Chapter 1
Mirror of Erised
Harry winced as the sharp shards of glass opened up his skin. For a minute he had been less focused on Quirrell and Voldemort. He thought he had seen his parents' shapes in the Mirror again. Quirrell threw him off and Harry had landed against the mirror, which smashed to the floor. Harry's blood was spreading over the mirror's surface, but Harry already leaped up and grabbed Quirrell. Just a little bit longer, Harry thought his breathing becoming hard as he fastened his grip on his old teacher. The edges around his vision started to blacken and a rushing sound echoed through his ears.
…
Consciousness came slowly. He heard some strange noises that he couldn't quite place. The smell of clean surfaces and flowers reached his nose and he sucked in a deep breath. The smell was familiar and comforting somehow. His back aced as he tried to move.
Harry opened his eyes, blinking at the large amount of light. "Amazing," a voice came from his left and he turned his head to see if he could find the source. "But how? I mean, I have never heard about something like this happening in all my life." The voice seemed to come from beyond the screen that had been placed around his bed. Harry recognized the Infirmary.
"I have never heard of anything like this happening either," a different voice replied. It seemed to belong to Albus Dumbledore. "But we don't know much about the Mirror of Erised. It might have been a reverse spell effect when the mirror was created. Unfortunately this was the only one so we'll never know." There was a small pause.
Harry took this time to look around. There was a small pile of sweets stacked at the foot of his bed. A few empty wrappers seemed to be between them as well. Harry smiled and tried to turn on his side, as his back continued to ace. He slowly turned himself, moving his left arm towards the right side of the bed so he could grab the edge.
A sharp pain shot down his spine and through his ribs and he hissed in pain. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of dizziness came over him. He took a deep breath as someone came rushing over. "Ah Mr Potter you are awake." Madame Pomfrey rushed over to help Harry back into his first position. "How are you feeling?"
Harry groaned. "Fine, just a little bit confused. And my back is acing."
Madame Pomfrey nodded. "I would have been surprised if it hadn't. You fell on quite a bit of glass young man. Now if you'll turn on your stomach I can apply some cream that will ease the pain and speed up the healing process."
Harry turned carefully, making sure to move slower then last. He winced slightly as the nurse applied the cream on his back. Fortunately the effect was instant. As the pain in his back faded Harry's head cleared, making way for panic and worry.
"Could I speak to professor Dumbledore please?" Harry asked, as he cried to control his voice to stay even. He could feel his heart start to race as the Medi Witch frowned.
"You are in luck mister Potter," she said, checking his pulse as she helped Harry turn back in a sitting position. "It seemed the Headmaster wished to speak to you as well. I was about to send him away when you awoke. He is waiting for you if you wished to speak with him."
Harry nodded. Madame Pomfrey gave him a searching look before clicking her tong disapprovingly and moved beyond the screen. No sooner had she left or professor Dumbledore appeared around the screen.
"Professor, please, I'm sorry, I really tried…"
"Harry, calm down my boy," professor Dumbledore said raising his hands. "Everything is fine. You did well and showed remarkable strength keeping Quirrell at bay like that."
Harry looked at the headmaster intensely. "Have we done it then? I don't think I could have kept Voldemort much longer of the stone."
Professor Dumbledore looked at him searchingly. "Not the Stone my dear boy, but you were what he wanted. I was afraid that I would have been too late. Especially after all the blood you had lost falling on the Mirror… and that is something I wished to speak to you about as well."
Harry continued to have mixed feelings. He was glad that Voldemort hadn't gotten to the stone, but what about Ron and Hermione? Would they get punished for being out of bounds? Would he get punished for destroying the Mirror? And what about Quirrell? Harry felt slightly dizzy with all the questions inside of his head.
"It seems that something is troubling you Harry?"
Harry looked up into the headmasters eyes again. "We won't get expelled for this will we? I mean it wasn't Ron and Hermione's fault-" he continued quickly as Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak. "They followed me, so they shouldn't get punished for it and they were really helpful as well. That and I do hope their alright. They are alright?" And he looked pleadingly at his headmaster.
"Calm yourself Harry. Your friends are fine. Gave about the same speech as you did as a matter of fact." He seemed amused though. "You three will not be expelled from Hogwarts and not punished for what I would say is Gryffindor behaviour."
Harry frowned. "But I smashed the Mirror of Erised. And I… well… what about the Stone?" Avoiding the subject of professor Quirrell. He had killed the man, but Dumbledore didn't seem to know.
Dumbledore smiled kindly at him. "The Mirror was an accident. Luckily enough it was smashed after you had gotten the stone or I don't know what would have happened to it. It was an accident Harry. Accidents do happen."
