Chapter 327: Ethan, the Forbidden Forest Is Turning into a Mob Spawner!!
After finishing the "conquest" of the giant tribe, which Ethan insisted on calling "cooperation", the three of them set off early the next morning to head back.
A pitch-black portal stood suspended in mid-air. Its interior was a bottomless void, like a monster gaping wide, ready to swallow people into nothingness.
Ethan, unfortunately, had to report one small disappointment.
He still had not found the coordinates for any abyss or underworld.
The other end of the portal was just the foot of the mountain.
Truly, a cause for celebration. A real one.
Last night's blood had already congealed across the rocky ground, a dark red sheen clinging to the stone. The giants, completely beaten into submission, watched Ethan with reverent awe as he sat astride the three-headed hound.
The giant leader spoke respectfully. "Wizard, sir, do you have any arrangements for us?"
After last night's rebellion, the way he addressed Ethan had shifted from "wizard" to "wizard, sir", a small change that carried a great deal of deference.
Ethan opened his eyes, heavy with exhaustion from painting all night, and met a ring of gazes full of hope and yearning.
Giant children clung to their elders' legs. Their frames were all bone, the ridges sharp beneath thin skin. On bodies already built large, it made them look like walking coat-hangers. They sucked on their fingers, staring at Ethan with huge, curious eyes.
The sight made Ethan think, absurdly, of house-elves.
"Yes," Hagrid cut in at once, barely able to hide his excitement. "I've been wondering how Professor Dumbledore is going to settle these great big… well. Them."
"Blimey. If we don't want the Ministry lot noticing, we'll need somewhere properly hidden, a huge place!"
Ethan tilted his head and looked at Hagrid, genuinely puzzled, as if Hagrid had asked where to find water in the lake.
"A huge hidden place? Do we really need to go looking? Hogwarts already has one ready-made."
Hagrid stared, still not following.
Ethan's lips curved. He enunciated the answer, slow and deliberate, as if delivering a perfectly obvious solution.
"The Forbidden Forest."
If it is a new species, you just pile it into the Forbidden Forest, simple as that.
As for the depths of the forest… well, it seemed the mother and baby Norwegian Ridgeback, the original models for that ancient dragon portrait, were still living in there too.
Ethan could only say one thing.
Life finds a way.
Surely the giants would also find a way to coexist peacefully.
"The Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid's eyes went wide, then he burst into sheer delight. "Ethan, you're a genius!"
"Of course. The Forbidden Forest has loads of species, plenty of room, and it can't be properly searched from the outside. I might even get the students playing with giants in Care of Magical Creatures!"
The moment he imagined it, Hagrid made a soft, melting sound in his throat, as if his heart might dissolve from the sheer wholesomeness of it all.
Nearby, the giant leader watched Ethan and Hagrid smiling at each other.
For some reason, an intense sense of doom began to rise from the bottom of his stomach.
It will be fine… right?
At the very least, it cannot be worse than this desolate cliff.
With that thought, the giant leader forced himself to relax. He discussed the plan with them: in a few days, Headmaster Dumbledore would send someone to relocate the tribe.
As for the moment when the giants discovered exactly what sorts of things they would be living next to in their "new home", and the suffering, traumatised wailing that followed…
That was a story for later.
For now, the giants only watched the three of them depart with gratitude, murmuring, "Bless you, our powerful and benevolent king… We will offer our loyalty forever!"
Not long after Ethan and the others left, another figure climbed up the steep mountainside and appeared before the giants.
Corban Yaxley, a Death Eater who wore the mask of a senior Ministry official.
He was also one of the two people sent at the start of term to monitor the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and dig up a weakness they could use against Ethan.
"Huff… huff… finally," Yaxley panted, sweat streaming down his vicious, thick-featured face.
He stared at the massive shapes moving slowly through the mist and licked his lips, greed and amazement flashing in his eyes. "What incredible bodies… Just looking at them, you can feel that brute strength."
"If I can win over these idiots who only know how to smash things," he muttered, "the Death Eaters' fighting power will jump by a huge margin."
He had come to follow the plan Lord Voldemort had left behind.
Subdue the giants. Subdue the werewolves.
Bring these forces, rejected by the "proper" wizarding world, under their banner.
"Don't worry, my Lord…" Yaxley murmured, a fierce light hardening his gaze. "I'm not like those spineless fools who go wherever the wind blows. I'll gather strength for your return. I'll clear every obstacle."
The giant tribe would be his first step.
Even though, in truth, the first step should have been "subduing the werewolves".
Yaxley's stomach twisted with bitterness.
Forget "subduing" them. He had nearly been caught by those cursed werewolves and offered up to Ethan as a trophy, all to trade for precious healing potions.
Remembering himself scrambling away under a storm of claws and fangs made hatred boil in his chest.
"Ethan Vincent… you've got some skill, but my Lord is still greater," he snarled. He patted the gift hidden on his person, the look in his eyes turning sharp with certainty.
