Disclaimer: All characters, settings and magic mirrors are property of JK Rowling, not me... though if I looked into the Mirror of Erised, there'd be a Weasley twin on each arm.
Your Heart's Desire
"Bloody hell!" Fred panted as he and his twin sprinted down the corridor. They'd been spotted by Madam Pince trying to sneak into the Restricted Section and had called for Filch to go looking for them. The current mission: get as far away from the library as possible. Fred's heartbeat pounded through him while they ran, as though its rhythm was counting down the final moments before they got caught.
George abruptly whipped his head around and pointed to a small wooden door he'd never noticed in his three years of attending Hogwarts. "Quick, in here!" Both twins squeezed themselves through the door hanging slightly ajar, wishing they didn't move it much upon their entrance to the room. Fred collapsed onto the wall next to the door and George lay on the floor at his feet. "Do you see anyone coming?" Fred gingerly poked his head out the opening, retracted it and shook his head. "That was close."
Fred scanned the room and cocked his head to the side. "Have you any idea what room this is, George?"
"No," George rustled his wavy red locks and stood next to his brother. "Why?" Fred only motioned to the place behind George, forcing him to turn around and look for himself. An elaborate floor-length mirror stood before them – a gold frame surrounded the glass inside, and the crown had something engraved into it.
"What's it say?" asked Fred, hopping down the single step in the room to get closer to their discovery.
George squinted a bit, hopeful to read the inscription through all the dust that had gathered. It got him wondering how long this artifact had been hiding itself. "I can't read it. It's in another language or something." The boys approached the mirror in a synchronized fashion and stood on their tiptoes. It read, Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
Fred wrinkled his brow and attempted to decipher its clue. "'I show not your face, but your heart's desire'," he chuckled. "Sounds like some sort of riddle if you ask me."
"Step back for a moment." George instructed, looking delicately into the glass.
"What...?"
"I said bugger off!" Fred took a few steps away from his brother, with extreme caution and speed, then stuck his neck out as far as it could reach. George's eyes reached maximum circumference. "Whoa," he exhaled shortly.
"What is it, George?"
"It's me..."
Fred grinned. "You know, our mirrors at home can do that."
"Shut up!" George shouted in a hoarse whisper. "I see me, only I'm... I've got piles of galleons – and I'm holding the Quidditch Cup!"
"Don't suppose I'm there as well?" Fred's lips fell to a lopsided smirk.
"I'm standing outside of a shop in Diagon Alley... it's got our names on it, Fred!"
"Where, let me see!" As soon as Fred jumped in front of the mirror, George's fantasy world dissolved into the scene around them.
George glared at his brother, then placed both hands on either side of the mirror. "Go away! Make it come back!"
"Do you suppose this mirror tells the future?"
"I bloody well hope so!" George's booming laugh filled the air and he jumped playfully around the room. "Merlin's beard..." While George was reflecting on the reality the mirror produced, Fred took his chance to see what his future may hold. George looked over his shoulder and beamed. "What do you see, Fred?"
His cheeks turned a deep shade of maroon. "Bugger off!"
"What?" George smirked. "C'mon mate, tell me!"
"It's me and Angelina."
George giggled. "Oh right, you fancy Angelina! Are you two married in the future?"
"George, I don't think this tells the future. 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'? It shows you the thing you want most in the world!" Fred backed away from the mirror. "That's a powerful bit of magic, that is."
"We've made a pretty major discovery here, Fred."
"Yeah, and what do you suppose we do with it?"
"Step right up to see the thing you want most! Your deepest, most desperate desires before your very eyes!" George wandered up and down the crowd of students that had formed outside the room, bellowing their charge for everyone to hear. "Five sickles per student! That's it, mate, step right up!"
Students of every age piled one at a time through the door to see their heart's desire, but only after handing Fred the appropriate amount of change.
He dropped a first year's toll in the wooden box and beamed at his brother. "We're going to be rich, George!"
"Maybe the mirror really does tell the future!" The comment he whispered into Fred's ear earned a simultaneous laugh from the twins.
"Hiya, Fred!" the next person in line perked up. Fred looked over at the anxious girl wearing Gryffindor robes.
He choked on his confidence. "Oh, Angelina!" George poked him hard in the ribs and winked. Fred growled silently at his brother, making him continue on down the queue. "Err, eager to see what tickles your fancy?"
"My best mate told me she'd seen herself about ten years into the future. Isn't that spectacular? Being able to see yourself when you're twenty-three..."
"Yeah," Fred chuckled, a hint of nervousness in his tone. "Spectacular. Err, that'll be five sickles, Angie."
She dug her fingers through her pockets. "Right. Here you go."
"Thanks."
They'd been milking the mirror for all it was worth for six hours. Because the crowd had only grown since earlier that morning, George had put a twenty-second time limit for each payment of five sickles.
"Come on, mate. I'm not going to tell you again; we've got customers!"
The fifth year sighed. "I'll give you another galleon if you let me stay one more minute."
George grinned as the boy tipped him a large, gold coin. "You've got it!" He was digging through his bag of coins when the small, wooden door crashed open, not taking his eye off the money for even two seconds. "Oi! Back in line, mate! We've got people who've been waiting here all day to get their look!"
"I'd have thought you'd give me an exception." The Scottish accent was unmistakable. George gulped and looked up to see Professor McGonagall, Fred being dragged by the ear along behind her.
He grew flustered as the distance between them closed. "Good afternoon, Professor. I'll give you a discount of two sickles, but it's the best I can do."
"Hmph," McGonagall exhaled sharply and grasped George's arm. "Come with me, Mr. Weasley."
As they got yanked down the corridor by their House Head, Fred glared at George. "What?" George whispered. "It was worth a try!"