Chapter 105

Saturday. Today is the first Quidditch match of the school year at Hogwarts.

Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

Although Ethan doesn't play Quidditch, it doesn't affect his interest in watching the match.

On the way to the Quidditch pitch, the young wizards were still discussing the Chamber of Secrets and the attack on Filch. Harry had long been cleared of suspicion and released.

This matter has been the hottest topic at Hogwarts recently. People are talking about it everywhere.

It is said that the four founders of Hogwarts—Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin, and Rowena Ravenclaw—founded Hogwarts together, but later their teaching philosophies conflicted.

Salazar Slytherin only wanted to admit pure-blood students and sought to drive all Muggle-born wizards out of Hogwarts.

In the end, the founders argued over this, and Salazar Slytherin left the school.

But before leaving, Slytherin built a secret chamber at Hogwarts, unknown to the other founders, and left a monster inside.

When the time is right, Slytherin's heir could open the Chamber and use the monster left by him to eliminate Muggle-born wizards at Hogwarts.

This story is widely accepted among the young wizards.

As a result, many Muggle-born students are now living in fear, and even half-bloods are anxious.

Only some pure-blood wizards seem to feel arrogant during this time, proud of their heritage.

It can only be said that Slytherin has been greatly misunderstood.

The four houses and their principles were established at the founding of the school.

They represent different paths for everyone to follow.

Wizards at the founders' level held strong beliefs, and it was impossible to sway one another's ideals.

Moreover, the four of them were friends before Hogwarts was even founded.

The Chamber of Secrets was likely meant to be a legacy for future generations, perhaps even to protect Hogwarts, but it was opened by Voldemort, which changed everything.

"Ethan, aren't you worried?"

Terry hasn't been eating or sleeping well these days, worried that he could be the next target, as he's also Muggle-born.

Michael isn't much better—he's been feeling anxious as well.

Only Ethan seems unaffected. In the morning, he's still bickering with Ravenclaw seniors, and in the afternoon, he's hanging out in the corners with the Slytherins.

Today is a day off, and he slept in until he woke up naturally, completely unbothered.

"What's there to worry about?"

"As long as Salazar Slytherin didn't leave his ghost in the Chamber of Secrets, there's nothing to be afraid of," Ethan replied indifferently.

Ethan didn't know the exact level of the founders' abilities, but he was sure they weren't stronger than Dumbledore.

It was likely that only Helena and the Bloody Baron knew some inside details, but they obviously wouldn't share it.

But, of course, it doesn't matter. To become a ghost, one has to be afraid of death, and the founders clearly weren't.

"Everyone guesses that it must be a XXXXX-level magical creature, only something like that could survive so long," Terry said in a daze.

Yeah, why hadn't I thought of that—ghosts can live for a long time, just look at Professor Binns.

"Michael, do you think Ethan's right? Could it be Slytherin's ghost in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Legend says Slytherin left Hogwarts after building the Chamber, so how could his ghost be there?" Michael replied, looking at Terry like he was an idiot.

"That's true, but still…"

Ethan ignored his roommates' nonsense and, upon arriving at the Quidditch pitch, went straight to the seniors and sat down next to them.

"Ethan, who do you think will win today?" someone asked.

"Now all the Gryffindor players have upgraded to Nimbus 2001."

Cho Chang, who had her chin resting on her hand, looked worried.

It's all spiralled out of control.

After Slytherin upgraded their equipment, Gryffindor followed suit.

Will Hufflepuff have to follow them next?

Hogwarts should make a rule: training equipment is one thing, but broomsticks must be standardized.

"Gryffindor, I guess? They've been training hard recently, and with their Nimbus 2001s, they should be confident," Ethan answered casually.

He couldn't let Cho know that it was at his suggestion that Harry bought the Nimbus 2001s for the entire team.

Harry didn't waste time either. A few days after Ethan mentioned it to him, Hagrid delivered seven brand-new Nimbus 2001s to the team.

"What did Davis say? He didn't want to replace Ravenclaw's broomsticks?"

Roger Davis, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, is a chaser. He's also a young wizard born into a pure-blood family, but his family isn't that famous.

"He didn't say anything."

Cho really envied that both Slytherin and Gryffindor have big spenders. Now only Gene in Ravenclaw has a Nimbus 2000. Hufflepuff's situation isn't much better either—among them, only Cedric has a Nimbus 2000. You could say the two houses are brothers in distress.

It was almost eleven o'clock. The two teams, fourteen members in total, arrived at the stadium one after another, waiting for the referee, Madam Hooch, to announce the start.

