Hogwarts: Starting as a Card Maker from a Failed Art Student

Chapter 23 [Portal] Version 2.0!

My best and dearest friend, Luna.

I do.

……

I recall the scene of the owl carrying its letter, gradually flying away into the blue sky.

Ethan couldn't help but smile.

This is the first time in my memory that I've looked forward to Christmas this much.

However, if you calculate the time, there are still more than two months left.

There was also a Halloween in between.

Ethan plans to hold his first small art exhibition at Hogwarts on Halloween.

However, he hasn't told anyone about this yet.

Ethan plans to mix his paintings with the existing living paintings and hang them on a wall where people will pass by.

Give passersby a little surprise and add a touch of fun to Halloween.

I wonder who will be so lucky?

Ethan smiled and walked briskly down the corridor, carrying his art supplies.

This afternoon, he's going to redraw the "open door at a glance" design.

The students around him made way for him, and there was complete silence wherever he went.

They stared at him with eyes that were a mixture of admiration and fear.

Some people even secretly pulled out their wands, as if Ethan might suddenly go mad and unleash evil curses on them one by one.

—Ever since the night Snape punished Malfoy.

Ethan became famous again.

It was only the beginning of the school year, and Slytherin's hourglass had already dropped by twenty points, which was quite noticeable.

With just a little inquiry, one can find out what happened.

A platinum-rich young master encounters a terrifying client, as strong as a monster, whom he cannot defeat despite his best efforts.

What caused another stir was a roaring letter that Malfoy received at lunchtime today.

A roaring letter!

A deep red envelope hovered in mid-air, and Malfoy's father, Lucius, spoke in a low, angry voice that echoed throughout the Great Hall:

Your foolish guess is a mere excuse. The Malfoy family's dignity must not be trampled upon; defend it!

Ethan didn't know what it meant, but Draco Malfoy clearly did.

Because after the words fell, Malfoy's face, which had been flushed with shame, turned deathly pale again.

Beside him, the ugly Pansy Parkinson was frantically smoothing his back, as if Malfoy would pass out if he was any later.

He was saying something while looking down, as if he was trying to bolster his courage.

On the Gryffindor table.

Ron's mouth was wide open, and he didn't even notice when the sandwich he was eating fell out of his mouth (Hermione moved the plate away in disgust).

"Merlin's fattest underwear," Ron muttered. "A roaring letter, for Draco Malfoy?"

"Pinch me, Harry! Am I dreaming?! Ouch!"

Simon Finigan gave Ron a wicked grin and pinched him hard.

"Stop fooling around."

Ron nudged Seamus, his eyes gleaming, and said to Harry:

"It's a holiday! It's a holiday! I'm going to write to my dad right now and tell him this good news!"

"Hmph, when we run into Malfoy's father, we'll give him a good laugh! Hehehe~"

Harry laughed too.

Nothing is more gratifying than seeing Malfoy suffer a major setback.

And this is all thanks to Ethan.

This reminded Harry of his first Potions class.

It was a disaster at first.

Professor Snape was like a greasy, cunning bat, bombarding him with a barrage of questions.

"I don't know, Professor."

Just as Harry was about to snap back at Snape for not asking Hermione why she didn't answer, he suddenly remembered something Ethan had told him—

If you encounter a teacher who is difficult to you, just stare at them fiercely with your green eyes.

Although this statement is nonsensical.

But Harry, as if possessed, did as he was told.

She pursed her lips, stared intently at Professor Snape.

My eyes were sore and red from staring so much.

then.

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

The previously aggressive bat suddenly seemed to freeze, its mouth agape as it stared blankly at him.

Several seconds later.

Professor Snape suddenly flicked his sleeve, strode back to the podium, and said in a hoarse voice:

"...Two points are awarded to Gryffindor for Mr. Potter's honesty."

Harry: ? ? ?

Gryffindor and Slytherin: ? ? ?

W-what?!

Did Professor Snape give Gryffindor extra points?

And because of the ridiculous reason of "honesty"?

Professor Snape, have you been cursed with the Imperius Curse?!

Harry thought to himself: Ethan, he's a god!!!

Even if Ethan were to one day slap Dumbledore out of office and announce that he would be the headmaster of Hogwarts from now on, Harry would feel that he could accept it calmly.

...Well, I'm probably still a little shocked.

"Hey buddy, what are you thinking about?"

Ron's voice brought Harry back to his senses.

"Let's hurry, we have our first flight lesson soon!"

