Christmas mirror morning
The Quidditch game had been forgotten in just a week, as far as Harry could tell, for many were much more excited for the Christmas and Yule holidays-- according to Draco, there was a difference between the celebrations, though, if you asked Harry, he wouldn't have remembered very much from the lecture he'd been given. Draco talked a bit much, honestly, when he was explaining something. Gryffindor played Hufflepuff in Ravenclaw's place, and as much as he enjoyed flying, Harry hardly minded. He still had trouble getting over the anxiety he got whenever he thought of playing. But he found it fun. He was sure he'd get over it eventually.
And suddenly, one December morning, Hogwarts had been covered in piles of snow. Almost everyone disliked how the corridors and classrooms were always cold. Almost, standing as Peeves loved it. An unbelievably large number of people, even for him, could be found in the Hospital Wing with frostbite from him having tipped over baskets of wet laundry over their heads. Worst and coldest of all was Potions class, where everyone kept close to their cauldron, and Flitwick, having finally given into the begging complaints, taught them charms to keep their robes to keep a constant warm temperature. Unlike the cold corridors and even colder dungeons, the common room almost always had blankets or roaring fires. There were, more than often, blankets around and about on couches, lounge chairs, and very many having fallen on the floor. In the fireplace laid the ashes of many flames, because nobody would've bothered cleaning them up.
In the Great Hall, there was very little owl post-- any owl who had been brave enough to make a trip was nursed back to health by Hagrid-- and, because of that, very few people had gotten packages. Even Draco hadn't gotten any sweets, which he made very clear whenever Harry spoke to him. But nothing had been all too bad-- infact, it was fun, playing in the snow somedays, with an extra warming charm or two. The Weasley twins had bewitched snowballs to hit the back of Quirrell's turban, and a few times, Ron. It was funny, because it appeared to always be when he least expected it.
But Harry had felt horrible. It was something ever lasting, just a never-fading pit in his stomach, or a dark muttering at the back of his mind. The voices seemed to have regained their confidence, because he hadn't yet managed to make them leave again. Flitwick had come around the week before, saying McGonagall was making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. Not that he wanted to- he had to. He didn't feel sorry for himself, of course, but it still stung. He knew the Dursleys wouldn't want him back for Christmas, and they wouldn't get him anything if he went back anyway. They wouldn't get him anything whether or not he went. He didn't care, but the thought didn't feel nice, and the voices weren't helping.
Fortunately-- Lisa had convinced her mother early in November to let her stay. Padma and her sister Parvati would be staying since their parents were vacationing in Iceland-- and Ron and his brothers would be staying over the break aswell, since their own parents were on vacation somewhere too. Luna said her dad wouldn't mind if she stayed. While Draco and Hermione would be with their families, it wasn't anything Harry didn't expect.
One afternoon, after a Transfiguration class for the Ravenclaws, Harry, Padma, Luna, and Lisa set off for the Library. Hermione said that she and Ron would meet them there to research Nicolas Flamel.
"What are you looking for?" Madam Pince asked.
"We're here to check out the book we're always looking for, Ma'am," Harry lied.
"Yeah! You've found all the missing books by now, so I would think you'd have it. Right?" Lisa added.
Madam Pince forced a slight smile. "Five minutes." She said, eyeing the nearest clock.
"Five minutes is all we need, ma'am, just to check." Padma assured. They all walked behind a bookcase, and Padma sighed. "We need way more than just five minutes." She whispered, pulling out a random book and flipping through the pages at random.
"Tell me about it, it's been over a month now," Harry agreed, taking out another.
"You think she'll let us check out a book if we say it's the one I've been looking for?" Lisa wondered.
"No. The book you want isn't in the school," said Luna, and Lisa sighed solemnly. "Well, I guess she doesn't know that anyway."
"This book doesn't have the name Nicolas Flamel anywhere." Padma groaned, grabbing another book.
"You didn't even read it,"
"You think I can read a whole book in five minutes? It's called skimming, Lisa!"
"You never know! And I never said--"
"You pretty much did--"
Harry was surprised they hadn't gotten kicked out with how loud Padma and Lisa were arguing. But that was short-lived, when Madam Pince had told them their time was up, and they left with no more information on Nicolas Flamel. Ron and Hermione had been waiting outside in the corridor; Ron had been pulling apart the packaging of a Chocolate frog, and Hermione's face had been contorted in disgust, facing away from him.
"How can you eat that?" She asked, grimacing.
"It's just so good," admitted Ron, and his ears fell a bit. Harry couldn't help that his nose had scrunched up too. It was one thing that he'd made a mess, and that, Harry didn't care a lot for-- but frogs. There had to be another kind of animal that it could've been, right? Anything other than frogs? He'd seen Hydrus eat enough of them for one lifetime.
"Oh, don't tell me you both hate chocolate!" Padma shoved him, groaning.
