Chapter 36

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"Malfoy's lucky Harry Potter is such a dunce. I still feel like poisoning him in his sleep."

Three weeks had passed since Ethan had visited Hagrid and learned about the Dragon egg, and although things had taken a little longer than he thought they would have, things still seemed to have gone as expected.

He was in a Potions Class at the moment, and he had been paired with Theodore, much to his pleasure. Ethan himself was decent at Potions, his grades hovering around Exceed Expectations on mock exams, sometimes netting an Outstanding here and there.

Theodore was in another ballpark however. Ever since that first Double Potions class with the Gryffindors, Theodore had practically turned into a demon, throwing nearly all of his free time into reading about the class, even if that sometimes led to deficiencies in other subjects.

Observing as his friend sent a death glare at Malfoy, who did not dare to turn around despite clearly hearing them since he was right in front of them, while perfectly brewing the potion, Ethan asked with a whisper, "Shouldn't we focus on the potion? I still don't get why the Eagle Eyed Potion can't be turned into an elixir."

Theodore rolled his eyes at Ethan, grumbling, "Seriously? It's so-"

Ethan immediately cut him off, "If you dare to tell me its basic, you can forget getting any help on your Transfiguration."

Theodore narrowed his eyes at Ethan, before clicking his tongue and returning his attention to Malfoy, gnarling, "FIFTY points in a single night."

Malfoy lowered his head, even his pride had limits, but unfortunately for him, not only was he right in front of them, but he was also paired up with Daphne, who said, "Slytherin has won the cup for seven years in a row. I swear, if we end up losing, I might just learn one of the Unforgivable Curses."

Ethan was about to say something, when he suddenly felt like a shadow loomed over him. Before he could turn around, he heard Snape's raspy voice say, "The only unforgivable magic I see is your potion-making. Focus, Greengrass."

Daphne blushed and looked down, but Malfoy did not dare to raise him either as he knew he had drawn the Professor's ire as well with his loss of points.

"As for you, Grindelwald, you would have found the answer to your question if you had bothered to read page 213 of last week's homework. But if you are thinking of making one for your own use, I would strongly advise you to refrain from doing so. Elixirs are extremely powerful, which works as a double edged blade."

Ethan felt the urge to check his mental defences as his Potions Professor somehow managed to guess exactly what he had been intending to do. The Eagle Eyed Potion was a potion that enhanced its user's eyesight to one similar to an eagle's for a set duration, depending on the potency of the potion.

As for an Elixir, it was nothing more than a permanent version of a potion, meaning that an Eagle Eyed Elixir would give its drinker an eyesight as potent as an eagle's for the rest of their life.

Watching as Snape walked away to try and send other students spiralling down into depression, Ethan whispered to Theodore, "What would happen if we could force the cauldron to maintain its current temperature?"

Theodore looked at his partner quizzically, "You do realise that this is exactly what I am doing, right?"

Ethan sneered at the outstretched wand, "By maintaining your concentration on the Incendio spell. But if the cauldron were to be forced to keep its current temperature by another factor, would the potion also be brewed successfully?"

Theodore finally seemed to catch onto what Ethan was trying to say as he said flatly, "You just want to show off your runes."

"You bet I do!"

Deciding not to leave Theodore any choice in the matter, Ethan took out his wand and quickly etched a bunch of runes around the cauldron. Before long, a set of blue runes had appeared all around the cauldron, forming a circle around it.

Theodore stopped fueling the flame with his magic, yet the cauldron did not start losing its heat. After some time, Snape passed by, and after giving it a look, he groaned, "I am hesitating between punishing you for damaging school property and awarding you for your ingenuity. I am leaning towards the first."

Flashing his most charming smile at the Professor, Ethan replied, "Is it not by blindly following in the steps of our elders that our art perishes?"

Snape did not look very impressed as he replied, "Many chicks only end up splattering against the ground."

Still, Snape did not take away any points from Ethan as he left them be. Curiously observing the set of runes, seeing that Snape wasn't totally against it, Theodore whispered, "You got to teach me that."

