September 18th, 1989, London, Diagon Alley, 10:45 AM
Ethan decided to lead Harry to do some sightseeing around Diagon Alley before they had lunch back at the Leaky Cauldron at 11 o'clock. Ethan also intended to restock some of his research materials.
As they strolled around Scribbulus Writing Instruments, Harry looked at the various types of quills while savouring the ice cream Ethan brought him to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The boy heard a deep voice call out to Ethan.
"Ethan! What a nice surprise meeting you heard. How have you been? I didn't see you at work last week. Well, at least you look less like an inferi this time. Immersed in one of those research yours ain't ya?" Said playfully the somewhat burly man, who seemed to be in his 30s, a middle-aged gentleman with a mature appearance, he wore a dark bowler hat, white shirt, medium Jungle green vest, and a double-breasted overcoat of the same colour, accompanied by a pair of black leather gloves, an indigo scarf hanging over his neck, deep-blue eyes, black hair with few silver strands, and a profound gaze.
Someone who exhibited the aura of a person who had experienced the vicissitudes of life
Upon hearing the middle-aged man, Harry, for the first time, saw a frown appear on Ethan's face, though Harry couldn't sense any hatred coming from his temporary guardian. Rather, it resembled the helplessness of the mockery of one's friends.
Immediately, Ethan returned to his signature business smile. What a terrific surprise seeing you here, though I'm expecting the Head of the Department of Mystery to be overloaded with paperwork as well as meetings with other Unspeakable discussing the prominent projects."
The man in his 30s casually strolled to Ethan's side and pulled him shoulder-to-shoulder with a big grin on his face.
Despite Ethan's obvious discomfort, he tried his best to distance himself from the man, to the point where he could have punched that man's annoyingly grinning face.
"How many times have I told you that friends refer to each other by their names, unless you want me to cut down on this month's salary?"
Ethan's eyebrow twitched at the confidently grinning man's words. Harry tries to suppress his giggles.
'He must be a close friend to Mr Ethan; can he keep pestering him worry-free like this.'
Suddenly, the middle-aged man turned his attention towards Harry; his deep-blue eyes shone with interest as he raised one of his hands, waving towards him, and the man was smiling brightly.
Harry's anxiety surged as he bolted towards the other side of Ethan's resumed koala stand. He was still very uncomfortable when others tried to make contact with him.
"Good day to you, sir," Harry muttered.
"Well, well, good day to you too." The man's eyes darted towards Ethan, hoping for an explanation of why the little boy was so scared of him. The middle-aged man considered himself to be quite friendly.
Harry saw Ethan shake his head slightly towards the confused man as he signed. His guardian gestured a gentle smile at Harry as he ruffled the boy's unruly hair, which lessened Harry's anxiety a lot.
"Harry, this is... my boss, Mr. Samantheus Faramundo, 31 years old, head of the Department of Mystery, the archenemy of the wizard supremacy, and lord of Uncle Jokes."
"My friends called me Sam." He said it with an awkward smile at Ethan's remark.
"Right, may I present to you Harry Potter, currently under my care due to particular circumstances?"
A surprise drew on Sammatheus's face as he scrutinised Harry and stopped at his dynamic scar. Which made Harry gulp subconsciously.
However, the burly man's astonishment was brief as he turned to a friendly smile and waved at Harry. The boy just nodded, which saddened Sam's heart but, in turn, amused Ethan a lot.
Harry then went back to look at various goods in the shop, as Ethan suggested. The boy felt that Ethan wanted to discuss something with the man. While looking around the shop with his ice cream in one hand, Harry glanced at the two men in deep conversation occasionally.
For some reason, Mr. Faramundo's face turned sour as Ethan elaborated on Harry's story, but at the sight of Harry, he still presented his amiable complexion, yet the boy only ducked away as fast as possible for fear of being caught eavesdropping. Which greatly disappointed Sammatheus.
The head of the Department of Mystery turned his attention back to his annoyingly smiling "employee".
"Harry has been living in fear for far too long; it will take a long time for him to get comfortable with the presence of others. Sign, I hope he can overcome his trauma by the time he is admitted to Hogwarts." To Sam's surprise, Ethan's eyes flashed a light of emotion before returning to their usual dullness.
