Chapter 10

Clues and Mirrors

"One would do well always to remember that even a mirror only shows a reflection of a perception."

General (ret) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk

That night, Harriet climbed into bed with both a full stomach and a full mind. They had spent the whole rest of the day playing wizarding games like Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap and Gobstones. Ronnie and Harriet had even laughed themselves into stomach aches at Fred and George when they stole Percy's Prefect's badge and watched him chasing the twins both all over the Gryffindor common room.

And yet, through all of it, Harriet couldn't help but think about the two most prominent mysteries that day had brought her. First: the cloak, and second: Dora Flamel. It was Dora who was puzzling her the most at the moment. How would she get to talk to her? Dora was a Slytherin after all, though she didn't seem to display quite the same anti-Gryffindor prejudice as the rest of the Slytherins. All the same, it probably was not going to be as easy as just walking over and asking.

Ronnie wasn't as intrigued as Harriet was. She figured it was merely a coincidence, but Harriet wasn't convinced. There was a special object being kept at Hogwarts by someone named Nicolas Flamel, and at the same time, a girl with the last name Flamel just happens to start her schooling here? No, Harriet thought as she rolled over again, there had to be a connection.

As she lay there longer, Harriet found her thoughts being drawn once again to the invisibility cloak. Maybe, just maybe, she would finally have her chance to sneak into the restricted section of the library? Even if Dora were related to Nicolas Flamel, it wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it? It didn't seem prudent not to look, though she was sure if Hermione found out about Harriet being out of bed after hours, even under the cloak, she would throw a fit.

No, she would have to do it. Pulling off her covers and quietly sliding out of bed into her slippers, Harriet moved to her trunk. She knelt and, as silently as she could, opened the lid, and pulled out the silky material. She stole a glance at Ronnie as she pulled it up over her head. Part of her wanted to wake Ronnie, to share in this little adventure, but somehow, something stopped her. If it was indeed her father's cloak, and now hers, something told Harriet that this time, she should use the cloak by herself.

She sneaked in front of the mirror, checking to make sure she was completely invisible (which was an odd experience in its own right) before she quietly crept out of the dormitory and down the stairs. She didn't even wake the Fat Lady as she pushed open the portrait to climb through the portrait hole. As she stepped into the hallway, a great excitement stole over her. She could go anywhere in this cloak, do anything. But right now, there was only one thought on her mind: finding Flamel.

Slowly, Harriet made her way down the corridors and stairways. Occasionally, she would freeze, thinking she had heard something, but it always seemed to be nothing. She was most afraid of running into Peeves. Even if he couldn't see her, he could still hear her possibly, and the cloak didn't make her untouchable either.

Suddenly, just as Harriet was about to turn a corner, she knew she'd heard a noise. She froze, listening hard, but she didn't hear anything else. Still, feeling it'd be better to be safe than sorry, Harriet padded up to the wall, pausing to listen again, before slowly peering around the corner. As she did, Harriet found herself face to face with a round-faced, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

To her surprise, Harriet gave out a little shriek. The other girl shrieked as well that made Harriet shriek again. Harriet took a step backwards but stepped on the edge of her cloak and fell to the stone floor, landing hard on her backside.

"Potter?!" Asked a flabbergasted voice from above her.

Harriet blinked and looked up at the girl as she rubbed her now sore behind. Miraculously, Harriet had walked straight into Dora Flamel. "Flamel?!"

"What are you doing here?" They both asked each other in unison. They both opened their mouths to answer when the sound of flat-footed, flapping feet came from down the corridor.

"Students out of bed! Find them my sweet! Find them!" the gruff, wheezing voice of Argus Filch called from down the corridor.

Harriet got to her feet and thinking fast waved to Dora.

"Under here!" Harriet hissed.

Dora nodded, and without hesitation she slipped under the cloak, both girls crouching to keep their feet hidden and pressing tight against the wall. Filch jogged past barely twenty seconds later, following the jingling collar of Mrs Norris. Harriet watched through squinting eyes as she forced herself not to breathe as the caretaker passed within inches of where she and Dora stood. Finally, after a full minute and no sound from Filch, Harriet felt it was safe to breathe completely.

