days at Hogwarts

Chapter 135 Exploring the Mystery of the Magic Mirror

In the middle of the night, the stars and the silver moon hang on the black curtain, the sky and the city are silent, and the second floor of a villa in Hampstead Garden, a suburb of London, is still lit with faint lights.

Loren was leaning over the desk by the window, holding a small black mirror with a thin handle in his hand, looking back and forth.

On the silver mirror surface, cracks spread out from the center, covering the mirror surface.Seven petals in the shape of water droplets are slightly twisted and wrapped around the mirror, which is like a flower core. The handle as thick as a little finger is used as a flower branch, and a red gemstone is adorned at the end.

Turn it over, and there is a small bulge on the back of the flower, which is the receptacle.

Through a strange vision, he could see the scarlet magic light contained in the hand mirror, but Loren didn't see any traces of alchemy, and he didn't know how to use the mirror.

He didn't find any strange things, except that it withstood a magic spell and magic power, the rest was almost the same as an ordinary antique hand mirror.

Loren recalled the legend Wendell mentioned, "with a mirror in one hand and a candle in the other, calling the name of Bloody Mary."

He randomly took a piece of letter paper, and tapped his wand on it lightly.

Ripples like water waves surged on the paper, the four corners were quickly folded towards the center, and the new corners were folded towards the center again. The whole process did not stop at all. Repeated several times, the thin paper became a full The wrinkled columns stand upright on the table.

Loren held his wand, tapped on the cylinder folded out of paper, and raised a candle.

A white candle stands on the desk, and the wax oil slowly melts on the upper end, accumulates, and is ready to drip.

Loren smiled with satisfaction, "If Professor McGonagall can see it, he should really give me extra points for my superb Transfiguration."

He held up the candle in one hand and the mirror in the other, and suddenly hesitated.

In horror movies, people who usually die like this will soon get their wish, summon a female ghost or demon, and then receive a box lunch.

Isn't it a little unlucky for him to do so.

But Loren is a loyal materialist. He turned around and called out to the mirror: "Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart."

After calling Queen Mary I's name three times, Loren stared nervously at the mirror.

The white cracks divide the mirror surface into countless fragments, almost no one can be seen, only three mirror fragments can barely see something.

But he seemed to see only his handsome face, and nothing else.

Loren waited for a few minutes before deciding to chant with a different name: "Lee Kester, Lee Kester, Lee Kester."

Still nothing, only his reflection in the mirror.

In normal horror movies, the female ghost should be rushing towards my face at this time.

Loren was silent for a while, then changed his name and chanted: "Elizabeth Bathory, Elizabeth Bathory, Elizabeth Bathory."

There are only three sources of the legend of Bloody Mary, Mary I, Countess Lee Kester, and Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary.

Now he counted the names of three people, and nothing happened.

Could it be that he really broke it with the Shadowless Curse? For some reason, Loren felt a little regretful.

Loren sighed a little, "It seems that we still have to ask Flamel."

He pushed the candle down on the table, and the flame diffused along the candle and the wax on the table, rising up on the table.When a whole candle has melted into wax, the flame is extinguished.The wax wriggled and coalesced into a regular rectangle, and then turned back into paper.

Pure white, flat, not even a trace of creases.

Loren stood up holding the mirror, spun around and collapsed on the bed, put his other hand under the pillow, fumbled for some icons on the book of fantasy.

Opening his eyes again, Loren's consciousness appeared in the bright book library, sitting opposite Flamel.

Flamel held up the book, and a page of parchment floated beside his shoulder, and the quill on the parchment was brushing something.

With such behavior, Loren always felt that Flamel had his own life and his own way of thinking.When not teaching him, Flamel entertains himself.

Flamel tilted his head and looked at Loren: "Oh, Loren, how about camping?"

Loren nodded: "Camping is good, but the camping place doesn't seem right."

Knowing that there was something serious to talk about, Flamel threw back the book in his hand, and the book flew up, clipping the parchment and quill pen into the book like a bookmark, and fell to the bookshelf behind.