"More importantly, you actually decided to take the boy under your wing. The Boy Who Lived Under the Guidance of a True Seer—now that's amusing. I bet the news will overload the entire Wizarding World for years to come, and you'll be the most hunted celebrity, and maybe our department can gain a bit from advertisements." Sam let out a sly grin truly befitting that of a Slytherin.
Ethan only scoffed at his words. "Worry not; I made sure none of these would leak out to those 'thirsty hounds'; Harry's circumstances will be handled quietly."
"Ha! Gone 50 steps ahead, as always. Anyway, let me know if I can help with anything, especially regarding Mr. Headmaster's involvement. Now, excuse me as I need to take these papers back; any minute late, Diata is going to place some newly invented nasty curse over my head; do push over a little bit of paperwork to her after all, ha!" Sam chuckled at Ethan's disapproving looks.
Harry saw Mr. Faramundo packed up as he bade goodbye to Ethan and made an amiable nod towards Harry before he disappeared into the flow of pedestrians in Diagon Alley.
Ethan then called out to Harry as they also packed up their things and left for Leaky Cauldron to settle for lunch.
September 18th, 1989, London, Privet Drive, 6:00 PM
Harry violently disliked the thought of having to return to this hellhole. However, Ethan managed to assure Harry that everything would be fine and left everything else to him, and Harry would officially say goodbye to that place.
At first, Ethan led him to visit some famous places around London, such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Thames, etc., to liven up the boy's mood. Harry was curious how Ethan knew his address. His temporal guardian explained that he just did some simple divination; as for a true seer, this is a small feat. A true seer could never lose his or her belongings.
Harry's emerald eyes widen at the answer, 'So cool'.
Along the way, they meet up with others who are going to handle Harry's affairs. The moment they met Harry, they all exuded a sense of pity towards the extremely haggard boys who clung tightly to Ethan.
The Dursleys were having a hefty dinner, as always. Their faces fill with utter satisfaction.
"Now that, ever since the little devil has gone off to who knows where, looks at how peaceful our lives are," Vernon said cheerfully as he finished a mouthful of food.
Dudley nodded happily, and Petunia let out a slight chuckle.
"Although I bet that he has gone far, that little devil will come back once he can't bear the hunger. Hmph, let's pray for those who have to suffer misfortune brought on by his presence."
Unbeknownst to Vernon, all of his words were heard loud and clear by Ethan, Harry, lawyer Anton Hawthorne, and Officer Pattrick, all of whom were standing outside 4 Privet Drive.
"Ahem, shall we?"
"After you, officer." Ethan gestured as Pattrick knocked on the door. Which made the Dursleys growl in frustration at whoever was disrupting their meal. Petunia quickly made her way to open the door with a shocking expression drawn on her face.
Vernon admitted that this was one of his worst days ever.
Now sitting comfortably in front of him was a gentleman who seemed to be in his late 20s, with a scholarly aura, clad in a formal suit resembling the last century. Beside the source of agony in his life, Harry Potter, the boy held on tightly to the man.
On his left was Officer Pattrick with a stoic face, and on his right was a professional lawyer dressed in a light brown suit, wearing typical square-frame glasses.
Suppressing his anxiousness, Vernon strikes first with a grateful smile.
"Oh, Harry! We missed you so much. Come here, boy." These despicable words came out of the head of the Dursleys shamelessly, the facial expression shown to bear the utmost pleasantry, despite the disturbing fatness of his face.
Vernon tried to grab Harry with one of his 'humongous' arms from across the table but was soon held back by Ethan's firm grip as he gave Vernon a menacing smile, signalling the fat man to back down.
"Ah, yes, of course. Thank you for bringing Harry back; you have our utmost respect." Vernon was sweating as he tried his best to keep his friendly composure towards this gentleman, who seemed not to let go of his tight grip.
'Who do you think you are!? Grabbing my hands like that, despicable little...' Vernon cursed inwardly.
Before Officer Pattrick could raise his voice to address Vernon's charade,
"There is no need for such a pathetic act of yours, Mr. Dursley. We are not children to be swayed by your utter ridiculous pretence." Ethan's tone was flat yet seemed to render everyone in the room to suffer heavily imperious pressure.
