Iblis leaned against the wall, looking utterly bored. She was zoning out again, as if this was her sole way of passing the endless stretches of time.
"Being punished isn't a pleasant feeling, is it?" An aged voice broke the silence from the corner. Following the sound, Dumbledore walked slowly toward her, holding a branch in his hand.
"No. I broke the rules, though whether they are enforced makes little difference to me. But since the rules exist, I will gladly accept the consequences of breaking them."
Iblis remained leaning against the wall, showing not the slightest trace of respect toward Dumbledore, as if she believed no one in the world was worth bowing to. That was until she caught sight of the Red Mandrake Wood branch in his hand.
"You got it back for me!" Iblis reached out to take it, but Dumbledore raised his arm and winked at the girl.
"I retrieved your item. Does Miss Grimm intend to offer something in return?"
Iblis froze for a moment. No one had ever initiated a trade with her before. After a brief hesitation, she nodded. "Logically speaking, I suppose that is true. But this was given to me by someone else in the first place, so it was already mine... If your request isn't too unreasonable, perhaps I will grant it."
"Heh, then lead the way, Miss Grimm. Would you accompany me to a place?" Dumbledore extended his arm, gesturing for the girl to take hold of it.
Iblis glanced at the door of the Potion classroom nearby, then back at the branch in Dumbledore's hand. Looking thoroughly troubled, she still refrained from taking his hand.
"I am still serving my punishment. Once I finish, I can go with you."
Dumbledore nodded knowingly and pointed toward the Potion classroom. "A girl who honors the rules—I like that. However, the school rules of Hogwarts actually do not contain any provision allowing students to be made to stand outside during class time. Of course, you must still serve the professor's detention."
"Ha?"
Iblis started to barge straight into the classroom, muttering, "That jerk played me?" Fortunately, she was small of stature, and Dumbledore caught her by the arm before she could get far.
"I will punish Professor Snape for failing to abide by the rules; that is the Headmaster's privilege. As a student, you must not overstep that boundary. So, can you spare some time now to accompany an old man?"
Dumbledore extended his arm once more, quite confident this time. Based on his observations of the girl today, he knew that while Iblis maintained a somewhat indifferent attitude toward everyone, she seemed to place an even greater value on rules, willingly and even rather naively carrying out the consequences of her mistakes.
She seemingly had her own internal code of conduct, one that superseded all worldly laws. As long as they did not conflict, the girl would naturally put her own internal rules first.
Sure enough, Iblis reached out and took his arm. "If that's the case, I'll deal with my own matters first. Where are we going? Wait! Don't tell me we're doing that again..."
A wave of dizziness struck, and Dumbledore whisked Iblis away to an empty room where only a mirror as tall as the ceiling stood in the center.
"This is called the Mirror of Erised. I wonder if Miss Grimm has heard of it... Are you all right?"
"Ugh..."
Seeing the girl curled up in a corner, head down in a retching posture, Dumbledore instantly forgot what he had been about to say. "Miss Grimm, I am truly sorry. I had no idea Apparition would affect you so severely. Would you like to eat something sweet to help settle your stomach...?"
The girl waved a single hand from behind her back, her voice utterly despairing. "No. I need to question myself as to why on earth I came here to suffer..."
"Very well." An exceptionally comfortable armchair suddenly appeared beneath the girl, lifting her entire body into the air. "I shall wait for you to recover."
Iblis slumped limply against the sofa, as if that was the only way to make herself feel a little better. Once the churning in her stomach subsided, she fixed her gaze on the giant mirror in the middle of the room. "An interesting piece of alchemy, but truly in poor taste."
Dumbledore chuckled, a faint bitterness hidden deep within his eyes. "Why do you say that?"
"To bare one's deepest, most unattainable desires without a shred of cover in front of a mirror—is it mockery from the maker? Sympathy? Or merely a means to plunge everyone into endless obsession?" Iblis's gaze remained fixed on Dumbledore. The calm, azure depths of the old man's eyes concealed a sudden swell of ripples.
"Perhaps it truly ought not to exist; in the past, no small number of wizards have lost themselves to it entirely. Is Miss Grimm well-versed in alchemy? Or do you happen to know a great deal about this mirror in particular?"
Dumbledore received no answer from Iblis. The girl stood up and walked toward the Mirror of Erised. Her petite figure looked remarkably out of place before the glass, and Iblis looked back at Dumbledore through the mirror's reflection.
Ever since the night of the Welcome Feast, the Baron had gone into hiding, and even Dumbledore could do nothing against a ghost who could pass straight through walls. Coupled with the girl's bizarre behavior today, and the strange reactions of anyone who locked eyes with her—
He had no choice but to focus all his attention on her. Dumbledore channeled his magic, attempting to probe the girl's inner desires, but he saw nothing. How could that be? The Mirror of Erised could reveal the deepest desires of every single person. Did she truly have no desires at all...?
"Surprised? How could a thing like this possibly peer into my inner thoughts?"
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, pull back your little thoughts. I shall forgive your paranoia and pardon your ignorance. The gods might perhaps show you mercy, but you must never, ever extend a probing hand toward me."
Dumbledore's gaze remained locked onto the girl's silver eyes, unable to look away. He felt as though he were being shoved into an endless abyss, where phantom spirits tore and shredded him piece by piece. The girl's death-laden words acted like an invisible pair of hands ripping his soul away, plunging him into total suffocation.
The girl turned around to face him. There was not a trace of warmth or pity for humanity in her demeanor; her gaze was cold and indifferent. The surrounding darkness swallowed the last remnants of sacred light, leaving him feeling as though he were standing in a courtroom, looking up at a blank-faced god.
A burst of brilliant fire surged forth, accompanied by the piercing cry of a phoenix.
"Fawkes, stop!"
Sweat beaded on Dumbledore's forehead, streaming down his cheeks. The clothes on his back were soaked through, as if he had just been hauled out of water. Yet he managed to break free from the binding pressure, calling out to the bird just as Fawkes was about to lunge for the girl's eyes.
The phoenix Fawkes circled once in the air and landed on his shoulder, trembling all over as if the mere attempt to attack the girl had drained every ounce of courage it possessed. Panting slightly, Dumbledore looked at the girl before him and forced a smile.
"You..."
The girl, whose gaze had been utterly detached, suddenly constricted her pupils. The figure from the depths of her memories overlapped with the old man standing before her, and she thrust both hands outward. The smooth texture of fabric transferred from her palms, and when she raised her head once more, she met Dumbledore's gentle smile.
"Forgive me."
Iblis released her grip and took two steps back, instinctively touching her chest, where a necklace faintly protruded from beneath the cover of her wizard's robes. A reddish branch drifted steadily through the air until it stopped right in front of her.
"No, the one who should apologize is me. I am sorry, Miss Grimm. I had no right to pry into your identity on my own accord. It will never happen again."
Dumbledore soothed the phoenix on his shoulder, though Fawkes kept its sharp eyes fixed entirely on the girl. "Relax, Fawkes. This is a young witch of Hogwarts; she will not hurt me."
Looking at the girl once more, he saw that she had already taken the Red Mandrake Wood branch into her hand. "Perhaps you already know the properties of the red mandrake, but I feel I should remind you nonetheless: without effective protection, its effects will act upon anyone. That includes you as well, Miss Grimm, does it not?"
A numbness traveled up from her palm. Iblis looked down at her faintly reddened hand, then silently lowered the branch. Her expression carried a mix of helplessness and bitter mockery. "Mm, it includes me as well. Thank you for the reminder. Merlin will... no, *I* will thank you."