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Suddenly, the canned food sensed something and keenly turned towards the spiral staircase.
Almost simultaneously, a muffled thud came from the stairs, as if something had hit the wall, followed by suppressed gasps.
"Harry?" Morris asked in a low voice.
"It's me… hiss…" Harry's voice came through.
He awkwardly moved down, his glasses askew, and he clutched a piece of shimmering silver fabric in his hand.
"Sorry," Harry said, adjusting his glasses. There was a small red mark on his forehead, and he looked embarrassed. "The stairs moved a little, and I wasn't paying attention. I bumped into the wall."
Morris's gaze fell on the fabric in Harry's hand, and he asked uncertainly, "Is that an invisibility cloak?"
"Yes." Harry nodded.
Morris really wanted to say, "Hey rich, let's be friends."
He had seen it in Diagon Alley; even the cheapest invisibility cloak cost several hundred gallons.
Of course, it's the kind that's genuinely made from the fur of an invisible beast.
Harry unfolded the Invisibility Cloak. "Come on in, Maurice. With this on, no one will be able to spot us."
"Oh, it's okay."
Morris shook his head, drew his wand, and cast an illusion spell on himself.
His figure immediately faded from the air, leaving only a blurry outline that was almost imperceptible if one did not look closely.
The rich use props, the poor rely on spells, so his illusion spell is not entirely out of the question.
Harry was taken aback, clearly not expecting Morris to pull this stunt.
"Where are you taking me?" Morris's voice came from the void.
"You'll see soon enough," Harry said, draping the Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders, leaving only his head visible. "Come with me."
He walked toward the marble staircase, with Maurice following closely behind.
Because of the invisibility cloak, Morris only saw a head drifting in the air.
...It's kind of scary.
The two hurried across the corridor and bumped into Filch, who was on night patrol, and his cat, Mrs. Lorris.
Fortunately, Maurice had brought canned food with him.
The commotion of the two cats fighting successfully attracted Filch's attention, allowing them to escape.
Finally, they stopped in front of a half-open door on the third floor.
"I remember this was an abandoned classroom."
Morris looked at the door and asked curiously, "Why didn't you come during the day? There's no 'No Entry' sign here."
Harry was silent for two seconds.
Yes, why did he have to look in the mirror at this sensitive time?
It's the Christmas holiday season now, and there's plenty of free time during the day.
Perhaps his mind has been confused by that mirror.
"Anyway, let's go in first," Harry said dryly, pushing open the door and eagerly stepping inside.
Morris shrugged, went inside, and closed the door behind him.
He had been to this room before when he was looking for a toilet, and the furnishings hadn't changed much.
Tables and chairs were piled up to one side, and there were words and graffiti left on the blackboard from who-knows-when, and there was a smell of dust in the air.
The only change was that a rather impressive mirror was placed against the wall directly in front of it, almost as tall as the ceiling, with a gold frame and two claw-shaped feet for support.
Harry walked straight to the mirror and stared at it blankly.
Morris didn't act rashly because...
Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore.
He turned to the corner of the room and greeted them with a hint of helplessness.
That's right, Albus Dumbledore was sitting at an old table against the wall—just the right height for him.
He was watching Harry and Maurice silently, like a ghost.
No wonder the door was ajar; there were already people inside.
Dumbledore smiled slightly and slid off the table. "If you had been half an hour later, you wouldn't have run into me."
Morris nodded. "Yes, Headmaster, we will learn from this experience next time."
Dumbledore said gently, "I think it's better if there's no next time."
At that moment, Harry also noticed the commotion behind him.
He turned around in a panic, and when he saw Dumbledore, he was at a loss for what to do.
"Headmaster Dumbledore..."
"Um."
Dumbledore walked slowly to Harry's side, his gaze falling on the mirror: "It seems you have already experienced the wonders of the Mirror of Erised."
The Mirror of Eris?
Morris became interested, stepped forward, and looked at the huge mirror.
In the mirror, he saw himself standing on a platform, with endless Galleons piled up like mountains below.
My face still had a kind of... well, how should I put it?
A silly smile that says, "I'm very rich."
The Maurice in the mirror waved to the Maurice outside, then made a move as if to jump into the golden ocean.
"..."
Maurice's lips twitched slightly outside.
As we all know, Galleons are solids. This isn't a cartoon; people can't swim in a sea of gold coins.
If he were to jump, he would inevitably suffer a level 10 disability, to say the least.
Morris turned to Dumbledore beside him and asked, "What exactly is this mirror?"
"Want to take a guess?" Dumbledore winked playfully.
Without hesitation, Morris said, "I think this mirror reveals people's delusions."
"Very close, Mr. Black," Dumbledore smiled, revealing the answer. "Let me explain. What you see in the mirror is actually what you desire deep down."
"So," he said softly, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder, "you saw your family, Harry."
Harry nodded stiffly, which was why he had been here for several days in a row.
and...
He glanced at Maurice discreetly.
Like him, Maurice was a child without parents, or even worse off—at least he knew his parents' names, didn't he?
This is precisely why he brought Maurice here.
Maurice must have seen his parents in the mirror.
At the same time, Morris's expression turned strange.
What do you most desire deep down?
He didn't think that what he craved most deep down was money—although Galleons were indeed shiny and attractive.
Morris, unconvinced, looked at the Mirror of Eris again.
However, this time, the scene in the mirror actually changed!
The ocean of Galleon vanished instantly.
Instead, there was an endless deep space, surrounded by boundless darkness.
Maurice himself stood alone in the darkness.
Then, change began.
Behind him, in the farthest, deepest place, a star quietly lit up.
Then, the second, the third, the fourth...
In just a few breaths, Maurice in the mirror was no longer standing in the void, but was in a sea of stars.
Vast, dazzling, and endless.
"That's more like it."
Maurice smiled slightly from outside the mirror.
"My goal is the stars and the sea!"
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