By the time Ethan finally escaped the deepest parts of the Forbidden Forest, night had completely swallowed the sky.
A full moon hung behind drifting clouds while distant werewolf howls echoed faintly through the mountains. Normally, Ethan might have gone looking for entertainment, but after devouring nearly an entire colony of Acromantulas, he felt pleasantly exhausted.
Tonight was for sleeping.
Outside the edge of the forest, Ethan dismissed his Dementor form and glanced happily at the system panel showing nineteen percent soul completeness.
Excellent progress.
If he flew openly back to Gryffindor Tower as a giant floating Dementor, however, Dumbledore would probably vaporize him on sight.
Ethan still had no idea whether Fawkes's phoenix flames could peck apart souls directly, but considering Dumbledore also carried the Elder Wand around casually, caution felt reasonable.
He glared suspiciously at his own wand.
"It's also made of elder wood," Ethan muttered. "Why can't you learn from better examples?"
The wand soul instantly retreated deeper into the core without responding.
At this point, Ethan genuinely suspected the thing might have died emotionally.
The castle grounds were almost completely dark by the time Ethan slipped back toward Hogwarts. Only a few tower windows remained illuminated while most candles and braziers throughout the castle had already gone out.
Perfect conditions for sneaking.
Unfortunately, Ethan's luck lasted approximately twelve seconds.
"Ha! I caught you!"
Filch suddenly exploded out from behind a corner holding a flickering oil lamp like some furious ghost.
"I knew it was you Gryffindor brats!" he snarled viciously. "Wasn't it you who threw those Dungbombs—"
"Obliviate!"
Ethan immediately cast the Memory Charm without hesitation.
Morality existed for students serving detention. Ethan had absolutely no intention of wasting evenings polishing armour or gutting Flobberworms for punishment.
The moment Filch's eyes went blank, Ethan sprinted away.
Fortunately, he could navigate Hogwarts perfectly even in darkness. Somehow his senses functioned fine without ordinary vision, perhaps because Dementors technically lacked eyes altogether.
Honestly, the moving staircases posed far more danger than Filch ever could.
Filch could be stunned or memory-charmed.
The staircases, however, obeyed no one.
If Ethan got trapped between shifting steps in the middle of the night, he would never emotionally recover.
Worst case scenario, Rose would eventually be summoned to the Headmaster's office.
And Ethan absolutely did not want to experience an angry Rose.
By the time he reached the Fat Lady's portrait, he was surprised to discover she remained awake this late.
"Oh?" the Fat Lady said curiously. "Secret midnight party somewhere?"
"Pig snout," Ethan answered automatically before lowering his voice. "Are there still people awake inside?"
"You'll see," the Fat Lady yawned. "They're much more nervous than you. Came running in sweating like frightened mice."
The portrait swung open.
"I assume none of your little friends are still wandering the corridors. I'm going back to sleep."
The moment Ethan climbed through the portrait hole, he immediately understood who had been violating school rules tonight.
"You lot have eyes, don't you?" Hermione snapped furiously. "Couldn't you see what it was standing on?"
"On the floor?" Harry replied weakly. "I wasn't looking at its feet. I was too busy looking at the three heads—"
"Not the floor," Hermione interrupted angrily. "A trapdoor. It was obviously guarding something!"
Then she continued in a furious rush.
"I hope you're proud of yourselves. We nearly died!"
At that exact moment, Ethan crawled awkwardly through the portrait opening.
Honestly, he had planned to wait outside until the argument finished, but staying bent over inside the narrow tunnel any longer was beginning to destroy his back.
Everyone in the common room turned to stare at him.
Harry.
Ron.
Hermione.
Neville.
And now Ethan, covered in mud and leaves from the Forbidden Forest.
"…Maybe I arrived at a bad time," Ethan offered carefully.
"Ethan sneaks out too!" Harry immediately pointed accusingly.
Ethan looked genuinely offended.
"What? No—I didn't sneak out with any of you."
"I meant breaking school rules," Harry clarified quickly.
Hermione crossed her arms.
"At least Ethan didn't go near the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor," she said sharply.
Then she shot Ethan a disappointed look despite technically being just as guilty herself.
"If nobody objects, I'm going to bed."
Ron stared after her with complete disbelief.
"Fine by me," he muttered. "We didn't exactly drag her there."
Ethan blinked.
"Wait," he said slowly. "You actually went to the fourth-floor corridor?"
Now things made more sense.
Originally, Ethan remembered Harry receiving his broom and joining the Quidditch team shortly after flying lessons. Malfoy was supposed to challenge Harry and Ron to a midnight duel first.
But Malfoy had apparently waited until Ethan was busy harvesting spider souls before causing trouble.
"It was Malfoy," Ron said angrily. "That coward told us at dinner he'd duel us at midnight, then never showed up!"
Harry looked toward Ethan suspiciously.
"Where were you tonight anyway? You skipped dinner too."
Then he noticed the dirt covering Ethan's robes.
"…You went into the Forbidden Forest again, didn't you?"
"Honestly," Ron muttered, "the Forbidden Forest sounds safer than wandering around forbidden corridors with Hermione."
"I heard there are loads of Dark creatures in there," Harry added curiously. "What did you actually see?"
Ethan hesitated for a second.
"Well…" he said carefully. "Not many living things by the end. Mostly spiders and Ashwinders."
Ron visibly shuddered.
"Right. I officially never want to go there."
Eventually the four boys returned upstairs toward the dormitory while Harry enthusiastically explained everything they had discovered.
The gigantic three-headed dog.
The hidden trapdoor beneath it.
Hagrid secretly removing a mysterious package from Gringotts on the exact same day the vault was robbed.
Ethan listened patiently.
At this point, Harry Potter had become the second-best information vault in Hogwarts.
The first was still Hagrid.
"Ethan," Harry whispered from his bed later that night, unable to sleep. "What do you think's hidden under the trapdoor?"
His voice lowered further.
"The thing Hagrid took from Gringotts."
"Maybe it's magical candy that turns everything into sweets," Ethan replied vaguely from beneath his blankets.
The Philosopher's Stone definitely remained worth investigating.
Perhaps consuming it would dramatically restore soul completeness.
The real problem was how to obtain it safely.
What was he supposed to tell Dumbledore afterward?
Sorry, Professor. Quirrell threatened me, so I ate the legendary magical artifact to protect it from evil people.
If Dumbledore believed that, the old man probably had severe memory problems already.
"To protect the Philosopher's Stone… you swallowed it?"
For some reason, Ethan could almost hear someone saying that sentence aloud in disbelief.
He buried himself deeper under the blanket.
Thinking was exhausting.
Better to sleep first.
....
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