Chapter 20: An Even Worse Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
Ethan finished his essay in the library by eight o'clock. After saying goodbye to Hermione, he headed for the tower dormitory while Draco returned to the dungeon.
Ethan pulled Draco away from the common room, where he'd been playing Wizard's Chess with Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe, who'd been itching to take over the game for ages, jumped at the chance to finish the endgame against Goyle.
The two returned to the dormitory and sat facing each other.
"Now that we're alone, tell me, Draco. What's your talent? And which of the major pureblood families have shown it?" He paused. "Of course, I could show you mine first."
That offer cut off any protest Draco might have made.
Draco stared as a black fireball appeared in Ethan's hand. It bobbed up and down under his control, shifting into the shapes of small animals.
Ethan clenched his fist, and the fireball vanished.
"So, in exchange, tell me about yours."
The book Ethan had been reading that day, *An Analysis of Bloodline Origins and Innate Magical Talents*, had only given a general overview of fire-related bloodlines, including creatures like Fire Crabs, dragons, and phoenixes.
That meant any wizard whose ancestors had mingled with these creatures, carrying traces of their blood, might manifest fire-related abilities. A minor talent might grant an aptitude for basic fire spells, while a major one could confer immunity to flames, and so on.
But the book's coverage was superficial. It hadn't mentioned any creatures that produced black flames.
Draco glanced at the empty space where the flames had been, envy clear in his eyes. "You must come from an ancient line."
"My talent is weak. I just have an affinity for snakes, and it's nothing compared to your fire control."
"When Father discovered it, he was overjoyed. He thought I'd inherited Salazar Slytherin's bloodline and might speak Parseltongue. Turns out it was just wishful thinking."
"I might have his bloodline, but I'm definitely not fully awakened." A trace of sadness flickered in Draco's eyes, though he didn't know the full story behind his father's hopes.
"So, do you know which family has shown this ability?" Ethan wasn't interested in the Malfoy family drama. He just wanted to figure out his own background.
"No. Plenty of families have fire magic, but the colors are different. Most are red, occasionally blue or green. I've never seen black in any records."
He suddenly remembered something, but hesitated and kept it to himself.
Ethan noticed. "You know something?"
Draco deflected. "No, just thinking about family matters."
"Oh."
Another fireball appeared in Ethan's hand. This time, he shaped it into Edward's form while staring at it, pondering which family this particular shade of flame belonged to.
When Draco realized Ethan wasn't going to say more, he slipped away to rejoin his friends and ask the older students in the common room for information.
After a while, Ethan extinguished the flame. He wanted to write to his parents, even though he'd only been away from them for a day.
He unrolled a sheet of parchment and picked up a quill. He started to write, stopped, and started again several times. Finally, he wrote:
"Dear Mom and Dad, although we've only been apart for a few days, I miss you terribly. School is going well, so don't worry. I'm getting along great with my classmates, and my roommates are friendly."
"Let me tell you about all the amazing things at the school..."
After finishing the letter, he put down his quill, and loneliness welled up in his heart.
He took a moment to recall his childhood, the moments he shared with his parents before his memories returned, and smiled genuinely. "It doesn't matter if we can't find out the truth. I'm already very content with them."
He set the parchment aside to dry, intending to have Edward deliver the letter the next day.
He was reading at his desk, books spread out around him, when a thought suddenly struck him. "I should make a small bookshelf. Most of my books are still in boxes, and I need to put them on my desk so I can easily read and reference them later."
He kept this idea in mind and continued to search for any possible clues between the lines.
It wasn't until almost 11:30 that the three roommates returned from the common room, excitedly discussing the highlights of the day's match.
Upon seeing Ethan studying, Draco was the first to fall silent, followed by his two henchmen.
"It's getting late, so everyone should go to sleep." After revealing his secret, Draco was quite wary of his roommate, whose background he didn't know, and didn't want to provoke a confrontation with him.
The next morning, after greeting Hermione in the Great Hall, Ethan hurried to the Charms classroom on the fourth floor.
Professor Flitwick, who was unusually small, had to stand on a stack of books to peer over the lectern.
After taking attendance, Professor Flitwick displayed the two books that would be used in first-year Charms: Magical Theory and The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1).
"In the first semester, we'll mainly study Magical Theory to help you understand how magic is cast. Of course, this is very basic theory. The truly profound principles are for you to study on your own. There are related books in the library."
Flitwick's teaching was worlds apart from Professor Binns's rote learning.
Professor Flitwick began by demonstrating several spells, showing the first years the range of things magic could accomplish. Only after capturing their attention did he move on to the drier theoretical explanations.
Though he hadn't learned to cast any spells in that lesson, Ethan found himself warming to Professor Flitwick and his Charms class.
"Although most first years don't care for theory, it's the foundation of all magic," Flitwick told them. "If you want to advance, memorizing a few spells won't be enough."
The class was wrapping up quickly. While the other students grew listless at having learned no new spells, Ethan was quite content.
However, their good mood didn't last past Charms, because then came Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Even though Ethan knew that Quirrell, as Voldemort's puppet, hadn't come to school to teach properly, he still found himself disappointed. That was saying something, given his rock-bottom expectations.
"I thought Professor Binns's History of Magic was unbearable enough, but compared to Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts, it's actually quite good. At least Binns doesn't break everything down so much that you can't follow what he's saying!"
That was Draco's rant about Quirrell, and Ethan wholeheartedly agreed.
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