The Mirror of Erised, All I See Is Me.
George sat glumly in the Common Room, the fire crackling in front of him, the only light. His head rested flatly against his hand, his eyes glazed by the fire and weary from his sleepless nights, the darkness that had been haunting him, through the Summer and the Winter, the bitterness that resided in him. He was only supposed to be here to grab Ginny and that's it, straight off to Romania, to see his brother's Dragons, hatchlings yes, but they were going to be gifts to the new headmaster of Hogwarts. His boredom caught the better of him, he wandered down the corridors, just like he had only a few years ago. At the end of one of the Corridors, he noticed a door. He was sure this was never here, just a dead end as far as her remembered.
He came across it by sheer coincidence, at least, he thought he had, but then again, he wasn't certain of anything any more. It was just a large room, nothing spectacular about it, it looked like every other empty room at Hogwarts, cold stones where ever you looked, he was used to being cold by now, being sat up through the night and his long abysmal walks through the fields near his home, this was the only time he felt closer to...
In the corner of the room, stood a mirror, it was a beautiful mirror, ornate with gold and the mirror looked like you could simply step through, so clear, so beautiful. As George walked up to it, he noticed a strange writing on the framing;
"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"
He thought nothing of it, it wasn't Latin, or in any other language he understood. He looked through the Mirror, he simply saw himself, nothing out of the ordinary, he expected at least something magical, Hogwarts after all. He noticed one thing though, no matter what face he pulled, his reflection was always smiling, he sat in front of the mirror just thinking. 'Who would make a mirror that always smiled? Some one who needed cheering up!' He laughed to himself, that was definitely something he needed. He noticed something though, his ear. He raised his hand to his ear, through the mirror, it was completely there, as if he never took the curse, but when he touched it, he could feel it missing parts;'Makes you appear whole again...? What an odd Mirror.' He thought that the mirror showed the person what they needed, he didn't realise how close he was.
Harry interrupted his train of thought, he was stood against a Pillar, he was wearing a light blue t-shirt, dark blue jeans. His arms were folded, he wasn't smiling, he knew something that George didn't, 'Something about the mirror.' He thought.
"You shouldn't stay here for long." Harry said, "Stupid thing drives people mad."
Startled, George turns to him, he stood up. "What do you mean...?" 'What harm could a mirror do?' He thought.
"Well, for starters, I assume you realise it shows you what your heart desires the most."
"Yes..." George answered, becoming steadily more nervous.
"Just take a moment, think about what your heart really wants. More than anything you can ever imagine..."
Harry looked solemnly at the mirror, he sighed deeply. " I've seen the same thing for seven years, never once has it changed."
"Really...? What's that then?" George asked, his eyes turned back towards the mirror, the cauldron in his head, beginning to bubble.
"My Parents, every time. I've been as happy as possible coming here... And yet, they remain. Always in the same places. Smiling..."
His voice trailed off, his eyes buried in the mirror. "Even now, I can see them. There's a translation of those words, George. Now you have a choice."
Harry looked sternly towards George, George turned to meet his gaze.
"I can tell you the translation. As it was told to me. Or I can simply leave you to the Mirror. One will leave you the same as you entered. The other, will break you. And you will never leave the same, no matter how many times you return. Which do you want...?" Harry didn't blink, he was completely focused of George.
"There's nothing I haven't gotten over yet!" George proclaimed, a lie, a ruse, in order to keep Harry away from the truth.
"As you wish-" Harry stood straight. "I show not your face but your heart's desire. That's the literal translation. It shows you, your deepest and darkest desires."
George turned, finally realising, the figure in the Mirror wasn't him... It was Fred. Smiling back at him, always smiling. Tears flooded his eyes, his Brother, his twin brother, who he had spent almost every waking moment with, who knew each other like the back of their hands. His throat became stuck, he couldn't breath, air seemed non existent. George fell to his knees, he couldn't hold himself up any more, the figure in the mirror lost it's smile, it crouched, for the first time, not copying George's movements. Sadness filled the images face, it appeared to be worried about George.
