Mirror of Erised (Part 1)

In the Granger family home, quite a distance from Hogwarts, Hermione was also enjoying Christmas Dinner with her parents.

Seeing the huge turkey her mother had placed on the table, Hermione's eyes lit up. She really liked the taste of turkey.

As she had every year, Hermione received a turkey leg. She carefully cut a piece of meat with her knife and fork and put it in her mouth, closing her eyes in happiness.

It was the same familiar taste. Her mother's cooking was excellent. She wondered if she could learn to cook like this herself in the future...

If she could learn, she could make it for her own family and her lover.

Thinking this, Lin Yue's image inexplicably appeared in Hermione's mind.

Why was she thinking of Lin Yue? As soon as the thought arose, Hermione answered it herself.

She could make a Christmas dinner and invite her friends to eat it. That was perfectly normal.

Smiling, she took another bite of turkey. Chewing the turkey meat, Hermione continued to follow her train of thought.

Lin Yue... I wonder what she's doing now. She's probably having Christmas Dinner too.

But that's not necessarily true... If she still only eats for three and a half minutes... she should have finished by now.

Thinking of this, Hermione's smile slowly faded. Christmas Dinner. If Lin Yue still ate like that, Hermione tightly pursed her lips.

She would feel really heartbroken. Christmas Dinner should be a meal to be enjoyed...

Seeing their daughter pursing her lips, looking as if something was troubling her.

Mr. Granger asked with confusion, "Hermione, what's wrong? Is something making you unhappy?"

"Hmm?" Hermione snapped back to attention. Seeing her father, she shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just a little worried..."

"Worried?" Mr. Granger looked at Hermione, puzzled.

Mrs. Granger, who had just brought the remaining dishes out of the kitchen, saw Hermione's expression and guessed what she was worried about. It must be that young girl named Lin Yue.

But she didn't know what Hermione was worried about regarding her. "Alright, don't ask so many questions."

Mrs. Granger patted her husband's shoulder, signaling him to eat his own food and not to pry.

Then, she walked over to Hermione, leaned down, gently hugged her shoulders, and whispered in her ear.

"Hermione, don't worry. Today is Christmas. Santa Claus will make sure everyone has a happy time today."

"Mom..." Hermione pouted. "You know, I haven't believed in Santa Claus since I was eight."

"Pfft," Mrs. Granger chuckled and ruffled her daughter's hair. "Sometimes, believing in fairy tales is also a very beautiful thing."

Hermione lowered her head, thoughts quietly flowing through her mind. She hadn't believed in Santa Claus since she was eight.

But tonight she was willing to believe... and even every Christmas after that, she was willing to believe that Santa Claus existed in this world.

She only hoped that Santa Claus could truly let Lin Yue spend this day happily, and that it would be genuine happiness.

The Granger family's Christmas Dinner had begun, and Hogwarts' Christmas Dinner was still ongoing.

In the Great Hall, professors and students chatted with each other, enjoying their desserts and ice cream.

Lin Yue also sat quietly in her seat, taking small bites of the Vanilla Ice Cream in front of her.

Her brain, for the first time in a long while, was completely empty at this moment. She didn't think about studying, nor did she recall the content of any book.

It wasn't until the dinner ended and she returned to her Dormitory that Lin Yue's brain returned to its usual state.

Subconsciously reviewing her actions over the past two days, Lin Yue's thoughts lingered on the afternoon she spent playing Snow with Harry and Ron.

She had wasted study time playing Snow. The wasted study time needed to be made up, and she should also accept punishment for wasting study time.

Lin Yue unhesitatingly raised her right hand and placed it on her Left Arm, but hesitated to act.

Her brain kept replaying the scene from the Christmas Dinner, and the taste of the Christmas present Hermione had given her that morning.

Although there were still no emotional fluctuations in her heart, Lin Yue slowly lowered her hand.

She didn't want to punish herself tonight. This sentence appeared clearly in Lin Yue's brain.

