Chapter 86

King's Cross Station, it was just the same as last year. And once again, Ethan had arrived early on with his family. This time it was not to avoid the masses though, only one family.

Tracey and Ethan did not plan to end their friendship just because of her parents. Still, provoking them and causing a fight for no reason would be childish, and pointless, so Ethan had agreed to arrive early on, and have his friends join him in the car.

As for his parents, although it would probably be best if they did not meet with Tracey, they would not miss the opportunity of waving him off, having missed it last year because they did not want to attract too much attention on Ethan.

What Ethan did not expect however was for a whole family of red heads to already be there, waiting for them. The moment they arrived, they set their eyes on them, and before they could say anything, the Weasley Matriarch charged like an unstoppable force of nature and crushed Ethan into a hug that would rival a bear's.

Ethan looked at his parents for help, but his mother completely ignored him, while his father had a mischievous grin. It was all Ethan needed to realize they had planned the whole thing. The traitors!

Fortunately, Molly Weasley let go of him before he suffocated to death. She looked at him with a motherly smile, praising, "You look even more dashing than in the newspapers!"

Although he could guess what had prompted this ambush, considering what Bill had said, Ethan still felt a little awkward as he said hesitantly, "Thank you?"

The dignified air Ethan tried to keep at all times was shattered into a thousand pieces as Molly gently pinched his cheek, saying, "I wanted to be able to thank you in person. We all did. Thank you for what you did. I… I don't know what we would have done if something had happened to Bill."

Ethan looked past her at the rest of the Weasley Family. Except for the two eldest sons who no longer attended Hogwarts, the rest of the family was here. The father, Arthur, whom Ethan was meeting for the first time, as well as the rest of the children.

Percy may have been there in body, but he was staring at a beautiful girl with long curly blond hair. Ethan easily recognized her as the Sixth Year Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater.

Fred and George, the Fourth Year twins, were rapidly looking between him and Ron, with big mischievous grins plastered on their faces, obviously up to no good. As for the youngest son, he was looking at his feet, as if hoping for the ground to swallow him up. Considering their history, it was not surprising the boy felt guilt.

Then, finally, there was the youngest, Ginny Weasley, the only daughter of the Weasleys, who would be starting Hogwarts this year, and was supposed to be the possessor of Riddle's book. She was a cute little thing, looking at him with curiosity, as if he was some extraordinary animal… oh wait, she was looking at Miyuki.

Returning his gaze to their mother, she had her hands on her hips as she said, "If you ever need any help, do not hesitate to come to us. Percy is a Prefect, so if you ever come across any problem, he won't hesitate to help you!"

Ethan glanced at Percy, and figured the older boy was not listening to any of this, as his gaze had never left Penelope. Still, he nodded, and Molly added, "Any of my sons! They would be glad to help the one who saved their dear older brother!"

Fred and George flanked Ron on both side, leaning on his shoulders like an angel and a devil as one said, "Yes, of course, you can count on us…"

And the other continued, "… and of course, we would never dare to suspect you of being some kind of thief! That would just be un-im-agi-na-ble!"

Molly, who was looking at Ethan, nodded along, while Ron was blushing madly. Ethan smiled at the brothers, and said, "Of course. I'll make sure to ask, if I do ever need it. But really, as I told Bill, he never owed me anything. I was saving myself more than anything."

Molly smiled fondly at him, before patting his shoulders, "Alright, we won't bother you any longer. And don't forget, if you ever need any help, just reach out."

Ethan smiled politely, and the Weasley family walked away. Turning to his parents, Ethan narrowed his eyes at them, and asked, "You did this, didn't you?"

His mother looked at him impassively, her face impossible to read, but his father admitted to it straight away, apparently finding great fun in smearing it in his face, "Ms. Weasley has sent a few letters because she wanted to thank us. And you, specifically. And who are we to deny this to our beloved son?"

Ethan rolled his eyes at his father, and was about to retort something when his mother grabbed his collar, readjusting it. Ethan was not yet dressed in his Hogwarts robes, but in a grey suit instead.

He had just started his puberty during the summer, and taken a few centimeters, enough for him to feel like suits made him look serious and dashing, rather than like a child trying to look like an adult.

Helene looked at Ethan, who was reaching her height, in the eyes, and said, inadvertently letting a sliver of worry come through, "You be careful this year at school, alright? No playing hero."

Ethan looked at his mother in silence. Did she know something about the Chamber of Secrets? It should not be possible, unless… she was the one he inherited his seer talent from?

No, that did not make sense. Ethan denied the possibility quickly, as he believed that if his mother knew anything about the chamber, she would already have contacted the school. She had more than enough pull with Dumbledore, be it as Loki or as Grindelwald's daughter, to have them handle the threat immediately.

Knowing he could not just remain silent, Ethan faked a smile, and tested the waters, "Come on, I'll be fine. Last year was already extraordinary. There's no way something similar will happen this year. The most danger I will be in is if I somehow get drafted into the Quidditch Team."

Helene did not smile. Nor did she look convinced. She looked like she knew for certain something would happen, as she said, "Just… promise me not to do anything foolish. If there is a problem, go to your teachers. I mean it, Ethan. No matter how interesting whatever piece of magic you stumble upon, if it looks dangerous, then it is. If it doesn't, then it probably also is dangerous."

Ethan felt like a child whose mother was trying to convince not to accept candies from children. Did he really look so irresponsible?

Still, he knew he had to reassure her, so he replied, "I will be careful, I promise."

Helene took a deep breath, and hugged Ethan, before letting go of him. Henry did as well.

"Alright, go on. Have fun at school."

This made Ethan smile. The message was quite different from his first year. He nodded nonetheless, and boarded the train, where he found himself an empty car.