"Well, that was one of my closer shaves," Dora said.

Harriet looked at her perplexed. "One of your closer shaves? How often do you come out here?!" Harriet asked in an exasperated though hissed whisper.

Dora simply shrugged. "Most every night. I like going to the library after hours with everyone gone; I can read better then."

Harriet stared at the girl beside her, "You may be worse than Hermione."

"Nah," Dora said shaking her head. "Hermione can stomach being there in the daytime."

Dora gave Harriet a careful look now. "What are you doing out of bed though?"

Harriet blushed and looked around nervously. "I'm... well... heh, it's sort of ironic that I'd run into you—"

"Well coincidental, I think, not ironic, but go on."

"Oh, right, well, y-you wouldn't happen to know who Nicolas Flamel is, would you?"

Dora's face fell slightly. "Nicolas Flamel?" she asked in a tone Harriet couldn't quite place. Was it a disappointment? Did she not know who he was after all?

"Y-yeah, only, well, it's a long story..."

"You have no idea..." Dora said before she turned and started walking away.

"W-wait!" Harriet hissed following Dora down the hall. She nearly reached Dora's arm when Dora tugged it away and kept walking.

"Please, I just, you are related to him, aren't you?"

Dora wheeled on Harriet, her eyes burning. "Yes, I am, who walks away furiously when they're asked if they're related to someone they don't know?! Yes! He's my so-many-greats-grandfather even I don't know how many there is! Almost everyone in my family is dead except for him and Grandma Perenelle because of that stupid stone!"

Dora paused and had an expression rather like Hagrid had when he realised he had accidentally given too much information.

"S-stone...?" Harriet asked bemusedly.

Dora looked even more furious with herself, but Harriet caught her arm this time. Dora struggled, trying to pull her arm free. "Let go!"

"Please! Just let me explain!"

There was a quiet mewling noise from somewhere around their feet. They both looked down into the yellow, lamp-like eyes of Mrs Norris.

"Run for it!" Harriet said, no longer bothering to keep her voice down.

"This way!" Dora yelled, and they started off together down the corridor. The sound of Filch huffing loudly after them filled Harriet's ears. They rounded a corner and Harriet finally stopped.

Dora had vanished. Suddenly, Harriet felt a hand grab her arm tightly and tug her sideways, and another hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She squeaked into the hand, though it was muffled enough that Filch did not hear it as he passed the door Harriet had been pulled through.

Finally, the hand let off Harriet's arm, and Harriet turned, seeing Dora looking past Harriet, leaning out the door and peering after Filch. "Okay, that was two close calls too many, I'm going back to my common room," Dora whispered, looking somewhat disgruntled.

"Wait, please, I just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is and why he's hiding something here at Hogwarts!" Harriet hissed desperately.

This stopped Dora dead in her tracks. She turned very slowly and blinked at Harriet, looking incredulous. "You mean... you don't know...?" Dora asked in disbelief.

"Don't know what?"

Dora didn't respond. She merely shook her head, turned, and walked silently from the room. Harriet groaned, stomping her foot in frustration. She was so close to the truth, and now after Dora's reaction, she was even more intrigued if possible by the mystery of Flamel.

Harriet turned and looked at the room they were in while she fumed. It was then that she noticed she was standing directly in front of a very tall and ancient looking mirror. The border at the top had the words: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Harriet took a step towards the mirror trying to read the strange words more clearly when movement in the mirror made her look down. What she saw made her nearly leap right out of her skin. She spun around, but the room was empty. Slowly, Harriet turned, her eyes closed, before she slowly opened them, hoping that what she had seen before would not be there. They were.

Standing just behind her in the mirror was at least a dozen other people, all much older than her. The youngest two by far were standing directly behind her and looked old enough to be her parents.

At that thought, Harriet froze. She looked at the faces of the two people standing right behind her in the mirror. The man, his hair was jet-black, just like hers. And his nose, it was her nose, and he had the same jawline. She looked at the woman now. The woman's hair was long and flowing, just like Harriet's, but what was most striking was the eyes, they were her eyes.

