Dumbledore opened a lemon drop and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly.
His voice was somewhat muffled as a result, as if he wanted to chew over the complex emotions contained within it in this way, "Vizette, do you know the name of this mirror?"
"The Mirror of Erised?" Vizette replied, having just learned the mirror's name from Salazar.
"It seems quite a few interesting things have happened on the other side of the mirror," Dumbledore said without the slightest surprise. "Let me start by telling you about the Mirror of Erised!"
"It's a magic mirror. It doesn't show a reflection, but it shines into your heart... reflecting your deepest desires. It's incredibly magical..."
"The deepest desire in my heart?" Vizette murmured, recalling the three images he saw in the mirror, none of which seemed to be his inner desire.
"Vizette, you seem to have doubts about this? What did you see in it?"
"I saw chaos and purity, and myself reading a book, with many, many books behind me, like... an ocean of knowledge?"
"Chaos, purity, and reading? It seems your thirst for knowledge is enough for the Mirror of Erised to reflect it..."
Vizette gestured with his lips, wanting to ask Dumbledore what he had seen.
However, when he thought of those reddened eyes and that strange look in his eyes, a mixture of sadness and longing, he gave up the idea.
Dumbledore coughed lightly, interlacing his fingers in front of him. "That mirror can not only reflect one's inner desires, but also serve as a passage."
"It's like how I quickly arrived at that basement through the Mirror of Erised. At the same time... it also has intricate connections with the Guardians."
Vizette looked at Dumbledore with a slightly surprised expression.
Dumbledore smiled slightly and asked calmly, "Oh? It seems... you don't know much about your identity as the 'Guardian'?"
"I only learned that I was the new Guardian after entering the Mirror World," Vizette nodded in response. "Headmaster Dumbledore, do you know anything about the 'Guardians'?"
Before Salazar Slytherin revealed his identity, Vizette's knowledge of the Guardians was limited to the "Guardian Meditation Method".
He originally thought it was just the name of a meditation method, but he didn't expect the answer to be right there in the riddle.
He had failed to see what was right in front of him, something he hadn't considered.
After all, the most important and most frequently used term in "The Wizarding Guide to Combat" is: Ancient Magic.
"I don't really know much about it." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "The 'Guardians' are hidden in history. I only learned about this title from historical clues when I was young."
"Everyone has their days of youth, Vizette." He blinked, a glint seemingly in his deep blue eyes. "Back then, we were full of energy…"
"My head is always full of all sorts of whimsical ideas, and I can always dig up all sorts of hidden anecdotes from strange places. It's really very interesting..."
"Back then, we were carefree and searching for something when we stumbled upon a wizard's ruins, where there were several suits of armor made of strange magic."
Vizette, making a connection, asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, the strange magic you mentioned... is it the ancient magical power?"
"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "The Guardians must have been there for a while and left their mark, which is those armors."
"We studied those armors and gained a lot of magical knowledge that we had never seen before. It was a very rewarding experience, and we all made great progress."
"It's just that we can't control that peculiar magical power; we can only imitate and recreate it. Actually, I originally hoped to use this magic to protect..."
Dumbledore suddenly shuddered, a look of endless helplessness and sorrow flashing across his eyes before disappearing in an instant.
"I may indeed be a little tired. Perhaps it's because being with you always makes me feel relaxed... Let's go back to magic itself and show you its original form."
He picked up his wand and waved it gently, conjuring two suits of armor out of thin air—the same two suits of armor that had appeared in the school hospital.
However, these two suits of armor were even smaller, only reaching Vizette's knees in height.
Dumbledore continued waving his wand, "I've extended this spell according to my own understanding, trying to mimic the armor in the ruins as closely as possible..."
Two suits of armor walked to opposite ends of the principal's office. One suit of armor produced a spear and charged forward, while the other suit of armor held a shield in front of it for defense.
Boom!
The two suits of armor perished together in the flames, and the principal's office trembled slightly, like a small earthquake.
Dumbledore asked with a smile, "Not bad, right? Want to learn?"
For some reason, Vizette looked at Dumbledore with the same expression as an older brother showing off to his younger siblings.
"Of course!" He nodded repeatedly. "This magic is amazing! It probably involves more than just transfiguration magic; it also includes various spells. It should be classified as a composite magic, right?"
"Quirrell would be happy for you. It is indeed a composite magic, but it is based on transfiguration magic and then enhanced with spells."
"Professor Quirrell! Headmaster Dumbledore, why hasn't Professor Quirrell woken up yet?"
Vizette remembered that his initial purpose in coming here was to ask Dumbledore for advice and find out how Quirrell was doing.
"How should I explain this to you?" Dumbledore tapped the table lightly with his index finger. "It has to do with the properties of the Philosopher's Stone… How much do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"
Vizette replied, "The Philosopher's Stone is a product of alchemy. It can be used to create potions of immortality and can also turn lead into gold... That's all I know."
"It is also the universal medium for alchemy, which is the most important point," Dumbledore added. "Alchemy can be made much simpler by using the Philosopher's Stone as a medium."
"Of course, this is just a bit of knowledge that you won't need... When I put the Philosopher's Stone into Quirrell's chest, I was actually performing an act of alchemy."
Vizette immediately began to make connections, "Using the properties of 'medium' and 'immortality'? Because when Voldemort was banished, he absorbed Professor Quirrell's life force?"
"That's right, that's exactly it!" Dumbledore said. "According to my original plan, this would be enough to sustain his life force, and then I could take him to Nicolas Flamel to find a solution."
"However, the unexpected still happened... Just as I said, choices are far more important than our abilities. After he chose to save you once again, your soul was purified."
"The current situation is that the body, which has been corrupted by Voldemort for so long, is not compatible with the purified soul. This incompatibility manifests itself as unconsciousness."