Nicolas Flamel—the Maker of the Philosopher's Stone

Nicolas Flamel—the Maker of the Philosopher's Stone

The Mirror of Erised was a magical object. It deeply captivated Harry Potter, making him devote most of his time and energy to useless fantasies.

For several days in a row, whenever Harry had free time, he went to that classroom and sat alone before the mirror, staring blankly at the sight of his parents.

Though he knew it was false, he still took pleasure in it.

It was not until the third night that Dumbledore appeared in the classroom.

"You're here again, Harry?" Dumbledore stood by the window. Under the moonlight, his shadow stretched across the wall beside Harry.

Startled by the sudden figure, Harry spun around at once, then obediently stood beside the mirror in silence.

"It seems to me that, like so many others, you have discovered the endless delight the Mirror of Erised can bring.

"I believe you now understand its power." Dumbledore slowly walked up to Harry Potter. "Let me give you a hint: when the happiest person in the world looks into this mirror, he sees only himself—exactly as he is."

"I know," Harry said. "Just like the words on the mirror, it shows us the deepest, most urgent, most intense desire hidden in our hearts."

Dumbledore smiled approvingly. "Harry, you are a little cleverer than I thought."

Harry Potter scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually, I wasn't the one who figured it out. It was..."

Harry stopped halfway through. Only then did he remember that Aaron had secretly come along with him. That counted as breaking school rules, and it would be bad if Dumbledore found out.

"Oh! So someone besides you has seen this mirror.

"Harry, can you tell me who it was?"

Seeing Dumbledore's kind smile, Harry relaxed, feeling that the matter might not be so serious. Still, just in case, he said, "Then you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, and you can't punish him in any way."

"Of course. I completely understand your desire to consider your friend's feelings. That is no problem at all.

"To be honest, sneaking over in the middle of the night to look in a mirror is not such a big deal. Besides, Filch did not catch you, so it is practically the same as having done nothing."

Harry froze, finding it hard to believe those words had come from the headmaster's mouth.

"What? Surprised?

"I was a Gryffindor myself once. Breaking school rules was practically an everyday occurrence.

"But for your own sake, you should do less of this sort of thing in the future. If you get caught, I can only handle it by the rules. At most, I can plead for leniency on behalf of the students, though naturally that depends on the circumstances."

"All right!" Harry felt much more at ease. "Headmaster, I'll tell you.

"Aaron was the first to discover the secret of this mirror."

"Aaron? Aaron Gaius?" Dumbledore's expression stiffened for an instant, then returned to normal the next moment.

"I know him. His performance on the Quidditch pitch has been impeccable."

"Yes, him.

"And Professor, when he stood before this mirror, he saw only himself."

"Is that so? Then it seems I should pay more attention to this outstanding young wizard in the future." Dumbledore smiled warmly.

At that moment, Aaron, who was sleeping in the Slytherin dormitory, suddenly sneezed and opened his eyes from his deep sleep. Then he involuntarily shivered.

"Why do I feel like someone's got their eye on me?" Aaron muttered to himself. He did not pay it much mind, merely pulled his blanket tighter and went back to sleep.

"Harry, you must remember that this mirror cannot give us knowledge or truth.

"People waste away before it, and some even go mad." There was a faintly threatening note in Dumbledore's voice, making Harry guiltily turn his head away.

"So tomorrow, the mirror will be moved.

"I must advise you not to go to such lengths to search for it again. To dwell on dreams and forget to live does you no good."

Harry silently nodded, put on the Invisibility Cloak, and left the classroom.

Dumbledore slowly closed the door. Looking at himself in the Mirror of Erised, he saw a vigorous old man holding a pair of thick wool socks.

"Aaron Gaius?

"A Slytherin, and a member of the Gaius Family. This could be troublesome!

"Hopefully he will not affect my plans. Otherwise... I can only make some adjustments." A wise gleam flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. Then he slightly raised his hand and put away the Mirror of Erised.

The holiday ended, and the snow blanketing Hogwarts gradually melted away. Students from every year returned to the castle and resumed their studies.

Library.

