Mirror of Erised (Part 2)

Lin Yue looked calmly at Ron, her voice flat as she said, "This is the Mirror of Erised. It shows a person's deepest desires."

"Deepest desires..." Harry listened to Lin Yue's words, looking at the Mirror of Erised before him, his eyes filled with longing and obsession.

Of course... his deepest desire was his family, a family that could stay by his side.

Upon hearing this, Ron couldn't help but turn back to look at the Mirror of Erised. What he desired... was to become even more outstanding than Charlie and Bill...?

Seeing Harry and Ron still staring at the Mirror of Erised, Lin Yue spoke, her voice devoid of emotion.

"This mirror was created as an alchemical artifact. It can clarify the future direction for those with firm minds. Conversely, it can cause those with wavering minds to become obsessed, spending their lives foolishly in front of the mirror until they become mere skeletons."

Lin Yue's indifferent voice echoed in their ears, sending a shiver down Harry and Ron's spines.

Even Harry, who had been immersed in the image of his parents embracing him in the mirror, was pulled out by her words.

He tightly shut his eyes, and Harry desperately controlled himself to turn away from the Mirror of Erised.

Opening his eyes, Harry gasped for air, using all his willpower to restrain himself. A fine layer of sweat covered his forehead.

"Thank you for the reminder... Lin Yue." Harry forced a smile. He had almost been lost in it.

Lin Yue looked at Harry expressionlessly. "I was just stating facts. The description of its effects in the book is what I just said."

Harry felt as if he had swallowed a fly. His gratitude had been premature... Lin Yue wasn't trying to guide him.

"Then what will you see in the mirror?" Ron asked Lin Yue curiously. He really wanted to know what Lin Yue's deepest desire was, someone who never showed any expression or emotion and only focused on studying.

Harry also couldn't help but look at Lin Yue with curiosity. Her deepest desire... he really wanted to know too!

However, this mirror did seem a bit dangerous. Should they have Lin Yue look into it?

But clearly, Lin Yue herself hadn't thought that far. She had simply heard Harry and Ron ask what she would see in the mirror, what her deepest desire would be.

To answer this question, she needed to look into the mirror. With this conclusion in her mind, Lin Yue walked up to the mirror, her gaze indifferent as she looked at the image within.

As Lin Yue approached, the image in the mirror began to change at an extremely rapid pace. A bed that looked very soft, bathed in sunlight, flashed by. The Lin Yue in the mirror was curled up on it, sleeping peacefully and serenely.

The next image that flashed was a dining table laden with all sorts of delicious food. Lin Yue was sitting at the table, leisurely enjoying the meal.

Finally, there was a fleeting image of her and Hermione walking together in the mountains. Afterward, the image in the mirror was completely shrouded in mist, as if even the Mirror of Erised couldn't detect Lin Yue's deepest desire.

"What did you see?" Harry blinked, looking at Lin Yue expectantly. Was it a test paper with full marks in all subjects? Or was it her leading Ravenclaw to win the House Cup?

Lin Yue turned back, her mood unchanged, and looked at Harry and Ron.

"First, I saw myself sleeping on a sunlit bed, then I was eating, and then Hermione and I were walking together. These all flashed by, and finally, there was a mist, and nothing else."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Ron looked at Lin Yue with a face full of confusion.

"Is this your deepest desire? Sleeping, eating, and taking walks?"

"What was that last mist?"

Lin Yue calmly shook her head, "I'm not sure. The book didn't mention this situation."

"Okay." Ron raised his hand and scratched his head.

After one last lingering look at the Mirror of Erised, Harry, Ron, and Lin Yue left the classroom without looking back.

He would never come here again, nor would he ever look at the Mirror of Erised again, he vowed silently in his heart.

Because he knew very well that his parents had protected him from Voldemort, wanting him to live a good life.

Not to become a withered skeleton immersed in fantasy in front of a magic mirror.

After bidding farewell to Harry and Ron at the corner, Lin Yue quickly returned to her dormitory, seamlessly transitioning into study mode.

