The Invisibility Cloak and the Mirror

Immortality was sought after everywhere.

The Philosopher's Stone could grant it. Although it was not immortality in the strictest sense, it was enough.

"If I had the Philosopher's Stone, it would be a huge help with making things."

Of course, John was only entertaining the thought.

The Philosopher's Stone seemed to be the stuff of legend. No one had ever seen it in real life.

Still, it reminded John that he could start with alchemy. Perhaps that would help him master goblin forging more quickly.

"The Restricted Section might have something. I could go take a look."

John acted on the idea immediately, casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself.

He left the Room of Requirement and headed toward the library on the Fifth Floor.

To make sure he would not get caught, John took out the Marauder's Map.

"Harry's out?"

Seeing Harry leaving Gryffindor Tower, John guessed he was sneaking out for a nighttime stroll.

Judging by his direction, he seemed to have the same destination as John.

Yet when John reached the Restricted Section, he did not see Harry.

Just as he was wondering about that, he saw the bolt on the Restricted Section's door slide open by itself.

"The Invisibility Cloak."

The answer came to him. John remembered that Harry had an Invisibility Cloak, and it seemed he had already received it.

Before the door closed, John slipped in behind him.

An urge to play a prank struck him. Rather than reveal himself right away, he watched Harry take off the Invisibility Cloak.

The lantern in Harry's hand swept back and forth along the shelves as he searched for clues about Nicolas Flamel. He was so nervous that he even heard faint whispers coming from the books, unsure whether they were real or imagined.

With so many shelves to search, Harry needed somewhere to start.

He carefully set the lantern on the floor and looked along the bottom shelf, hoping to find a book that looked interesting.

Suddenly, he spotted a large black-and-silver book and pulled it out hard without a second thought.

"Stop!"

John saw the book, but it was already too late to stop him. Startled by the low cry, Harry instinctively opened it.

"Aah!"

A piercing, bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence.

The whole book was screaming. Harry's ears stung, and he snapped it shut.

But it was too late. The screaming did not stop, and Harry backed away in panic, knocking over the lantern.

In his terror, he could no longer spare a thought for the voice he had just heard.

He put the book back on the shelf, threw on the Invisibility Cloak, and ran outside.

Filch came rushing over at the noise, fury in his eyes. Harry slipped right beneath his outstretched arms.

Harry ran blindly, too panicked to watch where he was going. Without his lantern, he could not tell where he was.

At last, he stopped in front of a tall suit of armor, with Filch's tattling voice still reaching his ears.

Snape and Filch came around the corner. Harry could only retreat step by step, taking care not to make a sound as he squeezed through an open door on his left.

Leaning against the wall, Harry listened to the footsteps fade away, took a deep breath, let it out, and removed the Invisibility Cloak.

Just as he thought he was safe and was about to look around the room, the partly closed wooden door opened.

Harry saw no one enter. He felt as though the place was haunted.

The hairs on his body stood on end, and he backed away in fear.

Suddenly, something touched Harry's shoulder. He opened his mouth to scream, only for a hand to clamp over it.

"Shh. You'll get us docked points like that."

"John?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Harry turned to look. John seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

John felt helpless. If he had known, he would not have fooled around earlier. Now Snape knew someone had visited the library and kept prowling around nearby.

"Was that your voice earlier? How did you do that? Do you have an Invisibility Cloak too?"

The three questions in quick succession showed just how astonished Harry was. Feeling a headache coming on, John changed the subject. "Why don't we take a look around first? I've never been in here."

Only then did Harry begin to take notice of the room.

It looked like an unused classroom. Desks and chairs were piled against the walls, forming great masses of dark shadows.

There was also an overturned wastepaper basket, but against the wall directly opposite them stood something utterly out of place.

John noticed the mirror too. It was a magnificent mirror, nearly as tall as the ceiling.

Its ornate gold frame rested on two claw-shaped feet.

