Voldemort's resurrection was not a simple matter. Even if everything went according to plan, he still had to wait for the right opportunity.
As things stood, Voldemort didn't have a great chance of returning. The most critical issue was that Harry Potter spent most of his time at Hogwarts, and kidnapping him, someone who was "the center of attention" and watched by half the wizarding world, was no easy task.
They would also need something to divert Dumbledore's attention. If he was watching, even creating chaos wouldn't allow them to succeed.
"So... the Triwizard Tournament?"
"The Triwizard Tournament."
"What needs to be done then?"
"Since Voldemort wants to come back, he'll do it. I think he'll find a way to get Harry Potter to participate in the Triwizard Tournament and then escort him all the way to victory..."
"And then turn the trophy into a Portkey, so when Harry touches it, he's sent to Voldemort."
Dumbledore could of course deduce the methods Voldemort and his followers might use, especially with Ethan by his side giving spoilers and revealing key information. Dumbledore directly guessed the full plan Voldemort was preparing to carry out.
"In that case, they must send someone into Hogwarts. During the Triwizard Tournament, people from other schools will be here. With so many outsiders entering Hogwarts, it will be easier for them to slip in."
Ethan pursed his lips. The Death Eaters didn't blend in with the teams from the other two schools. They came in as a Hogwarts professor.
That was the only way to reasonably help Harry and ensure he won the Triwizard Tournament.
"But what if someone else touches the trophy first..."
"So they'll do everything they can to prevent that from happening. If it really does happen..."
Ethan thought of poor Cedric Diggory. Harry had kindly suggested they touch the trophy together, but ended up dragging Cedric into a trap that killed him. In another world, the same Cedric became a vampire.
"The simplest way is to eliminate that possibility from the start."
"You mean tamper with the Goblet of Fire?"
That wasn't hard. Voldemort's people could do it, and so could Dumbledore.
Normally, Dumbledore wouldn't think of such things, but now the priority wasn't the competition. It was the students' safety.
"Let's not have any Hogwarts students participate."
Dumbledore thought this was a good option. But if the Triwizard Tournament went ahead as usual, Hogwarts would be required to provide a champion, right?
He didn't consider Harry because the Tournament only allowed students seventeen or older, and Harry didn't qualify.
From Ethan's comments, it was clear Voldemort's people would secretly manipulate things to get Harry selected. But after thinking it through, Dumbledore realized that the Death Eaters likely didn't have the ability to make the Goblet of Fire select Harry as Hogwarts' only champion just by their will.
The easiest thing would be to add an extra name. That was far easier to pull off.
Which meant that Hogwarts would still have one real champion chosen by the Goblet of Fire.
He glanced at Ethan. Unfortunately, Ethan's current age was the same as Harry's, so he couldn't be the champion either. Otherwise, if Ethan entered, no matter what went wrong, nothing could actually hurt him.
"Actually, before the final task begins, if you talk to the participating students and prepare a few life-saving items, nothing bad will happen."
"I'll think about the specifics more."
In the following days, Ethan rarely saw Dumbledore. The old man was busy making arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament next year, not to win, but to ensure the professors could respond quickly if anything went wrong.
The professors became busy and could only spare minimal time for teaching. Naturally, their supervision of students also relaxed, which delighted many lower-year students. The upper-year students, on the other hand, were still hard at work preparing for either their O.W.L. exams or N.E.W.T.-level courses.
Only the younger students, who didn't have graduation exams or advanced courses, could enjoy the relaxed pace.
But this didn't include Harry.
Because Sirius Black's case had been resolved early, the Dementors around the school were withdrawn by the Ministry of Magic. Naturally, no further incidents occurred. During the Quidditch match, Harry didn't faint or fall from his broom due to Dementors charging in.
Harry helped Gryffindor win again. Cedric, the one who was supposed to shine in this match before becoming a vampire in another timeline, missed what should have been the highlight of his youth.
