The sound reverberated through the air.
It echoed in the Great Hall.
Like a heavy hammer crashing down.
It left the students, who had just woken up, completely stunned.
Still wearing their nightcaps and looking thoroughly disheveled, the students stared blankly at the sparkling Ethan before them.
After a long moment.
Neville quietly slipped back under his covers, muttering, "I must still be dreaming."
Harry's face turned ashen.
Just like when he'd learned that their first class was Potions.
This practical activity felt a bit too real.
"Think of Sirius, Harry!"
Ron whispered beside him, chuckling softly.
Anyway, there was no way Ethan could actually take them back to ancient times.
To join a real Goblin rebellion.
It would probably just end up being divided into two groups.
One pretending to be Goblins, the other Wizards.
Just playing pretend, like a game of house.
"Hey!"
Harry punched Ron, and the two shared a knowing glance before bursting into laughter together.
Only Hermione, for some reason, looked worried.
Ron: "Hmph, ignore her. She's probably just fretting over that awful big cat of hers!"
As he spoke, Ron gently stroked Scabbers, who lay sickly in his arms.
Ever since Sirius's attack the night before.
The old gray rat had been trembling nonstop.
It seemed.
As if it had been terrified out of its wits.
Everyone's relaxed mood.
Lasted until Friday night.
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
A dozen Hippogriffs snorted, flapped their wings, and impatiently scraped the ground with their sharp talons.
On their tall, sturdy bodies, armor gleamed with a cold, hard silver light.
In the dim shadows of the trees, only a cluster of shifting heads could be seen.
Silent and motionless.
Ethan stood before them all, slowly drawing back his dark hood.
He scanned the nervous and curious faces, then said in a hoarse voice:
"You have arrived..."
Professor Snape: Why does this scene feel so familiar?
In a daze, it was like being back at one of Lord Voldemort's meetings.
Still, Snape was curious.
What trick would the "all-powerful" Ethan pull to drag out this utter farce?
Professor Lupin and Headmaster Dumbledore stood on the other side.
Among the students.
Leading the group were members of the Enlightenment Society.
Harry, Hermione, Luna, Cedric, Neville, the Weasley twins.
Following them were the selected ones.
Outstanding students from each year.
There was Miss Gemma Farley from Slytherin, Penelope from Ravenclaw, Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain Wood, and so on.
Each of them reminded Dumbledore of the outdoor challenge from his first year.
Dumbledore: Pain.jpg
...But this time, with him personally overseeing things.
Nothing should go wrong, right?
Ethan's voice cut through, pulling everyone back to the present:
"Attention, this is not a drill!"
Like the beat of a war drum, Ethan's voice had lost its usual casual ease.
It carried a solemn, deep tone.
Causing everyone's hearts to tighten involuntarily!
Ron, who had been specially permitted to observe, muttered, "Why so serious...
It really puts you on edge."
"Soon, your nostrils will be filled with the scent of gunpowder, your sleeves stained with the Goblins' foul blood."
"And the spells you cast will claim real lives."
His clear voice resonated through the deathly quiet, secluded forest.
Everyone unconsciously tightened their expressions.
Ethan paused for a moment.
One corner of his mouth lifted, and he said softly:
"It's not too late to back out now."
A brief silence.
But no one withdrew!
Even Neville Longbottom, the Gryffindor often seen as the most timid, pressed his lips together firmly, saying nothing.
This feels... kind of exciting.
Harry thought, a thrill bubbling up inside him.
"Very good."
Ethan lifted the corner of his mouth.
He glanced at Professor Snape.
"Then, Professor Snape, please hand out the Felix Felicis. Everyone can drink it now."
Felix Felicis?!
A few who knew what it was, like Hermione, immediately widened their eyes!
This was an incredibly rare and priceless potion!
Dozens of people, each with their own small bottle??
When Hermione took the thumb-sized vial of golden liquid from Professor Snape, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a cauldron.
She was in a daze... Had Ethan become Professor Snape's father or something? He was practically a god!!
After the students had drunk the potion.
An excited expression crossed Ethan's face.
He raised Salazar Slytherin's gift, the silver key.
And shouted:
"Come on! Time to witness a real battlefield!!"
Set off, to the past!!
As his words fell.
A blinding white light burst from the key!
A powerful magical surge instantly warped the space!
!!!
Dumbledore's pupils shrank, his heart pounding with alarm.
He raised his wand instinctively.
But when the white light faded, the area was empty.
Only he and Ron, the Weasley boy left behind, stared at each other.
Two seconds later.
Ron's face contorted.
His disbelieving shout echoed across a wide swath of the Forbidden Forest.
"No way, Ethan actually took them to the past?!!"
Dumbledore chuckled.
It seemed he'd been left out.
Headache.
The year 1612.
Goblin stronghold.
Underground prison.
"Clang! Clang!"
The Goblin guard viciously banged his truncheon against the bars,
Gazing at the terrified faces of the Muggles and wizards in the cells.
He grinned with delight, baring a mouth full of jagged fangs.
"You fools! Get out here now!"
The Goblin guard flung open the door and bellowed.
He kicked a prisoner near the entrance, sending him tumbling to the ground.
The prisoners exchanged glances.
They saw raw fear in one another's eyes.
Those who'd been taken from other cells had never come back.
However.
Seeing the Goblin raise his truncheon.
They had no choice but to yield to the threat, rising one by one.
Trembling with dread, they shuffled out of the cells.
Just then.
A young voice roared out:
"Just you wait! The wizards will soon breach your fortress and slaughter every last one of you!!"
The shout reverberated through the vast prison.
Brimming with fury and hatred.
It was deeply stirring.
However.
The prisoners' faces twisted in anguish.
Because they knew all too well.
The cost of defiance.
As expected.
The Goblin guard narrowed his eyes menacingly.
Then he laughed.
He slapped his heavy truncheon against his palm and slowly approached a red-haired youth among the prisoners.
The one who'd just shouted.
"You're very brave."
The Goblin drawled.
"Indeed, you fools never learn from others' mistakes."
"You have to be beaten to death, blow by blow!"
"...Even if you kill me, thousands upon thousands of wizards will still rise up!!"
Henry Weasley gritted his teeth and snarled.
His body shook, but his eyes locked fearlessly on the Goblin guard!
It didn't matter.
He believed that in this war, humanity would surely prevail!
And his role.
Was to uphold the unyielding spirit of humanity to his last breath, even if it meant dying in torment!
The heavy truncheon, glowing red, was hoisted high.
With a sharp whistle, it swung down!
Henry clenched his fists.
In that instant, his mind went blank.
His wand had been taken, and alchemy barred his magic.
He was powerless— "Clang!"
Just then.
A translucent barrier materialized in front of Henry!
The truncheon slammed into it hard, the red glow flaring, but it didn't crack it even a bit!
Instead.
It rebounded off the force and clattered to the ground!
"Ah!"
The Goblin screeched, tumbling across the floor.
Its small frame was hurled back by the impact, rolling several times!
?!!
Henry was stunned.
W-what just happened?!!
Not just him.
All the prisoners were frozen in shock!
The next second.
A clear, incongruous voice rang out from behind the crowd:
"Delivered straight to the Goblin stronghold? Brilliant~"
Ethan Vincent tossed back his hood, revealing his pristine, handsome smiling face, which shone into the prisoners' eyes like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.
Magic swirled lazily around the wand in his hand.
Ding-dong!
Your Death has arrived!
Please accept this destruction gift package!