Camera

"Mr. Aberforth?"

"I'm fine, hahaha." Aberforth raised his sleeve to wipe away his tears, then grabbed Dumbledore's tablecloth and blew his nose into it. "I was just choking."

Ariana stood behind Aberforth, looking at him with heartache. Yet she was the one who deserved to be cherished most. She had died at the most innocent, carefree age, and the eyes of this girl, who should have known nothing of the world, were filled with complex emotions that did not belong to her.

"Her name is Myrtle. Do you know her?" Aberforth was curious about the girl who had won his sister's favor. "Do you know which House she's in? And say, wouldn't her classmates make fun of her for having such a flowery name?"

"I think I do, sir." Nelson recalled the girl who had trembled at Flourish and Blotts yet acted so mischievously in the Owlery, and nodded. "She's a Ravenclaw student, in my year."

"Oh? Looks like there's a lower-year Ravenclaw Transfiguration Class first thing next Monday morning." Aberforth flipped through a piece of parchment that had previously been lying on the table beneath a shoe. It turned out to be Dumbledore's timetable. "Back to the point. Let's talk about your camera."

He pointed at the camera that had been sitting beside them, his expression abruptly turning serious.

"I remember we talked about the Mirror of Erised on the train before, didn't we?" He picked up the camera and ran his fingers over the inscription. "You seem to know a great deal about it."

"Yes. It's a magical mirror that reflects the deepest desires in a person's heart." Nelson nodded. "But it can only present illusory fantasies, especially when the person looking into it becomes obsessed."

"That's right, Nelson." Aberforth held up the camera and looked at Nelson through its aperture. "It seems you understand it far more thoroughly than Albus does."

"What happened to Professor Dumbledore?"

"You might not believe this, but a few years ago, he moved that mirror into his home and stared into it every day, like some narcissistic queen from a fairy tale." Aberforth shrugged. "But nobody knew what he saw in it. I would rather have believed he saw Anna, but it seems the truth wasn't as beautiful as I imagined."

"I don't think anyone would want to expose the deepest desire in their heart to others," Nelson said casually. "At least I wouldn't. Perhaps you're the same."

"No, I'm not. I can tell you with absolute certainty that my desire is for Anna never to have suffered those hardships growing up, for us to still be a warm, loving family." Aberforth set down the camera and fixed Nelson with those clear azure eyes. For a moment, Nelson almost could not bear to meet his gaze. "Over the years, I've looked into that mirror countless times, and it has always shown me that beautiful scene."

Nelson was left speechless. Ariana, too, hid behind Aberforth and wiped away her tears. The man before her grew infinitely taller in Nelson's eyes. He was no longer merely his brother's younger brother; he had become a Giant no less imposing than Albus Dumbledore.

"But your camera... tsk, tsk." Aberforth suddenly pulled himself out of the mood, picked up the camera again, and fiddled with its buttons. Without warning, he pressed the shutter at Nelson. "It's far more powerful than that mirror."

The harsh flash turned Nelson's vision white. He squinted and raised a hand to shield his face, then felt something lightly bump against his stomach.

When the whiteness faded, he saw two Aberforths, two Arianas, and lingering afterimages of everything in the office filling his vision. Nelson blinked hard and found the camera tossed into his lap.

Aberforth extended his Wand. A thin wisp of silvery-white mist drifted from its tip toward the camera in Nelson's lap. The gears and mechanisms inside the camera seemed to speed up, letting out a shrill, urgent rattle. A photograph slowly emerged, back facing up and still steaming. It felt less like developing a Film Reel and more like using a printer.

"Put away your photograph. Don't pick it up and look at it. Watch out for anything Albus might have left behind to spy on his office." Aberforth frivolously glanced over the ceiling and bookshelves, as though he wanted to greet his nonexistent brother. Seeing Nelson's amused expression, he hurriedly added, "I'm not trying to drive a wedge between teacher and student. He really did do this sort of thing back when I was attending Hogwarts—"

Nelson put away the photograph, carefully slipping it into his shirt pocket. When he looked up, a crumpled paper ball thrown from a painting at Aberforth interrupted him.

"Your camera can capture the desires within its lens." Aberforth lowered his voice, glanced over his shoulder at the tightly shut window, then leaned forward and held down a photograph as he slid it across the desk to Nelson. "As long as you press the shutter, it can strip the person being photographed bare and put them, naked without a thread, into the picture."

