Chapter 21: The Invisibility Cloak and the Magic Mirror

The pursuit of immortality is a constant across all realms. 

The Philosopher's Stone, though not offering true immortality, comes remarkably close. 

"A Philosopher's Stone would greatly aid my alchemy," John mused to himself. 

Of course, it was just a fleeting thought. The Philosopher's Stone seemed to be more of a legend; no one had seen it in reality. 

However, this notion reminded John that delving into alchemy might accelerate his mastery of "Goblin Forging." 

"The Restricted Section of the library might have something useful. I should take a look." 

Without delay, John cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. 

He left the Room of Requirement and headed towards the library on the fifth floor. 

To avoid getting caught, John pulled out the Marauder's Map. 

"Harry's out?" 

John noticed Harry leaving Gryffindor Tower and surmised he was out for a nighttime adventure. Judging by his direction, it seemed they shared a common goal. 

However, when John arrived at the Restricted Section, he didn't see Harry. 

Puzzled, he watched as the latch on the door to the Restricted Section opened on its own. 

"Invisibility Cloak." 

The thought clicked in John's mind—Harry must have received his father's Invisibility Cloak. Seizing the moment, John slipped in just before the door closed. 

Feeling mischievous, John decided not to reveal himself. Instead, he watched as Harry took off the cloak. 

Harry, holding a lantern, searched the shelves nervously for any trace of Nicolas Flamel. His nerves played tricks on him; he heard faint whispers from the books and couldn't tell if they were real or imagined. 

He needed to start somewhere in this vast sea of books. 

Carefully placing the lantern on the floor, he peered along the bottom shelves, looking for a promising book. 

Suddenly, he spotted a large book with black and silver stripes and pulled it out without hesitation. 

"Stop!" 

John tried to intervene, but it was too late. Harry, startled by the warning, instinctively opened the book. 

"Ahhhh—!" 

A blood-curdling scream erupted from the book, shattering the silence. 

The entire book shrieked, causing Harry's ears to ring. He quickly shut the book, but it was too late. The screaming continued, and in his panic, he knocked over the lantern. 

Panicked, Harry ignored the warning voice and hurriedly put the book back on the shelf, threw on his Invisibility Cloak, and ran out. 

Filch, drawn by the noise, arrived with a look of fury. Harry managed to slip under his outstretched arms. 

Desperately fleeing, Harry found himself lost in the dark corridors without his lantern to guide him. 

Finally, he stopped in front of a tall suit of armor, listening to Filch's voice reporting to someone. 

Rounding a corner, Snape and Filch came into view. Harry, unable to risk making noise, carefully backed into an open door to his left. 

Leaning against the wall inside, he listened to their footsteps fade away. He exhaled in relief and took off the cloak. 

Just as he thought he was safe and began to examine the room, the door creaked open again. 

Seeing no one enter, Harry felt a shiver down his spine, as if the place were haunted. 

His hair stood on end as he backed away in fear. 

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder. He opened his mouth to scream, only to have it covered by another hand. 

"Shh, you'll get us both in trouble," John whispered. 

"John?" 

Recognizing the voice, Harry turned to see John seemingly materialize out of thin air. 

John sighed, regretting his earlier prank. Now that Snape knew someone had been in the library, they were in trouble. 

"Was that you earlier? How did you do that? Do you also have an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry bombarded John with questions, his curiosity evident. 

Feeling overwhelmed, John diverted the topic, "Why don't we check out this place? I've never been here before." 

Harry, only now noticing their surroundings, agreed. 

The room appeared to be an unused classroom, with many desks and chairs piled along the walls, casting dark, shadowy shapes. 

There was also an upturned wastepaper basket. But what caught their attention was something incongruous on the opposite wall. 

John also noticed the large, ornate mirror. It was very tall, almost reaching the ceiling, with an elaborate gold frame and clawed feet. 

At the top of the frame was an inscription. John read aloud, "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." 

