The Mirror of Erised

"Oh, found you. You're broken, so why are you still holding your post?" Breeze looked with dissatisfaction at the sky-blue key with a snapped wing. He used the Summoning Charm to snatch it without hesitation, then plucked off its remaining wing and jammed the now-naked key firmly into the twigs of a broomstick.

"See? As long as the broom is completely dismantled, you're easy to find. No need to fly around searching aimlessly."

Breeze huffed and walked out. The Devil's Snare seemed to sense his irritation, curling up without a sound.

"Herbivicus!"

Breeze stepped onto a vine and used the spell to force it to grow rapidly, letting it carry him upward. Having finished his journey quickly, he closed the trapdoor and patted the three-headed dog, which was fawning over him.

"I've read in books that three-headed dogs fall asleep when they hear music."

This was the method Breeze had originally intended to use against the beast.

Stroking the dog's ears, Breeze thoughtfully cast a powerful sound-muffling spell on all three of its heads.

"Muffliato!" Breeze waved his wand, patted the massive dog heads once more, and left the forbidden area on the fourth floor.

Thanks to these simple obstacles, Breeze still had plenty of time to wander through the Forbidden Section on the second floor to soothe his lingering frustration.

"I said I didn't like Christmas; nothing good ever happens."

The novelty of unwrapping gifts had long since vanished, and Breeze found himself disliking the holiday even more. He remembered that Betty, too, had been abandoned by her family at the orphanage on this very day...

Perhaps it was their shared misfortune that made Betty pay attention to Breeze from the start, and his "thoughtful, well-behaved" nature that made her care for him even more. But now, only Breeze remained.

Who?

Walking down the corridor, Breeze felt a gust of wind rush past him, heading toward the upper floors. From the direction the wind had come, Filch's voice rang out.

"You wretched brat!"

"Professor Snape, you said that if anyone was wandering at night, I should tell you. I think that brat has headed upstairs; we must catch him quickly!"

Snape!

Hadn't he left? How had he returned so soon?

Breeze had no time to overthink it. He followed the sound of the wind rushing upstairs. With Breeze's sensory abilities, he knew he couldn't possibly lose track of the intruder.

"Almost took the fall for you, let me catch you..." Breeze was already in a foul mood today; even Filch would have been in for a beating if he'd provoked him. If it weren't for that greasy, troublesome Professor Snape—his nominal Head of House—being nearby, Breeze wouldn't have feared Filch at all.

Following the wind, Breeze realized it was a student, most likely from Gryffindor. Who else would cause trouble on Christmas, and be so clumsy about it? He didn't know where they found the nerve to go out, but if Breeze had the chance, he would definitely seal the Gryffindor common room door after curfew.

No way forward, you idiot!

Breeze knew this was the sixth floor, a very secluded area. It appeared to be an abandoned classroom, lacking even a door lock.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, the fellow wasn't entirely hopeless; he quickly crept inside. Breeze followed, taking care to cast a Quietus spell over the area. As for why he didn't use the Disillusionment Charm?

Breeze wasn't foolish enough to think he could cast a Disillusionment Charm strong enough to fool Snape without a wand; that would only alert the enemy.

Soon, the footsteps outside stopped and gradually faded away.

Breeze had been observing the room for a while. A massive mirror stood in the center, nearly reaching the ceiling. The surrounding area was cluttered with haphazardly stacked chairs; the dirty, chaotic environment stood in stark contrast to the grand, ornate mirror.

Did someone put this here on purpose?

As Breeze pondered this, a small figure suddenly appeared in front of the mirror.

It was Harry Potter!

Had he been wearing an Invisibility Cloak?

Breeze had read the books; an Invisibility Cloak was a magical item woven from the hair of a Demiguise. The most famous one was the legendary Invisibility Cloak of Ignotus, one of the three Deathly Hallows. Ignotus was one of the three Peverell brothers, and legend held that whoever possessed all the Deathly Hallows would become the Master of Death. The other two Hallows were the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand.

Because the cloak could make one completely invisible, later generations had captured Demiguises to harvest their hair for production. Such magical items were precious, a type of specialized alchemy, but the degree of invisibility was usually low—let alone this one belonging to Harry Potter. It looked plain and unremarkable, a far cry from the Deathly Hallows Breeze had imagined.

Breeze felt he should leave; he had a premonition that following Harry Potter would lead to no good. But... that mirror!

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyton wohsi?" Harry couldn't help but read aloud. When Breeze heard these words, he suddenly recalled a miscellaneous record he had once seen.

The Mirror of Erised, which shows the deepest desires of one's heart?

At that moment, Harry suddenly covered his mouth, his face full of panic, as if he had seen something impossible.

Breeze stopped his retreat and watched as Harry shifted from panic to joy, the expression in his eyes growing increasingly fervent—or rather, as if he were about to burst into tears. He slowly stroked the surface of the mirror, only snapping back to reality when he felt the cold glass.

