The Mirror of Erised

Luo Bin's heart pounded, nearly leaping into his throat. He was both nervous and excited.

He stopped struggling, thinking that once the mirror dragged him into the vortex, he would be able to go home!

He waited and waited, until the "octopus shadow" became a "round grape," but still he could not enter the vortex. His dark eyes stared at it in confusion. Finally, he pressed his wand against the mirror and gave it a tentative tap.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The mirror cracked into a spiderweb. Every shard contained a tiny vortex, and the suction vanished instantly. Standing before the mirror, Luo Bin looked up and read, "Erised stra ehru oyt ube..."

Erised... Erised... the Mirror of Erised?!!

The magic mirror that revealed the deepest desires of a person's heart!!

Luo Bin rubbed his chin, staring pensively at the spiderweb of cracks across the mirror!

In the original story, Dumbledore had enchanted the Mirror of Erised to serve as the final safeguard protecting the Philosopher's Stone. Only someone who wanted to find the Stone, but not use it, could actually obtain it.

But now that the mirror was so badly cracked, would it still work?

Luo Bin touched the hot end of his wand, pointed it at the shattered mirror, and enunciated clearly, "Reparo!"

The Mending Charm had no effect. Undeterred, he kept casting "Reparo." The moonlight dimmed, then brightened again, but he never stopped.

"Little fellow, don't waste your energy. You cannot repair this mirror!"

The aged, world-weary voice behind him gave Luo Bin a fright. After turning and recognizing the newcomer, he let out a long breath. "Mr. Dumbledore, I think I've caused some trouble. Serious trouble!"

Dumbledore walked around Luo Bin and gently stroked the mirror with his large, deeply wrinkled hand. "Serious trouble? Not necessarily! I believe that, like the hundreds and thousands of students before you, you have discovered the pleasures of the Mirror of Erised!"

"No, it's broken. It's lost its magic!"

"Broken?"

"Little fellow, Erised is a remarkable mirror. The happiest, most contented person, who wants for nothing and whose heart is full of hope, would see only their own reflection when standing before it. Robin Sear, do you understand what I am saying?"

A suspicion began to form in Luo Bin's mind. His soft fingertips slid slowly over the cracks. "Mr. Dumbledore, you don't see any cracks, do you?"

"No, I don't! The mirror shows us the deepest, most urgent desires of our hearts. All I see is a pair of woolen socks. Christmas is approaching, you know!"

In this magical world, "woolen socks" sometimes served as a metaphor for familial love. Luo Bin guessed that Dumbledore was missing his late sister, Ariana, but did not point it out. "All right, then. A pair of woolen socks is going on my Christmas shopping list!"

"Then let me thank you in advance. Little fellow, everything in the mirror is an illusion. Indulge in it too deeply, and you will only lose yourself. That is very dangerous. Before long, I shall move it elsewhere!"

Within the illusion, the vortex was a passage connecting two worlds. Mom, Dad, and Pipi's voices represented my desire to "go home." But what were the cracks about?

Dumbledore seemed to see his confusion. "The mirror reflects what is in our hearts, but offers neither knowledge nor truth. Little fellow, those cracks came from your inner resolve. It helped you shatter the illusion and return to reality!"

Indeed, the moment the cracks appeared, the suction had vanished, along with the voices calling him home from the vortex. Luo Bin lowered his eyes and thought for a while before asking, "I've heard that Merlin, the god of magic, was powerful enough to open passages between different worlds. Is that true?"

"Oh, Merlin. Reaching his heights is a lifelong ambition for many wizards. I have not attained that level, so I cannot give you a definite answer. However, legends in the magical world often contain some measure of truth. Now, you should return to your dormitory and go to sleep!"

With a flick of the elder wood wand into empty air and a cast of Apparition, Luo Bin was back in his dormitory.

On a single bed nearby, Draco was fast asleep with his mouth hanging open.

Outside the window, the snow had stopped. The windowsills, lawns, and treetops were all blanketed in white.

Luo Bin lay beneath his covers, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Only as dawn began to break, after vowing to become a great god of magic who surpassed Merlin and opened a passage between worlds, did he finally drift off.

The next day, Luo Bin was told to stay behind after Potions Class. Once Snape had finished tidying up, he led him to the collection room.

"Well? Why did you enter the Restricted Section last night?"

"Professor, I wanted to borrow a one-of-a-kind book, but Madam Pince refused. She wouldn't even let me read it in the library, so I had to sneak over there at midnight. Filch's voice startled me, and in my panic, I accidentally ran into the Restricted Section!"

A flicker of suspicion crossed Snape's eyes. He asked no further questions and took an exam paper out of a drawer???

"There are just over twenty days left before the first half of the school year ends. It is time to assess the results of your independent study of the Complete Guide to Poisons. If you do poorly, you can forget about touching the books on these shelves next term!"

A surprise test? That wasn't fair!

"Professor, aren't you going to give me any time to revise?"

"Robin Sear, when you are treating a poisoning victim, will Death give you ample time to consult your books?"

He pushed the paper and a pen toward him. "Either take the test or return the book!"

"I'll do it, I'll do it. Professor, is there a time limit?"

"Ninety minutes. And you have already wasted five!"

Hearing that, Luo Bin hurriedly fetched a stool, took up the fountain pen, and began carefully reading and answering the questions!

Question: How do you identify a Dragon-Patterned Viper, what are the effects of its venom, and what are the steps for brewing its antidote?

Answer: The Dragon-Patterned Viper has alternating white, black, and light brown markings, a blunt snout, and large scales on its forehead, crown, and around its eyes. There are thirteen small scales in front of the frontal scale, eight to nine upper labial scales, nineteen to twenty-three rows of dorsal scales, and 132–158 ventral scales... Twenty minutes after being bitten, the patient develops swelling around the wound, dizziness, and persistent vomiting. The patient's reaction peaks six hours after the bite.

Antidote preparation: Use green bamboo leaf juice as the base and simmer it in a cauldron until small bubbles appear. Add Dragon-Patterned Viper shed skin, concentrated Giant Scythe juice, licorice root, and powdered bezoar in that order. Simmer until thick, then turn off the heat and add porcupine quills!

The test contained a vast number of questions covering fungi, insects, herbs, and animals. Luo Bin wrote his final period just one second before the little clock chimed. Snape took the paper and bent over his desk to mark it. Luo Bin stayed, standing before the shelves and examining the specimens one by one.

Twenty minutes later, the snap of a fountain pen being capped drew Luo Bin's attention. Yikes, Snape's expression seemed to have darkened another shade. "Professor, did I get a lot wrong?"

Snape gave a cold snort, his gaze passing over Luo Bin to settle on a palm-sized butterfly in a glass jar. "Hmph! A bare pass. However, your handwriting is atrocious. Buy a handwriting workbook and practice properly!"

Ouch. That hurt!

"All right, I'll practice! Professor, why doesn't this butterfly specimen have a label?"

Snape stepped forward and said coldly, "Because it is not a specimen. It is alive!"

Luo Bin craned his neck forward until his eyes were almost pressed against the glass jar. Although the butterfly inside looked lifelike, close inspection still revealed that it was a dried corpse!