Giants worshipped violence and blood by nature.
If you catered to their tastes, they were easy to win.
Yaxley stepped into the giants' territory and was quickly brought before the leader.
Facing that mountain-like figure, even Yaxley, who prided himself on his composure, felt his heart speed up.
If anything, it only strengthened his determination to secure the giants.
He bowed, smooth and measured. "Respected Gurg, I come by the Dark Lord's command, seeking your help…"
Yaxley spoke in an orderly way, laying out his terms, his promises, his vision.
He did not notice the atmosphere around him growing heavier and darker by the second.
You said you want to fight who?
"…And this is a small token of respect," Yaxley continued. "A giant axe, one that can split a mountain."
With a solid clunk, he pulled the weapon from a bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Its surface gleamed silver. Dense, heavy runes and intricate enchantment-work crawled over the blade. Its size was enormous, the sort of weapon only a giant could wield.
It was, without question, a gift tailored to giant tastes.
When Yaxley saw the leader staring at the axe without blinking, his expression turned more satisfied, more confident. In his mind, he was already watching himself march at the head of the giant tribe, trampling Hogwarts into the ground.
After a long moment, the leader's deep, rumbling voice rolled down from above.
"Who did you say your enemy is?"
Yaxley blinked, not expecting the leader to care about that detail. He did not think twice.
"Primarily, a wizard called Ethan Vincent," he said plainly. "He is the greatest obstacle blocking the Dark Lord's path. We must tear him to pieces!"
His words were vicious, deliberate. Yaxley was sure the giants would enjoy that sort of talk.
And sure enough, the leader reached down, grabbed the giant axe, and lifted it with a thunderous ease. He swung it twice, then nodded.
"It is a good weapon."
Yaxley's eyes lit up. "Then I look forward to our cooperation…"
The leader's next words fell like a stone.
"Perfect. We can use your head to put an edge on it."
"…What?"
Yaxley's smile froze. His eyes went wide, stunned into disbelief.
Use what to sharpen it?
Me?
Is there some misunderstanding here?
But when Yaxley finally noticed the giants closing in around him, their shadows swallowing the light, he realised far too late.
They had never intended to cooperate.
Those bastards were going to take his gift for free.
Since when did giants get this clever?
"Why?!" Yaxley shouted, panic and rage bursting out together.
He stared up at the leader's mocking, ice-cold expression and suddenly felt, with sick clarity, that he was the idiot here.
The leader did not answer.
He only raised the freshly acquired weapon high and roared, voice shaking the cliffside.
"For Ethan Vincent, our powerful and benevolent king!"
"Kill this wicked intruder!"
The moment he heard that familiar name, it was as if a cork had been ripped from a bottle.
Yaxley's thoughts snapped into place.
Ethan again.
Ethan had beaten him to it again, and that damned boy had already secured the giant tribe first.
Giants might be slow, but they were fiercely loyal.
And Ethan, Merlin knew how, had somehow become the giants' "king" as a human.
How was that remotely reasonable?
The giant hands lunged in from every direction. The axe came down in a brutal arc.
Yaxley, who had run all this way only to be robbed of a precious enchanted weapon, felt as if a troll had stomped him flat and then danced on his pride for good measure.
The frustration in his chest detonated.
He threw his head back and howled, a scream so sharp it cut through the mountains.
"Ethan Vincent!"
At the foot of the mountain:
[Soul fusion rate increased by 0.1%.]
"Hm?" Ethan blinked at the sudden notification, a little question mark practically floating over his head.
What was that?
A system glitch? Why had his soul fusion rate suddenly gone up?
Ethan turned and looked back towards the towering mountains. Then he put on a smile that was one hundred percent sunny and harmless.
"Someone must have been so shocked by my glorious accomplishments that they couldn't help praising me."
"Hehe."
"Nice."
Back at Hogwarts, when Dumbledore heard Ethan had successfully reached a cooperation agreement with the giant tribe, he smiled and applauded.
When he heard Ethan had dealt with the deputy who led the rebellion, and had conveniently "conquered" the giants in the process, becoming their new king…
Dumbledore fell silent.
In the Headmaster's office, the entire wall of portraits fell silent too.
For a brief, surreal moment, Dumbledore had the distinct feeling that Ethan was an "automatic conquest machine", that wherever you put him, he would conquer it.
The efficiency was almost a bit too efficient.
"…You did very well, Ethan," Dumbledore said at last, and smiled in resignation.
As for how future generations might judge him, well, by then he would be long dead. Why worry about it?
Dumbledore handed him a coin pouch. "Thank you for your hard work, Mr Vincent."
Ethan accepted it. The weight alone made his heart lift with delight.
He tucked it away with satisfaction and nodded. "I accept your appreciation, Dumby… dore."
Dumbledore stared at him.
Then, as always, he smoothly ignored Ethan's overfamiliarity.
