Chapter 16 The allure of the Mirror

Chapter 16

The door swung open unexpectedly, yet no one was visible through the gap; faint gasps filled the air.

Brian displayed a serene smile towards the door, which felt somewhat unsettling in the night's ambiance.

Dumbledore glanced at the entrance and joked, "It appears there are quite a few individuals roaming around tonight. So, you're back again, Harry?"

A head suddenly emerged at the door, and as Harry removed the Invisibility Cloak, the silhouettes of two young wizards became apparent.

"Oh, and Mr. Weasley is here as well," Dumbledore remarked with a smile.

Harry and Ron appeared pale, standing there in confusion. Eventually, Harry gathered the courage to say, "Sorry, Professor, we..."

"No, I understand why you are here," Dumbledore responded. "You, like many before you, have encountered the allure of the Mirror of Erised."

Noticing Dumbledore's unwavering smile, Harry couldn't help but exhale in relief and said hesitantly, "It... it showed me my parents..."

"It always leaves individuals yearning for more," Dumbledore stated as he stepped in front of the mirror, gazing intently into it. Harry, unable to resist, pulled Ron closer to the mirror, dreamily staring at the images of his parents, filled with yearning.

Ron examined his reflection in the mirror, his eyes wide with excitement. "Ah, I think Mr. Weasley has found its allure too?" Dumbledore remarked.

"I... I saw myself as the Head boy, oh, and the captain of the Quidditch team..." Ron exclaimed, "Does it predict the future, Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled without responding, his gaze shifting to Brian. He sensed Brian needed a bit of engagement too.

"Clearly not; on the contrary, it predicts the opposite of the future," Brian said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What you see in the mirror is, in reverse, your future, or perhaps something you deeply wish to prove yourself in front of someone."

Ron turned pale, and for a moment, even his red hair seemed to lose its color, appearing pitiful. Harry was at a loss.

"Oh dear, Mr. Walker here is clearly joking," Dumbledore said, covering his forehead. "It never shows the future, Mr. Weasley. But as he mentioned in his latter part, 'It can only reveal your most urgent and intense desires.'"

"It never presents the truth or future," Dumbledore elaborated. "Never become obsessed with the illusions it provides; the brilliance of reality is what we need to explore."

"It will be moved to another location tomorrow, Harry; please do not seek it out again, alright?"

"Okay," Harry said reluctantly, gazing at the smiling faces of his parents in the mirror.

"Alright, now you should head back," Dumbledore said playfully, winking. "And please, don't cause trouble for Mr. Filch; I certainly don't want him coming to my office tomorrow to complain."

Brian and the others nodded and walked toward the door. Harry was the last to leave; he paused and curiously asked, "Professor Dumbledore, what did you see in there?"

"I saw myself holding a thick pair of wool socks," Dumbledore said, rubbing his crooked nose. "You can never have enough socks."

"I think you aren't being very candid either, Professor," Brian said softly.

Dumbledore winked at him.

The three of them stepped out, moving further away from the light in the room.

"Why were you there, Walker?" Ron grumbled, annoyed that Brian had tricked him and embarrassed him.

"Ronald, I don't expect you to call me cousin, but at least you should watch your tone," Brian said with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, as if looking at a troublesome child.

Ron's face turned red, and he stomped his foot angrily, saying, "Get lost, Walker."

With that, he pulled Harry away.

Watching the two figures vanish under the Invisibility Cloak, Brian's expression turned calm as he discerned the path by the moonlight and successfully returned to the common room.

[Witness the Erised Mirror Incident, Witness Point +1]

This time it genuinely counts as a witnessing event, which was somewhat unexpected.

However, the system only granted him a reward for witnessing the event, without the double witness points for participation, making Brian unable to help but complain about the system's judgment. Does he have to replace the Mirror of Erised to conjure Harry's parents to be considered as participating?

However, this plot seems quite significant, and the reward is a decent amount of witness points, which compensates for the consumption.

Currently, his witness point count has returned to 1.7 points.

"Dumbledore was there when I saw the mirror; he must have observed the whole thing," Brian rubbed his forehead.

"I was a bit emotional at the time; it's hard to say whether my Occlumency had any flaws then." Brian sighed, "I hope Dumbledore didn't see too much."

"But everything is clear now." Before falling asleep, Brian thought, "I have always been on the right path."

...

Harry and Ron returned to the dormitory, and Ron was jumping up and down, saying, "That horrible walker, he's even more detestable than Malfoy."

"By the way, he's your cousin?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, you mustn't mention his family in front of my mom; it would make her sad." Ron said, "his mother is my mom's sister, but they have a very bad relationship; we never keep in touch."

"Of course, the relationship is bad; the walker family used to side with the Dark Lord." Ron said in a low voice, "Our family has always opposed the Dark Lord; both of my mom's brothers were killed by supporters of the Dark Lord, and she hates them."

"But at that time, Walker's mother was on the Dark Lord's side; she's a cold-blooded, heartless traitor!" Ron did not hide his dissatisfaction.

"Did Mrs. Weasley tell you this?" Harry asked.

"No, I overheard part of a conversation between my parents. Whenever my mom mentions her, she sighs sadly; it must be true." Ron replied.

"Mm." Harry responded but couldn't help but wonder what Walker saw in the mirror.

...

During the following days of the Christmas holiday, Brian's life returned to normal.

He mostly sat in the soft armchair of the Slytherin common room, leaning against the warm fireplace, eagerly absorbing new knowledge. If the library hadn't been so cold, he might have stayed there all the time.

Quirrell somehow got his hands on a dragon egg, and as Brian looked at the dark, large egg, he contemplated taming one.

"I don't think it's very wise, Walker." Quirrell said lightly, seemingly trying to create a bit of pressure on Walker.

"How do you know what I'm thinking, Professor Quirrell?" Brian feigned surprise. He didn't close off his thoughts just now and wasn't surprised to be detected, but deep down, he was still cursing Voldemort for being idle.

"Of course, all your thoughts can't escape my insight." Quirrell said mysteriously, "This is a gift from the Dark Lord."

Brian displayed a displeased yet slightly fearful expression.

"Don't worry; I won't casually probe into your thoughts." Quirrell achieved his goal and then comforted him, "I know your loyalty to the Dark Lord."

"Yes, my loyalty to the Dark Lord is not to be tarnished." Brian raised his chin, displaying a proud expression akin to Malfoy's.

His acting skills were superb and would never allow for tarnishing.

"By the way, your health is getting worse, Professor Quirrell." Brian looked at Quirrell's increasingly pale face.

"Ah, this is the punishment from my master." Quirrell sniffed, his tone slightly trembling, hiding the fear in his eyes.

Brian rummaged in his pocket, took out a crystal-clear potion bottle, and handed it to him, saying, "This is a potion I recently prepared; it might make you feel a bit better."

Quirrell took it, sniffed it, and sighed, "Vitality Potion, truly a timely gift. I didn't expect you to be so talented in Potions. I must express my gratitude, Walker."

"This is what I should do." Brian nodded modestly.

The Vitality Potion can heal injuries, restore stamina, and even supplement a person's life force to some extent; it is a very precious potion.

This is Brian's recent self-study achievement.

Of course, the rarity of the materials primarily contributes to the potion's value; its preparation process is not complicated, which is also why Brian dared to prepare it himself.

As for those precious materials, they were a piece of cake for Mr. Albert Walker. He always had some friends who could easily procure rare and extremely valuable items. Without asking for a reason, he sent Brian enough supplies to concoct a dozen bottles of vitality potions.

"But this won't last long," Brian reminded.

"Of course, I have other options," Quirrell said, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, his body trembling.