Chapter 597 - Famous in the Wizarding World

Chapter 597: Chapter 597 - Famous in the Wizarding World

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-Two days later-

-King’s Cross Station — Platform 9?-

The fourth year had finally come to an end.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell whether these last few months had flown by or dragged on.

On one hand, it felt like it had only been yesterday that I’d arrived at Hogwarts to start another school year.

On the other, when I stopped to think about everything that had happened since then, it felt like I’d lived through about five years in just a few months.

There had been plenty of emotional moments — some good, others definitely not — as well as countless chaotic and dangerous situations.

And somehow, I’d still managed to make it through the school year in one piece.

I deserved some sort of prize or medal just for that.

But, anyway... let’s focus on the present.

As soon as I stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto Platform 9?, I immediately realised that I’d become a little more famous than I’d have liked.

Dozens of eyes turned towards me almost at the same time.

Some were curious. Others were clearly admiring.

There were also those assessing looks, as if some people were trying to figure out whether I really was everything they’d heard about over the last few days.

I simply ignored them all.

After the disaster of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, it was inevitable that people would start paying more attention to me.

After all, besides being the champion who’d stood out the most during the Tournament, I’d also been responsible for dismantling a dark conspiracy that had been unfolding inside Hogwarts.

And I’d done it in a rather... impulsive way.

I’d killed Pettigrew, Barty Crouch Jr. and Macnair. I’d warned everyone that the Death Eaters had started gathering again. And, as if that wasn’t enough, I’d revealed that a Dark Lord was on the loose.

In short, I’d basically dropped a bomb in the wizarding world’s lap.

It was hard to imagine that wouldn’t attract attention.

What bothered me a little more, though, were some of the looks I could sense among the crowd.

I didn’t even need to look directly at those people to know what they were feeling.

There was fear, anger, distrust and, in some cases, something dangerously close to hatred.

It wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out where that came from.

Some of the parents on the platform belonged to families with close ties to the dark faction, while others were rather fervent supporters of blood purity.

To them, I probably wasn’t the boy who had helped prevent a tragedy.

I was the boy who had killed three of their allies, humiliated them publicly and exposed some of the worst truths and secrets they preferred to keep hidden.

I wasn’t surprised that some of them weren’t particularly happy with me.

Still, they weren’t the only ones.

Among the hostile looks, there were also plenty of people showing completely different feelings.

Some parents watched me with a kind of silent gratitude.

Others simply seemed relieved and pleased that someone had managed to teach those dark wizards a lesson.

And those feelings weren’t exclusive to the adults.

Some students, especially the younger ones, stared at me with almost shameless admiration as I passed them.

Even people I didn’t recognise smiled and waved at me.

It was almost as if I’d become some sort of celebrity... which, to be fair, might actually be true.

I had no idea exactly what all these people had heard about the third task or about me.

Probably some mixture of facts, rumours and exaggerations.

Either way, it wasn’t something I could avoid.

If I knew the wizarding world well, within a few days someone would probably be telling everyone that I’d fought fifty Death Eaters on my own, holding a sword in one hand, a staff in the other and riding on the back of a fierce dragon.

’At this rate, I might end up becoming the next Lockhart.’ I thought, smiling ironically.

Despite the jokes running through my mind, I couldn’t help thinking about what that reception meant.

My image in the wizarding world’s eyes had undeniably changed.

Before, I was just Ethan Night, a talented Hogwarts student known for having a somewhat playful and... wild personality.

Now, I was the boy who had faced Voldemort’s followers and survived.

And that meant some people would probably see me as an ally, others as a threat, while some simply wouldn’t know what to make of me.

But that was something I’d have to deal with later.

For now, though, I just wanted to find my family and go home.

As soon as we got off the train, my friends and I started walking along the platform.

We weren’t in much of a hurry, having one last relaxed conversation before everyone had to go their separate ways.

"Phew! Luckily, we survived." Anthony said, looking genuinely relieved.

Terry gave him a strange look.

"Oh, yeah." He replied, in a clearly mocking tone. "We survived the terrible school and its ridiculously dangerous homework."

"Hey! I survived History of Magic lessons... don’t underestimate that." Anthony shot back with a solemn expression.

For a few seconds, none of us could tell whether he was being serious or not.