"I don't hate chocolate, it's--"
"She just hates anything with more than half an ounce of sugar." Ron muttered quickly, cutting Hermione off. She sent a glare his way.
"My parents are dentists, for your information! I was raised watching how sweet the things I ate were! And for your information, again, I think chocolate is just fine!" She declared with a scowl.
"And I just don't like sweets." said Harry. He'd spent long enough watching Dudley eat them to like most of them himself.
"Don't listen to him. He loves sweets," said Lisa, giggling. "he just wants to pretend he doesn't. And he loves chocolate especially, trust me. Chocolate frogs are just too froggy for his taste," Harry shoved her, but it only made her giggling worse.
"We met with Hagrid, earlier, when we were leaving the Dungeons," said Hermione, turning up her nose and facing away from Ron. "We couldn't get anything from him about who Flamel is, but the Great Hall looks rather nice."
"Yeah- really nice," Ron nodded. When he took out the card from his next chocolate frog, he looked a bit disappointed, but he seemed to realise something. Oh- Harry, here! Since your old Dumbledore card got battered." He offered up the card, shoving the next poor frog in his mouth.
"Thanks," Harry said, taking it. He flipped it around, just to see if Dumbledore would leave when he turned it back-- and something caught his eye. "Flamel! I knew I read it somewhere, I just couldn't remember! It was Dumbledore's card!" He said, almost trembling as he turned it around for the others to see.
"Nicolas Flamel! Ron, you're a genius!" Hermione cheered, looking at Ron. His face had chocolate smeared all over. She immediately paused, and her smile fell. "Er... hm. W-well, I won't say genius, but... er- a-amazing job." She added, with her nose scrunched up once again. "I remember I checked out a book back before halloween-- I'm sure it's still there! Well, of course, it would be, but I meant, I'm sure I saw Flamel's name in there! I didn't even remember it before now! It's, er- well, it's in the Restricted section. We'd have to get a note, of course... it's in there because--"
"Great, yeah, but, you know, we're about to go on break. We'll have to get a note after the Holidays are over. Madam Pince isn't even going to let us in to look, I bet." grumbled Padma, as they all walked to the Great Hall.
"I heard she was going on vacation too," said Luna, tapping Padma's shoulder.
"Uh-huh, thanks, Lu', I feel much better," she said dryly, nodding. It didn't seem to have the effect she hoped it would, because Luna smiled.
"Hermione, you could ask your parents, couldn't you? They wouldn't know Flamel is magic, right?" Ron wondered, and Hermione hummed in response.
"I could... they might've had him before. Everyone needs dental care, of course," she said, looking very thoughtful. "But, obviously, if any of you find anything else, you've got to owl me--"
"Yeah, yeah, we'll make sure to let you know," Lisa answered cheerily as the doors to the Great Hall opened.
"-- but," Hermione continued, "promise you'll all keep in contact otherwise. It's nice to tell eachother ideas."
"I'll send letters," Harry swore, admiring the Great Hall. It really did look nice. Festoons of holly and mistletoe were everywhere, but it wasn't easy to tell because there were twelve, towering trees spread around, covered with tiny, shining icicles and some with candles. Honestly, he'd have to remember to not bring Sly in here until the trees came down. "But you've got to promise to enjoy yourself over break. Don't read books the entire time."
"He's right. You better not keep your nose in books all through Christmas. That's a waste of a school break." Ron nodded.
Hermione laughed. "I won't."
When the Holidays had truly started, they had hardly even thought of Flamel, for they were having too much fun. Sure, the days were chilly and cold, but the Great Hall and the Common Rooms, now very empty, were practically their own, and they could push up as many arm chairs to the fire as they wished. They'd made a habit of toasting anything they could get to stay floating for long enough. Luna had burnt more than anyone else- she apparently had a hard time focusing long enough to make sure her things hadn't been above the flame too long.
Ron had taken to teaching Harry and Lisa wizard chess, and Lisa was a much faster learner than him. Normally, chess wasn't too confusing, but chess pieces didn't typically speak. It turned out that Ron was very good at wizard chess; His pieces, although old and used, had an unbelievable loyalty to him. Unlike the chess pieces Harry had been loaned by Luna; He wasn't as good a player, and their confusing "advice" hadn't been any help. Lisa had gotten her pieces from her mother, meanwhile, and they were much more trusting of her. Harry didn't think he liked wizard chess very much.
And the days spent in the courtyard, even though there were very few due to the temperature drop, were always fun. Not minding the hour or so they'd spend afterwards with hot cocoa from the house elves and blankets.
On Christmas eve, Harry had gone to sleep happily, completely forgetting how he had felt prior the Holiday. He thought he might spend most of Christmas in bed, maybe go outside and have some fun before eating whatever the house elves had put together. He'd never gotten presents before, so he didn't expect any. It wasn't really shocking when he was forcibly woken up by Lisa excitedly shaking him, but the last thing he expected was the small pile of presents infront of his bed, which Hydrus and Sly were curiously poking at.
