Chapter 22: 22: Dumbledore and the Promise

22: Dumbledore and the Promise

The Great Hall.

"You should have woken me up. I wanted to see your mom and dad,"

Ron complained angrily. He was upset that Harry had discovered the Mirror of Erised by himself the previous night and hadn't told him.

Harry replied, "You can see them tonight. I'm going back. I also want you to see that mirror."

The two were eagerly discussing the Mirror of Erised, nearly forgetting about Nicolas Flamel altogether.

John, meanwhile, was making a sandwich with turkey meat between slices of toast.

Just as he was about to take a bite, Harry mentioned, "John was there too, but I didn't see his family."

John set down his sandwich, his expression turned a little serious. "Harry, that mirror doesn't show your family. It reflects what your heart desires most. You shouldn't get too obsessed with it."

Ron, curious, asked, "John, what did you see?"

"Me?"

Recalling the scene from the previous night, John smacked his lips and said, "I saw a table full of food."

"Uh..."

Ron and Harry were speechless. They had expected John to see something else, perhaps books, given how much he loved competing with the Miss Know-it-all for house points.

However, Harry didn't take John's words to heart. Instead, his desire to visit the mirror only grew stronger.

He was starved for love.

The most powerful magic built on maternal love couldn't fill the void in his heart. More than being the savior, he longed for his parents' presence.

John didn't worry whether Harry had listened to him or not; he had already given his advice. With Dumbledore around, even Voldemort wouldn't be able to harm Harry and his friends.

Unconcerned, John finished his meal and then remembered Nicolas Flamel. He took out a Chocolate Frog wizard card from his pocket and handed it to Harry.

"What's this?"

Harry was puzzled by John's gesture.

John smiled mysteriously. "Perhaps the answer isn't as profound as you think. You need to learn to observe the things around you."

John's cryptic words left both Harry and Ron confused, but Harry still accepted the card. Preoccupied with the Mirror of Erised, Harry quickly stuffed the card into his pocket, likely to forget about it for a while.

None of this concerned John, who headed to the library. Under the watchful eye of Madam Pince, he piled books on alchemy onto a table.

His diligence was so impressive that even Professor McGonagall, passing by, felt gratified. The only downside was that he wasn't a Gryffindor student.

After two hours of intense study with the Scholar Blessing, John managed to piece together the theoretical foundation of alchemy.

After his studious session, John put down the towering stack of books and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Relying solely on these theories is still too difficult," he muttered.

Before him lay "Easy Introduction to Ancient Runes" and "Simple Alchemy," the most basic texts that were already overwhelming.

Nevertheless, these studies enabled John to start practicing alchemy. According to "Goblin Forging Techniques," runes combined with alchemy equate to goblin forging.

Though the formula was simple, success required countless trials.

John headed to the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor, seeking a new location this time.

"I need a place to forge items," he muttered three times.

Walking past the large tapestry three times, a wooden door appeared on the blank wall.

Pushing the door open, he found a room filled with numerous cauldrons. Shelves along the walls held many empty bottles, and some contained materials from magical creatures.

John flexed his fingers, realizing that he needed to replenish his materials.

Like crafting a wand, magical creatures were highly valuable to wizards. With John's financial situation, buying these materials was out of the question, but he had a resourceful ally nearby who could help.

The next day.

"Here you go, John. But why do you need Blast-Ended Skrewt tails?" Hagrid asked.

In Hagrid's hut, as the gamekeeper, he dealt with magical creatures daily and had amassed a fortune in materials over the years.

However, Hagrid seemed unaware of their true value, sitting on a treasure trove without realizing it.

John was one of the few students who had a good relationship with Hagrid, sharing the bond due to his daily detention in the forbidden forest and the adventure of venturing into Aragog's lair together.

When John asked for materials, Hagrid immediately gathered a huge pile for him.

John nearly stumbled under the weight as he took the materials.

Despite Hagrid handling them effortlessly, the pile was actually quite heavy.

Blast-Ended Skrewts, a magical creature bred at Hogwarts, were possibly a hybrid of Manticores and Fire Crabs.

Only Hagrid could produce a basket full of Blast-Ended Skrewt tails at once. John intended to use these for his first attempt at alchemy.

