September 20th, 1989, London, 221B Baker Street, 6:30 AM
Harry's determination to wake up early had paid off as he looked at the cuckoo clock on the wall, above the fireplace.
Another night without absolute comfort, though he did feel ashamed for letting Ethan sleep on the sofa all the time, despite the fact that the man had told him not to worry about it, for he had long gotten used to doing that for years.
Harry's awakening was accompanied by the soothing, pleasant sound of some classic instruments.
Having finished his morning routine, the boy followed the jolly sound curiously. He found himself in front of the now-familiar living room. The room was bathed in the soft September sunlight shining through the crystal-clear large window.
There stood a gentleman clad in a formal linen shirt that matched his luxurious deep blue waistcoat. He wore trousers of the same colour, and his golden pocket watch was tucked into the left pocket making his lean build shine.
His dark chestnut hair was combed in a 7/3 lightly wavy hairstyle.
Which in turn toned those slightly dull dark-amber eyes, laid behind those silver square-frame glasses as those eyes bore a faraway look. His bear was clean-shaven, adding a lot more youthfulness to his scholarly complexion.
Harry watched with astonishment as the wonderful scene unfolded before him. Ethan was playing the violin skillfully; it was Bach's Minuet in G Major at a slightly slower tempo.
The sound emitted from the exquisite wooden violence reverberated throughout the room, leaking little to the outside. This classic piece fits perfectly; it brightens that day's morning.
As the piece came to an end, Ethan received a small round of applause from Harry, as the boy was smiling. Ethan nodded as he beamed a gentle smile.
Then a thought struck Harry's mind as he pondered. 'Uncle Ethan seemed to be preparing for a meeting or some sort of important event… Of course! Today was the day we'd go back to Gringotts to meet with the last person listed in the will."
Ethan was amused at Harry's realisation. "Like I mentioned yesterday, we'll have quite a long day ahead of us. Now let us have our breakfast."
Ethan motioned for Harry to help him prepare today's breakfast. They had a Finnan Haddie with a poached egg. A true Finnan Haddie was a split, whole-gutted fish, not the mass-produced, dyed boneless fillets. The delicate smoke gave it a wonderful flavour. It had a long association with the famous Scottish soup Cullen Skink, was also poached in milk for breakfast, and was the main ingredient in kedgeree. Traditionally, it was served with bread and butter to mop up the juices.
The boy was setting the table as Ethan went to collect today's newspaper.
As usual, they enjoy breakfast in silent company. Ethan still skimmed through the newspaper at a rapid speed, thus only stopping to read the information that piqued his interest.
While Harry was wondering about the person they would meet at the bank today—how he would react, what kind of person he would be—would he forcefully take Harry away from Ethan?
Occasionally, the boy would shoot a look at his dearest uncle, and Ethan would return with a compassionate smile every time. 'Everything will be fine, Harry, the boy assured himself, as he firmly believed that Ethan would not give up on him.
Towards the end of their breakfast, a delivery owl landed quietly on the table. It brought a rather exquisite-looking letter, which Ethan subconsciously had an uneasy feeling about. Harry was cleaning the dishes when he caught a not-so-comfortable look on Ethan's face.
The man's eyes twitched as he read through the content of the letter, which was from his friend Sam, who suddenly decided to open a company under their names. Sam decided they would cooperate with the ministry, more specifically with the Department of Mystery, about the manufacturing as well as the distribution of the products. He insisted that they meet tomorrow morning to officially set the plan in motion. That would be the official meeting of the two sides.
Ethan already knew why Sam decided to do this but still, he couldn't help but complain about all those upcoming arduous management tasks. 'Well played, Sam.'
However, on the bright side, it would no doubt help him in the future.
Ethan's mind raced with thought as he was planning on how to handle this properly. He then noticed the boy tiptoeing over with a concerned look on his face.
"Everything's fine, Harry; just Uncle Sam sending his regards for yesterday."
The boy then widened as Ethan casually burned the letter just by rubbing his two fingers against it. The gentleman then patted the owl as he gave it some cookies and sent it on its way.
Briefly, after that, there was a big silhouette parked outside the house; no sooner did the doorbell ring.
"Ah, the delivery is here. I hope you like it, Harry." Ethan quickly made his way to the door, and Harry followed shortly.
It turned out that Ethan had ordered a set of furniture from yesterday's store. The gentleman motioned for the two deliverymen to just place the boxes in the hallway and leave the rest to him.
Having sighed the bill and bade them farewell, Ethan waved one of his hands as he cast a simple charm to make the furniture unpack themselves and make their way up to the attic. Ethan told the boy to wait for him outside the door leading to the attic.
Harry didn't have to wait too long, as he heard the sound of rapid movements. Then came Ethan's voice, telling him to come in. As Harry stepped up the short staircase, the entire layout of the attic began to be presented in front of him.
The attic seemed to be quite spacious, tidy, and cosy.
An azure crystal chandelier hanging in the middle was capable of illuminating everything. It bore a mix of modern and classic ambiance.
To Harry's right was a dormer window serving as an easy way to reach the building's rooftop.
Opposite him, at the other end of the attic, was a large round window that could be opened from the inside.
There was a platform bed to the left of the round window, and opposite the bed was a study table with all the basic study tools, such as pens, pencils, papers, notebooks, and lamps. It lacked only decoration and books of any kind.
A few chairs, shelves, a mat, a duvet, a wardrobe, as well as small pots of lavender, hortensia, and sunflowers scattered across the room, spreading fragrance along the wind blowing through the windows.