"Merry Christmas, Harry!"
"Yeah, you too," He muttered, picking up one of the presents and examining it. It seemed to have something in it, but he was doubtful. "Is this real?"
"Er, yeah. Pretty real. What, never gotten presents before?" Lisa nudged his side. "Come on, bring them up to the common room. Padma says she's not coming down there. Honestly, I really see why. Why is it so cold in here?"
Harry put on his glasses, though the world was still a bit of a blur. He was much more tired than he ought to be. "Lisa, what time is it?"
"Time for presents, obviously." She sighed when she noticed him frowning. "It's 9 in the morning. We let Ron into the common room too, and we've already been waiting twenty minutes."
Harry sat up, tried to rub most of the tiredness out of his eyes, and picked up his presents. Sly had gone up to his pillow and went right back to sleep, but Hydrus slithered right behind him. Sitting in armchairs scattered around the fireplace, Ron, Luna, and Padma sat with their own small gift piles.
"Hey Harry, you're awake." Padma yawned, pulling her bathrobe tighter around her body. There was a burning fire that Harry could tell had only recently been lit.
"Merry Christmas, Harry," nodded Ron, already at work on one of his presents.
Where are your manners, Ron, we're opening presents together, Harry could almost just hear Hermione say, imagining a pile of her own gifts before her.
Padma had yawned again, ripping up wrapping paper, and Harry felt a yawn erupt from his own throat. He was still tired, but he was already awake, so it wouldn't do any good to go back to sleep.
He sat his gifts down and let Hydrus choose the first one. To Harry's surprise, it had been from his aunt and uncle. He was excited for a moment... and felt a massive wave of disappointment hit him as he saw a fifty-pence piece. But really, what would he have expected? The voices scolded him for being hopeful-- especially with them. He didn't want to be ungrateful- it was the first time they'd ever gotten him a present, anyway- but he wasn't sure where the line between ungrateful and simply unneeded began and where it ended. What was he even meant to do with fifty pence?
"What a shape! Is it muggle money?" asked Ron. Harry handed it over immediately. He supposed Ron would enjoy it more than he.
Lisa laughed at Ron's fascination, pulling a handful of hair products out a box. She grimaced after taking a look at them and looked over at Ron. "Wanna trade?" She asked, holding out a bottle of shampoo. "I hate this stuff. It makes my skin and stuff irritated."
"No thanks, Lisa." Ron said, flashing the coin tauntingly.
"What about the conditioner? Your hair will look... er, three percent neater, and seven percent more natural," Lisa tried, reading the back of a scented conditioner bottle. He shook his head and she put on a look of fake sadness. Maybe fake. She did look a bit sad.
Harry opened his next present, addressed to him from Hagrid. It was in thick brown paper that he had to rip open. Inside it was a small, rough wooden flute. It seemed Hagrid had whittled it himself. He blew into it-- and a sound much like an owl came out.
"Majestic," said Ron. Harry could just hear the sarcasm.
"Very funny. I think it's nice." Harry muttered, reaching for his next gift.
Harry made his way through the rest of his presents rather quickly-- it turned out he was much more excited than he thought; two muggle novels from Hermione, a book from Draco he'd have to look into later, one of a three-piece set from Lisa; A ring, a necklace, and a bracelet-- he had gotten the bracelet; Padma had gotten the necklace; And Lisa got the ring. Harry found that there was a surprising amount of enjoyment from watching Lisa apologised furiously to Luna that there were only three-- and she'd gotten her a very nice-looking pair of jewellery as compensation. A nice fur cloak from Padma, and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Ron. Harry felt as though his own gifts were much worse in comparison. But there were two more presents; A lumpy one and one that felt almost weightless. Ron groaned at the sight of the first one.
"I think I know who that one's from," He said, turning a bit pink and pointing at it. His ears had gone very low. "My mum. I might've told her you didn't expect a ton of presents and-- oh no. She's made you a Weasley sweater."
Harry ripped open the parcel, to a thick, what looked to be hand-knitted, sweater in emerald green, with his first name's initial in a bronze-golden colour, and another box containing fudge.
"She makes them every year. I'unno how she finds the time," said Ron, pulling out his own sweater. It was a dark maroon but it lacked his initial. "Or why mine's always maroon. I hate maroon..."
"So that's what these are!" Padma exclaimed, pulling out a pretty blue sweater out her own lumpy parcel. Lisa had one too, though in dark purple, and Luna, too, in bright orange. All of them had their respective initial on them.
"No way! I don't believe it, how does she even manage!" Ron scoffed.
"Well, it's really nice of her." Harry said, trying a bit of the fudge. It was tasty. Hydrus tried a bit too, much to Harry's chagrin, and he tried to stop him, of course, but luckily, he spat it right out. Harry was glad-- he didn't think fudge was very good for snakes. When he was sure that Hydrus wouldn't try anything else, he picked up the lighter parcel.
