Of course, Ethan wasn't stupid enough to tell his adoptive father that he wasn't human, especially when neither of his parents suspected anything unusual about him. Do you know how rare it was for a protagonist to grow up with living parents? Adoptive parents still counted as parents, and Ethan had no intention of throwing that away.
Edward, meanwhile, enthusiastically explained whatever came to mind in an effort to help Ethan "understand" the wizarding world. Most of it sounded half-organised and wildly improvised, but Ethan listened patiently anyway. According to Edward, Dumbledore had specifically advised the couple never to reveal their identities as wizards in front of Harry Potter.
"You know, you never had any accidental magic growing up," Edward said with a sigh. "Your mum and I honestly thought you were just an ordinary child. I barely even dared to take my wand out at home because I was worried you'd…"
"So that's why Mum's been the one supporting the family this whole time?"
Ethan asked the question with complete seriousness, and Edward froze on the spot. He had clearly been preparing himself for questions about magical creatures, secret castles, or legendary spells, not a direct attack on his dignity as a father.
"Well… the wizarding world has strict rules," Edward replied awkwardly. "It's better not to use too much magic around Muggles. Especially if they see it. I mean—wait, aren't you curious about magic at all? Look, I can make flowers appear, or maybe make a pear tap dance?"
Trying desperately to salvage his image, Edward whipped out his wand. The living room immediately exploded into chaos. Fruit rolled across the carpet like frightened animals while golden birds burst into the air and circled the ceiling. A pear really did begin dancing across the table. Edward's wand movements were smooth and precise, and his silent casting showed that he was far from an untalented wizard.
Ethan stared quietly.
Was the average wizard's soul really only worth around ten points?
Edward mistook the silence for amazement and proudly puffed out his chest. "So? Want to learn magic now?"
He reached over to ruffle Ethan's hair, but Ethan subtly leaned away before the hand could ruin it.
"I'll learn all this at school anyway, won't I?" Ethan said calmly. "Honestly, I prefer reading. Maybe you could just give me the textbooks and let me study by myself."
Now that his parents being Muggles had been completely ruled out, Ethan's future plans had to change immediately. The peaceful childhood strategy was officially over. From this moment onward, the new objective became clear: eliminate Voldemort and every remaining threat before the end of the first three school years.
To do that, Ethan needed more goodwill points and more sin points as quickly as possible. His magic and soul integrity had to improve before Voldemort's resurrection during fourth year. If he simply let the plot continue normally, Harry Potter and his friends would probably survive because they were protagonists. Ethan and his parents, however, were background characters who technically shouldn't even exist.
That was far too dangerous.
Besides, Voldemort's Horcruxes were walking desserts as far as Ethan was concerned. Soul fragments made excellent food for a Dementor hybrid, and Ethan had absolutely no psychological burden about consuming them.
"Of course we still have textbooks," Edward said with visible relief after hearing Ethan's answer. "Your mother and I kept our old school books somewhere upstairs."
Ethan's interest in reading made Edward feel reassured. At least his son wasn't demanding to start blasting spells around the house immediately like most excited young wizards. Ethan's reaction to discovering magic had been strangely calm, almost like hearing tonight's dinner would include lamb instead of beef.
"What are you looking at? We're obviously not making you use our old textbooks forever," Edward added quickly after noticing Ethan's expression beginning to resemble Rose's increasingly judgemental stare.
Once the magical introduction was finished and Ethan asked no further questions, Edward finally handed over the Hogwarts letter.
"Keep it safe," he said proudly. "Tomorrow I'll take you to Diagon Alley so we can buy your wand and school supplies. Maybe you should invite a few friends over tonight for your birthday party too."
Edward stood up and tucked his wand back into his pocket before heading towards the kitchen. "I still need to prepare dinner and the cake."
Then he paused halfway through the doorway.
"Oh, and don't mention magic to your friends. Especially Harry next door."
That warning immediately reminded Ethan of one important problem.
The good news was that Harry and the original Ethan had known each other before the transmigration. The bad news was that Harry had spent almost the entire past month locked inside the Dursleys' house, meaning Ethan still hadn't had the chance to inspect the Voldemort fragment living inside him.
Standing outside Number Four Privet Drive, Ethan considered his options carefully. Inviting Harry out under the excuse of a birthday party would probably work, though he might also have to invite Dudley. Otherwise, the Dursleys would likely decide the Nortons were another strange family full of suspicious behaviour.