Aaron opened the dragon encyclopedia Jeans had sent him and, with Abei in his arms, introduced its kin to it one by one.

Across from him, Draco was also reading with a book in his hands, but his two lackeys were rather hopeless—they had sprawled over the table and fallen asleep.

"Aaron, I really don't understand why you're showing Abei books about dragons. It should be reading about felines instead."

The moment he said that, Abei jumped onto the table and bared its teeth at Draco.

If there had not been so many people around, it would definitely have flown up and smacked him hard twice with its wings, letting him know what dragon dignity meant.

Seeing Abei like that, Draco felt somewhat embarrassed and gave an awkward smile.

At that moment, Hermione walked past behind Draco with a thick old book in her arms. When she saw Aaron, she paused. "Um, Aaron, could you come over for a moment? I need to talk to you."

"Oh!" Aaron picked up Abei, then closed the dragon encyclopedia. "Draco, don't wait for me later."

"Got it!"

Hermione led Aaron to an empty table, then slapped the book in her hands onto it. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "I found Nicolas Flamel."

"Wow!" Aaron raised an eyebrow and smiled. "That really is tremendous news.

"Harry and Ron have been running to the library every day lately, but every time they come full of hope and leave disappointed. I was getting worried for them.

"So, you found information on Nicolas Flamel in this book?"

"That's right! I was planning to read this for entertainment during the Christmas holiday." Hermione turned to Nicolas Flamel's entry. "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone.

"The Philosopher's Stone is a magical substance with astonishing powers. It can turn any metal into gold and can also produce the Elixir of Life. Anyone who drinks it can live forever.

"The only Philosopher's Stone still in existence belongs to the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel. Last year, he celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday."

Aaron's mouth twitched. "Saying the Philosopher's Stone lets people live forever is a bit exaggerated, but I really never expected him to have lived for over six hundred years."

"That's not the point. The point is Nicolas Flamel, and the Philosopher's Stone." Hermione looked conflicted. "I don't know whether I should tell Harry and the others about Nicolas Flamel's identity now.

"This might involve a priceless treasure like the Philosopher's Stone. The waters run too deep."

"Hmm... I think you should tell them.

"I don't know about anything else, but I can say for certain that this library contains more than just the book in your hands that mentions Nicolas Flamel.

"In other words, they will find Nicolas Flamel sooner or later. Since you can't keep it hidden, you might as well tell them early and save yourselves some effort."

"Looks like that's the only way."

"You weren't looking for Nicolas Flamel because of the Philosopher's Stone, were you?"

Hermione hesitated, then nodded. "You could probably guess it too, right?"

"The Philosopher's Stone is at the school, and someone is after it?"

"That's right. The Philosopher's Stone was originally at Gringotts, but now Professor Dumbledore has placed it in a room on the right side of the fourth floor, where it is guarded by a Three-headed Dog.

"Harry and the others will definitely assume Snape is the one trying to steal it."

"That's normal. After all, in all of Hogwarts, only Professor Snape, who has treated them the worst and even seems hostile toward them, fits their suspicions.

"There are two things we can confirm for now. First, whoever is behind this has not succeeded yet.

"Second, the place where the Philosopher's Stone is hidden is definitely guarded by more than just one Three-headed Dog. There must be other defenses.

"That thing is far too valuable. What if that dog accidentally falls asleep?"

"Aaron, do you think we should tell Professor Dumbledore about this?"

"Better not." Aaron immediately cut her off. "At least, now isn't the time."

"Why?" Hermione was confused.

"First, you have no evidence that anyone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, much less direct evidence that Professor Snape is the one who wants to steal it.

"Second, how did you find out the school has the Philosopher's Stone?

"This should count as classified information, shouldn't it? Don't tell me you simply guessed it out of thin air."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Hagrid accidentally let it slip."

"Wonderful!" Aaron shook his head speechlessly. "If you tell Dumbledore, Hagrid will definitely be punished. There is no question about that.

"Of course, there is one more important point. Once you tell Dumbledore, you might alert the enemy.

"Right now, the Philosopher's Stone is protected layer upon layer. But if they move it, the security will be greatly reduced. That would only give someone an opportunity to strike."