Chapter 50: The Mirror of Erised (Edited)

At the start of the match, Hufflepuff's mentality was destroyed. Finally, in the 21st minute of the match, Cho Chang caught the Golden Snitch, ending the one-sided match.

The moment Cho Chang caught the Golden Snitch, the Ravenclaw stands erupted in cheers and hundreds of fireworks went up in the air in an atmosphere of joy. In front of them, however, a stony silence fell over the Hufflepuff stands.

Some of the young wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin were also applauding, but the faces of the Quidditch captains of the two houses were not pleasant. They were glad that Hufflepuff had tested the waters for them, as even their own team would have been defeated by this quick attack.

Both captains frowned, wondering what to do in the face of Ravenclaw's new tactic.

Tom jumped off his broom, hugged his teammates and then stood in front of the stands, enjoying the cheers of his teammates.

[First Quidditch victory: Tangled Fate x 1]

[Mission Accomplished - Young Talent: make the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and win a match (first year only)]

[Title: Rookie]

[Title Effect: Carrying the title gives you a little boost to your reputation: you're the legendary Tom Yodel, right?]

[Activated mission series - Young Talent - Part 2: Boost your reputation with victory after victory!]

[Activated quest series - We are the Champions: Win the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup]

[Achievement Achieved: Blitz Reward: Tangled Fate x 1].

Tom donned the title [Novice] and found that it didn't seem to change much, unlike the previous title [Hound of the Baskervilles], which actually improved Tom's sense of smell right away, except that, unfortunately, the little wizard sitting across from him at the time farted....

Tom hasn't used it since. But the title "Rookie" didn't seem to have a positive or negative effect, so he kept it.

After the game, it was time for lunch. As Tom finished his meal and returned to the Common Room, he had a sudden urge to take a new route. This time, Tom followed his inner voice, and got lost.

"Where is this place?" Tom struggled to identify the classrooms and decorations around him.

[Achieved: Demon King Required Attribute Entanglement Fate +1]

This achievement made Tom even more furious: "You're being mean to me, aren't you? However, since the opening of the UP reserve, the system seems to have become more generous, as it used to reward with magic stones, but now it directly gives away Entangled Fate.

But, the problem was that I was lost. Tom could barely make out that he was on the fifth floor of Hogwarts Castle. He pushed through door after door like a headless fly, trying to find a way out.

Finally, he pushed open a door behind which was an abandoned classroom with desks and chairs stacked haphazardly in one corner, but just in front of the door was something out of place in the room: a magnificent mirror, about as tall as the ceiling, held up at the base by two claw-like feet, with an inscription on the top of the gilt frame that read, "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"

"I show not your face but your heart's desire." Tom looked in the mirror and squinted.

"Tom, I never thought I'd see you here." An old voice came from behind Tom, and like a cat whose tail was stepped on, Tom jumped up and hurriedly looked towards the source of the voice, which was none other than Albus Dumbledore. He was sitting on a small round stool in the corner.

"Sir, I didn't expect you to be here, I wasn't paying attention..." said Tom.

"Never mind," said Dumbledore, standing up and walking over to Tom, "You look like one of the countless mischievous predecessors before you, they too have discovered the secret of the magic mirror of Erised."

"It reveals my innermost desires, doesn't it?" said Tom.

Dumbledore nodded and said softly, "It reveals a person's deepest and most intense longings. But this mirror cannot teach us or help us predict the future. People waste their time in front of it, obsessing over what they see, even driven to madness, so I never want to see you in front of this mirror again, my son."

Tom nodded.

"So, Tom, what did you see when you looked in the magic mirror?" asked Dumbledore to Tom as he looked in the mirror and then looked away.

"Well, I saw someone giving me candy shaped like coins at Christmas. And you, Professor?" Tom blinked.

"Me? I saw me with a pair of thick wool socks. There are never enough socks, Christmases come and go, but I don't even have a pair." Dumbledore replied.

Tom: Well, I really think so.

Tom had no intention of leaving, he looked at Dumbledore, "Professor, I'm looking for a book for a gift, do you have any recommendations?"

Dumbledore took off his glasses and wiped them on his robes. When he was done he flicked his hand and had a book in his hand that looked a bit worn, the cover was mottled and flaking in several places, the title on the spine was in some runic words.

"You can take a look at this book, don't worry, it's in English even though it's in runic on the cover." Dumbledore handed Tom the book, which seemed to fall apart.

"Thank you Professor!" Tom gave Dumbledore a small bow as he prepared to leave the abandoned classroom, but was stopped by Dumbledore.

"Tom, if you wanted to design some levels, how would you go about it?" asked Dumbledore.

"Design a level?" Tom turned around with a confused look on his face, "I have some ideas here, Professor, if you want to hear them. They may be difficult to implement, though."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, not caring at all about the technicalities - Professor McGonagall could even make a chess piece that played automatically, what couldn't be done?

He conjured up a pen and paper and asked Tom to trace his vision on it. As Tom wrote, Dumbledore stood behind him and watched him, his expression growing more and more amazed: he hadn't realized that the level was quite interesting, and he even wanted to play it himself when he was ready, indeed, try it a few times.

Tom handed the parchment to Dumbledore when he was done and left the classroom, without Dumbledore calling him back. By some strange impulse, Tom wanted to use the draw: would being near Dumbledore increase his chances of winning? He would know once he played anyway, so a few rounds wouldn't hurt.

He chalked up the impulse to his "Instinct," probably derived from his great talent for divination.

So he stood in the doorway, and opened the draw screen.

One round, blue.

Two, blue.

Three, gold.

Well, it was a waste of.... What? Tom froze, and watched with great excitement as the animation ended and an old man with one hand in the air appeared before him.

It was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.