HP: The Wizard Who Paints with Magic

"I hear you're making friends everywhere, my esteemed Mr. Malfoy."

In the heavy silence, Ethan spoke, his voice indifferent. He flashed a brilliant smile and extended that same, sinful hand toward Malfoy, who was now trembling like a cornered animal.

"How about we become friends?"

"Ah… Ah…"

Malfoy's eyes bulged as if they might pop from their sockets. He stared at the offered hand, and the painful memory of the platform surged back, vivid and horrifying. It was as if the gates of hell themselves were opening to welcome him.

Under the shocked gazes of the others, Malfoy, who had been so arrogant just moments before, let out a bloodcurdling scream. He spun around and scrambled away in a blind panic.

His two hulking bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, could only stare after him in confusion. Their master, their protector, had just fled. What were they supposed to do? With a shared look of bewilderment, they quickly turned and lumbered after him.

Hearing the commotion, the doors of the surrounding compartments slid open one by one as students peered out curiously. They didn't know what had happened, but the sight of the platinum-blond boy's disheveled, panicked flight was deeply imprinted in their minds.

"I—I'm going to tell Professor Snape! You just wait to be expelled!" a completely unthreatening shout echoed from the end of the corridor.

In full view of everyone, Malfoy stumbled and fell on his backside while crossing between the train cars, nearly getting trampled by his own followers.

He had thoroughly made a fool of himself.

"What a pity." Ethan regretfully withdrew his hand. "I just wanted to be friends with him. Why did he run away?"

He turned, facing the stunned compartment with his handsome, innocent smile.

"Am I that scary?"

He wasn't scary to look at. It was his personality that was utterly inhuman.

Harry and Ron stood rooted to the spot, a single word echoing in their minds: Awesome.

Just by showing his face, he was like a human Dementor, scaring Malfoy into crying for his father. Ron was already lost in a fantasy where he made a heroic entrance, soundly beating the little Malfoy who bullied his friends until he knelt in submission.

Harry, on the other hand, had a more conflicted thought: Is Ethan a good person or a bad person?

If you said he was evil, he had just punished a bully. But if you said he was good… he didn't seem to spare his own side either. Just look at Neville's pale face; his toad had almost been choked to death. Ethan spared no one.

A familiar notification shimmered before Ethan's eyes.

[Your art has left a deep impression on people, and your Soul Fusion has increased!]

[27% → 28%]

Oh, it increased again!

Ethan's eyes lit up, and his lips curved into a genuinely happy smile. He would definitely have to "make friends" with Mr. Malfoy more often. As the Soul Fusion increased, a warm current of magic surged through his body, a crackling, tingling sensation that electrified his nerves.

He raised his hand, pointed his wand at the mess on the floor, and whispered, "Reparo."

A shimmering white light emanated from the tip of his wand. The crumpled carpet smoothed itself out, and the glass shattered by the toad projectile spun through the air, reassembling itself perfectly. The button that had been torn from Ron's shirt during the scuffle zipped back into place. Even the toad let out a croak and hopped neatly back into Neville's pocket. As if caressed by an invisible hand, everything returned to its original state.

Finally, Ethan pointed his wand at Harry's glasses. Under Harry's terrified gaze, the broken frame snapped back together.

"Wow…" Harry stared, stunned for a moment, before quickly stammering, "Th-thank you, Ethan."

"No problem. I should have thought of it earlier," Ethan smiled.

Just then, a young man in a blue-trimmed robe approached, his face full of admiration. "I'm Robert Hilliard, a Ravenclaw Prefect. I was coming to reprimand you for roughhousing, but your spellcasting was quite impressive. Very few first-years have reached your level."

"Your name is Ethan Vincent, right?" Robert smiled. "I've read the reports about you. Ravenclaw welcomes excellent students like you."

In the corridor, the students who had poked their heads out now looked at Ethan with open admiration. Some even whistled playfully. The once uneventful journey had completely turned into Ethan's personal show.

Watching this scene, Hermione bit her lower lip, unwilling to admit defeat. Is this the difference in talent? she thought. She had practiced Reparo at home, but at most, she could only fix small objects like teacups. She had been so pleased with herself then, thinking she had done well.

Hermione was tempted to ask Ethan for guidance but then thought better of it. Instead of asking this… unsettling person, she would ask a proper professor at school.

"…You'd better be careful." Hermione looked up, frowning. "That Malfoy fellow said he's going to tell a professor to get you expelled."

"And I'm the King of England," Ethan replied dryly.

Hermione stared, speechless. She gave him one last fierce glare, like a head of discipline facing a particularly troublesome student, and left with a sharp, "I warned you." With a swish of her head, her bushy hair slapped Ron across the face, and she stomped away.

Ron clutched his stinging cheek, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Who is she? Does she think she's so great? Hmph, she can't cast a single spell as well as Ethan."

"Mmm," Harry responded perfunctorily, his gaze fixed on Ethan with concern. "Ethan, I think… she has a point. That Malfoy said he was going to complain, and it sounds like his family is close with a professor. I'm worried you'll be punished."

The thought of being expelled from Hogwarts and sent back to his aunt and uncle's house made Harry feel like he couldn't breathe. Ethan must feel the same way.

"Close relationships, huh…" Ethan murmured, an image of Professor Snape's hawk-nosed face appearing in his mind. He was genuinely curious to see which was stronger: Malfoy's connection to Snape or the power of the name "Lily."

He curved his lips into a mysterious smile, turned to Harry, and said, "You have a very beautiful pair of green eyes."

Harry stared, dumbfounded. Locked by Ethan's intense cobalt-blue gaze, he felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine and took several steps back, his back pressing against the compartment door.

"If a professor ever gives you trouble," Ethan continued, "just stare at him with those eyes. Trust me, it will work."

Before Harry could begin to understand what he meant, the train's announcement sounded: "Attention, students, we will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be sent to the school for you."

Unbeknownst to them, the scenery outside had already grown dim.

"Alright, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Ethan said with a smile, retrieving his school robes. "Hurry up and change."

Seeing Ethan's relaxed and utterly unconcerned expression, Harry and Ron could only exchange glances, suppress their worries, and quickly change into their school uniforms. They hoped Ethan would be alright. But even if he wasn't expelled, no matter how powerful Ethan was, he couldn't escape a professor's punishment, could he?

(End of Chapter)

***

(End of Chapter)

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