A sincere light flickered in Ethan's eyes.
Snape: "..."
It was like punching a cotton ball. Snape stood with his mouth open, unable to think of anything to say.
Was this really a question of whether he was immersed in it or not?
And what would happen if he kept immersing himself in it?!
"...It seems, Mr. Vincent, that your attitude toward Dark Magic is more open than that of the general public."
Snape sneered sarcastically as he snatched up the sketch.
With a wave of his wand, flames roared to life in the fireplace.
A steady warmth finally filled the room again.
"Don't waste time on tonight's task. Get started."
Snape pointed at the two large buckets of red and green slime on the floor, the corners of his mouth curling with malicious anticipation.
The last student he'd punished like this had ended up crying and vomiting on the spot.
So, what would Ethan do?
Snape would just have to see what the arrogant, conceited little brat looked like when he was tormented into breaking down.
—However.
It didn't take long.
Snape soon realized he'd celebrated too soon.
Ethan not only wasn't disgusted, he even looked delighted.
He squelched away at the bloody rat livers, not caring in the slightest when slime splattered onto his clothes or face.
He smiled, his eyes glinting with a strange, frenzied light, as though he were a serial killer dismembering his prey, taking endless pleasure in it.
This was bad.
He'd inspired the kid.
Snape felt a deep chill run through him.
Every second spent in the same room as Ethan was torture.
"May I ask what you're thinking about right now?" Snape couldn't take it anymore and interrupted him.
Ethan blurted out, "The Toad Man."
Snape: ?
Ethan lifted his head and smiled at Snape, his face smeared with green slime.
"Just imagine, Professor: if you combined a toad and a human, what a magnificent artistic feast it would be."
"Humans and soft, squishy animals—like making the weakness in a person's heart visible, or returning them to the state they were originally in—"
"Enough!"
Snape roared and sprang to his feet.
Just listening to Ethan's description had given him goosebumps.
This kid was seriously twisted!
Had something happened to him? How could someone so young have such dangerous ideas?!
Snape vanished the filth with a wave of his wand, then glared coldly at Ethan and forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Do you think you're so impressive? You have an artistic talent no one else has, and you make people think you're terrifying. Does that make you proud?"
Ethan blinked. "I didn't—"
"Don't interrupt when a professor is speaking. Ravenclaw loses two points."
Snape's mouth curled into a smug smile.
"You seriously injured Mr. Malfoy before the start of term. I don't know how you did it, but is that how you treat your classmates? Perhaps I should suggest to the Headmaster that your bizarre, revolting paintings be confiscated."
"..."
Ethan paused and lowered his head.
At the sight of this, Snape finally felt as though he could breathe again.
In all his years of teaching, no student had ever dared defy him.
After several seconds of silence.
A voice suddenly sounded, almost like a sigh.
"He has a pair of green eyes, Professor Snape."
"What?"
Snape froze, not understanding.
"I said," Ethan raised his head and looked Snape in the eye, "Harry Potter has a pair of beautiful green eyes, just like Miss Lily's. You may have noticed."
Snape's smile froze.
Then his face quickly flushed with anger.
"If you're trying to provoke me—"
"Malfoy said," Ethan interrupted Snape again, "that if Harry Potter didn't watch his step, he'd end up just like his mother—dead and gone."
Malfoy's exact words had been "Harry's parents."
But Ethan thought it would work better if he temporarily left out "father."
As expected.
Snape went completely rigid, as though someone had hit pause. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
His mouth hung open, but no sound came out.
"So..."
In a gentle voice, Ethan delivered the final blow.
"When I saw a child with eyes like that being insulted so badly, I couldn't help teaching Malfoy a little lesson."
"Professor Snape, was I wrong?"
Silence.
Utter silence!
Snape stood motionless, as if he'd gone stupid.
The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire.
If Ethan had a paintbrush right then and could paint a pair of green eyes on Snape, it would surely have made the effect even better.
Unfortunately, he hadn't yet learned how to turn his wand into a paintbrush.
Even so, the Buff was already fully stacked.
Several seconds later.
Anger returned to Snape's face.
And this time, it was clearly not directed at Ethan.
"Go—go get Malfoy for me..."
Professor Snape was so furious that his voice shook.
Ethan: "Professor, the points I lost—"
Snape: "...For your courage in standing up for a classmate, Ravenclaw gains ten points."
Ethan: "Professor, my commission—"
Snape: "..."
Irritated, he fished a handful of coins out of his pocket and shoved them into Ethan's hand without even looking.
Ethan didn't waste any time. "I'll go get Malfoy right now," he said, then turned and ran.
Only after he'd run a fair distance did Ethan look down breathlessly at the coins in his hand, lit by the candlelight.
There were five gleaming gold Galleons, along with some Silver Sickles and Knuts.
That was enough for him to use better materials to repaint a more durable, higher-quality [Gate of Opening].
He'd gone straight from scraping by to living comfortably.
"..."
Slowly, slowly.
The corners of Ethan's mouth lifted.
It was the most genuine smile he'd had since the start of term.
Standing in the dim, damp corridor under the flickering candlelight, he looked utterly terrifying.
Ethan found Malfoy outside the Slytherin Common Room.
At the time, Malfoy was boasting to his usual entourage.
When they saw Ethan, they all looked tense but smug.
"Professor Snape wants to see you," Ethan said.
"See me?"
Malfoy was a little confused, but then he understood.
Professor Snape must want to punish Ethan in front of him.
He'd known it. He'd suffered such a serious injury; there was no way Professor Snape would let Ethan off with just doing some work.
Malfoy's eyes darted about as he came up with an even more humiliating idea.
He nodded toward his hangers-on and said, "You don't mind my friends coming along, do you, Ethan? Or are you... embarrassed to have them hear?"
His followers snickered.
Ethan blinked and kindly advised him, "I think it'd be better if you went alone."
After all, hell awaited him.
Malfoy clearly took him the wrong way.
Seeing Ethan say that, he assumed Ethan was afraid, and his smug expression grew.
"Stop wasting time! Come on, we're all going!"
The Slytherins smiled maliciously and followed Malfoy.
Ethan shrugged.
He'd warned them, hadn't he?
If they wouldn't listen, what could he do?
They arrived at the Potions Office.
The door was half open, and they could see Professor Snape's figure in the dim room, his back to them.
Malfoy curled his lips, glanced at the calm Ethan, then raised a hand and knocked before walking inside.
"Professor Snape—"
"For insulting a classmate, Slytherin loses ten points, Mr. Malfoy."
Snape turned around slowly, his voice dark and cold as a snake slithering past their ears.
Before you continue