"M-mum... Daddy...?" Harriet asked breathlessly as she stared.

The two didn't respond, merely continued to smile warmly down at her. Involuntarily, Harriet stretched out an arm behind her. If they were there, she would feel them. Even so, when she didn't feel them at first, she began swinging her arm and grabbing a little more insistently, watching in the mirror trying to guide her hand, until she realised that her reflection wasn't following her movements. It wasn't real, what she was seeing, her parents weren't there.

She looked at all the other people in the mirror spotting other similar physical traits here and there amongst them. It wasn't just her parents; it was all her family. The more she leaned side to side, the more of them appeared. Harriet returned her gaze to her parents. Tears were slowly sliding down each of their cheeks, and it was at that moment that Harriet became aware she was crying as well.

Harriet reached up, touching the mirror, longing to put her hand through it to feel her mother and father's faces, to hold them close and never let go. She had never, ever, seen their faces before. She'd had no idea what they looked like until now.

There was a noise from outside in the corridor. Harriet spun around but didn't see anything, but she knew it would be silly to keep standing here. She threw the cloak back over herself and turned back to the mirror. "I'll come back... I promise... I'm sorry..." Harriet said softly before finally forcing herself to turn away.

As she got to the doorway, there was a soft noise once again that made her pause. This time, it sounded like someone had sniffed. She looked around both inside the room and back outside in the corridor, but she didn't see anyone there. Harriet shrugged and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I can't believe you went out last night and didn't wake me up!" Ronnie declared in the empty dormitory the following morning.

"Shhh!" Harriet hissed, looking towards the door, unsure if Fred and George were up yet or, worse still, Percy.

"Sorry! Sorry! I just, well, it was the first time using it, and it was my father's after all..."

Ronnie nodded, looking slightly less disgruntled. "So, did you find anything out?"

"Only that Dora Flamel is related to Nicolas Flamel."

"How?"

"I ran into her, almost literally, she was out roaming too. Said she likes going to the library when there's no one else there," Harriet explained with a shrug.

"She likes going to the library when there's no one else there...?" Ronnie asked, incredulously. "Sounds like a Slytherin Hermione."

Harriet shrugged again as she pulled on her tights, fussing a bit as she straightened them out. "Well, yes and no... I think she just likes being alone..." she said.

"So she told you she's related to him then?"

"Yeah, he's her very great-grandfather or something apparently. She said everyone in her family's dead or something except for Nicolas Flamel and her grandmother because of some 'stupid stone'," Harriet explained.

"Wow... whatever it is it must be powerful... I seem to remember hearing something about a powerful stone that stopped death somewhere... I just can't think of where..." Ronnie muttered thoughtfully.

"That's not all though."

"No?" Ronnie asked, looking very interested now.

"I found this room last night, well, Dora technically found it, but I found the mirror inside it..." Harriet said explaining to Ronnie all about what she'd seen in the mirror.

Instead of looking impressed, however, Ronnie looked a little nervous. "Your family...? Sounds kinda dodgy to me..."

"Why's that?" Harriet asked. The mirror seemed completely benign to her. "Maybe that's just what it does, shows you your family or the people in your life you love?"

"Maybe... but things in the magical world are usually not all they appear. I wouldn't go looking for it again if I were you; it was probably stuck away in there for a good reason..."

Harriet didn't reply. She merely finished getting dressed before the two of them went down to get breakfast.

Harriet spent all of that breakfast trying to catch Dora's eye, but Dora seemed to be nearly as good at pretending Harriet didn't exist as Professor Snape was. However, Harriet found she wasn't able to put that much of an effort into getting Dora's attention, because the whole time they were eating, all she could think about was the mirror.

She had decided to heed Ronnie's advice and wouldn't go back tonight. Even though she fully intended to honour her best friend's recommendation, she just couldn't get it out of her mind. Or rather, she couldn't get what it showed her out of her mind.

