I walked through the castle, admiring its beauty, and I swear, this is the most gorgerous building I've ever saw! The carved coloumns, the giant staircases that seemingly go on forever, the windows and doors everywhere, the armour, the torches! I can go on forever!
Today was the end of my first week at Hogwarts, and, I'll be honest, it was a bit lonely. But, since it's my, what, fourth school, Im used to being alone.
It still kinda hurts.
No, nope. Nopity. If I think about it, it makes it ten times worse, so, no.
I jumped as sometghing fell on my right.
Probably just a book
But wait. Where am I? I was so lost in thoughts I didn't notice where I was going!
I looked around the not-so-well-lit corridor, but my eyes kept drifting to the only visible door. The one where something
The door to the room was slightly ajar, so, after a moment of hesitation, my curiosity won and i slipped in
"Hello?" my voice rang through the empty room, leaving an echo "Anyone here? I'm lost!"
The hair on my neck stood up from the feeling of the room.
The room was... sad. Hopeless even. Miserable and useless. There isn't enough words in English to describe how my loneliness multiplied seemingly ten times.
I shaked my head.
Something was very wrong with this room.
I still walked in, the room seemed to be calling me, and looked around.
Nothing special. Grey walls, wodden floor covered in thick layer of dust, large windows, a few bookshelves. But the thing did catch my eye was the mirror.
It's an ornate, full height mirror, with strange, foreign symbols carved in its silver frame.
As if driven by an invisible force I make a step towards the mirror, disturbing the dust under my feet. Then another. And one more. Until I'm right in fromt of it.
At first glance it's a normal mirror, its only pupose to reflect the room behind me and myself. But as I looked closer I started noticing the little details that simply didn't match the reality.
The bookshelves were emty in the mirror, though I'm pretty sure there were at least some books when I walked in. The clock, seemingly forgotten on a shelf, was ticking in the wrong direction. But the creepiest of it all was my own reflection.
When I made a step closer to inspect the mirror after I saw the books and the clock, my reflection just... froze.
The clock was still ticking backwards, the dust in the room was still swirling from my steps, but my reflection was completey still, no matter how I moved.
"Huh" I reached to touch the mirror, only then noticing how my hand shook
When my fingers brushed the smooth surface of the mirror, the reflection... rippled? It's as if I touched water, the circles going in every direction from my fingers
When the reflection settled i gasped "Mom?" As I looked I saw more and more people I knew
My dad, Delly Dogsleft and Madge Aboveground - my two best friends from home
"Dad! Girls!" I grinned, the feeling of the room still present but now pushed tot he back of my consciousness "Oh, I missed you so much! I wrote you letters, but it's not the same, you know!"
I looked at their faces and the grin slowly melted off my face.
They all looked at me with a sort of anger, betrayal, dissapointment. The one expreession everyone hates.
"Wha- what's wrong?" I stuttered
"What's wrong?" Delly, the always kind and sunny person snarled "Hah! She asks what's wrong!" she turned to Madge, who just smiled, though her smile was off
"The thing is that, apparently, you care about us so little" Madge's smile turned into a bitter one "that you didn't even bother to tell us you're a witch!"
"What?" I asked dumbfoldedly "I- I'm sorry!" I made a step back, vision blurring slightly and shoulders rising up "I'm sorry, but I couldn't-"
"And how happened that I didn't know?" My dad asked, his hand on his thights, eyes furious "How happened I didn't know my daughter had magic?!"
What? My eyes widened "N-no! I told you-!" It was off. I definetely told him!
It was too much, the awful month, room, and now this. I blinked the tears away. I'm not the betrayed one here
"How come you never helped me with chores?" My mom looked at me with that look in her eyes that says I'm hopelessly selfish, and she's disgusted with it.
A tear I didn't manage to blink away rolled down my cheek.
"Oh, and now you play the victim?" dad stepped closer and leaned forward "You're pathetic. Pathetic, selfish little girl, who's father buys her everything she wants and she doesn't even appreciate it" he spat in my face
"N-no!" I defended myself weakly as another tear wettened my face
"You always think only of yourself!" my mom also stepped closer "Never even ask me if I need anything"
"I'm sorr-" I half-sobbed but was cut off by my Delly
"That's why you don't have any friends other than us" she was now in front of me "Because you're a weirdo. Even we never really liked you"
Madge looked me in the eye, as more tears escaped my eyes "Honestly, we only stuck with you because you helped us in school. Nobody likes you"
That was the last drop
The tears I kept in the best I could flooded my vision like a waterfall, like a dam that was broken after many years
I sank to my knees. All the emotions I was bottling up, all the insecurities, all the small things that hurt my feeling, they all poured from my eyes right now, as I sobbed on the ground.
I don't know how long I've been in the room, or when did I curl up on the wodden floor covered dust.
After I cried ous seemingly all liquid in my body I didn't move. I just curled up tighter.
I must've fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember was someone shaking me awake.
"Mary!"
I groaned sleepily and sat up. As my vision focused I recognised one of my classmates, a girl I spoke to on Hogwarts Express and in classes a few times. She was in Slytherin, but she was such a sweetheart!
"Alisa?"
The girl smiled at me, but then her face morphed into one of anger
"Oh, Merlins pants, Mary!" I stiffened, convinced the nightmare will continue, that all the people I love will scream at me again, when suddenly she hugged me "You dumbass! I was worried!"
"What?" I was confused
She broke the embrace and spoke calmly "I was looking for you in the Great Hall, and you weren't there," she stood up and offered me a hand I gladly accepted. My legs were so stiff. I was here at least a few hours "so after that I asked your classmates and they told me they didn't see you after the last lesson, I went looking for you!"
"Thanks" I smiled gratefully "I went on a walk to explore the castle after Transfiguration ended and stumbled on this room" I wobbled on my feet a bit and found my balance, fighting the urge to go into the defensive mode "Then I saw this mirror, and- and-" my hands started shaking a bit and my eyes wettened
Alisa looked at the mirror and sucked in a sharp breath "Oh, I'm so sorry" she hugged me again
"W-what?" I was confused once again, though now I was also upset by the awful memory "Why?"
"I read about this mirror. It makes you see your deepest fear" she took my arm and led me out of the room. I sneesed from all the dust
"Like a boggart?" I asked as we were finally out of the room and closed the door
"Almost" she looked scared, like the adrenalin that kept her together ran out "You can fight a boggart, but this thing gets in your head and you can't really destroy it"
"And I thought we, Ravenclaws, were smart" I joked, trying to light up the mood
"Ha-ha" Alisa laughed sarcastically "I thought Slytherins were evil too, but here we are!"
We both walked in silence for a moment before bursting into - maybe slightly hysterical - laughter
Maybe we didn't fight a troll, but this also worked pretty well.