Repairing the Mirror

Gryffindor Common Room.

Since there were no classes, the Common Room was always bustling with activity on weekends, and news of the Duel Club kept the young wizards up at night. They played and joked around while discussing tomorrow's activities.

In the corner, Dean lay on the ground, closed one eye, and aimed at the bullet not far away with only one eye, his expression solemn and dignified.

Seamus, standing nearby, was equally focused on the marbles on the ground, holding his breath and muttering, "Can't hit them, can't hit them..."

This was his only hope. He had already lost 14 stones, and if this one was eaten, he would lose the Gobstones.

Despite Seamus's fervent prayers, Dean's stone still shattered Seamus's last hope, declaring his defeat in this round of the Gobstones.

Seamus realized what was happening and immediately tried to cover his face with his hands.

However, Gobstones was faster, and the winning stone squeezed hard, squeezing out a foul-smelling sticky liquid that sprayed onto Seamus's face.

"Dean Thomas, you're dead." Seamus wiped his face expressionlessly. "Again!"

Besides the Gobstones, the lounge was filled with the Exploding Snap, the sounds of Wizard's Chess pieces cursing the players, and a general commotion of laughter and chatter.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat around a small table by the window, which was covered with all sorts of sweets and snacks. They ate and talked about what had happened at school recently.

Harry had a Licorice Wands dangling from his mouth, the sweet taste spreading from his tongue all the way to his stomach. Looking at Seamus's dirty face, he chuckled and said, "It's great. We haven't been this happy since the news of Colin's attack came out."

Ron was picking through the Chocolate Frog Card he had just unpacked. He picked out a card featuring Betty Boop, the inventor of Betty Bott's Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Hearing Harry's words, he sighed, "They wouldn't be so happy if they heard what Dumbledore said."

"What did Dumbledore say?" Loren strode over, sat down next to Hermione, snatched the Coconut Ice Cake from Hermione hand, and gulped it down. Then he choked, his eyes rolling back in his head.

"Serves you right." Hermione was speechless, patting his back gently to help him smooth it down.

Loren's tense muscles gradually relaxed, and the wisps of resentment and dark emotions hidden in his heart gradually dissipated with Hermione's patting, without him even realizing it.

After glancing around to make sure no one else could hear, Harry angrily bit off his Licorice Wands: "Dumbledore said that if they can't find the Basilisk, it means the school is no longer safe, and for the students' safety, he might close the school."

Ron complained indignantly, "They even said that if it's confirmed the Basilisk only attacks Muggle-born young wizards, other headmasters might only admit Pure-blood students after taking over Hogwarts. What kind of talk is that?"

Loren coughed from trying not to laugh. Dumbledore a wicked old man; he would say anything to urge Harry on.

Hermione, thinking he'd choked again, continued patting his back, "Don't worry, even if the professors search the Castle and don't find the Basilisk, we'll definitely get the location of the Chamber of Chamber of Secrets from Malfoy. Hogwarts will definitely not close!"

"That's right, we will definitely protect Hogwarts!"

"By the way, did you guys see the announcement about the Duel Club? I wonder which professor started it?"

"I think it's Professor Flitwick, he was a dueling champion."

A colorful array of snacks and candies filled the table, which, once eaten, transformed into the chatter of the four children. They earnestly concerned themselves with matters that adults should worry about, saying they would protect the Castle.

Loren felt at ease in this atmosphere. He turned to look at the night sky outside the window. In the darkness, the stars twinkled like pearls hanging high in the sky, illuminating the pitch-black night.

The common room was lively until after eleven o'clock. After saying goodbye to Hermione, Loren, Harry, and Ron returned to their dormitories, lay down on their respective beds, and as the dormitory lights went out, the Gryffindor Tower fell completely quiet.

No one noticed that Loren's blanket was bulging high, and a faint silver light even seeped out from the gaps between the blanket and the bed.

In the Alchemy Laboratory of the Fantasy Book.

The stone sphere containing the Resurrection Stone floated in the air. Flamel circled the stone sphere again and again, too excited to control his form, making his outline appear somewhat blurry, like clouds enveloping the stone sphere.

"Protection, sealing... I saw dozens of Alchemy Array engraved on the inner layer of the stone sphere, but these are all auxiliary functions. What's more amazing is the powerful magic contained in the stone sphere. It's incredible..." Flamel exclaimed. "Indeed, Albus was first and foremost a powerful wizard, and only then an Alchemy."

