A/N: Hello. I decided to play a bit around the mirror of Erised, I hope you enjoy.
The world and named characters belong to J.K Rowling.
The Broken Twin Piece
George was rummaging through a small corner store in the carefully hidden streets of wizarding Paris. He was looking for new supplies he needed to try out some of his new ideas for his joke-shop. He had already gone through the shops in the Diagon Alley quite a few times before deciding that a trip abroad was sorely needed in order to find some of the rarer objects his newest addition to the Skiving Snackbox required. He didn't know exactly where to find them, but a reliable source had spotted some of rarer ingredients in an old store in Paris. He had sent an owl to the owners on the matter but they weren't willing to risk mailing such objects, given that they weren't considered exactly legal in England.
He had picked out a few other items he hadn't originally thought of but found too good to simply pass by, but had not yet found the items he had come looking for. It didn't help his search that all the labels were in French, but his sister-in-law had kindly offered to translate a few key terms for him when he dropped by their home before leaving for his trip. Fleur had given him a few curious looks over the items on his list, but had decided not to ask – she had quickly become accustomed to the habits of the former prankster as her husband rolled his eyes behind her
"Just don't drag my wife into anything terribly illegal, please?" Bill had requested with a fond smile, he hadn't seen his brother quite this enthusiastic about a new invention since the battle, even though a good few years had already passed by.
"I would never" the younger twin declared with a scandalized smile before snatching the list back with promises of bringing back some pralines and macaroons for them as a thank you, as he knew Fleur preferred the original French patisseries over the ones available near their home, before disapparating with a loud pop.
xxx
After a good hour of searching the dusty shelves in the undisturbed back corridors of the store he finally found what he was looking for. Three mahogany boxes were standing in a neat line on one of the shelves, hidden behind a tall silver mirror. He gently pushed the frames aside and ran his hand over the cases. He pulled them from the shelf one by one, gently placing them on a nearby desk for a closer inspection.
The inscription on the lids was looking promising, the words were concurring with his list. He opened the first case, and smiled as he saw the contents, carefully tucked in the fabric lining the box. He inspected the last two cases in a similar manner, making sure all of the goods were unharmed, and then closed them and put them in the basket he had brought with him. For a moment he contemplated on staying in the store for a while longer, to go through the rest of the mysterious shelves, but decided against it after glancing his watch as he realized it was getting late. He still had to find the patisseries he had promised to bring with him, he couldn't delay in the store for much longer.
He turned around to leave the way he came through, but found his route now blocked by the mirror he had previously moved from his way. Large cracks ran through the surface and the upper left corner of the glass had fallen off during the years it had been stored away. Something about the ancient object seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place the feeling. In its silver frame he could distinguish the phrase Terger stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi even though he could not understand the words. He gazed upon his reflection for a while, curious about why such a magnificent piece was hidden so far back in the store. It was broken, yes, but it was nothing a little spell couldn't fix, he was sure. Absentmindedly he raised his fingers on his missing ear, realizing it seemed to be in place on his frowning reflection, even though he did not understand why. With a sigh he tore his eyes from the mirror and placed it back to its original place by the shelf. He picked his basket from the desk it was still laying on and hurried towards the counter at the front of the store.
xxx
"Did you find what you were looking for?" the elderly shopkeeper asked as he approached him.
"Yes I did, thank you very much for your patience" he answered as he placed his chosen items on the counter in front of the man.
"Do you mind if I ask, what's the deal with that old mirror in the back? The one with silver frames and a weird inscription?" George continued with a curious voice.
"Oh, that big old thing?" the shopkeeper asked while flickering through some papers on his desk. "It has been in the store for ages, I think it's probably one of the oldest pieces in here. It was there already back when my grandfather was running the store decades ago, I remember seeing it when I was playing around in here as a child. I think we used to have two of them before the other was sold to some important-looking witch years ago"
"It had a twin piece?"
"Well, they weren't exactly identical. The other one had golden frames whereas this one has silver. You probably noticed the inscription on the frames? That was slightly different on the other mirror as well, I don't know why though. The golden one started with 'Erised', whereas the silver one has 'Terger' as the first word. I think the mirrors were named after those words" the shopkeeper explained. With a huff he continued "The one left back there always seemed to creep people out a bit, to be honest, one of our customers actually broke it, he just smashed his fist right into it!"
"Really?!" George gasped.
"Yes! It was such a mess to clean up" the shopkeeper shook his head.
"But anyway, not soon afterwards the golden mirror was sold and that silver one has been gathering dust back there alone ever since," the shopkeeper finished his tale.
George looked thoughtful. "I think I might have seen the other mirror somewhere, I think we might have stumbled upon it in my second year of school…"
"Are you sure?" the elder man questioned with disbelief seeping through his voice.
"Yes, I think it was in one of the empty classrooms during one of our nightly strolls with my brother", at that a shadow crossed George's face.
"Hmmn, sounds fascinating. I wonder how it ended up at a school of all places" the shopkeeper mumbled, finally lifting his gaze from his papers. "Might I ask, what did you see in that mirror?"
"Our reflections? I mean isn't that how mirrors work?"
George couldn't decipher the look on the shopkeeper's face.
"Just your reflection?"
"Yes, mine and my brother's"
The older man hummed again. "What about the mirror in the back? Anything curious about that reflection?"
"Well, it was a bit eerie", George smirked, but as he saw the confused look on the other's face he explained "I mean, I still had both of my ears in that reflection, that's a bit weird"
"Ah, I see." The odd look returned to the man's face. "Your brother wouldn't have happened to be your twin, would he? Did something happen to him?"
"Ye- yes" George stuttered.
"How curious, how curious indeed" the shopkeeper mumbled to himself.
George was getting uncomfortable, he didn't want to discuss him with some stranger he just met, and he most definitely did not like the look on the man's face.
"It was really nice to chat, but I really should get going. How much did these cost again?" he asked referring to his purchases.
The question seemed to snap the shopkeeper back to his senses, his gaze became focused again.
"13 galleons and 10 sickles, please", he asked as George reached for his purse and gave the man the money. Then he quickly packed up his new belongings and headed for the door.
"It was nice to do business with you", he heard the shopkeeper say as he was exiting the store, waving his free hand and muttering his thanks for the man.
It was already getting dark so George quickly made his way to the nearest café and bought the promised patisseries. After he had received his order he apparated home, making a quick detour by the Shell cottage and dropping off the patisseries.
xxx
Later in the night George found himself sitting in his workshop staring at the walls. He knew he should be more excited about the items he had acquired, now he had everything he needed to expand the selection of the Skiving Snackbox. The new Headache Honey and Couching Chocos would bring long-expected variety to the old selection. The new school year would be starting soon so the faster he finished the new products the better they would sell. He had spread all the supplies on his desk in front of him, but still he could not concentrate on the task at hand.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not tear his thoughts away from the two mirrors, one silver, one gold, both with strange engravings in gibberish decorating the frames. Erised and Terger, the mirrors were filling his mind with memories of times he rather left forgotten, but now was unable to escape during the lonesome hours in the darkness of night.