Chapter 177: Chap.174 - Desire

Rigel didn’t think he could get past Dumbledore with a simple Disillusionment Charm, so he wasn’t at all surprised by this ‘random event’.

Well, he was actually a little surprised, but it was mostly because the situation was so random. Honestly, in the meantime, he thought Dumbledore would have come to talk to him at some point, but the man seemed to prefer this kind of indirect approach.

Rigel considered for a moment ignoring the mirror and continuing on his way, but… he was truly curious.

What did he desire most?

Most people don’t know what they truly desire, not really. You might desire money, power, fortune, but deep down in your heart you might simply desire love, peace, destruction, war, lust… who knows.

Rigel was curious, although he knew that what he really wanted was power, would that be what the mirror would show him?

He didn’t think the mirror would show anything like world domination or anything like that, so even if Dumbledore discovered what he desired, he didn’t think it would be something punishable by a trip to Azkaban.

Besides, looking in the mirror was clearly a plot-relevant event, so it should get him a reward, right? After the last fiasco with the Formless Tool, Rigel only expected to receive something useful this time.

Sighing slightly, Rigel didn’t pass through the room, but entered it, walking unhurriedly directly to the mirror. The disillusionment spell was removed as he approached, revealing his diminutive figure in front of the large mirror.

Rigel then stopped in front of it, staring intently at himself in the mirror, waiting for any change. Rigel felt nothing against his Occlumency, which was what he had expected, this mirror works by revealing what lies in the depths of one’s heart, unlike a superficial probe.

There were no mistakes, the mirror slowly began to ripple. The image shown was no longer the reflection of young Rigel, but a fully grown Rigel. There were no other people, no wealth, no unlimited power.

Rigel found himself floating in the open sky, his eyes closed, the wind making his hair ripple, he was in the air, who knows at what height, seemingly appreciating the simple fact of being there.

Others might not understand, but looking at that figure in the air, as free as the wind around him, Rigel seemed to understand something.

What he desires most deeply is not power, wealth, fame, women, or anything of the sort.

What he desires is freedom, not that he is imprisoned now, but deep down, he always felt as if there were shackles around him, Walburga, Bellatrix, Voldemort, Dumbledore, even Calypso, he didn’t see them there.

He was so high that he couldn’t be touched, so high that nothing else could reach him.

Rigel lived in fear for 11 years, a fear stemming from knowing that even with the power he had acquired in this world, he could end up dead from a beam of green light at any moment, killed in a war that was never his.

When he arrived in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean and went through his adventures there, he finally felt truly happy, he no longer needed to worry about being in the middle of a war. Instead, he had finally managed to escape that fate. Even if he died there, nothing would happen to him.

Rigel desires power simply because it is the way he can achieve what he truly wants: a sense of peace and security, the freedom to come and go without being affected by the world around him.

Power is merely a means, not an end, the end is what he is seeing now.

Suddenly, Rigel in the mirror opened his eyes, looked directly at him and smiled, then flew away. Rigel almost burst out laughing. Rigel cannot help but think. ‘Well, not even I can stop myself from seeking freedom, can I?’

Rigel smiled, feeling very happy inside. He had already noticed the adventure book opening, but he hadn’t paid attention at the moment. He simply turned and walked away, a smile still on his face. It had been a long time since he had felt in such a good mood.

Most of those who look into Erised’s mirror don’t come out as happy as he is, because their desires often can’t be fulfilled, whether it’s deceased relatives or even unrealistic dreams, but Rigel knew that this future was something he could achieve.

It wasn’t to say that he didn’t want other things in life, love, wealth, influence, and whatever else, he still desired those things, but deep down, his greatest desire was purely freedom. He had already grown so much just from one adventure, and what about the future? He could certainly achieve the freedom he longed for!

Rigel was in a very good mood at that moment, he returned to the Gryffindor dormitory with light steps. As for Dumbledore? If he wanted to see, so be it. Although the mirror doesn’t show what others see, that mirror has been with Dumbledore for a long time, he can certainly see what Rigel saw, but he wasn’t worried.

What would Dumbledore say about Rigel’s dream? Does it sound like a Dark Lord? Of course not, at the very least, this wish might even ease the old bee’s thoughts and make him leave him in peace, so Rigel was doubly pleased.

He even hummed a little tune as he walked, unaware that several portraits were shocked by his beautiful voice, almost thinking a mermaid had entered the castle.

On the other side, Dumbledore was in the room, gazing into the mirror with deep thought. He placed his wand over the mirror, which rippled slightly, and he soon saw exactly what Rigel had seen.

He narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully, he couldn’t say for sure what it meant, but if he had to judge, especially based on his observations of Rigel so far, he would say that the boy’s desire is to be unrestrained.

It couldn’t simply be flying, for that, the mirror didn’t need to show an adult version of Rigel. It could simply show his current version flying around, but seeing the adult figure with his eyes closed, enjoying the wind around him, then smiling at him and flying away, Dumbledore was almost certain that what Rigel wanted was to escape.

As for what he wanted to escape from? It’s hard to say, it could have been many things, but to be his deepest desire, it was probably related to his upbringing.

Rigel ended up in Gryffindor, knowing that his family was practically made up of Slytherins. Furthermore, from observation, although he is somewhat quiet, Rigel is a boy who appears kind and acts like a normal child most of the time, so his desire to be free made perfect sense, he doesn’t want to be constrained by his family’s doctrine.

The only thing he couldn’t connect was that memory, the memory of Rigel looking at Snape, that look was clearly the look of a murderer.

Was Rigel hiding something? Had he somehow managed to tamper with Erised’s vision in the mirror? Or did that look simply show how far Rigel was willing to go for freedom?

Snape acted against him, he, who desires freedom, saw this as an affront to that and wished to eliminate him? In that case, as long as anyone tried to interfere with his ‘freedom,’ would Rigel have the idea of killing them?

Dumbledore couldn’t tell if this was good or bad, such a mentality was clearly egocentric. The simple fact that no one else appeared in the image with Rigel made it clear that, deep down, the boy cared more about himself.

He saw himself as an adult, not a child, which means he believes he’s not yet free, but when he gets older, he will be. He clearly has a lot of self-confidence, Albus himself had been exactly that kind of child, so he knew very well that trying to influence him directly would be completely counterproductive.

Trying to control someone who doesn’t want to be controlled? Rigel is simply the worst kind of person to involve in his plans. If he catches on to anything, he might act in a counterproductive way, even if it means harming himself, just to keep you from succeeding.

Dumbledore let out a long sigh, this slightly altered his plans. Trying to involve Rigel could be a double-edged sword, if the boy felt restrained, he would likely retaliate.

What a headache.

Dumbledore saw much of his own youth in Rigel, but it was precisely because of this that he knew he needed to proceed with extreme caution when dealing with him.