She had just spent an hour with Harry and Ron looking at the Mirror of Erised, so she now needed to make up for eight hours of study time.

Eight days of sleep would be just enough to catch up, Lin Yue's brain quickly calculated.

The morning study session was completely over. Lin Yue closed her book and, before heading to the Great Hall for lunch, raised her hand and added another mark to her left arm as punishment for using study time to look at the Mirror of Erised.

Opening her dormitory door, Lin Yue strode out of the Ravenclaw Common Room and headed straight for the Great Hall.

When she entered the Great Hall, lunch was just being served by the house-elves. At the same time, the professors and other students who were staying at Hogwarts had not yet arrived.

Without any professors to stop her, Lin Yue finished her lunch in three and a half minutes, then quickly returned to her dormitory to continue reading.

It wasn't until she returned to her dormitory and had even started studying that the professors and students began to trickle into the Great Hall.

Seeing the dishes on the special round tables for the Christmas Holiday in the Great Hall clearly disturbed, the professors and Harry and Ron, who could guess what had happened, sighed in unison.

For the next four days, Harry and Ron never managed to run into Lin Yue.

Every morning, she would go to the Library at seven to return books and borrow enough for the day, then eat breakfast and return to her dormitory to study.

She wouldn't leave her dormitory except for lunch and dinner, and she finished both meals in three and a half minutes, with only seven minutes total for each meal including travel time.

Let alone Harry and Ron, even the professors couldn't find her. Hogwarts' staircases seemed to have a mind of their own, recognizing her.

Wherever she wanted to go, they would help her get there, making it impossible for the professors to encounter her on the way.

The only person who had continuous contact with Lin Yue during these four days was Madam Pince.

So she watched as the child's complexion visibly grew paler and paler over these four days, and her mental state seemed to deteriorate.

Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, when Lin Yue came to borrow books from her again, Madam Pince couldn't stand it anymore.

"Miss Lin Yue... have you been feeling unwell these past few days? Your complexion looks terrible."

Madam Pince looked at Lin Yue with concern. Her face was indeed too pale, and the dark circles under her eyes were very heavy.

"Thank you for your concern, Madam Pince. I'm not unwell," Lin Yue replied expressionlessly, her voice unusually hoarse and dazed.

This was the fifth day. She hadn't slept for four full nights, yet she had only managed to catch up on half of the missed study time. The other half still needed to be completed.

Madam Pince pursed her lips and looked at Lin Yue. "If you're not feeling well, go to the Medical Wing. Don't make us worry, okay?"

Lin Yue nodded with dead eyes. "Okay, thank you, Madam Pince."

Taking the books Madam Pince handed her, Lin Yue put them in her schoolbag and hurried to the Great Hall to eat something haphazardly. Then, she returned to her dormitory to continue studying.

Harry and Ron couldn't find Lin Yue, and it wasn't convenient for them to go to Ravenclaw Tower to look for her every day. Moreover, they had their own homework to do.

So, they temporarily put aside the idea of taking her out to relax.

Finally, on the morning of the ninth day after Christmas, Lin Yue, after a full eight nights of sleep, had completely made up for her missed study time.

Putting the finished books into her schoolbag, Lin Yue leaned on her desk to stand up. However, her breathing became heavy at that moment, her brain felt exceptionally groggy, and the world seemed to spin before her eyes.

As darkness descended upon her vision, Lin Yue's body fell heavily backward onto the ground with a thud. Fortunately, inside Hogwarts' dormitory, there was a carpet. Otherwise, that fall would have been quite painful.

Her black hair spread across her face, making her complexion even paler, like a lifeless vampire.

The dark circles under her eyes also indicated her exhaustion. The sun slowly rose from the horizon, and its rays gradually climbed up from her ankles.

Until the sun was high in the sky and its light shone on her face, Lin Yue showed no reaction.

Day and night alternated. When night fell, Lin Yue, accompanied by the moonlight, struggled to open her eyes.