All that night, Harriet tossed and turned, trying to sleep. Twice, she sat up and nearly got out of bed when the slow, deep breathing of Ronnie brought her back to her senses, and she laid back down. No, she would keep her promise, she wouldn't go back tonight.

Morning came indecently fast the following day.

"You look awful!" Ronnie declared as Harriet finally slid back her bed curtains.

Harriet had hardly slept even an entire hour. She merely grumbled as she slowly started putting on her clothes.

"Didn't you sleep at all...?"

"No..." Harriet muttered shortly.

Ronnie blushed a little. "You're still thinking about that mirror, aren't you?"

Harriet didn't respond. Of course, she was; what else would have kept her up all night? Like finding Flamel was that important anymore. The thing he was hiding here in Hogwarts was guarded well enough by Fluffy. Harriet didn't need to know what it was; all she wanted was to look upon her parents' faces once more.

Ronnie opened her mouth to say something else, but Harriet didn't give her a chance. She got up from her bed and stormed from the dormitory, actually slamming the door shut behind her.

Ronnie didn't know; she couldn't possibly understand. Her parents were still alive; she could write to them whenever she wanted, she could see them every holiday. Suddenly the very fact that Ronnie was here also made her angry. She wasn't here like Harriet was; she wasn't here because she had nowhere else to go. She was there because her family was somewhere else, so used to seeing each other they didn't even mind missing a chance to see each other.

Despite Harriet's fuming, Ronnie still sat next to her when she came down to breakfast. Now that they were amongst everyone else, all talking and laughing, Harriet was starting to feel foolish again. It wasn't Ronnie's fault that Harriet didn't have parents, but she did. It wasn't anyone's fault, except, of course, Lord Voldemort's.

Making sure no one was looking, Harriet discretely reached over and gave Ronnie's hand a squeeze and an apologetic smile. Ronnie gave Harriet an understanding smile back and a nod. Harriet breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes once again found Dora Flamel. Harriet was sure she had just been looking at Ronnie and Harriet a moment before. Harriet tried to get Dora's attention, but Dora was now determinedly ignoring her.

Harriet made up her mind. After breakfast, they would corner her. She whispered her plan to Ronnie, who nodded in agreement. When they finished, they both got to their feet and headed for the doorway to the Great Hall, but stopped just outside of it. There they waited, anxiously.

Harriet felt herself drifting off a little as she waited. Harriet's head dipped a little, and she lifted it back up just in time to see Dora sneaking out through the side door to the Great Hall that they had gone through just before their sorting. Dora looked over her shoulder, spotted Harriet looking at her and gave her a slightly triumphant smile before she disappeared through the door that led down to the dungeons.

Harriet jumped to her feet, but knowing Dora and how well Dora seemed to know the layout of the school already, she knew it was no good to try and give chase.

"Wha-what?" Ronnie asked, snapping back to attention herself with a snort.

Harriet shook her head. "Nothing... Dora snuck past us. She used the side door."

Ronnie glowered, disappointed. "Crafty isn't she...? Well, she is a Slytherin I suppose."

Harriet nodded in agreement. She sighed, and finally, they made their way back upstairs. Harriet was too tired to play many games with the Weasleys that day. After lunch, she went up to the dormitory to nap for a few hours.

It wasn't as restful sleep as she'd hoped. She had something of a nightmare.

She was in the room with the mirror, except there was no mirror. Instead, she was really with her parents, who were hugging her tightly and telling her how much they loved her. Then a bright green glow started, growing larger and larger until it finally swallowed her parents. Harriet tried to yell but she was drowned out by a high, diabolical cackle, and the green went out, and Harriet found herself staring into a pair of bright, red eyes with slits for pupils.

Harriet jolted awake, sitting bolt upright so quickly she felt dizzy. She'd had nightmares about green light before, but she'd never seen those red eyes or her parents, and she didn't think she'd heard that laugh before either. Harriet shivered; she was drenched in cold sweat. She slowly changed clothes and went back downstairs. Ronnie gasped a little seeing her.

"Oh Harriet, you look terrible!" She declared bluntly.

