"
FOR MORE CHAPTERS
patreon.com/STEPHENHART427
You found a mirror? And then you saw your parents in the mirror?"
Root took a small plate of black currants and elderberries that looked like grapes, picked one up, and put it in his mouth.
Harry nodded repeatedly. "That mirror reflected my parents! They were standing right behind me!"
As if lost in a memory, Harry murmured, "They look so beautiful when they smile."
Ron, who had just picked up a piece of bread, looked at him blankly. "That sounds incredible! Why didn't you ask me to come with you?"
"I also want to see what your parents look like. My brother says they were heroes!"
Harry smiled happily. "Well, how about we go again tonight?"
"That way, you can see them for yourself."
Harry had received gifts from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at Christmas, and yesterday, he had felt that this was the best Christmas of his life.
"That's nothing! Why don't you just come to my house during the summer?" Ron said nonchalantly.
Harry agreed immediately.
Then Ron looked at Root. "What about you, Root? Want to come along? We've got gnomes in our back garden—we can chase them!"
"Or play with pixies! Oh, and my parents hide magical treasures sometimes! We could spend hours looking for them!"
Root blinked.
Looking at Harry and Ron's expectant eyes, he thought about how his own parents were currently busy making money and enjoying their lives. Maybe they were even thinking about giving him a younger brother or sister.
He hummed thoughtfully but then nodded. "Alright, sounds fun."
"Great! But don't read those boring books every day, or my mother will use you as an example to criticize me," Ron chuckled.
"I'll try my best," Root replied vaguely.
Harry then turned to him again. "Root, do you want to come with us tonight? We can visit your parents in the mirror too!"
"Let's not."
Root had already figured out what the mirror was when Harry mentioned the Invisibility Cloak yesterday.
The full name of this mirror was The Mirror of Erised.
"Erised" was "desire" spelled backward, and it also happened to be the name of a goddess of discord in mythology.
This mirror didn't simply reflect a person's family, as Harry believed.
What if it showed something strange when Root looked into it?
It wouldn't matter if Harry and Ron saw it.
The real issue was that Dumbledore was probably keeping an eye on the mirror from somewhere nearby.
If the mirror showed something odd and Dumbledore saw it, wouldn't that be trouble?
"Ah, you really aren't going?"
"Yeah, I already made plans with Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall."
"Hey, didn't you make an appointment with Professor Snape too?"
"…No."
"Pity!"
Root finished eating the fruit and then prepared to head to Professor Snape's office.
That arrogant, sharp-tongued professor always needed a bit of coaxing.
Root knocked on Snape's door and flattered him for a long time before he was finally allowed to practice potions in Snape's office for the entire day.
The next morning, after finishing his class with Professor Flitwick, the professor talked to him about some aspects of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
As expected of a Ravenclaw graduate, Flitwick was brilliant—his insights were sometimes so sharp that they left Root utterly confused.
In the afternoon, Root discussed Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. She didn't allow him to continue studying Entropy Distortion Spells but did have an in-depth discussion with him about spell shaping and secondary control.
Just before dusk, Root left McGonagall's office.
He planned to grab a quick meal and then review everything he had learned that day.
But halfway through, he passed by an empty classroom.
Inside, there was only a single floor-to-ceiling mirror.
"Huh?" Root was stunned.
The door wasn't completely open, just slightly ajar, but when he passed by, he caught a glimpse of the mirror inside.
He couldn't help but stop.
"Is this the abandoned classroom Harry mentioned?"
Root peeked inside. It certainly looked like it.
"Why is this classroom in such an obvious spot?"
Root raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm… maybe Dumbledore put it here on purpose after returning the Invisibility Cloak to Harry?"
He had refused to go with Harry last night, but now that he had stumbled upon it…
Root looked around. No sign of Harry.
"If Harry isn't here, then Dumbledore probably isn't either."
Root hesitated for a moment, then slipped into the classroom and quietly closed the door.
"One look won't hurt. Maybe I'll even get some kind of insight or reward."
He glanced around once more before circling the mirror three times with his wand raised, checking for any spying magic.
Nothing.
Feeling slightly relieved, he slowly stepped in front of the mirror.
Above it, words were engraved:
"I show not your face, but the desire of your heart."
Root stared into the mirror.
A light mist covered the surface, but as his reflection became clearer, the mist slowly dissipated, revealing an image.
It was a spring afternoon.
Root and his parents were moving out of their cramped little home and into a spacious villa.
He no longer lived in that tiny basement. Instead, he woke up in a large bed and walked out into the back garden, basking in the warm morning sunlight.
His parents were setting up a long table filled with delicious food.
Two small figures—his younger siblings?—were running and laughing on the grass.
And… chasing gnomes.
Root blinked.
Did his parents really want to give him a little sister?
No, did he really want them to?
Suddenly, the image in the mirror shifted.
A large group of people passed by the garden.
Root and his parents welcomed them in.
Hermione was there, holding a thick illustrated book of magical plants, excitedly explaining the different species growing around them.
Harry and Ron had joined his younger siblings in chasing gnomes.
Neville, Seamus, George…
Even the professors were there.
Root spotted Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick.
Snape still had his usual stern expression, but when Root's parents greeted him, he actually smiled—kindly.
"A garden party," Root murmured, smiling.
(End of Chapter 58)
FOR MORE CHAPTERS
patreon.com/STEPHENHART427