"From now on, this will be your room, Harry. I hope you would like to forgive me if it was too bland; I didn't really prepare much. Though it means that you can later add whatever you like to the room,"
"It's perfect." Harry hugged his guardian passionately as his face beamed with happiness. The boy ruffled his head against Ethan's firm tummy, as he was too short to reach for his chest. Then, at Ethan's gesture, Harry roamed around the attic, taking everything in.
"Oh, and I have also put all your clothes in there; remember to get dressed properly; we'll be seeing Mr. Lupin shortly. I'll see you downstairs." Harry nodded at Ethan's words as he began to ponder what to wear properly for this was his first time doing something like this, usually the Dursleys… Immediately, Harry shook away any thought of them, for it was all over.
Harry decided to follow one of the fashion advertisements he saw the other day and put on a grey sweater over his white polo shirt, accompanied by a pair of black trousers and trainers of the same colour. The boy tried to sort out unruly hair into a 7/3 style, although it was little use.
The boy then quickly joined Ethan as he spotted the man had put on his trusty half-top hat, an unbuttoned modern ulster coat with double-breasted closure, proper length (reaching knees or below), a huge collar (storm collar) that can be easily put up, pleated, and belted back (usually with a half-belt), turnback cuffs, and contrast stitching along the edges and cuffs.
He finished with a deep violet, almost brown, scarf draped over his neck as it hung loosely down his body.
"Come, Harry, shouldn't let your godfather wait any longer."
'Of course, Dad.' Harry thought inwardly as he reached for Ethan's gentle hand. The two of them then caught a cab and headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.
…
September 20th, 1989, London, Gringotts, 9:07 AM
Stepping into the dashing marble bank, Ethan caught the silhouette of a haggard man in his late 20s, 'about the same age as mine.' He was having a chat with Gerrik, manager of the Potter vault.
His attire was rather in a poor state; as obvious small patches and stitches could be spotted, it was like they had been forcefully torn apart and Reparo over and over.
The man bore a tired visage; he looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with grey. Yet those green eyes were filled with excitement. He did exude an aura of constant timidity and hesitation, probably just too anxious to meet his godson again, or was it?
Quickening his pace, Ethan caught the intention of the two as he extended his greetings: "Good morning, Mr. Gerrick, and you must be Mr. Lupin. It's a pleasure meeting you here." As he shook hands with a briefly stunned Remus,
'He seemed to be compassionate, intelligent, tolerant, levelheaded, peaceful, selfless, brave, kind, and good-natured. Nonetheless, he suffered deep-seated feelings of shame and fear of rejection, which could lead to his obvious shyness, even cowardice.' Ethan began to analyse the man in front of him further as he silently placed an extrasensory charm on himself.
'This smell, radish-like odour, could it be Aconite and the other faint smell... No doubt it was Botrychium lunaria. Very interesting…' Ethan contemplated the information as he fixed his glasses, still presenting his signature business smile.
In the Sight's view, Ethan watched numerous threads of dull silver colour warp tightly to Remus's body.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Esther. I had already heard part of the story from the goblin regarding you and Harry's circumstances…" Remus shifted his gaze to the shy little boy; he looked much better now compared to the description of the goblin. 'I'm so sorry, Harry, I should have been there for you, Once again, I'm such a coward…'
Ethan didn't forget to shoot the smiling, awkward goblin a cold smile as he turned to exchange basic courtesy with the goblin, leaving Harry and Remus to have their first meeting.
Remus knelt as he tried to approach closer to the boy, slowly, as he didn't intend to scare the already fragile child. Remus extended his hand for a shake. Though it took the boy quite some time, Remus was still waiting very patiently.
At last, Harry was finally able to shake the man's hand. "G-good mo-rning sir, I-I am H-Harry P-po-tter, n-nice meet-ting you, sir." Despite the fact that his voice was shaking tirelessly, Harry managed to return the courtesy as he watched the man smile happily, his eyes getting slightly teary.
"You must have been through a lot, Harry; I'm so sorry." Harry nodded slightly.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, let us proceed with the reason why we're here." Gerrick reminded him as he dodged Ethan's piercing gaze. "Please follow me to a private meeting sector as we will discuss further about the Potter's will." Remus slightly moved as his happy memories involving his two friends surged up.
They settle into a private luxury room. Gerrik began to present the will on paper, going through all the formal processes this time, asking Remus if he wanted to revoke Ethan's temporary guardianship, thus bringing the boy under his supervision. Gaining total access to the Potter vault.
Remus quickly refused; he still had his unusual perception, with an uncanny ability to guess the thoughts of those around him. He fully acknowledged that he could not take good care of Harry as he was in such a dilemma, and Mr. Esther seemed to have done a better job than he could ever have, he could see the gentleman in front of him now loved the boy as much as he was. Ethan seemed to be a good person, smart with an unwavering determination, albeit his scholarly aura.
Remus could guess that he was not that simple, but more importantly, he had taken in Harry and showed no sign of ill-intention towards the boy.
Therefore, he sincerely asks Ethan to take on the job, to which the gentleman naturally agrees. Gerrik also announced that should Harry go to Hogwarts, all of his fees would be covered according to his parent's will, and Harry's guardian would have access to a certain emergency fund.
With the issue regarding the will concluded, Ethan quickly invited Remus over to his house for some tea as he still had something to ask. In turn, Remus also accepted happily as he got to spend more time with Harry whilst getting to know this gentleman further.
But first, Ethan suggested that they have a hearty lunch at an Asian restaurant.
Both Remus and Harry had quite a memorable memory of that time, as they first had what was called a bowl of Pho as well as a peculiar eating tool called chopsticks.