HP: Thunderstorm, Moon, and The Seer

December 26th, 1991, Hogwarts, Mirror of Erised, 1:00 AM.

The entire room was really quiet; Harry could even hear his own heartbeats with great effort The boy turned back to where the gaze came from.

"You should be in bed by this hour, Mr. Potter. The Castle does have its charm at night, yet it's not a place for such a young boy to go on a night stroll." The Headmaster spoke calmly as he walked to the boy's side.

"I-i'm sorry H-headmaster. P-please I-i wi-will-" Harry broke out in cold sweats as the boy thought being caught by the headmaster would certainly be much more severe. He hoped that the house point wouldn't be deducted to much by his careless actions. 'Merlins, im finished...' The boy's eyes dropped to his feet.

"Hoho, come now, am I that terrifying? No need to freak out, Mr. Potter. I myself used to have such night strolls, like this too." Much to Harry's surprise, The Headmaster's response was rather nonchalant, like an old grandfather laughing at his grandchildren's silliness.

Harry heaved a sigh of relief as he raised his head. 'His gaze... it seem like the headmaster really meant it.'

Harry watched as Dumbledore walked closer to the mirror; the old man seemed to flash with something regretful before he slowly took a step back. "I see that you like so many before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised, a very intriguing Artefact..." The headmaster stroked his long white beard as he turned to Harry. "I trust by now you realise what it does."

Harry nodded as he took a quick glance at the mirror. "I-it shows us what we w-want..." The boy spoke in a low voice, almost imperceptibly.

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts." The headmaster added. "Remember this, Harry... this mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth."

Dumbledore's voice slowly got heavier. "Men have wasted away in front of it, even gone mad."

With a wave of his hand, the headmaster conjured a blanket, covering the entire artefact. "That is why tomorrow it will be moved to a new home, and I must ask you not to go looking for it again." He stressed. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

...

December 26th, 1991, Hogwarts, Gryffindor's common room, 8:00 AM.

"Err...Harry, wake up!" Once again, Harry woke up to Ron's shouts.

The boy rubbed his eyes lazily. seemingly still sleepy as he only made it back to the dorm by 1:40 am after the talk with the headmaster.

"What is it, Ron..." Harry yawned as he walked down.

"I see you had quite a Christmas night, Harry." A dark chestnut-haired gentleman was sitting comfortably by the fireplace, enjoying the morning brew tea under Ron's bewilderment, who was standing in a daze by the stairs. The man wore a fine three-piece navy blue suit with matching pants and leather shoes. His facial features were delicate, accompanied by a distinct scholarly air, framed by his silvery square-frame glasses.

Harry's ears immediately perked up, and his eyes widened as he crashed into the gentleman's warm embrace. "Dad! How come you are here? This is..."

As if knowing beforehand what Harry's about to ask, Ethan answered swiftly, "Well, there are certainly no official rules forbidding one student from a certain house to visit other house common rooms if you figure out how to pass the door..." Ethan sipped the chamomile tea. "And I already have the headmaster's permission to visit you. We'll have a full day to ourselves before bringing you back."

Ethan's gaze softened as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Sorry, kiddo, I-"

Harry immediately shook his head. "Don't worry, Dad, I know you have important work to do. Besides, I'm just happy that you still came."

"Haha..." Ethan chuckled as he resisted twitching his eyes; as if it wasn't for a certain crazy black dog, he wouldn't have to spend his precious Christmas going after cleaning up his mess on the West Coast. Well, to be fair, the work at Atid Stella was also in desperate need of him in developing new Artefacts.

Heaving a sigh, Ethan gestured for Harry to get ready.

Just before heading upstairs, Harry dashed to Ron's side, who had been watching this interaction the whole time with his eyes wide open. "Dad! This is Ron, my friend and roommate."

"G-good morning, sir." Ron gulped

Ethan chuckled at the ginger stiffness. "Yes, remember you told about him in the letters." Ethan extended a hand toward Ron, putting on his standard business smile. "Good morning, Mr. Weasley. I'm Ethan, Ethan Esther. Thank you for taking care of Harry this whole time." 

"No... ah, it's nothing, sir, and please just call me Ron. Hehe..." The ginger shook Ethan's hand with great effort, trying to make himself look as polite as possible.

With a smile, Harry ran back to his room, leaving Ron and Ethan to their conversation.

...

By the time Harry came back down, Ron was already in his usual with food in one hand while chatting whole-heartedly with Ethan.

It seemed like Ethan didn't really mind it, rather taking an interest in the nature of the ginger boy.

"It was a pleasure speaking with you, Ron. You're certainly a Weasley just like your parents; Harry's honoured to have a friend like you."

"Hehe..." For the first time, Ron was really proud of his family name. "Wait, did you know my parents?" Ron jolted.

"They were my seniors when I enrolled in Hogwarts." Ethan put on his silk half-top hat. "Now, come, let's go, Harry. Remus and Luna have been waiting for us."

Harry's eyes sparkled. "Really!?" The boy immediately walks faster, almost dragging Ethan along. "Oh, and see you later, Ron!."

'Wow, its really rare seeing Harry not stammering like this. His Dad is really awesome..." Ron's shook his head bemusedly as he waved back to Harry. "Hey Harry! Remember to bring back some delicacies from London!