The Silent Bookstore Manager at Hogwarts

"What did you see?" Dumbledore asked.

"There's nothing here. Is this mirror broken?" If he didn't know nothing about the Mirror of Eris, Red would have tried to knock on it to see if he could fix it. How come everyone else could see what they wanted most, but he couldn't even see his own reflection?

The mirror was blank, as if rejecting Red's observation.

"Can't see anything?" Dumbledore tugged at his beard, remained silent for a moment, and then said nothing. It was Harry who asked the question.

"Headmaster, what do you see in this mirror?"

"Me... I see myself sitting by the warm fireplace, holding thick woolen socks..."

Dumbledore uttered these words as if with a sigh, glancing once more at the Mirror of Erised with a hint of lingering affection before looking away.

"No matter what, Harry... this mirror only reflects a false beauty. You can enjoy it, but you must never become dependent on or obsessed with it, understand?"

Harry nodded, glancing back one last time at the Mirror of Erised. The warm and beautiful scene of his parents and himself reflected in the mirror captivated him, but he knew it didn't belong to him.

"Alright, this old man needs to go back to sleep. You guys should go back too. Staying out at night is against school rules, so don't get caught..."

Dumbledore offered a reminder, but he also knew that Harry had an invisibility cloak, and with Professor Red's unpredictable stealth skills, even if it were McGonagall or Snape himself, let alone Filch of the Night's Watch, they could only scratch their heads helplessly and give up.

"Understood." Harry nodded obediently. He cared a lot about violating school rules, after all, he had been caught red-handed, and he had to be sincere in admitting his mistake.

Red didn't say much. He was just there to join in the fun. It would be best if Harry's inner conflict could be resolved here. If not, he would find another time and method to help Harry deal with the problem. After all, what Harry will learn in the future will often affect his mind. If his will is not strong enough, it would be troublesome if he were to be corrupted by knowledge.

"Go back and do extra training on your own... Remember to eat more, otherwise you'll become malnourished from all the training."

Harry's face fell at Red's words, but he could only grit his teeth and agree. At worst, he would stop playing wizard chess, finish his homework by copying, and spend the rest of his time resting.

"By the way, Harry, tomorrow will be a nice day, study hard."

Dumbledore was somewhat confused by what Red was saying. What necessary connection did the weather have with studying? Harry didn't seem like the kind of child whose study efficiency would be affected by the weather.

However, this was ultimately a matter between Red and Harry, and Dumbledore had no intention of interfering or taking matters into his own hands. So he simply put his doubts aside and prepared to take out a piece of candy from his pocket as a bedtime dessert.

"Principal, you should also avoid eating candy before bed. Brushing your teeth, drinking a cup of hot water, and getting a good night's sleep is the best option."

Red's serious words made Dumbledore silently put the candy he was about to put in his mouth back into his pocket.

"Child, please be understanding of this old man. Without candy, your dear principal won't be able to sleep well tonight."

Dumbledore muttered a few complaints, showing no airs of a headmaster, but rather acting like a kind old man.

"Have you considered your dental health, or has someone else taken care of that for you?"

Reid coughed twice, and he even subconsciously showed concern for the principal's life, which showed that he had been too relaxed lately.

"This question... hahaha."

Dumbledore chuckled and brushed the question aside. The three of them quietly returned to their respective rooms, and the Mirror of Erised was quickly moved out of the room. Everything was as if nothing had happened, except that Harry seemed to have understood something.

Two days later, Hermione called Ron and Harry together to the library.

"You all remember what I said, right... Master Nicolas Flamel is the only living holder of the Philosopher's Stone."

Hermione was holding a very old-looking book, and it was clear that she had been busy researching these things lately.

"I'm sure I've already told you about the effects of the Philosopher's Stone..."

Ron and Harry both nodded, but they didn't understand why Hermione had pulled them out at this time, without even calling Red.

"Do you think it's possible that Professor Snape's target is this Philosopher's Stone...?"

"Hermione, I remember I already said that I don't think Professor Snape would do such a thing, so don't worry about it."

Harry grimaced. He and Red both knew that the real enemy was Professor Quirrell, not Professor Snape. But the problem was that Professor Snape was just too suspicious. His actions left Harry and Red with no room for defense. In fact, their real enemy, Quirrell, was largely ruled out as a suspect because of his cowardice and incompetence.

"But we have no evidence, do we? The current evidence suggests that Professor Snape is far more likely to be the murderer than Professor Quirrell... Harry, even if you say you feel Professor Snape isn't the mastermind, how do you know Professor Quirrell is?"

The dilemma lies in the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever, and the answer that only Harry and Red know is hard to convince others.

"That's true. Let's continue along your lines of thought for now. If it really is Professor Snape, what should we do now? And why not call Red over to discuss this as well?"

Harry could only reluctantly admit it, but Hermione clearly showed a hint of helplessness when Red was mentioned.

"I have no idea where Reid went. Rather, does anyone know why Reid disappears without a trace as soon as get out of class is over? Everyone's talking about it. How did he manage to vanish without anyone noticing?"

"What? I hear someone looking for me?"

Reid walked out from the depths of the library carrying two books. Hermione instinctively tried to see the titles of the books in Reid's arms, but she couldn't.