Harriet nodded, flopping down miserably into the chair beside Ronnie, grateful for the warm fire. "Nightmare..." Harriet muttered, rubbing her eyes under her glasses, "how long was I out?"

"Hours," Ronnie replied. Harriet looked out the window and realised that Ronnie was right. It was dark outside already; she must have slept through dinner. Harriet's stomach groaned in confirmation of this, but Ronnie just smiled and reached down on the other side of her chair and picked up a plate of food and handed it to Harriet. Harriet groaned, taking the plate and setting it down before giving Ronnie a very tight hug.

Unfortunately, Harriet discovered that night that her nap had been a slightly-double edged sword. While she had felt plenty rested despite the nightmare, Harriet was now wide-awake as she lay in bed, listening to Ronnie switch back and forth between heavy-breathing and snoring depending on how she was laying.

As she lay there, Harriet's thoughts unavoidably drifted back to the mirror. After the nightmare, she wanted to see them again more than ever. Finally, Harriet made up her mind. She slid out of bed, quietly opened her trunk, drew out the cloak and set off for the portrait hole.

"Hey! Who's there!?" asked the Fat Lady as she snorted awake when Harriet swung the portrait open.

Harriet didn't answer merely kept walking down the corridor. She wasn't sure where exactly the room had been; now she thought about it. She knew she'd remember if she could just find the spot where she had run into Dora that night.

Finally, Harriet found the corner. There they had both gotten under the cloak and waited for Filch to run past. Then they had argued, and it had brought Mrs Norris, then they had run left.

Harriet started down that corridor, peeking into all the rooms until finally, she found it. The mirror was still there, stuck out of the way like before. She crossed to it eagerly and even with the cloak on, Harriet could see her reflection and her parents smiling down at her.

"I'm sorry... I'd meant to come back earlier but... I'd made a promise... but... I couldn't stay away," Harriet explained to the mute images of her mother and father. She finally pulled the cloak off and sat on the floor, looking up at them. Again tears quickly started in her eyes.

"Back again I see, Harriet?" asked a voice from behind her.

Harriet jumped so much she almost jumped to her feet as she spun around. Professor Dumbledore was sitting on one of the desks, watching her.

"P-p-professor! I... I-I... I didn't see you!"

"It's quite alright, my dear. Alas, unlike you at this stage of your magical education, I do not need a cloak to become invisible. So, I see you, like so many others before you have fallen victim to the pull of the Mirror of Erised."

"Mirror of Erised?" Harriet asked curiously.

Professor Dumbledore nodded and slid off the desk, walking over and sitting on the floor next to her. "Oh yes, can you think what it shows?" Professor Dumbledore asked, looking into the mirror.

Now that he was there right next to her, Harriet found she couldn't see her parents anymore, just her and Dumbledore sitting side by side. "Well, it shows my family..."

"Yes, it does. And what feeling does that inspire in you the most?"

Harriet thought hard. It filled her with a lot of emotions, but she supposed the strongest were longing and desire. She wanted them to be real more than anything. "Desire," Harriet muttered, feeling foolish admitting it.

"Precisely," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Sir?" Harriet asked, looking up at him.

"The Mirror of Erised shows you the deepest desire of your heart. Read the inscription at the top very carefully... perhaps, back to front?"

Harriet nodded, slightly bemused, but looked up at the inscription anyway and read. Ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire. Harriet blinked and reread it. "I show not your face, but your heart's desire."

"Very good!" Professor Dumbledore said, smiling down at her. "Yes, the Mirror is a terribly powerful tool. People have wasted their entire lives before it, never understanding just exactly what it was they were seeing."

Harriet nodded, seeing how that was possible.

"The Mirror is going to be moved tomorrow, Harriet, and I advise you very strongly not to go looking for it. It has given you a vision you have never had in your life, but now that it is in your head and your heart, you do not need the mirror anymore. Even so, remember it does not do one well to dwell on the dead while forgetting to live."

Harriet nodded and together they got to their feet.

"S-sir?"

"Yes, Harriet?" Professor Dumbledore asked, looking down at her smiling.

"May I ask you a question? I-I mean, other than that one of course."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled and nodded.

