Deepest Desire

"During the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Neville Longbottom defied Professor Snape and brought him to his knees in front of all the first-year students."

When Ethan came to the hall for dinner, he heard this version of the story.

Especially at the Gryffindor table, the discussion on this topic was quite loud.

Ronald who liked to show off whenever he had the chance, was loudly recounting everything that happened in class. Of course, this was Ronald's embellished version.

There were also many older Gryffindor students gathered around him, listening to his boasting. Whenever they heard something amusing, they burst into cheers.

At this moment, Neville was truly regarded as a hero of Gryffindor, as the house had suffered under Snape for a long time.

Looking towards the teacher's table, Ethan didn't see Snape.

Maybe he felt too ashamed to show his face!

After all, he had just been brought to his knees by a student earlier that day.

After dinner, Harry approached Ethan with a guilty expression.

"Sorry, Ethan, I really liked the Christmas present you gave me, but Professor McGonagall confiscated it. She said she would return it to me during the summer vacation."

Harry really liked the two pistols Ethan had given him. He had never handled a gun before.

Previously, Dudley only played with toy guns. When Harry received a real gun, he immediately felt superior to Dudley and treasured it immensely.

But he hadn't expected that guns were not allowed at Hogwarts. There was obviously no such rule!

Harry could understand guns being banned in Muggle schools for safety reasons.

But this was Hogwarts, where magic was commonplace. Wands were the weapons of wizards—why couldn't he bring some Muggle weapons?

"Maybe they're afraid you'll hurt other students!"

Ethan hadn't expected Harry to dare take the guns out in class. If it had been in Professor Flitwick's class, this probably wouldn't have happened.

But Snape had found out!

"Magic wands can also hurt people!" Harry sighed, then continued, "I asked Aunt Petunia about it, and you were right. Snape and I don't have a conflict, but he had one with my parents—or more precisely, with my father, and it was a big one."

"Snape grew up with my mom. They were friends. Snape liked my mom, but my mom married my dad. Maybe that's why Snape hates me!"

The expression on Harry's face was quite complicated. This sort of drama, which he had only seen on TV, was actually happening to him.

"Have you ever thought about wearing women's clothes?"

Ethan took a couple of steps back and looked at Harry. To be honest, Harry might have been able to pull off women's clothes in the photoshopped images he had seen online, but that was when he was a child.

"No, absolutely not!"

Harry shook his head desperately.

He knew what Ethan was hinting at.

His mother had been dead for ten years, and Snape still hadn't married. Maybe he was still thinking about her.

And if Harry wore women's clothes, not only would he avoid being targeted by Snape, but he might even get preferential treatment. However, Harry said he couldn't accept it.

"Forget it, then. To be honest, if you wore women's clothes, your Gryffindor house points might go up."

Ethan looked at Harry with regret. For the greater good, couldn't he sacrifice a little?

"Impossible!"

After refuting him again, Harry hurriedly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about it any longer.

"I also received a Christmas gift, but I don't know who sent it. It's an Invisibility Cloak, which is quite useful. And I found a mirror in an abandoned classroom last night, and I could see my parents in it."

"At first, I thought it was a magical object that recorded my parents, but Ronald looked in the mirror and saw himself as the president of the student union and the captain of the Quidditch team."

"Ethan, if you want to see it, I can lend you the Invisibility Cloak."

"You don't need the Invisibility Cloak. It's in that classroom, right? I'll check it out when I have time."

Ethan was also curious about what he might see, as the mirror reflected one's innermost desires.

Harry had lost his parents as a child and longed for family, so he saw his parents.

Ronald wanted to stand out among his brothers, so he saw himself becoming the president of the student union. But why didn't he imagine himself as the Minister of Magic?

As for the Invisibility Cloak, Ethan wasn't concerned about it at all. The only truly useful thing among the Deathly Hallows was the Elder Wand.

The Resurrection Stone was a trap. It had no actual resurrection effect, and the souls it showed were fake.

The Invisibility Cloak was simply a cloak enchanted with a Disillusionment Charm. Ordinary invisibility cloaks had a time limit, but this one didn't.

In the original story, Harry was discovered by Filch's cat while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, yet it didn't meow!

Dumbledore could see through it directly, and Snape could sense someone's presence by intuition, making the Invisibility Cloak less useful.

"Okay, I also want to know what you can see, Ethan. Maybe you'll become the Minister of Magic—you're so outstanding."

Harry pointed out the location of the abandoned classroom with envy.

In the Muggle world, Ethan was impressive, with a good family, excellent grades, and athletic talent.

