Chapter 53: Sleepless Night
The moon rises, the sun sets.
The night sky was heavy and oppressive, with occasional glimpses through the clouds of sporadic twinkling lights in the starry sky, like candle flames reflected in the heavens. In the latter half of the night, cold winds howled, and silver-white snowflakes fell on the bare branches of the Whomping Willow.
The Headmaster’s Office was silent.
Headmaster Dumbledore stood quietly by the window.
The portraits on the wall stirred slightly, and Headmaster Everard cleared his throat and said softly, “Albus, there’s news from the Fat Lady. Someone left the Portrait Hole late at night, but no one saw who it was.”
“I know.”
The portraits of past headmasters nodded at him, then turned and left the office, their footsteps gradually fading away.
……
The castle was exceptionally quiet late at night.
Harry cautiously observed his surroundings, tightening the silk garment draped over him, still feeling uneasy in his heart. Even taking careful, light steps, his shoes still made faint sounds on the floor.
He had spent the happiest Christmas of his life today, but one thing had always lingered in his mind. As he lay in bed, drowsy and about to fall asleep, the thought he had temporarily pushed aside during the day resurfaced.
At half past eleven, Harry stared at the canopy above his bed, wondering what was hidden beneath the trapdoor in the fourth-floor corridor?
At half past twelve, Harry opened his eyes again, pondering who Nicolas Flamel really was and who had sent him the Invisibility Cloak?
At one in the morning, all sorts of chaotic thoughts swirled in his mind. Far from feeling sleepy, he grew more and more awake. Harry, with wide-open eyes, finally rolled out of bed, deciding to find something to do—
Try out the Invisibility Cloak.
The fabric was light and airy, smoother than silk, so thin it seemed to have no substance at all. Wearing it gave no sensation whatsoever. Harry wrapped himself in the Invisibility Cloak, gripping the edges with his hands to hold it in place, and took small steps forward, occasionally turning his head to check his surroundings.
The portraits on the walls were asleep, showing no reaction as he passed by their frames. A few with light sleep were startled awake by the faint footsteps, opened their eyes to see only an empty corridor, mumbled confusedly, and closed their eyes again.
What a magical Invisibility Cloak.
Harry’s curiosity grew even stronger.
Who exactly had sent him this magical Invisibility Cloak? Was it a friend of his parents, a Hogwarts professor, or Headmaster Dumbledore? Why didn’t they want to reveal their identity?
Could it be a wizard outside the school?
Faces of all the adult wizards he knew flashed through his mind, but he still couldn’t come up with an answer. Harry stopped dwelling on it and began thinking about what to do with the Invisibility Cloak.
That room in the fourth-floor corridor…
The thought suddenly popped into Harry’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
The Invisibility Cloak was indeed magical, but it couldn’t stop the three-headed dog’s sharp teeth and claws. Fluffy was a large canine, with a keen sense of smell and a massive body. Even if it couldn’t see him, it could smell his location and pounce with a few bites that he couldn’t withstand.
After careful thought, Harry decided to check out the Library Restricted Section.
During this time, to find materials on Nicolas Flamel, they had gone through many books introducing famous wizards of the past century, 《Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century》, 《Directory of Contemporary Famous Magicians》, 《Major Discoveries in Modern Magic》, 《Studies on the Development of Modern Witchcraft》…
Unfortunately, they found nothing. Hermione suspected that materials on Nicolas Flamel might be in the Restricted Section.
Harry wrapped the Invisibility Cloak tightly around himself and headed toward the library.
Madam Pince was on holiday away from school, and the library was closed for the holidays, but fortunately the door wasn’t locked. With a push of his hand, it opened to reveal a pitch-black expanse of bookshelves inside.
Harry’s heart beat a little faster. He found an oil lamp at the front desk, lit it, carried it inside, stepped over the rope barrier of the Restricted Section, came to the bookshelves, and examined the titles under the dim light.
But these faded, embossed gold titles were more obscure than the last, impossible to judge the content by title alone. Some books didn’t even have titles. As if sensing the covert gaze beneath the Invisibility Cloak, faint whispers began emanating from some books, and blood seemed to seep from the covers of others.
Harry wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, feeling somewhat nervous and uneasy.
An ordinary student would have turned and run by now, but he wasn’t an ordinary student. He was a Gryffindor House student, the student who had defeated the Dark Lord, the student filled with courage!
After careful consideration, Harry finally selected a thick book with a silver-black cover, pulled it from the shelf onto his lap. But before he could open it, the book opened by itself.
“Ah!”
A shrill, piercing scream suddenly rang out.
The scream was high-pitched and deafening.
It echoed endlessly in the silent library, and even closing the book couldn’t stop it.
Harry was startled, dropped the book in his hands, threw on the Invisibility Cloak, and ran out, stumbling and staggering, knocking over the kerosene lamp.
“…”
Behind the bookshelves, Headmaster Dumbledore watched him dash out of the library in a panic under the Invisibility Cloak, brushing past the caretaker who had come to investigate, narrowly escaping. But Mrs. Norris sniffed, directing Filch to give chase, leading to an exciting pursuit.
Headmaster Dumbledore watched them go, stepped out of the shadows, righted the fallen kerosene lamp, picked up the book, and the previously screaming book instantly quieted in his hands, obediently returned to the shelf.
In the corridor, the caretaker and the cat pursued relentlessly, while the student ahead fled in panic, taking a wrong turn and ultimately hiding in an abandoned classroom.
Harry hid behind the door, holding his breath, ear pressed to the door listening to the caretaker and cat’s footsteps fade away. Looking back, he saw an ornate, exquisite mirror in the center of the room. Approaching the mirror for a closer look, he soon discovered the secret of the Magic Mirror.
The mirror was filled with over a dozen people, but the two in the center captured all his attention: a beautiful witch with deep red hair and green eyes, standing in the mirror looking at Harry outside it, smiling through tears. The other was a tall, thin wizard with black hair and glasses, just like him.
“Mother… Father?”
Harry whispered, those bright green eyes staring at the reflection, striking him like lightning.
Hands pressed tightly against the mirror surface, Harry immersed himself in the wonderful reflection. After an unknown amount of time, Filch and Snape’s voices sounded from afar again, snapping him back. He reluctantly bid farewell to the reflection.
Headmaster Dumbledore quietly watched him put on the Invisibility Cloak and leave the abandoned classroom, then stepped out from the shadows in the corner. He didn’t leave the room immediately but stood in front of the mirror, pausing for a moment, gazing deeply into the reflection.
The castle fell silent again at night. When the moon hid behind the clouds, Headmaster Dumbledore returned to his bedroom, dragging his weary body into a chaotic, fragmented dream.
……
Knock knock knock!
A knock at the door sounded, startling awake the headmaster portraits on the walls of the Headmaster’s Office, who muttered complaints about being disturbed. A phoenix head poked out from the Sorting Hat on the shelf, emitting a crude, hoarse caw like a foul-mouthed crow.
Headmaster Dumbledore, dressed in pajamas, emerged from the inner room, glanced at the morning light outside the window, went forward to open the door, and was momentarily stunned to see the neatly dressed Melvin:
“Is there something wrong?”
The young professor smiled: “Headmaster, I’ve gone out to work.”
