Interest in the release of the second part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone continued to grow over the next few days, and readers kept discovering details in the book.
After the weekly Literary Review published its special report, a reader's letter caught the editorial staff's attention.
The writer was a retired philosophy professor named Arthur Pendleton.
He wrote in his letter:
"I am seventy-three this year and have read countless works of literature in my lifetime, but a passage in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone left me tossing and turning, unable to settle down for a long time."
"In chapter 12, 'The Mirror of Erised,' the Mirror of Erised is described as a mirror that shows the deepest desires of a person's heart."
"Harry saw his family gathered around him in the mirror, while Ron saw himself becoming Head Boy. Dumbledore, however, said that he saw himself holding a pair of thick woolen socks."
"Perhaps this was a joke. How could the deepest desire of someone like Dumbledore be nothing more than a pair of socks?"
"But whether this was a joke or foreshadowing by the author, let us delve into it no further."
"What truly shook me was what Dumbledore said to Harry-"
"[It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.]"
"These words came from an old man, spoken to an orphan who had just seen his dead parents in the mirror."
"They are both gentle and cruel. They tell Harry: you may cherish memories, but you cannot lose yourself in them. You may dream, but you must live in reality."
"I read this passage over and over, and the more I read it, the more it startled me. An author of fantasy stories had embedded the most clearheaded wisdom about life within the most fantastical of premises."
"Two seemingly unrelated things, brought together in this remarkable pairing, actually complemented each other."
"Allen Vane. Whoever you are, thank you for writing those words."
Literary Review published the letter in full, accompanied by an editor's note:
"The passage Professor Pendleton mentioned certainly merits deep reflection. Perhaps the reason Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone can move so many adult readers is precisely that it contains not only magic, but life."
Other newspapers soon reprinted the report.
The literary section of The Times wrote a short commentary specifically on the subject:
"The Mirror of Erised is one of the most important metaphors in the entire book."
"It tells us that the magical world is not a refuge for escaping reality. On the contrary, it teaches us how to face reality better."
"What Dumbledore said to Harry may be the wisest line in the entire book. It speaks to everyone who has ever lost themselves in dreams."
For a time, readers kept unearthing all sorts of philosophical lines from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The literary section of The Times published a commentary titled "Death is but the next great adventure."
Its author was Richard Halloran, a professor of theology at the University of Cambridge.
He wrote in the article:
"When I reached the passage in which Harry finally stopped Voldemort, I thought I would find a tense, thrilling battle scene. What I did not expect to find was a conversation about death."
"Harry was particularly astonished to learn that Nick and his wife had chosen to forgo the temptation of eternal life and face death."
"But Dumbledore told him: ['To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.']"
"In the Western literary tradition, death is often portrayed as an ending, darkness, an unknown abyss."
"But under Allen Vane's pen, death became 'the next adventure.' What a bold yet gentle metaphor."
"I do not know whether Allen Vane holds religious beliefs, nor whether he has experienced the loss of a loved one."
"But I think anyone capable of writing such a line must possess a profound understanding of life."
"These words deserve to be engraved on a gravestone."
As though the article had set off a chain reaction, readers kept digging up more memorable quotes.
The next day, the Daily Mail ran a feature in its supplement: "The ten most memorable lines in Harry Potter."
First place went to Dumbledore's famous words about death.
Second place went to his warning before the Mirror of Erised.
In third place was another widely discussed passage-
[The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.]
A lawyer named James Harper wrote in a letter to the Daily Mail:
"As a trial lawyer, I have seen countless people lie in court. They think lies can protect them, but in the end, the truth always surfaces in some form."
"Allen Vane's description of truth as 'a beautiful and terrible thing' could not be more accurate."
"Truth is indeed beautiful, because it represents justice and honesty; but it is also truly terrible, because it often destroys the illusions we have so carefully constructed."
"We need to treat truth with caution, not to evade it, but to be ready to bear its weight."
The Independent, meanwhile, took notice of another passage.
In a commentary titled "Standing up to friends," the author wrote:
"One line in the book has stayed with me, inviting repeated reflection. Dumbledore said: ['It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.']"
"This reminded me of my own life. We often find it easy to say no to outsiders, yet difficult to say no to friends. We fear losing their friendship, so we choose silence and compliance."
"But Allen Vane tells us that true courage is shown not only on the battlefield against our enemies, but also in the everyday act of standing our ground."
Several newspapers reprinted this passage, and it struck a chord with many readers.
A middle-aged man said in a street interview, "After reading that passage, I finally worked up the courage to tell an old friend what I had always wanted to say."
"We didn't argue. Instead, we had a deeper conversation. It turned out he had been waiting for me to speak first all along."
The Sunday Times devoted an entire page to exploring the theme of "love" in the book.
The article was titled "Protection forever."
It began as follows:
"When Lily Potter protected Harry with her own life, she left behind an ancient and powerful magic: the magic of love."
"Dumbledore later explained to Harry: ['To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.']"
"In this increasingly indifferent age, Allen Vane reminds us of something at once simplest and most important: love is the most powerful magic."
The article also interviewed a female counselor, who said:
"Many people who come to me for counseling feel neither understood nor cared for. They feel that no one in the world loves them."
"I often didn't know how to help them, until I read this book."
"Now I tell them: perhaps you haven't felt love, but that doesn't mean you have never been loved."
"Perhaps it was someone who left you long ago, or someone you thought didn't care about you. That love may have been there all along, without you realizing it."
"Just like the scar on Harry's forehead, the traces love leaves behind will never disappear."
With covert encouragement from powerful figures at the top, almost every mainstream newspaper in Great Britain joined the discussion.
For a time, people could be heard discussing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone everywhere: on the Underground, in cafés, and in office break rooms.
However, some third-rate tabloids carried strange headlines in inconspicuous sections.
"Mysterious pillar of light appears over London; experts say they cannot explain it."
"Aliens descend on London? Mysterious pillar of light sparks nationwide debate."
"UFO or God? London residents collectively witness a 'miracle.'"
Most people who saw them merely smiled in dismissal, feeling that third-rate tabloids were getting better and better at making things up.
But only those who had personally been around Baker Street at the time knew that what these newspapers reported was real.
"This is simply too strange," muttered a gentleman who lived near Baker Street, holding a third-rate tabloid.
After finishing the paper, he casually left it on a public bench and hurried off to work.
Behind him, a man in an ill-fitting overcoat slowly approached the bench and picked up the third-rate tabloid.
"Has the Muggle world noticed too? Fortunately, not many people have taken notice."
"It still needs to be dealt with as soon as possible." The man shook his head. "But just who was responsible for that magic?"