"Mom?" "Dad?"

Breeze understood. Harry Potter was seeing his parents. The records concerning Harry Potter mentioned those two brilliant wizards. Although he hadn't studied them in detail, Breeze remembered they had died fighting You-Know-Who on the very night Harry had defeated him.

Breeze suddenly wanted to see his own heart's desire. He had always felt his life was quite plain, and his goals had always been ordinary.

So then...

Breeze used the Levitation Charm to push the door open. The creaking sound brought Harry back to his senses completely.

"I, I'll come back."

Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and peered out the door. Finding no one, he left the room with great reluctance.

Breeze dispelled his Disillusionment and Quietus charms and walked to the mirror. Looking at the Latin inscription, he read: "The Mirror of Erised shows the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts."

As Breeze spoke, his own reflection appeared before him. Beside his reflection in the mirror, many people followed him—they respected him, revered him, and acknowledged him. Such a scene brought a smile to Breeze's face.

"A very nice dream."

Breeze did not know what he was thinking, but everyone on the mirror's surface suddenly vanished, and an unexpected person slowly appeared—the sleeping An Qing!

This was the person in Breeze's mind!

"You, why have you appeared!"

Desire?

Was this Breeze's desire?

Could it be that he wanted An Qing to sleep forever? This was indeed what Breeze hoped for, but he hoped even more that An Qing would disappear from his world entirely. Whenever he thought of An Qing, he felt as if he did not belong to this world and was on the verge of vanishing into Quietus, a prospect he could not accept!

Because to die while being rejected by the world meant being forgotten by it, as if one had never existed at all; this was something Breeze could not accept.

"I'm sorry..." The An Qing in the mirror began to wake, yet the voice echoed directly within Breeze's mind.

Breeze felt his entire body turn ice-cold. He tried to control his limbs, and only after discovering there was no obstruction did he glare coldly at the An Qing who was looking at him with such gentleness.

"Leave me, now!"

Breeze had no desire to meet with An Qing; it filled him with fear and a sense of powerlessness. He could not kill himself to be rid of An Qing, so he could only shout in a low, angry voice: "Why did you choose me!"

An Qing's expression remained gentle, looking at Breeze's disgust with a hint of guilt. "I understand your concerns, but I will never harm you. You know full well that I am you, and you are mine."

"No!"

This was the scene Breeze feared most. Why would An Qing wake up and speak to him!

He never wanted to become An Qing, for that would mean his existence had no root, no meaning, and did not belong to this world.

"Relax, we will be finished soon..."

The An Qing in the mirror looked at Breeze with helpless affection before closing his eyes. Natural magic from the surroundings began to gather around the mirror, spreading across its surface until strange runes emerged, and An Qing dissipated like reeds in the wind.

At that same moment, the cluster of memories in Breeze's mind also dissipated. As they vanished, Breeze's pupils instantly turned deep red, and his black hair transformed into silver-white.

A frigid aura permeated Breeze's entire body, and the natural magic became as violent as a gale, as if it were about to erupt at any moment and destroy everything here.

"Breeze, do not care about anyone's opinion, please always..."

Breeze stood expressionless, feeling the natural magic churning within him. It was leaking out, while the magic from the outside world flowed continuously into his body.

"Please always be yourself..."

As the voice faded from his mind, he felt as though he had lost his shackles and the gaze he had long grown accustomed to.

A crisp cracking sound startled Breeze, who was slumped on the ground.

Breeze's moist eyes gradually faded from red back to pure black, and his silver-white hair returned to its original state.

"Should I thank you?" Breeze said through gritted teeth.

An Qing had left, or rather, had fulfilled Breeze.

Breeze looked into the Mirror of Erised, seeing only his own disheveled reflection, while a faint, barely visible crack had appeared in one corner of the mirror—the source of the crisp sound.

"Legend says you are evil, a reflection of desire, and that you cause people to lose themselves within you..."

Breeze did not understand why the Mirror of Erised would help him, or if An Qing's power had coerced it, nor did he know what price the mirror had paid. But Breeze knew he was free; it was unexpected that it had ended before he had even found a solution.

Perhaps An Qing had no malice from the very beginning, right?

Breeze did not want to debate this point; he only wanted to be his true, stable self. He belonged to this world.

The image in the Mirror of Erised shifted again, as if sensing the change in Breeze's state of mind.

In the mirror, at the end-of-term feast, Breeze accepted the House Cup from Dumbledore. Through his own efforts, he had gained glory—not just for his house, but for himself.

As the years passed, Breeze grew older, accepting the House Cup time and time again. Finally, he graduated successfully, becoming a confident and elegant young man. He began to travel the world with his journals, acquiring things he could not learn at Hogwarts. As his knowledge grew, his fame spread, and he earned the respect of many wizards...

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