"Let me see..."
Ethan raised his head, rose slightly onto his tiptoes, and looked at the jobs posted on the noticeboard.
"Assist librarian Madam Pince in organizing The Invisible Book of Invisibility. Pay: 5 Sickles..."
"Assist Hagrid in dealing with rotten pumpkins. Pay: 3 Sickles... Hmm, somehow I feel this won't be that simple."
"Assist in cleaning and maintaining the Bowtruckle habitat—third-year students or above only. Pay: 8 Sickles..."
"Assist Professor Sprout in pruning Venomous Tentacula—danger! Fifth-year students or above only. Pay: 10 Sickles."
Most of the jobs posted lower down were relatively simple, mostly helping prepare materials, clean, or copy things, and the pay was low as well.
The higher up they were, the more difficult they became.
At the very top, Ethan even saw a job to "eradicate the Grindylows in the caves along the Black Lake."
The pay was a very generous 2 Galleons, but it was only open to sixth- and seventh-year students. They also had to form a team before accompanying a professor there.
...It felt more like a professor taking students out to grind levels.
As a first-year student, Ethan had very few choices.
Just as Ethan was about to take down the job helping Madam Pince organize books,
a low, hoarse voice with a drawn-out cadence rang out:
"Look at our famous painter, working so diligently that he's even started taking on school jobs."
Ding!
You have encountered wild Professor Snape!
Even without turning around, Ethan could tell who had arrived.
Finally.
Ethan thought.
He did not answer immediately. He leisurely took down the job notice first, then turned around.
Sure enough, he saw Professor Snape's sallow, hooked-nosed old face.
Not far away, Malfoy and his lackeys were snickering, staring over with ill intent.
—Opposing the Slytherin pure-blood supremacists was an essential experience at Hogwarts.
"Good afternoon, Professor Snape." Ethan withdrew his gaze and smiled politely. "Is there something you wanted to see me about?"
Seeing Ethan's smile, as if nothing had happened, the corner of Snape's mouth twitched. He then drawled sarcastically:
"Since you're looking for a job, I happen to have one for you."
"After dinner today, come to my office and help me process some rat livers. Oh, and I believe they happen to be soaking in Toad Bile."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the students around them changed expressions.
At the thought of handling something so sticky and bloody, they felt sick.
This could not possibly be called a "job." It was more like a punishment!
Ethan, however, showed no reluctance whatsoever. Instead, he asked, "What's the pay?"
"...Five Sickles."
Snape suddenly felt as if he had been hustled.
That feeling reached its peak when Ethan beamed at him.
"Deal! I'll come find you as soon as dinner is over, Professor Snape. You just wait for me."
"..."
Snape's mouth moved twice, but in the end, he said nothing.
With a sharp swish of his robes, he swept away.
Only then did Michael dare approach. He widened his eyes and whispered:
"How could Professor Snape do that? Even when serving detention, people usually aren't made to handle something that disgusting!"
Ethan stroked the job notice in his hand and said with interest, "Are rat livers really that disgusting? Then I'll have to give them a proper appraisal."
"And I get paid for it, too."
That sentence was very important.
Michael: "..."
He was speechless.
Right. How could he have forgotten? The other boy was the one who had painted such a bizarre work as Broom Rash.
What was a punishment to other people
might truly be nothing more than an ordinary job to Ethan.
Just then,
Ethan lifted his eyes and met Malfoy's gaze from the Slytherin table.
Malfoy raised an extremely provocative, contemptuous grin at him, said something to his lackeys, and the group burst into laughter.
Ethan watched the scene with a faint smile, as if he was not angry in the slightest.
Regardless, he would never refuse a job from Snape, even if it really did disgust him.
Ethan would never compromise with anyone who tried to defeat him.
All he had to do was accept the challenge.
As for the challengers, they had much more to consider.
For example... how to deal with the consequences of failing the challenge.
Ethan's eyes shifted.
Not far away, he saw Harry and Ron striding angrily toward Malfoy and the others.
—The Chosen One would arrive at the battlefield in three seconds.
Very soon,
a clash broke out over there.
"Youth..." Ethan sighed.
Michael frowned and warned him:
"You should still be careful. The Malfoy family is a School Governor of Hogwarts, and they have a very good relationship with Professor Snape. No matter what happens, Malfoy won't receive severe punishment."
Hearing his companion's concern, Ethan felt warm inside.
There really were more good people in the world.
Ethan consoled him, "Don't worry. I'll also do my best not to end up in Azkaban."
Michael: "..."
No, not do your best—please make absolutely sure you don't end up in Azkaban!!
Suddenly, Michael felt as if all his emotions had been thrown to the dogs.
Right. This was Ethan Vincent.
The unorthodox painter whose reputation was the complete opposite of the Chosen One's.
The only people who needed to worry were the enemies who came looking for trouble.
Michael sincerely lit a candle for young Master Malfoy in his heart.
He placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, pressed his lips together, and finally said solemnly:
"Don't kill him. Leave him breathing."
Ethan: ?
Do I look like some kind of demon?
"How could a kind little wizard like me do something so frightening?"
"At most, I'll just scare him a little."
As Ethan spoke, he gave Michael an incomparably innocent smile.
The other boy promptly began silently chanting Merlin's name while drawing a cross over his chest.
Drive out the evil.
There were no classes in the afternoon.
Some of the young Ravenclaws read in the common room, while others read in the library.
Of course, they were not all bookworms.
Some were happy to discuss various games with their friends or listen to older students teach them the mysteries of "egg divination."
Others went outdoors in groups to identify various wild plants.
Ethan chose the library—but not to do homework or read. He was there to help Madam Pince organize The Invisible Book of Invisibility.
At first, Madam Pince thought Ethan was too young to do the work properly.
But she was soon won over by his refined and courteous manner.
While teaching him the Revealing Charm, she chattered nonstop about how careless the other students were with books.
In the end, she even gave him an extra Sickle as payment.
With a stern expression, she told Ethan that if he needed the work, he could come help at the library every day.
Hearing those words,
Ethan felt that even the cold, hard coin in his hand seemed to have acquired a trace of warmth.
After dinner,
amid his companions' admiring and encouraging gazes, Ethan, now transformed into a workaholic, headed for the Potions Office.
The Potions Office was underground. It was cold and damp year-round, and beads of water covered the rough stones.
At dusk, only flickering candlelight illuminated the path ahead, making the place look gloomy and deathly still.
Ethan felt as if he were returning home.
He was in an excellent mood.
"Knock, knock."
He politely knocked on the door.
But after waiting for a while, he heard no response from inside.
Ethan tentatively pushed the door, and it opened on its own.
Inside, Professor Snape stood alone in the dim room, motionless as he stared at a sheet of paper in his hands.
The fireplace beside him had already gone out, and the entire room radiated a chill.
Ethan recognized the paper in Snape's hands at a glance. It was the portrait of Lily he had drawn for him.
As if immersed in another world, Professor Snape's usually cold, gloomy eyes were filled with deep longing and sorrow.
Ethan had not yet decided whether to pretend he had seen nothing
when Professor Snape noticed his presence.
His eyes flew wide, and anger at being caught red-handed rose across his sallow face.
Before Professor Snape could tell him to "get out," Ethan spoke first:
"It's all right, Professor. I'll definitely draw you an even better painting next time!"
"Then you'll be able to immerse yourself in it completely, without being interrupted by anything else."
Before you continue