Chapter 161: The Whereabouts of the Vanishing Cabinet, Alchemy Journal, and Charms Journal
After walking through every room in the dungeons, Ethan noted the locations he had yet to visit.
Aside from the professors' offices and the House common rooms, only Filch's office and the staffroom remained.
The other common rooms would be easy to check. He could simply ask an acquaintance to check them for him, even though the cabinet was unlikely to be there. He could slip into the staffroom himself at night when no one was around. As for Filch's office, given their current relationship, it would be simple to find an excuse to drop by and chat.
Ethan quickly formulated a plan to explore the remaining areas.
After a full day of classes, the professors were unlikely to suddenly return to the staffroom. Seizing the opportunity, Ethan slipped inside.
It was his first time in the staffroom.
The room was quite spacious, furnished with several sofas and desks for the professors.
Ethan glanced around as he walked, then stopped abruptly. He had spotted his target, the Vanishing Cabinet.
A cabinet identical to his own stood in the corner, though it was marred by a network of cracks.
Ethan approached the cabinet, studying the exquisite patterns, now obscured by scuff marks. He opened the door, confirming that this was the Vanishing Cabinet he had been looking for.
*I searched high and low, only to find it right here so easily. I found the target on the very first try. Truly lucky. Jackpot!*
Ethan expanded his small bag, stuffed the broken Vanishing Cabinet inside, and headed to the eighth floor.
Entering the Room of Requirement, which he used for storage, Ethan found an inconspicuous corner, carefully positioned the Vanishing Cabinet, and draped a piece of tattered sackcloth over it.
He even deliberately kicked up some dust and sprinkled it over the cloth to ensure it went unnoticed. He already planned to take the Vanishing Cabinet home during the Easter holidays and have Mr. Borgin repair it.
With that done, Ethan felt relieved and headed to the library.
On the second weekend of the term, Ethan found an empty classroom in the castle and gathered the student representatives from the various families involved in the Wizarding Cards business for the first time.
Ethan and the twins entered the room carrying desserts and drinks brought up from the kitchens.
The other four had already arrived. Neville and Hannah were discussing Herbology, while John was chatting with Draco about things like Wizarding Cards.
The tables in the classroom were spread out, so Ethan waved his wand to push several of them together. He set out the food and drinks, inviting everyone to help themselves.
Since he was the organizer and already knew everyone, Ethan felt that introductions were somewhat redundant. However, seeing that no one was speaking, he said, "Let me introduce everyone to each other."
"Hannah, of the Abbott family, Hufflepuff second year." Ethan started with her, the only girl in the group and the first student sorted in their year.
The shy girl, who didn't know the others well, stood up with a flushed face, murmured a greeting, and quickly sat back down.
"Neville, of the Longbottom family, Gryffindor second year." Ethan then introduced Neville, who was sitting beside Hannah.
The boy stood up and said, "Hello."
His greeting was mainly directed toward John.
Of the people present, Neville had at least some contact with everyone except John.
Neville was quite familiar with Hannah, since they'd had Herbology together for two years. Both were students praised by Professor Sprout for their talent in the subject, and they would occasionally chat amicably.
His relationship with Ethan went without saying. They took classes together and shared a carriage.
He wasn't very familiar with the twin brothers, but they were all in the same house, and they were his roommate's older brothers.
Neville had also formed a strong impression of Draco, this "bad seed," though certainly not a favorable one.
During flying class last year, Draco had made fun of Neville's Remembrall. Though Neville hadn't seen it himself, others had told him about it after he left the Hospital Wing.
Combined with his grandmother's warnings, if it weren't for Ethan gathering them this time, Neville wouldn't have wanted to sit with Draco at all.
So, after greeting John, Neville sat down without once glancing at Draco, which made the gray-eyed boy furious.
John had no idea about the complicated history between them. When Ethan introduced him, he looked around and greeted everyone.
