Chapter 48

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Walking past a grand set of doors, Ethan felt a strange feeling wash over him. He couldn't exactly point out what it was, but he felt like something had shifted. He didn't know what, but he couldn't care less for the moment as he gazed at the Wadj-Wer Palace.

They had entered a sphere-shaped hall as if they were within a giant fishbowl, and surrounding them was water. It was hard to believe they were still in the bay from earlier, however, as it was just too big.

Looking around the water, however, there was one thing that caught Ethan's attention, and it was the giant tower some distance away. It was easily several dozen metres high, or rather, down. Indeed, it was upside down, with the tip pointing down towards the depths while the base was on a rocky structure on top.

What really shocked Ethan was that he knew what this was because he had seen illustrations of it before. It was the lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Ethan didn't have to ask for anything for his mother to explain: "Muggles believed that the lighthouse was constructed by the Greeks, but it is actually even more ancient. The real one, at least. The one on the surface was built by a Greek wizard, but it was only a replica."

Tracey couldn't help but ask, her voice uncharacteristically shy, "What's the point of an underwater lighthouse?"

Helene smiled fondly at the girl. "That is part of the reason why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Magical World. No one knows who built it or for what purpose, but it has stood for thousands of years, and it will stand for thousands of years."

Suddenly filled with a strong yearning, Ethan asked, "Is it possible to visit it?"

The guide in front answered this time, "I am afraid not. It is protected by strong magic. Moreover, it is strongly protected by our government, so any visit is forbidden. But some of the rooms in the Qasr Wadj-Wer have an excellent view of it."

Ethan smiled at the answer, but he felt his mother tap his shoulder, and she said, "No snooping around, alright?"

"Of course I wouldn't; you offend me, mother!"

Helene clicked her tongue and messed up Ethan's hair; she didn't like it when he called her 'mother' instead of mom.

After that, Tracey was impressed by everything she saw and was left gawking at practically everything they passed by. As for Ethan, he nearly always had a hand against one of the walls, more focused on analysing the magic that held this place together than the view.

As it turned out, they had one of the suites that gave on the lighthouse, but that did not surprise Ethan. His parents were rich, so getting the best suits was a given.

"So, what are we going to do today?"

Ethan asked his parents the question both he and Tracey had. Normally, the girl would have asked, but she was still feeling too shy around his parents to really talk much. It had nothing to do with their names or their status, though. It was something simpler—a timidity every child had when they interacted with the parents of someone else.

Henry, who was levitating the clothes out of the expanded mall they had brought into the drawers, replied, "Well, except for the few reservations we made, we are free to do whatever you guys want."

Helene narrowed her eyes at Ethan, a hint of a threat behind them. "And that won't be studying the local magic every day."

Tracey suddenly felt a trace of guilt as she hurriedly defused, "It's fine, Ms. Grindelwald; I'm interested in their magic too. And I-"

"It's nice of you, Tracey, but you got to set some boundaries with Ethan, or he would spend his entire days studying magic. I sometimes fear he will one day starve himself to death studying magic."

Although Helene's tone made it clear the last part was a joke, Tracey was too on edge to notice as she immediately said, "We wouldn't let that happen! What kind of minions would we be if we left him to starve?"

Everyone in the room paused, both in shock and incredulity. Ethan realised that maybe she wasn't feeling as shy as he thought she was.

A moment later, Helene burst into laughter. "Minions?"

Tracey blushed and said, "I-it's not what you think! It's just a joke we have because people keep calling Ethan a Dark Lord…"

Tracey looked like she didn't know where to put herself now, so Ethan chuckled lightly. "It earned us a few stares, but they don't really care anymore."

"You should still be careful with this kind of thing. It's fine around kids, but older people could get that wrong. They might actually believe you."

Although it wasn't directly addressed to her, Tracey still felt the need to defend herself. "It's just a joke; if he wanted to be a Dark Lord, he wouldn't be saying it out loud for everyone to hear."

Helene shook her head, sighing, "Emotions can dull the sharpest of minds. That is true for love, but it is also true for fear. And if there is one thing the name Grindelwald inspires, it is fear."

Feeling that the conversation had taken a rather dark turn, Ethan decided to change the subject: "So, about those reservations, what have you planned?"

Henry glanced at the lighthouse through the sea-through glass and said, "Some landmarks in both the muggle and the magical world, but honestly, there is mainly one big thing, set for next Monday."

"And what is it?"

Henry grinned and replied, "We will be visiting an ancient temple with a team of Curse Breakers from Gringotts. As they clear it, that is."

Tracey's eyes widened as she asked, "How is that possible? Isn't it, like, super dangerous? How did they accept to have us?"

Helene reassured, "We will be going to the Twin Temples of Ramses II in Abu Simbel. It has been attended to for hundreds of years, and most of the dangerous curses have already been cleared, making it one of the safer ruins. The only reason this team of Curse Breakers is even returning is because of a recent discovery. It is a costly endeavour, however, so they decided to accept some tourists."

Tracey blushed shyly once again as she muttered, "I didn't mean to cost you so much money."

Ethan rolled his eyes and said, "They probably got our places for free."

"What?" Tracey looked shocked, but Henry chuckled and assured her, "We did. They needed help with the rune-work, and Helene is the best in the world. So in exchange for her help, we got the places. And don't worry about money; we can afford it."

Tracey felt a slight trickle of inferiority as she heard the confident affirmation, but it was easily drowned out by the awe she felt at the couple.

Having spent a year with Ethan, Tracey had always been curious about what had brought him to be the way he was. Although she never said it, when she first entered Hogwarts, she had been apprehensive about the grandson of Grindelwald. She wasn't too involved in the wizarding world, as she was a half-blood, but she still knew enough to be afraid.

It wasn't just reputation either, but the effect that reputation would have too. While Tracey was no expert in psychology, she still understood that oftentimes, telling someone they were a monster over and over was enough to really turn them into one.

Yet, Ethan blew past all her expectations. He was kind, funny, lighthearted, and, while insanely talented (and somewhat arrogant), he was also always ready to help out when she, Daphne, or Theodore needed help. And even when he was hated and chased by everyone, he still fought with all his might to do the right thing.

They often joked that one day they would become his minions to conquer the world, but deep in her heart, Tracey strongly believed that it was only half a joke.

Of course, she had no ambition to do evil, but she also did not believe that Ethan would ever turn into an evil person. Not so long ago, when the entire school and Aurors chased after Ethan and Tracey saw doubts in both Daphne and Theodore about Ethan, she never doubted. She knew that he was innocent because he simply wasn't a bad person.

So even if one day Ethan were to become stranded by the world, she would stand by his side for a simple reason.

She believed in him.