HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

This action startled Filch, causing him to involuntarily take a step back.

"The Book of Answers—a standard book of dark magic, describing the damage caused by various dark magic spells..." Sagres glanced almost imperceptibly into the darkness, then pointed to the book in the other's arms, his expression icy and his tone harsh: "Can't I read it? Or do I need to report to you?"

“No…no need, Professor…” Filch tilted his head back as far as he could, as if trying to get as far away from the book as possible.

“He was just trying to do his job.” Snape reached out and took the book from Filch’s arms.

"Insulting and physically punishing students is also part of your job?" Sagres looked at Snape with a half-smile. "No wonder you're your partner; after all, protecting Slytherin students is also part of your job."

After saying that, he ignored the other person's ugly expression, took the book from the other person's hand, and walked into the darkness without looking back.

He wasn't entirely looking for trouble with the two of them; rather, he had discovered something more interesting.

He noticed it while he was reading in the forbidden section; a young wizard was sneaking around there at night. Moreover, the wizard was using a very rare item—an invisibility cloak.

Such things are rare for Hogwarts students, and he had seen ordinary invisibility cloaks before, but this one was very different.

If it weren't for the subtle footsteps that gave away the other person's location, he wouldn't even have noticed that someone was shrouded in invisibility cloaks hovering in front of him.

This indicates that it is a magical artifact of extremely high quality. If he had this when he was studying, Snape and Filch would never have been able to see a single hair on his head.

He had just noticed that the other person had hidden in an abandoned classroom not far from where they were talking, so he planned to go back and check after Snape and the others left. However, Sagles guessed that the other person was a junior wizard, since the professor could enter the forbidden library at will and did not need to wear an invisibility cloak.

As the lights dimmed on Snape and his companion, Sagres quietly returned to the door.

He cast a disillusionment spell on himself and then walked into the classroom.

It's Harry Potter. He's standing in front of a giant mirror, his expression complex.

Sargeras looked at the inscription at the top of the mirror and discovered that it was the Mirror of Eris, also known as the Mirror of Desire.

People standing in front of a mirror can see what they want most in the mirror, and countless people have been captivated by this.

Sagrais pursed his lips, thinking this was definitely another of Dumbledore's tricks. Otherwise, how could such a magical item be left here so casually? And without even locking the door—could it be any more obvious?

Thinking this, he looked around but didn't find anyone else. He shook his head, thinking that Dumbledore probably wanted to give Harry a test and train him.

So Sargeras ignored the little wizard in front of the mirror and left the "trap" that Dumbledore had carefully woven.

……

Chapter 22 The Mirror of Desire

The next day, Sagres, who had stayed in the forbidden book section until late, suddenly looked up, his expression turning strange. After listening intently for a while, he sighed and walked towards the classroom where he had placed the Mirror of Eris the night before.

Sure enough, Harry came again, and he wasn't alone; he even brought a companion with him.

Sagrais was speechless. Were all the young wizards at Gryphon so reckless? They encountered such an obvious magical item, and instead of checking its function and origin in the library, they dared to hang around in front of it every day?

And even if Harry, a newcomer who has only recently entered the wizarding world, is naive, how come this red-haired Weasley is also so unreliable? He even tried to take the mirror from Harry!

"Do you think this mirror can predict the future?" Ron asked curiously.

A glimmer of hope flashed in Harry's eyes, only to be dashed again: "Impossible, my family is all dead... Uh, Ron, I want to see it one more time."

Ron stared intently at the mirror, saying without turning his head, "You had your fill of this mirror last night; now it's my turn."

“Is all you care about is your House Cup trophy? What’s the point of that?” Harry reached out and nudged him. “I want to see my mom and dad. They’re so precious to me.”

"Don't push me, maybe I'll see something special too..."

Sagres couldn't take it anymore, so he used Transfiguration to transform a helmet of armor in the corridor into Lady Loris, and then commanded it to break into the abandoned classroom.

The room was immediately filled with the sounds of chickens running and dogs barking. The two young wizards quickly put on their invisibility cloaks and fled.

Sagres was truly speechless. He felt that this old headmaster was completely unreliable. How could a first-year wizard be allowed to come into contact with something like this? Wasn't this tantamount to encouraging minors to use drugs?

