CHAPTER IV
The Mirror of Erised

"You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen - get back and get Ron - grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy - go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

"But Harry - what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "Maybe I'll get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

Well, that makes two, I guess, Harry thought, making a mental note to tell Ginny he'd been hugged by another person. "Hermione -" Harry started.

"Harry," she interrupted. "Be careful, okay. Just stall him. Dumbledore will be there in no time."

"I will," said Harry. "Go." Hermione took one of the larger bottles and swallowed a mouthful of its contents. "It's not poison, is it?" Harry asked anxiously. She shook her head and stepped through the purple flames.

All right. Here we go, Harry thought as he picked up the smallest bottle on the table. It was barely a mouthful, and it tasted like ice. Unafraid of the black flames now, Harry stepped through them.

He entered the last chamber. There was someone there, but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

It was Quirrel.

"YOU!" Harry gasped, forgetting all about stealth and sneakiness.

"Yes," Quirrel replied idly. "Me," he said, drawing the single syllable to an unnatural length. "How very observant of you." He wasn't stuttering as usual.

"But I thought Snape -"

"SNAPE," Quirrel bellowed, anger flashing in his eyes, "has betrayed the Dark Lord! He will pay most dearly for his treason."


"Ron, Ron, wake up!" Hermione said frantically, slapping his cheek several times in quick succession. Finally, Ron came round.

"'Mione? What happened?"

"Ron, thank goodness! You sacrificed yourself in the chess match against the life size pieces."

"Oh, right," said Ron, who was being helped to his feet by Hermione. "Does this mean Harry got the Stone?"

"No, he's in the last chamber. We have to get Dumbledore quickly!" Hermione pulled Ron's arm around her neck and started walking towards the flying-key chamber.

When they got there, Hermione insisted they ride on one broom. Ron was, after all the better flier, and he would be able to fly them straight to the owlery to send Hedwig to Dumbledore.

Minutes later, Fluffy woke up as two first-years zoomed past on a flying broomstick. A useful charm of Hermione's opened the door, and they flew out into the corridor, past McGonagall, who dropped her books again, and up to the owlery.

Hermione scribbled a quick note while muttering, "Hedwig, this is urgent. Harry's life might depend on this." Hedwig hooted in acknowledgment and didn't wait for Hermione to tie the letter to her leg. Instead, she grabbed the letter out of Hermione's hands with her beak and took off at great speed through the open window.

Exactly that moment, McGonagall came bursting through the owlery doors, in a terrible temper, her fallen books forgotten. 'YOU THREE! FLYING THROUGH THE CASTLE! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!" Both Hermione and Ron - even the owls - cowered into the smallest corners of the tower. "Where's Harry?" McGonagall asked in a smaller voice, before she turned very white and nearly fainted as she realized where Harry must be.


"But Snape hates me!" Harry protested.

"Oh, he does," Quirrel responded idly. "The overgrown bat does not know how to pick his friends. Be quiet, now, Potter. I need to figure out this mirror." It was only then that Harry realized why Quirrel never looked at him. He was standing in front of a huge mirror - the Mirror of Erised. "I can see the stone! But why can't I find it?"

"You're wasting your time," said Harry smoothly. "As we speak, Hermione's sending my owl to Dumbledore. He will be here in a couple of minutes."

"Oh he will, will he? And your owl is of the most reliable sort, is she? Won't get lost, will she? Now shut up, Potter, you're stalling for nothing!"

"Wh-what are you talking about. Of course, she'll find him!"

"You know, Potter, you are as foolish as you look. Do you not think the Dark Lord would have lured him to the Ministry without ensuring he wouldn't return prematurely? I cast a spell on the old cripple to ward off owls, boy. You're all alone."

"What about the rest of the Hogwarts staff?" Harry said defiantly, determined not to go down without a fight.

"Do you deem them a match for the likes of Lord Voldemort?" Quirrel asked lazily in return.

