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That night, inside the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Seamus and Neville were listening to Ron talk endlessly, recounting the sheer chaos of their battle with the troll.
Harry sat on the edge of his bed. The moment they had returned to the common room earlier, they had been completely swarmed.
Ron had a massive mouth, and with the entire House's eyes locked onto them, there was absolutely no keeping the incident under wraps.
So, having no other choice, they gave everyone a brief rundown of the truth—after all, losing House points was a massive deal.
But Harry genuinely hated broadcasting it. He already received entirely too much attention as it was.
Hermione wasn't a fan of it either; she likely thought that committing such a severe breach of school rules was absolutely nothing to brag about.
So, whether down in the common room or here in the dorm, Ron was the only one doing the talking.
"What a bloody terrifying Halloween," Seamus noted from the side.
"A proper nightmare," Neville agreed. "Everyone was jumping out of their skins. Talk about an authentic Halloween."
Hearing this, Harry looked up toward the window.
The moonlight was bitterly cold. Even with the glass shut tight, he could practically feel the freezing wind howling outside.
He instinctively pulled his robes tighter around himself, his mind drifting back to the conversation he'd overheard at the Ravenclaw table about the Day of the Dead.
Does that mean, on November 1st, deceased family members really return from the world of the dead...? He had no idea how long he sat there staring into space. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with all of them; stuffed and tired, it was time for sleep.
Suddenly, Harry remembered the brand-new chocolate Charlie had given him.
Opening his pouch, he quickly fished out the sweets wrapped in the Starry Night design, labeled Dream.
There were five of them in total. He pulled them out and handed one to each of his three dormmates.
"Oh? Is this a new flavor?" Ron asked curiously.
Back at the Halloween feast, the second Harry handed him the Sunshine and Moonlight chocolates, Ron knew exactly where they came from.
After all, Charlie had personally given them chocolate on the Hogwarts Express.
Of course, Harry had explicitly warned him not to breathe a word about Charlie's business to anyone.
It had been an incredibly serious warning.
"Absolutely, under no circumstances, do you tell anyone!"
Harry's face had been completely void of expression, his eyes locked intensely onto Ron.
Ron had never seen Harry speak so formally about anything.
As for why?
Ron would likely never know, nor would he ever truly understand the massive weight Charlie held in Harry's heart as a "kindred spirit".
Their friendship might not have been incredibly deep yet, but Harry was more than willing to go to extreme lengths to protect him.
"Judging by the name, it's meant to give you a brilliant night's sleep," Harry explained. "So we should eat them right before bed."
With that, he unwrapped his own piece and popped it into his mouth.
Compared to the Sunshine and Moonlight batches, the Dream chocolate didn't have a particularly overwhelming taste.
Shortly after swallowing it, he was the first to lie back against his pillows and drift off to sleep.
Darkness...
Endless, infinite darkness...
A distant, eerie melody echoed from somewhere in the void. Harry followed the sound, a creeping sense of unease settling into his chest.
Slowly, the surroundings began to brighten. Grinning pumpkin heads, pale ghosts, walking skeletons, and black-robed reapers clutching scythes...
They were wandering through a small town.
Harry looked around in a panic. He had no idea when he had appeared on this street. Jack-o'-lanterns and bats were absolutely everywhere.
In the yard next to him, a tree was heavily draped in dense cobwebs, and a fake hanged man dangled from one of the branches.
Was this... Halloween?
The town before him felt both completely alien and deeply familiar. He had never been here before, yet it looked exactly like any other ordinary village scattered across Britain.
Smack— The next second, Harry felt a hand clap him lightly on the back.
"Come on, what are you standing around for? I'm practically dying of anticipation here."
Harry whipped around to see a man with messy hair and round glasses. He was carrying a plastic pumpkin basket, dressed in sharply tailored trousers, a waistcoat over a crisp shirt, and a fitted wool coat.
The man turned his head to the side. "So, how exactly does Halloween work again? We knock on the door and yell 'trick or treat,' right?"
"That's the gist of it. Though, given your age, if someone chases you off their porch, it won't be quite as fun."
