Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

Chapter 110: Mirroring, Part 2

Albus Dumbledore's stern face lasted only a split second before it turned into confusion. "Quirinus? Are you—"

Then there was a pause.

"Well," said Dumbledore, "I do feel stupid."

"As expected," said Professor Quirrell lightly, and if he was surprised at being caught, he didn't show it at all.With a flick of his hand, he changed the robe back into a professor's attire.

Dumbledore's stern face returned and quadrupled. "Look at me, toiling away in search of Voldemort's shadow, never realizing that the Defense Professor at Hogwarts is a half-sick victim, possessed by a soul far stronger than himself. If not A lot of other people didn't see it, and I'd say I'm demented."

"No," said Professor Quirrell.He raised his eyebrows, "Seriously, do I have to have a pair of glowing red eyes to recognize him?"

"Oh, of course," said Dumbledore in a steady tone, "your acting is perfect. I admit I was completely fooled. Quirinus Quirrell looked like a - what word should I use?" ? Ah, yes, this one: he looks sane."

Professor Quirrell smiled slightly.He looked exactly like two people chatting. "You know, I've never been crazy. Voldemort is just another game of mine, like Professor Quirrell."

Albus Dumbledore did not seem to be enjoying the small talk: "I expected you to say that. I am sorry to tell you, Tom, that anyone who can play the part of Voldemort is Voldemort."

"Ah," said Professor Quirrell, holding up his fingers admonishingly. "There's a hole in this logic, old chap. We agree that anyone who plays the part of Voldemort must be what moralists call 'evil'. But the real me may be total, pure, incorruptible." The evil of the cure, but there is an interesting difference between my Voldemort-"

"I don't think," said Albus Dumbledore, through gritted teeth, "that I don't care."

"Then you must think you can get rid of me quickly," said Professor Quirrell. "That's funny. My immortality must depend on discovering the trap you've set, finding a way to escape, and As soon as possible." Professor Quirrell paused, "But let's delay this conversation for a while, let's talk about something else first. How did you run into the mirror and wait? I thought you were elsewhere."

"I am elsewhere," said Albus Dumbledore, "but unfortunately for you, I am also in the mirror. I have been here since the beginning and always have been."

"Ah," said Professor Quirrell, with a sigh, "it seems my little fuss is useless."

Albus Dumbledore could no longer control his anger. "Smash?" roared Dumbledore, his sapphire eyes brimming with anger. "You killed Master Flamel just to make a splash?"

Professor Quirrell looked dejected. "Your unjust accusation hurts me. I didn't kill the LeMay you knew. I just ordered someone else to do it."

"How could you? Even you—how could you? He's the library of all our lore! You've made the wizarding world lose those secrets forever!"

Professor Quirrell's smile now had a sharp edge. "Look, I still don't understand why your twisted mind thinks Flamel's immortality is acceptable, but I should be considered a monster for trying the same thing."

"Master Flamel never sank to immortality! He—" Dumbledore choked up, "he just stayed awake a little longer, wasting his long days for us—"

"I don't know if you remember," said Professor Quirrell casually. "Do you remember the day you met Tom Riddle in the office? I begged you, got down on my knees and begged you, begged you to introduce Nicole · Flamel introduced me so I could ask him to take me on as a student so I could make the Philosopher's Stone myself one day. If you're interested, it was my last attempt at being a good guy. You tell me no , and educated me on how immoral it is to be afraid of death. I left your office full of bitterness and anger. I figured if I was going to be indiscriminately called evil just because I didn't want to die, I might as well be a villain Well. A month later I killed Abigail Myrtle and pursued immortality in another way. Even after learning more about Flamel, I still resent your hypocrisy. Therefore, I have tortured you and your men more than usual. I have often thought I should tell you this, but we have never had the opportunity to be honest with each other."

"I deny," said Albus Dumbledore, without wavering in his eyes, "that I take no responsibility for what you have become. It is entirely the result of your and your own choices. "

"I'm not surprised at all when you say that," said Professor Quirrell. "Well, I'm curious now about the things you've admitted responsibility for. You've got a special power of prophecy, which I'm sure Reasoned out a long time ago: you've done a lot of unreasonable actions, and they've benefited you in unimaginable ways. So tell me, did you predict the outcome in advance on that Halloween night when I was temporarily defeated? "

"I know," said Albus Dumbledore in a low, icy voice, "for which I admit my responsibility, and you will never understand such things."

"You engineered Severus Snape to hear the prophecy he was going to give me."

"I acquiesced to this happening," said Albus Dumbledore.

"So at that time, I was excited because I finally got some information in advance." Professor Quirrell shook his head, looking a little sad, "It seems that the hero Dumbledore sacrificed the ignorant pawn, Lily Potter and James Potter, just to banish me for a few years."

