Chapter 56: Rising Tension
In the blink of an eye, a new week arrived. Flying lessons had officially ended the previous week, giving Tuesday a little breathing room.
During class, Quirrell glanced his way from time to time. He could only play the ostrich, keeping his head down throughout the lesson, avoiding eye contact, hoping to avoid detention.
Whether his strategy had succeeded, or Voldemort simply felt that Ethan wouldn't grasp the materials he'd given him that quickly, Quirrell didn't keep him after class this week.
This brought him relief, but he knew he couldn't go on like this, and the fear, gradually festering inside him, would eventually destroy him.
Having made up his mind, he planned to ask Snape for help that day.
Even Transfiguration, usually his favorite subject, became unbearable. He wanted to get through the day's classes as quickly as possible so he could find Professor Snape, who looked indifferent but was actually quite helpful, for a good chat.
Finally, when Transfiguration ended, he was the first out the door. He ran to Snape's office, only to find he wasn't there; Snape was teaching next door.
He didn't leave, just crouched by the classroom door, peeking inside from time to time, drawing involuntary glances from the advanced Potions students.
Of course, Snape saw him too, but had no idea what Ethan wanted, looking the way he did. Several times he wanted to rush out and chase him away, but he didn't want to interrupt his lesson.
So the students in that class suffered. Snape, already severe, was even more irritable than usual. Every mistake earned a sharp rebuke.
This made the students who had been looking at Ethan with amusement turn hostile.
If looks could kill, Ethan would have been riddled with holes by now.
When the Potions class finally ended, Ethan quickly stood up, smiled apologetically at the older students leaving the room, and slipped inside.
"Professor! Help!"
If Snape hadn't dodged quickly, he would have grabbed his leg.
Snape had never seen such a spectacle before. He dodged, stunned several times, but in the end still let Ethan grab his leg.
"Get up!"
"Oh." Seeing that Snape was really getting angry, Ethan quickly let go and scrambled up from the ground, casting a Tergeo to clean the dust off himself.
"Go to my office." Snape strode toward the office nearby.
"Tell me exactly what is the matter!" Snape sat in his chair, his tone sharp.
"Professor! Help!" He quickly pulled out a stack of papers and thrust them toward Snape.
One glance was enough. Snape snatched the parchments from his hand and flipped through them rapidly.
"Where did you get this?" Snape demanded. He hadn't signed a permission slip allowing access to the Restricted Section, so how had he obtained these Dark Arts materials? Who would authorize a first-year to borrow such advanced texts?
"Professor Quirrell gave them to me," Ethan said, quickly explaining that the professor had him stay after class twice.
Snape raised his wand and cast a spell on the parchment. Nothing happened. He cast again, light appearing at the wand tip, and touched it to the parchment. Still nothing.
Only when both spells came up clean did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sit down," Snape said, then left Ethan there while he slowly read through the parchment.
Ethan sat on pins and needles, feeling like a prisoner awaiting trial.
Snape finished reading and tapped the parchment against his palm. "There's nothing wrong with these, but why would Quirrell give them to you? Moreover, as far as I know, Quirrell isn't skilled in the Dark Arts. How could he produce such a thorough summary? This reads like the work of a Dark Arts expert."
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. If Snape, who was also well-versed in the Dark Arts, said there was no problem, he could rest assured for now. As long as he didn't get too close to Voldemort, there shouldn't be any issues, right?
"I don't know, Professor. He said I was very serious in class, so he intended to teach me some more advanced knowledge."
"Him?" Snape smiled contemptuously. He had sensed something off about Quirrell since the start of term, and now that feeling was even stronger.
He threw the parchment to Ethan. "Keep it. If anything happens, come to me at any time. Although I don't know what he wants to do, since he gave you this manuscript, he must have a motive. Wait, the fox's tail will show eventually."
"Okay, Professor." Having received a definitive answer, Ethan knew he had caught Voldemort's attention, and it was too late to back out now. All he could do was grow stronger as quickly as possible before Voldemort fully revived.
"A word of advice, Ethan. Don't become addicted to Dark Magic, especially when you're not alone." Snape's words carried weight.
He met Snape's eyes and said solemnly, "I know, Professor. I'll be careful."
He left the office with heavy steps.
With Snape's approval of the manuscript, Ethan finally set aside his concerns.
He didn't know Quirrell's, or rather Voldemort's, specific goal, but as Snape had said, the truth would come out sooner or later. And the way things looked, Voldemort didn't seem interested in using him as his next host.
What eased his mind was Snape's behavior. Though the professor never said anything openly, he often summoned Ethan to his office during dinner to check for any changes after his practice of Dark Magic.
Of course, it might also be because Snape had recently obtained several salamanders and wanted Ethan to fulfill his promise, using the opportunity to check on him.
Though that might be the harsh truth, Snape's concern was genuine.
In the days that followed, after Snape repeatedly confirmed it, Ethan determined that he had indeed experienced no changes from practicing Dark Magic, at least for the time being.
"It seems Quirrell has an eye for talent. You do have a gift for Dark Magic, but again, don't neglect those around you simply because you're obsessed with magic."
Watching Ethan feed flames to the salamanders one by one, causing them to writhe and mutate, Snape repeated his warning.
"Of course, Professor. I cherish my life now. No one can take it from me!" His tone was light but firm.
Glancing at him, Snape cut the conversation short. "Remember what you said. Now get out."
"Use people when you need them, discard them when you don't!" Ethan muttered under his breath as he headed to the library alone.
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