When Ethan finished reading the line,
a deep blue light swallowed him, making him close his eyes involuntarily.
The primal scent faded, and the smell of dust crept into his nostrils again.
Ethan opened his eyes and saw that he was back in the Trophy Room, standing in front of the mirror.
The bright moonlight shone on its smooth surface, reflecting Ethan's image.
Apart from that, it was empty.
Eris's Spell was clearly imprinted in Ethan's mind.
The complicated cipher contained characters he didn't recognize—perhaps Ancient Runes, which he hadn't learned yet.
Just silently reciting it in his mind filled Ethan with an intense longing.
It nearly clouded his senses.
"Phew—"
Ethan took a deep breath and slowly let it out, calming himself.
What a powerful and terrifying spell. It stole people's minds, immersing them in illusory dreams and making them forget reality.
Ethan absolutely loved it.
With this spell, he could paint truly captivating portraits!
Professor Snape would no longer have to agonize over black-and-white sketches. He could really immerse himself in them!
No, he could even recreate the Mirror of Erised.
The magical artifact that reflected everyone's deepest desires!
Ethan's heart pounded, his eyes shone, and sparks of inspiration kept flying.
He couldn't wait to get back to his dormitory and try it out.
Just then,
Ethan heard a limping footstep outside the door.
Filch was back.
"Scourgify."
Ethan waved his wand, sweeping away all the dust.
When Filch came in, panting, he found the room spotless.
"You—you used magic!"
Filch's eyes widened, almost bulging out of his head, and his face turned red with rage.
He hadn't caught those night-wandering troublemakers.
And now, when he got back, the Trophy Room had been cleaned up, too.
—Were they making a fool of him?!
Ethan toyed with his wand and said innocently, "Magic? You've got me all wrong. I cleaned everything up, bit by bit."
Filch nearly spat up a mouthful of blood.
He jumped with rage, trembling all over as he roared,
"I'll tell the professors! I'll have them check your wand! You naturally evil little brat, the school will punish you properly—"
Before he could finish,
a strange whisper flowed from Ethan's lips.
"Erised stra ehru..."
The spell was awkward and clumsy. Ethan felt as if he were reciting a tongue twister, and there were some words he didn't recognize, so he just guessed his way through them.
But it worked.
As his wand moved, specks of light like tiny moths circled Filch's head.
Filch's eyes lost focus, and a leering smile spread across his face.
Ethan fell silent.
Wait.
Why did this look so much like one of the Three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius Curse?
I really am a good wizard!
"Do a somersault?"
Ethan tentatively gave the order.
Filch didn't react. He just continued to lose himself in his pleasant illusion.
Ethan relaxed.
This spell was perfectly safe.
No, more like a helpful spell!
He could call it the Sweet Dream Spell.
As for the letdown when people woke up and faced reality...?
Ethan figured he was only responsible for giving people sweet dreams, not for providing aftercare.
"Even an incomplete version of the spell has such a strong effect... If I could reproduce it completely in a painting, just how powerful would that be?"
Ethan murmured as he strode across the room and stopped by the door.
He glanced down at Mrs. Norris, who was anxiously pacing around Filch's feet.
"Meow~ Meow~"
She sounded so pitiful.
Ethan grinned, bent down, and gave the alert, frozen cat a vigorous stroke—
Against the grain.
"Meow!!!"
Accompanied by the cat's miserable cry, Ethan left the Trophy Room, thoroughly satisfied.
Ah, that felt good.
Halfway back to the dormitory,
Ethan ran into the "troublemakers" who had distracted Filch earlier—
Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Compared with Ethan's calm composure, the three of them looked dazed, as if they'd seen Professor Quirrell playing with a Troll.
They'd run into each other at a corner.
Ethan heard their footsteps in time and stepped aside.
But the Three Little Ones crashed into one another at the sight of him, tumbling to the floor with a chorus of groans.
If Filch hadn't already been hit with the Imperius Curse—no, the Sweet Dream Spell—he probably would've popped out of some nook or cranny by now.
"Are you trying to wake up everyone in the castle so you can throw a party?"
Ethan asked curiously.
"What? No!"
Ron scrambled to his feet, panting, and stared at Ethan with a pale little face.
"You have no idea what we just saw!"
Ethan said, "Hmm... Let me guess. You broke into the Fourth Floor Corridor Restricted Area and found a giant dog with three heads?"
Ron: "..."
The Three Little Ones gaped at Ethan, stunned.
He'd guessed right!
They'd barely escaped with their lives, and they'd been convinced they were the first students at the school to discover what was in the Fourth Floor Restricted Area.
But they hadn't expected Ethan to figure it out so easily!
"H-how did you know?" Ron stammered.
Ethan smiled mysteriously. "It's a secret."
In an instant, Ethan seemed even more impressive in their eyes.
As expected of Ethan.
He was always so inscrutable.
—Of course Ethan knew from the original story.
It seemed that although Malfoy's dueling opponent had changed to Ethan, which meant Harry and the others' original nighttime duel had been canceled, they'd still snuck out and ended up in the Fourth Floor Restricted Area while being chased by Filch.
Ethan wondered if Old Dumbledore had put some kind of spell on the stairs, so that whenever they got the chance, they'd lead Harry and the others toward the restricted area.
Harry pushed up his glasses, nervous but excited, and whispered,
"Do you remember that little package Hagrid took from the Gringotts vault, the one I told you about before? The one the newspaper said someone had tried to steal?"
"Mm-hmm, I remember."
Ethan lowered his voice and leaned in, putting on the same secretive air as the others.
"I suspect that package is what the Three-Headed Dog is guarding!"
At that, Harry paused, then reluctantly added, "Hermione was the one who reminded us there's a trapdoor underneath the Three-Headed Dog—"
Before he could finish, Hermione, who hadn't said a word until then, suddenly looked up and snapped,
"Are you finished?!"
"What it's guarding and who wants to steal it has nothing to do with us!"
"You're seriously breaking the school rules, you know!"
"And you, Vincent!"
Hermione whipped around and glared at Ethan as if he were a lost cause.
"As you wish."
Ethan bowed slightly, polite and elegant.
"..." Hermione choked on her words, then continued indignantly, "I didn't think someone who studied so diligently would be so undisciplined!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow and said in surprise, "Is that so hard to believe?"
Just how many "rules" had he broken since the start of term?
Hermione: "..."
All right.
Using magic to attack Malfoy, beating Malfoy up, making money off the Malfoy family...
He really hadn't followed the rules for even a single day.
Maybe Ethan's appearance was just too deceptive.
People saw his handsome, innocent face and automatically overlooked all the bad things he did.
"...Fine! I'm done with you lot! If you don't mind, I'm going back to the dormitory to sleep!"
With that, Hermione tossed her hair. It whipped Ron in the face like a broom, and she hurried off with quick, tapping footsteps.
Holding his face, Ron said incredulously, "We don't mind. Go ahead. What's that supposed to mean? It's as if we forced her to come along!"
Ethan smiled and took the opportunity to ask, "Then why did you come out? It's so late."
Malfoy had been taken home, so there was no "nighttime duel" anymore.
Harry scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed, and said,
"Uh, we wanted to help you distract Filch... so you'd have time to cast a spell and wouldn't have to wipe those filthy trophies by hand."
Before you continue