章 45: Chapter 45

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As the train came to a full stop, Ethan hovered his luggage behind himself, Miyuki lying on top of it with a contented face. The slow rocking of the expanded suitcase as it followed behind him seemed to please her.

Ethan was among the first to leave the Hogwarts' Express, and just as expected, it wasn't just the parents waiting for them.

There was a moment of calm before all hell let loose, and a veritable horde of reporters swarmed Ethan and his friends, the flashes of their pictures blinding them.

Ethan heard them asking some questions, but it was so chaotic that it was impossible to tell them apart. Moreover, it was only the beginning, as Harry Potter and his group also exited the train, and a part of the reporters split off to harass him instead.

Harry played a pretty important part in the whole story around the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell, and Diego, and according to what Ethan had heard, some even believed that Harry had been the one to stop Diego and Ethan and unfortunately failed to save Quirrell despite trying his hardest.

People liked heroes.

This made it all the more ironic as Ethan and Harry shared a helpless glance, as both were used to this kind of attention, although Harry no doubt had more experience with it.

But as Ethan was thinking of a solution for the reporters, something unexpected happened. Older students, mostly Seventh and Sixth Years, started pushing back against the reporters, forming a human wall between the cameras and the First Years.

It started with the Slytherins, but soon enough, the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws joined in, and although they tried to protest, the reporters were literally pushed away.

This was surprising, to say the least, especially since wizards rarely make use of their bodies, but it was a welcome surprise. Maybe things were not so bad after all.

Taking a second to spot his parents, Ethan waved at them before turning to his friends and saying, "Well, looks like that's it. We'll see each other in three months?"

Tracy grinned and said, "Come on, we can still exchange letters through our owls." She sent a teasing smile at Ethan and added, "Besides, knowing him, you'll probably hear about us in some newspaper."

"Oh yeah, definitely."

"Obviously."

Ethan smiled at the quick response from his friends, and after a quick hug, he walked up to his family.

Both of his parents looked at him with a proud smile on their faces, although Ethan could also see the way their eyes lingered on his scar.

As he reached them, it was Henry who put a hand on his shoulder and asked, "So, how was school?"

Elena hit his arm, but it only made him chuckle as he looked at Ethan intensely. Offering a smile of his own, Ethan said to his father, "A bit too many claws, but I had fun. I even got a cool memento."

Henry laughed, ruffling Ethan's hair. "I'm sure it will impress the ladies. I sure wished I had a scar this cool when I was your age."

Elena was not able to conceal her emotions as much, however, as she gently grabbed his face, her finger rubbing against the scar tissue. She soothed, "Don't mind what other people say. You did the right thing, and we are proud of you."

Taking her hand in his own, Ethan reassured her, "I'm fine, and Professor Dumbledore helped set the record straight with the other students. But I do have a request."

Ethan felt his mother suddenly tense, and even his father looked a little ill at ease. Concerned about their reaction, he asked in a little voice, "I know it's a bit out of the blue, but I wanted to go visit Egypt during the summer. And bring a friend with me."

Ethan thought they were going to refuse for a moment, but as he finished speaking, he felt the both of them suddenly relax, and his mother chuckled. "Sure, it's a beautiful country, although it can get a little hot in the summer. But I suppose that's not why it interests you, does it?"

Henry did not let his son respond, "A civilisation with traces of magic dating thousands of years old—you just can't resist it, can you?"

Ethan rubbed the back of his head, acting sheepishly, although that was only half of the truth. Of course, the rich magical culture of a country like Egypt was extremely appealing to someone like Ethan, but there were many other similar countries.

The reason Ethan picked Egypt out of all of them to visit first was because of an ancient art that might come in very handy for his next year: Snake Charming.

"Excuse me?"

Ethan turned around in surprise at the unfamiliar voice and noticed a family of four standing behind him.

The one who had spoken was a beautiful lady who looked like she was in her early thirties. She had shoulder-length red hair and bright green eyes that would draw whoever looked at them in. Next to her was a similarly aged man with untidy black hair and round glasses covering his hazel eyes.

With them were two children the same age as Ethan, who made their identity as the Potter family obvious, if it wasn't already.

Ethan's eyes perused each member of the family before returning to Lily Potter, who had her hands firmly on Harry's shoulders as she said, "We wanted to thank you. We heard about what happened, and had you not been there…"

Ethan smiled politely, looking at Harry as he said, "I know they would have done the same for me. Besides, what use would there be to my magic if I didn't use it to help people?"

That second part was a half-truth because, while he liked giving meaning to his power, he did not mind learning magic for the sake of magic.

James jumped in. "I must say, you impressed all of us at the Auror's Department. It would usually take several of us to handle an Elder Vampire, yet you dealt with one on your own. Well, I suppose a Kitsune counts as a powerful helper."

Miyuki did not respond to his words, but Ethan knew she was listening as he felt pride ooze out of her from their connection.

