The tall, ornate, full-length mirror reflected the cold moonlight. The edges of the mirror were covered with magical runes, and at the top was a line of English characters. However, Evans couldn't quite understand the meaning of those words—it was probably some unique arrangement.
Should they be read backwards? After all, "Erised" spelled backwards meant "desire," but he was too lazy to parse the sentence structure.
Now he was completely captivated by the scene in the mirror.
The room that should have been empty in the mirror was now crowded with all kinds of creatures. They stood or sat around Evans, and because there were so many, the mirror had to shrink all the creatures down, making him sitting cross-legged in the center appear much smaller as well, though his expressions and movements were still barely visible.
The Evans in the mirror was holding Alice and Nana in his arms, looking somewhat helplessly ahead with an expression identical to his usual self.
At the very front of the mirror was a girl who had half-emerged from the side, waving her hand with a smile on her face.
She appeared to be in her twenties, with pale golden waist-length hair casually flowing but not messy, smooth like a silk ribbon swaying in the wind.
She wore a light gray robe and a pale green cloak. The cloak didn't seem to be made of ordinary material, as it was emitting a soft glow in the moonlight. This glow, combined with her snow-white skin, elevated her entire luminosity by a level.
Without any makeup to adorn her, the girl's dreamlike, exquisite features were enough to attract all attention. She simply stood there, yet made several of Evans's naturally glowing companions around him pale in comparison.
Perhaps sensing someone watching from outside the mirror, or perhaps simply due to the Mirror of Erised's effect of peering into hearts, the girl in front of the mirror met Evans's gaze. She blinked and showed a somewhat mischievous smile.
Then she transformed into a gentle breeze, floating behind the Evans in the mirror, and with some playful mischief, placed her hands on his head, making rabbit ears.
Watching the scene in the mirror, Evans remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft laugh, shaking his head slightly, his lips moving silently to say two sentences that only he could hear.
'Truly worthy of being... a mirror that peers into hearts.'
'Long time no see, Sothia.'
Then he composed his expression and turned to look at Dumbledore behind him.
"Finished looking. Let's start moving it."
"How was it? What did you see?" Dumbledore asked.
Though he was asking, his expression showed no expectation, only amusement.
He looked as if he already knew what Evans could see in there, and was quite certain about it.
"Nothing much."
Without replying, Evans lightly tapped his wand, transforming an abandoned desk into a deep red blanket that completely covered the mirror.
"I told you, my life is quite fulfilling. I don't have any desires."
When he said this, his expression didn't change at all, as if this were simply fact.
Hearing Evans's words, Dumbledore smiled, the amused expression on his face becoming even more obvious.
"Hmm... let me think, how did you describe this kind of situation again?"
He acted as if he really thought about it, then nodded as if suddenly understanding.
"Oh right, stubborn!"
"Are you going to move it or not?! If not, I'm going back to sleep!"
The next afternoon, in a small house that wasn't particularly spacious but was very cozy, Evans stood up and formally bowed to the old lady sitting in a rocking chair with a teacup in her hands.
"Thank you for sharing all this knowledge with me without reservation, Miss Bellance."
Then he straightened up, his eyes full of respect.
"Since Albus introduced you, I naturally wouldn't hide anything."
The lady smiled kindly and placed her teacup aside.
"And although what my ancestors did wasn't for fame or profit, before I leave this world, I still want to do something for them."
"I may not be able to let the Bellance surname continue to exist, but at least I can pass down their stories."
"The Bellance surname will never disappear, madam."
Evans smiled and tucked his notes into his pocket.
This seemingly ordinary old lady before him was no ordinary person—she was the last remaining member of a very ancient family.
Although the Bellance family wasn't one of the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, what they had accomplished was far beyond what those fellows who constantly talked about bloodlines but only lived off their ancestors' achievements could compare to.
However, very few of the Bellance family's deeds had been passed down. If he hadn't carefully studied the entire magical history of the Middle Ages, he wouldn't even have known such a family existed.
There were two reasons why so few of their deeds were known. One was that throughout the Middle Ages, they had been fighting for peaceful coexistence between Muggles and wizards—behavior that easily pleased neither side, so few people recorded their deeds.
The other reason was... their bloodline had nearly died out because of this ideal.
So much so that no one remembered such a family still existed.
Only during the period when Voldemort ravaged Britain did the sole remaining descendant of this family use her shocking power to make the world remember this surname again.
But no matter how powerful one person was, they couldn't reverse the ridiculous thinking of those pure-blood fanatics. Like Dumbledore, all she could do was ensure that one city wouldn't be harmed by Death Eaters.
If those wizards who, even during the height of the witch hunts, could risk the double danger of being burned to death and killed by their own people while walking between two opposing forces, had been able to continue existing, would the outcomes of these two modern wars have been different?
Perhaps by then, Muggles and wizards would have long since lost their barriers and hatred, and such wars wouldn't exist anymore.
After learning about what the Bellance family had done, Evans's heart was filled only with emotion.
This was a surname worthy of respect, a group of wizards worthy of respect.
Even though this family now had only one elderly person left.
Packing up his things, Evans stood up to leave.
Although the historical materials left by the Bellance family couldn't be called complete, today's visit had been quite fruitful. After all, this family had walked on the margins throughout the entire magical history of the Middle Ages, so their understanding of that era was very deep.
"By the way, Mr. Kahn."
"Yes?"
Stopping his movements of putting on his coat and hat, Evans turned around.
The kind old woman had a smile on her face as she looked at Evans and spoke softly.
"Don't tell these stories to the newspapers—they never have anything good to say."
"If possible, tell them to your future children."
"That way, these stories will be passed down too."
"I will, madam." Evans said solemnly.
With that, he bowed deeply once more, turned, and left, gently closing the door.
The moment the door closed, the house that had looked like a medieval cottage instantly twisted and disappeared, leaving only a patch of park grass.
Several children who appeared to be under ten years old were playing on the grass, as if that cottage had never existed.
Even with his enhanced magical sight, Evans could only see a few extremely faint traces of magical light at the original spot. If he hadn't known there had once been a cottage here, he wouldn't have noticed these slight magical fluctuations at all.
This was the existence that had protected an entire city during the most rampant period of the Death Eaters?
Taking a deep look at the children playing on that patch of grass, Evans shook his head and transformed into a silver-white arc of light, disappearing from the spot.
Next, he still needed to visit the famous Miss Bashert, and then he should be able to start breaking that seal.
"What kind of puzzle will the historical prerequisite be?"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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