Chapter 77: Magic Level
The two of them hurried through the empty castle late at night. Their loud footsteps woke the magical portraits sleeping on the walls and drew curious stares from the ghosts.
Even Peeves appeared, drawn by the noise, but he vanished with a pop when he saw them.
Filch, of course, wasn't about to miss a chance to catch a student. He gave chase with Mrs. Norris, but eventually gave up, disappointed.
Mrs. Norris had actually wanted to follow them for a while to get close to Ethan, but Filch carried her away.
They passed the third-floor gargoyle statue and reached the headmaster's office door.
Bang, bang, bang! Snape knocked sharply. Ethan stood nearby, subtly massaging his sore calves.
"Coming, coming. Who is it, visiting an old man so late?" Dumbledore's voice drifted through the door before it swung open.
"Severus, what brings you here? Oh, and Ethan too. I didn't notice at first." Ethan peeked out from behind Snape's black robes.
Dumbledore, wearing purple pajamas, welcomed them in with a yawn as he sat on the sofa.
"What could be so important that you had to come in the middle of the night? When you get to be my age, a good night's sleep is hard to come by, you know?" the old man complained.
"It's very important," Snape said quietly, glancing at the headmaster portraits on the wall.
Dumbledore understood immediately. He cast Muffliato and the former headmasters, eager for gossip but irritated at being silenced, left their frames, grumbling as they went to chat elsewhere.
"Go ahead," Dumbledore said, yawning again.
"Drink this first. It's a Stimulant Potion, not a Wide-Awake Potion, so it won't cause insomnia. It'll just perk you up." Snape had come prepared; he set a small gray potion bottle on the table.
"Fine, fine." Resigned, Dumbledore knew he wouldn't get back to sleep after they left.
While waiting for the potion to take effect, he produced some candy and offered it around.
"All right, I'm completely alert now. Go ahead."
Snape spoke slowly. "Ethan has experienced a second magical outburst, exactly one year after his first, on the same day."
"Hmm?" Dumbledore, languid and convinced that nothing could surprise him, suddenly sat up straight.
He looked at Ethan. "A second outburst? Just now?"
"Yes, though I didn't feel anything unusual. I was asleep. Let Professor Snape describe it to you." Ethan nodded.
This time, Snape went into more detail than he had earlier with Ethan, so Ethan also added some details about his own first outburst.
Dumbledore nodded occasionally, then fell into thought.
"Your situation is truly unprecedented, Ethan. I don't know if this is good or bad for you.
"I have a magical item that can detect a wizard's magical level. Wait here while I fetch it, and we'll test your current level."
The old man went to another room. Ethan slumped on the sofa and began to doze off.
He was still young enough to need plenty of sleep.
Just as he was drifting off, Dumbledore returned.
He held a crystal ball that looked freshly polished.
"A Magic Level Crystal Ball, my creation from my youth. It helps young wizards test their levels."
"Unfortunately, I later discovered that most wizards never truly deplete their magic, so measuring levels became less important, and the device has been sitting idle ever since."
"Come try it and see if it still works."
It looked like an ordinary crystal ball from a shop, except for the base, which was set with two rows of hollow stars.
"How does it work? Do I press and channel magic, or something else?" Ethan asked, forcing himself to stay alert.
"Just place your hand on it. It will draw some of your magic naturally, though it takes a while. You look tired. Want a Stimulant Potion?"
Dumbledore himself wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, so he urged Ethan to stay alert and keep him company through the sleepless night ahead.
"No thanks," Ethan said, waving off the offer as he placed his other hand on the crystal ball and closed his eyes.
He felt as if he had already fallen asleep when someone shook his arm to wake him.
"All right, Ethan, wake up! You can let go now."
He was now completely sprawled across the table, one hand still on the crystal ball, his head resting on his arm. He'd been like that for five minutes.
With the stars indicating his magical level concealed by his body, Dumbledore had no choice but to wake him.
"Oh," Ethan said groggily. He pulled his hand back, collapsed onto the sofa, and fell asleep again.
"Honestly." Dumbledore chuckled, shaking his head as he examined the crystal ball.
Seeing five golden stars lit up, he exclaimed, "What an extraordinary level of magic!"
"This means he has the average level of a fifth-year student?" Snape glanced at the sleeping boy.
"Yes, one star represents one year. The top seven represent student-level magic."
"Because a wizard's magic grows very slowly after adulthood, I only designed seven positions on the second row, each representing a multiple of a seventh-year student's magical level."
Dumbledore nodded. "Severus, would you like to test your magic level?"
Snape's curiosity was piqued. He nodded and placed his palm over the crystal ball.
Dumbledore glanced at it with a smile. "One purple star lit up on the bottom row. Not bad, twice the level of a seventh-year student."
"What about you, Professor Dumbledore?"
"Me? Let's keep that a secret." Dumbledore didn't answer.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. I need to ask Cyril if this relates to his bloodline. I believe Cyril would know the reason for this change."
"As for Ethan, take him back to bed. He has class tomorrow."
The old man seemed sleepy again, planning to seize this opportunity to rest.
"No, let him stay here tonight. His bed was destroyed; a new one won't be delivered to the dormitory until tomorrow." Snape refused Dumbledore's request, stood up, and left the headmaster's office.
"Oh dear. Fine, let him rest here tonight. I should get some sleep, too." Dumbledore reluctantly turned off the lights, laid Ethan down on the sofa, and returned to his bedroom.