Considering Dumbledore's upcoming arrangements and the fact that Ethan had already interfered, Cedric's life was bound to take a drastic turn. He probably wouldn't get the chance to become a vampire and would simply live out his life as a wizard.
Besides Cedric, Lupin's life also changed drastically.
A steady job and a generous, stable income significantly improved his living situation.
More importantly, though his good friend Sirius hadn't been cleared publicly, the Ministry had stopped pursuing him. It was clear they had already accepted the fact that Sirius was innocent. Even though they didn't officially announce it, the lack of pursuit was a victory in itself.
At least Sirius no longer had to hide like a criminal. He could now enter and leave Hogwarts freely. Eventually, he couldn't resist and met Harry, revealing that he was his godfather.
For Harry, who had just led Gryffindor to another Quidditch victory, this matter had been weighing heavily on his mind.
"I'm thinking about whether I should leave the Dursleys and live with my godfather... You know, I don't like it there. But at my godfather's place... Professor Dumbledore said he was framed before, and the real culprit's already been caught, but unfortunately, the guy escaped from Azkaban again."
Ron didn't know that this person was actually his pet rat. While Harry rambled beside him, he was entirely focused on the chessboard in front of him.
Ethan could hear Harry's complaints because he was currently playing wizard chess with Ron.
The rules were the same as regular chess, except players didn't move the pieces with their hands. Ron gave commands verbally, like casting spells. It was also a good way for young wizards to train their spellcasting skills.
Ethan didn't need all that. He just sat there quietly, moving the pieces with his thoughts.
The two of them were playing here because Harry wasn't good at chess, and with all the things on his mind lately, he couldn't sit still and play properly.
Also, after interacting with Ethan a few times, Ron, despite his usual hostility toward Slytherin, had mentally excluded Ethan from that group.
Seeing Ethan doing nothing, Ron had invited him to play. Ethan had agreed since he was bored anyway, but now he regretted it a little. He hadn't expected Harry to go on and on since the moment they sat down.
Finally, he couldn't help but give Harry some advice.
"If you don't like it, why keep forcing yourself?"
"But Professor Dumbledore wants me to stay with the Dursleys..."
"Dumbledore is Dumbledore. He's got so much to worry about that he probably can't even keep track of it all. Do you think he really understands how you feel? He just thinks you're too young and need family around. Whether they actually take care of you or not, he probably doesn't have time to check."
Harry looked at Ethan. He didn't know him very well, only that Ethan was powerful, probably the strongest in their year. Hermione had praised Ethan more than once.
Other than that, he didn't know much. Ethan was always so low-key that, outside of exams, people almost forgot he existed.
"You think I should leave the Dursleys?"
"Why does it matter what I think? It's your life, isn't it? Shouldn't you be the one to decide?" Ethan nodded as the queen on the board captured Ron's knight. At this pace, he could checkmate in four more moves.
However, Ron would probably checkmate him first.
"Tsk."
Their magical abilities might be worlds apart, but chess relied more on talent. Ethan clearly didn't have much of it. Even though he looked like a seasoned expert, he hadn't won a single match against Ron so far.
"You shouldn't have focused so much on capturing Ron's knight just now."
The sudden voice, and Hermione's sudden appearance, startled both boys.
"Good grief, Hermione. When did you get here?"
"What are you talking about? I've been here the whole time."
Hermione's expression, as if they were the ones being weird, left both of them baffled. But Ethan noticed something. Especially since a strange temporal fluctuation had appeared when she showed up.
"Didn't Professor McGonagall warn you?"
"Warn me about what?"
"That thing shouldn't be used so casually."
While speaking, Ethan suddenly frowned. He felt a trace of temporal energy leaking nearby, or rather, from Hermione. Maybe he could use it?
He gently hooked onto the trace of fluctuation with his magic, then guided the energy to wrap around the chessboard in front of them. Then the pieces on the board reversed, replaying the game that had just happened.
"How did you do that?"
(To be continued.)