Chapter 67: Mirror of Erised and Thestrals
"Thank you for your hard work, Edward."
Because there were too many things to bring, the deposit of 200 Galleons originally planned for the twins had to be reduced to 100 Galleons. For this, Ethan even wrote a simple apology letter.
[Sorry, because there are too many gifts to send, the amount of Galleons has to be halved, but I guarantee that the rest will be brought to you after school starts—Ethan]
Signing his name, putting the letter and the bag of Galleons on Edward's foot for him to grasp, he let Edward, whose feet were full of things, fly away.
Ethan had no relatives. His grandparents passed away when he was young, and his parents had no other siblings.
So during the Christmas holidays, apart from business partners of his father coming to visit, his parents also had to visit others, but these basically had nothing to do with Ethan.
On Christmas night, the family, having given the servants a holiday, went to a Chinese restaurant that was still open and had a Christmas feast.
At the dinner table, Albert put the black Dragon hide gloves Ethan gave him in a very conspicuous position, fearing the waiter entering the private room wouldn't see them.
Sofia chuckled: "So childish."
Albert retorted unconvinced: "My precious son bought this for me. Look, how beautiful!"
"Alright, alright, I know. Hurry up and eat."
Three days before returning to Hogwarts, he received a call from Hermione.
"Something you want to discuss? Alright, hold on—let me switch phones and call you back."
"You mean Harry wrote to tell you he saw a very strange mirror at school?"
"Yes. Harry doesn't know if this mirror is harmful, so he asked me whether I knew anything about it."
"What kind of mirror? What's so strange about it? I must ask you about it." At the mention of this, he remembered the magical alchemical artifact—the Mirror of Erised.
Hermione didn't pick up on anything odd. "Harry said he saw his parents and other family members in the mirror, while Ron saw himself becoming Head Boy and Quidditch captain.
It seems this mirror shows whatever a person desires most in their heart.
Harry longs to see his family, so the mirror reflects not only his parents but other members of the Potter family as well.
And Ron wants to escape the shadow of his brothers and become someone remarkable, so that's the image he saw."
She hesitated slightly: "Ethan, what do you think we would see in the mirror?"
He said half-truthfully: "I think you would probably see yourself at the top of the class. As for me, maybe become the greatest expert in the wizarding world?"
Hermione's imagination of what she might see in the mirror was similar to what Ethan said, but she didn't expect him to say he might see himself becoming the number one expert. She thought he would say becoming a Charms master or Potions master.
"Really? I think as long as we work hard, we should be able to achieve it.
But do you know anything about this mirror? I don't remember seeing it in books. By the way, there is a string of text on it. Harry copied it for me. Based on the pronunciation of the first word, I think it might be called the Mirror of Erised."
Hermione changed the subject and spelled the word out for him.
Ethan shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm very interested in seeing it with my own eyes."
"Alright then. I thought if you knew, I'd ask Edward to send a letter to Harry."
"Unfortunately, I don't know either."
A day later, Hermione called again.
"Ethan, I don't think we'll be able to see the Mirror of Erised. Harry just wrote saying the Mirror of Erised was moved to a new place by Dumbledore."
Her voice was a bit dejected. She wanted to see this magical alchemical item she hadn't encountered, maybe it could help her research.
He said to Sofia beside him: "Wait a moment, Mom. I'll leave after finishing this call with Hermione."
"What a pity. Let's discuss it carefully on the train tomorrow. I still have some things to do here."
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Hermione hung up the phone.
"Really, you're not in any hurry to answer when a girl calls, but being so dismissive is a bit ungentlemanly." Sofia chided from beside him, reaching out to straighten his slightly crooked collar.
"Okay, okay, I know, Mom." Ethan was at a loss. He was only eleven!
The next day, Ethan packed a trunk full of newly bought clothes and some specialty snacks, carried the birdcage with Edward, and rode to the train station.
This time, he and Hermione guided their parents through the ticket barrier and into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Is this the steam train of the magical world? It looks no different from ours."
After Ethan loaded the luggage onto the train, he got off and chatted with his parents for a while. When the train was about to depart, he and Hermione saw the four adults off and returned to their compartment.
Ethan pulled out some snacks from the trunk to share with Hermione, then continued the conversation they hadn't finished on the phone.
Ethan shut the compartment door firmly and cast a Muffliato.
Hermione held a snack in her hand. "Where do you think Dumbledore moved the Mirror of Erised? I really want to see this magical alchemical artifact with my own eyes!"
"It's one thing not to see the Philosopher's Stone, but not even seeing this, which is less important than the Philosopher's Stone."
"I don't know. Maybe it's connected to the Philosopher's Stone? Otherwise, why would this mirror suddenly appear in the school and be carefully guarded by Dumbledore?"
"You're right." Hermione's face fell even further.
But she soon adjusted her mindset and began discussing the new books and other interesting things she'd read about over the holidays with Ethan.
Soon, the train pulled into the station. This time, it wasn't small boats waiting for them, but driverless carriages.
"Look, Ethan, these are magical carriages!"
After climbing into the carriage, Hermione was so excited she wanted to study how the driverless carriage moved. She wanted to understand the alchemical principles behind it.
Ethan could just make out the Thestrals pulling the carriage in front.
"Hermione, this is not an automatic carriage. There are magical creatures pulling the carriage in front." He stopped Hermione.
"Don't lie to me. There's nothing there." Hermione didn't believe it.
"Really, I saw them."
Until she got off the carriage and touched an invisible creature, Hermione thought Ethan was lying to her.
"It really is a creature!" Guided by Ethan to touch the Thestral's leg, Hermione exclaimed.
"Don't completely believe your eyes, Hermione. Sometimes they lie."
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