“Professor Dumbledore…” Logan greeted the old man who now stood in front of him while holding the Philosopher’s Stone in his hands.

“Mr. Taylor.” Dumbledore nodded as he stared at the child in front of him with interest, especially at the stone held in said child’s hands. “I must say, I’m surprised.”

“For finding me here?” Logan asked with a tilted head.

“No.” Dumbledore chuckled. “That’s certainly not a surprise for me, if I’m being honest, Mr. Taylor, I would say that you took your time to come here.” He gently smiled. “With your record, I thought I would find you in this chamber earlier this year.”

“...” Logan’s eyebrow ticked. ‘Come on, old man… I’m not that much of a noisy brat…’ he thought with a sigh. “Then?”

“For the stone, of course.” Dumbledore smiled as he walked past Logan and looked in the mirror. “The Mirror of Erised. An enchanted artifact that trapped so many wizards and witches in its mirage. Certainly, one of the most amazing pieces of magic I’ve ever seen, capable of showing us the deepest desire of our hearts. Desires not all of us are even aware of sometimes.”

Logan just listened to Dumbledore while looking in the mirror. In a sense, with all the amazing things magic managed to do, a mirror capable of showing what you desire the most might seem like such a simple thing, but think about it. When was the last time that you stopped to think about what your heart desired the most?

‘Our heart’s desire, out of our most surface wants, out of our current goals or greeds. Whatever we subconsciously wish the most.’ Logan thought for a moment as he looked at the mirror alongside Dumbledore. ‘It’s certainly something amazing, isn’t it?’

“It was that same reason, that I decided to hide the stone in it.” Dumbledore mentioned. “We can lie to ourselves, but we can’t lie to our own hearts. This would be the best way to protect the stone from those that would want to misuse its power.”

‘I beg to disagree on that.’ Logan thought briefly. “I still don’t understand, professor.” He said as he turned to Dumbledore. “If that’s the case, why did I get the stone? I don’t want to brag, but it wasn’t hard for me to reach here.”

Dumbledore smiled at him. “As I said earlier, it’s a surprise, Mr. Taylor. And no, it certainly wasn’t hard for you to reach this place.” He followed as he turned to the mirror. “But the strongest protection of the stone is not the way leading to it, but the mirror itself. Only those wanting the stone, but not wanting to use it, would be able to get it from the mirror. A simple, yet infallible charm that would stop anyone who wishes to steal the stone.” Dumbledore turned to Logan again. “Curiosity is a strong feeling. Most would argue that, deep within, curiosity is an emotion, a complex one. And I dare to bet, that it was your innate curiosity that pulled the stone to you, Mr. Taylor.”

“...” Logan frowned and looked at the stone.

“As I said, a truly fascinating object, the Mirror of Erised, capable of sometimes reading us better than even ourselves.” He smiled. “So, if you could please, answer my question, what would make you feel curious about the stone, Mr. Taylor?”

“...” Logan scrutinized the stone. It was an oddly shaped blood-red stone, not clear enough to be compared to ruby, but surely with its own attractiveness. It had a rough look but still felt soft to the touch. “It’s the pinnacle of alchemy. Capable of turning pebbles into gold, and also capable of extending one’s life indefinitely. Something thought impossible. Something that defies life.”

“Life?” Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you mean death?”

“Defying death is defying life.” Logan shook his head. “They’re two sides of the same coin, and both of them form the circle of life. One can’t exist without the other. As much as we fear death, it is still part of life that sooner or later, we all must learn to embrace.”

“I see…” Dumbledore nodded as he looked at the stone. “Have you embraced death, Mr. Taylor?”

“...” Logan thought for a moment before giving his answer, eyes fixed on the stone for a few seconds before he turned to look at Dumbledore. “I embraced the idea that death is only the start of a new adventure. An adventure that sometime in the future I will gladly embark on, just not now. There’s still too much to discover and explore in my current one.” He chuckled.

“That is true.” Dumbledore chuckled. “I think I can understand a little bit more of the reason the mirror allowed the stone to land in your hand.”

