Asking further questions about souls would have looked far too suspicious.
So after thanking Professor McGonagall politely, Ethan prepared to leave with Hermione.
Before they exited the office, however, McGonagall transformed two teacups into small birds and handed one to each of them.
"The magic sustaining them will fade around lunchtime," she explained. "Observing the reversal process may help you better understand the principles of Transfiguration."
Hermione accepted her bird carefully with shining eyes.
Ethan accepted his like someone holding experimental materials.
The moment they stepped outside, Hermione headed immediately toward the library.
Naturally.
Ethan, meanwhile, climbed the staircases alone.
His destination was not Gryffindor Tower.
Instead, he stopped beside an empty corridor on the eighth floor.
A giant tapestry hung nearby depicting the wizard Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet.
It was one of those wonderfully stupid pieces of magical architecture that somehow made perfect sense at Hogwarts.
Opposite the tapestry stood a completely blank wall.
For now.
Ethan began pacing slowly in front of it while concentrating carefully.
"I need a room where I can remain isolated and undisturbed."
"I need a room where I can remain isolated and undisturbed."
"I need a place where—"
Before Ethan could finish the third repetition, a polished wooden door suddenly appeared in the empty wall.
"…Honestly, repeating it three times feels unnecessary," Ethan muttered.
After ensuring nobody else occupied the corridor, he pushed open the door and entered.
Inside waited a surprisingly comfortable chamber.
Runes covered the walls in intricate patterns that radiated ancient magical authority despite emitting no visible light. Ethan couldn't understand a single symbol.
Naturally, that only made them feel more impressive.
Several plush crimson armchairs surrounded a round lion-footed table in the centre of the room. A fireplace crackled warmly nearby, filling the chamber with an oddly comforting atmosphere.
There was even a single bed tucked into the corner.
Honestly, if Hogwarts didn't punish students for missing curfew, Ethan would have gladly moved in permanently.
He tossed his bag aside, dragged an armchair closer, and placed McGonagall's teacup bird onto the table.
The little creature remained extremely quiet.
Unlike Earl.
Everything was unlike Earl.
[ Soul Strength: 3 ]
Ethan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
Professor McGonagall could casually create creatures with measurable soul strength through Transfiguration alone.
That meant he could finally test something important.
Could magically-created souls repair his own?
If they could…
Then Ethan could save enormous amounts of Sin Points otherwise spent purchasing soul fragments.
"Suuuck—"
The tiny magical soul dissolved into him instantly.
The sensation barely lasted longer than swallowing a short noodle.
The transformed bird immediately reverted into an ordinary teacup without any trace of lingering life.
Ethan checked his status panel at once.
Ethan Norton
[ Race: Dementor / Human / ? / ? / ? ]
[ Soul Completeness: 11.6% ]
[ Special Ability: Spirit Shaping (1/10) ]
[ Soul Strength: 11.6 ]
[ Current Goodwill: 1107 ]
[ Current Sin: 477 ]
Ethan's pupils contracted slightly.
It increased.
Only by 0.1%.
But it increased.
When he accidentally bit Nearly Headless Nick during dinner, his soul completeness had flickered momentarily without changing at all.
Yet this simple magical bird actually worked.
"So magical power itself counts as soul energy…"
Or perhaps magic and souls fundamentally shared the same origin.
Another possibility appeared immediately afterward.
Maybe he wasn't truly a soul-devouring creature at all.
Maybe Dementors were actually magic-devouring creatures.
Regardless, this discovery represented incredible news.
Ethan immediately developed a wonderfully evil idea.
He could simply transform objects into living creatures repeatedly, absorb the magical souls, then transform them again endlessly.
Infinite levelling.
Pure grinding strategy.
Exactly like farming experience points in games.
Unfortunately, Ethan had dramatically overestimated his own abilities.
He spent nearly half an hour attempting to recreate McGonagall's Transfiguration exactly according to the spell diagrams and instructions from his textbook.
The resulting bird looked perfect.
It chirped.
It hopped.
It even flapped its wings convincingly.
But Ethan saw no soul whatsoever.
Not even for a moment.
"…So there really is a gap between ordinary people and monsters like Professor McGonagall."
Disappointed, Ethan cancelled the spell.
The greatest Transfiguration master at Hogwarts casually produced creatures containing pseudo-souls while Ethan's own attempts resulted in magical toys.
Did that mean he needed to ask McGonagall for hundreds more transformed creatures instead?
After all, Nearly Headless Nick plus one teacup bird had already increased his soul completeness by 0.1%.
At that rate, he'd only need another eight or nine hundred.
Assuming future improvements didn't require exponentially larger amounts.
Ethan immediately imagined himself returning to McGonagall's office.
"Professor, could you please transform another few hundred animals for me?"
"Oh? How many?"
"Not many. Around eight or nine hundred initially."
"Eight or nine hundred?! Are you eating them?!"
…
Yeah.
He would absolutely get thrown out of the office.
Repeatedly asking for transformed animals would also make him look deeply unwell.
Fortunately—
Ethan Norton possessed absolutely no shame whatsoever.
Since the Transfiguration route temporarily failed, he immediately considered another source of souls.
The Forbidden Forest.
It contained countless magical creatures, many of them dangerous enough that Ethan could reasonably claim self-defence if anything happened.
Perfect.
Just as Ethan left the hidden room and headed downstairs, he encountered Harry outside Gryffindor Tower.
"Ethan?" Harry blinked. "Where are you going?"
"To the Forbidden Forest."
Harry froze.
Ethan looked at him calmly.
"Want to come?"
"Oh, the Forbidden Fo—"
Harry suddenly processed the sentence properly.
"WHAT?!"
"Shhh!"
Ethan instantly covered Harry's mouth as another student rounded the corridor corner nearby.
Once the student disappeared, Harry lowered his voice anxiously.
"But Dumbledore literally said we aren't allowed in there!"
The tiny fragment of rule-following instinct Harry still possessed after growing up with the Dursleys clearly remained alive.
"I refuse to spend every day trapped inside the castle like an office worker," Ethan replied while spreading his hands casually. "That sounds miserable."
Then he shrugged.
"Fine. I'll go alone. There'll be other chances later."
Seriously.
Was there actually a Gryffindor student afraid of the Forbidden Forest?
Everyone knew Hogwarts student mortality rates over the past fifty years remained below one percent.
Despite the terrifying reputation, most magical creatures inside the forest were neutral or even friendly toward students.
Unicorns.
Centaurs.
Helpful magical creatures everywhere.
Of course…
Ethan strongly suspected unicorns would not react kindly to him.
The mental image felt absurdly similar to Voldemort falling over and Dumbledore politely helping him back onto his feet.
....
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