"Yeah ..." Ethan sat down heavily on his bed, facing Albus, and was silent for a long moment. "I suppose you're right." He pulled at a loose thread on the coverlet of his bed.
"Sometimes ..." he paused, unsure of how to continue, "I feel a little out of the loop. And I know that's just, y'know, it's not anyone's fault, it's because my family are muggles and I have to just find out from whoever when something is happening." He hoped Albus would not misinterpret this, and he smiled tightly as he spoke.
"I suppose what I'm really worried about is that, like, maybe something will happen, and you'll all go to fight, and I'll be the last to find out, so I won't be able to help," he said, in one breath. "I think that's what it is."