Chapter 41: Eating Rock Cakes, Enjoying a Life of Misfortune
Once, twice, three times... Ethan chanted the incantation and waved his wand, but success eluded him.
His best attempt yet produced only a tiny spark at the wand's tip.
But he didn't give up.
He'd already proven that his talent for fire magic far exceeded that of ordinary people. Even Hermione, who usually picked up spells with ease, couldn't match him.
So he had every reason to believe he'd have the same aptitude for Dark Magic.
Apart from this relatively benign Dark Magic, which was practical enough to start fires, the only other Dark spells he'd encountered were minor curses from *The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection*.
The other minor curses Professor Flitwick had mentioned were too simple; he'd tried them, but they didn't showcase his talent at all.
He hadn't tried these curses on any living things yet. After all, he couldn't exactly practice on his classmates, could he?
His persistence paid off. Before Hermione could insist that he rest, he finally unleashed a small orange fireball that blasted a crater in the ground.
Mud splashed everywhere, startling Hermione.
"Yay!" he shouted.
"What kind of magic is that? Why is the color different from the two spells we saw yesterday?" Hermione had seen the orange fireball too, and she noticed the difference immediately.
"*Confringo*! How about that? Pretty impressive, right?" Ethan gave Hermione a pleading look.
"Was it in *Advanced Spells*? How did you learn such a difficult charm?" Hermione had already guessed the source.
"Because it's fire-based Dark Magic, and I happen to have talent in both areas." Ethan saw no reason to hide it, but he clearly underestimated Hermione's reaction to the word "Dark."
"Dark Magic?!" Hermione's focus zeroed in on those words.
"Is this mentioned in the book?" she thought. For a moment, she considered the question, but these spells were too advanced, so she merely glanced at the introduction before skipping over it.
Then she turned to face him, her expression grave. "Ethan, we shouldn't be learning advanced Dark Magic. It will change you."
Ethan thought, "You used it to start a fire in the movie! Now you're objecting to me using it?"
Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself. He could only try to persuade her. "Hermione, Dark Magic can change a wizard's mind, but only the advanced kind."
"As you said, this spell comes from Advanced Spells. If it could really alter someone's mind, it wouldn't be sold at Flourish and Blotts, would it? If it's published openly, that means it's safe, doesn't it?"
"Just like The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection covers Dark Magic too. These are just minor curses. They won't affect you."
Hermione shook her head. "This isn't a textbook vetted by professors. Ethan, you shouldn't use this magic."
Ethan pressed on. "Hermione, if it's been published and sold so widely, doesn't that mean it's been vetted?"
Hermione remained firm.
"No matter what, it's wrong without the professors' approval. I won't let you keep studying this unless you get their permission!"
Ethan was at a loss. He'd learned this magic on his own. Who was he supposed to ask? Was he supposed to ask Voldemort, hiding in Quirrell's skin?
Chances were, no professor besides Quirrell would approve, since Flitwick had already made it clear he didn't encourage Dark Magic.
He'd never approach Quirrell voluntarily. That would be like a lamb wandering into a wolf's den, courting death.
Ethan knew he couldn't change Hermione's mind, so he gave up for now and threw up his hands. "Okay, okay, I'll drop it. Let's go rest."
Hermione probably realized that though Ethan said he'd drop it, he didn't actually mean it.
So in Hagrid's hut, Hermione seemed distracted, answering Hagrid's questions while nibbling her cake as if she didn't notice how terrible it tasted.
Ethan, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He looked pained, but seeing Hermione's expression, he couldn't complain about the cake. He could only take a small bite and swallow without chewing, like he was being tortured.
"We'll be going now, Hagrid. See you next week." After practicing a while longer, the two said goodbye, Ethan winking at Hagrid as they left.
"See you next week!" Hagrid waved from the doorway.
The two of them, carrying backpacks full of Rock Cakes, headed toward the castle.
On the way back, Ethan wondered what to do with the Rock Cakes, which were practically inedible.
Hermione remained silent, probably still wondering whether he planned to keep studying the dark magic that wasn't in the textbooks.
"Hermione, what are you going to do with these cakes?" He couldn't think of any way to get rid of them except throwing them out.
"I don't know." Hermione's tone was stiff.
"Alright then." After their break, Hermione stayed quiet through the rest of their practice, barely speaking.
Ethan knew she had probably sensed his dismissive attitude and wasn't ready to accept it.
But deep down, he didn't think he'd done anything wrong, and he couldn't bring himself to promise he'd never study dark magic again. So they were stuck in a stalemate.
They walked back to the castle in silence, ate, studied in the library, ate dinner, and returned to the library again.
Ethan spent Sunday afternoon and evening trying to break the awkward silence, but he couldn't find the words.
With little experience in relationships, he didn't know what to say to make her feel better.
In the end, he decided the best approach was to set the argument aside before it festered into an unbridgeable gap.
*Time will tell. Everything has changed since Harry Potter came to Hogwarts this year.* He nodded helplessly, said goodbye to Hermione, and left the library.
When Ethan got back to his dormitory, determined not to waste food, he found another way to dispose of the Rock Cakes. He would feed them to Goyle and Crabbe.
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