Harry turned his head just in time to see Hermione rushing over, brow furrowed, as she carefully lifted a heavy, rune-covered box that had nearly toppled from the worktable. Her robes were dusted with ash and potion stains, and she had clearly been organizing the materials for hours.
"I said gently, not like you're unloading dragon dung!" she scolded again, this time at Ron, who was sheepishly holding another oddly-shaped object in his arms.
"Sorry!" Ron mumbled, wincing as a faint blue glow pulsed from the object he'd just set down.
Harry offered a tired smile.
"I'll help." He moved to Hermione's side and began sorting through the labeled boxes. "Snape gave me clearance to the Restricted Section," he added casually, as if talking about getting a library card.
Hermione froze.
"You're kidding."
Harry just shook his head and handed her the signed slip. Her eyes widened as she took it.
"A blank borrowing slip? Are you serious?" she whispered, as if afraid that even the books on the shelves might hear her.
"That's not all," Harry added. "He told me to come see him tomorrow morning. He's… on board."
Hermione stared at him for a few long seconds, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"I don't know what happened between you two in that office," she said, folding the paper reverently, "but if Snape is willing to support you... this changes everything."
Harry nodded.
He didn't say it aloud, but he agreed. The path forward—resurrecting his parents, confronting Sirius Black, unlocking forbidden magics—was lined with dangers, and allies would be few.
But if even Snape was willing to stand with him...
Then maybe, just maybe, fate could be rewritten.
The future was already shifting.
Roger chuckled softly at their expressions—Hermione's thoughtful frown, Neville's wide-eyed wonder, and Harry's curious tilt of the head. He gently took the orb from Hermione's hands and rolled it in his palm as if weighing not just its physical mass, but its meaning.
"Alright," he said. "I'll let you try it. But I need to set some rules first."
He placed the orb down onto a low table, then drew his wand and tapped it with a complex series of gestures. Runes shimmered to life on its surface—elegant, spiraling characters that seemed to ripple through the air like water.
"This thing is called the Mirror Core. It doesn't connect to your mind directly, but it overlays your perception with mine for a limited time. Think of it as... tuning into my thought frequencies, like listening to a magical broadcast."
Hermione was already pulling out a notebook. "So it's not a transfer of memory, but a live simulation of your cognitive model?"
Roger beamed. "Exactly. Though it's only a partial overlay. The real Second Brain would replace parts of your own cognition temporarily. This is just a filter. It won't change you—but it will let you experience how I process the world."
Neville looked hesitant. "Will it... hurt?"
"No," Roger said gently. "But it may overwhelm you if you're not ready. Especially the first time. My mind has been optimized for multidimensional reasoning, cross-disciplinary synthesis, and non-linear temporal inference."
"…What?" Ron had just walked in with a confused look and a half-eaten pastry.
"Just that he thinks weird," Harry translated with a grin.
Roger tapped the orb again, and a pulse of violet light surged outward.
"Who wants to try first?" he asked, glancing at Hermione.
Hermione didn't hesitate. "Me."
Roger nodded and beckoned her forward. "Place both hands on the orb and focus. The effect will last exactly one minute. After that, it'll auto-disengage."
As Hermione touched it, the runes flared—then sank inward like falling stars.
Her eyes widened instantly.
Roger, Harry, and Neville watched as her breathing slowed, her pupils dilated, and the air around her shimmered faintly.
She didn't move. Her expression didn't even change.
Until the orb let out a soft chime and deactivated.
Hermione staggered back, caught by Harry before she could fall.
"Well?" Roger asked, not pressing—just calmly curious.
She blinked, hands still trembling slightly. "It was like… seeing everything… and the connections between everything... at once. I understood spells I've never even studied, saw patterns in language, in numbers—like my mind was walking across a web that stretched over the entire world…"
Hermione's voice had a distant awe to it, almost reverent.
"It was beautiful. And terrifying."
Roger smiled, a rare hint of pride glinting in his eyes. "Welcome to my world."
Harry stepped forward. "My turn."
Would you like Harry's experience with the Mirror Core to show him a new insight about magic, or something more personal—like a glimpse into the potential path he's on?