Updated: June 29th, 2017
Chapter 1: The House and the Mirror
A house on a haunted hill…that's what it looked like. Some of its windows had been boarded up, tiles were missing from the roof, and ivy spread over the sides like five o'clock shadow. This place was once an impressive looking manor, and not to mention, the largest and grandest dwelling for miles. This place was now damp, rundown, and unoccupied.
Many people agreed this place was creepy. Fifty years ago, something horrible happened there; something the villagers only discussed to scare little children or when gossip was on short supply. The story had been told so many times; told in different ways that no one knew for sure what the truth about that place was. But, one thing was for sure, every version started in the same place.
Summer, fifty years ago, before daybreak, when the house was still in its prime, a maid entered the drawing room to find all three residents dead. The news of the deaths shocked the villagers of Little Hangleton. But, no one pretended to be sad for the family. The Riddles were highly unpopular.
Summer of 1993, just after sunset, a young girl of fourteen stood in front of the rusty iron gates. She pushed passed them carefully and slowly trotted up the uneven path. Weeds had grown over the walkway and the once nice lawn was trampled and brown. The girl stumbled as she stepped up onto the rotting porch. A light breeze feathered her curly black hair and gave her chills. Careful of where she stepped, the girl tapped on the paint-chipped banisters with a long wooden stick.
This 'stick' was the most important tool the teenager could ever possess. It was her wand. A magical tool used to help harness her magical powers. She was eleven years old when her wand chose her. She owned a perfect 11-inch wand made from an ash tree. This wand proved to be good with Transfiguration and the Dark Arts. The core of her wand was a dragon heartstring which was good for defensive spells and hexes. The wand that chose her also showed that she was protective and stood up for what she believed in. This was the perfect wand for Coralynn Maguire.
On this night, something drew the black-haired, grey-eyed girl to this particular house. She immediately knew this was not someplace she should be. It was filled with dark magic…a place where her father's relatives would most likely convene. Looking up, she noticed lights glimmering in the upper windows. Despite what she thought, Cora was an adventurous type and she noisily pushed open the front door.
"Hello," she called loudly. Her voice danced around the once beautiful main hall, echoing off the walls. She scrunched her nose in disgust as her nostrils filled with smelly decay. She made sure to stay quiet, ears and eyes searching for any sound and movement.
"Is anyone there," Cora asked again. She walked quietly all over the house, searching for a sign someone was there. In the kitchen, she noticed a pair of familiar round wire glasses perched on the elegant dinner table. She knew of only one person who wore those kind of glasses, her best friend Harry Potter. Soft footsteps made her spin around quickly. The dark haired boy with the lightning bolt scar stood in the doorway.
Cora's heart was beating fast. She brought her hand up to her chest to calm herself. "Oh, Harry, you scared me," she breathed. When Harry Potter did not answer, Cora frowned. Instead, the boy turned around, walking back the other way. "Harry?"
Cora left the glasses on the table and followed her friend. Harry disappeared up the stairs and Cora had no other choice but to go as well. She was a little thankful for the layer of dust on the stone because it muffled the sound of her feet. On the landing, Cora noticed there were many doors. Each one was closed, locked perhaps, with a small brass key in each keyhole. Alright, she thought, not locked. She could either unlock each door and see what lay inside, or find her way back down the stairs and leave. Coralynn Maguire was a curious girl.
The first thing that came to mind as she reached the first door was that Harry had just suddenly disappeared. She saw him, followed him up the stairs, and he was gone. Another thing that bothered her was how so many rooms could fit into such a small space? There must have been at least twenty doors on either side of the hall. Cora reached for the first brass key, slowly turning it the other way. The lock clicked and the door swung open.
She gasped, her hands instinctively clasped over her mouth to keep from screaming. On the floor closest to the door was a man with untidy dark hair and round glasses. Near an empty cradle was a woman with long red hair and beautiful, unseeing green eyes. Both were dead, their eyes wide open in terror. On the bed was a crying baby boy, a bloody scar etched into his forehead. Cora slammed the door shut, locked it, and slid down to her bottom.
Feet suddenly appeared in front of her and a wand poked her in the forehead. Harry was standing there, looking rather sad. He held his hand out for Cora to take. She shook her head, "No. No more."
Cora was suddenly dragged up to her feet and roughly pushed to the next door. Before he disappeared again, Harry pointed to the end of the hall. Cora noticed the door was the only one open, albeit slightly open. A golden light shone through the gap, casting its rays on the last few doors. Cora knew what she had to do to reach the 'light at the end of the tunnel'.
Moving on was taking a toll on Cora mentally. Each door contained a person or people; all about to be killed or dead. She saw a boy she knew from school. He had short, light brown hair and brown eyes, he was well-built, and had chiseled features. Cora's mouth opened in a silent scream as the door snapped shut on her in a green blaze. The boy was wearing a jersey of yellow and black. These were the colors of Hufflepuff. The back of his shirt read: Diggory.