After entering the wizarding world, he remained outstanding. No first-year student could compare to him.

Harry really envied Ethan.

At night, before heading to the Room of Requirement, Ethan visited the abandoned classroom Harry mentioned.

According to the original plot, the Mirror of Erised was originally in the headmaster's office. Harry had looked into it for a few days after getting the Invisibility Cloak before it was put away to protect the Philosopher's Stone.

So, if he wanted to try it out, he needed to do so quickly.

Pushing open the half-closed door, Ethan saw a huge, golden-framed floor-to-ceiling mirror with seats randomly placed around it.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"

Ethan's hand passed over the inscription on top of the Mirror of Erised, and then he read it backward:

"The Mirror of Erised shows not your face but your heart's desire."

So what exactly do I want?

Ethan stared into the mirror.

At first, the mirror reflected Ethan's image, but soon it was covered by white mist.

When the mist cleared, what appeared before Ethan was a sunny summer day, a blue sea, and a luxurious yacht anchored on the water.

The music was deafening, and there was an abundance of fine wines and delicacies. It was unmistakably a party scene.

But it seemed there was only one man—Ethan, in his twenties, shirtless and wearing beach shorts.

He was surrounded by girls—European, Asian, mixed-race, and mature women.

Black stockings, white stockings and bare feet—everything matched Ethan's taste.

Among them were many celebrities from Ethan's past life, and even the waitress beside him was a rare beauty.

Ethan chuckled to himself, his voice bouncing off the walls of the empty room. "A party, huh? Is this really what I want?"

He didn't have to speak louder, but he did—something in his gut told him he wasn't alone. He'd sensed it the moment he stepped inside.

"Girls, yachts, fine wine… Seems like before I came to this world, I was a bit of a hedonist," Ethan continued, his voice casual, but deliberate. He paused, his eyes flicking briefly to the shadow in the corner before returning to the mirror.

He smirked, running a hand through his hair. "Now I'm here, learning magic, getting stronger... but it's all for the same thing, isn't it? Freedom. Living life on my own terms."

"Guess I'm consistent after all. Power, wealth, pleasure—it's all connected, right? Becoming stronger is just a means to live freely. That's what I desire."

"Well, that's enough of that. There's no point dwelling on dreams, is there?" He shrugged, walking towards the door. "After all, life isn't just about chasing desires. There are people waiting for me. Can't keep them waiting for too long."

As Ethan left, two shadows appeared a little behind where Ethan was standing.

The people hiding nearby were none other than Dumbledore and Snape.

"Severus, it's hard to say."

Dumbledore sighed.

He was so old—what hadn't he seen or heard?

But he had never encountered someone like Ethan.

The young wizards these days...

"Heh!"

Snape sneered and said nothing.

When you think about Ethan's ideals and then consider what he's working towards now, the results are quite impressive.

If I had half of his ability, my child with Lily should be in first grade by now!

"Let's go. Ethan shouldn't be a big problem in the future!"

Dumbledore wasn't entirely sure, as he had never seen anything like this before.

Ethan's talent was too strong. Quirrell had been in contact with Ethan some time ago, and Snape had come to Dumbledore's office and clearly stated that Ethan might become the next Dark Lord.

The reasoning was quite sound—Ethan had been too ruthless with Slytherin, which indicated he had a dark side in his heart. At least since he started school, no young wizard had been more ruthless than Ethan.

So, that's why the two of them had come here to spy today.

"The Mirror of Erised only shows the deepest desire at the moment. People change, and wealth, lust, and power can change at any time."

And these three are interconnected, only varying in importance. Even without Snape saying it, Dumbledore could see that.

But now it seemed that Ethan was just a lustful young wizard. Compared to Voldemort in his early years, Ethan's ambition was much smaller. But who could be sure he wouldn't change in the future?

"It's not just about the deepest desire, but also the truest self."

Dumbledore's expression was quite serious.

It's true that people change, but those changes are usually superficial, and their true nature is hard to alter. As the saying goes, "A leopard can't change its spots."

And Ethan is inherently a hedonist.

Unless something drastic happens that changes Ethan's entire life, he'll remain an ordinary student who pursues girls around school, but with more talent, a higher success rate, and greater popularity among the witches.

"So, as the headmaster of Hogwarts, aren't you worried about the young witches in the school?"

Snape sneered.

He had failed in love during his school days.

Now, what he hated most were those young wizards who were always in love.

If he could break up a couple, he would.

"This, this... as long as it's not forced, we have no right to interfere."

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