"When I was camping in the Forest of Dean, someone brought me into a hallucination through a mirror... I witnessed—" Loren thought for a while, and said, "witnessed a legendary source of "Bloody Mary". "

He reached out and took out the hand mirror in the shape of a flower branch, "After leaving the illusion, it's in my pocket."

Loren looked at Flamel, and spit out a series of questions like a cannonball: "Do you know the legend of Bloody Mary? Nicole was born in the 14th century, and the prototype of Mary's legend was in his later years. Mary I was still the Tudor dynasty. Your queen, you should have an impression, right?"

Loren had thought about it a long time ago. The memory of Nico, an old antique, was more real than all the documents of archaeologists.

"And this mirror, is it broken? Can it be repaired? How to use it?"

"Hey, Loren, come one by one." Flamel stretched out his palm, signaling to take it easy.

He took the hand mirror and turned it in his hand to check it.

"You should learn to look at items from an alchemist's perspective."

Flamel let go of the hand mirror and let it float between the two of them. The mirror gradually became transparent, leaving only black outlines.

He reached out and fiddled with the gemstone at the end of the small handle of the hand mirror, and colorful beams of light gushed out from the gemstone at the end, filling the transparent area again.

Accompanied by a silent tremor, the colored hand mirror quickly grew larger, colorful beams of light filled Loren's sight, and each light particle in the beam became the size of a fist.

It turns out that the colorful beams of light circulating on the hand mirror are the flow of light gathered by runes one by one.

Loren stared blankly at the shocking scene in front of him for a while, blinked and looked at Flamel innocently, "But I'm just an alchemy apprentice now."

"Don't worry, you have enough time to study."

From time to time, Flamel grabbed one from the rune light stream and pinched it in his hand to check, "Mirrors are very strange things in the eyes of ordinary people. They are different from tables, chairs and benches, and are often given unique meanings. "

"So what's the magic about this mirror?" Loren asked.

Flamel advised: "Don't worry, I'm teaching you to use the thinking analysis of an alchemist."

Loren sat down again.

Flamel continued: "Mirrors are often associated with real, inner, prophetic images. In Greek mythology, Narcissus died because of a narcissistic phantom. Venus also had her own mirror," Flamel continued.

"Reality and illusion, heart and desire, these are the meanings derived from the characteristics of the mirror. As for the prophet seeing the future through the mirror," Flamel paused, "now it is replaced by a crystal ball."

Listening to Flamel's words, Loren thought of the Mirror of Erised in Hogwarts, which fully conforms to the two characteristics of reality and illusion, heart and desire.

"So when analyzing the function of a magic item, one should combine the imagery and connotation of the item."

Flamel waved his hand to scatter the colorful hand mirrors in the space. "Now, from your experience and understanding, analyze the function of this hand mirror alchemy item."

Loren began to recall the experience of entering the illusion, and after a while, he tried to say: "The first layer you entered at the beginning is the reflection of reality, and this is the real characteristic."

"But there are illusions mixed in the reflection. It can create the illusion of the hotel manager and lure me into the second floor with food, indicating that the mirror can enter my heart or read my memory to a certain extent. This is a false characteristic. Contains some qualities of heart and desire."

"The second layer is the story of Countess Lee Coster. I don't know if this is a real memory or an illusion."

Flamel nodded with satisfaction, "It's very close. This mirror can create a total of three layers of illusions. One layer goes deeper into the heart. The first layer is the real reflection. The user can make small interventions and distortions to guide You enter the second floor."

"The illusion on the second floor is led by the user and created by your own mind." Flamel looked at him, "Do you remember now?"

Loren's eyes widened, and his eyes were full of disbelief: "You mean! On the first floor, the Countess Lee Kester and the ball mentioned by the hotel manager are all hints to me!"

Flamel nodded, and continued his words: "If it weren't for your strong consciousness, you would have entered the second floor unconsciously and participated in everything that happened at the ball."

"It is even possible to enter the third layer of illusion and face the illusion deep in your heart. This is the most dangerous place. Anything on the third layer is a reaction of your consciousness, and every change will affect you."

