The Mirror of Erised

"The development of Runes has always gone from simple to complex, from the earliest Runes to modern Charms. Along the way, there were many branches, including one that led toward Transfiguration..."

[You gained new knowledge of Runes. Runes experience +7]

[You gained new knowledge of Runes. Runes experience +3]

[You gained new knowledge of Runes. Runes experience +8]

[You gained new knowledge of Runes. Runes experience +5]

[Your Runes level rose to LV2. You can acquire one Bonus Ability.]

[LV2 Bonus Ability, Rune Dissection: You can more easily identify Runes within Charms and Ritual structures.]

"Quirrell" explained the structure of the Transfiguration branch of Runes in painstaking detail, as though afraid Will might not understand unless he broke everything down for him. Will grasped the material and gained a great deal of experience.

He listened ravenously to "Quirrell's" explanation, firing off question after question. By then, he had stopped wondering who was actually teaching him. All he knew was that he was learning something real.

Watching Will absorb it all, "Quirrell" nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Professor. Goodbye."

Forty minutes later, Will left Quirrell's Office with his Runes at LV2 (12/200). The Dark Lord was no joke. In the early Harry Potter books, Voldemort might have been a children's-book villain who showed up only to be beaten, but here, even a scrap of what he knew had taught Will a tremendous amount.

Will now understood how Runes could be converted toward Transfiguration. The field had barely been explored and had no coherent theory, only the faintest beginnings. Yet Voldemort had researched even this, a testament to his mastery of Magic back then.

Will left the Office without a trace of sleepiness. He could sleep all he wanted when he was dead. Right now, he needed to study while the lesson was fresh.

He raced to the Room of Requirement and began organizing everything he had learned in his notebook. He kept flipping through the books on Runes beside him, writing down each new hypothesis.

[You gained new knowledge of Runes. Runes experience +3]

Runes... Transfiguration... spell structures... Ritual structures...

Will felt as though something hovered at the edge of his mind, but he could not catch that thread of inspiration. Time slipped by until his stomach began growling in protest. Frustrated, he gave up on finding a breakthrough that day and left the Room of Requirement.

It was already dark. Will had even missed his afternoon Herbology class and evening Astronomy class. He walked while deep in thought, and by the time he came to his senses, he had no idea what floor he was on.

A nearby door stood half-open. On impulse, Will pushed it and stepped inside.

The room looked like an abandoned classroom. Desks and chairs were piled against the walls, forming great masses of shadow. Will swept his gaze across the room, and the moment he spotted one particular object, he knew where he was.

It was a magnificent mirror that reached all the way to the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame and two claw-shaped feet supporting it.

An inscription ran along the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

The Mirror of Erised. Will recognized it at once. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped in front of it. Now that he was here, how could he not take a look?

Besides, he had always been curious about this extraordinary mirror.

What did I desire most, deep down?

The surface of the Mirror of Erised was like a smooth, flawless Crystal, reflecting Will's face with perfect clarity.

The reflection showed him years older. His handsome face held no expression, and his Silver-Gray eyes seemed colder than ever. Wearing a pitch-black Wizard's robe, he walked down a gloomy, dimly lit path.

As Will watched, his reflection kept walking. There was no telling where the path led. Figures appeared on either side as he passed: a grown-up Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and many of his Hogwarts classmates.

Then came several half-transparent figures, like strange Ghosts: Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and others...

He also saw Sylvia.

Last came a vast stretch of battered, heavy black gravestones. Each bore a Wizard's name: Tom Riddle, Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Herpo the Foul, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff... Merlin...

Will was taken aback. What was this supposed to mean?

He had expected to see himself study to the absolute limit, then stand shoulder to shoulder with gods through countless stacked Bonus Abilities.

But this scene...

Will's Silver-Gray eyes swept over the image again. His reflection was still walking along that dark, eerie path. This was what lay in his heart. After a moment's thought, Will let out a long breath.

"So that's it—I want to surpass everything."

His reflection kept walking. Even the gravestone bearing Merlin's name had fallen far behind him.

Was this what the Sorting Hat had meant by a Wizard who pursued knowledge? That wasn't bad, either.

A smile slowly tugged at Will's lips.

"What do you see, my boy?"

A gentle, kindly voice sounded behind Will.

Will turned and greeted the white-bearded old man in a white nightgown.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."

"I saw myself become the greatest Wizard in the world." Will did not hide much.

"My boy, like the hundreds and thousands before you, you've discovered the appeal of the Mirror of Erised." The cup in Dumbledore's hand gave off the scent of Hot Cocoa. "Of course, many of them wanted to become the greatest Wizard, too."

Speaking kindly, Dumbledore stepped up to the Mirror of Erised and gazed into it.

The smell of Hot Cocoa grew stronger, and Will's stomach betrayed him with another growl.

"You must be starving, Will." As soon as Dumbledore spoke, a long table laden with food appeared beside them: Will's favorite steak, sausages, roast meat... and a large, steaming pot of Hot Cocoa.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."

"No need to thank me. Young people sometimes get so caught up in things that they forget to eat." Dumbledore sat across from Will and watched him tuck in.

"I told Sprout and Sinistra—Aurora Sinistra, your Astronomy professor—that you needed to miss class. They thought you were ill." Dumbledore drew over a plate of pancakes drenched in syrup as he chatted with Will. "Sprout even wanted to visit you in the Hospital Wing."

Only then did Will realize Dumbledore had excused him from class.

"Sorry for the trouble, Professor."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Quirrell was right. Bright, outstanding students do get special treatment."

"You knew?"

"I know most of what happens in the Castle. Often, that's the only way to keep students safe," Dumbledore explained. "Your private spaces are another matter, of course."

Will did not think Dumbledore was perverse enough to spy on everyone. This was a respectable Wizarding World.

"And Miss Lestrange kept knocking on the door to the Room of Requirement. She didn't go back to rest until I went over."

Will stopped eating, a rare look of guilt crossing his face. "I really shouldn't have sealed off the Room of Requirement."

Seeing Will's reaction, Dumbledore felt a weight lift from his mind. He continued, "My boy, I must warn you not to become too consumed by the pursuit of knowledge. Don't lose yourself in it, or you may become its slave."

Will noticed at once how unusually serious Dumbledore had become as he said this. A faint sense that something was wrong stirred in Will's heart...