'Gulp! Who is this man!? He appears gentlemanly, yet he exudes an aura no less than that of a maniac. How can the police work with this!? freaks! A bunch of bloody freaks'
There was a short silence emanating through the living room, which only lessened when Ethan ruffled Harry's hair as he gave the boy an assuring smile. Which also managed to make Harry let out a heartfelt smile. The boy then buried his face in Ethan's waist, ignoring the raging face of Uncle Vernon.
"Let us cut to the chase; we are not here to return Harry to your savage abusers, and Harry will be under my protection; as long as I'm living, none of you heartless monsters shall lay a finger on him. It's high time you face your consequences…"'
Ethan paused as he darted a pitiful look towards Dudley. Even though the boy was indeed a bully, that by no means was his nature; Mr. and Mrs. Dursley's failures were what turned the boy into that.
"I feel sorry for your poor son's future, as he has to bear the failures of his so-called parents." There was no fluctuation in his tone, as if he had just stated facts.
Dudley's eyes widened at the gentleman's words as they slowly drilled into his dull mind. Petunia's eyes darkened as her bigot husband lost his temper and lashed out with every filthy curse he had in his narrow mind.
"Officer, how can you not arrest this hideous man?" Vernon began to change his target.
"Oh arrest, of course, well then hereby I will take you in for abusing children and slandering." Officer Patrick spoke with a stoic complexion.
"What- "
"We have gathered all the necessities evident from your neighbours, even medical examinations and photos of Harry's wounds. I suggest you prepare for when facing the court." Lawyer Anton cleared his throat as he presented the evidence onto the table; some of this was provided by Ethan the night Harry came to him.
Vernon collapsed at his feet as horror rendered him speechless. He could only make out a few words from Mr. Lawyer.
"Harry will no longer be under your 'care' and Mr Esther will be his official guardian until Harry comes of age. While Dudley here will be receiving proper help."
Ethan flashed a goldish hue as he quickly finished his tea, picked up his hat, and held Harry's hand.
"Well then, me and Harry will leave the rest to you. I bid you all farewell." Ethan rose to his feet, with Harry holding his hand. They moved towards the front door as Harry gave the Dursleys a final look, saying goodbye to all the misery in this house. His eyes met Dudley as his cousin muttered an apology for the longest time.
Harry's surprise subsided quickly as he turned to Aunt Petunia, his mother's sister. She looked back at Harry and opened her mouth to speak, but shortly after, she pursed them back up. At that moment, she realised this would be the last time she could see her sister's eyes—her very last remnant of this world.
Ethan sighed in relief as they stepped out of 4 Privet Drive. He smiled warmly at his precious boy.
"Harry, could you please go wait in Mr. Hawthorne's car, as I have one last thing to do before we leave? I promise it will be quick." Ethan gently ruffled the boy, which he really liked, as a way Harry could feel his guardian's sincere love for him. Harry nodded vigorously as he paced towards the brown car, took the back seat, and began playing with his thumb. He waited patiently.
If there was anything worth to him back when he was with the Dursleys, it would be his accustomed to loneliness and patience in a small space as he waited for Aunt Petunia's order.
After making sure that Harry had gone, Ethan waved his hand as he cast a simple ward for privacy. His eyes shone with brilliance and amber colour; in his view, intricate threads of magic fluctuated; most were blue, some were red, and a few were deep darkness intertwined together like a spider web flung over Privet Drive—maybe the whole Little Whinging town projected onto the pale canvas in Ethan's view.
The moment 4 Privet Drive was no longer Harry's home, some of these threats began to fracture and break completely, dissolving into oblivion.
Which also sends out a final wave of alarm.
"Some of the wards here are truly spectacular, befitting the strongest wizard alive," Ethan gave off a cold compliment as he turned the source of the few peculiar magic threads. An old wizard walked out into the light of the street lamp, long white bread, obvious wrinkles, and amiable looks at first glance now added a bit of solemnity to them. He dressed in an elegant crimson robe and a pointed hat with the same colour.
"Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore." Ethan pressed his half-top hat against his chest as he bowed slightly towards the respectable but also very, very influential Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
In return, Dumbledore nodded slightly, yet his wand was clutched tightly between his hands. His eyes showed obvious curiosity as he spoke in a somewhat surprised tone towards the gentleman, whose aura bore a striking resemblance to that of one of his old acquaintances.
"A true seer!?"