Albus Dumbledore's eyes were stone: "If James and Lily knew, they would have voluntarily died."

"What about the little baby?" said Professor Quirrell. "I can't say why, but I don't think the Potters would be willing to keep him in front of the mysterious man."

Dumbledore's wince was barely visible: "The Boy Who Lived came out intact. Wanted to turn him into you, didn't you? Instead, you turned yourself into a corpse, and Harry Potter But turned into the kind of wizard you should be." Now there is a bit of Dumbledore's usual look behind the half-moon glasses, with a small light in the eye, "Tom Riddle's cold talent, by James and Lily The warmth and love of that domestication. If Tom Riddle had been raised in a loving family, he could have become like this. I wonder what you thought when you saw him."

Professor Quirrell's lips curled up: "I was surprised, even shocked, because Mr. Potter is so naive to the extreme."

"Probably you can't understand the joke," said Albus Dumbledore until finally smiling, "but I laughed when I realized it! When I saw you make a good The one where Voldemort came to fight evil - ah, I laughed out loud! I've always been a bit tough in my roles, but when Harry's powers are fully awakened, he's more than adequate for the role." Albus ?Dumbledore's smile faded. "But I guess Harry needs to find some other Dark Lord to defeat, because by then you won't exist."

"Ah, yes, speaking of this." Professor Quirrell walked towards the opposite direction of the mirror, but he seemed to be forced to stop at the boundary that the mirror could illuminate—although there was no figure of him on the mirror at all, "Interesting .”

Dumbledore's smile was grim now: "No, Tom. You're not going anywhere."

Professor Quirrell nodded: "What did you do?"

"You refuse to die," said Dumbledore. "If I destroyed your body, your spirit would just float back, like a stupid little animal that doesn't know it has been driven away. So I will Send you out of time, a frozen moment. Nobody, not even myself, can bring you back. If the prophecy is true, maybe Harry Potter will pick you up someday. He might wish to be with You discuss whose responsibility it is for his parents' death. It's only a moment for you—if you ever come back. Anyway, Tom, I wish you the best of luck."

"Hmm," said Professor Quirrell, who had passed where Harry was standing, who watched silently, with some horror, until finally Professor Quirrell stopped at the far end of the mirror. "It's the same as I thought. You are using Merlin's ancient sealing method, which is called the art of eternal time in the story of Tuofei Lisi Chang. If the legend is true, even you can't Stop this operation because it has been active for so long."

"That's right." Albus?said Dumbledore.But his eyes suddenly showed vigilance.

And Harry stayed where he was, just to the right of the door, waiting in silence and suppressed panic.He could feel something in the air.He could sense some kind of presence gathering within the realm of the mirror.It is stranger than magic, almost everything is incomprehensible except its strangeness and the power it possesses.This being was gathering very slowly before, but now it is accelerating.

"However, if what Chang said is true, you can still reverse the effect," said Professor Quirrell. "According to legend, most of the power of the mirror is two-sided. So you can do the opposite and expel the mirror from the other side. The presence of one side, that is, sending yourself, not me, to that frozen moment. Of course, if you want to."

"Why would I do that?" Albus?Dumbledore's voice tightened. "I suppose you're going to tell me you have a hostage? It's no use, Tom, you idiot! Complete idiot! You should already know that I won't hold you hostage." give way to any hostages that come.”

"You are always one step behind me," said Professor Quirrell, "allow me to introduce you to my hostage."

Another presence invaded the air around Harry, and something seemed to crawl over him: Tom Riddle's magic brushed past his skin.The cloak was ripped from him, and the shiny black cloak flew through the air, away from him.

Professor Quirrell caught it and quickly put it on himself.In less than a second, he put the cloak over his head and disappeared.

Albus Dumbledore staggered, as if something important supporting him had been pulled away.

"Harry Potter," whispered the Headmaster, "what are you doing here?"

Harry stared at Dumbledore's mirror image, whose face was filled with absolute shock and despair.

A very heavy sense of guilt and humiliation hit Harry at the same time, and he could feel that the incomprehensible existence beside him was approaching its peak.It didn't take any words for Harry to know that there was no time and he was screwed.

"It's my fault," whispered somewhere in Harry's dying speech, "I'm so stupid. I've always been stupid. Please don't save me. Goodbye."

"Hey, look," Professor Quirrell's cheerful voice floated from the air, "It seems that I can't be reflected in the mirror anymore."

"No," said Albus Dumbledore, "no, no, no!"

A long black and gray wand flew from his cuff into his hand.And on his other hand, as if appearing out of thin air, there was a small piece of black stone.

Albus Dumbledore tossed both of them aside.Just when his power accumulation reached an unbearable peak, he disappeared.

The mirror once again showed a normal reflection of the room of white stone and golden light, and there was no trace of where Albus Dumbledore had been.