As the voice fell silent, the previously eerie sound disappeared immediately. Michael's terrified expression froze for a moment, then quickly turned into speechlessness.
A moment later, two red-haired heads emerged from behind the mirror, one on each side.
"Hey, how did you know it was us?" Fred asked curiously.
"Surely it was because your foot wasn't hidden well?" George said as he came out.
"Aren't we the same?" Fred retorted.
Just then, they had thought the professor was coming, and in a hurry, the two hid behind the mirror, with one foot tucked behind the claw-shaped support and the other raised, clinging to the mirror like an octopus.
Upon hearing that the newcomers were Vid and Michael, the twins' playful spirit was ignited, and they pretended to be a ghost making noises, hoping to see Vid and Michael panicked, but unexpectedly got called out.
"What are you doing here?" Vid asked.
"Same as you — to see why Ronnie Jr. got knocked out."
Fred also came over to the grayish heap, squatted down and curiously poked it with his finger.
Michael said, "You should go to the school clinic!"
"Percy went." George said, blinking: "And investigating the forbidden area is more interesting!"
"So that's Quirrell?" Fred wondered: "What kind of magic can burn a person like this?"
"Fiendfyre?" Michael guessed. He had only heard the name of this Dark Magic and imagined it would be much more powerful than ordinary Incendio.
"Impossible," George said. "Fiendfyre would burn everything that could be burned, not leave the clothes — seems like something... other Dark Magic."
"Once Harry wakes up, we can just ask him, right?" Vid asked the question he was more concerned about: "You guys studied Fiendfyre?"
Fred smiled proudly and said, "On our night tours, we secretly went to the library… read a few books that the professor doesn't allow, like the Complete Spellbook, Advanced Black Magic Unveiled and so on..."
"Fiendfyre is too dangerous, very difficult to control. Whereas Counterpoison is great, you can learn some very useful small evil curses." George generously shared his experience.
The group studied the dirt mound for a while with no results, but the twins collected some dust to take back, saying they wanted to make a keepsake for their brother Ron.
Michael walked around the stone house with no findings. As he passed the mirror twice, he suddenly felt like he saw something strange.
He stepped back again, slowly turned to look at the mirror.
Michael's eyes widened in shock, suddenly his face turned red.
Inside the mirror was him, but Vid and the Weasley Twins were absent… he saw Padma.
The girl's wheat-colored skin appeared healthy and full of vitality, her oval face carrying a sweet, mesmerizing smile. She wore a dark blue sari, revealing arms smooth and slender like lotus roots.
The girl lovingly hugged Michael's arm inside the mirror, the two tightly pressed together, inseparable.
In an instant, Michael even started to envy the himself inside the mirror.
"What did you see?" Fred suddenly leaned his upper body sideways to look at him, surprisingly and playfully said, "Your face is so red it's like it's going to boil water!"
"Nothing, nothing, nothing!" Michael hurriedly blocked the mirror.
Vid also came to the side, he looked up at the words on the mirror, read them out: "I show not your face… but your heart's desire..."
He looked at Michael meaningfully.
With a face completely red, Michael coughed lightly, secretly took a deep breath to lower the temperature on his face, then moved away from the mirror.
Once he calmed down, he realized, standing to the side now, the mirror was empty, nothing in there.
"This is a mirror that lets you see the desires of your heart," Fred stood in front of the mirror, laughed heartily: "I see our prank products becoming a big success, the two of us lying on Golden Galleons."
George laughed too: "And I also saw the Quidditch Cup!"
Michael noticed that Vid stood aside, showing no intention to go over, he asked strangely: "Vid, don't you want to take a look?"
"...Hmm."
Vid paused for a moment, then smiled saying: "The figures in the mirror are just illusions, right? So no need to look at it —"
Michael nodded.
What he understood was — Vid knew very well what he wanted, thus didn't need to find satisfaction from a mirror.
However, he still wanted another glance at Padma inside the mirror.
The few of them lingered in front of the mirror for a while, finally breaking away from the illusory happiness, preparing to leave.
Before leaving, Vid glanced back — the Magic Mirror stood in the center of the empty room, as if emitting a silent call.
Vid lowered his eyes, quickly caught up to the other three, as if escaping from a whirlpool.
…
Harry woke up after three days of slumber at the school hospital. During these days, rumors spread wildly throughout the school, and Dumbledore did not announce the truth, nor did he stop the students from discussing the matter.
The few who entered the trap door were surrounded by people all day, constantly asked to recount their adventure stories.
Neville, having been out of it from the beginning, soon freed himself from this ordeal; while the most gentle Theo was talking until he was dry-mouthed, sometimes he accidentally said something wrong, only for someone to loudly refute: "No, you didn't say that last time!"
Soon, apart from the part Harry experienced alone, all the other details of the story were widely known among the school's students. They all knew Professor Quirrell intended to steal the Philosopher's Stone but met his own downfall, defeated by Harry Potter and his friends together.
Ron, who bravely sacrificed himself, became Gryffindor's hero. On the day he woke up, several Gryffindor boys carried him on their shoulders from the hospital room to the Great Hall, while his cheeky brothers egged them on, making Ron's face as red as his hair.
Privately, a more "outrageous" theory quietly circulated — Quirrell was not in fact Quirrell, but rather a puppet manipulated by the Mysterious Man… so Harry Potter once again defeated the one whose name cannot be mentioned…
Of course, this rumor was too far-fetched, few truly believed it. But precisely because of disbelief, they eagerly told everyone: "You know? The truth isn't what you've heard at all..."
Rumors took wings, spreading swiftly in all directions.
Dumbledore's attitude on the matter remained ambiguous. When someone straightforwardly asked him, he vaguely said: "Well… the Philosopher's Stone indeed beckons many, especially those wishing to flee from death..."
The questioner instantly caught on — "Voldemort" means "flight from death" in meaning.
"Yes, some of our students bravely stood against evil, demonstrating great courage and responsibility, they protected the Philosopher's Stone..."
Dumbledore shifted the tone, smiling as he said: "But Nicolas and Pernell have destroyed that stone, deciding to set off on an unknown journey once they handle some affairs… for those who have lived long enough, death indeed holds its own allure, doesn't it?"