"Draco Malfoy, of the Malfoy family, Slytherin, second year."
Draco wore a haughty expression. He offered a perfunctory nod to the few people present and sat down.
His attitude rubbed the Gryffindors the wrong way.
Ethan quickly interjected before a conflict could break out. "The main point of today is for everyone to get to know each other. After all, we're all representatives of the shop's shareholders here at Hogwarts."
Thanks to Ethan's efforts to lighten the mood, the atmosphere finally relaxed.
They ate and drank, managing to maintain a semblance of harmony.
An hour and a half later, Ethan called the meeting to a close.
After cleaning the classroom and clearing away the trash, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw groups headed upstairs. Their common rooms were in the towers.
The Hufflepuff and Slytherin groups headed down. Their common rooms were underground.
On the way back, Ethan chatted with Hannah to make sure she didn't feel left out, all while thinking, *I am never organizing a gathering like this again!*
The atmosphere at the gathering made it obvious that Draco's background was bound to put him at odds with the Gryffindors. It would be best to keep such meetings to a minimum in the future.
Time flew by after the gathering, and February arrived before long. On the day of the full moon, Ethan spat out the Mandrake leaf he had kept in his mouth without incident for the past two weeks and replaced it with a fresh one.
He had also prepared the ingredients for the potion.
He ultimately chose materials from the Swedish Short-Snout. However, given his unique nature, he worried that a single type of ingredient might not be sufficient. After consulting with Dumbledore, he selected two materials: dragon scale and dragon horn.
As he placed the leaf in his mouth, he thought to himself, *This has to work on the first try. If it doesn't, the next full moon won't fall on a weekend. If the weather is bad then, I'll be in trouble.*
Over the past two weeks, he had visited Dumbledore's office frequently. On one hand, he wanted to get closer to Fawkes to obtain its tears. On the other hand, he still wanted the old man to teach him how to transform magical creatures.
He made rapid progress on the first front. After bringing gifts on several occasions, Fawkes now greeted him every time he entered the Headmaster's office.
The second goal, however, yielded almost no results.
Dumbledore remained adamant and refused to teach him the Human Transfiguration of magical creatures. Ethan would have to find another approach.
Time flew by. Just as Ethan was wondering how to get the old man to teach him everything, the twins found him during the sixth week of the term, brandishing a magazine that had just arrived at Hogwarts.
"Our alchemy wand and the crystal ball refining techniques Dumbledore provided are finally published!" They were practically buzzing with excitement.
"Look, our names are in print!" Fred opened the magazine. The article was right there on the first page after the table of contents.
"The alchemy wand, invented by Fred and George Weasley, enables even Squibs with weak magic to experience the joy of casting spells," Ethan read the lead paragraph aloud.
He beamed at them. "Excellent! I wouldn't be surprised if Squib organizations awarded you an honorary medal for publishing this technology."
George looked almost sheepish as he quickly flipped to the next page and pointed to Ethan's name. "Your contribution is listed here too. They credited you with discovering that Squibs possess latent magic, making the use of alchemy wands possible. Your name is right there."
"Oh? I actually made it into the magazine alongside Dumbledore. That's truly an honor." Ethan looked over the article's introduction.
The article explained how he had theorized that Squibs might possess weak magic. Using the magic crystal ball Dumbledore had provided to test a Squib, he discovered that they did indeed possess very weak magic.
They both chuckled, grinning foolishly at each other.
Ethan quickly finished reading the article. The magazine's editor had left his own comments at the end. One sentence in particular caught Ethan's interest:
"Today, we've discovered that Squibs aren't completely devoid of magic like Muggles. Does this mean we can enhance their magic in some way, finally making their dream of casting spells a reality?"
Ethan waved the magazine. "Any extras? Or can you tell me where to buy one? I need my own copy. Seeing my name in a magazine for the first time is quite the keepsake."
