Adding one more person, Rin, didn't affect the plot much. To pass this level, they needed to step onto the chessboard and choose a 'character' to play. Whether there were three people or four, there were more than enough roles to choose from.
This chess trial fully showcased Ron's impressive ability. He helped Hermione and Harry pick suitable roles to ensure their survival. It wasn't until the final decisive move that Harry realized Ron's strategy. Clearly, their chess skills were not on the same level.
Now, with Rin joining, it still didn't interfere with Ron's command. He calmly handled every situation and gradually gained the upper hand.
"Are we just going to stay here and watch?"
Ethan didn't step forward to interrupt the game. Instead, he stopped a bit farther back and quietly observed Ron's performance.
"What would we go up for? To foolishly stand on the board, play a chess piece, and be bossed around by Ron?"
Malfoy had intended to ask a similar question. But after hearing Ethan's words, he immediately swallowed it.
He had no desire to be ordered around like a pawn by that poor Weasley boy. And he suspected that if he did become a chess piece, Ron would definitely send him to his death.
The events that followed didn't differ much from the original plot. After Ron made all his 'moves,' he initiated the final attack.
But the price of this final move was that the knight he was playing would be taken by the opposing queen, giving Harry the opportunity for checkmate.
This way, they could win the game, but what would happen to Ron, who was about to be taken… At least from Ron's perspective, he would be eliminated. Even under such circumstances, he was still willing to make that choice...
"Should I say ignorance is bliss... or that he's too young to fear death?"
"Is there a difference?"
Ignoring the sarcasm in Scáthach's tone, Ethan didn't know what Ron was truly thinking. But he was right here. Letting a magical object injure a classmate in front of him would be laughable.
Even if he didn't have much of a relationship with Ron, would a godlike figure not be able to handle a chess piece? Letting a kid get hurt right before his eyes—was it incompetence or cold indifference?
Either way, it would give Rin and Scáthach something to mock him over. He didn't intend to give them the chance.
As Ron completed his final move and waited for the opposing queen to strike, Ethan simply raised his hand and pointed toward the distant queen piece. A powerful burst of magic struck it, reducing the giant queen to dust.
This sudden change stunned the Gryffindors on the chessboard. Harry, Hermione, and Rin all turned to stare in disbelief at the dark corner behind them.
As students of Hogwarts with decent academic performance, they could easily judge from the direction of the dust where the spell had come from.
"Could it be the professors?"
In Harry's mind, such a powerful spell had to come from one of the school's professors. It couldn't possibly be a student. Even older students wouldn't be able to cast something that strong.
When Ethan walked out of the shadows, Harry's first reaction was, "Was Snape hiding there the whole time? But why would he save Ron?"
Snape, as the Head of Slytherin and one of the key suspects Harry had been watching, was the villain Harry believed was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He had no reason to save the people trying to stop him.
As for why Ethan was with Snape, Harry didn't think too deeply about it. After all, they were both Slytherins. That house was full of troublemakers.
When Malfoy followed Ethan out, Harry was even more convinced of his theory.
But after waiting for a while, he didn't see Snape. Aside from Ethan, Malfoy, and another unfamiliar girl, no one else appeared.
"Ethan?"
"Yeah."
Putting Rin aside, Hermione didn't hold as much prejudice toward Slytherin students as Harry did. But she still found it hard to believe that the one who had cast that spell was a classmate who had only been studying magic for a year, just like her.
"How did you get here?"
"Why can't we be here? Are you the only ones allowed to wander around during a break?"
Malfoy instinctively fired back. His reaction was so natural, he finished speaking before he even realized it.
"So are you going to report us again and end up with detention like last time?"
Malfoy fell silent. Reporting them the last time had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, and it had dragged him into punishment as well. He wasn't going to make the same mistake again.
"How much longer do you all plan to stand here talking? The chess piece was destroyed. I don't know if that'll alert the professors. If it does, none of us will need to report anything to get detention."
