Get comfortable, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🔥 ✦ Because of his mutations, Elias did not need much sleep.
A quiet night was therefore perfect for planning.
Since arriving in this world, he had not yet changed the plot in any major way.
That meant Voldemort’s diary should still be in the hands of the first-year witch Ginny Weasley.
Elias intended to find the right opportunity and take the diary for himself.
A young Voldemort who had already managed to split his soul into a Horcrux should have plenty of useful knowledge hidden away.
Elias planned to squeeze every worthwhile secret out of the diary before handing it to Dumbledore for disposal.
As for the events of the next few years, he would handle them as they came.
Knowing the general direction of the plot gave him confidence that he could live comfortably enough in this world.
Elias had fought too many battles and seen too many horrors to take a provincial dark wizard like Voldemort too seriously.
He was even less impressed by Voldemort’s so-called immortality.
The mutations had given witchers extraordinarily long lives.
The irony was that no one knew where a witcher’s natural lifespan ended, because no witcher had ever been known to die peacefully of old age in bed.
Elias also wrote to Zonko’s Joke Shop and ordered several prank items he intended to modify into teaching tools.
From Honeydukes, he ordered more Cockroach Clusters.
Strange as they looked, he had truly developed a liking for the sweets.
With the rest of the night, Elias opened the thick, intimidating compendium of spells and began practicing.
The Levitation Charm, the Unlocking Charm, the Shrinking Charm, the Engorgement Charm, Scourgify, Lumos, Accio, Reparo – by the end of the night, Elias had mastered most of the basic spells.
He decided to save the more offensive magic for a training room.
He also found entries on powerful magic such as the Animagus transformation, Apparition, Occlumency, and the Patronus Charm.
The compendium did not contain much detail on them, so he made a note to ask Professors Flitwick and McGonagall when he had time.
When Elias finally looked up, dawn had begun to pale the sky.
With nothing urgent demanding his attention, he suddenly felt that, as someone who had once loved Hogwarts from afar, he would be wasting a rare opportunity if he did not explore the castle properly.
So Elias left his office and wandered through Hogwarts without any particular destination.
Eventually, he noticed a door standing slightly ajar.
The half-open door seemed almost to be inviting him inside.
Elias pushed it open gently and found an empty classroom.
In the corner stood a mirror covered in dust, though even neglected, it was clearly magnificent.
It rose almost to the ceiling in a golden frame and stood on two clawed feet.
Along the top was an inscription: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
Read backward, it became: I show not your face but your heart’s desire.
The Mirror of Erised.
Elias recognized the famous magical mirror at once.
It allowed a person to see the deepest and most urgent desire of the heart.
Curious despite himself, he stepped closer.
He wanted to know what he longed for most.
He stood before the mirror and gazed into the dusty glass.
The image changed.
Under brilliant sunlight, the vineyard at Corvo Bianco appeared before him.
The villa doors stood open, and the place seemed to be in the middle of a lively celebration.
Geralt was playing Gwent with Regis.
Dandelion was boasting about something to Duchess Anna Henrietta and Syanna, making both women cover their mouths as they laughed.
Triss and Yennefer leaned against a veranda pillar with wineglasses in hand, speaking quietly.
The Bloody Baron, Shani, and many other old friends were there as well.
Elias even saw Vesemir.
The old witcher sat in a chair, apparently speaking with Ciri.
Then he seemed to notice Elias.
Vesemir smiled and lifted a hand, as if inviting him to come inside.
Ciri saw him too and started toward the door with warm enthusiasm, ready to welcome him.
Elias stepped forward without realizing it.
His hand touched cold glass.
Only then did he return to himself.
The ancient mirror truly did contain powerful magic.
“It must be a beautiful scene,” Dumbledore said from behind him.
“Is it not?” Elias had not heard him arrive.
“Like many wizards before you, you have discovered the fascination of the Mirror of Erised,” Dumbledore continued.
“I believe you now understand what it does.
A small hint: the happiest person in the world would look into this mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is.” Elias remained silent, still staring at Vesemir in the glass.
Vesemir was the witcher he respected most.
He had given Elias care, taught him everything a witcher needed to know, and died at the hands of the Wild Hunt.
Dumbledore looked at Elias’s distant expression and spoke gently.
“The mirror shows us the deepest desires of our hearts.
Remember this, Elias: it gives neither knowledge nor truth.
Too many people have wasted their lives before it, and some have lost their sanity.” “I think I understand, Professor.” Elias steadied himself and forced his eyes away from the glass.
“Then I think we should both return to our rest, Professor Vale,” Dumbledore said with a touch of humor.
“Old men like me are not made for sleepless nights.” Elias left the classroom with him.
On the way back to his office, he suddenly asked, “Professor, what do you see in that mirror?” Dumbledore smiled.
“I see myself wearing a pair of thick woolen socks by the fire.” After returning to the Headmaster’s office, Dumbledore drew out the memory of what had just happened and watched it several times.
The Mirror of Erised had also been a test for Elias.
Dumbledore had long ago learned how to observe the scene seen by a person standing before it.
Through that image, he had felt the strength of Elias’s emotion and the depth of his longing for Vesemir.
That was entirely different from the brutal, cold, emotionless Voldemort.
Dumbledore’s expression gradually softened.
After what the mirror had shown him, he had begun to trust Elias a little more.
Back in his own office, Elias sat quietly on the long chair and looked out the window at the stars fading before sunrise.
He remained there until daylight filled the room.
Then he began to work.
From Zonko’s Joke Shop, Elias had bought a large crate of Fanged Frisbees.
They resembled Muggle flying-disc toys, except each had a flat little mouth full of sharp teeth and could easily injure someone.
Older students often used them to frighten or prank first years, and Filch regularly confiscated them.
If a Fanged Frisbee struck a student, it would tear wildly at clothes and hair.
Mishandled, it could bite.
For that reason, Hogwarts strictly forbade them on school grounds.
Elias opened one and studied its working principles in detail.
Then he began modifying it.
He removed the sharp teeth entirely and replaced them with a long tongue.
He also altered its nasty temperament so that, even when thrown at a young witch or wizard, it would only lick the target’s face and hair into a hopeless mess.
Finally, he added a limited tracking function, allowing the Frisbee to pursue a locked-on target for a short time.
Once the modified Fanged Frisbees were ready, Elias had prepared the first-years’ very first lesson.
It was going to be memorable.
✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS EmberHollow Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you deeper into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.