"Any idea who it's from?" asked Luna, trying to pull her hair from within her sweater, which she'd already put on.
"Nope. Madame Pomfrey stays over break, I hope," Harry said, unwrapping it. The voices probably would've slapped him for how rash he was being, but lucky for him, they were just voices. A silky silver cloth fell to the floor, landing in shining folds.
"Is that a--?" Padma murmured, gasping.
"An invisibility cloak? Who would give me an Invisibility Cloak?" Harry wondered, fiddling with the fabric. It felt real. It couldn't have been real though, right? Who in their right mind would send him an Invisibility Cloak of all things? If it was real, which was very unlikely, then he certainly wasn't complaining.
"Try it on! See if it's real!" Ron suggested. Harry dropped it over his head, and everyone in the room gasped.
"You're gone!" Ron yelled. "Well, invisible!"
"Wicked!" Lisa cheered, clapping. Harry looked down-- he still saw himself, and everything else clearly. He saw a note beside his foot, and picked it up.
'This has been gifted to you by the will of your father, James. Make good use of it, Mr Potter. And Merry Christmas.'
Why would he only get it now? Maybe he should've gotten it when he started Hogwarts, but it would've been too out of the blue? Maybe he was supposed to get it on Christmas? Or maybe... there were too many possibilities, and he'd forgotten he was even invisible as he tried to think of all of them.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron suddenly asked. Harry didn't feel the need to say anything-- he'd probably only be a minute longer.
"Did he go somewhere?" Lisa got to her feet, looking around.
"Couldn't have, we would've heard a door," Luna commented.
"I'm still here. Just thinking." Harry called out, pulling the cloak off his head.
Padma hummed. "Thinking. Alright. So... how about we go have a snow day? It might clear your mind, and it's a couple hours to the feast."
"There's a feast on Christmas too? Hey, wait, you just want to pummel me with snowballs."
"I do not!" Padma scoffed as if she was offended. "I'm going to pummel you with snowballs. Obviously."
"We're in our night robes, you know," Luna smiled. "We should change first. We shouldn't freeze ourselves-- the wrackspurts haven't gotten to you, have they?"
"No, no- no wrackspurts, Lu'. I'm just ready to enjoy Christmas day!"
And suddenly, what started a small snowball fight had become a war; They had been split into two groups, Ron had gotten lucky that his brothers joined in when they came outside-- minus Percy, who refused to play when his glasses kept being knocked off his face and his prefect badge disappearing under piles of snow, but the twins were all too glad-- and Harry with Padma and Lisa. Luna was watching them. Everyone was going all out, Fred and George charming chunks of snow to chase like a locked radar, and Lisa had gotten a little too much joy from finding new ways to stop them. Ron had been trying(and failing hilariously) to avoid the snowballs Harry and Padma were throwing, but he'd yet to actually succeed.
At some point during, the other students staying over break had joined in, only making things more wild, competitive-- and more fun. When the fight was finally over, everyone included had collected in the Great Hall to dry off for dinner. Which, speaking of, had been amazing aswell. Atleast a hundred roast turkeys, mountains of roasted, boiled, and mashed potatoes, platters of thick chipolatas, tureens of peas, silver boats of gravy and cranberry sauce. Wizard crackers practically lined the tables, and Harry felt more than ecstatic that the Dursleys wouldn't've taken him for Christmas- there was more here than they ever had.
Harry had eaten more than he thought he could even manage. Padma hadn't eaten nearly as much, he didn't think, but probably more than she normally did. Lisa had eaten much more than a platter of boiled potatoes. Harry wasn't entirely sure how much Luna had eaten, but she seemed to enjoy the cranberry sauce. Ron must've eaten a bit of nearly half the turkeys. Harry thought of grabbing some food for his stash, but he supposed it'd all go bad after a while-- and he could only stand mouldy turkey so much.
When Harry had pulled his first wizard cracker, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed everyone nearby in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. At the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his bejewelled pointed wizard's hat for a pretty flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.
Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched as Hagrid grew redder and redder, calling for more wine, before he'd finally kissed McGonagall on the cheek. Harry wasn't very sure what to expect, but it surely wasn't to see McGonagall giggled and blush, her top hat lopsided.
When Harry left the table with Lisa, Padma, and Luna-- Ron wanted to keep eating, Fred and George were still pulling wizard's crackers-- he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers; A pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a feeling they were going to end up as the Christmas dinner Hydrus and Mrs Norris were going to fight over. Speaking of; He'd have to remember to let Hydrus out of his case. Thanks to Lisa, his things had been taken up to the common room. and went back outside for yet another snowball-war-- and this time, Luna had actually participated. He'd have to remember to not ever doubt her spell-casting again-- if he'd been told that she'd been using every spell Fred and George were earlier, then he'd believe it.