Standing on the ground, Loren held Unicorn Horn in one hand and Bloody Mary's Hand Mirror the other, looking helplessly at the phantom flying in the air. "You have plenty of time to study the stone sphere. The most important thing now is to help me repair this little mirror."

Stopping his flight, Flamel looked at the stone sphere with a troubled expression. "No need to study it. The most valuable thing on it is powerful magic, which I can neither learn nor analyze."

He turned his head in annoyance and said to Loren in a rude tone, "Didn't I demonstrate for you before? You just need to forge a mirror using Unicorn Horn. What's so difficult about that?"

It's not like I made you unable to learn that kind of magic. If you're angry, take it out on the Elder Wand, why are you yelling at me...

Loren was somewhat speechless. "First of all, I don't have a furnace. Secondly, you said you would add the Soul Stone to the mirror, but you haven't demonstrated that."

With the Stone Ball and its exquisite beauty before him, Flamel lost interest in the simple task of repairing the mirror. He listlessly floated back to the Stone Ball, waved Loren away, and said, "Tomorrow, just bring the Fantasy Book, the Sorcerer's Stone, and a few other materials, and find a place where no one will bother you to call me."

"Oh."

Perhaps it was because he stayed up too late, and the mental exertion of using Legilimency to browse through too many of the House-elf ' memories, that Loren fell asleep and slept until lunchtime.

The Great Hall, on the long table of Gryffindor.

Hermione carefully selected several of Loren's favorite foods and placed the plate in front of him, looking at his sleepy eyes. "Didn't you go home last night? Didn't you sleep well at home?"

After pouring in half a cup of hot milk, Loren felt refreshed. "Well, I guess so. I've been going through too much information in a short time, and my brain is a bit overwhelmed."

She handed him the Hermione and began cutting her steak with her knife and fork. "Are you coming to the Duel Club tonight? It's in the Great Hall."

"We'll see. I'm going to the Room of Requirement this afternoon to refine something. I don't know if I can make it in time." Loren poured the marmalade directly onto his plate and ate a croissant dipped in the marmalade.

His storage briefcase was under the table, containing the Fantasy Book, the Sorcerer's Stone, the Unicorn Horn, the Soul Stone, and the broken mirror, as well as some ores and silver ingots that he might need.

"Refining something!" Hermione's eyes lit up. "Refining what? Can I watch the process?"

Before Loren could speak, she answered dejectedly, "No, I have to brew Potions this afternoon."

The brewing of Potions can be roughly divided into two parts. The first part is the work during the day, which requires someone to supervise and stir the potion to keep it brewing. The second part is at night, when the potion is simmered slowly over a low flame to keep the liquid in the cauldron stable, and no one needs to supervise it.

Hermione wanted to hurry up and brew the Polyjuice Potion.

Loren patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll definitely share the news with you as soon as I get out. Are you going to the Duel Club event this afternoon?"

"Of course I'll participate. If it's Professor Flitwick, the dueling champion, I'm sure I'll learn something new." Hermione handed him the cut steak before starting her own lunch...

Upon entering the empty classroom provided by the Room of Requirement, Loren took out the Fantasy Book and placed it on the ground. He then took out the Sorcerer's Stone, the Unicorn Horn, the Soul Stone, and Bloody Mary's Mirror in that order.

"Flamel!" Loren called out, "Now we can unveil the mystery of the furnace."

Flamel appeared beside him and smiled, "The answer is the Fantasy Book, the culmination of Nearly Headless Nick's life's work, not just an accumulation of knowledge."

Seeing that Loren had been examining the Fantasy Book over and over without finding anything, he suggested, "Place the Sorcerer's Stone next to the image on the cover of the Fantasy Book."

The cover of the Fantasy Book features a portrait of Nearly Headless Nick at its center, below which are four circular rings: a book representing the Library, a crossed wand representing the Dueling Classroom, a cauldron representing Potions, and scales representing Alchemy.

Loren placed the Fantasy Book on the ground and the red Sorcerer's Stone next to the portrait.

In the portrait, Nearly Headless Nick opens his silvery-white eyes and winks mischievously at him. Streams of red, blue, green, and yellow light emanate from the four edges of the painting, extending outwards. The Fantasy Book deforms along the Transfiguration of light, disappearing in place of a black stone-carved boiler.

