Chapter 52: A Small Investment
After leaving the classroom, Ethan went to a bathroom in the castle to wash the soot off his face. He patted his cheeks, trying to pull himself together and think of a way to get rid of Quirrell.
Many thoughts crossed his mind. It seemed he still had to find Snape. Dumbledore was the last option; he couldn't go to him unless absolutely necessary.
He was actually somewhat wary of Dumbledore. This always-smiling old man was, after all, one of the greatest wizards of the century who had thwarted Grindelwald's plan to rule the world. Some rumors even called him the White Dark Lord.
He was definitely not the kindly old man he appeared to be. Although Ethan still needed his help, he didn't want too much contact with him.
Thinking of Dumbledore, he recalled what happened at the start of the term. By the way, it was already mid-October. Would the item Dumbledore borrowed arrive in another two months?
As time passed, his thoughts shifted.
He'd decided it would be better to know who his parents were, but if he never found out, so be it. With Sofia and Albert, he was already very content.
This matter had to be put on the back burner. More urgent now was the Dark Magic material Quirrell had given him.
He held the stack of parchment, caught in a dilemma. Neither throwing it away nor keeping it felt quite right.
After staying in the bathroom for quite a while, he finally decided to keep it for now. He also needed to learn some of the spells to fool Quirrell the next time they were alone.
Having completely missed lunch, Ethan went to the kitchen again to scrounge for food and enjoy a king's treatment.
Over the past month or so, he had frequently visited the kitchen for food and had become very familiar with the house-elves. Often, as soon as he arrived, a cup of black tea suited to his taste would be served.
After eating and drinking his fill in the kitchen, Ethan, feeling much better, belched and prepared to leave. He happened to run into the Weasley twins, opening the kitchen door.
"What a coincidence. Thank you very much for showing me the way here last time." Seeing the two of them, Ethan smiled and greeted them.
One of the brothers gave him a knowing look. "Oh, it's you, is it? So, how's that? Eating in the kitchens is a completely different experience from the Great Hall?"
"Indeed, it's very different. Toto and the others are too enthusiastic. If my home weren't in a Muggle community, I would ask Headmaster Dumbledore to let me adopt him and take him home."
In the distance, Toto, who was watching them, practically vibrated with excitement, thrilled to finally be acknowledged.
The two exchanged glances, both feeling the thrill of discovery. "You grew up in Muggle society? And you're a Slytherin?"
Intending to befriend them, Ethan didn't hide it. "My adoptive parents are Muggles. I still don't know who my biological parents are."
At the same time, he sighed inwardly. Draco's threats to the little snakes seemed to have worked. It had been ages, and, surprisingly, no one had bothered him about it yet.
However, after thinking about it, he still hoped the two would keep it a secret. To convince them, he brought up Dumbledore. "Don't tell anyone about this. Dumbledore is helping me investigate my background. It's still a secret for now."
"Okay." "Got it." The light in their eyes disappeared.
They thought they had dug up a big scoop that could shake the school, but it turned out to be a big empty balloon; one poke and it popped. This made them very discouraged.
"Sorry, Harry, I'm going to beat you to it," he thought, looking at the identical twins.
"I heard from Hagrid that your alchemy skills are quite good. Do you plan to open a shop in the future? If you need investment, you can come to me. I could spare a thousand Galleons or two."
"Hmm? You're so rich?" Their eyes lit up. Fred was about to say something more, but George pulled him back. "Let's talk about it later. We're starved. Let's eat first."
Ethan pretended not to notice the exchange. "No problem. You can find me anytime. If you can't get hold of me, you can also reach me through Hermione. We'll figure out a convenient place to talk and discuss things in more detail then."
"I'll be going now. See you next time."
Running into the twins again had been an unexpected, pleasant surprise.
The reason Ethan had impulsively decided to invest in the two was not only because he felt it was a surefire profitable venture, but also because he wanted them to spend more time with Hermione and help her improve her alchemy skills.
He also wanted to build goodwill with the Weasley family, who held considerable influence in the wizarding world. Although he didn't have any specific plans to exploit the connection, it didn't hurt to spend a little money on a strategic investment.
Back when he watched the movies, he had viewed them purely for entertainment and hadn't understood how valuable their little inventions actually were.
Now that he was in the wizarding world himself, he realized that the seemingly simple candy inventions were actually complex products requiring actual alchemy. Simple spells cast on food couldn't maintain their effects for such a long time.
He pushed open the door and left the kitchen, heading toward the dormitory. He needed to find an inconspicuous place to store the manuscripts he had obtained from these two encounters.
After he left, the twins didn't immediately place their orders with the house-elves who were watching them eagerly. Instead, they checked with each other to confirm whether what they had heard was true.
After a moment, Fred, whose stomach was growling, asked the house-elves to prepare food. "Do you think a first-year can actually get his hands on that many Galleons?"
"Hard to say, but he said he grew up in the Muggle world. Can a Muggle really access that kind of money? I think he might be lying to us."
"What if it's true? Besides, Muggles couldn't necessarily get their hands on so many Galleons, right? I remember Gringotts allows the exchange of gems and gold for Galleons. Could he have obtained the money that way?"
George thought for a moment and agreed that Fred had a point. "Didn't he say we could find Hermione? I know her; she's a Gryffindor in the same year as Ron. If we're unsure, can't we just ask her directly?"
"Don't ask directly. It's too easy to give away our purpose. We can probe indirectly through Ron. I think three Sickles should be enough, right?" Fred couldn't help laughing as he thought of his little brother.
"Three Sickles? I think Ron would agree to two," George laughed, teasing Ron.
The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Back in the dormitory, Ethan was deciding where to stash the manuscripts.
"Should I leave them on the desk and hide them in plain sight, or play it safe and lock them in the trunk? If only I had a small bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm, I'd keep them on me at all times."
After debating with himself for ages, he finally decided to just leave them on the desk.
So what if someone saw them? Heh, so what if they did? They were all Slytherins. What Slytherin doesn't have a few Dark spells in their family repertoire?
Look at the movies. By the end, which of the three hadn't dabbled in Dark Magic?
And even if someone did ask where they'd come from, he could always spin a story. Besides, it was just the three of them. Would any of them actually ask? Crabbe and Goyle never cared about that sort of thing, and Draco was too calculating to confront him directly. Not a chance.
Just to be safe, he still tucked them away a bit. He slipped all forty pages of parchment, one by one, between the books on his desk.
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