Once they finally decided to leave, they were all covered in snow from head to toe, soaked, and cold, and had all worked together to cast a more than effective warming charm. They went back into the Great Hall, where Harry got to use his chess set for the first time, by losing spectacularly to Ron, thanks to Percy the Prefect. Harry would have to get around to remembering his name on its own, but it wasn't his fault if it was easier to remember before.
"Percy the-- er- it's just- well, your advice sucked." Harry admitted. Percy scoffed, as if he didn't know. He clearly did, because his ears were pink and for the first time Harry had ever seen, very low. After a dinner of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit around and wait until they felt like getting up. Before they separated for the dorms, Lisa insisted they take a picture with the magically operating camera her mother had sent. The picture moved, quite smoothly, with Lisa smiling brightly as she held up the camera, and Padma pulling Harry and Luna closer. Harry thought he looked unbelievably silly, nearly out of sight for half the photo in comparison to Luna, who was smiling gleefully and waving at the camera. But he found he liked the photo quite a lot-- he'd never been allowed into any of the Dursleys' pictures, but it felt nice to be in one, actually.
He decided immediately that it had been his best Christmas ever. But the whole day, something had been stuck in his head. Not until he unlocked Hydrus's case and climbed into bed was he able to really think about it;
The invisibility cloak.
Luckily, everyone else in the dorm had gone home for the holidays-- thank god for that, if he'd have to listen to Terry's obnoxious snoring all break, he'd go mental-- so Harry had quickly pulled back the curtains of his bed. He hopped up, and went to the closet he stuffed all his things into, where he had stored the cloak. When he pulled it out from underneath his trunk, it shone in the moonlight from the nearest window.
The will of his father... It was his dad's. It felt wrong, for a moment, to even hold it. It was too special for that. But he felt even worse not having it in his hands. Hesitantly, he shifted the cloak from his left hand and his right. It felt as smooth as silk, and like it had no weight at all.
Make good use of it.
If he could do anything, he could certainly do that.
At some point, the voices had begun to get very loud. They were bullying him over something- again. He didn't care enough to listen to whatever their problem was now. Just about everything always was the matter with them.
"Shut up, already," He whispered, pulling it over his pyjamas. He'd only focused enough to hear the voices outcry, and it made it very much better. But he supposed there wasn't anything that could possibly make this worse. When he was under the cloak, Hogwarts may as well be his personal playground. He snuck out the common room, the Eagle Knocker seemingly unaware, did nothing to stop him. He forced back giggles and made way for the Library. It was a win-win situation. Technically. He'd get to search for the book, and Madam Pince and Filch would be none the wiser. Everybody's happy. Technically. They were happy as long as they didn't find out-- and he would make sure they wouldn't.
He walked past Mrs Norris and Hyrdus hissing at eachother violently over one of the little white mice, now dead-- one of them had impaled it-- and caught sight of Sly scrambling down a staircase. Of course she'd gotten away. He almost didn't want to go after her-- she'd find her way back anyway, but he figured it was best if he caught her before she wandered too much. He groaned and made the detour to catch her anyway. After a frustrating ten minutes, he had finally gotten to the Library, Sly had been somewhat under control-- she'd been a bit calmer when she realised it was him who'd gotten her, but still quite restless.
The library, incredibly dark and creepily eerie, had given Harry the feeling he was in a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. But, nonetheless, he lit a lamp, and walked along the bookshelves to the back of the library- where the Restricted Section had been separated from the rest. It looked, if possible, even darker. How fitting, Harry thought bitterly, shivering. He stepped over the rope, and held the lamp up. He read the titles of plenty of books-- peeling, faded, scratched out, some in languages that looked dead, and some blank. No help at all.
Harry sighed. He'd been a bit hopeful to begin with, he knew that; of course it wouldn't be that easy. He should've asked her for the name, at the least. But it was a history book, so surely it wouldn't be too hard to assume which one he'd get lucky with. He put his lamp on the floor before he began to skim the very bottom bookshelf for anything. He eventually came across a large book in a black cover. It said... something about a few decades ago. He forced it up against the bookshelf, beside his lamp. He pulled it open, and an ear-splitting scream sounded.
His life was an absolute joke. Lucky-- as if he'd get something like luck.
Even after he shut the book, the scream had kept going. The pitch sounded like it could deafen a person if they got too close-- he was sure the only reason he hadn't lost his hearing was because he'd thrown his hands over his ears. In the process, Sly had managed to set herself free and scurried away, squealing. The book toppled over, assumedly, on it's own weight, and the lamp was smashed. Harry made a run for it. He passed Filch in the doorway, Filch's eyes looking straight through him, and slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and ran up the bookshelves in the Library. When he got out to the corridor, he hid behind the open door, waiting for Filch to come running back out.