James added, his gaze turning to Henry, "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Henry laughed softly, his hand finding its way to Ethan's hair again as he commented, "It's been years since I last participated in a tournament; I'm afraid I've gotten rusty."

While the two pairs of parents started chatting amiably, Harry and Cassia stood before Ethan, both looking awkward. All three of them obviously had things to say to one another, so much so that they were struggling to get them out.

In the end, it was Harry who broke the ice. "Thank you for saving me."

Ethan looked at the pair of twins who were sneaking glances at each other, and for a moment, he felt the desire to hold their actions over their heads. Cassia's stalking, her play with the mirror, their accusations that led to a man-hunt from the Aurors, their profound belief to the very end that he was the thief…

"As I said, it was the right thing to do. Besides, we can't have the Boy-Who-Lived die on us, can we?"

He was not a child. Yes, he had been bothered, maybe even hurt, but guilt-tripping them would not lead to anything. Sure, it might have felt cathartic, but in the end, they were a bunch of children who had been manipulated. It had been Lord Holderbaum who had planned everything, and they were victims, among others.

Besides, forgiving this easily was also a form of revenge, as the guilt felt by the twins was only exacerbated as they realised Ethan was not holding anything against them, despite everything they had done.

Cassia was about to say something, but Ethan added quickly, "Besides, standing up for me in front of the entire school took courage. You don't seem to realise the pull you have or what standing up for me means. It was not just Dumbledore's speech that changed opinions; you did as well."

Most children would have been happy, but Harry was still feeling the sting of shame. He had been brought up as the Boy-Who-Lived, and while his parents had ingrained in him that he was not above anyone else, he also understood that he held a certain importance in people's hearts and that he was supposed to be an example.

Meanwhile, Cassia clenched her fists and said with determination, "Whatever you say, I will make it up to you. It was horrible to blame you for Hagrid's death, manipulation or not."

A crack appeared on Ethan's smile, and it was quickly shattered as Ethan sighed, "I hold some of the blame. I could have taken care of that dragon."

"But you couldn't possibly have known it would lead to this!"

Ethan did not answer, but he still involuntarily let out what he was feeling: guilt. Because he did know, more or less.

Placing his hand over his jaw, Ethan said, "As I said, it's fine. Let's just... let bygones be bygones."

A part of him was feeling unsatisfied; it hungered for a more explosive response. He dismissed it as his long exposure to children.

"Are you ready, dear?"

Ethan thanked the heavens for his holy mother, who arrived just at the right time, and nodded at her, turning away from the Potters. He could feel they wanted to add something, but in the end they said nothing.

---

Dumbledore stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower, looking over the now-empty Hogwarts' grounds, thinking about the future.

This year had been intense, and although Dumbledore had somewhat expected it with the Philosopher's Stone, things had still turned surprising.

Ever since that fateful night of October, Dumbledore had been unable to feel completely at ease, as the circumstances of Voldemort's disappearance had been mysterious, to say the least. He always feared that one day he would return, and when it became apparent that someone was trying to steal the stone, Dumbledore believed it to be his old student.

As it turned out, none of the events of the year had to do with the Boy Who Lived, but instead were all about the other 'problem child', as he liked to privately refer to them, the grandson of his once best friend and lover, Grindelwald.

Ethan Grindelwald had been another source of worry for Dumbledore, as it was hard to look at him without seeing the shadows of the two Dark Lords he had faced.

Ethan and Tom were quite different from one another, the main common point between the two being their absurd talent for magic. Their upbringings were extremely different, however, so Dumbledore hadn't been too worried at first. Still, Ethan faced a lot of suspicion from the other students, something that Dumbledore sometimes worried would make Ethan go down a similar path to Tom Riddle.

However, as one would expect, it was with his grandfather that Ethan shared the most. From their extremely similar physical appearance, although Ethan now had that scar, to their innate curiosity and talent for magic, the two were very similar to one another.

Now, with everything that happened, one might believe that Dumbledore had his worries squashed, but it was quite the opposite, actually.

Maybe it was his own bias speaking, but Dumbledore did not believe that Gellert had truly been malicious, not like Tom had been. He had merely been changed by certain events and a powerful artefact.

But in the very beginning, both he and Dumbledore shared the same dream, one that was born out of compassion, not a wish for world dominance.

And that was something Dumbledore had seen in Ethan as well. Although he had not been present during the fight itself, having been misdirected by the powerful vampire, he had managed to see what happened clearly through the mirror later on.

It was a good thing for Ethan to have the courage and compassion to go out of his way to protect Harry Potter, despite the clear suspicions his group had shown towards him, but it also showed the strength of his character and his beliefs.

This strength scared Dumbledore beyond any magical might because it was precisely what could become so dangerous if ever twisted.

Still, Dumbledore was a man of experience, and he would not let a distant fear control him. While there was potential for Ethan to become a powerful Dark Lord, there was also potential for him to become a greater wizard than any other before, be it Dumbledore himself or legends like Merlin.