Mirror of Erised

In the empty corridor, Severus Snape was left standing rigidly alone, staring at the patch of air that had suddenly become completely empty.

For the first time, the cold expression on his face showed a clear crack, his pupils widening slightly in disbelief.

He even reached forward instinctively and grabbed at it, catching nothing but cold, dust-laden air.

How was that possible?!

What were Hogwarts's protective spells for?

Why had the Tracking Charm he had personally cast shown no reaction whatsoever?

This method of vanishing without warning or a trace was utterly beyond his understanding of magic!

This was not ordinary magic! There was no way a young wizard could accomplish this!

After the immense shock came an even more surging fury, one that nearly drowned him, along with a deep-seated wariness that was almost chilling.

Leoqi... not only did he know Lily and possess Lily's hair, he had also mastered this unheard-of spatial movement ability, something that seemed to operate on the level of rules themselves!

What exactly was he?

Snape stared fixedly at the place where Skofot had vanished, his knuckles cracking from the force of his clenched fists.

He felt like a spider trying to catch a ghost. Every time he thought he had grasped the end of a thread, he found that thread had already disappeared into another dimension.

Slowly, he withdrew his hand. His chest rose and fell violently beneath his black robes before eventually returning to deathly stillness.

He turned and strode away, carrying an even heavier air of gloom and coldness than when he had arrived.

He did not go to the Great Hall, nor did he go anywhere he might find Skofot.

He knew there was no point confronting him now.

If that little monster could vanish so easily right before his eyes, it meant he held absolute initiative.

He needed to reassess.

He needed more information.

He needed to find out what astonishing secret lay behind the existence known as Skofot Leoqi, and what he... or rather, the force he represented, wanted from Hogwarts and from Severus Snape.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Skofot sat quietly at the end of the Slytherin table, picking up a piece of bread as though he had merely returned from an ordinary walk.

[Emotion Points +100] (From Snape's shattered understanding, extreme shock, and intense sense of helplessness)

[Emotion Points: 1690/100]

Late-night Hogwarts Castle resembled a slumbering beast, steeped in silence and shadow.

Like a ghost accustomed to prowling at night, Skofot moved soundlessly through the empty corridors.

He enjoyed this freedom that belonged solely to the darkness, as well as the Emotion Points he might gain from stumbling across an "accident."

As he rounded a corner in a corridor lined with suits of armor, the edge of his vision seemed to catch an incongruous movement.

He immediately stopped, slipping into the shadows of an alcove as he focused his gaze ahead.

There was nothing in the empty corridor.

Yet in that instant just now, he had clearly seen... a shoe? Floating in midair, moving slightly?

The Invisibility Cloak.

The words instantly sprang into his mind. Given the time and place, the most likely person wandering the castle at night under an Invisibility Cloak was Harry Potter.

Interesting.

The corner of Skofot's mouth curved into the faintest smile.

He wanted to see where the Boy Who Lived was sneaking off to instead of sleeping in the middle of the night.

Without making a sound, he relied on the keen perception of his surroundings and scents granted by the [Scavenger] card, trailing far behind the nearly imperceptible signs of unnaturally disturbed air.

He could hear exceedingly faint footsteps, as well as Filch's familiar, resentful muttering and Mrs. Norris's unnerving cries coming from nearby.

The "air" ahead seemed to panic. It sped up and quickly turned into a side corridor.

Skofot followed close behind and watched an inconspicuous wooden door, which had been tightly shut, silently open a crack before quickly closing again.

Harry had gone inside.

Skofot stood outside the door and could not hear any immediate movement from within.

He hesitated for a second, but curiosity overcame caution.

He had a Teleport Card as a fallback anyway.

Purchase [Teleport Card].

[Emotion Points -5]

[Emotion Points: 1685/100]

He concentrated, locking onto a relatively open corner inside the room, and used the card.

After a faint sensation of space twisting, he was already standing inside.

It was an abandoned classroom, filled with the smell of dust and old wood.

By the faint moonlight filtering in through the window, he could see an imposing mirror standing in the center of the room, reaching all the way to the ceiling. It had an ornate golden frame and stood on two clawed feet.

The inscription at the top read: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

Harry Potter stood before the mirror, draped in the Invisibility Cloak, though his head was exposed. He seemed to have been hit by a Body-Bind Curse, staring blankly at the mirror with an almost dreamlike smile of happiness and longing on his face.

He seemed to be silently communicating with someone in the mirror, his lips moving faintly.

Skofot remained quietly hidden in the deeper shadows, observing.

He did not disturb Harry, merely waited patiently.

After quite a while, Harry seemed to snap out of his trance. He abruptly pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and hurried from the room, never noticing the extra person in the corner.

The door closed softly behind him.

Only then did Skofot step out of the shadows, his gaze settling on the enormous mirror.

The Mirror of Erised?

He seemed to have heard the name somewhere before. Supposedly, it could reveal the deepest desires of one's heart.

His desire?

With a trace of barely perceptible mockery and pure curiosity, he walked to stand directly before the mirror and looked up.

The mirror clearly reflected his figure—

Black hair, a pale little face, and those slightly oversized secondhand black robes.

But the background in the mirror was not this shabby classroom. It was a... warm, brightly lit place, like the living room of a home, with flames dancing in the fireplace.

The "him" in the mirror wore a relaxed, genuine smile unlike any Skofot had ever shown.

It was not a disguise or a calculation. It was heartfelt, almost gentle joy.

And around "him" stood several figures.

Their faces were blurred, as though seen through frosted glass. Their features could not be made out, only their vague outlines—

One figure was taller, seemingly male, standing a little farther away;

Another was softer in appearance and very close to "him," seemingly looking down at "him" in an intimate pose;

And there was a smaller shadow leaning against "his" leg.

Together, they formed a picture of... a family. A whole, warm, seemingly happy family.

The "him" in the mirror stood among those indistinct figures, at the center of their love and warmth.

Skofot froze.

The mockery and indifference on his face melted away like ice and snow, replaced by pure, utterly unguarded bewilderment.

He simply stood there dumbly, head tilted up, staring at the scene in the mirror—at himself, smiling warmly and surrounded by blurred family members.

What was... that?

Deep down... was this what he desired? A home? Some... people who loved him?

That was absurd.

He had long grown accustomed to loneliness and scheming. Survival and becoming stronger had been his only goals. How could such a weak desire, one belonging to an ordinary child, appear in his Mirror of Erised?

Yet he could not tear his gaze away from the mirror.

The illusory warmth emanating from the image seemed to pierce the cold mirror surface, winding around him in thin strands and filling his cold limbs and bones with an unfamiliar, aching bitterness.

He looked for a long time, until even the moon outside had shifted in the sky.

He stood there in a daze, like a stone statue that had suddenly been granted life but had no idea what to do with it, lost before the magic mirror that reflected the most impossible desire buried in his heart.