"You may indeed."

"What... what do you see, sir, when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a nice thick pair of woollen socks."

Harriet blinked, slightly stupefied by this unexpected answer.

"One can never have too many of them, another Christmas has come and gone, and no one gave me a single pair."

Dumbledore sighed and strode from the room and Harriet followed. She was sure that Dumbledore hadn't been entirely truthful in his answer or indeed truthful at all. But she did remind herself that it was an incredibly personal question to have asked in the first place, and she probably shouldn't have asked.

"Well, you know... he is a bit mad, Dumbledore might full well have been honest," Ronnie said the next morning as Harriet explained what had happened the night before.

"Maybe, but, you were right though, about the Mirror, I should have kept listening to you."

"Well, probably, but hey at least you know now, right?" Ronnie replied smiling that same slightly superior smile she always wore when she got something right over Harriet. And somehow, when Ronnie did it, Harriet still found it endearing rather than being put off by it. It reminded her always of the very first time they had met when Ronnie had run with Harriet through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

As the day wore on, Harriet began to feel better and better. The talk with Professor Dumbledore had helped considerably. She'd also managed to get a few more hours sleep without a single nightmare after she'd got back, and now she was determined to keep her promise to both Professor Dumbledore and Ronnie not to go back trying to find it. Professor Dumbledore was right she had their faces now to remember all on her own when she needed them; she didn't need the Mirror after all.

She had also decided to bring an end to her quest to get more information out of Dora Flamel. She knew that Dora was related to Nicolas Flamel and that he had some "stone" he was hiding, for protection, at Hogwarts. Given his apparent great age, Harriet was sure they had been looking in the wrong place to find out any information on him. They had focused all their prior efforts on recent wizarding discoveries; if he was that old and had outlived the rest of Dora's family, except perhaps her parents, Dora had never said; it was probably an ancient discovery of his.

So at breakfast, it was Harriet this time who tried her hardest not to pay any attention to Dora Flamel thinking it would give her a break. Ronnie seemed content to wait for Hermione to return, and spend the rest of the Christmas Holiday merely enjoying it, a prospect Harriet found incredibly inviting.

Again that day she took part in all their usual fun and games. She even slightly took part in some of Fred and George's pranks on Percy, discretely palming his prefect's badge as Fred handed it off to her that afternoon after he'd stolen it from Percy's dormitory. Fred and George had recruited her to help them with a prank making Percy think he was losing his memory, by taking his badge and putting it in other places from where Percy had left it.

Unfortunately, it seemed Percy knew Fred and George all too well and chewed Fred and George out for their attempt. The twins, fortunately, took all the blame on themselves, though it didn't seem to matter much to them that Percy was all that upset in the first place, and afterwards merely apologised to Harriet that her first prank hadn't gone as well as they'd hoped.

After that, they had something of a Wizards Chess tournament, though Ronnie soundly defeated all of them in short order. Harriet had at least beaten Percy and Fred though George had just barely edged her out. Harriet still wasn't sure she was that big a fan of the game, but she was a fan of talking and laughing with them all, taking her mind off the Mirror, her parents, the nightmares, and Flamel with his "stone".

At dinner that night, however, something unexpected happened. Instead of ignoring them Dora ended up sitting right next to Harriet.

"Sorry about the way I acted before, I know what you're like, Harriet. You're not the kind of person who would want Grandpa Nicolas' discovery to do bad things with it," Dora whispered in Harriet's ear as she passed Harriet some mashed potatoes.

"Oh, th-thanks, Dora... I just want to know what it is and why it's here..." Harriet replied under her breath as she spooned some potatoes onto her plate.

"I really can't tell you. I shouldn't have told you as much as what I did anyway, just wanted you to know I'm not mad at you," Dora went on as she now passed the gravy boat.

"Oh, well thanks again, you know... you're sort of odd for a Slytherin aren't you?" Harriet asked, but Dora didn't respond.

Harriet merely shrugged to herself before leaning over and whispering to Ronnie what Dora had told her. Ronnie glowered a little leaning over to peak around Harriet's head at Dora.