And he had. Filch came running out quickly, right past Harry. Harry sighed, relieved. He walked down the next corridor, squinting, for not even the moonlight from the windows made Hogwarts any brighter at night, and made way for the common room. Not that he could tell where he was going, but he'd figure it out. He almost walked into a suit of armour, before--
"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library-- Restricted Section." He heard. Even worse, it was Snape who replied; "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far. We'll catch them."
Harry suddenly felt very afraid, more than confused. The corridor, as far as he could tell, was thin and narrow. If they kept walking, no matter what way they were coming from, they'd bump into him. The cloak made him invisible, but not quite untouchable. He slowly backed away, pressing himself flat to the wall and inching to the nearest opening as quietly as he could. It was a door, just slightly opened, enough for him to slip in relatively unnoticed. Lucky for him, they walked right past his hiding place.
That had been far too close. He should've just waited until break was over. Filch and Snape were gone now, but it wasn't long before he noticed the room he was in and he found himself a bit curious. The area looked like an unused classroom, albeit, much darker than even the dungeons. The silhouettes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket. But what caught his eye-- propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, just as if it was here to be out of the way, yet, here, it looked to still be in the way.
It looked like a mirror, as tall as the ceiling, with a gold frame and it stood on two feet, like any mirror, but something told Harry it very simply wasn't a mirror-- or, at the very least, not a normal one. At the top of a frame, an inscription was carved out-- 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' Weird. A mirror in a classroom wasn't exactly a thing he'd expect, ever, but what would a mirror do-- even if magical? He'd seen Dudley watching movies where someone evil had used a magical mirror, but he doubted it was the same. A floating head hadn't appeared and begun speaking to him out of nowhere.
But when he walked closer to it, he saw the reflection and he had to put his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He looked behind him frantically. His heart was beating so quickly his chest had begun to hurt-- he had seen not only himself in the mirror, which was shocking enough considering he was still under the cloak, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him. But it couldn't have been-- the room he stood in was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror. There he was, reflected in it, looking horrified, and then, reflected behind him, were at least ten or twenty others that he could see clearly. Few of them had dark skin like him, and others had lighter skin. Some of them only a bit, looking closer to tan, and then some of them were as pale as ghosts. Just beside him, there were two, much smaller people; One of them looked a lot like him-- if he didn't know better, he'd almost say it was Hermione, smiling with her large front teeth and shining braces. And then the other, he didn't recognise at all. It was a very pale, shivering child that looked asleep with dark red hair.
Harry looked over his shoulder again, but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them? It could clearly see through Invisibility Cloaks. He looked in the mirror again.
A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling brightly at him and waving. He hesitantly reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her--their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air-- he was now sure that she and the others existed only in the mirror. Though he was still startled, he could admit that she was certainly a pretty woman. She had dark red hair that fell just above her shoulders, and her eyes--
Her eyes were just like his, Harry noticed, inching a little closer to the glass. One was bright green, the other a orangish brown-- exactly the same colour as Harry's were, and all she lacked were the diamond pupils-- but then he noticed that she was crying; Smiling happily, but crying at the same time.
The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. His skin was darker than Harry's. He wore round glasses, and his hair was incredibly untidy. It curled relentlessly and stuck up at the ends, just as Harry's did. Had he not been twice his height, Harry would've suspected it was him, just with brown eyes.
A man, shorter than the other, but taller than the woman, stood to the side. He was not smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. He stood out from them, with pale skin and pitch-black hair. His hair was curly, but not in the same way the other man's was. He was just staring at Harry with sharp grey eyes, as if mesmerised or shocked or something. He looked as though he was about to cry, but he wasn't. He had the same pupils as Harry.
That was when it finally clicked for him, looking back and forth between the three of them.
Harry's face was so close to the glass of the mirror, his nose almost touching that of his reflection's, and his hands pressed hard against the glass.
"... are you my parents?" He whispered; They nodded nodded as he spoke, and they continued to smile. His mother stopped waving, placing her hand on his shoulder. It left a warm feeling, even though she wasn't really there. The man with the grey eyes, who he didn't know, finally smiled at him. Harry looked past the three of them-- other pairs of green eyes or chestnut eyes like his, although none had both of the colours like he and his mother did; Other noses or jaws like his; Curly hair like his was whenever Aunt Petunia hadn't flat ironed it straight; Even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobby knees and crooked teeth. And then he saw people who looked much like the man he did not know, yet he could see similarities between himself and them-- particularly, the diamond pupils, and he noticed they all shared a calculating look as they watched him.
Harry was now sure that he was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.
He paused for a minute, staring in unbelief. But after a moment, he couldn't hold back-- he started crying. He cried, and sniffled, and cried, for a very long time. He couldn't make his tears stop flowing; He couldn't suddenly feeling weak and having to sit down; He couldn't help but cry even more, when he spotted the reflection-- multiple people, including his parents, were all around him, trying to comfort him. The voices called him stupid-- said he was acting like a baby. Well, maybe he was stupid, and maybe he was acting like a baby. He thought it was very fair. He didn't feel like an eleven year old, and his heart ached, his eyes were probably puffy, and he could barely see. Eventually, he wiped his tears, and forced himself to stand.