Against her will, Cora felt her feet move her across the hall to more rooms. She screamed and fought against the invisible force but she could not break free. It was as if she was under the Imperious Curse. So many doors and rooms….all filled with the dead. Cora was close to pulling her hair out; her face red from crying silent tears and her voice hoarse from silent screams.
Unfortunately for her, the last room was worse than torture, worse than death itself. Through the walls of the old Riddle house Cora heard maniacal shrieks of laughter. She covered her ears, shaking her head. She chanted 'no' over and over again as the next door swung open. In the middle of the room was a large rock with a see-through veil attached to it. More tears fell from her eyes as voices whispered to her. "Dad…" Cora finally whimpered.
Cora fell to her knees, breaking the invisible bounds keeping her upright. Her head fell into her hands as she wept for the souls of the voices in her head. Looking back up again, the room had changed. This time, instead of the large rock, there was a large mirror. Not being able to help herself, Cora crawled to the golden framed mirror, staring at herself in pain. Suddenly, a face appeared behind her. Cora looked back, but no one was there. The woman next to her smiled. Cora closed her eyes, smiling too, and placed her hand on the glass. The woman's brown hair and sparkling eyes and love and passion gave away who she was. It was Olivia. It was Cora's mom. On her other side, a man appeared. He was darkly handsome; his black hair falling gracefully to his shoulders, grey eyes full of mischief, and his aristocratic features were pulled up in a silly grin. It was then Cora knew that these people she'd see in the mirror were dead.
Behind Olivia appeared a white figure soaring above until it swooped down to perch on her shoulder. Cora had seen this particular bird plenty of times to know whose it was. Her name was Hedwig and she was Harry Potter's owl. As Hedwig got comfortable on her new perch, a little creature pushed through her parents to get to the front. He was about waist high with big eyes, papery skin, and enormous ears. The sack he was wearing gave away his identity. Dobby the House Elf. More people Cora had known appeared in the background, all smiling, all happy. She was even surprised when she caught a glimpse of her Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape. He wasn't smiling like the rest but his eyes showed happiness.
Before she could protest, the people in the mirror slowly vanished. Tears of joy welled up in the girl's eyes as her parents held each other, waving as they too disappeared into nothing. Before she had a chance to walk away, three figures appeared in the mirror. The older man was fair-haired and big-bellied. He had a jolly smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. It was Ted Tonks. The other two were no doubt a couple as they appeared holding hands. The man was very pale with light brown hair and eyes. Three long scars cut across his face, but he was handsome nevertheless. The woman was tall and pretty. She sported short, bubblegum pink hair and her eyes changed color every time Cora blinked. They were Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks.
The next person Cora saw was someone she had actually never met before. For a moment, Cora though it was her father again. But it wasn't. This boy was smaller, slimmer, and less handsome than her father. He had the same black hair Cora had (as did the rest of the Black family) and his aristocratic features were sharper than that of Sirius Black's. The boy was wearing Slytherin robes and twirling his wand between his fingers haughtily. He winked at Cora and then disappeared into mist just like the others.
Finally, one last person appeared in the mirror. The boy had a tender expression as he gazed at Cora through the glass. Through his brown three-piece suit, Cora could tell he was tall and thin. He swept a hand through his short red hair and grinned at her. When he smiled, something inside Cora's heart swelled. There were no tears, only happiness, as she looked into Fred Weasley's amber eyes. Fred was really something else. She didn't know what it was about him; his eyes, his hair, his body, his charming voice and that laugh. Oh, that laugh. It was everything about him that made Cora feel the way she did.
Fred's eyes lit up as Cora placed her hand back on the mirror. He placed his on the opposite side. Neither could feel the other's touch but there was a spark. It was sad to think that this mirror showed the dead. Fred Weasley was dead. He couldn't talk to her or make her laugh. He would never hold her; never make her feel safe in his arms like she wanted. She desired for him to know how she felt. She wanted him to feel the same. But it would never be so; only a dream.
A warm hand on her shoulder told her that the mute Harry was back. As soon as she removed her hand from the glass, Fred was gone, the ghost of his smile etched in her mind. Cora turned around, asking Harry if she could go through the last door. Her best friend nodded and took her hand, leading Cora out into the hallway. Together, they stood before the glowing room, staring at the doorknob. When Harry let go of Cora's hand she pushed open the door. There was nothing but golden light as Cora walked into the middle of the room. She closed her eyes, her head tilted back, and smiled. Warmth filled her body, surrounding her whole being.
The whispers she had fought to keep out of her mind came back. Instead of horrible cries of pain and suffering, they were happy and light. They called to her in laughter and dreaminess. Opening her eyes, Cora was almost afraid the light would render her blind. But there was no need to be afraid anymore. She was safe from harm here; she knew it. As Cora walked further into the warmth she could have sworn she heard a familiar Scottish voice whisper, "Welcome home, love."