The Sorcerer's Stone began to gleam with a fiery red light, its outline gradually blurring into a sphere before entering the boiler. Lava-like, flowing patterns emerged from the black boiler's surface, connecting to form symbols of Alchemy Array. Various Hexagram, scales, the sun, and Star Chart swirled across the boiler's surface.

Loren stared wide-eyed at the familiar scene. "The boiler in the Alchemy Laboratory?"

"Yes, the location of the Sorcerer's Stone is the location of the Forge. This is a gift from Nicol to you." Flamel's eyes showed a look of reminiscence.

"Back then, Nicol was learning Alchemy on his own, refining everything himself. Several times he encountered tricky ores, and conventional smelting methods didn't work even after months of trying. In his frustration, Nicol used Fiendfyre to burn them, but they all turned to ashes."

"The house almost burned down, which made Perenelle so angry that he didn't cook for him for a week," Flamel laughed heartily. "So they made this furnace to do some basic smelting. You don't have to worry about the temperature or the proportions; you just throw everything in."

Loren recalled Flamel's demonstration and threw the Unicorn Horn, ore, and Soul Stone into the boiler.

He hesitated when it came to the next step. Loren turned his head and tentatively asked, "And then kick it twice?"

Flamel looked at him speechlessly. "You're supposed to activate the Sorcerer's Stone to light the boiler, how could it really be just kicking it twice?"

"That's how you demonstrated it back then," Loren muttered, as he spoke, drawing upon the immense energy contained within the Sorcerer's Stone, causing scorching heat to erupt from the boiler.

The sealed boiler trapped the heat inside, slowly melting the ore— the Unicorn Horn. Loren stared at the runes flowing across the boiler, his face reflecting the fiery red light, and time slowly passed.

After an unknown amount of time, the light and heat gradually died down. As white steam billowed out, a pool of magma-like liquid, steaming and radiating a red glow, lay inside the boiler.

After rapid cooling, the liquid transformed into irregularly shaped glass. A mirror-like piece was cut from it, coated with a thin layer of silver paint, and the glass became a mirror...

At eight o'clock in the evening, Hermione packed up the medicines and equipment in the bathroom and hurried to the Great Hall to meet up with the others.

The long dining table vanished, replaced by a gilded stage along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of floating candles. The ceiling turned as black as velvet, and almost the entire school had arrived, crowding around the stage, each holding their own wand and beaming with excitement.

"Where's Loren? Isn't he with you?" Harry, along with the other young wizards, skipped and hopped towards the back of the stage, eager to know which professor was hosting the Duel Club.

"He might not be able to make it." Hermione looked at the exquisite decorations in the Great Hall with a sense of foreboding. "Honestly, don't you guys think the Great Hall is decorated too beautifully?"

This flamboyant style... Harry and Ron exchanged glances, their eyes widening simultaneously, and exclaimed in unison, "No way!"

Just then, Professor Lockhart Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in a magnificent crimson robe, strode into the Great Hall, his golden hair gleaming.

The group of young wizards let out a collective groan; they all understood that their trip might have been in vain.

Lockhart walked enthusiastically around the stage, shouting, "Ladies and gentlemen, come closer! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me?"

"In light of the series of horrific events that have occurred in recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to establish this Duel Club, in order to fully train you, and perhaps one day use it for self-defense, as I have done in my countless adventures. If you wish to learn more, please read my book carefully."

Upon hearing this signature line, Harry let out a painful groan. He turned to his two friends and whispered, "What do you think he would do to defend himself if he actually encountered the Basilisk?"

"He must have used his dazzling smile to bewitch the Basilisk!" Ron said with certainty.

The young wizards nearby who heard this chuckled softly.

"Oh!" Lockhart noticed this. "Our Harry Potter can't wait."

Feeling the gazes around him, Harry felt his face burning. He lowered his head, wishing he could dig a tunnel and leave immediately.

"Although Potter and I know each other well, I can't let you play yet."

Lockhart turned to look at the location of the Slytherin boy wizard, where Snape, dressed in black, stood standing, staring at Lockhart with deadpan eyes.

"Professor Snape himself knows a thing or two about dueling, and he generously agreed to help me with a little demonstration before class—but don't worry, I'll return your Potions Professor to you in perfect condition." Lockhart grinned.

Snape was Lockhart's carefully chosen sparring partner. He spent most of his time in the basement, focusing on Potions research. He was pale and weak, clearly a pushover who knew nothing about dueling.

Lockhart gave his plan a thumbs up, as it perfectly complemented his heroic bearing.