"I'll be back.. I promise." He swore, waving as all the reflections waved back, looking relieved as he stopped crying.
All the way to the common room, he found himself longing for the mirror.
I've always wanted to meet my family, He thought, as he stared at the top of his bunk and found all his tiredness catch up to him. He almost didn't think he slept at all. He didn't know when, but he began crying again-- he missed them already, but he couldn't muster up the energy to move. But at some point, he wasn't crying anymore, and eventually, he wasn't awake either.
"Harry, why are you so tired?" asked Lisa the next morning, poking at Harry.
"And you haven't eaten anything either. Have some bacon or something," Ron insisted.
"You alright there, Potter?" Parvati Patil asked, from not too far away. She and Padma were talking about something, he was sure, and they looked very invested in their conversation... he wouldn't have thought she'd notice anything.
"Oh, good question. Are you, Harry? No offence, you look absolutely terrible." Padma asked.
"Thanks. None taken. But I'm fine. I'm just tired,"
"Yeah, tired," Lisa muttered, and she threw her hands up in defence when Harry turned to frown at her. "What? I mean, like, you're always tired, but you've never looked so depressed. You look like you've been crying. And I mean, a lot. Like, your eyes are all red and puffy. And you've got eye bags."
"I'm fine." Harry repeated.
"You don't look very fine," said Luna, and for maybe the first time ever, Harry frowned at her too.
Padma scoffed. "Whatever-- just forget it. We're gonna let you tell us yourself, if you wanna." Padma suggested, and everyone else, hesitantly, agreed.
Harry sighed and gave in. He tried to eat, but he just couldn't. He had seen his parents, and his relatives. And he would be seeing them again tonight.
Who would stop him?
He was so engrossed in his thoughts about that mirror that he had almost forgotten about Flamel. But really, it didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared about what the three-headed dog was guarding? Who cared if it ended up stolen? Not Harry-- he cared to see his family again, that's what... it was hardly his business anyways... more Dumbledore's problem, not his... there were many more things to be concerned about... that mirror, for certain...
And, so, that night, Harry took no time to pull the invisibility cloak over his head, and began to retrace his steps from the library. He had found the suit of armour quite quickly, and nearly tripped over the cloak as he ran for the mirror. He threw it beside him, as he saw his body, as well as the bodies of his family, suddenly appear in the glass.
"Hi again," He said cheerfully, not even minding that he was speaking to the reflections of his late family. His parents smiled happily, and some of the rest of his relatives waved or smiled from behind them. The girl that looked like Hermione looked to have said something, and the shivering child was awake now-- he'd had the same, sharp grey eyes as the paler man. He wondered who they both really were, but he figured it didn't matter.
"So this is why you were so tired," Said a whispering voice from behind him. He jumped, but he was a little less tense when he noticed it was just Luna, Padma, and Lisa. He didn't know whether his sigh was of relief or exasperation.
"How did you get here?" He asked.
"We followed the sound of your footsteps, of course. You were practically running," said Luna.
"What's so interesting about this mirror?" Lisa wondered, stepping in the way of Harry. She gasped, shocked.
"What is it? Let me see," Padma got in the way, and gasped too. "No way! Is that really me?" She muttered.
"What?"
"I mean– I mean, in my reflection, I'm-- I'm-- ooh! I'm Head Auror! I always wanted to be Head Auror!" Padma whispered, excitedly.
"Head Auror?" Lisa repeated, glaring at her with a mean side-eye. "Padma, that is so boring. And you're wrong, too. That's clearly me–- and I know it is, because we look nothing alike! And don't you see the crown? And I'm real rich, too, look at all that money!"
"Oh, as if! Luna, come check this and tell us who it is!"
Luna stepped forward to get a good view of the mirror. After a moment, her head tilted to the side and she looked confused. She glanced at Lisa and Padma, then back at the mirror. Harry supposed she didn't feel the need to whisper, because she said, very clearly, "I only see myself and all of you. Oh- and Ron, and Hermione, and Draco- and my father--"
"Harry, get over here," Lisa muttered, still glaring at Padma, who was glaring at her too.
"I already know what I see, and it's not either of you,"
"Oh, yeah? What do you see?" asked Padma.
"My family. Believe it or not, the first thing I saw wasn't one of you."
Harry took a moment to think, and it seemed they did too.
"Wait, so the mirror shows us ourself and just ourself? That- that doesn't make sense." said Lisa.
"I didn't just see myself, I saw you all with me," said Luna, and Lisa seemed to frown.
"Maybe it shows us what we want to see?" Padma suggested.
