Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter… unfortunately.
A/N: This was written for the Mirror of Erised competition, I hope you enjoy and please review! Reviews make the fanfiction world go 'round!
Teddy wrenched the door leading out of the Auror Department open and stormed out without a second thought. Anger bubbled inside him and threatened to spill, he shot glares and glowered at anyone who looked at him oddly, he was in no mood to explain why his hair had all of a sudden turned a violent shade of red and almost seemed to crackle with ferocity.
The words his teacher had said to him still rung in his ears, even as he tried to push them out.
"You are a disappointment to me, your peers, to the Ministry and to your parents. Your parents that died for you. You have no idea what discipline or diligence is, but then again, how could you, it's not like your parents ever had the chance to teach you!"
He'd been trying to excel in Auror training, it wasn't that he didn't try, but Auror Training was still new to him, it didn't help that everyone kept on comparing him to his Mother, Father and other relatives.
Teddy was so engrossed in his own thoughts, he barely realized that he was opening another door and had walked inside. Strange objects shone in the dim light, thousands of crystal balls winked in the ethereal glow and other mysterious artefacts had been shelved. He wandered along in what he assumed was the Department of Mysteries. He rounded the corner and bumped into something very hard. He fell to the floor with an oof, scowling, he pushed himself and gasped at what he saw.
A beautiful, long mirror stood in front of him, with something that looked like gibberish inscribed at the top of the frame. He stepped closer and closer until he could touch it with his fingertips. He carefully traced the inscription Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. He exhaled slowly and let his arm drop back to his side.
Teddy stared into the mirror in front of him and gasped, finding it difficult to believe what he was seeing. His reflection looked as it always did, his hair had turned turquoise again and stuck up in his usual spikes and his eyes had lost their previous fire and were instead filled with an insatiable knowledge.
But it was the people around him that had him feeling dumbfounded. Although, including Teddy, there was only three people in the mirror, it felt as though there were a whole crowd. For once in his life, Teddy didn't mind the sensation of being smothered.
A woman with bubble-gum pink hair, spiky hair, just like Teddy's, had her arm around his shoulder. She smiled at him; her eyes were full of warmth and her demeanour pleasant and welcoming. On his other side, stood a man with light brown hair and a large grin, who had his other arm around him. He had premature lines that Teddy could see if he squinted, but at the moment, they seemed to have all but disappeared from his face, leaving him looking young and refreshed.
It took Teddy a few minutes to realize who these people were. His feet gave way under him and for the second time in the space of ten minutes he fell to the floor. He stared open mouthed at his parents, who now sat around him on the floor with amused grins.
"Mom?" he whispered.
The woman with pink hair nodded and squeezed his shoulder, though Teddy didn't feel it.
"Dad?"
The man's smile grew larger and attempted to ruffle his hair.
For a few minutes, Teddy just sat on the floor and tried to memorize every single thing about the parents he had never known, the parents that had never been there for him. The way his mother smiled, the gray hairs in his father's head, the way they looked at him as if he were something precious.
Soon enough however, Teddy's curiosity got the better of him and he touched the mirror again, what was this strange object?
He looked in front of it, behind it and even under it for a clue that would help him figure out what exactly this strange mirror was. He found a sheet lying behind the mirror, and realized that he must have knocked it off the mirror when he bumped into it.
He picked it up, it was light and a powerful charm that had been used to keep the sheet on at all times had decayed over the years, allowing anyone to take the sheet off. He frowned, why would have anyone put such a sheet over such a wonderful item?
Unless, it wasn't wonderful after all. He heaved a sigh as he realized what he had to do. He took a deep breath, glanced one last time at his parents and put the sheet over the mirror.
As he walked out of the department mysteries, he felt much better, because he knew that his teacher was wrong, from the way his parents had smiled at him, he knew they could never be disappointed with him.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!