Loren clicked his tongue.

Isn't this the subconscious suggestion hypnosis?

psychology?
The end of magic is science?

It's still liberal arts.

Flamel clicked his tongue, "If it wasn't for the user not being malicious towards you, he could forcefully enter the third floor to disgust you. You must at least learn memory magic to sort out your thoughts and memories."

Loren retorted: "Maybe I broke the mirror, he couldn't do it."

Flamel shook his head: "As long as you are in the illusion, unless you can wake up, you can't stop him by smashing the mirror."

Loren asked suspiciously: "I was sober at the time."

"If you're really awake, you're going straight out of the illusion and back to reality, like waking up from a dream," Flamel said.

The illusion that appears when interpreting the "Book of Abraham" has a similar structure. Is the solution the same?

Loren rested his chin in one hand and asked thoughtfully, "If this happens again next time, how can I wake up quickly?"

"A strong will, or death." Flamel explained: "There are two possibilities for death in the illusion, one is to wake up immediately, and the other is real death. When there is really no other way, you can take a gamble .”

This is really a good suggestion.

Loren was expressionless and didn't want to speak. He even wanted to give him a middle finger.

"Being aware of the illusion in the illusion is like realizing that you are dreaming when you are dreaming. Your will will oppress the illusion. Being able to see and attack the real mirror is your consciousness at work. When your consciousness is enough If it is powerful, it can directly crush the entire illusion."

"I'm sure Albus can do it," Flamel said.

Loren raised his eyebrows, remembering the scene where he got the content of the ceremony in the mole between the eyebrows. When he opened his eyes from the illusion, Dumbledore's wand was on his forehead.

He still doesn't know whether the power of the illusion can only affect him for a short time, or whether Dumbledore broke through the illusion and pulled him out.

Forget it, Dumbledore is a monster, don't worry about it.

"Then can this mirror still work?" Loren is most concerned about this now.

"The rune of the hand mirror is mainly on the shell, and it can be repaired by replacing it with a new mirror."

"Let me demonstrate it to you." Flamel waved his hand, and the bright library turned upside down, and the environment he was in became an alchemy laboratory.

In the inverted hemispherical space, the light was dim, and the black boiler in the center glowed red.

A straight sharp corner appeared in the space, and a pile of ore was messed up.

"The horned elephant of the unicorn represents the real, pure white heart, which can carry any illusion, plus some ore to refine glass." Flammel directly threw these things into the boiler, and then kicked them lightly. two feet.

Standing by and watching, Loren always felt that the alchemist's method was too rough, similar to that of a Muggle TV repairman.

White steam erupted, and a puddle of steaming hot, red-glowing magma-like liquid flowed out.

After rapid cooling, the liquid turned into irregularly shaped glass, about 10 feet square, big enough to make a vanity mirror.

Flamel dissolved a piece of silver in a clear solution and spread it on the flat side of the glass.

Put it on the boiler and bake it. After drying, a thin layer of silver is adsorbed on the glass, and the glass becomes a mirror.

He painted another layer of protective paint on the silver layer, and then showed it to Loren: "Just cut a piece and inlay it."

Loren blinked: "Very well, so the first thing is, where can I find the unicorn horn, and what are those ores, and what kind of potion is the solution for dissolving silver?"

"Ore and potion are common things. You only need to find a unicorn horn, even a small piece." Flamel was very optimistic.

Loren laughed dryly: "That's really easy. When the unicorn pierces my chest with its horn, I should be able to touch it."

Young unicorns can only be approached by pure girls, while adult unicorns cannot be approached by anyone.

Especially after Voldemort hunted and killed two unicorns, the current unicorn colony hates all humans.

"Besides that, there is a second thing," Loren said helplessly, spreading his small hands, "Where can I find the boiler?"

This matter is even more serious. He has noticed the boiler in the alchemy laboratory a long time ago. It looks very tall at first glance. Building this boiler may be more troublesome than refining a mirror.

Flamel waved his hand easily, "Don't worry about it, wait until you find the unicorn's horn."

(End of this chapter)