“Is that so? If I’m honest with you sir, I still don’t think I understand why. I was too focused on admiring the mirror.” Logan said as he extended the hand towards Dumbledore. “Also, here. I think you still have to put the stone back in its place, right, professor?”

“Indeed.” Dumbledore nodded with a smile, taking the stone and then pulling out his wand. He started muttering some things, but Logan couldn’t focus on it at all.

‘There’s that feeling again…’ He thought for a moment as he looked at Dumbledore’s wand for a while. ‘First Harry’s cloak, now Dumbledore’s wand… two of the three Deathly Hallows… this can’t be a mere coincidence.’

“Mr. Taylor?” Dumbledore talked, pulling Logan out of his thoughts.

“Yes, sir?” He answered back, noticing that the stone was nowhere in sight, meaning that it was back in the mirror, in whatever way that was possible.

“Are you perhaps interested in alchemy?” Dumbledore asked for a moment.

“...” Logan tilted his head before nodding. “Somewhat, professor. I’ve started learning about enchantments, and the use of runes on items and tools, and I feel it’s quite an interesting use of magic. And right now, my interest peaked when I found myself in front of the mirror. It made me discover that there’s so much that can be achieved in other paths of magic apart from charms, transfiguration, and potions.”

“Indeed. Magic can be wonderful, even in areas we don't usually appreciate.” Dumbledore smiled. “With that said, Mr. Taylor, what would you think of deepening your studies of runes, and maybe even alchemy, next year?”

“That Hogwarts doesn’t teach Alchemy, professor.” Logan tilted his head.

“No, no we don’t.” Dumbledore chuckled. “But I happen to have a friend in Beauxbaton that is quite proficient in alchemy and enchantments. I believe he would love to hear of someone that shares his innate curiosity and would accept to teach this someone for half a year.”

“Huh? A friend? Who would that be, professor?”

“Well, the same friend that made this stone.” Dumbledore said with a knowing smile. “I’m sure he’s capable enough to teach you some aspects of enchanting and alchemy.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “Nicolas Flamel…” The name escaped his mouth in a small mutter, which caused Dumbledore to chuckle and nod.

“Then? What do you think?” Dumbledore asked.

“I would love to be able to, professor. If it’s not a problem, of course.” Logan said seriously.

“No, it is not.” Dumbledore answered with a smile. “I can arrange for you to attend Beauxbaton during your next year, albeit only for half a year, unfortunately. So I would suggest that you learn the most you can during that time.”

“It would be enough.” Logan nodded. “But what about my classes?”

“There won’t be a problem, apart from you being taught by Nicolas, you would also attend classes in the school, while not exactly the same, we do share some classes in our curriculums, although, I would seriously consider studying some etiquette, Mr. Taylor, it is, after all, a class that everyone must attend. There is also a fashion week that is celebrated every spring, I would suggest you attend the event, it might certainly be an interesting experience.”

“I’ll think about it…” Logan chuckled awkwardly.

“Excellent. I’ll make sure to help you with all the preparations, and will be contacting my friend soon.” Dumbledore said with a happy clap. “Now, I suggest you start learning French, Mr. Taylor, it will help you during those 6 months.”

“Right…” Logan nodded. ‘Though I don’t have that much time… Ha… Hopefully, the system can help me learn the language faster.’

“Well.” Dumbledore spoke as he offered his arm. “I guess we can both go back to sleep now, it’s quite late if I say so myself.”

Logan nodded and grabbed Dumbledore’s arm, and immediately after, both of them appeared in front of Dumbledore’s office entrance, where the big gargoyle rested.

'Damn old man's cheating, being able to apparate inside the castle...' Logan inwardly clicked his tongue.

“I would suggest you make your way back to your dorm quietly before some prefect or professor deducts points from Ravenclaw and get you in detention. Turns out, that today has been a tiring day for me, and I need to get back to sleep soon.” Dumbledore said with a wink.

“Right.” With a hurried nod, Logan cast his invisibility spell and rushed towards his dorm room, while Dumbledore apparated once again toward his own office, not before giving a long stare at the place Logan stood moments ago.