Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. They belong to J. K. Rowling (and I hate her for it). I did however take a quote from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and obviously, she owns it.

Authors Note: Right well, I'd lost the inspiration to write or really do much of anything creative for quite awhile, but inspiration seemed to hit me in the side of the head with a frying pan yesterday so I wrote this out. I'm not sure how happy I am with it, but it'll do. Oh I'd also liked to thank those who have reviewed it really makes my day. And sorry Sparkleshine but although I have some interesting ideas for what McGonagall, Crookshanks, and Dobby would see I don't think I'd be able write it and do it justice. Nor could I fit it into the story.

"What the Heart Truly Desires"

By Pink Bismuth

The Heart of Fred Weasley

"The happiest man on earth would be able to use the mirror of erised like a normal mirror, that is he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is."

Fred Weasley solemnly swears that Severus Snape was up to no good! Over the years, Fred and George Weasley had seen some very strange things. It was, as all good pranksters knew an occupational hazard when dabbling in the things that pranksters do.

Suffice to say it was not very often that anything truly fazed the Weasley twins by merely being unexplainable, strange, or impossible. When ones mission in life was to cause as much chaos as possible while breaking as many rules as one can get away with it seems inevitable that the rules of reality would similarly be disregarded.

Yet just now, he had decided then and there, that what he just witnessed would forever be the most stunning moment of earth shattering unreality he would ever experience. Truthfully, he knew he was being over dramatic, that he had witnessed some amazingly odd things and would doubtlessly see more in the future.

Nevertheless, for now all he could do was try to digest that Severus Snape! The Giant Greasy Git! The Bat Ruler of the Slimy Slytherin Snakes, classroom bully in teachers clothing, the man who makes first years cry for fun had just, well….

"He just let me go?" Fred questioned the empty room, jumping slightly at his own voice breaking the silence. His hands then shot up to cover his mouth as though expecting Snape to jump out and deduct points. Once calming down he decided that he was really alone and let his confused mind rant.

'He let me off! No points taken, no detentions, no condescending speeches about the incompetence of all Gryffindors! No insults of any kind! What does it all mean? What's going on here!' With no answers forthcoming, he tried to calm himself once again and figure out what had just happened.

Had it been an odd case of mercy or oversight it would have been weird but at least he could have written it off as the circumstances of a strange day. That would not have been so shocking he had strange days all the time. But no, the man had not just settled for mildly alarming, he went and did what Fred didn't think Snape knew how to do.

He smiled!

A real smile mind you not just his creepy 'I'm going to kill you, turn you into potions ingredients, and they'll never find your body' smile. Or the 'Kicking you when your down is almost as fun as kicking puppies' smile. Or even the 'I could kill you but your futile struggle amuses me' smile.

No this one was happy, it was real, it light up his eyes with dare he say mischief? What was going on here! It was scary; it was strange it was wrong.

'It was all so WRONG!' Fred's mind continued to protest as he thought back to the smile. He could see it in his head and no matter which way he looked at it, he couldn't find a way to explain it.

Of course, the smiling wasn't even the weirdest, craziest, part of this whole incident.

Upon further inspection, Fred had to admit that at the time he was too stunned to even process what was happening, but now after the shock had dulled down to hyperactive confusion his mind unbidden reviewed the events leading up to this…. This... Well there really was no other word for it but distortion of reality.

The day had started out like any other day for Hogwarts Mischief Maker Fred Weasley. He and George had pushed that git Montague into the broken vanishing cabinet on the first floor when he'd tried to take points from them. It had been a laugh but it also reminded them that they had business to take care of.

Forge and Gred had been using the room of requirement as a storage space for some of their more explicit products ever since Harry had told them how the room worked for the D.A. Now that the jig was up, they had to move them fast just in case the she-toad or her toadies figured out how to work the room. The inquisitorial squad now knew the general location of the entrance; who knows just what the pimple faced sneak may have let slip. Fred could have sworn he'd seen Malfoy eying the wall where the room materializes as though trying to figure it out. It made Fred distinctly concerned.

Therefore, it was thus decided that Fred should go collect their things. As it stands, they would need them for the prank war they'd declared against Umbitch anyways.

They went their separate ways, it never being a good idea to both be missing from the public eye at the same time, as that too often aroused suspicion and sometimes panic. Not to mention George had class with McGonagall and it was best not to skip her class, as she would actually investigate why they were missing.

He made his way towards his destination in a demeanor that was perhaps a bit edgier then necessary. He just had this feeling that something was off today. Looking back, he couldn't help but agree with the assessment that a lot of things were off today, even if he hadn't known it at the time.

What many may ask Fred is just why he chose to collect said pranking materials in broad day light when it was so easy to get caught?

Well in response, he'd have called you an amateur.

One of the first mistakes an inexperienced mischief-maker makes is trying to pull everything off at night. Oh sure if you're in possession of an invisibility cloak like Harry then the night time is the right time.

If however you are just a normal, perfectly visible student, you're more than likely to get spotted. There are a hundred and three portraits total in Hogwarts, they, the prefects, the patrolling teachers, Filch, and his horrid cat are all security measures you'd have to get past.

So now ask yourself this; would you like to skip sleeping to tromp suspiciously through dark hallways, while on the constant look out for the curfew enforcers? Or would you rather skive off classes, which is against the rules but not nearly as suspicious while everyone most importantly the teachers are all distracted with said classes?

No indeed daytime was Fred's favorite time to operate; he usually left night work to George. So despite his feelings of unease he was as confident as ever. He had no doubt in his ability to sneak their things from their hiding place and make it to lunch without arousing any suspicion.