Then we decided that staring at him in silence was probably the best response.

’Why is everyone looking at me like that?’ Anthony wondered, shifting nervously.

To the blonde boy’s relief, it was precisely at that moment that most of us spotted our families waiting for us on the platform.

With that, it was clear that the joking was over and it was time for us to start saying our goodbyes.

First, I said goodbye to my Ravenclaw friends, promising to write to them during the holidays and, if possible, arrange a day for us to meet before classes started again.

After that, Lily and Tori approached me, with Daphne coming along right behind them.

Lily immediately hugged me.

"You still remember your promise, right?" she asked after pulling away.

"Of course. We’re still going to have that fun day during the holidays." I reassured her with a small smile.

"Good." She nodded, satisfied.

Stepping to the side, it was Tori’s turn to hug me.

"See you later, Ethan. And write to us, okay?" the little blonde girl asked, looking up at me with her bright eyes.

As I looked at that adorable girl, who barely reached my waist and was still hugging me tightly, my expression softened.

"Don’t worry. I’ll write to you every day." I stroked her head.

Like a little kitten, she rubbed her head against my hand, smiling happily.

Seeing this, Daphne could only shake her head in exasperation.

"You spoil her too much." She said to me.

I turned towards her and gave her a look of pure disdain.

"Look who’s talking." I shot back.

At that, the Greengrass heiress pressed her lips together and looked away.

"No comment..."

Lily and Tori, who had watched the exchange and noticed the embarrassed expression of Slytherin’s "Ice Queen", tried to hold back their laughter, but eventually let out a few amused snorts.

Daphne’s embarrassment only grew.

’Damn it, Ethan... you’re completely destroying my authority as an older sister here.’ she thought, shooting me a fierce look.

In response, I simply shrugged, amused by the situation.

After a few more words and a few final jokes, we finally finished saying our goodbyes and each headed towards our own families.

Lily immediately went over to her parents, who were waiting a few metres away.

Looking towards the Greengrass sisters, I noticed that they had also spotted their parents further down the platform and were walking towards them.

Lord and Lady Greengrass welcomed their daughters with affectionate hugs before starting to chat animatedly with them.

But as they talked with the two girls, I could feel their eyes occasionally drifting towards me.

Their interest in me was obvious. However, perhaps because my identity had become a much more sensitive matter after the recent events, or simply because there were too many people around, they decided not to approach.

Lord and Lady Greengrass settled for continuing to cast discreet glances in my direction. Fortunately, I couldn’t sense any malice from them — only a mixture of curiosity, surprise and gratitude.

To my surprise, the Greengrasses weren’t the only parents of a Slytherin friend who seemed interested in me at that moment.

A little further away, almost hidden among the crowd, stood Theo beside his mother, Sabrine Nott.

I’d seen the woman a few times before, but I’d never really stopped to observe her properly.

She was a very beautiful woman, with long black hair and noble features. There was something naturally elegant about her posture, but unlike some members of the old families I knew, she didn’t have that air of arrogance and coldness about her.

Her face carried a calm and gentle expression. Whenever she looked at Theo, it was easy to see the love, affection and care in her eyes.

But at that moment, she wasn’t looking at him.

She was looking at me.

When our eyes met, I could see gratitude, relief, admiration and even a little concern in her eyes.

Realising that I’d noticed her staring, Sabrine blinked, slightly surprised.

Then the beautiful woman gave me a slight nod, offering me a small and discreet smile.

It was a maternal smile, warm and sincere. As if, without needing to say a single word, she was thanking me for everything I’d done.

Theo also nodded at me, looking naturally relaxed in his mother’s presence.

They didn’t approach, both for the same reasons as the Greengrasses and because of the risk it would pose for them to be seen near me.

In a way, because of the family they unfortunately come from, we were technically on different sides of this war.

And besides, if Nott discovered that they were being friendly or even merely polite towards me, he could become furious and end up taking his anger out on them.

And that was definitely something I didn’t want.

So I didn’t try to approach them either, nor did I let it show that we were on good terms.

Just like them, I simply gave them a discreet nod.

Either way, there was no need for them to come over and thank me personally. Some things didn’t need to be said out loud.

Especially when I could clearly feel all of their emotions.

End.

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