Days at Hogwarts

The duel could not go on, and Hermione tried to get everyone to return to the entrance of the common room and wait for the Fat Lady to come back. Everyone went back to their dormitories and went to bed early.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, with ambiguous expressions on their faces. They were very tempted by the idea of a night tour—after all, the twins had bragged about it many times. Since they couldn't go back now anyway, they might as well go on a real adventure.

Whether it was a night tour or returning to the dormitory, Neville had no preference. He just didn't want to be alone and would follow whichever side had more people.

"Let's go! Let's start with the Restricted Section of the library."

Loren's words made Hermione's heart pound. She didn't want to look at the books in the Restricted Section—she only followed to stop Loren from making an even bigger mistake.

The other three quickly followed. Loren led the team to the second floor, carefully bypassed two suits of armor that were dueling, and arrived at the library.

The library closed at eight o'clock, but the door wasn't locked. A gentle push made the wooden door creak.

Loren poked his head in for a look. The library was pitch dark. He and the others slipped inside and gently closed the door. Looking around, Loren stepped forward to light a lamp on a shelf, then held it up and led the way through the rows of bookshelves. The other four huddled closely around him.

The Restricted Section was at the back of the library. They stepped over the rope that separated the section, walking softly with the lamp, browsing the titles of the books on the shelves.

The Birth of the Curse.

Drive the Soul.

The Most Painful Torment.

No one dared touch these books—their titles alone looked dangerously evil.

Advanced Black Magic. When Harry saw this title, a needle-like pain suddenly shot through his head—but it passed quickly.

Eventually, they took out a book titled Powerful Potions and gathered around to read it. The list of potion names was dazzling.

Relaxant, Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, love potion...

Harry wondered whether he could use truth serum on Hagrid and get answers to his questions. But the thought quickly embarrassed him. Hagrid was his friend—how could he think such a thing? It was really stupid.

Seeing the entry for beauty potion, Hermione wondered whether it would work on her teeth.

At the end of the book was Felix Felicis, with a description saying that the drinker would experience good luck for a period of time and succeed at everything they did. Several people gasped in wonder.

But they were only amazed. None of them had any thoughts of actually making it. Most of the ingredients were completely unfamiliar, and the preparation process sounded absurd—it took six months to brew.

They could only imagine its effects and indulge in the fantasy.

"Will we learn these potions in the future?" Neville sighed.

"Don't count on it. These are in the Restricted Section—we're not allowed to learn them. Can you imagine Professor Snape teaching us how to make a love potion?" Hermione dismissed the idea.

Everyone imagined the love potion for a moment, then Snape's gloomy face—and simultaneously shook their heads.

"Should we look at another one?" Harry thought of Advanced Black Magic again.

Loren shook his head. It was impossible to spend the whole night reading books during their first night tour. A good student wandering around just to read? That would be...

Ron was about to ask what to do next when Peeves' sharp voice suddenly came from outside: "Come on, Filch, come and catch me!"

Then came a crackling sound, as if Peeves were pelting Filch with something.

Bad news—Filch was outside. If they were caught, they'd all get five expulsion notices each.

The five huddled together, close enough to hear each other's breathing. Ron and Neville's minds went blank. They were already in panic.

"Shh—" Loren gestured for silence and quickly blew out the lamp. He led the others out of the Restricted Section and crouched behind the first bookshelf near the entrance.

Filch didn't chase Peeves. He knew better. The more he chased, the more pleased Peeves became. Ignoring him was the only way to make him calm down.

A Slytherin troublemaker had lied to Filch about someone wandering around on the first floor, but Filch had waited in vain.

The Weasley twins had used this trick in their first year. It hadn't appeared in a while—but now a first-year had fooled him again.

Filch figured the freshmen would probably go to the Restricted Section for their night tour. He'd left Mrs. Norris on the first floor just in case and gone upstairs himself. But along the way, he had run into Peeves and been distracted by the little ghost.

Now Peeves had fled, and Filch pushed open the library door to inspect it.

The rows of bookshelves blocked most of the view, and the lighting was very dim.

The Restricted Section was at the back of the library. As Filch made his way toward the back, the five students used the opportunity to duck behind a different bookshelf, passed behind him unnoticed, and successfully slipped out.

Without stopping, they dashed through the corridors until they found an abandoned classroom and slipped inside, closing the door behind them.

They could hear each other's hearts pounding. It was the first time they had done something this thrilling. They had almost been expelled.

They looked at each other, breathless but smiling from the heart. From that moment on, the five of them became true friends.

When you go through something together, it's hard not to form a bond—and sneaking into the Restricted Section and escaping the caretaker definitely counted.

After calming down, they began to explore the abandoned classroom.

It was much like other Hogwarts classrooms, but many desks and chairs were piled against the wall, forming a large dark silhouette. There was an overturned wastebasket next to it.

But the most eye-catching object was the mirror standing in the center of the room.

It was grand and tall, reaching the ceiling, with a golden frame and claw-like feet. The words "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" were engraved across the top.

Loren read the inscription aloud, and Hermione quickly caught the reversed spelling and deciphered it: "I show not your face but your heart's desire?"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

No one answered. They were all staring at the mirror.

Ron stood in front of it first and exclaimed, "Oh! I've grown up a bit—I'm Head Boy! I'm also the Quidditch captain, and I'm holding both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup!"

"This mirror shows the future!" Ron grinned, clearly thrilled.

The others saw only Ron's reflection. Realizing it must be a matter of position, they pushed Ron aside—despite his protests—and took turns.

Harry saw his family. His parents, along with more than ten other people, stood behind him, all sharing his eyes or face shape.

Hermione saw herself with perfect grades, being praised by her parents and Professor McGonagall.

Neville saw his parents healthy and smiling, with his grandmother beside them—and tears streamed down his cheeks.

Everyone fell silent. Loren explained softly that Neville's parents had been tortured into madness by Death Eaters and were still in St. Mungo's Hospital. The group gently moved Neville away from the mirror and stayed by his side, quietly comforting him.

Loren never expected that what he'd see would be a private internet café booth constructed by the Room of Requirement, with Grandpa Bates sitting on a sofa.

He nearly cried out. Apparently, the Mirror of Erised couldn't penetrate his thoughts—just like the Sorting Hat couldn't read his memories. It couldn't see his desire, so it fused Grandpa Bates with the internet café.

When Hermione asked what Loren saw, he simply said he'd seen his relatives.

Except for Harry, no one paid much attention to what the mirror reflected. They stayed with Harry until late into the night, but he still didn't want to leave. Eventually, sleepiness overcame them, and Loren had the others help take Harry back to the dormitory.

Loren lingered behind, glancing into the corner before closing the door.

There, in the shadows, was a glowing adult-shaped silhouette, flickering with a brilliant red light that nearly blinded Loren the moment he walked in.