What happened next stole Harry's voice and ability to move. Another, icy cold voice sounded from the back of Quirrel's head. "Are you implying that Dumbledore is?"

"Of course, not, Milord," said Quirrel hastily. "I was just comparing -"

"You are wasting time with the boy," the voice interrupted. "Shut him up and concentrate on the mirror."

Quirrel pointed his wand at Harry, muttered an incantation, and bound Harry to the wall with living ropes.


Hedwig was confused. She was told to reach Dumbledore, but she couldn't find him. Less than a week ago, she had felt his presence wandering about in the school. But now it felt as though he did not exist. She couldn't even locate his body, as if he was dead.

Deciding on an alternate course, Hedwig increased her speed. If Harry's life depended on it, she would have to be fast and reach the right person.


Oh, goody, Harry's written again, Ginny thought as she saw the speck that was Hedwig get bigger and bigger. But then, as she realized with accuracy the speed of that messenger bird, she thought something wasn't right.

Hedwig entered through the window and, before landing, she thrust the letter into Ginny's hands. She read it, her face becoming white as she finished it.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

You-Know-Who lured you into the Ministry to give him time to try and get the Stone! Harry's gone down to get it first, but the troll was already unconscious! If You-Know-Who is there, he will kill Harry! Come quickly!

Ron & Hermione

"MUUUM!" Ginny yelled. "Come here now! QUICK!"

Her mother Apparated beside Ginny. She barely had time to mumble, "What is it?" when Ginny stuffed the letter into her hands. She quickly read it, mumbled to her daughter, "Stay here," and was gone with a faint pop.

Mrs Weasley Apparated to the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic. Luckily, she spotted Dumbledore engaged in conversation with Eric, the watchwizard. She strode to him as quickly as she could and handed him the letter. His eyes widened, and he Disapparated with a barely audible pop. The piece of parchment fluttered to the ground.

Mrs Weasley picked it up and Apparated back home to her daughter.


Quirrel cursed under his breath. "I don't understand ... is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing. The mirror showed the looker what he wanted most. What Harry wanted most was to get away with the Stone - to find it before Quirrel did. So if he looked into it, he would see himself finding the Stone ... that would mean he would see where it was hidden!

"Master," said Quirrel, desperately, "Help me. I am useless. I do not know how to get the Stone."

To Harry's horror, he heard the same voice that he'd heard before answer Quirrel. "Dumbledore's trinkets can only ever be obtained by the pure of heart ... The boy - use the boy."

Harry felt the ropes that were binding him loosen. He tripped on purpose to kill more time. Quirrel dragged him to his feet and set him before the mirror. "Tell me what you see!"

Harry expected to see the Stone or where it was hidden. If not the Stone, he would have expected to see his family - but not this. Not this.

He saw his reflection, only he was smiling. And there was one other person in the mirror. She was standing beside him. She had long, red hair and freckles. One arm was curled around Harry's neck, and she was smiling vibrantly.

Ginny? Harry said to himself. There was no doubt about it. Even if he did not recognize her from the train station or from the magical photo she'd sent him a few months ago, the likenesses to her brothers were too great to be overlooked.

His reflection looked down at her adoringly. She planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Well?" Quirrel demanded.

The reflection of Ginny looked at Quirrel angrily as if she was about to curse him. Then she turned and faced Harry - the non-reflection-Harry - and her expression lightened again. She was smiling warmly. "You have the courage," she whispered, but Harry was certain Quirrel couldn't hear. "Use it." From one of her pockets, she produced a ruby red stone and held it at eye level for him to identify as his quarry: the Philosopher's Stone. Then she stuffed it into the pocket of Harry's reflection, and at the same time, Harry felt something heavy drop into his pocket. He'd gotten the Stone.

"Well, what do you see?" Quirrel demanded again. Harry replayed Ginny's words in his mind. You have the courage. Use it. Her voice had sounded so full of admiration, so confident in his success, that he would have felt ashamed if he had disregarded it. He chose to follow her advice.

