Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 63 Mirror of Erised

Unlike Tierra, who was busy studying and absorbing knowledge during the Christmas holidays, Harry seemed to have nothing to do.

Not only did Harry not participate in the twins' snowball fight, but he also seemed somewhat distracted when Ron invited him to play wizard chess.

Harry looked forward to the night every day.

Tiera would spend half of her evenings reading books or secretly recording and analyzing the magic in her diary.

Therefore, Tierra knew perfectly well that every night Harry would quietly get out of bed, put on his invisibility cloak, linger by Tierra's bedside for a while, and then quietly walk down the stairs.

Harry arrived at the abandoned classroom as if he knew the way well.

Harry saw his parents' smiles in the mirror again... and an old man with a long beard...

"So you're here again, Harry?" the long-bearded old man said, sitting on an abandoned desk and swinging his legs.

Harry felt as if his insides had suddenly frozen.

He immediately turned around and looked back. The long-bearded old man sitting at a table by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

Harry must have walked right past him; he must have been too busy looking in the mirror to notice Dumbledore at all.

“I…I didn’t see you, sir,” Harry said nervously in a low voice.

"That's strange, it's clearly you wearing the invisibility cloak, not me," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the smile on his face that was very similar to Tyrell's.

“So,” Dumbledore said, sliding off the table and sitting on the floor with Harry, “you, like hundreds and thousands before you, have discovered the fun of the Mirror of Erised.”

"I didn't know it was called that, sir."

“But I suppose you already know its magic, don’t you?” Dumbledore said with a smile.

"It, oh yes, I saw my family..."

"And your friend Ron saw himself as the president of the boys' council." Dumbledore paused, then said with a smile, seemingly in a particularly good mood, "And our porcelain doll-like little genius, Tyella... he also saw his parents, the place where he used to live, and his pet dog."

"How did you know..."

“I don’t necessarily need an invisibility cloak to become invisible,” Dumbledore said gently. “Then, can you think about what the Mirror of Erised has shown us?”

Harry shook his head. He had a guess in his mind, but he was unwilling to admit it.

"Let me explain. The happiest person in the world can use the Mirror of Erised as a regular mirror, meaning that what they see in the mirror is their own reflection. Do you understand?"

Harry was thinking. Then he said slowly, "Mirrors make us see what we want... whatever we want..."

“Yes and no,” Dumbledore said softly. “It shows us only our deepest, most intense desires. You’ve never seen your family, so you see them standing around you. Ron Weasley always looked inferior to his brothers, so he saw himself standing alone, the best of them all. And Tyrell, he longed for the past, he desperately wanted to return to where he used to play, because his parents died a violent death, he…” Dumbledore paused here, “He might have longed for his parents to live to old age…” “However, this mirror teaches us neither knowledge nor tells us the truth. People waste their days before it, obsessed with what they see, even driven mad, because they don’t know if what they see in the mirror is real, or if it is even possible.”

"The mirror is moving to a new place tomorrow, Harry, so please don't look for it anymore. If you happen to see it someday, be prepared. It's no good to indulge in illusory dreams and forget about real life, remember that... Well, that's enough for today. Why don't you put on that wonderful invisibility cloak and go to sleep?"

Harry stood up.

"Sir...Professor Dumbledore? May I ask you a question?"

“Of course, you just did it.” Dumbledore smiled. “However, you can ask me one more question.”

"What did you see when you looked in the magic mirror?"

“Me?” Dumbledore chuckled, standing up as well and lifting his bright purple robe slightly in front of Harry.

Harry then noticed that Dumbledore, who was probably over a hundred years old, was dressed in a very childlike way today. He was wearing a loose purple robe, and underneath the robe, he was wearing light blue starry cashmere trousers, with the bottom of the trousers tucked into a pair of thick wool socks of the same color.

"I have received what I wanted this year. Now I only hope that you young wizards will have a bright future."

Harry tilted his head, a little confused.

"Hahahaha!" Dumbledore seemed to laugh happily, reaching out to ruffle Harry's head, making Harry's soft hair all messy.

“Go back to sleep. If the little wizard stays up too late, he won’t grow tall. Although there’s a potion that can solve this problem, it tastes as bad as a moldy milkshake,” Dumbledore said.

“Yes, sir.” Harry nodded.

“Oh, right, Harry,” Dumbledore called to him again.

“What is it, sir?” Harry asked.

“As a friend, you should find an opportunity… to remind our little Tierra that having goals is a good thing, but don’t push yourself too hard… let him rest properly… some things… no matter how hard you try, it’s useless, after all…” Dumbledore seemed a little hesitant about whether to say the rest, “After all, the dead cannot be resurrected, Harry, you should also remember this sentence, there is no power in this world that can bring the dead back to life.”

"Yes, sir." Harry seemed a little disappointed. He nodded and quickly disappeared through the classroom door.

After Harry disappeared, Dumbledore was soon the only one left in the abandoned classroom.

Dumbledore stood blankly before the Mirror of Erised, his shadow like a lonely, desolate river.

Dumbledore's face, as bark as an old tree, betrayed an undeniable loneliness and solitude.

“Tiera…Gellert…Grindelwald…” The indistinct words uttered by Dumbledore echoed in the dark classroom.

Dumbledore stared blankly at the Mirror of Erised.

(End of this chapter)