Over in Gryffindor, Harry received an Invisibility Cloak from an anonymous sender and ran around the castle, excited to try it out.
Aiden, having finished the snowball fight, made his way to the Great Hall, ready to enjoy lunch.
Spotting Aiden, Harry decided to play a prank. He slowed his steps, covered his mouth and nose with his hand to muffle his breathing, and crept closer under the cloak.
Just as Harry was about to sneak up on Aiden, Aiden suddenly spun around and yanked the Invisibility Cloak right off him.
"BooOOoo!" Aiden intoned in a ghostly, drawn-out voice.
"Ah!" Harry yelped, stumbling back in fright.
"How did you find me?"
"Kid, the Invisibility Cloak can hide your body, but do you really think a wizard wouldn't notice being stared at?" Aiden said, shaking his head.
"Who says? Ron didn't notice anything," Harry protested.
"My dear, I don't mean to speak badly of Ronny. Just remember, you should pursue knowledge to improve yourself, not to lower your standards because of him."
"Harry, you're different from Ronny. You're someone the Dark Lord has marked as an opponent. Ronny is just a butterfly caught in the spiderweb web of fate. If things ever get truly out of hand, we could send Ronny far away, but you can't be sent away so easily."
Aiden let out a deep sigh..
"I'm sorry to talk about such heavy things with you on Christmas."
"It's okay, you don't need to apologise." Harry left, looking thoughtful.
Wait, the Invisibility Cloak is still in my hand. Aiden wanted to call Harry back, but after thinking it over, he decided to study it instead.
***
Without delay, Aiden hurried to the Room of Requirement.
There, Aiden used a detection spell to carefully scan the Invisibility Cloak.
"There's nothing special about it, but from an alchemical perspective, it doesn't even have runes," Aiden marvelled.
[Ding, go to the Collective Unconscious Sea and look again.]
After hearing the System, Aiden put on the Invisibility Cloak and used Suggestion to enter the Collective Unconscious Sea, Deep Realm Layer Zero, Distorted Illusion.
The Room of Requirement shifted into a pure white illusion, and a giant ᛉ rune enveloped Aiden.
"This is the Deathly Hallow," Aiden murmured.
After recording the rune, Aiden returned to the real world.
"System, you knew all along, didn't you?" Aiden asked.
[Ding, I saw it when Harry Potter used it. Algiz (ᛉ): This rune represents protection and defence. It can be seen as the spatial boundary of an individual or territory, protecting the inside from outside intrusion.]
"So, being invisible in the physical world isn't even the most valuable function of this alchemical creation. Its true power is to guard against certain types of spiritual attacks."
[Ding, yes.]
"That's fascinating," Aiden said, his interest piqued.
***
After leaving the Room of Requirement, Aiden found Harry and returned the Invisibility Cloak to him.
"Oh, I was just about to look for you, Aiden. I didn't expect you to bring it back first. I actually need it tonight," Harry said, sounding relieved.
He must be planning a night visit to the Restricted Section, Aiden thought, handing the cloak over.
"Good luck, then," Aiden said with a small wave, turning to leave.
That night, in the Restricted Section, Harry arrived wearing the Invisibility Cloak and carrying a small lamp. He pulled the door handle, and the door opened without resistance.
Is that it? You call this a Restricted Section? With this level of defence, sneaking out at night to read forbidden books is as easy as playing, Aiden thought, following behind under a Disillusionment Charm.
"Famous Fire-Eaters. Fifteenth-Century Demons," Harry read the titles aloud.
After searching for a while, he didn't find any books related to Nicolas Flamel, so he randomly pulled out one and started flipping through it.
Suddenly, the magic in the book flared to life, and a ghostly human face seemed to leap out from the pages. Aiden quickly stepped forward and helped Harry slam the book shut.
"Immobulus! Silencio!" Aiden cast the spells in quick succession. The book stopped trembling, and a shimmering barrier formed around them, muffling all sound.
"Aiden? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, startled.
Aiden grinned. "Stopping a certain someone from volunteering as a midnight snack for cursed books."
Luckily, Aiden had acted in time and avoided alerting Filch.
"I want to find Nicolas Flamel, but I've looked through so many books and found nothing," Harry said, sounding defeated.
Aiden smiled and handed Harry a Chocolate Frog card.
"It's Dumbledore. I already have this one," Harry said, puzzled.
"Read the description on it."
"...defeated the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald in 1945, and his collaboration with Nicolas Flamel in Alchemy..."
Harry's eyes widened. "It's Nicolas Flamel!"
"You need to look up this name in History of Magic, not wander around aimlessly," Aiden advised.
Harry followed Aiden out of the Restricted Section, both of them moving quietly through the corridor under the Invisibility Cloak.
They soon spotted Snape pressing Quirrell against the wall, speaking in low, urgent tones.
Harry, still not learning, was about to get closer to listen. Aiden grabbed Harry, covered his eyes, and closed his own, pressing them both against the wall on the other side.
After a while, Snape finished threatening Quirrell, and the two professors left in opposite directions.
Snape's threat was overheard by the boys, but neither professor noticed the hidden observers in the corner.
"See? I told you Snape isn't a good person," Harry whispered to Aiden.
"First, you forgot again—don't stare at powerful wizards, or you will be discovered. Second, what we hear and see isn't always the truth."
Aiden didn't know how to explain it to Harry, so he could only be vague. He couldn't exactly tell him that Snape was secretly in love with his mother and would never harm him.
Looking at the distracted Harry, it was clear he hadn't really listened.
***
On the way back, they passed a mirror, and Harry was suddenly drawn to it. He walked up and stared into the glass, seeing his parents looking back at him.
"Mum... Dad..." Harry reached out, wanting to touch their images.
"I show not your face but your deepest desires," Aiden read out the inscription.
He turned to Harry. "This is the Mirror of Erised. It reflects a person's innermost heart."
"But aren't those my parents? Look!" Harry eagerly pulled Aiden to the mirror.
Aiden felt a force trying to break through his mental defences, but it failed.
He looked at the mirror. The surface was empty; not even Aiden himself was reflected.
"Wow, Aiden, you can't even be seen in the mirror. Are you a legendary vampire?" Harry asked, surprised.
"Read fewer Muggle storybooks that trick children. If you really want to learn about vampires, the library has Defence Against the Dark Arts textbooks," Aiden replied.
Old Dumbledore, you are not playing fair, trying to peek into my heart, Aiden thought to himself.
"Still, this is an interesting magical item. Harry, you can stay and look for a while. I'm heading off."
With that, Aiden turned and left the room.
***********
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