"Let me tell you, back in the day I was riding my old broom and almost crashed into a Muggle plane..."

"Is your old sow the one you've been praising to the skies?"

"Oh—shut up, Dean!"

"Oh my god, the memory ball my grandma sent me is lighting up again..."

Harry walked out of the Great Hall while chatting and joking with his friends.

Soon, caught up in the anticipation of flight, he forgot all about the shouting he had just heard.

And not long after they left.

Ethan, who had no classes in the afternoon, slowly wiped his mouth and did not go to do the commission as usual.

Instead, carrying large bags and bundles, they headed in the same direction as Harry and the others.

"Ethan, where are you going?"

Michael quickly swallowed the last sip of juice, stood up, and asked.

"Let's go paint on the lawn outside the castle. I ruined one of my paintings, so I'll repaint it with better materials."

As he spoke, Ethan held up the canvas frame, which was about half his height.

"I'll go too. Here, I'll help you carry it!"

As Michael spoke, he eagerly took the art supplies from Ethan's hands and followed him eagerly.

joke.

It would be foolish not to try and befriend someone as talented as Ethan!

Godfather! Don't leave me!!

Another roommate, Mandy, pushed up her glasses speechlessly, glanced at the rare clear sky outside, picked up her books, and decided to go outside to study as well.

Well, it's not that I want to see what Ethan is up to.

Absolutely not.

……

Outside Hogwarts Castle.

Blue sky and white clouds, lush green grass.

The grass undulated like waves beneath their feet.

At the edge of the field of vision, one can see a dark, dense forest.

Ethan chose a flat spot, set up his easel, and laid out his canvas.

Prepare the palette, turpentine, and paints, and keep them nearby.

Suddenly, Ethan felt a strong emotion.

The painting materials that were commonplace in his previous life are now something he has to work hard to earn to buy.

With a different state of mind, when Ethan picked up his paintbrush, he felt a surge of passion and excitement welling up from the bottom of his heart.

Besides the one he has, Ethan has also bought many paintbrushes of different sizes, thicknesses, and lengths.

This is preparation for transforming the wand into his perfect paintbrush.

Although Ethan was the first to turn a match into a needle, the wand could never transform.

According to Professor McGonagall, wands, which contain magical materials, are more difficult to transform and must be handled with greater care.

Because if you're not careful, you could cause irreversible damage.

What you should do is first use a variety of paintbrushes to personally experience their advantages and disadvantages.

Thus, you can clearly understand what kind of "perfect paintbrush" you really want.

First, use a pencil to shape the image, then use turpentine to mix the paint and apply the color.

Large swaths of black covered the canvas.

However, under Ethan's deliberate control.

The subtle variations in depth and the direction of the brushstrokes make this darkness appear as a void without up, down, left, or right, or perhaps the opposite of the real world.

Then, in this deathly silence, a white door slowly opened.

Ethan was completely absorbed in his painting, his pupils wide open, revealing a ring of white in his eyes, which looked somewhat eerie.

Not far away, Gryffindor and Slytherin were having their flying lesson, with shouts of "up, up" constantly coming from the air.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have already been on board, and apart from flying erratically, there haven't been any major incidents.

Apart from a few Quidditch fanatics, most Ravenclaws prefer to learn practically on the ground.

Oh, and there are those students who still dream of riding flying broomsticks to the lounge.

Their attempts will likely continue until a new wave of "victims" enters the infirmary.

Every year, the young eagles tirelessly rack their brains to break through the restrictions, which has become a tradition of the academy.

The weather was fine and sunny on the lawn.

The atmosphere should have been relaxed and pleasant.

But Michael and Mandy slowly broke out in a cold sweat.

An eerie and chilling aura was constantly emanating from the painting.

Like a door key gradually taking shape, it is extending its tentacles outward, grabbing them and taking them to an unknown other side.

On the other side, there is no joy, no warmth, only a cold and desolate void.

Ethan, what are you doing at this righteous magical school?!

That's so weird!!

Michael and Mandy exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and fear in each other's eyes.

That's pure torture.

Finally, when a scream suddenly erupted halfway through the flight lesson on the other side, Ethan finally stopped his wicked paintbrush.

"It's done!"

Ethan called out softly, his eyes fixed intently on the painting before him.

A pale blue light screen appeared before my eyes:

Congratulations! You've completed another extraordinary piece of work!

[The "Open Door at a Glance" feature has been upgraded to a "Portal"!]

[Rank: Tier 1 - Golden Legendary!]