"That can't be it," Harry said. He looked at the inscription one more time. He'd have to remember that... maybe think about it when he wasn't stuck with them stopping him from seeing his family. "If it showed what we wanted it to, it'd show our reflections first-- it's what we'd expect, clearly, but I think it shows us what we really want- or what we really like, not what we want it to show us. Look at--"
He was cut off by a noise in the corridor that made them all jump. Padma, the quickest, was able to pull the invisibility cloak just high enough to hide them from view, just as Mrs Norris appeared in the doorway. They all stood incredibly still. After what felt like much longer than it was, Mrs Norris finally left.
"She might've gone for Filch. We should go," Padma said.
"But my family--"
"Harry, no! You might get seen." Lisa dismissed, as Padma began to lead the way back to the common room.
"I think you have a very good point, Harry," said Luna, as they made their way up the stairs. "What were you going to tell us to look at?"
"Nothing, I- er-- I can't- can't remember now."
Luna smiled at him as if she knew something, but she didn't ask him anything else. By time they got back to the common room, Harry's legs were aching. As much as he wanted to go back, when he would be sure they weren't following him, but he didn't think he'd make it all the way down to the mirror without falling out of exhaustion. He wished they didn't follow him... atleast give him a bit of time to see his family a bit longer... but he had tomorrow night. And however long the mirror would be there after then.
The snow covering the grounds had yet to melt by the next morning. Harry had played every game any of his friends suggested, even Gobstones, trying to get the mirror off his mind. But it didn't help when Lisa decided someone ought to tell Ron about it.
"What? It showed you all something different?" He asked. "I mean- er- it sounds cool, but you really can't-- you- you guys aren't planning on going back, are you?"
"Of course we aren't," Padma scoffed. "We're not mental. We nearly got caught yesterday-- as if we'd go back! I bet you Filch's got his eye on that corridor, you know. Mrs Norris obviously tipped him off, and he totally knows we've got a reason to be there again. We've all got common sense, you'll notice!"
But that night, he still found himself making way for the mirror. He made his way to the room much quicker than the night before-- although more quietly, incase someone followed him again.
He sat infront of the mirror impatiently, and smiled at his parents. This would be the last time, he promised himself, when he realised he was really obsessed, and he'd stop coming to the mirror. But he wanted to see them again, so very desperately. Despite how he felt, he told himself he wouldn't cry either.
"Back again, Harry?"
Harry jumped, and turned around-- Dumbledore had been sitting on top of one of the desks.
"Hello, sir. I didn't see you.." Harry answered uncertainly. The last person he would've expected was the headmaster.
"Unbelievable how nearsighted being invisible can make you. Or maybe it's those glasses of yours." Dumbledore said, smiling. "So, you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."
"The Mirror of Erised? What does it mean?"
"You know what it does by now, yes?" Dumbledore asked, rather than answering the question.
Harry hadn't taken a second to think about it, for it had worked itself out in his head-- "I show not your face, but your heart'sdesire, right? The inscription, backwards. It shows what we want the most. Or, I guess, what makes us happiest, right?"
"Brilliant, Harry. Indeed, it shows what our heart most desires. You've never seen your family, and here you see them, as happy to see you as you are to see them. Miss Patil saw herself as Head Auror, and Miss Turpin saw herself rich. Miss Lovegood, I suppose, finds that what she desires most is friends, and why she saw all of you. But, of course, there is no mistaking it. This mirror shows neither knowledge nor truth in most cases. It's rarely ever that someone perfectly content would end up here. Many have wasted away at the mirror's front, and many driven mad.
"Infact, the mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever happen to run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that, Harry. Now, why don't you put that cloak back on and get off to bed?" Dumbledore suggested, and Harry stood to his feet.
"I... will. But if I can ask, er- what do you see when you look in the mirror?" He asked.
Dumbledore chuckled. "I see myself holding a thick pair of socks. One can never have enough, I imagine. I love socks, you know, but another Christmas has passed where I haven't been gifted a single pair. People just insist on gifting me books," He answered, and bid Harry a goodnight. Harry took a single look back at his parents, and said goodbye for the final time.
In the corridor, Harry realised, wiping his eyes, as he had begun welling up, that it was quite a personal question he had asked. It wouldn't be a surprise if Dumbledore had lied, but then again-- people had their interests, and Dumbledore could've just liked socks a lot. Or he lied-- which was much more likely.
In the dorms, Harry found Hydrus laying across his bed, in the way he did back at the Dursleys. Harry smiled, and moved Hydrus ever so slightly so that he could lay down.
It wasn't long before Hydrus had curled up on his chest, and while he did that all the time, something about it felt different. And after a bit of thinking, he realised why. He hadn't felt it anywhere else, he didn't think, and maybe that was why he wasn't sure, he supposed, but Hogwarts had begun to feel more like a home.
Maybe he really did like it here.