He came to the restricted area and saw Harry fiddling with a book. He let out a breath and walked over, saying "A bit late, Harry." Harry jumped from shock and knocked over his lantern as he grabbed a cloak next to him.
Ace waved his hand and a book slid out catching the lantern, bringing it back up to Harry as Ace chuckled "Am I so scary?" Harry let out a breath and put down the Invisibility Cloak as he replied "My word, Ace! You really scared me!"
Ace looked at Harry's cloak and asked "An invisibility cloak? What are you sneaking around for?" he frowned slightly as the Invisibility Cloak gave him a strange feeling, it was similar to the Resurrection Ring but at the same time not quite…
He made a decision and smiled at Harry, who explained "I was searching for Nicholas Flamel when you came here…" Ace inspected the cloak before looking at Harry and asking with confusion "Why are you looking for Nicholas Flamel?"
Harry explained with hesitation, "Well you see, we- I mean me, Ron, and Hermione think that Snape is trying to take something from Professor Dumbledore. It's something very special and secret but Hagrid only mentioned Nicholas Flamel by accident so we thought we could find what it was and stop him."
Ace held the cloak and asked in shock "Snape? That gloomy guy?" Harry pointed at Ace and nodded, "Yeah! I saw he had blood on his leg when the troll attacked! He must've let the troll into Hogwarts!"
Ace was really stunned, staring at Harry for a moment before saying "Have you gone to Dumbledore?" Harry froze and shook his head, he lowered his voice and said softly "No… We would get in trouble…" but he perked up, adding "But we just want to save Hogwarts!"
Ace was dumbfounded and smiled softly, rubbing Harry's head as he said "I'll find you the book on Nicholas Flamel." Harry's eyes lit up but Ace put up a finger, continuing "However! You can't get yourself into dangerous situations, understand?"
Harry opened his mouth but there was a sudden shout "Who's there?!" Harry looked anxious and Ace looked back at the aisle between the bookcases, secretly swiping his hand on his little storage pouch.
He handed Harry the Invisibility Cloak saying "Alright, hurry and go. I'll cover for you." Harry donned the invisibility cloak, smiling "Thank you, Ace." before running off. Ace watched him go and smiled, stroking the storage pouch as he muttered "No… Thank you, Harry."
Harry disappeared and Flitch came walking around to see Ace looking through books in the restricted area. He snorted and said "Mr. Brand, these hours you should be sleepin'." Ace looked over and smiled, "You don't need to guard the library every night, you know I'll be here."
Flitch grumbled and replied "It's me job, it is. Ain't the caretaker for nothin'. Have a nice night. Let's go, Mrs. Norris." as he turned around, hobbling away with a little cat following after him.
Ace watched him go and curled his lips as he turned back to the books. He took a cloth out of his bag and it was Harry's Invisibility Cloak! He looked at it very carefully and muttered "Good thing that thief had one otherwise I really would've lost my money and this cloak at the information den!"
He looked at it very carefully and hummed to himself, not finding anything strange at all, as though there weren't any charms at all!
Ace was confused, how could it maintain its invisibility function if there weren't any charms? This didn't conform to the magic he was familiar with!
Ace naturally didn't have the other cloak in his bag for no reason, he was studying it very closely. The charms used to make an Invisibility cloak were extensive and extremely advanced. He read in a book that only Master Artifact Forgers could create an Invisibility Cloak; he theorized that it was among the top tier artifacts in the Wizarding World.
And with good reason!
These cloaks could make the User invisible to everyone! Not only that but even conceal their presence!
Which basically meant that even if a mage placed wards in the area, most cloaks would still be undetectable!
But Ace was confused because this particular cloak didn't have these charms woven into the fabric at all! It was as though it was a natural invisibility cloak!
He didn't believe this at all.
What he read was that the first Invisibility Cloak appeared in the hands of one of the 3 brothers and the rest of them were merely imitations of that artifact but the story was nearly proven false without a doubt.
The evidence behind this was that if these 3 artifacts could truly make someone the master of death surely someone would've become one during some time in the past, right? Therefore the story was dismissed as a fairytale for children about morals.
A while later that same night
Harry ran in and said "Ace! Ace! Come look at this! I showed Ron but he didn't see my parents!" Ace was startled and looked at Harry in confusion, asking "What?" Harry pulled his arm and said "Come on! Let me show you!"
Ace let Harry pull him out of the library and brought him to a room, putting him right in front of the mirror.
Ace looked at the mirror and said "I only see me and you, Harry…" as he sized up the mirror, rubbing his chin at the writings, adding "I wonder what type of artifact this is."
Harry frowned and pointed at the mirror saying "You don't see them either? Neither did Ron!" he seemed frustrated and sat down on the ground. Ace walked around the mirror before standing in front of it, shaking his head as he asked "What did Ron see?"
Harry hugged his knees and replied "Himself as Head boy and captain of the Quidditch team." Ace tilted his head and continued "And you saw your parents?" Harry nodded and Ace scratched his head in confusion, not saying anything.
As they were silent, a voice spoke "You seem to have stumbled upon the Mirror of eriseD." Ace and Harry looked back to see Albus walking over with a slight smile. Ace turned back to the mirror and muttered "Erised? The Mirror of Desire?"
He paused for a moment before asking "Harry, have you ever seen your parents?" Harry shook his head and Ace was surprised, continuing "But you saw them in the mirror? How does that work?"
Albus walked to the side and touched the frame, smiling "The Mirror shows us our deepest most desperate desires…" he turned to Ace and Harry, adding "Regardless if we know their true faces or not. They say that the happiest man shall look into the mirror and see only himself." as he waved to Harry, winking at him.
Harry got up and backed to the side, leaving Ace in the middle.
Ace looked in the mirror and his face turned frighteningly ugly. He clenched his fists and turned away, closing his eyes as he didn't want to stare into the picture anymore, not saying a single word.
Albus stroked his beard and smiled slightly, Harry looked confused as he asked "What happened?" Ace spoke instantly "Nothing." as he turned around, walking away quickly.
Harry was stunned and turned to Albus, who spoke softly "Sometimes our deepest desires are things that we would rather not face. Remember this Harry, although the sights in the mirror may be delightful or painful, we should not sink into their illusions…"
He turned to the mirror and continued "Many men have gone mad in front of the Mirror… Which is why it shall be given a new home tomorrow." Harry nodded and looked at the door for a moment before turning to Albus, asking "Professor Dumbledore, what did Ace see?"
Albus turned to the door and put his hands behind his back as he replied softly "Perhaps… A memory that cannot be ran away from… Only he who looks in the mirror will truly know what they desire from the bottom of their hearts." Harry looked at him in confusion before turning to the door, "I don't think I understand, Professor."
Albus chuckled softly, "In time you will, Harry."