The morning after the Diagon Alley incident, Minister Fudge's office at the Ministry of Magic buzzed with tension. The Minister's hands trembled as he read from the freshly printed Daily Prophet, his voice rising with barely contained rage:
"Give him a chance to go shopping, and he'll face off against the fugitive Aurors have been chasing for over a month... Rising star Ethan Vincent steps forward to confront Sirius Black, protecting the Boy Who Lived Harry Potter..."
His face darkened further as he continued. "Public dissatisfaction has reached its peak! Citizens are openly saying: The Minister of Magic is more useless than a garden gnome...'
"This reporter, MacArthur, reporting to you..."
"Bang!" Minister Fudge slammed the newspaper onto his desk with such force that several Aurors flinched. Breathing heavily, his face flushed crimson, he roared, "Look at this! Just look at it! Now even the Daily Prophet dares to openly criticise the Ministry!"
"Ethan Vincent... even a third-year child is more capable than you lot! What exactly do I pay you for?!"
The assembled Aurors hung their heads in shamed silence, unwilling to meet their superior's furious gaze.
Minister Fudge paced like a caged animal, his face turning an alarming shade of red as he muttered repeatedly, "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
"If Ethan really catches Sirius first— No! My position must not waver in the slightest!"
Like someone driven to the edge of madness, he continued his agitated pacing. His subordinates exchanged nervous glances until one carefully ventured, "Actually, you needn't worry so much, Minister Fudge."
Fudge whipped around, narrowing his eyes and asking hoarsely, "What do you mean?"
The subordinate straightened slightly. "Though Ethan Vincent is formidable, he absolutely cannot compare to our most powerful guards—the Dementors."
At the mere mention of that name, everyone present shuddered involuntarily. Fudge himself showed visible fear, clearly recalling just how terrifying those creatures were.
The subordinate pressed his advantage. "Besides the Patronus Charm that can repel them, there's not a single spell in the wizarding world that can truly kill them. No matter how powerful Ethan's magic is, he couldn't possibly have a way to deal with spectral beings!"
Minister Fudge's eyes lit up with sudden realisation. "That's right! Headmaster Dumbledore has agreed to let Dementors guard Hogwarts—Sirius will be caught the moment he tries to enter the school!"
"Ethan absolutely cannot catch him before we do!"
His mood improved dramatically at this revelation. Glancing at the offending newspaper, he snorted derisively and tossed it into the wastebasket with obvious satisfaction.
No matter what the reports say, as long as the Ministry catches Sirius, the public will know who's truly reliable... Though Sirius never should have escaped in the first place, Fudge thought darkly.
"Communicate with the Hogwarts Express authorities," he commanded. "Allow us to board and inspect during the journey! We must leave Sirius nowhere to escape!"
Perfect opportunity to scare Ethan Vincent too. Let that arrogant brat witness true fear!
In the office's shadowed corner, the easily overlooked Professor Lupin's eyes flickered with unreadable emotion.
The remaining vacation time flew by in a blur. September 1st arrived with surprising speed.
With the village residents' collective and rather enthusiastic farewell, Ethan and Luna left the wizarding village for King's Cross Station in London to begin their new term.
Passing through the brick wall between platforms nine and ten, they reached Platform 9¾—that threshold between the mundane and magical worlds.
"Whoo—" The deep red Hogwarts Express puffed white steam into the morning air, its whistle echoing across the crowded platform.
Various owls flew overhead in lazy circles, occasionally hooting to one another.
"How wonderful..." Luna looked up at the circling owls, saying softly, "I love going to school most of all."
"Especially with you." She turned, smiling at Ethan. Her blue eyes sparkled brilliantly in the September sunlight.
Ethan smiled back warmly. "Me too."
They gazed at each other as the surrounding noise seemed to fade into a special quietness, the bustling platform becoming background to their moment.
Mr Lovegood looked between them, feeling his existence was completely superfluous to the scene unfolding.
Luna turned, genuinely surprised. "Father, you haven't left yet?"
Lovegood stared at his daughter in wounded silence as Luna and Ethan walked hand-in-hand toward the train, his lonely father figure growing increasingly solitary in the morning breeze.