But today's weather was not very good—hot, humid, and gloomy. Not the best day for a competition.

Yet, even so, it still couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the young wizards. The moment the Quidditch players came onto the field, the atmosphere reached its peak with cheers and applause everywhere.

At this moment, Gryffindor had the support of three houses. The students of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, led by the players from their respective houses, looked down on Slytherin.

There were plenty of boos and jeers aimed at Slytherin.

After all, the Slytherin Quidditch team was the first to break the rules and use Nimbus 2001s.

"Mount on your brooms, please." Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.

At the whistle, fourteen players shot into the gloomy sky together.

As the commentator for Hogwarts' Quidditch games, Lee Jordan began narrating the action.

"Marcus Flint has the Quaffle from the start."

"Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood surround him. They're trying a left-and-right pincer move. They've succeeded. The Quaffle is in Oliver Wood's hands now."

"What happened to Harry Potter? That was close. He was nearly hit by a Bludger."

"Something's not right. The Bludger is still chasing Harry Potter. What's going on?"

"Fred Weasley—great job. He successfully hit the Bludger toward the Slytherins."

"Wait, the Bludger was hit toward Slytherin by Fred Weasley, but why is it still coming back after Harry Potter?"

"It must be that Slytherin cursed the Bludger. There's no other explanation. There's never been a Bludger like this—never."

Lee Jordan shouted from the commentator's stand, watching the chaotic scene unfold.

At the same time, Gryffindor called for a timeout.

The young wizards below started whispering among themselves. Just like Lee Jordan said, they had never seen a Bludger act like this, focusing on only one person.

"Ethan, do you think someone cursed the Bludger?"

Cho Chang frowned. She was also a Seeker, and if she encountered this, there would be no way to compete for the Golden Snitch.

"There's a high probability," Ethan replied calmly.

Ethan couldn't tell if the house-elf had lost its mind—was it trying to save Harry or get him killed? Controlling the Bludger to injure Harry and send him home severely injured, but not thinking about whether Harry could survive a fall from such a height.

In Ethan's opinion, this house-elf was unqualified. 

"It's raining." Ethan pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket, and the moment he took it out, it transformed into a long-handled umbrella.

Ethan opened the umbrella, and Cho and Penelope quickly moved closer to him, casting a protective spell around them.

"Luna, over here."

Seeing Luna sitting alone in the rain in front, Ethan cast a cleaning spell to remove the rain from her and followed it up with a warming spell. He then handed her an umbrella.

This set of spells was still a bit difficult for a first-year wizard to cast.

For example, Cassandra and Hermione didn't need Ethan's help—they were entirely self-sufficient.

"Thank you." Luna smiled, taking the umbrella Ethan handed her. Despite being caught in the rain moments before, she remained as lively as ever.

The rain grew heavier, and the Gryffindor team on the field didn't know what would happen next, but the game continued.

The Bludger kept chasing Harry, and while Fred had initially protected him, he was now focusing on helping Oliver Wood.

Ethan noticed that at the edge of the field, the rain seemed to be blocked by something, leaving a small part of the ground dry. "If it wasn't raining, it would be hard to spot."

"Penelope, hold the umbrella—I'm going to find Professor Flitwick."

After handing the umbrella to Penelope, Ethan conjured another one and made his way to where Professor Flitwick sat among the Ravenclaw spectators.

He pointed out the strange occurrence to Flitwick. Soon after, the professor headed to Gryffindor's area to find Professor McGonagall.

As for the outcome, it wasn't Ethan's concern.

When Ethan returned to his seat, he saw Harry speeding toward Draco Malfoy and snatching the Golden Snitch right from above his head.

This meant the game was over.

But Harry couldn't control his broom properly, holding it between his legs, and ended up crashing into the mud.

What happened next, Ethan could only feel sorry for Harry as he silently made his way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

Lockhart approached the injured Harry, while Professor McGonagall led the other three heads of houses to where Ethan had pointed earlier.

[Quidditch: The game is played by two teams of seven people (three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker) and involves four balls (a Quafle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch).

The Keeper defends the goalposts, while the three Chasers try to score by tossing the Quaffle into one of the opposing team's three goalposts. Two Beaters are tasked with keeping the Bludgers away from their teammates and using them against the opposing team. The Seeker's job is to catch the Golden Snitch, which ends the game and awards their team 150 points. However, catching the Snitch does not always guarantee victory if the opposing team has accumulated more points during the match.]

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