Halloween Eve

Halloween Eve.

The silver moonlight spilled across the windowsill.

Jack-o'-lantern decorations had been set up all along the corridors, occasionally cackling at students who passed by.

Ethan stood in the First Floor Entrance Hall, listening to the commotion coming from the Great Hall not far away.

The hall was large enough to fit an entire house. Its ceiling was too high to see, and all around hung glowing green candles, decorative cobwebs, and little bats that flitted about.

The spots where suits of armor had once stood were now occupied by snarling skeletons, and pale specters drifted through the air from time to time.

Everyone was enjoying the feast in the Great Hall.

It was the perfect time to set up an art exhibition.

Ethan had chosen a stretch of corridor running from the Underground Staircase to the Side Corridor.

There weren't many Living Paintings here, leaving enough room to blend his own paintings in among them.

"Hey, child," asked a kindly old woman seated in a wheelchair in one of the paintings. "Why aren't you at the feast? What are you doing here?"

"I want to hang up my paintings and add a little Halloween flavor."

Ethan answered honestly, waving his wand to float the paintings up onto the wall.

"Oh—you can paint, too! What a lovely child."

The old woman pressed her hands to her cheeks. Her gaze grew ever more affectionate as she said eagerly,

"Hang it beside me, so I can admire your painting properly—"

The old woman's voice suddenly stopped.

Her gaze fixed on the painting hanging beside her, just as she'd asked.

It was an incredibly grotesque, terrifying painting.

It seemed to depict a beast that was neither human nor animal.

It had a thick, unruly mane of brown hair. Fat bulged beneath its skin, piling up around its bones in clumps, like a mass of living flesh rather than a single body.

And then there were its eyes.

Those eyes brimmed with madness and chaos, their depths flickering with fury.

It was crammed into the frame, which seemed to have become its fragile prison.

The next second, it looked ready to tear through the canvas, smash the frame, and lunge out to rip into living flesh with its yellow teeth.

In a daze,

the old woman seemed to hear the pounding of its heart and smell its hot, putrid breath.

"This is a painting of my good friend, Loyal Hagrid," Ethan introduced enthusiastically, admiring the painting with a wistful expression.

To achieve the desired effect, he'd even used chicken blood—from outside Hagrid's Hut.

The final result was excellent.

Ethan took a deep breath, savoring the bloodstained stench that wafted toward him.

It was perfect as the first painting in the exhibition, sure to stir people up.

He just couldn't figure out why Hagrid, who was usually so talkative, had fallen silent when Ethan showed him the painting.

The next day, Hagrid had even cut short the hair he'd never bothered to groom in years.

Guess he'd reached the age where he cared about his appearance.

Ethan thought.

"—Aaaah!!"

A wretched scream interrupted Ethan's thoughts.

He looked up.

The kindly old woman leaped out of her wheelchair and bounded away to another painting. She was soon out of sight.

"Excellent. Lots of spirit."

Ethan nodded approvingly.

Hopefully, the old woman would scream just like that during the exhibition and add to the atmosphere.

"Heh heh heh~"

Humming a cheerful tune, Ethan controlled the paintings and hung them in the right places.

Third Umbilical Cord, Dim Moonlight Path, Eating Ghoul, Roaring Crawler...

Gradually, the corridor fell silent, utterly devoid of life.

The Living Paintings stood empty, their occupants nowhere to be seen.

Even the bright moonlight had taken on a tinge of red.

Finally,

at the far end of the corridor, Ethan hung two of his proudest works:

Portal and Call of Erised.

[Name: Call of Erised]

[Type: Conceptual Painting]

[Rank: Tier 1 · Golden Legendary]

[Description: "Embrace me. Enter me."]

[Effect: Captivates viewers, making them feel as though they are trapped inside an illusion of their deepest desire. They will find it difficult to escape. If they do not break free in time, they will remain trapped in a beautiful dream forever and lose themselves completely.]

[Warning! This card is dangerous. Use with caution.]

[When you visit the Gallery, you can view this painting on the wall.]

[Number of paintings currently in the Gallery: 4]

[Novice Gift Pack unlock progress: 4/5]

This was the second Golden Legendary card Ethan had created by fusing it with the Erised Spell.

The painting showed a golden radiance.

It had no definite shape, stretching from top to bottom, yet enveloping everything like a sun that blinded anyone who looked at it.

Just looking at it made him feel dizzy and feverishly hot.

It seemed that nothing else existed in the world besides that radiance.

"Mm."

Ethan suddenly snapped back to his senses and shook his head, clearing it.

That was close. He'd almost gotten trapped in it himself.

This card was really dangerous. What was he supposed to do with it...?

He only wanted people to admire his paintings. He wasn't actually trying to cause an accident.

I'm such a pure and kind person. How could I bear to put anyone else in danger?

This was Hogwarts, after all.

Suddenly,

Ethan had a brilliant idea.

Noble Fusion!

It was a new skill he'd learned, and he still hadn't found a chance to use it.

"Fuse Portal and Call of Erised."

Ethan gave the command. He felt the magic inside him flow into the two paintings, then draw them together.

"Gloop, gloop."

The paint on both canvases bulged, then slowly stuck together like sinews.

In the end, they fused completely into one.

They became a single painting.

Ethan's eyes lit up as he read the description of his "new work."

That's it!

It could lure people into dreams more effectively, then deliver a fatal blow at the last moment, making them fall back into cruel reality—

Ahem. How could he call it a fatal blow?

It was clearly a friendly "anti-addiction system."

Satisfied, Ethan hung up this last painting.

According to the effect description of the fused card, he still needed to go to the Great Hall and set up the Portal's exit.

A little surprise for everyone.

Thinking about what was about to happen, Ethan couldn't help grinning.

"I wonder who'll be lucky enough to be the first to see the exhibition..."

Ethan murmured with a smile, hurrying toward the Great Hall.

Beneath the moonlight, his figure cast a long, thin shadow.

Not long after Ethan left,

a figure climbed, panting, out of the staircase leading underground.

It was Professor Quirrell, who had just released the Troll.

"Heh, hehehe..."

Quirrell couldn't help laughing nervously, his trembling eyes full of confidence.

It was done.

He'd successfully led the Troll into the Dungeon Classroom.

Now all he had to do was put on a panicked act, rush into the Great Hall, and tell everyone the news.

Then, while the others weren't paying attention, he could sneak off to the fourth floor and break into the Trapdoor.

"Once it's done, the Dark Lord will surely reward me handsomely..."

Quirrell muttered excitedly as he climbed the stairs.

Just then,

a wave of intense dread suddenly swept toward him from up ahead!

As if the gates of hell had opened, the corridor before him had somehow turned dark and twisted.

It was utterly silent, devoid of life.

Only the cold moonlight shone down.

A powerful stench of blood flooded his nostrils.

It seemed to turn into countless tendrils, dragging him down into the abyss.

Quirrell: "...?"

He swallowed audibly.

A primal terror crawled up his back, raising goosebumps all over his skin.

His heartbeat quickened, and his pupils shrank with tension and panic.

W-what was going on?

Had someone stolen his thunder and slaughtered Hogwarts ahead of time???