The Mirror of Erised

There are countless school rules, but the first one is to avoid being discovered.

Since they violated school rules and were caught red-handed by Dumbledore, it was inevitable that they would have points deducted from their record.

Dumbledore crossed his arms, tapped his long middle finger against his index finger, and looked at the six young wizards before him with a slight smile.

But his smile was neither gentle nor kind, and everyone knew he was going to lose points.

Dumbledore glanced at the ceiling for a moment, finally made up his mind, and said softly, "Strolling at night violates the seventh and thirteenth rules of the school. Ten points will be deducted from each person."

William and his gang of seasoned veterans remained expressionless. They had never been caught before, but as the saying goes, "He who walks by the river will eventually get wet," and they were mentally prepared for the worst.

Hermione, caught on her first nighttime stroll, trembled slightly, as if the ten cents had struck a nerve.

However, perhaps because she was in the wrong, she did not argue.

But that wasn't all. Dumbledore continued, "Those who trespass into my restricted Restricted Section will have ten points deducted from their names."

Hermione opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to retort, but after thinking about it, she realized she had no reason to, so she lowered her head and continued biting her lip.

"Ten points will be deducted from everyone for taking Professor Sprout's Devil's Snare."

"Broken the key that Professor Flitwick set up with the spell, ten points deducted from each person."

"Ten points will be deducted from each person for taking Professor McGonagall's Wizard's Chess pieces."

"Ten points will be deducted from each person for taking Professor Snape's Potions."

It's already sixty points, and Dumbledore shows no sign of stopping.

"Everyone who disturbs my sleep in the middle of the night will have 15 points deducted!"

Hermione's eyes first reddened, then her shoulders trembled. She thought it would be over after deducting a few points, but unexpectedly, six or seven more were deducted in a row, and in the blink of an eye, she had lost seventy-five points.

Finally, upon hearing Dumbledore's emotionless words again, "Scribbling on the wall, deduct ten points..." she suddenly burst into tears.

The portraits of the headmasters on the wall erupted in a thunderous argument, with the previous headmaster Armando Dippet, shouting that it was unfair, given that he was Ravenclaw House alumnus.

Phineas Nigellus was absolutely delighted. He took a wine glass from somewhere and started banging it on the glass, a truly disgusting sight.

"Yes, yes, we've deducted a lot." Dumbledore shook his head, raised his index finger, and smiled. "However, there are a few other things that must be taken into account tonight."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "You six are the first group of students to pass the challenges I set up."

This process demonstrated genius and courage, for which each person receives an additional 60 points.

"Also, Miss Granger's comments on the wall are very insightful, and I will consider them carefully. I'll add another twenty points to each of you," Dumbledore announced loudly.

"I've decided to set up a principal's mailbox in the hallway so that everyone can write me suggestions instead of graffitiing the walls."

Hermione looked up in surprise.

Dumbledore winked, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Of course, this mailbox only accepts letters from students, otherwise I'd probably be overwhelmed by Howler."

Hermione finally stopped crying; her face was flushed, and she looked somewhat happy.

"So, in the end, they still deducted five points from each of us?"

Fred muttered a complaint as he stepped out of the Headmaster's Office.

"Compared to 85, five points is very little; it can be made up in one class." William shrugged.

"That's you!" George sighed. "If we were raising our hands to answer questions in class, this is what would happen..."

George gave Fred a look, and Fred, mimicking Hermione, suddenly raised his hand.

George pursed his lips, his serious expression resembling Professor McGonagall's. He cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Weasley, you should probably go to the Hospital Wing."

Fred said helplessly, "That's right, in the professors' eyes, it's very strange for us to actively answer questions in class."

Everyone laughed.

Hermione tilted her head and retorted, "But you know, if you ask me, losing five points is already something to be happy about."

I think the principal should deduct ten points from our scores so as to remind us.

He was actually testing us. Even if he deducted twenty points, I would accept it gladly.

In the short time that followed, Hermione had become a fan of Dumbledore.

"I'm going to write Professor Dumbledore an apology letter when I get back for my irrational behavior tonight," Hermione said seriously, arms crossed, her expression exactly like Professor McGonagall's.

"Of course, there are also letters of advice. I have several suggestions, concerning Professor Dumbledore himself. He's too easygoing. The Headmaster should be more serious, like Professor McGonagall..."

Cedric and Cho were studying a map. On the map, there was clearly nothing at the end of that corridor, but somehow after passing through the Fiendfyre, they ended up in the Headmaster's Office on the Seventh Floor.

They were both very curious about this.

"Shh, don't speak," Cedric suddenly said. "Professor Snape is here."

William waved his wand, quickly casting Disillusionment Charm, and the group carefully hid in a shadowy corner.

Snape, dressed in black pajamas, came down from the fourth floor; he didn't look too good.

The fact that there's only Restricted Section in the corridor on the fourth floor indicates that he came back from there.

Professor Snape stood at the monster statue outside the Headmaster's Office, gave a command, and went inside.

After the professor left, Cedric whispered, "Didn't he discover that someone had broken into the magic he designed?"

"Probably," William nodded. "Everyone should hurry back to their respective lounges, or if Snape sees us, he'll definitely deduct a lot of points."

Snape wouldn't be as lenient as Dumbledore; he would only lightly deduct five points.

At this moment, in the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore was still sitting alone in his chair, intently examining the large mirror in front of him.

It was a very impressive mirror, reaching all the way to the ceiling, with a magnificent gold frame, and supported by two claw-shaped feet.

The top is inscribed with the words: Erisstra Ehruait Ubika Fruait Onwochs.

In the mirror was an old man, also with white hair, who looked very thin.

He sat alone in a dusty chair, dressed in a simple black robe, his arms crossed, looking at Dumbledore with a smile on his lips.

Soon, the scene in the mirror changed.

The old man in black robes disappeared and transformed into several people, all looking at Dumbledore with kind smiles.

In the mirror, there was a girl of thirteen or fourteen, waving at him.

Dumbledore reached out and touched the mirror with trembling hands, and before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry, Ariana, I couldn't take good care of you. I'm so, so sorry..."

(Thanks to the helmsman "Snz" for the donation (//?//))