Chapter 57: Mirror of Erised

Just as the three were studying the Invisibility Cloak, Fred and George suddenly burst through the door, and Harry quickly hid the Invisibility Cloak.

"Merry Christmas!" George and Fred shouted.

Then they all put on the Weasley family's distinctive sweaters and went to attend the Christmas feast.

Harry and Allen were attending such a grand Christmas feast for the first time; they were also very interested in the various foods at the banquet, and by the end, they both hated that their stomachs were too small.

The most fun part was the huge piles of wizard crackers; after pulling the cracker, it instantly made a booming explosion sound like a cannon firing, releasing a cloud of random-colored smoke that swallowed a person whole, and then small gifts would explode out from inside.

Allen had completely emptied his mind, no longer thinking about those messy things or analyzing what spells the wizard crackers contained; he just wanted to properly relax for a day.

Laughing loudly, he pulled open one wizard cracker after another, letting clouds of various colors envelop him again and again, while all sorts of small gifts kept exploding out from the smoke, giving him the thrill of opening blind boxes.

Soon his arms were filled with all kinds of things that had exploded out of the wizard crackers: a naval cap, a set of wizard chess, a strangely shaped doll, and so on.

Then the three of them and the Weasley twins played a snowball fight on the playground for an afternoon; the Weasley twins also cast spells on the snowballs, allowing them to automatically attack targets.

Harry and the other two suffered greatly because of this; Allen tried to imitate the Weasley twins and cast spells on the snowballs but failed; the snowballs he cast spells on traced strange trajectories in the air as if drunk, and not a single one hit the target.

Fortunately, they had one more person than the Weasley twins; under their fearless assaults, the Weasley twins couldn't bother casting spells anymore, and were driven back step by step; finally, they were so cold they couldn't take it anymore, their bodies drenched, so they ended the afternoon's great battle and returned breathless to the fireplace in the common room.

After eating a delicious and abundant dinner, they were all too full to move, feeling they had eaten too much, and were all getting sleepy.

This was the happiest Christmas Allen had ever experienced, and also the happiest day since he came to this world; today he felt he had released all his pressure, and he hoped the joy of this moment could last forever...

Finally, he reluctantly climbed onto his own bed, and in a short while fell into a deep sleep...

The next morning, as soon as they woke up, Harry pulled Ron and Allen together and told them about his wonderful experience from the previous night.

They learned that Harry had worn the Invisibility Cloak to wander the castle at night and had inadvertently discovered a magical mirror called the "Mirror of Erised" in a room of the castle; Harry could see his family in the mirror.

Allen and Ron were both very curious about that magical mirror, so Harry prepared to take them to see the mirror that night, letting them see their own families too.

Time quickly arrived at night.

The Invisibility Cloak was still quite large, able to cover all three of them, but this would make the three walk very slowly.

Walking through Hogwarts under the Invisibility Cloak was truly a very interesting experience; they walked past portraits and ghosts one by one, yet the figures in the portraits and the ghosts had no reaction whatsoever.

They finally found the room where the mirror was placed.

They pushed the door open, Harry took the Invisibility Cloak off his shoulders, and then ran straight to the mirror.

Allen carefully closed the door, locked it, put the Invisibility Cloak away carefully, and only then went to observe the magical mirror Harry had spoken of.

It was a very magnificent mirror, reaching all the way to the ceiling, with a gorgeous golden frame, and underneath supported by two claw-shaped feet.

"Do you see it?" Harry asked them in a low voice.

Allen and Ron looked at the empty mirror and asked in confusion, "See what?"

"My family! There's a huge crowd of people in the mirror!" Harry said a bit anxiously.

Allen and Ron looked carefully again, but still found nothing.

"Stand here!" Harry grabbed Ron and pulled him to the spot where he was standing.

Ron did not see Harry's family; he only saw himself in the future, successful and prosperous.

Allen still saw nothing, but he seemed to understand something.

He shoved Ron aside, stood in the spot Ron had just occupied, and looked into the Mirror of Erised, but unexpectedly there was still nothing in the mirror; he saw neither Harry's family nor the successful future version of Ron that Ron had described, not even his own reflection...

Just as he felt confused, Harry shoved him away.

"Look! My family has appeared again!" Harry said excitedly.

Allen frowned; he still saw nothing, and he was a bit unable to figure out the situation.

Ron then pushed Harry aside again and happily described the successful future version of himself in the mirror.

Harry was not interested in Ron's successful future; he only wanted to see his own family, so he tried to push Ron aside again, while Ron was unwilling to give up the spot; the two even started arguing in low voices...

Allen's frown deepened; the participant is confused, the onlooker sees clearly; he keenly sensed the abnormality in Harry and Ron...

Suddenly he figured something out.

This mirror seems to show what a person desires most in their heart!

Harry most desired to see his family, so he saw his family in the mirror.

Ron, as the youngest son in the family, always wanted to achieve something, so he saw himself achieving fame and success.

Then why can I see nothing? Allen could not figure this point out.

He decided to try once more.

But by this time Harry and Ron had negotiated to take turns using the mirror; facing Allen's request, they made no response, instead looking at Allen warily—they did not want a third party to interfere, they did not want to give up the right to use the mirror.

Looking at his two friends who had become somewhat unfamiliar, Allen had a sudden realization.

So he quietly drew his wand, aimed it at Harry who was waiting to use the mirror, and cast the spell: "Petrificus Totalus!"

Then he quickly stepped forward to support him, cast a Levitation Charm on him, gently laid him down on a wooden board in the room, and carefully took off his own coat to place underneath him; only then did Harry regain consciousness, his eyes darting around in terror.

Allen gave him an apologetic look and whispered for him to calm down.

Amidst all this commotion, Ron, standing before the mirror, did not notice anything at all, still staring blankly at the mirror.

Allen then used the same method to knock Ron down and arranged him properly.

He finally stood before the mirror once again, but he still could not see anything in the mirror.