In the room.
The chandelier above emitted a dim light, with shadows on the walls twisting as the candlelight flickered. Accompanied by the breeze outside the window, the flames on the ceiling chandelier gently swayed. Although the light it emitted wasn't very bright, it enveloped the entire room in a soft glow.
At least most things were clear enough for even Little Morgan to see.
"I'm really speechless!" Ian stared at the object in Little Morgan's hand, utterly baffled as to why all his efforts and persistence in the pursuit of the hidden object within The Mirror of Erised had led to nothing. Yet, Little Morgan, appearing as if she had no intention, suddenly obtained the treasure he had racked his brain trying to find from the magic mirror.
Is this The Mirror of Erised's way of teaching every impatient person a lesson?
Ian felt a touch of helplessness, indeed realizing that just now he was like Voldemort, falling into the common mindset, fixated on something that seemed just within reach yet perpetually unattainable.
"How exactly does The Mirror of Erised hide things?" Ian, now rather urgently, had transformed his urgency from finding the hidden item into an obsession with the capabilities of The Mirror of Erised.
Unwilling to give up, he leaned toward the magic mirror again, carefully examining the magic runes. The runes on the magic mirror, like mysterious symbols, each line contained secrets pertaining to magic.
"No, no, where on earth is that missing piece of magic rune hiding?" Ian's gaze wandered among the runes, not missing a single detail. But after looking for a long time, he still couldn't find any unusual rune, unable to locate the special magic rune hidden within the magic mirror.
"Could this portion of the magic rune be hidden within some unseen component inside The Mirror of Erised?" Ian pondered to himself; it seemed to be the only logical conjecture he could think of at the moment.
He had an urge to take apart The Mirror of Erised.
No choice, how should I put it, most of the time, this kind of extreme behavior and arrogance is also the reason why someone might succeed in a particular field. And the more extraordinary the field, the more arrogant the individual within it might become. Ian, of course, was no exception; like most geniuses, he didn't like being unable to discover a single clue.
At that moment.
While Ian was full of frustration, Little Morgan looked up, gazing curiously at the box in her hands, and asked Ian, "Teacher, what is this thing?"
She had already gleaned some information from Ian's expression, thinking that Ian probably knew what she had found. Truth be told, Little Morgan had no idea how the box ended up in her hands.
She, too, was eager to get an answer.
However.
This belonged to the pursuit of magic and knowledge. If Little Morgan went to study at Hogwarts, as long as she wasn't assigned to Azkaban, most likely she'd be sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin.
"I also want to know what's inside." Ian stopped his research on The Mirror of Erised and looked at Little Morgan, the young witch holding a vintage, exquisite box.
The surface of the box was intricately carved, with edges inlaid with a few gemstones that emitted a faint glow. The material of the box seemed to be some ancient wood, though the surface had a subtle copper-green hue, possessing a metallic sheen and carrying a bit of archaic atmosphere, as if it had been through countless ages.
"Why don't we open it and have a look."
Ian proposed to Little Morgan.
However, Little Morgan hesitated for a moment, her fingers gently caressing the edges of the box, as if weighing something in her mind. Eventually, she handed the box over to Ian.
"You should open it, teacher. I'm afraid there might be a trap inside. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch." Little Morgan demonstrated the caution that a wizard should have.
She seemed not to fully trust this "gift" from The Mirror of Erised.
"There shouldn't be any problem?" Ian took the box, feeling its weight and cold touch. He lowered his head, carefully studying the magic rune restriction on the box. The runes emitted a faint magic power fluctuation. Ian took a deep breath, focusing his concentration, and began to carefully interpret these magic runes.
This time there was no difficulty.
Relying on his solid foundation of magic knowledge, he easily interpreted what the magic rune restriction on the box was about. After confirming there were no traps, Ian slowly opened the box.
Compared with breaking restrictions or guessing the right "password,"
The old methods were still useful.
"These restrictions are not complex, a simple unlocking spell can open it." He murmured, his fingers lightly gliding across the surface of the box, and then he softly recited a string of spells.
The unlocking spell, possessing extraordinary traits, had an immediate effect.
As his voice faded, the runes on the box gradually lit up and then quickly dimmed again. The lid of the box emitted a soft "click."
As though some mechanism had been triggered.
When the mechanism snapped open, a mechanical buzzing pierced the air. As the box opened, a mechanical operation sound echoed, crisp and rhythmic, as if some complex precision instrument was being activated. Ian and Little Morgan's eyes simultaneously focused inside the box, where there lay a mechanical heart made entirely of metal.
Inside.
In the interior of the box, a heart completely crafted from metal lay there quietly, the surface shimmering with a cold silvery light, and the intricate metallic patterns appeared delicate and orderly.