September 7th, 1991, London, 12 Diagon Alley, Atid Stella's HQ, 8:30 AM.
It was another rainy day in London. Grey clouds painted over the sky as drizzle and haze filled the streets of this famous alley.
Looking out from the top office's window, one could witness the signature of the city in the mist.
"Ah, nothing better then sitting in a comfy room whilst having a cup of coffee in such days." Ethan hummed nonchalantly as he enjoyed the city's scenery.
Ever since Harry began Hogwarts, Ethan also spent more time for the company, beside teaching Luna.
As of today, he had been diligently looking over the projects promoted by the employees of the Research department, using his materials to come up with more innovative artefacts, but so far only two had really caught his attention.
One was the promotion of incorporating colour into daily newspapers as well as picture books. Using the company's new methodology regarding Runic Circus, the cost of producing an all coloured newspaper could be said to be reduced significantly.
And second was the promotion of Magical Camera. Well, the name already explained itself.
Putting down the cup of hot coffee in his hand, Ethan settled back into the armchair as he began soring out a bunch of letters on the coffee table.
'Let see..' Through time, in order for the expansion of the company as well as the ideal of distributing this type of innovation out all over the wizarding world, Ethan and Sam had been meeting and exchanging letters with various wizards and witches from all over the world, finding like-minded individuals.
So far, Europe has been the most responsive, with lots of contradicting opinions. For Asia, there were very few responses from Shanghai and Japan; at least from their tone, it could be said to be quite positive for further cooperation.
As for the new world, there had only been one so far; it was from a wizard named Richard Crownley.
It seemed like he was working in MACUSA's The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, or whatever their equivalent was.
Anyhow, the man could be said to be quite enthusiastic about such a subject.
*Knock Knock* There were tapings on the window glass
"Hm? Hedwig?" Ethan hurriedly got to the window to take in the snowy owl.
"There you go." With a wave of his hand, the owl was dried up by a warm breeze coming out of nowhere.
Having treated the postal worker's 'payment, Ethan noticed that she seemed to carry a letter for him
"Oh, It seem like Harry's letter for me... and quite lengthy at that." Ethan let out a chuckle as he read the content.
"Dear Dad, I hope Hedwig and this letter find you well.
"Can't believe it's already been a week since I started Hogwarts..."
Ethan's was beaming with genuineness as he read his dearest son's letter. The boy went into detail about what he saw along the way to the castle, describing the castle's grandeur and the 'overly dramatic' sorting ceremony.
Ethan could already imagine the boy's face beaming with grins and sparkling eyes as he wrote this.
"Anyhow, it was how I ended up in Gryffindor..."
"Gryffindor..." Ethan narrowed his eyes at the mention of this house; he could already smell something fishy about it. It was highly certain that the old fox got a hand in this, considering Harry's condition and potential and how the boy was under his teaching; either Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or even Slytherin would all be plausible, but Gryffindor.
'Bravery really?' Ethan decided to leave this matter as it was for the time being as he continued to read the letter.
"And guess what, Dad, I've made a lot of friends too, hehe. Five at that!" Ethan once again could vividly imagine Harry's attempted smug face.
"Draco Malfoy, he's just so cool. I met him on the train, and despite being the same age, he seemed much more mature, quite adept at conversing with others, and his confidence..."
'Draco Malfoy!? Well, well, well, Sam will be thrilled to hear this.' Ethan's eyes lit up mischievously
"Haiz, I wish I could be like that. Oh, and he's the coolest Slytherin so far I've seen, unlike many of his housemates..."
'Hm?' Judging by the boy tone, there's definitely something wrong with these 'housemates', Ethan could feel Harry's hesitation in elaborating on the matter, afraid it would ruin the mood.
That one more thing was added to Ethan's list of things to check, a.k.a., Divining for further detail.
"And there's Hermione; she is the brightest witch of our age! You must see her tower of books, dad. Merlin, it was huge! I don't know how she could wrap her head around all those dense forests of words, as well as why the hat decided for her to be in Gryffindor. And on top of that, how can she memorise all of them? I don't think she knows about mind magic or Mind Palace..."
"On the contrary was Ron Weasley; I also met him on the train along with Draco and Hermione. Though he and Draco usually, well, I don't know why they seemed to always quarrel, like rivals; it wasn't something negative; I can assure you that they're all good friends..."
