sound like you know where he is hiding. Hiding a criminal is against the law!"
All three turned to look at Malfoy, who was looking at them with wide eyes. There was none of his usual malice behind his gaze, however, but true fear and paranoia.
That did not stop Tracey from being annoyed by him, "You are just blaming Ethan because you are scared of him, coward! You're even taking the side of the Potters!"
Malfoy clenched his silverware as he replied, "I saw it as well! It was Grindelwald who attacked us and killed the oaf!"
It had all started when the Potter Twins woke up. Apparently, the two had seen their attacker and were absolutely certain that it had been Ethan Grindelwald who had attacked them.
That had caused quite a stir, and Malfoy seemed to suddenly remember the same thing, claiming that it had been Ethan who had attacked them as well.
The school had tried to contain the matter, but the school board got involved and managed to send Aurors to the school to arrest Ethan, even if just to detain him for the time of the investigation.
They had not managed to find Ethan, however. No one had, actually, ever since the incident, which did not play in his favor.
And so things came to their current situation, with a squad of Aurors patrolling the castle, Ethan hiding from them, and the whole castle being on edge as they witnessed the game of cat and mouse.
A game that was bound to end soon.
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