Unfortunately despite all his experience in the art of sneak, fate was not on his side today as he was spotted by someone who was well versed in the art of stealth and supposed to be teaching the afore mentioned classes. For all Fred's experience as a prankster it would seem he was no match for Snape as he had not the slightest idea he was being followed until the door of the room was slammed opened. Automatically he knew it was Snape. He hadn't seen him but no one else would slam a door open that dramatically.

Luckily, Fred had been obscured from immediate view while digging his things out off one of the many hidey-holes the room afforded. His reflexes had kicked in; quickly ducking further behind the tattered junk pile, he had scanned the alleyways of teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture trying to find a better hiding place or an escape route. Sadly, it was a dead end.

Cursing his own stupidity at being caught he replaced his contraband items back in their hiding spot. He had taken a deep breath and prepared to surrender hoping to lead Snape away from the prank products so that George could try to get them later. However, when he peeked over the corner of the well graffiti-covered dresser he was stationed behind to try to evaluate just how much trouble he was in things started getting weird.

What he expected to see was an angry, smug, vengeful, git of a professor. What he actually saw was a sad, broken, crying, man staring hypnotized at a giant mirror as if it were a lifeline.

'Is…is that…is he… is he crying?' questioned an incredulous Fred.

All he could think was 'Snape was crying!' Or going to cry, really it was hard to tell from where Fred had been standing. His eyes were all misty though, it was all so wrong!

What seemed like ages passed by as his professor stared at the mirror. Right when Fred was sure he could take no more waiting he accidentally knocked something over. The noise seemed to snap Snape out of his staring match with the mirror. He then seemed to remember that Fred was in there somewhere hiding. At that point, Fred was having a panic attack picturing what Snape would do to him knowing he'd just witnessed… whatever all that was a moment ago. Snape turned back to look at the mirror again and then he…

'Then he smiled?' Fred's mind stopped it's reminiscing for a moment as it stumbled on the image of smiling Snape, shuddering at the image of wrongness. He then traitorously noted that Snape was in fact human and was maybe, sort of, entitled to smile if he wanted to, and that perhaps he'd try to remember that in the future.

He then remembered wondering when the precursor to smiling had become crying? And since when Snape did either, which set him back to remembering the ludicrous thoughts his imaginative mind had come up with at the time.

'This is so wrong!' Fred had mentally shouted. 'Snape's not allowed to cry or smile! It's against the rules! It's just not right!' he continued to ramble in his head. He questioned if Snape was trying to destroy the fabric of reality or if the word had suddenly started to spin in the other direction. It was just one of those unreal moments in which you're just so shocked your brain short circuits.

Fred lost himself in a dazed mental tangent contemplating Snape trying to destroy the world with smiles hardly sparing his teacher any mind. That is until he was dragged from his stupor by said smiling Professor who was at the door preparing to leave. His parting words being, "I do hope no one takes advantage of the fact that Headmistress Umbridge will be thoroughly distracted for the next hour or so and pulls off some sort of prank in light of this distraction."

Just like that, he was left alone in the room stunned, confused, and a little bit scared. So now, here he was reviewing it all in a dizzying circle of confusion too stunned to even move, just staring at the door his Professor had just exited.

Fred took a few more moments to collect his thoughts before shaking his head dazedly and finally coming to his senses. He quickly grabbed what he'd come here for in the first place. A grin made its way across his face imagining George's reaction to this whole story and planning an especially good prank to do in honor of this momentous occasion.

'I doubt George'll even believe me though,' he thought as he made his way around the mounds of junk toward the door.

In truth, he wasn't sure if he should tell anyone. This whole thing seemed kind of private. On the other hand, he and George didn't have secrets between them. After a moment of debate, he decided he'd tell him but no one else, reassuring himself with the fact that as a whole they were one person, so it didn't' really count. He'd just come to this conclusion when he passed by that giant mirror Snape had been staring at before. Knowing he should be more cautious but letting curiosity win out he moved to get a better look at it.

He was surprised by what he saw.

He saw himself.

'Well that's anticlimactic.' he thought frowning at the mirror in disappointment. He didn't know what he had expected but just his everyday reflection wasn't it. The mirror didn't even give comments like most magical mirrors did.

'Why did it upset Snape so much then? Was he having a bad hair day or something? No wait everyday is a bad hair day for him. So what is it what am I missing?' he questioned.

He stepped back a bit to better examine the rest of the mirror. It was huge, it had an ornate gold frame, clawed feet, and the words "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" inscribed at the top.

"I... show not your... face but your... hearts desire?" he read aloud.

He recognized the inscription as mirror talk, he and George had spent an entire week talking and writing in it to annoy McGonagall in their 1st year.

Staring at his reflection for a few more moments he shrugged it off with a muttered, "Must be broken."

He looked at his watch at the sound of his stomach grumbling loudly remembering that George and lunch were both waiting for him. Preparing to leave he stopped short as a slight shimmer in the mirror caught his attention. However, he didn't see any change in the reflection.

'Guess I'm just seeing things,' he thought as he leveled it with one last suspicious glance, something felt off about it this time. Nevertheless, he didn't really have time for this so he made his way to the door and left.

It was after he'd met up with his twin George in his nearly matching Weasley sweater that he questioned if it was really him in that mirror. Was that an 'F' on that sweater or had it been a 'G'?

Fred shook his head deciding it really didn't make a difference.

But what makes him happy?

Thanks to all who have read this, and double thanks to all who review! The next chapter will be a collaboration of the views ideas, the final chapter, and the answer to the age-old question, what does the heart desire?