Then she would punish herself tomorrow. Even if the punishment was delayed and doubled, she just didn't want to punish herself today.

She didn't want the memory of punishing herself to be associated with the gift from Hermione and the Christmas Dinner, even though she didn't know why.

Putting down her right hand that was about to punish herself, Lin Yue stared blankly at her surroundings.

This was supposed to be study time. Now that she wasn't studying... she didn't know what to do.

Sitting quietly on the bed, Lin Yue stared intently at the floor until her eyes felt sore. Only then did she raise her head to look at the clock in the Dormitory.

It was one in the morning. She had been sitting for a full two hours. Perhaps she could sleep.

Lin Yue told herself this in her brain, but... should she sleep?

"You don't need excessive sleep. One hour a day is enough. Sleeping any more is making a mistake!"

Mother's voice echoed in Lin Yue's brain. She slowly lowered her head, and in the end, did not lie down on the bed.

She sat quietly until her rest time, then lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Without any buffer, she fell directly into a deep sleep.

An hour later, Lin Yue's eyes snapped open, and she sat up in bed.

It was a new day. Before getting out of bed and putting on shoes, Lin Yue didn't delay in the slightest, raising her hand and pressing it against her left arm.

She had spent four hours playing in the snow all afternoon. Because her punishment was delayed from the previous night, the original eight strikes had now become sixteen. After sixteen strikes with no restraint whatsoever, Lin Yue's left arm was already trembling slightly.

Her upper left arm was now covered in bruises, one handprint layered over another, looking quite horrifying.

With difficulty, she raised her left arm and moved it in circles. Lin Yue's expression remained calm, showing no signs of pain.

Once her left arm's trembling subsided a little, Lin Yue got out of bed, put on her shoes and socks, picked up her schoolbag, opened the door, and walked out of the dormitory.

Arriving at the Library, it was too early, and Madam Pince had not yet arrived to begin her work.

So Lin Yue could only place the books she needed to return on the table next to her, waiting for Madam Pince to arrive before returning them.

Afterward, she walked over to the bookshelf, pulled out a few new books, and sat down in her usual spot.

After quietly reading for two and a half hours, at precisely seven o'clock, Madam Pince arrived at the Library.

Lin Yue walked up to return the books she had previously borrowed, and at the same time, borrowed new ones. Then, she left the Library with her schoolbag on her back.

Watching Lin Yue's retreating figure, Madam Pince couldn't help but sigh inwardly again at Lin Yue's diligence in her studies. As she sighed, she couldn't help but think, if only all the students at Hogwarts were this diligent.

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she shuddered, startled by her own idea, and felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Those children would truly be too hardworking... It was better for them to remain as they were now, healthy and happy, growing well while also learning.

With a helpless sigh, Madam Pince shook her head and withdrew her gaze. This child Lin Yue... she was too demanding of herself.

Quickly entering the Great Hall, as soon as Lin Yue sat down at the round table in the center of the hall, breakfast was served on time by the House-elves.

Finishing breakfast in a swift three and a half minutes, Lin Yue stood up and returned to her dormitory at the fastest possible speed, opened a book, and began to read diligently.

And in a place she didn't know about, Harry, who had just walked out of his dormitory, was excitedly discussing the mirror he had seen the previous night with Ron.

"I saw my parents!" Harry excitedly shared his joy with Ron beside him.

"This..." Ron looked at Harry with a troubled expression. He decided to congratulate him first. "I'm happy for you, mate, but you know, they're already..."

"I know! They're already dead..." Harry lowered his head and fell silent for a moment, then looked up again, his eyes shining with renewed light.

"But I really saw them in the mirror yesterday! Maybe, maybe it's a mirror that can show people the dead!"

"Okay, maybe it is," Ron nodded.

"Will you come with me?" Harry looked at Ron excitedly. "I mean, you can meet my parents."

"Of course, mate," Ron patted Harry on the shoulder. "I'd love to!"

Harry nodded happily. Seeing Harry's unusually excited state, Ron felt a sudden flash of inspiration.

