This day is still December 25. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Hogwarts, far away in Scotland, is as snowy as Diagon Alley.

Harry had the most enjoyable Christmas of his life.

When he woke up in the morning, he received a real gift for the first time – not including a fifty penny coin from the Dursleys.

A crudely made flute, but apparently made by Hagrid's own hands.

A thick, bright green hand-knitted sweater, a large box of homemade fudge—from Mrs. Weasley.

A large box of horseshoe-shaped chocolates – from Hermione.

An invisibility cloak - I don't know who sent it.

He attends a special Christmas party and spends an afternoon playing with the Weasley brothers. After enjoying the refreshments, most people have little energy, feel overfed and a little sleepy.

They weren't bothered by anything strange, so they fell asleep almost as soon as they put down the curtains - like Ron.

But throughout the day, there was always one thing that haunted Harry's mind. It wasn't until he got to bed that he had time to think about it: the cloak of invisibility, and the man who gave it to him.

Harry initially thought it was Castor - and when he heard that Casto had inherited his family's coffers and wanted to squander the gold coins as much as he could, it wasn't out of the question that he would give himself a valuable cloak of invisibility.

Besides, Hermione had given him gifts, and Casto and Hermione were equally studious people - and Casto knew Harry before Hermione, so it was possible that he would have kept it to heart.

It is also because they exchange letters too often. Every time they were doing their homework in the common room, he and Ron could see Hermione, who had already finished her homework, still holding a few books and looking down at them, and occasionally looking up and writing and drawing on a piece of stationery - sometimes ignoring them copying her homework.

For the first time, Harry saw Hermione and his peers in a common language in their studies - Percy certainly didn't.

So he subconsciously treats them as a type of person.

However, he and Ron found a note.

"Your father left this thing for me before he died.

It should be returned to you now.

Use it well.

I sincerely wish you a Merry Christmas. ”

It was a slender, looped font he had never seen before, unsigned.

But definitely not from Casto.

Harry checked the foot of his bed again—there was no other wrapping.

Harry felt lost, but was immediately overwhelmed by a strong sense of unease.

He'd lived in the Dursleys himself for so long that he didn't have the habit of giving Christmas gifts at all—why would he want anything from others?

He put it down and played for a day. During the night, he took out the cloak of invisibility again.

"Use it well."

Harry decided not to bother with the source of the gift. He remembered why he had stayed at Hogwarts and not spent Christmas with Castor. Lemay.

He decided to put the matter to an end as soon as possible.

He disappeared into the warmth of his dorm room, alone in the eerie library.

.

Plans can't keep up with the changes.

That night, he opened a large black and silver book in the forbidden section—to Harry's surprise, it suddenly screamed in the silence of the night—a poignant, creepy scream. When it was closed, the screaming did not stop, and it was high-pitched, continuous, and deafening.

As he escaped, he broke into an abandoned classroom and encountered a mirror.

It was a very imposing mirror, high to the ceiling, ornate gold frame, supported by two claw-shaped feet at the bottom, and a line of English at the top—though he couldn't read it.

He only glanced in the mirror.

So he was captivated and couldn't help himself.

The next day, he took Ron and wanted him to meet his family, but Ron only saw himself.

To make matters worse, they were almost discovered by Lady Loris during their argument.

Even Ron had a bad premonition and persuaded himself not to go.

Today is the evening of the third day.

Harry was already familiar with the road. He walked as fast as he could, not realizing he was making a loud noise, but he didn't meet anyone.

His mom and dad were there smiling at him again, and one of his grandpas was nodding happily. Harry sat on the floor in front of the mirror. He's going to stay here all night, with his family, and nothing can stop him. Nothing! Unless—

"So—you're here again, Harry?"

Harry felt his internal organs freeze to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting at a table by the wall was none other than Albus. Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, he was too anxious to look in the mirror and didn't even notice him.

Harry suddenly noticed that Mr. Headmaster's face was tired.

"I—I didn't see you, sir," he asked, in an innocent tone, "how could you be so tired?" ”

On the one hand, it was a little trick that Castor taught him to distract others.

Harry, on the other hand, was indeed curious about such a tired headmaster - he had always had the impression that Dumbledore had always been the energetic old man.

"Oh," Dumbledore rubbed his temples - Harry seemed to have succeeded, "I sent Casto to an old friend's house, passed some defensive measures, and disposed of some of the things that their family was going to donate to the school - for which I had to delay for two days. ”

"Casto?" Harry was distracted.

"Yes, good news for you," said the old man, who looked tired but happy, "Casto has been admitted to school. However, because he doesn't have the freedom to control his magic and wants to be in the same grade as you—he needs to go to my old friend's house for a while. You may not see him for half a year, or even contact him. ”

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, but Dumbledore continued in a faint tone.

"Casto woke up after being injured, but in order to be with you, he voluntarily discharged from the hospital. Also, when I found him at St. Mungo, he wanted to spend Christmas alone and was preparing gifts for his friends. ”

Harry reacted slowly, feeling a deep sense of guilt.

His mouth opened and closed, but he could not speak.

Oh my God, what have you been doing these days?

Leave Nicol behind. Lemay, sitting in front of this mirror in a daze?

"This mirror ......," Harry said with some bitterness.

"Oh, you can observe that line of talismans more, I'm sure you're a smart boy."

Harry stared blankly at the top line.

Reading it right, it doesn't make any sense.

That's when he remembered a book. Castor had brought him a simple book on cryptography and mathematics that he seemed to admire.

Harry read it backwards.

“I.show.not.your.face.but.your.hearts.desire”

(I'm not showing your face, I'm showing your heart's desire.) ）

"yes, you get the idea. The name of this mirror is the same, The.Mirror.of.Erised is also 'The.Mirror.of.Desire'," Dumbledore was pleasant, "You'll come across some interesting wordplay like this in the wizarding world in the future, but remember, it makes sense." Also, do you understand the harm of this mirror? ”

Harry nodded, silent.

"It can't teach us knowledge, it can't tell us the truth. People spend their days in front of it, obsessed with what they see, and even driven mad, because they don't know if everything in the mirror is real or possible," Dumbledore lamented, "Also, tomorrow the mirror will be moved to a new place, Harry, I ask you not to look for it again......."

"Of course I won't." Harry said sullenly, "I...... You won't be unable to distinguish between the unreal and the real. ”

Dumbledore looked at Harry with some relief, even if he couldn't see his heart.

"It's best ......," he said, turning his head to look in the mirror, "I want you to see only yourself." ”

Before Harry could react, Dumbledore smiled again.

"Okay, why don't you put on that wonderful cloak of invisibility and go back to sleep?" His gaze swept over the silver gleaming fabric on the ground, "It's time for you to refresh yourself for tomorrow." You know, your friends are still trying. ”

Harry thought of Castor and Hermione, as well as Ron, who was trying to persuade him.

"Yes." Harry opened the door and was about to leave, when he suddenly asked, "Will Casto be better off when he studies at your old friend's house?" ”

"I don't know, it's not me teaching after all," Dumbledore replied very honestly, and then saw Harry's worried face.

"Oh, but I'm sure he'll like it." His body was hidden in the darkness, hiding his evil smile.