Happy New Year! Wishing you all the absolute best in 2026! 🥂
---
Gandalf stepped into the white chamber and paused, his eyes widening slightly.
For a moment it felt as though he had returned to Valinor: a place without shadows, without time, where the very air seemed woven from light.
Frodo was even more stunned.
There was no lamp, no candle, yet the entire room glowed with soft radiance. Bright, but never blinding. Time itself felt muted here.
"What… is this place?" Frodo whispered.
"This is the Room of Requirement, my private room," Sylas said with a smile as he walked deeper inside.
"Room of Requirement?" Frodo repeated, puzzled.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Sylas explained. "This room becomes whatever the user truly needs. A pocket realm for storage, a hidden garden, a treasure vault… anything you can imagine. It will create it."
Frodo blinked, astonished.
"However," Sylas added, "everything created inside the room cannot leave its boundaries. Anything taken out will vanish instantly."
Hearing this, Frodo only grew more impressed.
Gandalf, after everything he'd seen in Hogwarts, this room felt like something limitless, an all-purpose miracle.
Sylas didn't linger. He led them further into the endless white expanse. After several minutes of walking, rows of floating objects appeared ahead, neatly arranged on crystal plinths.
Frodo's eyes widened as he saw them:
A shining golden cup. A delicate silver crown.
A jeweled hat. A cloak.
A ruby the size of his palm. Swords, cabinets, mirrors, basins…
Among them stood a magnificent golden mirror. Frodo felt an inexplicable pull, its surface beckoning him. He stepped closer.
At first, the mirror showed only his reflection.
But in the next heartbeat, the image changed.
Frodo now stood, within the mirror, on the slope of a gigantic volcano. Lava rivers blazed around him. His mirrored self looked exhausted, pale, trembling… yet smiling.
Then Mirror-Frodo reached into his pocket and lifted the One Ring.
Frodo gasped.
In the mirror, he blinked back at himself, then extended his hand and dropped the Ring into the molten rock.
It sank, melted, and disappeared beneath the lava's surface.
Destroyed.
"What did you see?"
Sylas's voice behind him made Frodo jerk around. Sylas and Gandalf had joined him quietly.
Gandalf's eyes lingered on the mirror, deep in thought. Sylas simply watched Frodo with curiosity.
Frodo spoke hesitantly.
"I saw… myself. But different. I was standing on a volcano, lava everywhere. The sky was dark. I looked weak… but happy. Then I destroyed the Ring."
His voice trembled with excitement.
"Is this a prophecy? Does this mean I'll truly succeed?"
Before Sylas could reply, Gandalf shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, Frodo. That is not a mirror of prophecy. It is a Mirror of Desire, isn't that right, Sylas?"
Sylas nodded.
"Correct. This is the Mirror of Erised. It reveals the deepest desire of the heart. And the stronger the desire, the more dangerous the mirror becomes, people forget reality and lose themselves within illusions."
He placed a comforting hand on Frodo's shoulder.
"But your desire is noble. You want to destroy the Ring. And because your wish is pure, the mirror reflected the very scene you yearn for."
Sylas's voice softened.
"That doesn't mean it's impossible. If your will remains firm, if you refuse the Ring's temptation, then what you saw in the mirror may one day become real."
Frodo stared at the image once more, as if engraving it into his heart. His expression hardened with resolve.
"I will make it real," he whispered. "I promise."
Gandalf and Sylas exchanged proud smiles.
Frodo tore his gaze away from the mirror and looked at the other artifacts. A seven-sided stone basin filled with flickering silver-blue liquid caught his eye.
"Lord Sylas… what's this?"
Sylas's eyes glinted.
"This," he said, "is a Wizard Transformation Pool, and that liquid is distilled dragon and small amount of thunderbird blood. Enough to turn a person into a full wizard."
His voice dropped into a tempting murmur.
"If you wish to wield magic like the students outside… this pool can grant you that power."
"Learning magic is simple," Sylas said lightly. "Just step into the pool, and your body will change. You'll become a hobbit wizard instantly. Of course…"
His tone softened.
"It hurts. A lot. The transformation stretches bone and tendon. But the power is real. Are you willing?"
Frodo hesitated.
In these past days at Hogwarts, he had witnessed magic everywhere, students casting spells, charms dancing through the halls, broomsticks soaring above the towers. He admired it, deeply.
To be offered that power himself…his heart stirred.
But to Sylas's surprise, Frodo slowly shook his head.
"No… thank you, Sylas."
He took a breath.
"Magic is wonderful, but I still prefer being an ordinary hobbit. When this mission is over, I want to return to the Shire and live quietly again."
Then he added firmly:
"And if I can't resist even this temptation, how could I possibly resist the temptation of the Ring? If I give in here, I may fall there."
Sylas blinked, then smiled with genuine admiration.
Gandalf beamed, pride shining in his eyes.
Truly extraordinary.
The one chosen to carry the Ring would have to withstand temptations that would break stronger, wiser beings. And Frodo had just resisted one of the greatest temptations of all: power.
Even Sylas suspected that, had circumstances been different, Frodo standing before the Mirror of Erised would have seen himself wielding magic.
But for Frodo to reject wizardry for the sake of moral clarity… that was rare strength indeed.
Sylas would not force him.
He had originally prepared the Thunderbird bloodline potion for Bilbo, who refused. Frodo had been his next thought, after all, a hobbit capable of magic might better resist the Ring and survive the journey into Mordor.
But Frodo, too, refused.
So Sylas set the plan aside. The Wizard Transformation Pool would wait for another candidate.
With that, he led Frodo and Gandalf deeper into the chamber.
They stopped before a floating crystal platform.
Atop it sat a dark, perfectly cut black crystal, and beside it, a slender glass phial shimmering with soft starlight.
Sylas picked up the shining bottle and handed it to Frodo. Then he draped a piece of enchanted black cloth over the crystal to seal it.
"This," Sylas said, "is the Light of Eärendil, the gift Lady Galadriel once gave in Lothlórien. It restrains darkness. Keep it with the Ring, and it will weaken its influence over you."
...
Stones Plzz
Read 20+ chapters ahead @keepsmiling 818 p@reon