These were magical chess pieces. Ethan wasn't sure whether destroying one of them would trigger some kind of alert to the one who created it. If it did, then the professors might soon discover that someone had broken through the area protecting the Philosopher's Stone.
Harry was stunned. What did Ethan mean?
"Harry!"
Ron had already jumped down from the knight piece. The queen had been shattered, and the game was effectively ruined. They couldn't continue from this point, and how to proceed was now a problem.
Destroying the queen didn't mean they could walk through. All the chess pieces their side had captured during the game had now returned to their original positions and were blocking the way again—only the spot where the queen had been was now clear.
"What do we do now?"
Harry looked toward the other side, then turned to Ethan and the others. He suddenly suspected that Ethan had done this on purpose to block their progress.
He didn't know what to do. But surprisingly, Hermione and Rin seemed to know Ethan well. Rin even directly asked Ethan if he had a way forward.
Because Ethan had kept a low profile all year, Harry didn't know much about him. All he knew was that Ethan had excellent grades and was favored by that annoying Snape—so naturally, Harry had a poor impression of him, even though Ethan had never interacted with him.
"Do you have a way for us to get through?"
"Yes."
Ethan answered plainly, giving no chance for Harry or Ron to question him. With a light wave of his hand, all the large chess pieces blocking the path were swept aside by an invisible force, crashing into the walls with heavy thuds.
"You can go through now."
"..."
If Malfoy, Hermione, and the others hadn't fully understood how Ethan had destroyed the queen earlier, now they had a very clear idea of his power.
Harry and Ron stood dumbfounded, mouths agape, staring at the chess pieces that had been flung aside like junk.
"Let's go."
Ignoring the stunned children, Ethan recalled that Quirrell should be just ahead. That man was probably still standing in front of the Mirror of Erised, lost in confusion, trying to figure out how to get the Philosopher's Stone.
When Ethan and the group arrived, Quirrell was indeed staring blankly at the mirror.
As he came to his senses, he realized he was being watched by a group of children.
Harry was completely shocked. The person in front of him wasn't Snape, but Professor Quirrell—the stammering, timid teacher.
Because things weren't going the way he'd expected, Harry tried to talk to Quirrell to make sense of it. He brought up how, during the Quidditch match, it was actually Quirrell, not Snape, who had tried to kill him. Snape had been trying to save him.
Ron and Hermione immediately covered their faces. At the time, they had all thought it was Snape casting the curse that made Harry's broom go out of control. Hermione had even run over and set Snape's robes on fire.
Even though it ended up saving Harry, it had been a misunderstanding. The fire caused a commotion that knocked Quirrell over, giving Harry a chance to escape danger.
But in the end, it wasn't Snape who tried to kill Harry. He had actually helped. Hurting an ally was embarrassing, and Hermione felt very guilty.
By now, the truth was clear. Although Scáthach didn't fully understand the whole story, it didn't stop her from enjoying the scene with interest.
Malfoy, on the other hand, was completely lost. He had no idea what was going on.
It wasn't until Quirrell demanded that Harry retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from the mirror that Ethan reached out and stopped the frightened boy. Harry was still under twelve and hadn't yet entered the rebellious stage where he'd ignore advice. It wasn't strange that he'd be scared when facing a professor.
Ethan had no intention of paying any attention to Quirrell. That guy didn't scare him in the slightest. Even if the Voldemort behind him appeared, it wouldn't matter.
"You're just a thief trying to steal school property. We have no reason to listen to you."
Those words snapped Harry out of it. He stopped and stared hard at Professor Quirrell.
Because of Ethan's interference, Voldemort, who was already fed up with Quirrell's incompetence, finally lost his patience. He declared that he would personally speak to Harry and the others. He believed that he could easily manipulate the children into helping him retrieve the Philosopher's Stone... Huh? What is that kid holding?
Just as Quirrell was unwrapping his turban and Voldemort began to observe the group through the mirror, he was shocked to see the boy named Ethan holding a stone, examining it casually.
"The Philosopher's Stone? When?!"
(To be continued.)
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