Harry nodded, exhaling the tense breath he had been holding. Suddenly he could only feel tired and he leaned back heavily against his pillow. The guild still coursed through his body, but the fear of having to leave Hogwarts forever disappeared slowly. "Could I talk to Ron and Hermione please, sir?"
It was as if the headmaster wanted to say something else, but seemed to rethink his options before nodding. "I will talk to Madame Pomfrey and will have your friends send over to you. Rest well my boy." He padded the bed absentmindly and moved away from the bed.
Harry felt his eyes droop a little but he willed them open as he tried to stay awake. He had to talk to Ron and Hermione, to see with his own eyes that they were alright. But the absence of the headmaster seemed to bring back a wave of sleep.
Harry startled awake and looked to see that Ron and Hermione were standing next to his bed. "Harry," Hermione whispered, clearly looking quite frightened but of what Harry wasn't sure. "How are you? When professor Dumbledore brought you in…" she shuddered trailing off.
Ron nodded beside her. "You look horrible mate! So what happened?"
And Harry proceeded to tell them what happened with Quirrell and the Stone. They were as shocked as when Harry was when he told them about Quirrell. Hermione even screamed a little when he told them how Voldemort had been under his turban. But when Harry told them about how he had accidentally smashed the Mirror, Hermione just shook her head.
"It wasn't your fault Harry!" she said in a shaken voice. "The Stone had already been taken out, which was lucky. I don't want to know what would have happened if the Stone had still been inside while the Mirror got smashed." She shuddered and shot a glance at Ron who had been quite silent so far. He was just staring at Harry in complete shock and amazement.
"What I want to know is who the others were?"
Harry frowned. "What others?" Harry couldn't remember anyone else but Quirrell, Voldemort and him being in the hall. Who else had seen him kill Quirrell?
Ron looked at him quizzically. "You mean you didn't see them? Professor Dumbledore brought back to others when he retrieved you from the hall."
Hermione looked at Harry with a new sort of determination on her face. "You're not hiding anything from us are you? I mean you told us about Quirrell-" she continued, cutting him short. "But it seems unlikely that you wouldn't know who the other two were."
Harry shook his head. "I swear I don't know," he said a slight panic in his voice. He didn't want to loose his two friends. "The last thing I remember is trying to hold Quirrell off of the Stone." The force of his voice was overwhelming for his two friends.
"Calm down Harry," Ron said, while Hermione looked at Harry in worry. "We believe you. When have you ever lied to us? It just seems strange that you hadn't noticed two other people in the room." He looked at his best friend with mixed emotions.
Harry nodded, taking in a shaky breath. But before either could say anything else Madame Pomfrey came round the screen. "You need rest Mister Potter. I must ask your friends to leave." Hermione and Ron left reluctantly, shooting their friend worried glances.
…
That night Harry slept uneasily. His dreams were taken over by nightmares about Voldemort and Quirell. He woke up screaming in the middle of the night as he woke up by the blinding green light. Tears streamed down his face, as he pulled his legs up to his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered as a rush of clothes announced the arrival of the Medi Witch. "I'm so sorry!"
A hand reached out for him and he tried very hard not to flinch away when it landed on his head. The hand had a strangely calming effect as it started to run through his hair. "Harry," a voice whispered, which was different from Madame Pomfrey. It was sweet and kind and very familiar. "It's okay sweetie. It was only a bad dream."
Harry' eyes flew open. He knew that voice! But it couldn't be. He looked up to see a beautiful woman standing over him. Her red hair still seemed to shine in the darkness and her green eyes seemed to be so much like his. Recognition must have shown of his face because she smiled softly at him. Harry, however, pulled himself away from her grasp. "Who are you?" he spoke hoarsely.
Pain and sadness crossed her face quickly before she smiled again. "Harry…" she whispered as she tried to reach out for him again, but Harry nearly fell out of bed as he tried to get away from her.
"How do you know me?" he said looking at her suspiciously, raising his voice a little as he tried to alert the nurse. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"Harry, I…" silent tears fell from her eyes and Harry felt slightly guilty making the woman cry but he still kept far away from her. A man stepped around the screen. The man was tall, with dark massy hair. "Lily?" he spoke. "What…?" He stopped to stare at the scene before him.
"No," Harry whispered, shocked at the two people in front of him. "No I don't believe it. I will not believe it. Why can't you just leave me alone?" His screams alerted the nurse, but the damage had already been done. After everything he had gone through, Harry's mind broke.
A/N: You will never believe it, but I wrote this chapter during English class. Ha! If it had been any more interesting I might have been unable to finish. Thank god for small mercies ey :D Anyway new story, new rules, Love ya all, xx