Harry turned his head again. Standing there was a woman with flowing, vibrant red hair. Fine laugh lines creased the corners of her eyes, and her gaze was overflowing with pure, unadulterated warmth.
Seeing Harry staring at her, she reached up and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What is it, sweetheart? Aren't you usually buzzing with excitement for Halloween?"
Harry stumbled over his words. Even though he had never physically met these two people, a profound, undeniable instinct screamed exactly who they were.
"Maybe I should just cast a Shrinking Charm on myself. Then we can tell everyone Harry and I are twins," the man laughed.
"You could definitely pull it off. You looked exactly like Harry when you were his age," the red-haired woman giggled behind her hand.
Noticing Harry was still frozen in place, she gently reached out and took his hand.
"Let's go."
Harry's mind was completely spinning. He couldn't believe his own eyes. After that moment, everything became a blur. He couldn't remember how many doors they knocked on, or what kind of sweets they collected.
People greeted them on the street, but he couldn't remember their faces, what they wore, or even if they were men or women.
All he remembered was the way they called out: "Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, Happy Halloween!"
"Hey, Lily, James, good evening."
Those two names were sharper than anything else, piercing straight through his mind like a needle.
He had no idea how much time passed. It felt incredibly short, yet agonizingly long. For the entire night, Harry felt as though he did nothing but walk, chat, and laugh alongside them.
Light began to bleed over the horizon.
"Oh, it's already dawn," Lily said, a trace of melancholy in her voice.
Harry, entirely lost in pure joy, suddenly felt a large, calloused hand rest heavily on top of his head.
The hand was rough, yet it carried an indescribable weight of emotion as it aggressively ruffled his hair.
"Alright, kiddo. Sun's coming up. It's time for us to head back."
The three of them faced the rising sun. But when Harry turned his head, the dawn was bizarrely glowing behind his parents.
The light was blindingly bright, obscuring their features completely.
"Goodbye, Harry," he heard his mother say softly.
"Wait... wait a second!!"
Harry called out frantically.
But the silhouettes of his mum and dad were already fading.
The sunlight pierced right through their bodies.
James spoke up. "You're going to face a lot of hardships in the future."
"Hey, don't say that. Shouldn't we hope he never faces hardships at all?" Lily scolded lightly.
"Hardships are inevitable," James smiled.
"Don't sweat it, kid. You're a Gryffindor—just like me. Brave and utterly fearless!"
"Alright, fine..." Lily sighed helplessly, shifting her gaze back to Harry. "No matter what difficulties you face, even if you feel like there isn't a single person left in the world who helps you, trusts you, or understands you...
"Don't worry, Harry.
"We love you."
"Always," James added with a grin.
The next second, James and Lily vanished completely into the blinding light.
Staring into the dawn, the faint rays of the rising sun felt like daggers violently plunging into Harry's chest.
"No!"
The next moment, back in the Gryffindor dormitory.
Harry jolted violently awake.
He pushed himself up in a daze, staring blankly at the massive damp patch soaked into his pillow. Slowly, he raised a trembling hand and touched his cheek.
It was completely wet.
He looked around the room. Sunlight was piercing through the window.
He sat there, utterly paralyzed for a long time, before finally whispering in a hoarse, broken voice. "It's already dawn..."
Throwing off the covers, he sat on the edge of his bed. Ron and Seamus were still fast asleep. They had no classes this morning, so everyone could sleep in.
The entire dormitory was quiet and peaceful.
After a long time, Harry finally forced himself up, intending to go wash his face.
Just then, the sound of low, muffled sobbing drifted into his ears.
Following the sound, he looked over at Neville's bed. Harry had no idea if Neville was actually awake, but he could clearly see him curled into a tight ball under his covers, his body trembling uncontrollably.
What on earth did he dream about? Harry wondered.
Then, he suddenly remembered what Charlie had told him.
He walked over to his own desk, picked up a piece of Sunshine Chocolate, quietly crossed the room to Neville's bed, and gently set it down on his nightstand.