"Additionally, Professor." Harry turned his head towards Dumbledore's beard, "I don't think placing this mirror here is a wise choice, and I also don't believe the other students at Hogwarts possess Ron's strong willpower to resist the elusive temptation this mirror presents."
Originally feeling somewhat guilty for being caught by Dumbledore, Ron lifted his head and looked at Harry with bright eyes.
"If young wizards become obsessed with the illusory scenes they see and cannot or do not want to accept that it's just a fantasy, it could be more than just a loss for Hogwarts," Harry said again.
From the moment Dumbledore appeared, Harry completed the closed-loop in his mind.
This is definitely a trap set by Dumbledore, aimed at bringing me to the Mirror of Erised.
What is the purpose of this? Harry thought for a while but couldn't figure it out.
Dumbledore suddenly felt a bit choked up; the words were originally prepared by him to educate Harry.
But what's going on now? How is Harry using those words to lecture him?
He looked at Harry, discovering that he too was making eye contact with him.
The young boy was like the seven or eight o'clock sun, radiating brilliantly yet not dazzling, only possessing a solemn righteousness.
Perhaps I'm just being overly concerned, Dumbledore thought.
Such a child must be the most outstanding good kid.
"I have to admit, you're right, Harry." Dumbledore smiled warmly, "Later, I'll have this magic mirror removed."
"Alright, Professor, then Ron and I won't disturb your rest." Harry pulled Ron over, "Good night, Professor Dumbledore."
"By the way," Ron suddenly said, "Principal Dumbledore, what did you see in the mirror?"
Dumbledore raised his head, thought for a moment, and smiled, "Me? Well, what I see is much like Harry — wool socks."
The two quickly returned to the Gryffindor common room, and after Lady Pang verified the password was correct, Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
"Merlin, I thought Dumbledore was going to deduct points, but didn't expect him to be so easygoing," Ron said, plopping into a chair and carefully folding the invisibility cloak.
Harry raised an eyebrow and said, "Maybe he just forgot, let's go back to rest."
That night, lying in bed, Harry was still wondering why Dumbledore would place the Mirror of Erised there, tempting him to go by.
He didn't think the principal was merely overwhelmed by curiosity, eager to see what his 'Savior' longed for most.
He kept this matter in mind, planning to brainstorm with Hermione once she returned.
The day before the holidays ended, Hermione finally returned to school from home.
Upon hearing Harry's analysis, Hermione had a different opinion.
"I don't think Principal Dumbledore harbors malice towards you," Hermione began to analyze for Harry, "He is the greatest White Wizard in the world; if he intended anything with you, perhaps he simply wanted to see your character? Like whether you would become engrossed in front of the Mirror of Erised?"
"I agree with Hermione's point of view." Ron raised his hand and said, "But Harry's concerns aren't unreasonable either, maybe it's because you've been performing too well, making him wonder if you've come into contact with some Dark Magic object?"
"Hard to say." Harry said casually, twirling his pen. Perhaps he used too much force, as a streak of blue ink splashed from the pen's tip, landing precisely on the face of the passing Draco.
"Sorry," Harry said to Draco.
Draco merely glanced at Harry darkly, wiped his cheek, and continued walking.
"What's going on?" Ron asked quietly, "This isn't like him? According to his previous behavior, he'd already be shouting at Harry, complaining 'I'm going to tell my father'."
"Have you noticed his complexion is even paler than before the holidays?" Hermione's body was almost laid out on the table, "Wow, I felt his gaze just now was snake-like, really unsettling."
Harry didn't pay much mind, since Draco hadn't said anything earlier, and besides, he was the one who splashed ink first.
When Draco sat at the Slytherin long table, Pansy let out a cry, covering her mouth.
"Oh heavens, Draco, what's happened to you?"
She picked up a handkerchief and walked over to attentively wipe Draco's face.
Draco let Pansy wipe his cheek without complaint, feeling agitated inside.
After returning to the Slytherin common room, Draco sat in an empty corner, with Crabbe and Gall guarding to prevent any idle people from sneaking over.
He opened his notebook, dipped a feather pen in the ink bottle, and wrote, "Ancestor, you said you'd teach me some magic spells to deal with that nefarious Potter. He even went too far as to splash ink on my face now — we've already returned to school, hope you can fulfill your promise."
Before long, elegant handwriting appeared on the notebook.
"Relax, my descendant, the great I never deceives kids like you..."
"But I can't wait anymore! I want to cast an evil curse on Potter's detestable face right now!" Draco wrote impatiently in the notebook, not even knowing why he felt that way.
After writing this, Draco felt a moment of trance.
Indeed...
What's happening to me?
Yet he couldn't notice the faint magic power passing through the notebook again.
Disturbed by this magic, Draco's emotions surged anew, casting aside the previous uncertainty.
Along with it, he harbored not insignificant resentment towards the notebook.
When at home, the notebook always deferred him with rhetoric, saying to wait until returning to school before teaching magic spells.
Yet now at school, it seemed the notebook had no intention of imparting any spells, and he had completely lost patience.
"If you want to defeat Harry Potter, I have a very good suggestion." The notebook words coaxed.
Overcome by emotion, Draco was entirely captivated by the notebook's words, he gritted his teeth and wrote in the notebook: "What is it? Just say it."
Elegant script appeared on the paper.
"I wonder... have you ever heard of 'Slytherin's heir'?"
"Slytherin's heir?" Draco wrote questioningly.
"Yes, my descendant." words appeared on the notebook, "A friend of mine is Slytherin's heir — through him, I learned of a place that's absolutely safe, absolutely secret, and my Merlin's Secret Treasure is hidden there..."
Here, the words completely disappeared.
Not waiting for Draco to write something, the words reappeared.
However, the script was no longer as elegant, becoming somewhat chaotic and careless.
"Do you... want to know?"
(Begging for monthly votes, I'm begging brothers!)
(Additionally, there's a group created with a direct link, the entry criteria is due to having a troll previously almost breaking my defenses TvT)