Her eyes were still filled with lifeless stillness. Lin Yue struggled to push herself up from the ground with her hands.

She looked calmly out the window. The bright night made Lin Yue's muddled brain realize something.

She stumbled backward and sat down on her bed. Lin Yue raised her right hand and looked at the watch on her wrist.

Eight o'clock in the evening... So, she had fainted. She had fainted for a whole day.

Lin Yue's brain struggled to process this, and at the same time, without even thinking, the next thought followed.

So, she had once again missed nearly fifteen hours of study time, from after five in the morning until eight in the evening.

Slowly lifting her head, Lin Yue wanted to get up to get her schoolbag from the desk and, before curfew, return books to the library and borrow new ones.

Unfortunately, before she could even get up, her muddled brain, unable to maintain balance, caused her to fall back onto the bed.

"Mmm..." Lin Yue grunted expressionlessly. Since she couldn't walk, she simply flopped down onto the floor.

She used her arms, bit by bit, to pull herself towards the washroom. She no longer had the mental energy to control her legs.

Her brain was too muddled, to the point where she could barely control her own body. Using cold water... But even in this state, her brain effortlessly came up with this solution.

Because in the past, when she got the same brain fog from studying at home, or when she had trouble getting out of bed, her mother or father would directly throw a basin of cold water on her, and her muddled brain would restart.

Although her head would hurt afterward, it was incredibly effective.

With great difficulty, she "pulled" herself to the washroom with her arms. Lin Yue lay on the ground and laboriously turned on the water with her hands. She didn't choose hot water; the extremely cold water in winter poured directly onto her.

Her head and body were quickly soaked through by the cold water. While she couldn't help but shiver, Lin Yue's brain slowly and forcefully broke free from its muddled state.

However, her complexion became even paler, and her lips turned dark purple. Leaning on the ground, Lin Yue got up and turned off the water.

Holding her head with her right hand, she leaned weakly against the wall for a while. Feeling a slight recovery of her strength, she unhesitatingly turned and walked out of the washroom.

Casually taking a bath towel, she wiped her hair a couple of times. Lin Yue didn't bother drying her wet body and directly took off her soaked clothes, changing into dry ones.

She raised her right hand and glanced at her watch. All this commotion had wasted another hour. It was already nine o'clock in the evening.

She needed to make up sixteen hours of study time, her brain, which was throbbing with dull pain, provided the answer.

Reaching for her schoolbag, Lin Yue walked somewhat unsteadily to the dormitory door and opened it, stepping out.

As she approached the small library in the Ravenclaw Common Room, Lin Yue's steps suddenly halted.

She raised her hand and touched her cheek. It was as ice-cold as her hand. Thinking back to her appearance in the mirror after getting up from the ground in the washroom just now.

Her face was pale, her lips were dark, and her entire face exuded a sickly look. Her brain began to combine past memories to think.

When she was with her parents, she had similar appearances. She was sick.

At that time, she just took some medicine and continued to go to school as her mother had told her. So, even when sick, she had to study. This was her mother's rule.

Her teachers and classmates at the time hadn't reacted to it at all, nor had they told her to stop studying.

But... what about Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, and Headmaster Dumbledore? Lin Yue thought with no fluctuation in her heart.

Considering that they had allowed her to rest on Christmas Day, they would likely let her rest in this condition.

However, her studies could not be delayed. Even if sick, she should study. Moreover, she wasn't actually sick now; her brain was just muddled and wanted to sleep in.

Therefore, she couldn't go out now. She couldn't be seen like this. She should be in Ravenclaw Tower, studying in her dormitory.

Giving up the idea of going to the Hogwarts Library to borrow new books, Lin Yue reached into the small internal library of Ravenclaw and pulled out four books. She forced her legs to move and quickly walked back to her dormitory.

Pulling out a chair, she sat down at her desk again and began to study. Opening the books, she carefully read the contents, and Lin Yue once again entered a state of study.

The night deepened, and the pure white moonlight shone on Lin Yue's pale face, adding a touch of melancholy to her study scene.