Harry Potter and his friends were even more unreliable. It was fortunate that they were at Hogwarts; if they had been in Knockturn Alley, a place with many dark wizards, they might have been dismantled and sold off long ago.

……

……

Day three.

Sagles had a premonition. He put down his book and went to the abandoned classroom, where he once again, quite naturally, encountered Harry Potter.

Harry sat blankly in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection, so much so that he didn't even notice when Sagres walked up behind him.

He looked at his family waving and smiling at him in the mirror, and he felt happy, but he also felt incredibly sad knowing that they could only ever appear in the mirror.

Two feelings intertwined, and for the first time in his life, Harry felt pain. It wasn't Uncle Vernon's insults, nor Cousin Dudley's beatings, nor Aunt Peggy's mockery; it was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Sagres didn't use the Disillusionment Charm. He frowned as he watched Harry's retreating figure, remaining silent for a long time.

“You’re here again, Harry,” Sagrais finally said calmly.

The little wizard froze, a million thoughts racing through his mind: If he put on the invisibility cloak as quickly as possible, would the other person think that seeing him was just an illusion?

Harry didn't know how he turned around, but when he saw Sagrais standing behind him, he gave up all struggle.

“I’m sorry, Professor. I…” Harry didn’t finish his sentence; he didn’t know what excuse to make.

Sagres stood still without approaching, and simply spoke to the other person in a calm tone: "Like many others, you are addicted to the world of the mirror of desire."

“I didn’t know it was the ‘Mirror of Desire,’ I just saw my family in it…” He paused, then added dejectedly, “Actually, I’m not sure if they were my family, I just felt it from the bottom of my heart, it was them…”

“Yes, that’s what makes it so insidious. It changes the things in the mirror according to people’s deepest desires, making them addicted to them,” Sagres said calmly. “Like your friend Ron, who saw himself gaining glory and becoming the center of attention.”

"how do you know?"

“Because you have been blinded by desire…it has made you trample on the rules, unable to concentrate, and no longer vigilant.” His face was serious. “For this, Gryffindor will lose forty points.”

Harry lowered his head dejectedly, tears welling in his eyes. He tried his best to hold back his tears because he had a strange thought in his mind: he didn't want Professor Greengrass to think that he was crying because he had lost points.

And that was indeed the case. He wanted to cry because he might never be able to stand in front of that mirror and look at his family again. Although they had only met less than three days ago, he might never see them again in his life.

"I'm sorry, Professor..."

“The points deducted are not because you violated school rules, because I have never actually liked these Hogwarts rules,” Sagrais said calmly. “I just want to tell you that Hogwarts actually only has one real rule, and that is to never get caught in the act when you violate school rules.”

Harry looked up when he heard this.

“You’ve been far too careless, treating almost every professor like slow-witted trolls. For that, deducting ten points from each of you each time is already extremely lenient.” Sagres looked into the other’s pale green eyes and said solemnly, “So I hope you can be more alert in the future and never underestimate everyone just because you have an invisibility cloak. Honestly, if you can understand this, then these forty points won’t have been wasted.”

“Thank you, Professor Greengrass,” Harry said earnestly.

“As for this mirror…” Sagrass’s tone softened, “its real name is the ‘Mirror of Eris’.”

“I’m not surprised at all that you’re addicted to it! It’s perfectly normal; it would be strange if you could resist its temptation.”

"Why do you say that, Professor? I don't understand..." Harry asked, puzzled.

“People are always vulnerable when faced with their desires. They go crazy for them, they succumb to them, and they rush towards them without hesitation, even if they know it’s fake.” Sagrais looked at Harry. “Like everyone who has ever stood in front of this mirror, I guess very few people have ever been able to resist its temptation.”

He waved his hand, and a gentle breeze lifted Harry from the ground and pushed him away from the mirror.

"It is a very magical mirror, and a very powerful magical object. But it neither tells us the truth nor increases our knowledge, so it is just a treacherous magic mirror. For some people, it is not even as good as an ordinary mirror."

