Hogwarts at night was very quiet, with only the occasional low hooting from the distant Owlery breaking the silence.
But in the corridors of this tranquil castle, a series of hurried footsteps echoed strangely.
Yet in the direction from which the footsteps came, there was no one to be seen.
Anyone witnessing this scene near one in the morning would be scared half to death, but the owner of the footsteps had no such awareness.
Under the gossamer-thin Invisibility Cloak, Harry's eyes held a hint of anticipation as he continued toward his destination.
He had walked this route for three days now, and even without moonlight, he was unlikely to get lost.
Passing through several corridors and around the familiar tall suit of armor, Harry pushed open the door on the left, entered an abandoned classroom, and saw the mirror that haunted his dreams.
Although he had seen this mirror for three consecutive days, if he went even ten minutes without looking at it, Harry would feel somewhat empty inside.
Removing the Invisibility Cloak, Harry stood before the mirror.
Ever since being attacked on Christmas Day, Harry had felt an inexplicable sense of urgency. That strange dream and the feeling of suffocation kept echoing in his mind, lingering persistently.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he would recall that gradually overwhelming sensation of suffocation and the appearance of that hooded stranger.
In that strange dream, he had never seen that person's face, but when he closed his eyes, that figure would always appear before him, and that face gradually became clearer, beginning to shift between several different faces.
At first it was Vernon, then Malfoy, Snape, and finally, that face vaguely became someone he had never seen before.
In his blurred impression, it was an extremely ugly stranger.
He had no hair on his head and no nose on his face, only two thin, elongated slits. Harry had absolutely no memory of this person, but for some reason, whenever he saw that face, he would be overwhelmed by intense fear.
And accompanying this face each time was a sickly green light that made him feel uncomfortable all over.
To avoid seeing that terrifying face, he hadn't slept at all on Christmas night but instead put on his newly received Invisibility Cloak and wandered the castle for a long time.
That night he had found many interesting little rooms in the castle: a classroom that would spawn countless mini-games upon entering, a painting that led to the kitchen, and a strange cellar that stored nothing but had a weird magical circle drawn on the floor.
These discoveries made him clearly understand the value of this Invisibility Cloak, because that night he had passed by Filch countless times, and at the closest moment, that ugly cat had even caught his scent and let out a sharp cry.
Fortunately, with the Invisibility Cloak's concealment, Filch hadn't noticed anything unusual, allowing him to escape successfully.
And that night, his greatest discovery was this mirror before him.
Looking at the faces reflected in the mirror that resembled him so much, Harry sat down on the ground with a peaceful smile on his face.
Although Ron had tried his best to stop him today, not wanting him to risk coming to find this mirror again, Ron's words couldn't dispel his longing for the mirror.
No one could stop him from being with his family, no one...
"So—you've come again, Harry?"
The suddenly sounding voice made Harry feel as if he'd fallen into an ice cave. He suddenly realized that due to his urgency, he hadn't observed his surroundings this time but had gone straight to the mirror and even removed his Invisibility Cloak.
Stiffly turning around, Harry's eyes met a pair of brilliant blue eyes. Although the owner of those eyes didn't show any angry expression, Harry still lowered his head.
Well, this could stop him now.
"...It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Well, it's very late now. Why don't you put on that wonderful Invisibility Cloak and go back to sleep?"
Nodding somewhat dejectedly, Harry stood up and suddenly spoke.
"Sir—Professor Dumbledore, may I ask you something?"
"You just did, but you may ask me one more thing."
"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"
Without looking toward the mirror, Dumbledore answered without hesitation, speaking gently.
"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."
Harry's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to receive such an answer.
"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone, and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."
Nodding thoughtfully, Harry once again expressed his apology.
"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore."
With that, he put on the Invisibility Cloak and disappeared from the room, leaving only faint footsteps gradually fading away.
After the footsteps completely disappeared, Dumbledore turned around and looked toward a dark corner not far away.
A moment later, a young voice came from the corner.
"Is it over?"
"Yes, it's over." Dumbledore smiled, watching Evans yawn as he emerged from the corner.
After yawning, Evans crossed his arms and looked somewhat displeased at the still-smiling Dumbledore.
"So, you had me come here in the early morning yesterday just to watch you fool a little kid in the middle of the night?"
Thinking of what Dumbledore had just said to fool Harry, Evans felt annoyed.
What did he mean by "people will insist on giving me books"? Didn't you ask for that set of fairy tales yourself?
It cost me 20 pounds!
And thinking of his already poor sleep over the past two days, Evans felt even more irritated.
He shouldn't have gone to the headmaster's office to find Dumbledore yesterday!
Inexplicably forced to drink a cup of strange beverage, listening to him talk about interesting things from Muggle fairy tales for ages, and before leaving, being assigned a task to come help move things in the early morning.
It wasn't until he left that he discovered he hadn't said a word about anything related to fishing!
If not for the fine tradition of respecting one's elders and the fact that he really couldn't beat him, he would already be planning to quit!
But leaving was definitely not an option. He still needed something from Dumbledore—he needed recommendation letters for the two ladies he was visiting tomorrow.
Without recommendation letters, those two ladies wouldn't be so easy to meet.
One had a lofty status and was the author of magical history. The other was incredibly powerful—the kind where two Evans tied together still couldn't beat her.
Hearing Evans's words, Dumbledore shook his head and glanced at the ornate full-length mirror standing not far away.
"I do indeed need you to help me move this mirror."
"After all, the three 'friends' you placed there aren't that familiar with me. Having you here can save quite a bit of time."
"Tch, as if you really wanted to go in and they could actually stop you."
Rolling his eyes speechlessly, Evans stepped forward two paces and drew his wand, planning to levitate the magical mirror.
But before he could cast the spell, Dumbledore reached out to stop him.
Turning his head in confusion, he met Dumbledore's brilliant blue eyes and saw his somewhat mischievous smile.
God knows how a hundred-plus-year-old man managed to show such an expression.
"Since we're already at this hour anyway, don't be in such a hurry."
"Don't you want to see what you might see in the Mirror of Erised?"
Looking at Dumbledore's smile that clearly carried an attitude of watching for entertainment, Evans hesitated for a moment, thought about his recommendation letters, and finally shrugged helplessly.
"I think my life is already quite fulfilling. I should probably see myself, right?"
With that, he stepped forward two paces and stood before the mirror.
Then, he froze in place.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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