Mirror of Desire

The next day, Sagreles, who had stayed in the Restricted Section until late, suddenly looked up. His expression turned strange. After listening for a while, he sighed and headed toward the classroom where he had placed the Mirror of Erised the night before.

Sure enough, Harry had come again—and he wasn't alone this time. He had even brought a companion.

Sagreles was somewhat speechless. Did all the little Gryffindor wizards act without considering the consequences? They had found such an obvious magical object, yet instead of looking up its function and origins in the library, they dared to keep loitering in front of it every day?

And even if Harry, a newcomer who had only recently entered the magical world, didn't know any better, why was this red-haired Weasley so unreliable too? He was even fighting Harry for the right to use the mirror!

"Do you think this mirror can predict the future?" Ron asked curiously.

A flicker of anticipation passed through Harry's eyes before it fell away. "Impossible. My family is already dead... Uh, Ron, I want to look one more time."

Ron stared fixedly at the mirror without turning around. "You had the mirror all to yourself last night. Now it's my turn to enjoy it."

"Are you only thinking about your House Cup trophy? What's so interesting about that?" Harry reached out and shoved him. "I want to see my parents. They're precious to me."

"Don't push me. Maybe I'll see something special too..."

Sagreles truly couldn't listen any longer. He directly used Transfiguration to turn a suit of armor's helmet in the corridor into Mrs Norris, then directed it to charge into the abandoned classroom.

The room immediately erupted into chaos. The two little wizards hurriedly threw on the Invisibility Cloak and fled.

Sagreles was truly speechless. He felt that old headmaster was completely unreliable. Could something like this really be left for a first-year wizard to encounter so casually? Wasn't that practically encouraging a minor to take drugs?

Harry Potter and those little wizards were even less reliable. Luckily, this was Hogwarts. If they had been somewhere with more Dark wizards, like Knockturn Alley, they might have been taken apart and sold for parts long ago.

The third day.

Sagreles had a premonition. He put down the book in his hand and went to the abandoned classroom, where he once again encountered Harry Potter—as expected.

Harry sat blankly before the mirror, gazing at it with vacant obsession. Sagreles walked right up behind him, yet he remained completely unaware.

He watched his family in the mirror still waving and smiling at him. He felt happy, but he knew they could only ever appear inside the mirror, and that made him unbearably sad.

The two feelings tangled together, and for the first time in his life, Harry felt pain. This wasn't Uncle Vernon's insults, nor was it Dudley's beatings, much less Aunt Peggy's mockery. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Sagreles hadn't used a Disillusionment Charm. He stood there, frowning at Harry's back in silence for a long time.

"You came again, Harry," Sagreles finally said calmly.

The little wizard's back instantly stiffened. Ten thousand thoughts surged through his mind at once: If he put on the Invisibility Cloak as fast as possible, would the other person think seeing him had only been an illusion?

Harry didn't know how he managed to turn around, but when he saw Sagreles standing behind him, he gave up all struggle.

"Sorry, Professor. I..." Harry didn't continue. He didn't know what excuse he could possibly make.

Sagreles remained where he was and spoke to him in a calm voice. "Like many others, you've become immersed in the world of the Mirror of Desire."

When you encounter ads asking, "Are you a real person?", there's no need to pay attention to them. Just close them. Do not scan any codes or send text messages!

"I didn't know it was called the Mirror of Desire. I only saw my family in it..." After a pause, Harry added dejectedly, "Actually, I can't be sure they were really my family. I just felt it deep down. It was them..."

"Yes. That's where its sinister cunning lies. It changes what appears in the mirror according to the desires buried in people's hearts, urging them to lose themselves in it." Sagreles spoke calmly. "Like your friend Ron. What he saw was himself gaining glory and becoming the center of attention."

"How do you know?"

"Because your desires have clouded your minds... It made you trample rules at will, unable to focus, no longer vigilant." His expression was stern. "For this, Gryffindor will lose forty points."

Harry lowered his head dejectedly. Tears welled in his eyes, and he tried desperately not to cry, because a strange thought filled his mind. He didn't want Professor Greengrass to think he was crying because points had been deducted.

And that was indeed the case. He wanted to cry because he might never be able to stand before this mirror and see his family again. Though they had only met less than three days ago, he might never see them again for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry, Professor..."

"The deduction isn't because you broke school rules, because I've never actually liked Hogwarts' rules," Sagreles said calmly. "I only want to tell you that Hogwarts has only one true rule: whenever you break the rules, make sure you aren't caught in the act."

Harry looked up at those words.

"You were far too careless. You practically treated every professor as a slow-witted troll. In that regard, deducting ten points from each of you every time is already very merciful." Sagreles looked into his pale green eyes and said solemnly, "So I hope you'll be smarter in the future. Never think that having an Invisibility Cloak means you can look down on everyone. Honestly, if you can understand that, then those forty points won't have been deducted for nothing."

"Thank you, Professor Greengrass," Harry said seriously.

"As for this mirror..." Sagreles's tone softened. "Its true name is the Mirror of Erised."

"I'm not surprised at all that you became immersed in it! That's completely normal. It would be strange if you could resist its temptation."

"Why do you say that? Professor, I don't understand..." Harry asked in confusion.

"People are always vulnerable when facing their own desires. They go mad for them, sink into them, and even when they know they're false, they still rush toward them without hesitation." Sagreles looked at Harry. "Like everyone who has stood before this mirror, I doubt many have ever been able to escape its temptation."

He waved his hand, and a gentle breeze pulled Harry up from the floor and pushed him away from the mirror.

"It's a very magical mirror, and a very powerful magical object. But it neither tells us the truth nor increases our knowledge, so it's merely a sinister, cunning magic mirror. For some people, it isn't even as useful as an ordinary mirror."

Patting the little wizard on the head, Sagreles said earnestly, "I'll tell Dumbledore to have this mirror moved. Harry, don't try to find it again."

"Professor... Professor Greengrass, may I ask you something?"

"Of course. A professor's duty is to help you answer your questions."

"What did you see in this mirror?"

"I've never looked into this mirror, Harry. I don't need a mirror to tell me what I want." Sagreles smiled, a rare sight. "I hope you'll be the same."

Harry nodded in surprise. For a moment, he had even thought Sagreles was lying, but when he looked up and saw his smile, he understood. The professor had been telling the truth.

"Now, go back. Put on your Invisibility Cloak, tread lightly, avoid Filch and his cat, and return to bed for a good night's sleep." Looking into Harry's eyes, he told him seriously, "The next while may be difficult, but as long as you want to, you can always let this go."

Harry nodded heavily, then picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

Sagreles waved his hand and watched him leave the classroom.