Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 53: Sleepless Night
The moon rises and the sun sets.

The night sky was heavy and oppressive, with occasional glimpses of scattered twinkling lights among the stars through the clouds, like candlelight reflected in the sky. In the second half of the night, a cold wind howled, and silvery white snowflakes fell on the bare branches of the Whomping Willow.

There was silence in the principal's office.

Dumbledore stood quietly at the window.

There was a slight commotion among the portraits on the wall. Headmaster Everard cleared his throat and gently reminded, "Albus, there's news from the Fat Lady. Someone left the portrait hole late at night, but they didn't see who it was."

"I see."

The portraits of past principals looked at him and nodded, then turned and left the office, the footsteps gradually fading away.

……

The castle was especially quiet late at night.

Harry looked around cautiously and tightened the silk clothes around him. He still felt a little uneasy. Even though he walked carefully and lightly, his shoes still made a slight noise when they stepped on the floor.

Today was the happiest Christmas of his life, but there was always one thing lingering in his mind. When he was lying in bed and about to fall asleep, the thought that he had temporarily put aside during the day surfaced again.

At half past eleven, Harry stared at the curtains above his bed, wondering what was hidden under the trapdoor in the corridor on the fourth floor.
At half past twelve, Harry opened his eyes again and wondered who Nicolas Flamel was and who had given him the Invisibility Cloak.

At one in the morning, all sorts of chaotic thoughts were swirling in his mind. Not only did he not feel sleepy, but he was becoming more and more awake. Harry, with his eyes wide open, finally got out of bed and decided to find something to do.

Try the invisibility cloak.

The fabric was light and airy, smoother than silk, so thin that it seemed to have no substance, and there was no feeling when it was draped over the body. Harry wrapped himself in the Invisibility Cloak, holding the corners of the cloak with both hands to fix it, and took small steps forward, turning his head from time to time to observe his surroundings.

The portraits on the wall were fast asleep and showed no reaction when people walked past their frames. A few of them that were light sleepers were awakened by the slight footsteps. When they opened their eyes, they saw only an empty corridor, mumbled a few words in a daze, and closed their eyes again.

What a magical invisibility cloak.

Harry became even more curious.

Who gave me this magical invisibility cloak? Was it a friend of my parents, a professor at Hogwarts, or even Headmaster Dumbledore? Why didn't they reveal their identities?

Could it be a wizard from outside the school?

The faces of all the adult wizards he had known before flashed through his mind, but he still couldn't come up with an answer. So Harry stopped dwelling on it and started thinking about what he could do with the invisibility cloak.

The room in the corridor on the fourth floor...

This thought suddenly popped into Harry's mind, but he quickly rejected it.

Invisibility cloaks are indeed magical, but they can't stop the three-headed dog's sharp teeth. Fluffy is a large canine with a keen sense of smell and a huge body. Even if he can't see, he can smell his location. A few random bites are more than he can withstand.

After careful consideration, Harry decided to go to the restricted section of the library.

During this time, in order to find information about Nicolas Flamel, they had read many books introducing famous wizards of the past century, such as "Great Wizards of the 20th Century", "A Directory of Famous Contemporary Magicians", "Major Discoveries in Modern Magic", and "A Study of the Development of Modern Witchcraft"...

Unfortunately, nothing was found. Hermione suspected that Nicolas Flamel's information might be in the restricted area.

Harry wrapped the Invisibility Cloak tightly around himself and headed towards the library.

Mrs. Pince was on vacation and away from school, so the library was closed for an extended period. Fortunately, the door wasn't locked; he pushed it open, revealing a dark expanse of bookshelves. Harry's heart raced. He found an oil lamp at the front desk, lit it, and carried it inside. He stepped over the rope separating the restricted sections and reached the bookshelves, checking the titles by the dim light.

However, each of these faded, gilded titles was more obscure than the last, making it impossible to discern the content by its title. Some books even had no titles. As if sensing the stealthy gaze from behind the invisibility cloak, faint whispers began to emanate from some of the books, and some of the covers seemed to bleed.

Harry wasn't sure if it was his imagination, and felt a little nervous.

If it were an ordinary student, he would have turned around and ran away by now, but he is not an ordinary student, he is a student of Gryffindor College, he is a student who has defeated the mysterious man, he is a student with courage!

After careful consideration, Harry finally chose a thick book with a silver and black cover, pulled it out of the bookshelf and placed it on his lap. However, before he could turn the page, the book opened by itself.

"what!"

A shrill and piercing scream suddenly rang out.

The screams were high-pitched and deafening.

The sound echoed endlessly in the silent library and could not be stopped even when the book was closed.

Harry was startled. He dropped the book in his hand, put on the invisibility cloak and ran out. He stumbled and knocked over the kerosene lamp.

"..."

Behind the bookshelves, Dumbledore watched him hurriedly run out of the library, wearing his Invisibility Cloak. He narrowly escaped after the caretaker who had come to investigate. But the caretaker's assistant, Mrs. Norris, sniffed and directed Filch to chase him, leading to a thrilling chase between the two.

Dumbledore watched them go away, walked out of the shadows, picked up the kerosene lamp on the ground, and picked up the books. The books that were originally screaming and wailing suddenly became quiet in his hands and were put back on the bookshelf quietly.

In the corridor, the administrator and the cat were chasing closely. The students in front fled in panic, not knowing where to go, and finally hid in an abandoned classroom.

Harry hid behind the door, holding his breath and pressing his ear against it, listening for the footsteps of the caretaker and the cat as they walked away. He turned around and saw a gorgeous, exquisite mirror in the center of the room. He walked over to the mirror and examined it carefully, soon discovering the magic of the mirror.

The mirror was filled with more than a dozen people, and the two in the middle caught all his attention. One was a beautiful witch with crimson hair and green eyes. She stood in the mirror, looking at Harry outside, with tears in her eyes. The other was a tall, thin wizard with black hair and glasses like him.

"Mom... Dad?"

Harry called softly, his bright green eyes fixed on the reflection as if struck by lightning.

With his hands pressed tightly against the mirror, Harry immersed himself in the beautiful reflection. After an unknown amount of time, he heard the voices of Filch and Snape again in the distance. He came back to his senses and said goodbye to the reflection with reluctance.

Dumbledore watched him quietly as he put on the invisibility cloak and left the abandoned classroom. He walked out from the shadows in the corner, but did not leave the room immediately. Instead, he stood in front of the mirror, paused, and stared deeply into the reflection inside.

The castle fell silent again at night. When the moon disappeared into the clouds, Dumbledore returned to his bedroom and dragged his sleepy body into a chaotic and broken dream.

……

Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door, and the portrait of the headmaster on the wall of the headmaster's office started awake, mumbling to itself about being woken. A phoenix head poked out of the Sorting Hat on the shelf, emitting a crude, hoarse wow sound, like a cursing crow.

Dumbledore walked out of the inner room in his pajamas, glanced at the morning light outside the window, went forward to open the door, and saw Melvin, who was dressed neatly. He was stunned for a moment:
"Is there a problem?"

The young professor smiled and said, "President, I'm going out to work."

(End of this chapter)