"Professor, I cannot agree with your point of view."
Dumbledore did not seem to mind Damon saying that. He looked at him gently.
He was beginning to believe what Minerva had said—this child was more opinionated than many adults, mature and steady to an almost excessive degree.
Combined with his exceptional talent, he really should offer him some well-intentioned guidance.
"Then what is your view?"
"Professor Flitwick once told me that the power of example is extremely important. It contains unimaginable energy, especially within a group. Do you agree with that?"
Dumbledore nodded, a trace of satisfaction flashing through his eyes—Damon remembered what Flitwick had said and brought it up now, which showed that he respected his teachers—assuming it was not an act.
"Then isn't this mirror also a kind of example?"
"Take Ron, for instance. He saw himself becoming Quidditch captain. His goal had been made tangible, and it would only fill him with motivation. How could he lose himself as you said?"
"If I could see what I would be like five years from now in the mirror, it would only give me more motivation to work toward it all, rather than having me stare blankly at the mirror every day."
Damon's words made Dumbledore hesitate, and he was not the only one thinking. Harry nearly jumped to his feet.
That was right! He only wanted to see his parents. That did not mean he would do nothing every day and stand foolishly in front of the mirror—in fact, even now, he only came here at night.
During the day, he was still living his life properly.
Why had he not thought to say that before? Was it because Dumbledore's words were authority to him, so he could not even bring himself to argue?
Harry looked at Damon, his eyes shining brightly.
Then he looked back at Dumbledore, his gaze full of pleading.
When Dumbledore met Harry's eyes, his stance shifted somewhat.
"Professor, if you are still worried, then I have a suggestion." As though he had seen Dumbledore's hesitation, Damon continued, "Leave this mirror with me for safekeeping. I guarantee that Harry will only be allowed to use it for two hours a week. After all, I will not be tempted by this mirror."
"I don't think setting aside two hours a week to spend with one's family can be considered a waste, can it?"
Dumbledore still pondered after hearing this.
Damon did not continue persuading him. He placed one hand on the anxious Harry, signaling him to stay calm.
Dumbledore paused for only three seconds, but those three seconds still felt long enough to suffocate Harry.
Fortunately, he received a good outcome.
"All right, you have persuaded me." Dumbledore smiled. "But we have an agreement: only two hours a week. If I find that you have violated this rule or abused the mirror, I will take it back."
Amid Harry's quiet cheer, Damon smiled and agreed. He directly used the Shrinking Charm to turn the mirror, which had reached the ceiling, into something palm-sized, then drew it into his hand with the Levitation Charm.
Dumbledore regarded him more highly once again and praised him without showing it too openly.
"An excellent Shrinking Charm."
Casting spells on magical objects was several times more difficult than casting them on ordinary objects. In fact, when Damon had first made this suggestion, Dumbledore had not believed he could do it.
Clearly, he needed to revise his understanding of this child's abilities.
"Thank you for the compliment. It is getting late, so we'll be heading back now, Professor?"
Dumbledore nodded, but Harry spoke up at that moment and asked a question.
"Sir... Professor Dumbledore, may I ask you something?"
"When you looked into the mirror, what did you see?"
"Me? I saw myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks."
Harry's eyes widened.
"One can never have enough socks," Dumbledore said. "Christmas comes and goes, and I have not received a single pair of socks. People insist on giving me books instead."
"Besides, a certain student seems to hold some sort of prejudice against me. He gave presents to every professor who taught him, yet somehow forgot me, the headmaster."
At that, Dumbledore pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears.
Damon's reaction was equally direct.
He did not answer Dumbledore directly. Instead, he led Harry out of the classroom and casually remarked in a voice just loud enough for the person inside to hear.
"Don't believe him. He's bragging. An old man like him still lying to children—shameless."
"Oh."
The two boys slipped beneath the Invisibility Cloak and moved away from the classroom. Moonlight spilled over the silent corridors, and an owl's cry murmured beyond the window. They walked on, their hearts filled with joy and hope, leaving only the white-haired old man behind, standing there in a daze.
A sudden breeze rose in the dark classroom.
Tiny specks of dust drifted through the air, falling slowly beneath the moonlight like scattered stars.
Soon, everything returned to silence.
But the mirror that had once belonged to the old man had completely changed owners from that day on.
This is good too.
He thought.
But why, when this moonlight had shone upon him for ninety-one years,
could he still not seem to forget?
"Goodbye, Ariana."
A deep sigh sounded in the darkness.
In the days that followed, the Christmas holiday became peaceful again.
On the first day, Harry desperately wanted to see that magical mirror again. But when he remembered that he could only use it for two hours a week, and that he could not find Damon right now, he endured it.
Strangely enough, once he thought of it that way, the longing in his heart immediately eased—he had not lost anything. Instead, he had gained two hours a week to see his parents.
That change made Harry's dreams sweet every night. In his dreams, he talked with his mother about so many things and proudly told his father about catching the Golden Snitch.
Everything was so dreamlike.
Only Damon—he still spent his nights away from the dormitory, appearing only once every two or three days.
Harry had considered whether he should use the Invisibility Cloak to follow Damon, but in the end, he gave up—out of respect for Damon, he did not want to do such a thing. Following someone he respected was undoubtedly shameful to him.
He thought.
If Damon wanted to tell him, he would naturally do so.
The day before term began, Hermione returned. When she learned what Harry had experienced during the holiday, her feelings became extremely complicated.
On the one hand, she was frightened that Harry had gotten out of bed for three nights in a row and wandered through the school. On the other, she was deeply disappointed that Harry had not even figured out who Nicol Flamel was.
As for what Damon had seen himself becoming in the mirror, and how he had convinced Dumbledore to hand the mirror over to him, the three of them did not discuss it much—it was simply too unbelievable for them.
What they needed to do now was find information about Nicol Flamel.
Dumbledore graduated at eighteen and returned home to care for his sister Ariana. Aberforth Dumbledore attended Kendra's funeral during this period and began traveling, then heard news of Ariana's death at the end of his year-long journey.
Therefore, I inferred that Ariana died when Dumbledore was nineteen, in 1900, which gave the number ninety-one.
If there are any mistakes, corrections are welcome.
Before you continue