"Fred, Fred, I'm so sorry, Fred-" Between the coughs and splutters, George continued to apologise, tears fell from his face to the cold, stone floor. His hands were balled into fists, his body convulsed, he couldn't control the sobbing. Harry walked out the door, waiting outside respectfully.
"Please Fred, come back, please..." George wept, longing for his Brother's embrace. "Please, I need you... Mum needs you, Dad, Ron, Ginny!" He raised his head to the Reflection, the sadness still evident on it's face, but a small smile came through. "Say something... Please..." He dropped his head again, his convulsions becoming rage-filled.
"SAY SOMETHING!" He roared, raising his head again, for a moment, the room boomed with the sound of his voice and in an instant, became silent again. The figure turned laughed for a second, shaking it's head. It pointed to itself, shaking it's head, then pointed to it's mouth.
"Oh-" George looked at the mirror longingly. "Because you're not here... You can't speak... You can't..." He put his hand on the mirror, the coldness of the glass met his touch, the reflection put it's own hand against George's. Nothing. No warmth, no sound, no skin. George began to cry again. As this happened, Fred stood up in the Mirror, smiled at his brother, pulled a pen and paper out from his shirt, he jotted something down on the paper and pressed it against the glass, crouching to show his brother. George looked at it and cried more, he couldn't handle it, Fred stood, turned and began to walk away, towards the door in the reflection.
"No! No, no, no, Fred, Don't Go, No!" George's hands beat against the glass, his screams were not heard by Fred, his brother continued to walk away, George continued to plea.
"Please, don't, Fred I need you, please don't! Don't leave yet, I need you, Fred! Fred!" His screams continued, until he reached the door, beating at it, trying to break through to his brother. As Fred reached the door, he turned to his brother, mouthed a few words and smiled. George looked, with horror and sadness, his eyes pleaded his brother to stay but Fred grabbed the handle, opening the door, he took one last look at his brother, smiling at him. He stepped out of the door, George was left alone again.
"FRED!" His last cry, drawn out from the bottom of his heart. George stayed there and wept.
Harry returned a few minutes later, he opened the door, finding George sat at the mirror again. Just like when he first entered.
"What're you doing?" Harry Asked.
"Nothing, just waiting." George replied, he had managed to stop himself crying long enough so no one would notice.
"There's something Dumbledore told me about this Mirror. And I think this was the most important thing he told me." Harry looked to the mirror, seeing his parents again.
""It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that." I've lived by that every time I come in here. He told me he got rid of this mirror, but he didn't do a good Job, obviously!" Harry chuckled, he held his hand out to George.
"Come on, it's time." Harry smiled at George.
"I know, but I can't help but hope-"
"He'll come back, don't worry. This would be a terrible mirror if it only showed things once." Harry joked, trying to lighten George's spirits.
"Alright... I'll come back later... Maybe after I see the Dragons, I could tell him about my adventures... Ask him business plans!" George lit up at the ideas, thousands flooding his head at once. He grabbed Harry's hand.
"What do you think about joining me in the Business!?" George asked.
"Sorry, I want to join the Ministry. But thank you, why not ask Ron?"
"Ron!?" George exclaimed. "Only practical joke he can do is trying to cast a spell!"
They both laughed, something they both missed, as the were leaving, George looked back to the mirror, there he was again.
Fred stood there, waving at George, smiling. George stopped for a moment to wave back. Then Fred patted the place he retrieved the paper from. George looked confused.
"Come on, George!" Harry called exiting the room, George checked the same place, in it, was a small folded up piece of paper, Fred's hand dropped by his side as he watched his brother leave the room, trying to unfold the paper, when the door shut, Fred had vanished. George looked at the paper, it had 6 words on it.
"I love you forever, Brother. - Fred"