Patting the young wizard on the head, Sagrais said earnestly, "I'll tell Dumbledore to move this mirror. Harry, don't try to find it anymore."

"Professor...Professor Greengrass, may I ask you some questions?"

"Of course, the professor's job is to help you answer your questions."

What do you see in this mirror?

“I never look in this mirror, Harry. I don’t need a mirror to tell me what I want,” Sagles said with a rare smile. “I hope you feel the same way.”

Harry nodded in surprise. For a moment, he even thought the other person was lying, but when he looked up and saw the other person's smile, he realized that the professor was telling the truth.

“Now, go back. Put on your invisibility cloak, walk quietly, avoid Filch and his cat, and get a good night’s sleep.” He looked Harry into his eyes and told him earnestly, “The next period of time may be a little tough, but you can always let it go if you want to.”

Harry nodded emphatically, then picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

Sagles waved and watched the other person leave the classroom.

Chapter 23 Troll Practice Course

"Should we continue to hide?" All expression vanished from Sagres's face. He looked at a desk near the door, and the old headmaster's figure slowly emerged from the desk.

The other person was smiling, showing no embarrassment at being spied on or caught.

“You did very well, Sacramento. To be honest, I couldn’t have done any better…” Dumbledore said, somewhat exaggeratedly.

"Really? Professor Dumbledore, then you've done something truly terrible. Even I couldn't have done something like that. How did you come up with the idea of ​​using the Mirror of Erised to tempt an orphan who has never seen his parents?"

Sagres frowned, his eyes scrutinizing: "Do you find it satisfying to toy with a young wizard who has suppressed his desires since childhood? Or do you think Harry Potter should see his parents and relatives who were killed by Voldemort, so that he can solidify his hatred for Voldemort?"

“You’ve misunderstood me, Sacramento…” Dumbledore walked naturally to the Mirror of Erised and said gently, “I just hope that this child can go through some trials so that when he encounters hardship in the future, he can see his own heart clearly and will not be blinded by falsehoods.”

"Yes, I understand what you mean, Headmaster. You mean that in order to prevent Harry Potter from losing himself later, you're going to let him completely succumb to depravity while he's still studying, is that right?"

“Sagres, you know that’s not what I meant…” The old man smiled at him, shaking his head and laughing as if he were meeting him for the first time. “But you care about them more than I thought. I didn’t realize you had such a kind heart. How about it? Isn’t it tiring to put on such a cold act every day?”

"At least it won't be more tiring than you pretending to be all friendly." Sagles said with disdain. "You must have already planned out that boy's fate in your mind, right? What, did I disrupt your plans?"

He loathed the other man's self-righteous and wise manner, his tendency to arbitrarily dictate the fate of others simply because they were weak. In his view, this was the arrogance unique to older people, something he had already experienced once when he was studying at Hogwarts.

“I think you really have misunderstood me.” Dumbledore looked in the mirror and said to Sagrais without turning his head, “Even if you hadn’t come out to stop him today, I would have come out and said these things to him anyway.”

"Then what's the point of all this?"

“Yes, Sagres, of course there is…” He finally turned around. “I understand people better than you do. I believe more in things like ‘love’ and ‘tolerance’ than in power.”

“You don’t believe in power because you already possess enough power.” Sagres completely disagreed with the other’s words. “Inner strength needs a foundation. Do you expect a first-year student who has never experienced life and death and has no experience to become mentally strong?”

“Harry has already faced life and death, Sagres, he faced it when he was just born.” The old man blinked. “And isn’t this experience invaluable for him? I told you from the beginning that your education is excellent, and Harry will benefit greatly from it.”

"Then I hope you can hear what I just said—put this mirror where the young wizards can't find it, at least until they're ready, and don't let it appear at Hogwarts again."

"As you wish, I will hide this mirror," the old man replied with a smile. "But before that, don't you really want to stand up and take a look?"

"Do you really want me to see it, Professor Dumbledore?" Sagres asked calmly, looking at him without any emotion.

The old man opened his mouth but did not answer. Sagres turned and left the classroom.

Hogwarts seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

After giving a lesson to the students of Gryffindor and Slytherin on how to deal with trolls, Sagres received a reply from Lady Snowowl.