"I - my parents," he invented, figuring that saying what he saw last time wasn't the worst of excuses. "I can see my parents. They're alive. We are a family again."

"Get out of the way!" Quirrel said, shoving Harry forcefully to the side.

"He lies ... he lies ..." that same, ominous voice said.

Quirrel grabbed Harry by the armpit and set him in front of the mirror again. "Tell me what you really see!"

"Let me speak to him ..."

"Master," Quirrel pleaded, "you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough ... for this ... I must face ... the bane ... of my existence ..."

Quirrel turned his back towards Harry. Slowly, he started undoing the turban. When the last of the headwear was gone, Harry saw the face that belonged to Lord Voldemort, etched into the back of Quirrel's head.

His skin was white. His nose was slits, and his eyes were a deep, fiery red as they fixed themselves on Harry. "Harry Potter," it whispered. "An honor it is, truly. Do you see what has become of me? Mere vapor and shadow and dust ... I have form only when I share another being's body ... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds ... Unicorn blood has strengthened me these past few weeks ... You saw my faithful servant drink it in the forest ... But it is not enough ... Not enough, to create a body of my own ... I need the Elixir of Life ... I need that Philosopher's Stone in your pocket ... Will you not give it to me?"

Feeling sprang back to Harry's legs as he realized Voldemort knew he had the Stone. He took several steps backwards. "Not afraid of me, are you?" Voldemort asked. "Your parents were brave ... before they died ... courageous in the face of death, to save you ..."

"You killed them," said Harry forcefully. "Why should I give it to you?"

"Harry, Harry ... death is but the next step in life ... one that I can undo ... if you wish ... I can bring back your parents, Harry ... but I need that Stone of yours to do it."

Once again, Ginny's words echoed in the depths of Harry's mind. You have the courage. Use it. He pulled out the Stone from his pocket. Voldemort eyed it greedily. "Is this the only way you can return?" he asked, his voice betraying no hint of the fear he felt.

Voldemort contemplated what to say next. "There are ... other ways ... but the Stone is the only way I can bring your parents back."

"Pity," said Harry, calculating what Quirrel would do next. "Then I guess we'll see each other again." Voldemort's expression turned to that of fear and hatred as Harry threw the stone, as hard as he could, onto the ground. It shattered into thousands of pieces, which scattered in every direction.

Before the echoes of the noise abated, Harry charged at Quirrel. He fell over and Harry, on top, pressed his thumbs against Quirrel's throat, ignoring the instant blistering of every bit of Quirrel's skin he touched.

Meanwhile, Quirrel had found his wand. "KILL HIM!" shouted Voldemort as Quirrel sent curse after curse at Harry. Every time he was hit by a curse, he felt his grasp weaken, and his eyesight blur. But he pressed and pressed until the last curse took him, and he let go.

He heard more voices, maybe in his own head, yelling "Harry! Harry!" but he didn't care. All he knew was that he was falling down ... down ... down ...


Harry woke up to the sound of a beautiful voice. He could tell she was having a conversation with another voice, but the words did not register or mean anything to him. It might as well have been Arabian to him, for all he could understand.

Suddenly, the voices stopped. Harry found their absence unnerving. His eyes fluttered open. He saw something shiny - the Snitch! He tried to grab it, but his arm was too heavy and painful. In fact, his entire body was heavy and painful.

He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. Another blink showed him the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Harry," he said in a cheerful voice. "How do you feel today?"

"Good morning, sir. I feel like - well - crap."

"Alas, that is to be expected," said Dumbledore gravely. "You lived through a terrible ordeal."

"I destroyed the Stone, didn't I?" Dumbledore nodded. "And Quirrel?"

"He died of his injuries."

Harry nodded and processed the information. "Is Ginny here? I thought I heard her voice."

Dumbledore moved aside to reveal Ginny, standing all alone. She was positively beaming. "Hi, there, Harry!"

"Ginny!"