'Weasley and Malfoy being good friends... interesting.' Ethan's eyes seemed to curl up into smiles.
"Ron is very chatty and a good storyteller; his gossips are always so interesting that even Hermione couldn't help but agree that Ron's perceptiveness was exceptional through the gossips he gathered. While he seemed to be rather disdainful of lessons, I guess, especially with him starting to fall asleep within 5 minutes of every lesson,.
"However, he is very suited for Quidditch! I guess you already know what it is. Well, the long and short of it was that Gryffindor needed a seeker. So a roster spot was open. And in one of their's 'rivalry challenges', Professor McGonagall, the head of our house, saw it; she watched Ron chase down a remembrall that Draco had thrown. She watched him dive and perfectly pull out with the remembrall in his hands.
"And just like that, Ron was nominated for the seeker position. Oliver Wood, captain of Gryffindor's team, seemed quite pleased with Ron's capabilities, but for some reason, Ron wasn't really fond of that. Still, I could tell his eye was saying something else.
"So! With me, Hermione, and... Draco's 'hash encouragements', Ron decided to become a seeker, though his purpose was to compete with Draco as always.
"Oh, and Mr. Wood also gave me a tryout too, though I don't know why, but I refused immediately! you know..."
Ethan gave a slight, as he could tell why Harry refuse. Aside from the boy's personality, Harry also had a disdain for the seeker position of quidditch, as he could never bring himself to imagine the image of Jasper being chased around by a bunch of wizards, hurrying to squash the bird with their firm grasp.
"And their are also Fred and George; they're the Weasley twins. You must see the amusing atmosphere they bring everywhere they go. I really enjoy watching their gimmicks...
"Oh, and the professor and their classes..."
The boy went on to detail his study enthusiastically as well as his first impression of the professor; most were positive, except for a certain professor.
"I think Professor Snape doesn't like me, Dad; I haven't figured out why, but everything I do never pleases him..." The boy went on to tell how he did in Potions and how the professor reacted, which rendered Ethan's face slightly darkened. Severus Snape—that's one more added to the list.
"But worry not, I'll try my best to do it better next time."
'Oh, Harry,' Ethan sighed
"Yet, Professor Flitwick was the exact opposite; despite his... figure, he's really an ingenuine professor. He spoke highly of you too!
"I really like this lesson..."
The name did bring a lot of fond memories to Ethan during his time under the half-globin professor.
"That's it for this one; I'll be writing more soon.
"...I miss you, Dad. Write to me soon.
"Love, Harry"
"PS: Can you teach me that invisible spell you cast upon me when we're in Interlaken, please, oh, and send me some spice too, and how is Luna..." Ethan let out a heartfelt chuckle as he read these lines.
*Crack* As Ethan finished reading Harry's letter, the door to the office was opened
Stepping was a charming gentleman with a nicely trimmed beard and smooth, light brown hair, wearing a matching suit. He was Remus Lupin.
"How does the sorting go? Any promising responses?" He walked in with another stack of fresh paper in one hand.
Ethan only replied with a smile before continuing to read the letter.
"Hm?" Taking a closer look at what Ethan was doing and Snowy Owl relaxing quietly on the side, Lupin's eye's widened.
"Did Harry send a letter?" He spoke cheerfully.
"Yes, he seems to be doing well in Hogwarts, already making friends." Ethan carefully stored the letter in his inner pocket.
"It's good to hear that..." Remus's gaze softened.
"And he also sent you and Sam his regard too; he said he missed you too." Ethan took a sip of coffee as he watched Remus change his expression.
"Ha, that's my godson!" The man let out a grin as he stroked his trimmed beard
"Anyway, how is Mr. Black?" Putting down the cup of coffee, Ethan's face turned solemn
"Sigh, he's fine, looking much more... sane." Remus gaze darted to somewhere else at the mention of his old friend.
The man didn't wholeheartedly accept that Sirius was innocent and Peter was such a despicable traitor, despite having been shown Sirius's memories and case file as well as Ethan's divination. Perhaps that was why Ethan tasked him with supervising Black.
"Still, I just... it just.. all mess up."
"Indeed...but it is what it is, Remus." Ethan nodded.
"So, you really believe Peter is still out there and that Sirius could really find him?" Traces of doubt were visible on Remus's face.
"Yes, so we wait...For now." The true seer's gaze was filled with contemplation as he looked outside the window.