Nelson lowered his head and saw that the photograph Aberforth had pushed over was the one he had taken at the orphanage.

"Look at those adults in the picture." Aberforth guided Nelson's gaze. "The ladies in the middle should be staff at the orphanage. Now look at the adults around them. They're all dressed in suits, but haven't you noticed that their clothes and jewelry are a little too similar? Even their faces are nearly identical."

Nelson nodded. He had noticed it as well. Surrounding the happy crowd in the photograph were gentlemen who were extraordinarily similar in height, clothing, and appearance. The sight was almost frightening.

"At first, I thought they were their parents. Then I figured it out," Aberforth continued. "Since it's an orphanage, these children most likely have never met their parents. I think that recently, someone who looked like that, dressed roughly like that, visited the place. Perhaps a gentleman who came to donate, or perhaps a government official responsible for procurement. Deep down, they yearned for an elder like him to fill the emptiness in their hearts, so they imagined such a father."

Nelson held the photograph and became absorbed in it—stern, diligent Mrs. Cole had dressed herself in a pink gown in her heart; the helper girl from South Wales had unexpectedly pinned up her long hair and put on a diplomat's clothes; the noisy little brats who squabbled all day leaned against their parents' arms; even Martha next door wore a gorgeous, avant-garde dress, gold-rimmed glasses, and held a measuring tape... Looking at the warm, joyful scene, Nelson could not help laughing.

"That's fake, Nelson," Aberforth could not help saying.

"I know, sir." Nelson looked up, still unable to suppress his smile. "But their longing for a better life is real, isn't it?"

"But after all—"

"Mr. Aberforth, I know." Nelson placed the photograph on the desk and pointed out each person. "Mrs. Cole, the orphanage matron, dedicated her life to homeless children. She never married, even as she neared retirement, but I know she loves romance novels most of all. Miss Amanda only came to London looking for work last year. Her spoken English kept getting her into trouble, but I know she studies English hard every day, asking everyone she can—including the children at the orphanage—for advice. She has always dreamed of becoming a diplomat. And these children may never see their parents, but that doesn't stop them from becoming respectable parents like the ones in the photograph. Their own children won't have to stay in an orphanage either—if they and society both work a little harder."

Aberforth fell silent. He even found his earlier worries somewhat ridiculous. He raised a fist and knocked his forehead a few times, then shook his head and gave Nelson a satisfied smile. "Honestly, even though I'm not officially employed, you've still given me the satisfaction of being a teacher."

"Since you understand the reasoning, I'll keep this brief." Aberforth took the camera and placed it on the desk, then raised his Wand and tapped upward along its edge. "Specialis Revelio."

"The Alchemy used in this camera is no less advanced than that of the Mirror of Erised. I suggest you find a Wizard proficient in Alchemy to examine it. Magical artifacts capable of seeing through the soul are always very dangerous." As Aberforth advised Nelson, he continued touching every edge and corner of the camera with his Wand. With a click, he smiled. "Found it."

The camera lens on the desk retracted into the body. The clasps on both sides snapped back like doors, tightly wrapping around the lens. The shutter button also sank until it became a small indentation.

"Hmm... looks like a piece is missing. Did it get knocked off?" Aberforth rubbed his chin and turned his Wand toward the tabletop. "Reparo!" A short metal rod grew out of the depression that had just appeared. The flaked black paint and leather covering on the body were restored as well, making it look exactly like a famous camera known as Shikumen.

As the paint and decorations were restored, a line of words appeared beside the inscription:

"People always hope life will become better, but desire always makes them gradually uglier."

"Tsk. How cynical," Aberforth clicked his tongue.

Suddenly, the helmet of a suit of armor poked out of the fireplace and shouted like a ghost, "Brother, someone's here! Time to take your Drug!"

Then it spotted Nelson, whose back was turned to it, and greeted him loudly, still like a ghost. "Next time, let's have a couple of drinks!"

"Could you knock next time? Stop popping up and startling people!" Aberforth slammed the desk angrily. He pulled a star-shaped bottle from his pocket, walked over to the helmet that was still grumbling, and kicked it back into the fireplace. He unscrewed the cap and took a sip, his features twisting and changing. "Hiss, is this the nose I broke? It makes me feel intoxicated every time!"

"Just sit there. We'll talk again in a moment." Aberforth, now completely transformed into Dumbledore, waved the little bottle at Nelson. "Always drink beverages you carry with you. No one can guarantee that someone hasn't poisoned them. This will be the first lesson I teach you."