"I think we can ask Lin Yue to come with us. I mean, she knows so much, maybe she'll know what's going on with that mirror. Plus, we can help her relax," Ron said.

"Good idea, Ron," Harry agreed, nodding. "Then we'll ask her tonight."

A flicker of confusion crossed Ron's face, and he looked at Harry helplessly. "Why... do we have to go after curfew tonight? You know, Lin Yue probably doesn't like breaking curfew."

Harry raised his hand and slapped his forehead. "Oh, right... I forgot. We can go during the day. I got too excited."

Ron sighed deeply and patted Harry on the shoulder. "It's okay, let's go."

When they arrived at the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room, they were, as expected, asked a question by the bronze knocker.

The two boys exchanged a glance and, too lazy to think, just started spouting random answers.

In the end, Harry got lucky and actually guessed a reasonable answer. The bronze knocker slowly opened the door, letting the two boys in.

Entering the Ravenclaw Common Room, the first thing that caught their eyes was a small library belonging to the Ravenclaw Academy.

"As expected of the studious Ravenclaws," Ron exclaimed.

Harry nodded in agreement beside him. Then he looked around, not seeing Lin Yue, and guessed she was probably in her dormitory reading.

Considering that besides her, no one else was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, he decided to call out loudly.

"Lin Yue, Lin Yue, are you there?"

Harry's shout was significantly muffled by the girls' dormitory door, but it still managed to reach Lin Yue's ear.

Though faint, the sound was enough for Lin Yue to recognize someone calling her full name.

Pulling herself out of her study state, Lin Yue expressionlessly put down the book she was reading and walked to the door, opening it.

She walked down the stairs into the common room, her gaze indifferent as she looked at Harry and Ron, and spoke without emotion.

"What is it?"

"Uh... I found a really interesting mirror during my night tour last night. I wanted to take you to see it. You know, to help you relax."

Harry spoke hesitantly, deliberately emphasizing "relax." This showed he was following Hermione's instructions, though he wasn't sure if Lin Yue would agree because of it.

Take me to relax? Lin Yue's mind raced.

Relaxation takes up study time. Study time cannot be taken up.

But Hermione wants them to take me to relax... The two thoughts in Lin Yue's mind clashed again.

The final outcome was the same as last time. Lin Yue calmly nodded, agreeing to let Harry take her to relax.

She just needed to make up the relaxation time later, along with the three hours spent knitting gloves for Hermione and the four hours spent playing in the snow.

As for the punishment of occupying study time, I will do it when I get back.

Bringing Lin Yue along, Harry took her and Ron to the abandoned classroom where they had seen the mirror last night.

As soon as they entered the classroom, Lin Yue spotted the oversized mirror in the center.

The moment Harry saw the mirror, he forgot his surroundings and quickly walked forward, gazing longingly at his parents who appeared within.

After a few glances, Harry came to his senses and turned back, waving to Ron and Lin Yue. "Ron, Lin Yue, come quickly, look at my parents."

"Okay." Ron nodded and quickly walked forward.

Lin Yue, however, walked forward calmly, her gaze sweeping over the mirror with a placid expression before she recognized the string of magical script on it.

The Mirror of Erised, a description she had read in a book, instantly sprang to mind.

"Well? Did you see my parents?" Harry was still excitedly asking Ron on the other side.

"No..." Ron replied, his tone equally excited but tinged with confusion. "I saw... myself becoming the Student Council President, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain, and receiving the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award!"

"Does this mirror show our future?!" he exclaimed excitedly, looking at Harry.

Harry froze for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. "How could it? Ron, my parents are already dead."

Ron suddenly realized his mistake and quickly said, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean, I..."

"It's alright." Harry waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.

After confirming it was the Mirror of Erised, Lin Yue continued to walk forward slowly, her expression unchanged.

Ron turned and looked at her curiously. "Lin Yue, do you know what this mirror actually is? Why did Harry and I see different things?"