The ghosts' appearance brought the feast to a new high point.
"Nearly Headless Nick" drifted over the young wizards, holding his barely attached head in place as he took pleasure in the first-years' horrified expressions.
"Bloody Baron" sat motionless at the Slytherin table, putting off the young wizards around him so much they could barely enjoy their food.
"Fat Friar" was much more cheerful, often making the Hufflepuffs burst into laughter.
Ethan watched the scene curiously.
If anyone in this world knew the truth about death, it had to be the ghosts.
Unfortunately, the moment they learned the truth, they lost the means to keep searching and questioning.
What exactly is a ghost's inner nature...? Is there a way to imprint one into a painting...?
Ethan murmured, staring fixedly at "Nearly Headless Nick" as he drifted over.
Nick shivered under his gaze and covered his head, like a young girl who'd run into a creep.
He spun around in midair and floated off elsewhere.
Not worth messing with. Not worth messing with...
"Such a coward."
Ethan reluctantly looked away.
Just then, a voice with a strong accent sounded beside him:
"Thank goodness you scared him off."
A brown-skinned girl sitting nearby was looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes.
She'd been turned away, talking to someone else.
When she saw Ethan looking over, she laughed cheerfully, dimples appearing in her cheeks.
"That sight really does put you off your food, doesn't it? I'm Padma Patil, of Indian descent. I also have a twin sister in Gryffindor."
The girl introduced herself.
Her eyes were as round and bright as two black grapes.
"I'm Ethan Vincent. It's nice to meet you," Ethan replied.
Padma said, "I know you. Your name was all over the train. I heard you like painting. Would you be interested in painting something for my sister and me—"
"Ahem!"
Suddenly, a voice barged in.
A light-brown-haired boy named Michael Corner leaned over, his eyes sparkling as he said:
"I'm Michael Corner! It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Patil!"
As he spoke, Michael reached over Ethan and held out his hand to Padma.
"..."
Padma's smile turned into a polite fake one. She nodded and ignored Michael's hand.
Young, ambitious, I see.
Ethan watched Michael puff himself up like a peacock and nodded in appreciation.
In the original story, the Patil Sisters were Harry and Ron's partners at the Yule Ball. They were beauties, by any measure.
With their thick brows and bright eyes, they had a distinctly exotic charm.
Unfortunately, Michael didn't get more than a few words in.
Padma turned away again and continued chatting with her friends.
"Well, at least she knows who I am now," Michael consoled himself.
Then his eyes rolled over to Ethan, and he grinned slyly.
"But I'm sure that if I stick with you, I'll never be short of girls to talk to~"
"Perhaps," Ethan said noncommittally.
He focused on stuffing the last piece of coffee pudding into his mouth, filling the remaining space in his second stomach.
Burp~
That hit the spot.
Soon, once the students had eaten their fill, the food vanished from the tables, leaving them spotless again.
Dumbledore stood before a brass megaphone. The carved golden owl lazily spread its wings.
"Attention, attention, children. Before you return to your dormitories, I have a few things to tell you."
"First, students are strictly forbidden from entering the Forbidden Forest. I'm sure you understand how dangerous it is."
"Second, caretaker Filch asked me to remind everyone not to use magic in the corridors between classes."
"Lastly, anyone who doesn't wish to suffer an accident and die in agony should stay out of the corridor on the fourth floor, on the right-hand side."
At that, whispers broke out among the four houses.
"That's strange," Michael murmured with a frown. "If the Forbidden Forest is off-limits because of dangerous wild animals, what's on the fourth floor?"
"He was so vague about it that it only makes people more curious, like he's deliberately encouraging us to investigate."
"I bet some of those Gryffindor hotheads are already planning to sneak off to the fourth-floor corridor and see what's there."
Michael chuckled.
Well, he wasn't far off.
It seemed getting sorted into Ravenclaw took more than just the wisdom to chat up girls.
Ethan glanced at Michael, thinking.
Ethan knew exactly what was in there.
The Three-Headed Dog Hagrid had generously provided, in the not-so-nice house Dumbledore had left for the Chosen One.
A magical version of a game show where boys and girls charged forward.
And the prize for reaching the end was the Philosopher's Stone, which could be used to make the Elixir of Life—and which Voldemort coveted.
The Philosopher's Stone...
Could it be used as paint if he ground it up...?
Michael said, "Ethan, you look like you're thinking about something dangerous."
His expression suddenly turned frightening.
Ethan snapped back to attention, then looked at Michael with a gentle smile. "No, I'm not. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
"..."
Michael gave an awkward laugh and wisely stopped asking.
No wonder he was the kind of man who'd be sorted into Azkaban. Better not to ask too many questions.
After the chaotic school song ended, the opening feast was officially over.
By then, the little first-years were nodding off where they stood.
Led by their respective house prefects, they filed out of the Great Hall and headed for their dormitories.
"First-years in Ravenclaw, follow me," Prefect Robert Hilliard called.
When he saw Ethan, he smiled smugly.
"I knew you'd come to Ravenclaw."
Ethan said, "Really? I thought I might end up in Hufflepuff."
Robert laughed. "Ha ha, that's a good one."
Ethan...
Ethan puffed out his cheeks in indignation.
How was that fair?!
He was such a kind and warmhearted wizard. Why did nobody think he might end up in Hufflepuff?!
Ethan shot a frosty glance toward the Hufflepuffs, trying to figure out what made him different from them.
He scared several little badgers into huddling together.
"You'll discover that there are some truly clever people at Hogwarts. Eagles nest on high cliffs, and our Common Room is at the very top of the tower," Robert said as he led them upstairs.
"Unlike the other houses, which hide their dormitory entrances, ours is always open to the clever."
"All you have to do is answer the question correctly to get in—but for a thousand years, this obstacle has stopped every student who wasn't in Ravenclaw."
A first-year asked, "What if we can't answer?"
Robert smiled. "Oh, then you'll have to spend the night outside."
Several first-years' eyes widened in alarm.
"Ha ha, don't worry."
"In fact, you'll often find plenty of students already gathered outside, thinking over the question by the time you reach the dormitory. It's a good chance to make new friends, too."
Ethan thought that made a lot of sense.
Just getting to the top of the tower took dozens of minutes.
Intellectuals with muscles, huh?
Settle disagreements by convincing people with reason?
As they went, Robert carefully told them about Ravenclaw's history.
But soon, even his voice faded away.
They were all nearly exhausted.
The group climbed in silence, panting heavily.
"When, when I get my Flying Broomstick," Michael panted, "I'm definitely flying up the outside of this damn tower!"
"Careful you don't get Broom Rash," Ethan muttered, earning a horrified look from Michael.
In fact, the reason nobody did that was that magic had been cast around Ravenclaw Tower.
They couldn't fly in through a window on their brooms. They'd just fall.
At last, when Ethan's legs had started trembling, they finally reached the Ravenclaw Common Room.
However...
When the first-years saw the crowd of older students standing outside, all lost in thought, their hearts sank.
They still hadn't worked out the answer...
Prefect Robert calmly walked up and knocked on the bronze eagle-shaped Door Knocker.
The eagle's beak opened and closed, and a deep voice sounded:
"Light and shadow are mutually dependent and opposed. If the world held only one of them, would the other still exist?"
Before you continue