Quirrell—or rather, Voldemort's—gaze was instinctively drawn to the sudden turn of events, and the wand pointed forward paused slightly.
But the sight reflected in the mirror made everyone in the stone chamber freeze instantly!
The mirror reflected neither the stone chamber nor any of their images!
There was only one figure in the mirror!
It was a tall, distinguished young man. He wore Hogwarts robes, but his hair was an exceptionally rare jet black in the Wizarding World, like black jade. His eyes were calm and profound, as though they held a sea of stars. He lowered his head slightly, studying his palm intently—resting there was a smooth white stone that gave off a gentle moonlit glow. His fingertips softly brushed its surface, his movements filled with indescribable cherishment and... tenderness.
The figure in the mirror was Lynn! Yet the expression on his reflected face held a focus and gentleness Hermione had never seen before, as though what he held in his palm was a treasure even more precious than the Philosopher's Stone!
"Impossible!" For the first time, Voldemort's oily voice held a sharp edge of shock and disbelief. "The Mirror of Erised... only reveals the deepest desires of a person's heart! What... what is this?!"
Hermione was utterly stunned as well, tears still clinging to her eyelashes. The scene in the mirror struck her mind like lightning! Lynn... the strongest desire buried deepest in his heart... was... that Moon White Stone? The Moon White Stone she never let leave her side, the symbol of their connection?!
An overwhelming warmth nearly made her dizzy, accompanied by fierce palpitations and unbelievable sweetness, instantly sweeping away all her fear and sorrow! The Moon White Stone against her chest suddenly turned scorching hot, as if responding to the sight in the mirror, and radiated a gentler light than ever before!
Then, the image in the mirror changed again! The "Lynn" in the mirror raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through the mirror, falling directly and with utter clarity upon the real world—upon Hermione, who was supporting Lynn with tears in her eyes! That gaze carried a soul-piercing, undisguised tenderness as deep as the sea and... the resolve to protect!
Boom—!
Hermione felt her very soul tremble! The soul-deep gaze from the mirror instantly overlapped with the sight of Lynn, weak but still standing in front of her! So... so his deepest desire was actually... her? Or rather, to protect... her, the one who possessed the Moon White Stone?!
That realization was like blazing magma, instantly melting away every layer of ice around her heart. Her heart began to pound madly, as though it might burst from her chest! The Moon White Stone shone brighter and brighter, even beginning to actively draw upon the restless magic within her!
"Damn mirror! Damn desire!" Voldemort let out an enraged roar. He could not understand such a "weak" desire and only felt that he had been made a fool of. "Quirrell! Destroy that wretched mirror! Then kill them!"
Controlled by Voldemort, Quirrell let out a beastlike roar and swung his wand toward the enormous mirror. "Reducto!"
A blinding beam of destructive magic shot toward the mirror!
Just as the beam was about to strike the mirror's surface, another change occurred!
The "Lynn" reflected in the mirror, who had been gazing at Hermione, suddenly moved! It was as though he had come alive. He abruptly raised a hand—not to defend himself, but to point at Quirrell in the real world, the body Voldemort possessed!
A beam formed entirely from pure silver starlight shot forth like an arrow fired from the universe within the mirror. Ignoring the distance between them, it arrived first despite being launched later, striking Quirrell's wand-holding arm with perfect accuracy!
"Ah—!" Quirrell let out a shriek so agonized that his voice warped! The instant his entire right arm and wand touched that silver starlight, they melted and collapsed into ash from the point of contact, like a wax figure thrown into blazing fire! It happened so quickly that even Voldemort could not react in time!
"No—!!" Voldemort let out a terrified and furious scream! Quirrell's body convulsed violently from the horrific injury and the loss of control over Voldemort's power. The face on the back of his head twisted in agony!
After unleashing that strike, the "Lynn" in the mirror rapidly blurred, finally vanishing as thick mist once again covered the mirror's surface. It was as though that earth-shattering scene had never happened.
But Quirrell's missing right arm, the broken remains of his wand, and Voldemort's agonized, twisted face on the back of his head all proved that it had been real!
"Now!" Harry snapped out of it, forcefully suppressing the shock the scene had caused him! He saw that Voldemort seemed to have temporarily lost control due to Quirrell's grave injury and the backlash of his power! This was their only chance!
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted with all his strength, pointing his wand at Quirrell's remaining left hand! A red beam shot out!
However, Voldemort's final madness erupted from within the severely wounded, dying Quirrell! An invisible surge of Dark Magic carrying the aura of destruction burst forth, sweeping through the entire stone chamber like a shockwave!
"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione screamed almost instinctively, pouring all her strength into a Binding Curse aimed at the center of the shockwave! Her spell was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before Voldemort's Dark Magic, scattered in an instant! But at the moment her magic poured out, the Moon White Stone at her chest erupted with unprecedented brilliance! A gentle yet resilient silver barrier instantly unfolded, barely shielding her and Lynn behind her!
Boom!
The dark shockwave slammed into the silver barrier, unleashing violent currents of energy! Rubble flew everywhere! Harry and Ron were sent flying, crashing heavily into the walls and losing consciousness for the moment.
Hermione, too, was shaken by the enormous impact until her blood surged, but she held fast without taking a single step back, keeping the unconscious Lynn firmly behind the barrier! The Moon White Stone flashed violently at her chest, as though it could go out at any moment.
At the center of the shockwave, Quirrell's body crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. The face belonging to Voldemort on the back of his head twisted as it let out one final, resentful, venomous hiss. "I... will... return!" Then a thick plume of inky black smoke suddenly surged from Quirrell's body. Carrying bone-chilling cold and nauseating dark energy, it slipped through a crack in the stone chamber wall with the speed of a wounded venomous snake and vanished without a trace!
The stone chamber instantly returned to dead silence, leaving only drifting dust, a pungent stench, and the groans of the injured.
The barrier Hermione had been sustaining dissipated the instant Voldemort's fragment of a soul fled. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed beside Lynn, gasping for breath as her whole body trembled. The Moon White Stone's glow dimmed, though it still conveyed a warm touch.
"Harry! Ron!" She forced herself to look toward the two who had been thrown away, her voice hoarse.
"I... I'm fine..." Harry struggled out from the rubble, dizzy and disoriented. Ron groaned as he sat up too. He had clearly taken a hard fall, but he was still conscious.
Hermione's heart eased slightly. She immediately turned all her attention back to Lynn in her arms. His eyes were tightly shut, his face pale as paper, and his breathing so faint that it was nearly imperceptible. The blood at the corner of his mouth had dried, like a glaring wound. The Star Stone pendant's glow was as weak as a candle flame in the wind.
Immense terror seized Hermione's heart once more. "Lynn! Wake up! Don't scare me!" She gently patted his cheek, her voice trembling with tears.
There was no response.
Hermione forced herself to calm down. With trembling hands, she carefully undid the buttons of Lynn's school robes, wanting to examine the wound on his chest. When she pulled back his robes and revealed the bloodstained shirt beneath, her breathing nearly stopped. Beneath the shirt, close to his heart, his skin was terribly charred black, as though scorched by invisible flames. Spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surrounding flesh, with faint silver light flickering beneath them as it resisted the erosion of Dark Magic—it was the Star Stone's last remaining essence protecting its master.
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