"Mmm... what's wrong?"
Ron rolled over, asking groggily.
Harry swallowed hard and said hoarsely: "I dreamed... I dreamed about that night, Voldemort..."
Hearing that unmentionable name, Ron immediately woke up.
"You... you dreamed about him?"
Ron propped himself up, asking nervously in a low voice.
Harry nodded heavily. Then he hissed, pressing his constantly throbbing scar.
Since coming to Hogwarts, his scar hadn't hurt this much in a long time. The last time was at the opening feast, when he'd made eye contact with Professor Snape.
At Christmas, the Mirror of Erised had indeed shown him his deceased family members and had nearly made him addicted. But with Ethan's painting as precedent, Harry quickly snapped out of it, just feeling his face hurt.
This definitely wasn't a good thing! Harry had thought at the time.
He'd carefully turned the mirror around to face the wall, letting it reflect on its mistakes, lest it accidentally entice the next person who wandered in. After doing this, Harry had returned to his dormitory to sleep peacefully.
He just didn't know why, when Headmaster Dumbledore came to find him the next day, his expression seemed hesitant.
The Forbidden Forest trip hadn't left Harry with any bad memories either. Though that raging mother dragon was indeed quite frightening. But afterward, when he and Ron discussed it, they both felt it was incredibly thrilling! So cool!
The Weasley twins were officially jealous. Even Hagrid had sent word telling them that the injured unicorn had been healed!
Everything at Hogwarts was so wonderful. Under Ethan's presence, who cared about a little savior?
Harry ate and drank well every day, learning magical spells and growing taller all around, with his cheeks no longer sunken.
But now, the sudden nightmare and intense pain made Harry suddenly alert. The Gringotts break-in, Halloween's troll, Nicolas Flamel, the three-headed dog Fluffy, dragon eggs... And what Ethan had said... that Dumbledore wasn't at school today.
A flash of insight connected all the clues. Harry's face turned deathly pale.
"What's wrong, mate?" Ron stammered, his heart involuntarily rising.
Harry whipped his head around, saying urgently: "Don't you think it's strange? Why would a stranger just happen to have a dragon egg in his pocket when Hagrid wanted one? How many people walk around carrying dragon eggs all day? That's against wizarding law!"
Ron's eyes grew wider and wider, his throat rolling as he said dryly: "So... so..."
"So! Hagrid very likely already leaked how to get past the three-headed dog, Fluffy!"
"Hiss..."
Ron sucked in a sharp breath. "You mean... the Philosopher's Stone..."
Harry said with certainty: "That's right! Tonight, Snape is going to steal the Stone while Headmaster Dumbledore is away! And Ethan might be there too! He could be being threatened by Snape! Ethan is in danger!"
Ron stared at him: "Ah... huh?"
Who was threatening whom? Who was in danger?
Ron suddenly fell silent. His heart dropped back into his stomach. Meeting Harry's urgent gaze, he flopped back onto his bed, turned over, and muttered: "I thought something was wrong. Time to sleep."
If Ethan were in danger, he wouldn't eat chicken legs for a month.
Harry immediately became anxious. He got out of bed, elbowed his best friend hard, and whispered loudly: "You don't understand! It's not just Snape... behind Snape there might be Voldemort's orders! The dream I just had foretold this! We... we have to go save Ethan!"
A moment later, three pairs of feet appeared before the Fat Lady's portrait. No bodies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione (whom they'd run into as soon as they left their dormitory) were all squeezed under the Invisibility Cloak.
"If Filch suddenly appears, he'll definitely think Hogwarts is haunted."
"Shh... quiet!"
The three stumbled and ran to the fourth-floor restricted corridor, carefully entering the three-headed dog's room. They were shocked to see a harp standing there, gently playing and keeping Fluffy fast asleep.
Harry declared: "See! I told you! Snape must have already broken in! Ethan helps us so much normally... we have to save him now!"
With Dumbledore away and the professors surely not believing them, there was no time. Though they didn't know what use first-year wizards could be, Ron and Hermione still nodded firmly.
After a series of challenges testing courage and wisdom, Ron fell at the giant wizard's chess, while Hermione returned to find professors and Dumbledore. Finally, Harry stood alone before the painted door.
His scar began throbbing violently. Harry could feel that Voldemort was behind this door. The entire wall's sinister ancient castle mural pressed down on him like a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
Great danger lay ahead.
"Huff..."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he suddenly opened his beautiful, shining emerald eyes and pushed toward the painted door without hesitation!
Unexpectedly, the door opened smoothly. Due to excessive force, Harry even stumbled forward. As if someone had opened it from inside for his convenience, or as if this door had never intended to block him at all.
Harry's breathing caught, feeling weightless for a moment. Light poured out as he squinted, holding his breath, tensely and alertly looking ahead.
What met his eyes wasn't Snape threatening Ethan or Snape torturing Ethan. Instead, it was Ethan having beaten some humanoid creature to the ground. With a gentle smile on his face, he was crouched down, showing the "humanoid creature" his paintings.
Harry stared in bewilderment: "...?"
What happened? What was going on here? What was that humanoid charcoal? Had Ethan finally killed someone?
"Ah! Harry, you're finally here!"
Ethan looked up, delightedly seeing the completely confused Harry. He stood up briskly, taking two steps to reach Harry. With his unchanging smile, his cobalt-blue eyes stared unblinkingly at him like a predatory eagle.
He slowly spoke: "I need the Philosopher's Stone, Harry."
In his hand, he gripped his wand tightly.
"Huh?"
Harry stared blankly at Ethan, who was so close. He instinctively stepped back, reaching behind him only to touch a cold wall. The door he'd entered through was gone.
"I'm very happy that you caught my hint... the hint that Dumbledore wasn't here! This shows we're spiritually connected... hmm, maybe the weak lamp in your skull played a part too."
Ethan spread his hands and spun in place, his joy overflowing. Like a performer who had painstakingly and perfectly completed a grand show. The intensity usually hidden beneath his iceberg-like calm exterior showed through slightly.
Ethan continued: "I didn't want to trouble you originally, but I can't get it out myself. And what I saw in the Mirror of Erised wasn't the Philosopher's Stone at all, but..."
Ethan turned around, raising his arms high.
"But the scene of me ruling over the world through art! The Philosopher's Stone can help me take a step closer to this goal."
Harry stared in shock: What?
Even Voldemort and Quirrell lying on the ground were stunned. Even their whimpering stopped as they listened silently.
In the dead silence, Ethan raised his wand and kindly tapped Harry's forehead, tapping his lightning-bolt scar. Tilting his head, he smiled:
"So... Go get me the Philosopher's Stone, my dear good friend, Mr. Harry Potter."