Honestly, it was not worth arguing. Ethan could sit on his head and Dumbledore would still just sigh and move on.
"Once term starts," Dumbledore continued, "I will also reward your outstanding contribution by giving Ravenclaw fifty points."
Ethan smiled. "Professor Flitwick will be thrilled."
"However," Dumbledore paused, frowning slightly, "are you certain the giant tribe is willing to live in the Forbidden Forest? There is enough room, but… the forest has many residents already."
Dumbledore was being polite.
Aside from unicorns and centaurs, almost none of the creatures currently in the Forbidden Forest could be called "native" in any reassuring sense.
A Norwegian Ridgeback. A death-bird. A wolf rider that only appeared at night.
And the illegal hybrid creatures Hagrid kept sneaking in when nobody was looking.
The Forbidden Forest had already become something like a mob spawner.
Oddly enough, in a certain sense, that made it safer.
The black dragon nested deep within the forest. Ethan's death-bird would simply pick up any students who wandered in and toss them back out.
And the lost wolf rider who guarded the moonlit flowers would snipe students from eight hundred metres away.
They could not even get close.
The creatures Ethan had left behind would not harm students.
Unfortunately, that also meant students' enthusiasm for the Forbidden Forest had been rising steadily.
Dumbledore had even heard that Hogwarts students had formed a private "Forbidden Forest Exploration Squad", specialising in sneaking out at night to go exploring.
And of course, the leaders of that organisation were all brave Gryffindors, otherwise known as House Minus Points.
Ah, youth.
Dumbledore smiled to himself.
Ethan said brightly, "Yes, the giants are very happy to live in the Forbidden Forest. If we do not let them go, they will be so sad they will cry."
Hagrid nodded so hard his beard nearly swung off his face.
Whatever Ethan said, agreeing was always the correct answer.
"So serious?" Dumbledore murmured, genuinely taken aback. "I see. So giants are a people who enjoy living alongside other species… Very well. I understand."
He looked up and smiled. "Then we will do it that way, Mr Vincent."
"For the next while, I will have to trouble you to use your portal to help with the relocation."
A portal that could move people without leaving a trace truly was an incredible tool.
"No problem," Ethan said, and made an "OK" gesture.
Then he thought of something and added, "In that case, could I ask you to collect as much information as possible on the Progenitor Giant?"
That was history from the ancient, savage ages. What remained were only stone tablets and bone fragments, extremely precious, kept in the Department of Mysteries.
Only someone like Dumbledore could borrow them.
"The Progenitor Giant?" Dumbledore chuckled, not asking why. He simply mirrored Ethan's gesture, pinching his index finger and thumb together, and smiled playfully. "That is OK on my end as well."
Ethan's brows lifted. Then his eyes curved, and he laughed, genuine and unguarded.
After Ethan and Hagrid left, one portrait on the wall, labelled "Most Hated Headmaster in History", snorted.
"You still haven't told him about that, have you?"
"The Order of the Phoenix."
"Heh. You make it sound nice, but in the end you just don't trust that boy."
Dumbledore removed his glasses and wiped them, not bothering to argue.
He put them back on and looked, very quietly, at a new portrait that had been added to the office.
His sister, Ariana.
Because her soul was incomplete, Ariana spent most of the day asleep.
But for Dumbledore, simply being able to see her again like this, even to touch her, was already the greatest blessing of his life.
After a long while, Dumbledore sighed and said softly, "If I can help it, I do not want any child to know the Order of the Phoenix exists. It was never meant to be their burden."
"I constantly reflect on whether it was right, because Ethan is so capable, to give him such difficult tasks, to make him carry the weight of the wizarding world too soon."
"Hmph," Phineas Nigellus Black rolled his eyes. "From where I'm sitting, that boy is enjoying himself!"
Dumbledore withdrew his gaze, unconsciously rubbing the knotted wood of the Elder Wand, and made a final decision.
"The Order of the Phoenix can wait."
"The giant tribe, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor…"
"Ethan already has far too much on his plate. Let us not add to it."
Then he smiled again. "Besides, once term begins, Harry and the others will tell Ethan about the Order of the Phoenix anyway."
After all, Hogwarts did not earn the title "the world's biggest sieve" for nothing.
What Dumbledore did not know was that Ethan had not only been to the Order of the Phoenix headquarters at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place long ago, he had also brought one of Voldemort's Horcruxes out of it and destroyed it.
Salazar Slytherin's locket.
At that very moment, as if struck by sudden inspiration, Ethan remembered it.
"Oh!" Ethan snapped his fingers. "I've been so busy I almost forgot about the Order of the Phoenix."
"Hm. Harry's birthday is coming up too."
"I can use the new painting to give them a surprise."
Decision made, Ethan smiled in that harmless, innocent way.
Far away, at Sirius Black's ancestral home, Harry Potter shivered for no reason at all.
It felt…
Like something filthy had fixed its eyes on him.