Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

Victor asked the magic mirror what new "revelation" he had received—this was because whenever he underwent a change, he would receive a corresponding revelation, but the feeling of this revelation was relatively vague, so asking the magic mirror would be safer.

Speaking of safety, we have to talk about lessons learned from the past.

Once upon a time, there was a flower fairy searching for a wish-granting mirror to save her dying flower tree. After many hardships, she finally found the mirror and was given the chance to make a wish that would surely come true—but she didn't understand how the mirror worked. Upon receiving it, she casually said to her companion:

"Why is this mirror so dusty? I wish it were cleaner."

So the mirror granted her wish.

To avoid a similar situation, Victor thought it best to consult the Magic Mirror before testing his abilities—what if his abilities really could only be used once?

The magic mirror in his hand quickly changed as well.

After Victor first uttered "Mirror, mirror on the wall," his clear reflection in the mirror began to blur rapidly. The mirror surface rippled like water being parted in a lake. Then, the mirror began to darken, and a blurry, hazy shadow appeared against the dark background.

The shadow's face was indistinct, but the figure drew closer and closer until it seemed to be standing at opposite ends of the same position as Victor, as if separated by a mirror.

The shadow, roughly where the mouth should be, twitched a few times:

"On the left side of a lake, on the right side of a forest;"

"Amidst a mist, above the flames of revenge;"

"A guidance from the shadows has begun to emerge;"

"The lake will lend you strength to help you complete the ingenious concealment."

"Only those who have crossed death can see through your disguise."

The voice from the magic mirror was ethereal and elusive, almost like a whisper, but Victor was already used to it.

He easily extracted the key words from it—the magic of the lake, the effect of which is related to concealment, and the last sentence is the condition under which the magic will fail.

However, the qualifier "someone who has crossed death" is somewhat ambiguous.

Does it refer to someone who has died and come back to life?

"I still prefer your old way of speaking. Weren't you and the Queen quite straightforward with each other?" Victor said casually. "Why are your answers becoming increasingly vague lately?"

The figure in the mirror paused for a moment, then began to sway slightly again.

"...You have no right to say that."

A low, short voice came from the mirror.

Victor: ?

For a moment, he didn't react; he was stunned for a few seconds.

At that moment, the figure in the mirror quickly disappeared into the darkness behind, as if it had never been there. The old little mirror returned to its original, hazy and blurry state.

The magic mirror left.

Victor: "..."

Why are you in such a hurry? He hasn't even said anything yet.

He stared at the mirror for a while, then finally put it back in the pocket of his cloak.

Then, he returned to his previous plan to experiment with his abilities.

As he raised his right hand, a small whirlpool of lake water indeed appeared in his palm. The color of the lake water was somewhat strange, seemingly a peculiar dark hue.

The lake water then flowed up his arm, quickly covering his entire body...

A few seconds later, when Victor looked in another ordinary mirror, he found himself transformed into another humanoid black shadow.

The shadow had no face and its outline was blurry, but two white, empty holes could be seen serving as eyes.

Victor watched for a while, then fell into a brief silence.

...How should I put this concealment?

It's useful, but not particularly useful.

Why can others still see him? If they can all see him, what's the difference between this concealment and wearing a mask?!

……

Meanwhile, the Weasley twins sneaked into the corridor, one of them carrying a cauldron hidden under his cloak, clearly not planning anything good.

George, who was walking in front, first looked around to the side, then peeked at the seemingly empty classroom on the right. He gestured to Fred, who was carrying the crucible behind him, and said in a low voice:

"Safe. Nobody's around."

"That's good."

Fred, who was behind him, replied furtively, hiding the crucible even further under his cloak, making him look like he had suddenly developed a beer belly, which was quite comical.

But George was clearly a professional. When he turned around and saw Fred, he managed to suppress a slight chuckle—which was probably partly because if he laughed out loud, it would be his turn to carry the crucible.

George held back his laughter for a moment before saying in a serious tone:

"What do you think of this formula, Fred? Is it effective at corroding ceramics?"

"Definitely."

Fred said confidently.

"I've already modified Seamus's recipe four times; it won't go wrong. Old Bat also mentioned in class that the Flopp caterpillar's slime is corrosive, so as long as we add a few drops in the right proportion, we'll definitely be able to remove a toilet seat without making a sound and without damaging it!"

"Mom and Ginny will love this Christmas present!"

Fred spoke with unwavering conviction, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. George nodded deeply, expressing his approval of their grand plan.

However, when George was the first to walk into the empty classroom, he felt a gentle breeze blowing from behind.

"what?"

He instinctively covered his neck and glanced back.

Fred turned his head with him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing, maybe it's just my imagination," George said softly.

Behind them was the quiet corridor of Hogwarts. The candles were still burning silently, and the armored figures on either side stood as majestic as ever.

There was nothing there.

It must be an illusion.

George touched the hairs that had inexplicably stood up on the back of his neck, suppressed his doubts, and then turned back—

Suddenly, a humanoid shadow appeared in front of him, no more than three inches away from George's face!

The shadowy figure seemed to belong outside this space; everything around it blurred, as if a mosaic had been forcibly applied to everything. Its eyes were a stark white, piercingly and coldly watching him…

For some reason, just looking at that dark figure, a silent fear began to surge into George's heart, gripping his soul and freezing him in place, unable to move.

"Sizzle!"

The figure flickered in front of him for a second, then vanished into thin air.

There was only an empty classroom and desks and chairs in front of me.

For a moment, George felt his heart stop beating, and he stood there, forgetting to breathe. Fred next to him also remained in the same position, standing still.

The two stood there for most of the day.

After more than ten seconds, George finally spoke, his voice trembling:

"Did you...did you see that?"

But when he turned to look at Fred, he suddenly felt a cold hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"