Chapter 127: The Mirror of Erised, Reflecting One's Heart's Desires!

Hermione and Ron continued to wander around the Castle. They headed for the quietest and most desolate places, places they'd never pass by during normal classes. Those were their destinations.

On Thursday, they both had a rough day.

During the spell - casting classes, Ron tried to summon a wild buffalo and got points deducted and was punished to write an essay. Hermione was distracted during the flying classes. She forcefully mounted a flying broom and had a terrifying in - air experience.

So, when Ron had a sudden idea and coaxed Hermione to follow Dudley and Harry on a night patrol, Hermione didn't hesitate much and agreed. They both needed to relax.

Ron wanted to take it easy without a goal, but he couldn't overcome his inner struggle and truly relax.

Hermione, on the other hand, tried her best to outperform others. However, she was disappointed to find that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't beat Dudley, who seemed to have an unfair advantage. She could only barely match Harry, and in some areas (like riding a flying broom), she was far behind.

"Sigh~"

As they walked, they were silent, their minds full of thoughts, and they couldn't help but sigh silently.

This situation only paused when a sudden big discovery appeared before them.

Hermione absent - mindedly used an unlocking spell to open the door of an abandoned classroom and led Ron inside.

Their gazes passed over the familiar old desks and chairs and the dusty old wastebaskets. Suddenly, they saw an incredibly large mirror quietly leaning against a wall in the abandoned classroom, standing out from the surrounding environment.

"Wow!"

Ron was captivated by the big mirror and let out an involuntary exclamation. "Merlin's red hair dye! I've never seen such a magnificent and tall, beautiful mirror! Look! Its top almost touches the ceiling!"

Hermione was equally surprised. She and Ron quickly walked closer to this special big mirror.

When they got closer, they saw by the moonlight that the mirror didn't lean against the wall. Instead, it had two claw - like supports at the bottom. They couldn't tell what material it was, but it seemed to be some kind of metal painted with gold paint.

Hermione used her wand to cast a Lumos spell. A white light shone from the tip of her wand. As she shone it on the mirror, she saw a long string of characters engraved on the top of the mirror frame.

"This seems to be Ancient Runes! It's an elective course we can take in the third year!

Dudley shared his alchemy notes with me, and it mentioned that ancient wizards liked to carve this kind of writing on their alchemical items. It seems to have some special functions, like stabilizing or enhancing the magic effects of alchemical items."

Hermione noticed the details around the mirror and, as always, lived up to her nickname as the 'Know - It - All Girl'.

Although she couldn't read what these Runes meant yet, it was already very remarkable that she could recognize what Ancient Runes looked like and know what functions they could have in her first year.

But Hermione's insightful words didn't get any response from Ron.

Hermione looked beside her with some confusion and found Ron staring intently at the mirror's surface, with a silly smile on his face. He didn't have the time to heed her words.

"Ron, what's wrong with you? What's so interesting about the mirror? Isn't it just showing your own..."

Hermione couldn't understand Ron's current behavior. While calling Ron's name, her eyes involuntarily turned to the mirror's surface, and her words gradually trailed off.

She didn't see her normal reflection in the mirror, but instead...

She saw that her wizard's robe on the chest was hung with Order of Merlin medals, including the first, second, and third - class ones.

All the professors, including Dumbledore, stood around, praising her erudition and extolling her powerful abilities.

Even the arrogant Teaching Assistant Dursley was deeply impressed by her and bowed to her, saluting respectfully. The expression on his face was no longer calm but filled with surprise and admiration.

"Hahaha!"

Hermione couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

So cool! It was just so cool!

So satisfying! It was so satisfying!

However, this good moment didn't last long. Hermione's own laughter "woke" herself up.

She got distracted and immediately exited that magical viewing state.

Only then did she realize that what she had just seen was merely an illusion simulated by The Mirror of Erised and not real at all.

Hermione felt an instant emptiness in her heart, but she had good willpower. She endured the urge to look at the mirror's surface again. Instead, she approached Ron, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him vigorously, trying to wake Ron up.

"Ouch! Hermione, stop it! I'm the president of the student council and the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch school team now. You have to respect me. It won't look good if someone sees you like this!"

Ron was obviously more immersed in the illusion created by The Mirror of Erised and was even more reluctant to wake up.

Hearing Ron's words, Hermione first felt extremely speechless. Then, thinking that she might have looked the same way just now, she blushed with embarrassment.

However, she quickly adjusted her mindset. Anyway, no one saw it, so just pretend it never happened!

"Ron! Wake up! It's time to eat drumsticks!"

Hermione increased the force of shaking Ron and also resorted to the tactic of enticing him with food.

"What drumsticks?!"

Ron finally woke up.

He really hoped to prove his excellence in front of his family.

He knew how much psychological pressure it could bring to an eleven - year - old boy who considered his inborn endowment average, especially when he had five extremely excellent older brothers on top of him.

This psychological pressure became even stronger after he made two outstanding friends and one incredibly outstanding friend.

So, that's why he got so deeply trapped.

After all, the scenes depicted by The Mirror of Erised were so alluring.

"There are no drumsticks! You were controlled by this magic mirror just now! Shaking you didn't even wake you up!"

The self - conscious Hermione naturally skipped over the fact that she had also been captivated by The Mirror of Erised and only mentioned Ron's reaction.

"Ah? Right, right, right!"

Ron shook his dazed head. After he stopped, he was about to look at the mirror's surface again, but Hermione quickly grabbed his head and turned it away.

"Ouch! It really hurts!" Ron yelped in pain.

"Good that it hurts! Do you still want to be lost in those false illusions? They're not real!" Hermione said crossly.

"I wish they were real! But unfortunately, I can't make it happen!"

Ron realized that Hermione was right. He voluntarily shifted his gaze and stopped looking at the surface of the Mirror of Erised. Instead, he started to say discouraging words.

"Isn't it just the president of the student council and the Quidditch captain? You haven't even put in the effort. Why can't you achieve it?!"

Hearing Ron's discouraging words, Hermione was exasperated with him for failing to meet expectations. Her words were meant for Ron and herself too.

In the know - it - all girl's dictionary, there is no such thing as 'giving in and admitting defeat'. No matter how false the pictures in the mirror were just now, one day, she would make the false become real with her own efforts!

Hermione knew very well that without this courage and attitude, she would never become a real strong person in her life.

The pictures in the mirror would really remain false forever.