"What? You mean my never-ending charm? I am afraid I was born with it, my friend."

Theodore only gave him the stink eye, "You know I mean the runes. I don't need to be turned into a freak by every newspaper in the country."

A head suddenly popped out between the two of them, which inevitably belonged to Tracey, who whispered, "Face it pup, we are turning into his minions. There's nothing we can do."

Both boys jumped from the fright as they looked at Tracey who had suddenly appeared. She was supposed to be on the other end of the room, but looking over, they saw a pissed off Pansy Parkinson looking over.

Pressing down her head below the table, Ethan whispered harshly, "Are you mad? Snape's going to flip if he finds you wandering the classroom!"

Tracey evaded his grasp eerily easily however as she leaned against their table, replying, "I'm alright. Worst case scenario couldn't be worse than Draco being found out after curfew and losing the entire house fifty points."

Malfoy seemingly had enough as he turned around, his eyes ablaze with fury, but before he could say anything, Tracey had already fleeted across the room, back in front of her cauldron, as if she had never left.

His target lost, Malfoy turned his attention to Ethan, and seethed, "Without me, Potter and his friends wouldn't have been found by Filch, and they wouldn't have lost 150 points!"

Unimpressed, Ethan replied, "Without me, we would be more than a hundred points behind."

Malfoy then added through clenched teeth, somehow feeling the need to justify himself, "They were trying to bring out a dragon! I was acting for the safety of the school! You should be thanking me, if anything!"

Although he knew the matter to be true, Ethan couldn't help but feel the need to tease the boy, "Sounds more like you got baited but they were dumb enough to get caught. Weren't you bragging earlier this year that you got the Potter Twins to agree to a midnight duel and never showed up?"

Malfoy's pale face suddenly brightened up to a vivid red as he found himself at a loss for words. Understanding that saying anymore would do more harm than good, Malfoy turned back to his cauldron, forced to ignore the smug looks Daphne was sending him.

The rest of the class passed by uneventfully, but as it ended and they stepped out of the dungeons, Snape called out, "Grindelwald, a word."

The man made it clear he wasn't asking from his tone, so after sharing a glance with his friends, he stayed behind.

Closing the doors from a distance, Snape sat down at his desk, Ethan standing in front of him as the Professor said, "You have done remarkably well in salvaging your reputation since the Halloween incident. It seems you have inherited more than your grandfather's magical talent."

"I am humbled, I doubt I would succeed in rousing half of the world to fight against the other."

Snape was not amused, "I care not for your jests, Grindelwald. I brought you here to tell you that the staff shares your concerns about Professor Quirrell, and we believe that he may soon come to action."

Ethan frowned as this was a conclusion they had all come up to a while ago. He decided to guess, "You too feel he isn't acting alone?"

Snape peered at him, and for the faintest moment, Ethan felt a foreign energy brush against his defences, only to disappear just as fast as it appeared, resembling more a mirage than anything else.

But Ethan wasn't fooled. His defences growing tighter, Ethan's gaze hardened as he looked into his Professor's eyes, and said, "It is a natural conclusion, Professor, not an admission of guilt. Professor Quirrell has grown restless with the months, and his mind is not very well defended."

"Reading one of your Professors' minds is highly unethical, and could get you expelled from this school." Although he said that, Snape's face remained stony.

Still, Ethan explained, "I only resorted to Empathy."

Passive Legilimency was another name for Empathy, as in the ability to feel the emotions of others. A wizard or witch with a strong enough mind and competent enough in the mind arts was more attuned to the mind of others, and would be capable of sensing the emotions of those around them.

The degree at which the Legilimens could feel these emotions depended on the strength of their mind, their mastery of the mind arts, the power and skill of the other's mind, and on the strength of the emotions felt.

With his current mind prowess, Ethan was only capable of sensing strong emotions directed at him.

Seeing Snape make no comment this time, Ethan elaborated, "I have often felt hostility from Professor Quirrell, which set me on edge. But many people feel hostile towards my name, so I did not bear too much attention to it. That hostility has more than once morphed into other emotions however, such as fear, and quite strangely, hope."