Chapter 60: Dumbledore's Question

The next morning, the snow had not yet melted.

Allen Finis and the other two continued to enjoy their Christmas break, but Harry Potter looked distracted, showing no interest in anything he did.

Allen Finis and Ron Weasley immediately guessed what was wrong.

So Ron suggested visiting Hagrid, but Harry Potter flatly refused.

Ron decided to lay it out plainly.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry. You're thinking about that mirror. Don't go there again tonight."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just have a very bad feeling—and besides, you've only escaped by luck so many times. Filch, Snape, and Lady Norris are prowling around. What if they see you? What if they run right into you?"

"You sound like Hermione."

"I'm not joking, Harry. Really, don't go."

But Harry Potter had only one thought in his mind: to return to the mirror. Ron could not stop him no matter what.

After Ron left to attend to other matters, Allen Finis crept over; he also wanted to see the mirror again.

"Tonight, after Ron falls asleep, the two of us will sneak off to see the mirror," Allen Finis whispered to Harry Potter.

Harry Potter frowned. He remembered Allen Finis's sneak attack the previous night and still felt a bit shaken; with a displeased expression, he said, "If I want to go, I can go myself. Why do I need to bring you along?"

Allen Finis was completely unaffected by Harry Potter's attitude and said to him in a conciliatory tone, "You forgot about Lady Norris last night. As soon as you look at the mirror, you ignore your surroundings. Bringing me along means I can keep watch for you!"

Harry Potter was clearly swayed; he hesitated.

Allen Finis carefully observed Harry Potter's expression, saw there was hope, and quickly pressed his advantage: "Today, you look for twenty minutes, and I'll look for fifteen. We'll take turns keeping watch for each other!"

Harry Potter looked at Allen Finis with amusement and said decisively, "I look for twenty minutes, you look for ten!"

"Deal!" Allen Finis agreed without hesitation.

"No more sneak attacks on me!" Harry Potter glared at Allen Finis and said.

"Whoever sneak attacks is a puppy!"

That night, Harry Potter and Allen Finis were already familiar with the route. Both were anxious to see the Mirror. Wearing the Invisibility Cloak, they moved swiftly, unaware they were making a lot of noise, but they encountered no one.

As soon as they entered the classroom, Harry Potter burst out from under the Invisibility Cloak and plopped down on the floor in front of the mirror.

Ah, his mother and father were there again, smiling at him, and one of his grandfathers was nodding happily. Harry Potter stared at the mirror, transfixed.

Allen Finis carefully folded away the Invisibility Cloak, then locked the door from the inside, and waited patiently.

After waiting twenty minutes, Harry Potter still showed no sign of getting up. Allen Finis went to reason with him, and Harry Potter told him to wait another ten minutes.

Allen Finis waited another ten minutes patiently, but Harry Potter still refused to move.

At this point, Allen Finis stopped being polite and, with practiced ease, knocked Harry Potter down...

Lying on the wooden floorboards, Harry Potter kept blinking at Allen Finis, his eyes filled with anger.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Allen Finis saw what Harry Potter wanted to say and responded directly with that.

Harry Potter angrily widened his eyes until they were round, but it was useless; Allen Finis simply ignored him.

Allen Finis once again opened his mind, allowing the mirror to display the shimmering screen of the Transfiguration Spell.

This time, Allen Finis began to focus on recording the ancient runes that appeared most frequently in the second key-value pair's value. Drawing on his programming experience, he believed these most frequent ancient runes were likely procedural control statements, which were of great significance to programming, so he prepared to copy and study them first.

Then he prepared to transcribe a complete passage of ancient runes,

to study the syntax of ancient rune programming. Generally, programming syntax is not very complex, so he was confident he could deduce the syntax.

"You're here again, Harry, Allen." A voice suddenly came from behind them.

Allen Finis turned quickly; by the time he had finished turning, his wand was already in his hand, pointing at the source of the voice.

Sitting on a table against the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts; his white beard was very conspicuous in the night.

At the same time, Harry Potter realized he had regained control of his body. He trembled as he climbed to his feet, feeling his internal organs suddenly freeze into ice.

Allen Finis also dazedly lowered his wand, looking at Professor Dumbledore, who had appeared at some unknown moment, at a loss for what to do.

"So," Dumbledore said, sliding down from the table to sit on the floor with Harry Potter and Allen Finis, "you, like the thousands before you, have discovered the pleasures of the Mirror of Erised."

Allen Finis noticed that while saying this, Professor Dumbledore glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally, and his heart grew even more nervous.

"It—oh—shows me my family—and let Ron see himself as Head Boy, and let Allen... oh yes, Allen, what did you see?" Harry Potter explained, a bit stammering.

By now, Allen Finis had lowered his head, looking at his shoes as if deeply interested in how to tie his laces. Hearing Harry Potter's question, he stammered, "I saw myself in my normal form, with no deformities in my body."

Upon hearing this answer, Harry Potter instantly felt his breath catch; he even felt a bit of heartache for Allen Finis.

"Then why did you have that notebook? Was it to draw yourself in your normal form? I just saw you writing and drawing on it," Professor Dumbledore asked with keen interest.

Allen Finis broke out in a cold sweat instantly; this was not a question easy to answer, so he could only try to change the subject.

"Professor, you just said 'again.' Did you discover we were here yesterday?" Allen Finis tried to see if he could bluff his way through.

Professor Dumbledore looked deeply at Allen Finis and said lightly, "Yes. You know that elderly people generally do not sleep very well, so I was walking around the castle and happened to find you two arguing..."

"The Petrification Spell was used beautifully!" Professor Dumbledore paused and then said.

After hearing this, Allen Finis felt even more awkward; he had a strong sense that Professor Dumbledore's words carried a hidden meaning.

"Thank you for the compliment!" Allen Finis said, forcing a bold front, and decided not to take up Professor Dumbledore's thread.

"The Mirror of Erised shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of them all. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." Professor Dumbledore explained softly.

Allen Finis instantly understood the hidden message in Dumbledore's words: Professor Dumbledore only spoke of what Harry Potter and Ron Weasley saw in the mirror, not what he himself saw; it seemed the professor already knew Allen Finis had just been lying.

But at this moment, Allen Finis could only bite the bullet and continue. For a moment, he felt an impulse to tell Professor Dumbledore everything he had seen in the mirror, but in the end, he held back.

He could not unconditionally trust someone he had only met a few times, even though this person was a good man in the memories of his past life.

He continued to play the fool, pretending not to understand the message in Professor Dumbledore's words.

"Tomorrow the mirror will be moved to a new location. Harry, Allen, I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you happen to see it one day, be prepared. Indulging in dreams while forgetting real life is of no use whatsoever; remember that above all. Now, why not put on that wonderful Invisibility Cloak and go back to sleep?" Professor Dumbledore prepared to let the two of them go.

Harry Potter and Allen Finis breathed a long sigh of relief. After thanking Professor Dumbledore, they prepared to leave; they donned the Invisibility Cloak and walked to the door.

"Allen," Professor Dumbledore's voice suddenly came from behind, "is there anything you wish to say to me?"

Allen froze, not daring to turn back to look at Professor Dumbledore. "No," he said quickly.

"Oh, if there is, you can come find me anytime."