Dumbledore, smiling and eyes glinting, announced his departure and his plans to return in the evening.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, making room for her to sit on his bed.

She gladly accepted the offer. She hopped onto his mattress and crossed her legs, facing Harry. "Well, after Mom went to get Dumbledore, I made her let me come to Hogwarts. I've been here ever since."

"How long was I gone?" Harry asked, thinking of the Quidditch match that he was supposed to play against Ravenclaw.

"Three days," Ginny said. Correctly interpreting the drop of emotion in Harry's eyes, she added, "Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor; they won the cup."

At that moment, Ron and Hermione entered the Hospital Wing. "Harry!" they cried in unison. "Dumbledore said you were awake," said Hermione.

"Seems like it," said Harry, looking around in mock surprise. "How have you two been?"

"Fine, fine," said Ron. "We've been waiting for you to wake up, mostly. Ginny's hardly left your side." He glanced suspiciously at his sister, who blushed slightly.

"We couldn't," Hermione cut in, "because we had lessons. But never mind that. You've got to tell us what happened in the last chamber! It wasn't Snape, was it?"

Harry recounted the tale of what had happened after he went through the black flames. The three listeners were a very good audience. They drew breaths and gasped in all the right places. Harry told them how he was shocked when he discovered it was Quirrel who was after the Stone, not Snape. He told them about the mirror and that it was the secret to finding the Stone.

When he was about to say what he saw when he looked in the mirror, he paused. He had seen Ginny's reflection, but he didn't want Ron and Hermione to know that. That would stay between himself and Ginny.

"... I saw Dumbledore. He gave me the Stone. And at the same time - I don't know how - I felt the Stone drop into my own pocket." Hermione screamed when Harry told them how Voldemort had revealed himself in the back of Quirrel's head. When Harry described how he'd smashed the Stone, Hermione and Ginny applauded. Ron soon joined in.

"You asked for five minutes ... nearly half an hour ago! They must leave. You need rest," complained Madam Pomfrey, the matron.

"I'd like a few private words with Ginny, if that's alright?" Harry asked.

Madam Pomfrey bit her lip. "All right, but you two -" she looked at Ron and Hermione, "- out. He needs rest. And you're late for Transfiguration!"

Harry shot them an apologetic glance. "We'll come back later," assured Ron. Madam Pomfrey left for her office, but not before glaring at Ginny.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Ginny asked.

"It's ... I lied. When I said I saw Dumbledore in the mirror. Dumbledore wasn't the one to give me the Stone. It was ... someone else." Harry failed to meet her eyes as he said this.

"Me?" Ginny asked slowly. Harry nodded solemnly. "That's alright, Harry," said Ginny brightly. "Maybe you just wanted to meet me more than anything."

Harry seriously doubted this. If that was the case, then what was that kiss all about? Unconsciously, Harry rubbed his cheek, the reflection of which had once been kissed by Ginny.

"When are you going home?" Harry asked, afraid of the answer.

"I'm staying till the end of term. It's only a couple of days. Mom's going to talk to Dumbledore to see if we can't take you home with us, so you don't have to go back to the Dursleys," Ginny said. That thought brought a smile to Harry's face, not because he was afraid of going back to the Dursleys, but because he might spend more time with Ginny.

"I'd like that," he said. "And next year, you'll be going to Hogwarts, won't you?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent. So I guess we'll be friends, then."

"Yeah, but we're friends already, don't you think?"

Harry nodded. "Do I ... do I get that hug?"

"Of course, you do," Ginny said as she hopped off the end of his bed and walked towards the front of it. She pulled Harry into a warm hug and said, "But you really need to rest, now. You've been through a lot. Sleep tight. I'll stay near you if you need me." She pulled the blanket up to Harry's shoulders and planted a kiss on his forehead.

It didn't take long for Harry to fall asleep. All he ever needed was a happy thought to hold on to, and sleep soon claimed him. His last thought was that he was friends with none other than Ginny Weasley.

Little did he know that it was a friendship that would, in time, evolve into something more.