Ethan did not know where the Mirror of Erised was either.
Hogwarts contained hundreds of abandoned classrooms, hidden chambers, and forgotten corridors.
Only Dumbledore himself probably remembered where half of them were.
Still, Harry insisted the room was somewhere near the library because he had originally stumbled upon it while fleeing from Filch after sneaking into the Restricted Section.
"…Didn't I already explain Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone to you?" Ethan whispered while they walked beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
"But I was curious about the Restricted Section," Harry admitted honestly.
Naturally.
Every Gryffindor who successfully evolved into an even more dangerous Gryffindor shared identical instincts.
Honestly, Ethan suspected Dumbledore possessed at least a thousand methods for subtly guiding Harry directly into every educational life lesson he wanted.
And probably another thousand methods prepared specifically for Ethan.
The Ethan Norton Development Plan.
Terrifying.
"The Art of Understanding People… Social Manipulation… Dark Psychology…"
According to Borgin, Dumbledore's ultimate goal remained eliminating Voldemort permanently before his own death.
Technically, that objective had little to do with Ethan himself.
After all, Ethan's name never appeared in the prophecy.
As long as he avoided becoming an obvious serial killer at school, things should remain manageable.
"Here!"
Harry suddenly pointed excitedly down a narrow corridor branching beside the library.
Almost nobody visited this area because it ended in a dead end.
At the very end stood a tiny abandoned classroom with a warped wooden door that barely closed properly anymore.
Honestly, the location made sense.
If Harry fled blindly from Filch the previous night, he naturally would have run toward the most hidden place available.
Inside, the classroom remained cluttered with broken desks, old chairs, and overturned baskets piled against the walls.
But one object immediately dominated the room.
A gigantic mirror.
Its golden frame stretched almost to the ceiling itself, supported by ornate clawed feet.
Across the top ran a strange inscription:
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi
If read backwards, the sentence became:
I show not your face but your heart's desire.
"That's it!" Harry whispered excitedly.
He immediately pulled away the Invisibility Cloak and hurried toward the mirror.
Then he smiled.
His family had appeared again.
"Ethan!" Harry called over his shoulder. "Come look—my parents are there!"
"Oh…"
Ethan's attention was nowhere near the mirror.
Because he had just heard the classroom door creak softly behind them.
Harry assumed the wind caused it.
Ethan knew better.
[Soul Strength: 99]
What kind of ordinary family member possessed ninety-nine soul strength?
Ah.
So it really was just an elderly headmaster secretly stalking children through abandoned classrooms at midnight.
Perfectly normal behaviour.
Dumbledore's Disillusionment Charm truly deserved admiration.
If Ethan lacked soul vision entirely, he would never have noticed the old wizard standing nearby.
Carefully avoiding any sign he had discovered Dumbledore's presence, Ethan merely glanced toward the door curiously before walking over beside Harry.
"Can you see them?" Harry asked eagerly while pointing at the mirror. "My mum and dad?"
Ethan looked directly into the glass.
From his perspective—
There was only Harry.
Nothing else.
"Harry," Ethan admitted honestly, "I can't see anything except you."
Harry immediately frowned.
"Maybe you're standing wrong. Here."
He stepped aside and positioned Ethan directly before the mirror.
During the few seconds it took to cross the room, countless possibilities flashed through Ethan's mind.
Voldemort's corpse.
Dinner with Rose and Edward.
Herbert and Ali somehow sharing Christmas dinner peacefully.
Maybe even a complete soul.
But when Ethan finally stood before the mirror—
Nothing appeared.
Still only himself.
Ethan frowned slightly.
Then he understood.
The Mirror of Erised functioned through mental projection and emotional extraction.
But mental magic fundamentally struggled to affect him.
Interesting.
Nearby, Dumbledore's attention sharpened noticeably.
The old man was clearly trying to determine Ethan's deepest desires.
Checking whether the experimental child had gone astray.
"I think I know why," Ethan said quietly after several moments.
He suddenly felt a strange instinctive certainty.
As though the mirror itself were waiting for permission.
Slowly, Ethan extended one finger toward the glass.
The instant his fingertip touched the cold surface—
Something shifted.
It felt strangely familiar.
Like those warning windows that appeared while installing suspicious software online:
Potentially dangerous application detected. Continue anyway?
Back in his previous life, fourteen-year-old Ethan would always select Ignore Risk and Continue Installation.
That single habit explained many things.
Harry waited nervously nearby.
The mirror changed.
"Did you see something?" Harry asked immediately after noticing Ethan's expression soften.
"…Yeah."
Ethan stared quietly into the glass.
"Rose and Edward prepared dinner for me."
His voice became strangely gentle.
"But they were flirting in the kitchen so aggressively they completely ignored the fact their eleven-year-old son was sitting right there."
Harry immediately relaxed.
"See? The mirror really does show family!"
Then his excitement dimmed slightly.
Because Ethan's parents still existed.
Harry could only see his own through magic.
"It's beautiful," Ethan admitted softly before stepping aside. "But I think we still need to remember reality exists outside the mirror."
"But it's Christmas holidays," Harry replied stubbornly while sitting directly in front of the mirror again. "At least here I can still see them."
He clearly had no intention of leaving.
Honestly, neither did Ethan.
Dumbledore still lingered nearby observing them secretly, and the old man apparently feared sleep less than death itself.
Besides, abandoning Harry here alone would damage Ethan's carefully maintained image.
Not that it was fake.
Ethan genuinely considered himself a good person.
Mostly.
After growing bored, Ethan dragged a chair into the corner and began quietly practising magic instead.
Naturally, using Unforgivable Curses directly under Dumbledore's nose sounded incredibly stupid.
So Ethan chose something far safer.
Something innocent.
"Expecto Patronum."
Silver smoke burst weakly from the tip of his wand.
Mist only.
Not a true Patronus yet.
Still—
That alone already proved shocking for an eleven-year-old.
Harry remained entirely absorbed in the mirror.
But Dumbledore's reaction differed greatly.
Ethan could clearly sense the old wizard's attention shift away from Harry completely.
Now—
Dumbledore was staring directly at him.
....
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