Chapter 33: Dormitory Pet Breeding Plan
Ethan stood up and paced around the dormitory, looking for a place to build a small fire for the salamander.
"What are you doing?" Draco had no idea what his somewhat mysterious roommate was up to.
Ethan's eyes suddenly lit up. "Draco, as the young master of the Malfoy family, you must know about alchemical items that can provide a long-term, stable flame, right? The salamander Professor Kettleburn gave me is currently being cared for by someone else. I'd like to create a habitat for it in my dorm room."
"Well, of course I know a lot about this. I'll think about what's suitable and tell you later." Draco was clearly pleased with Ethan's flattery.
He rushed out of the dormitory. "I'll be right back."
"Hey, that worked out well." Ethan smiled as he watched him leave, though he didn't stop looking for a solution himself.
He spotted a corner he liked and started gesturing, planning to build a campfire there.
He shamelessly thought, "The dorm is too cold and damp. Isn't this a good opportunity to warm things up? I'm really thinking of them. They're so lucky to have such a good roommate like me."
He had the idea, but lacked everything else. He had neither stove nor firewood, and he hadn't even learned a fire-starting spell.
Perhaps fearing the chaos young wizards might cause with fire magic, the first-year textbook didn't mention it at all.
Among the books he'd bought were a few fire-related spells, but none for starting fires, and his magical skill wasn't high enough to cast them.
"I still need Hagrid's help. For fuel, charcoal would be best since it burns longer. And I need to figure out how to vent the smoke. I can't exactly run a flue into the Black Lake, can I?" He decided to visit Hagrid's cabin tomorrow to take care of the preliminary preparations.
"It would be perfect to have Hagrid build me a small bookshelf for all these books. Judging by the furniture in his hut, he must have made it all himself."
As he happily planned out the next day, Draco returned.
Draco proudly told him, "Ethan, I think I know what alchemical item is best for you, the portable fire bottle we use when making potions."
Ethan slapped his forehead and said admiringly, "What a brilliant idea, Draco!"
But where am I supposed to get a portable fire bottle? Should I just ask Professor Snape?
He remembered Snape's attitude toward him, rubbed his chin, and said quietly, "It's not impossible."
Although he'd probably be rejected, Ethan was eager to see Snape's reluctant expression. Besides, he was a Slytherin; he couldn't afford to lose face.
Draco looked at him with an expression of disbelief, thinking Ethan had lost his mind.
Ignoring him, Ethan gave a thumbs-up. "Excellent, Draco. Just what I'd expect from you, Draco."
Draco had a bad feeling; Ethan was up to no good.
Just as he was about to speak, Ethan said, "Goyle, Crabbe, don't forget to throw away your trash when you finish your candy. Also, keep your voices down. I'm writing a reply."
Draco breathed a sigh of relief and shut his mouth, praying that Ethan was joking and didn't actually want to ask Professor Snape for a portable fire bottle.
Moreover, even if Ethan really did go, he shouldn't say that Draco had instructed him to do it.
Draco was quite afraid of this professor, even though they were on good terms and his father often mentioned him.
After all, he was only eleven years old. At that age, who wouldn't be afraid of a teacher with a cold expression who would punish students at the drop of a hat?
Ethan sat at his desk, opened the envelope, took out the letter, and counted the pages. There were five sheets in total. No wonder Ethan had only delivered it this morning.
Of the five pages, four were written by his mother, Sofia, and the remaining page was in his father's handwriting.
He read his father's letter first, saving the harder one for last.
"He really is a man of few words." Aside from a subtle expression of how much he missed Ethan, the letter contained very little else.
As for his mother's letter, it was more direct. She spent a page and a half just saying how much she missed him, and the rest covered everyday family matters. Although it was a bit long-winded, Ethan felt warm inside after reading it.
He unfolded the letter, placed it between the pages of his History of Magic textbook, and began to ponder how to write his reply.
They had met Professor McGonagall, who, surprisingly, was one of the more normal professors.
To avoid worrying them, he decided to write as much as possible about Herbology, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. He could also describe some spell-casting classes where appropriate, but he would minimize the others.
After all, among the remaining professors, there was a ghost, a disabled person, a cold and greasy man, and a stutterer. They all seemed abnormal.
So, to reduce their worries, he decided to write less about these things and instead describe the effects of the candy he was sending them more clearly.
He kept three pieces of candy because he wanted to send two to his parents and save one for himself.
He quickly finished writing the first half of the letter.
He then glanced at Goyle and Crabbe, who had fallen to the ground after the candy wore off, but were now floating in the air again. Fearing that the two, who had little experience with magic, might be frightened, he carefully wrote down a line:
"Dear Mom and Dad, if you float up after eating the candy, don't worry, it's a magical effect and you'll be back to normal soon."
He planned to take his time with the letter, since there was plenty of candy to go around. He was still an eleven-year-old kid, and his teeth hadn't all grown in yet, so he couldn't eat too much candy.
Seeing that Ethan seemed to have stopped writing, Goyle and Crabbe started fighting loudly over the remaining candy again.
Aren't they afraid of getting cavities? Is the treatment for cavities in the magical world also very advanced? I'll ask Madam Pomfrey another time.
Soon, the rest of the candy was gone. With no more candy to fight over, the two began using the levitation effect to collide in the air, trying to knock each other away.
The two plump bodies collided again and again, like balloons. However, unlike hollow balloons, the sound of their collisions was dull and painful.
After colliding again, the candy's effect suddenly wore off, and the two of them fell to the ground with a thud, landing on their backs and screaming as they got up.
Ethan was speechless, but the two of them laughed heartily after getting up.
"Go to sleep!"
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