Even though his name had graced the pages of newspapers like the Daily Prophet long ago, Ethan felt a distinct difference this time.
After all, an authoritative magazine like this carried weight in a league of its own compared to papers where you could simply buy space.
While the newspaper had dedicated a full page to him and the magazine only gave him a passing mention, Ethan still felt the latter held far more significance.
"They only sent the one copy. We put in an order, though, and it should arrive at the school in a few days. We'll give you that one." Since the copy sent directly from the publisher held greater sentimental value, the twins intended to keep it.
"No problem." Ethan wasn't picky. He wasn't the main subject of the article, so the fact that this copy hadn't come directly from the publisher didn't bother him. A few days' wait was no big deal.
But seeing the twins' article in the magazine sparked something in him. "It's not like I don't have my own inventions and improvements in various subjects! I want to get published in a magazine too!
"In Charms, I've invented and improved spells; in Potions, I've done some new research; in Transfiguration, I've made a few small discoveries of my own.
"However, my Potions work hasn't been verified. My Transfiguration findings aren't major discoveries either. They'd be enough for Transfiguration Today, but they'd end up relegated to the back pages.
"Decided, then. Charms it is. Adams' Projection Spell!" He tallied his achievements over the past year and a half and felt that Charms was where he'd made the deepest progress.
Beyond modifying several existing spells, he had also invented a new one that he found quite useful.
"Ask Algie how the global rollout of the Wizarding Cards is going. If that's settled, publish Adams' Projection Spell in Challenges in Charming."
Challenges in Charming was an authoritative magazine dedicated to Charms. It featured newly invented spells, recently discovered magical theories, and improvements to existing spells. It had no fixed publication schedule; instead, issues came out whenever enough material had been gathered.
Hogwarts subscribed to the magazine, and Ethan had often seen it in the library. Even Professor Flitwick kept a personal subscription; Ethan had spotted a copy in his office.
Ethan had Edward deliver the letter that very day, but a long time passed without a reply, and Edward did not return immediately.
It was not until the fourth morning that Edward arrived, flying unsteadily into the Great Hall on the verge of collapse.
Ethan hurriedly untied the letter from the owl's leg, then cradled the bird and fed him sausages, bacon, and other meats.
Edward slowly managed a few sausages, then stopped eating. He settled in Ethan's arms and closed his eyes.
Ethan cradled Edward as he read Algie's reply. "The promotional campaigns in the Americas, Asia, and Oceania are complete. I am currently making the final push in Africa. I estimate it will be another two weeks before the negotiations are successfully concluded."
Ethan realized Edward's delay was due to a trip to Africa.
"Fortunately, Algie is working in North Africa. If he were in South Africa, Edward would likely have died of exhaustion on the round trip." Ethan stroked Edward's feathers. "Thanks for your hard work."
Edward was fast asleep in his arms and didn't respond as Ethan petted him.
It was still early, well before the first class of the morning. Ethan carried Edward, who was large but not particularly heavy, to the Owlery.
The jostling on the stairs woke him on the way up. After arriving, Ethan fed the exhausted Edward some owl treats. Once he saw the bird fall back into a deep sleep, he left for class.
Charms was the first class of the day. After the lesson ended, Ethan briefly explained his idea to Professor Flitwick.
"Certainly. Come to my office at eight tonight. I have another class to teach shortly." The short professor nodded, checked the time, and dismissed Ethan.
Ethan didn't waste the rest of the day. During his free periods, he organized the thoughts and theories he had developed while inventing the Adams' Projection Spell, filling several pages of parchment with the details.
Promptly at eight o'clock, Ethan arrived at Professor Flitwick's office.
"Earlier, you mentioned that you invented a spell and wanted to publish it in a magazine. Is that right?" The professor brewed black tea for the two of them with the same fluid motions he had used when leading Ethan to his office for the first time.
"Yes, Professor. Adams' Projection Spell." A brilliant smile lit up Ethan's face.
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