Just then, a hoarse shout rang out above the platform noise: "Ethan!"
Ethan and the Lovegoods turned to see Professor Lupin striding toward them with surprising energy.
Ethan raised his eyebrows slightly. He clearly remembered that in the original timeline, Professor Lupin had slept through the entire journey until the Dementors attacked.
Hmm, must be changes brought by ancient magic interfering with the timeline.
Sure enough, Professor Lupin approached with visible gratitude in his expression. "Thanks to your ancient magic, Ethan. Headmaster Dumbledore used the Advanced Patronus on me during the last full moon, sparing me transformation's pain."
Professor Lupin looked at Ethan with moisture in his eyes, his voice thick with emotion. After countless years of suffering, he'd forgotten what it felt like to remain human during full moons—to wake up without blood on his hands and horror in his heart.
"Though it requires someone else to cast an extremely complex spell on me, it's enough. I couldn't ask for more."
"I'm not ungrateful," Lupin continued earnestly. "I have a gift for you. I assume you're not particularly interested in money—"
Ethan's eyebrows shot up dramatically. He wasn't interested in money? Who spread that vicious rumour? This is slander! Blatant slander!
Lupin continued, oblivious to Ethan's internal protest. "So I specially pulled strings to get you something rare—though it hasn't arrived yet."
Ethan waved dismissively. "No worries." Not arrived? Just wait then.
Besides, he hadn't planned on squeezing the impoverished Professor Lupin anyway. If he wanted something expensive, he'd just ask Dumbledore, who still owed him spell payment instalments.
"There's one more thing I must tell you." Professor Lupin's expression grew serious. Looking around at the crowded platform, he gestured toward the train. "Let's talk in a compartment."
Since they'd arrived early, the train was relatively quiet. Professor Lupin carefully closed the compartment door, glanced at Luna sitting nearby, and seeing Ethan didn't mind her presence, lowered his voice conspiratorially:
"The Ministry is planning something big!"
Something big? Ethan leaned forward with obvious interest. "Is it a mass mind control plan? Or perhaps a plague apocalypse scenario? Maybe an ancient dragon resurrection scheme?"
Lupin stared at him: "..."
"Not quite that ambitious," he choked out, struggling to rebuild the serious atmosphere Ethan had just shattered. Saying with renewed gravity, "It's Dementors! The Ministry is sending Dementors to Hogwarts!"
"They'll even board this train soon for inspections!"
As his words fell—silence. Still silence.
Lupin and Ethan stared at each other as if time had stopped, until a magazine appeared in Lupin's field of vision.
"Would you like a copy of The Quibbler, Professor Lupin?" Luna asked pleasantly.
"No, thank you, Miss Lovegood," Lupin replied automatically.
Seeing Ethan's distinctly "That's it?" expression, Lupin internally screamed: Give some reaction! Any reaction would be good! This is so awkward!
Thinking again, perhaps Ethan hadn't encountered Dementors before and didn't truly understand how terrifying these pure dark creatures were. Youthful fearlessness and all that.
"Anyway, I don't know if Dementors will trouble you specifically, but with me here, I won't let anything happen to you all," Lupin promised firmly.
Ethan blinked, smiling with perfect sweetness. "That's wonderful. With your assurance, I'm completely relieved."
Relieved to cause trouble, that is. Surely Professor Lupin would protect the other students while I'm... occupied.
As for the Dementors viewed as a "major threat"—
Why not ask where the souls from the Pure White Gate went? Ethan thought with dark amusement.
"Touch of Mercy" salvation technique—hundreds of experiencers, zero bad reviews.
A new card flashed briefly in Ethan's hand—a new artwork painted on the [Corner of Territory] canvas, combining soul-harvesting inspiration! Created specifically for this hunt!
"Actually trying to use Dementors to obstruct me—still too naive, Minister Fudge," Ethan murmured under his breath.
"They'll only become my nourishment, making me stronger."
Ethan licked his lips unconsciously, cobalt-blue eyes flashing with eager, predatory light.
He guaranteed this Hogwarts Express journey would be extremely interesting indeed.