A very peculiar mirror indeed. 

As a Gryffindor, Harry approached it fearlessly. 

The next moment, Harry stood frozen before the mirror, his face pale with shock. 

"What is it?" John asked, stepping closer. 

Harry's breathing quickened, and the color drained from his face. 

"There are people in the mirror, at least a dozen. They're all standing behind me." 

Harry's words stunned John for a moment. He leaned in to take a look. 

Nothing... No, wait! 

John saw a table laden with heavenly Chinese cuisine appear beside him in the mirror. His eyes widened. 

Rubbing his eyes, John looked again and saw himself enjoying the feast. 

Not only that, the reflection of John wore a luxurious wizard robe, appeared to be in his twenties, and held the Elder Wand, a symbol of immense power, with a First Class Order of Merlin badge pinned to his chest. 

Recalling the story associated with this mirror, John muttered to himself, "The Mirror of Erised?" 

He remembered this mirror was supposed to appear later, so why was it here now? 

"John, I think they are my family," Harry said, looking at his reflection, where a beautiful, kind woman stood behind him, smiling warmly with eyes full of love. 

Next to her was a man with messy black hair and glasses, looking just like Harry. 

Harry believed they were his parents, along with other relatives who shared his green eyes. 

These were the people Harry longed for most. He gazed at the mirror hungrily, unable to tear himself away. 

Placing his hands on the mirror, he seemed to wish he could join them. 

John, seeing Harry becoming entranced, pulled him away from the mirror. 

"We should leave. Filch and the others will come back." 

Reluctant but recognizing the truth, Harry nodded. 

He donned his Invisibility Cloak and invited John to leave with him. John smiled mysteriously, "I don't need it." 

With a flick of his wand, John disappeared in front of Harry. 

Confused, Harry tentatively called out, "John, are you still here?" 

"Of course." 

A voice answered from nearby. Harry reached out and touched John's face. 

"Watch it, you almost poked my eye." 

Embarrassed, Harry withdrew his hand. 

Before leaving the room, John glanced at the mirror again. He thought he saw a silver-haired old man appear briefly beside it but then vanish. 

"Dumbledore?" 

Certain he hadn't imagined it, John realized Dumbledore must have placed the mirror there. 

With this understanding, he felt Harry would be safe. 

Parting ways with Harry at the staircase, John headed to the Restricted Section and found an ancient alchemy book, The Supreme Alchemy, to take back to his dormitory. 

After reading for a while, he felt dizzy. 

The contents were too profound, requiring a solid foundational knowledge just like Goblin Forging. 

"Can't bite off more than I can chew. I need to build my basics step by step." 

Placing the book under his pillow, John opened the Marauder's Map and saw Quirrell heading out of Hogwarts. 

John hesitated, wondering if he should follow. 

But after some thought, he decided against it. 

Facing Quirrell, let alone Voldemort, was beyond his capability. 

Unless he had the element of surprise, the magical power difference between them was too vast. 

And without any lethal spells like the Killing Curse, getting caught would be deadly. 

The Christmas holiday wasn't over yet. 

During this time, John frequently visited the library, gathering numerous basic alchemy books. 

He immersed himself in learning alchemy, but it still wasn't enough. 

However, in one ancient alchemy book, he found a reference to Nicolas Flamel. 

"Nicolas Flamel, the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone." 

Reading this, John's thoughts raced. 

He recalled that in Harry Potter's first year, the Philosopher's Stone was the object being guarded. 

This Stone could save John a lot of time, allowing him to perform top-tier alchemy directly. 

"The Philosopher's Stone..." 

He traced the mention of the Stone, fleeting thoughts of immortality crossing his mind but quickly dismissed. 

He remembered that immortality had significant drawbacks, not only eroding emotions but also making the body extremely fragile. 

Such immortality was worse than death for John. 

"Maybe I should tell Harry and the others." 

They had almost given up in their search these past few days.