"I'm studying alchemy, Hagrid and that's why I needed these kinds of stuff. After all, who knows these things better than you?" John said.

Hagrid was delighted to hear this, though John politely declined his offer of rock cakes.

Carrying the basket of Skrewt tails, John returned to the Room of Requirement with great difficulty to begin his crafting.

He worked tirelessly, even missing dinner.

When he finally emerged from the Room of Requirement, there was some soot on his nose.

As he was heading back, he passed by the fourth floor.

He paused, noticing that the door to the room with the mirror was ajar.

He knew Harry was inside.

"He is still obsessed." Sighing, John changed his mind about returning to the dormitory and went to the room instead.

As he approached the door, he heard voices inside.

Could it be Ron?

Harry had shown Ron the mirror yesterday.

Casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself, John vanished into the darkness.

Inside, a voice, old yet gentle, spoke.

"Like hundreds before you, you have discovered the delight of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know it was called that, sir."

"But I assume you have now realized its magic? So, what is it that you saw?"

"It... it showed me my family."

Harry conversed with Dumbledore, who appeared in the room. Harry learned, just as John had told him, that the mirror revealed the deepest desires of one's heart.

Dumbledore used this opportunity to teach Harry a lesson, also informing him that the mirror would soon be moved to a new location.

Though reluctant, Harry obediently donned his Invisibility Cloak and turned to go out of the room and return to his dormitory to sleep.

But before he left, "Professor Dumbledore, what do you see when you look in the mirror?" Harry asked, curious about what Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised.

Dumbledore smiled mysteriously, with a hint of playfulness, and replied, "I see myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks."

"Haha, don't look at me like that. After all, one can never have enough socks."

Harry felt that this answer was a bit perfunctory but not unreasonable.

After all, John had seen a table full of food, and Harry thought that perhaps John, like Dumbledore, was also a person full of wisdom.

Dumbledore, who watched Harry leave, did not leave the room, but smiled kindly and said to the air: "Maybe I should talk to you face to face, Mr. Wick."

Well, John knew that he was too naive to want to hide from the greatest wizard of this century.

Walking out of the darkness, he terminated the Disillusionment Spell.

His figure gradually emerged, as if he appeared out of thin air in the room.

"An excellent Disillusionment Charm, it seems you have learned a lot in the Restricted Books Section." Dumbledore praised.

John felt a bit awkward. Being caught breaking school rules made him feel guilty, especially since it was the headmaster of Hogwarts who had caught him.

Dumbledore laughed heartily. "Don't worry. I believe Professor Quirrell signed your note, didn't he?"

He winked, playfully unlike an old man.

John knew Dumbledore wouldn't call him out without a reason. He had been about to leave when Dumbledore had stopped him.

Sure enough, Dumbledore looked at John, his kind eyes gleaming with an insight that seemed to see through people, and asked, "Mr. Wick, what did you see in the mirror?"

John's body tensed, and he instinctively employed Occlumency before answering honestly, "Food, a lot of food... and myself becoming stronger."

After hesitating for a moment, John chose not to hide the truth.

Dumbledore was very pleased with his answer and clapped his hands in delight. "Applause for your honesty. John, do you know, these past few days Minerva has been murmuring in my ear that the Sorting Hat might be malfunctioning."

Beneath the half-moon glasses, Dumbledore's eyes were filled with deep meaning, his voice rich and seemingly magical. "She was wrong. The Sorting Hat did not malfunction. You indeed belong in Slytherin, not what the others think of it but for the ambitions you have, without a doubt."

"Promise me, John, do not engage in magic that cannot be undone."

"I promise, Professor."

John didn't fully understand why Dumbledore brought this up.

Perhaps it was because he knew John had been reading quite a bit of dark magic in the Restricted Section.

John nodded without hesitation. Even though he knew this old man wouldn't harm a student, John was still a bit afraid of being caught.

"You possess the self-control to overcome your desires. I believe in you, John. As a reward for finding the answer, you might have the chance to encounter the real Philosopher's Stone."

Shifting from his earlier seriousness, Dumbledore winked, as if hinting at something.

John was stunned.The answer?

He thought of the Chocolate Frog Wizard Card. This old man seemed to know everything.

Whether it was the Restricted Section or the Chocolate Frog Wizard Card.