Even before learning they were wizards, the Dursleys had never been particularly pleasant neighbours. Petunia regularly peeked over the fence while Edward mowed the lawn and spread bizarre rumours throughout the neighbourhood. In fairness, Edward's strangely mouse-shaped lawn patterns did make him look slightly unhinged.
Ethan strongly suspected Lily Potter had permanently traumatised Petunia years ago by turning teacups into mice.
"Hello, Mr Dursley. I'm Ethan from next door."
The moment Vernon Dursley opened the front door and saw him, his large purple face cycled rapidly from red to white and then back to red again. It was obvious the Dursleys had already confirmed the Nortons' wizarding identities somehow, or at least convinced themselves of it. Vernon looked at magic the same way ordinary people looked at infectious diseases.
Still, Rose Norton worked as a business editor for The Times, and Vernon clearly didn't dare openly offend the family. A few unpleasant newspaper articles could easily cause problems for his drill company.
"Hm—hmm?" Vernon finally produced a strange choking noise after several seconds of internal struggle.
"Today's my birthday," Ethan explained politely. "I'm inviting some friends over for dinner tonight. My father prepared a huge meal."
"Oh. Right. Fine." Vernon visibly relaxed. "Dudley can go. You're both attending Smeltings soon anyway, so I suppose it's good for future classmates to spend time together."
Then Vernon suddenly frowned.
"Wait. You said some friends?"
Harry obviously didn't count as a proper member of the Dursley family.
"I remember there's a boy called Harry living here too," Ethan said innocently. "Why not let him come as well?"
"We don't have any boy called Harry here!" Vernon snapped immediately. "He moved away."
"But I've seen him before." Ethan tilted his head slightly. "You're not abusing him, are you? My mother loves children. If she heard—"
The threat remained unfinished, but Vernon's expression twitched violently anyway.
"Fine," he growled at last. "But I'm warning you, that boy's clumsy and dangerous. He always causes trouble."
Even while saying it, Vernon clearly expected Ethan to regret inviting Harry.
Turning towards the stairs, Vernon bellowed loudly enough to shake the house. "Harry! Get down here and go to the birthday party! Hurry up!"
A moment later, stumbling footsteps echoed from beneath the stairs. The cupboard door opened, and a thin black-haired boy wearing oversized glasses hurried into view.
"Ethan?!" Harry said happily.
Judging by Vernon's immediate sour expression, Harry looking happy was apparently unacceptable.
"You go with him first," Vernon muttered unhappily. "Dudley'll come later for dinner. And don't cause trouble."
His tone made it sound like Harry's existence itself counted as trouble.
"I promise I won't," Harry whispered after following Ethan outside.
Unfortunately, Ethan barely heard him. His full attention remained fixed on the floating system information hovering above Harry's head.
[Soul Strength: 7 (Sacrificial Protection)]
[Soul Strength: 40]
Two completely different readings existed inside Harry Potter.
The first belonged to Harry himself, strengthened by Lily Potter's sacrificial magic. The second belonged to Voldemort's soul fragment.
Forty points.
What an absurdly difficult meal.
Even if Ethan couldn't absorb it immediately, the fragment still smelled unbelievably tempting. To a Dementor hybrid, Voldemort's soul was basically the equivalent of an expensive dessert placed directly in front of him.
"E-Ethan…" Harry swallowed nervously and took half a step backwards. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You smell delicious," Ethan said instinctively before quickly correcting himself. "I mean—I was just thinking about dinner."
He immediately forced down the dangerous hunger and returned to normal. Still, forty soul points represented an outrageous amount of value. Buying that much soul power from the Sin Shop would require twenty-nine thousand sin points.
That was basically the same as stealing twenty-nine thousand children's lollipops.
The road ahead remained very long indeed.
Hopefully Hogwarts was ready for him.
"Ethan, thanks for getting me out of there," Harry said gratefully later that afternoon while eating Edward's painfully sweet apple pie. "The Dursleys locked me inside the house for almost a month."
"Thank my dad," Ethan replied calmly. "If he'd planned my birthday for October instead, you'd still be trapped there until the holidays ended."
Harry's expression immediately darkened at the mention of school.
Ethan was Harry's only real friend in the neighbourhood, mainly because he was the only person who didn't treat Harry like a freak. After summer ended, however, Ethan would attend Smeltings alongside Dudley while Harry would be sent to Stonewall High. Dudley had mocked Harry about it endlessly already.
"Cheer up," Ethan said casually, fully aware of what the future held. "It's not like we'll never see each other again. More importantly, save some room for dinner tonight. Don't fill yourself up on apple pie first."