There was also an inscription across the top. John read it aloud. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

It was a very strange mirror.

A Gryffindor through and through, Harry walked toward it without fear.

The next moment, Harry stood before the mirror, utterly terrified.

"What's wrong?"

John approached, puzzled. Harry's breathing quickened, and the color rapidly drained from his face.

"There are lots of people in the mirror. At least a dozen. They're all behind me."

Harry's words startled John, and he leaned over for a look.

There was nothing... no, wait!

John stared at the mirror, his eyes widening as tables laden with Chinese delicacies appeared beside his reflection.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. His reflection was already enjoying the food.

Not only that, but the John in the mirror wore magnificent wizard's robes and looked to be in his twenties. He held the Elder Wand, a symbol of power, and wore the Order of Merlin, First Class on his chest.

Memories of the story surrounding this mirror resurfaced, and John murmured, "The Mirror of Erised?"

He remembered this mirror only appearing at the end. Why was it here already?

"John, I think they're my family."

Behind his reflection, Harry saw a gentle, beautiful woman. She was smiling, her eyes full of love.

Beside her stood a black-haired man wearing glasses, his hair just as untidy as Harry's.

Harry felt they were his parents. And not just his parents-there were other relatives too, with green eyes like his.

These were the things Harry longed for most. He gazed hungrily into the mirror, unwilling to look away for even a moment.

He placed both hands on the glass, as though he could enter it that way and reunite with his family.

Seeing that Harry was becoming transfixed, John pulled him away from the mirror.

"We should leave. Filch and the others will come back."

Although reluctant, Harry agreed.

He put on the Invisibility Cloak and invited John to join him beneath it. John smiled faintly and said mysteriously, "I don't need it."

Taking out his wand and giving it a gentle wave, John vanished before Harry's eyes.

Bewildered, Harry called tentatively, "John, are you still there?"

"Of course I am."

The reply came from right in front of him. Harry reached out and touched John's face.

"Careful. You nearly poked me in the eye."

At that, Harry sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Before leaving the room, John paused and looked beside the mirror. A silver-haired old man seemed to have appeared there, but vanished again after he blinked.

"Dumbledore?"

John did not think he had imagined it. Understanding dawned on him: Dumbledore had put this thing here.

In that case, Harry should be in no danger.

After parting ways with Harry at the stairs, John visited the Restricted Section, found a book on ancient alchemy titled Supreme Alchemy, and brought it back to his dormitory.

After reading for only a little while, his head began to swim.

The contents were far too profound. Just like goblin forging, they required a great deal of foundational knowledge.

"Bite off more than you can chew, and you won't get anywhere. I still need to start with the basics and work my way up."

Putting the book beneath his pillow, John opened the Marauder's Map. Quirrell was heading out of Hogwarts.

John hesitated, wondering whether he should follow and take a look.

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

Even leaving Voldemort aside, Quirrell alone was a professor John could not handle.

Unless he caught him off guard, the gap in their magical power was still too great.

And John had no attack like the Killing Curse. If his identity were exposed, he would stand little chance of surviving.

The Christmas holidays were not over yet.

During that time, John made several more visits to the library and borrowed quite a few books on basic alchemy.

He feverishly absorbed knowledge of alchemy, but that alone was still not enough.

However, in a book on ancient alchemy, he found an entry about Nicolas Flamel.

"Nicolas Flamel, the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone."

Reading the book set John's thoughts churning.

He remembered now. What Harry Potter protected in his first year was the Philosopher's Stone.

And that object could save John an enormous amount of time, allowing him to perform the highest level of alchemy directly.

"The Philosopher's Stone..."

Running his fingers over the account of the Philosopher's Stone, he briefly entertained the idea of living forever, then dismissed it.

He remembered that immortality had serious side effects. Not only did it wear away one's emotions, but more importantly, it made the body extremely fragile.

John would rather die than live forever like that.

"Perhaps I could tell Harry and the others."

These past few days, Harry and the others had been close to giving up.