"Still... she could at least have given us a little more information for our trouble... stinking Slytherins..."

Harriet closed her eyes and hoped with all her heart that Dora had not heard what Ronnie has whispered. They ate the rest of the meal in peace, Professor Dumbledore also giving no sign of acknowledgement to Harriet of what had happened the night before when she stole glances at him. It gave Harriet a moment of pause. This was twice now Harriet had run into him in unexpected places. Was he perhaps following her as well? Maybe he had been in the hall already when Harriet had run into him that day after the first Quidditch match, having just turned visible again just before she ran into him?

Harriet shook her head and put it from her mind, doubting she would never really know the truth about that at any rate. In fact, she felt oddly comforted thinking someone as powerful and competent as Professor Dumbledore was watching over her, she felt much safer at any rate.

Her attention was distracted once again by something that made her happier than anything else had done that break. Just near the end of dinner, Professor Flitwick and Madame Hooch had walked in, carrying Harriet's Nimbus 2000.

"Here you are, Potter, good as new and in fine condition," Madame Hooch said as she handed Harriet the broomstick.

"Yes, not a single jinx, curse, or hex to be found. Whatever had happened, we could not replicate the effects no matter what we tried; it must have been an odd fluke is all we can think," Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"Well, a-at least we know," Harriet said, beaming as she held the broom tightly.

After dinner, she and Ronnie immediately made their way up to their dorm and put on as many warm clothes as they could before heading down to the Quidditch pitch. The air was freezing despite how bundled up they were, but Harriet couldn't wait anymore, she had to fly.

Ronnie had to help her onto the Nimbus, but she kicked off immediately with a whoop of happiness. Despite the cold air, she felt more alive than she had in weeks; not since the Quidditch match, the last time she had flown. She rocketed as fast as she could around the pitch, pulling up to do loops and barrel rolls now and then to let off more steam.

Finally, after a little while, she flew back down and helped Ronnie up onto the broom as well. Ronnie didn't fly nearly as well, looking too nervous to try many tricks, bundled up as she was and less able to move. As she watched, a soft crunching made Harriet look around.

Dora Flamel was slowly walking towards them, watching Ronnie.

"Hey," Dora said in greeting.

"Hi," Harriet said back, smiling.

Dora looked up at Ronnie, who was getting more of a feel for flying so bundled up and made a loop.

"I heard what your friend said... at dinner..."

"Oh," Harriet said, feeling slightly nervous.

"I didn't ask to be put in Slytherin because I hate Muggle-borns or I want to be super famous and powerful..." Dora went on, still watching Ronnie flying.

"No? Then—"

"I asked specifically to be put in Slytherin because I knew it'd piss off mum and dad. You know, if you want to end house rivalries, sometimes you have to look in your own house first and see the prejudice that's hidden there too," Dora said with a shrug before she turned and started tromping back through the snow, leaving Harriet watching after her, feeling completely dumbfounded.

Later that night, as they all climbed into bed, Harriet couldn't help but mull over all that had happened in their last few days. She had learned more information about who Nicolas Flamel was, she had seen her parents for the first time in her life, she had spoken to the headmaster yet again, and now she thought she had just been called prejudiced by a Slytherin. It was as she realised that she had thought of Dora as "a Slytherin" that Harriet kicked herself and realised Dora might have had a point.

But for her, that was understandable, wasn't it? The most well-known Slytherin in the world had murdered her parents and nearly killed Harriet herself. Hagrid had said how there wasn't a single dark wizard who hadn't come from Slytherin house. But did that make them all budding future dark wizards? Harriet sighed and rolled over onto her side, curling up a little. Somehow, she didn't think she'd be sleeping much tonight as she slowly closed her eyes.

Again, she was in a room with her parents. She was talking to them, but she couldn't hear her voice, or theirs, though they were speaking back. Though as she did, she suddenly felt horrified as they both turned into giant snakes. She jumped back and screamed silently as a high, cold voice laughed.

"Slytherin house, you should transfer there, Harriet Potter, it's where you belong, forget this path, forget righteousness, embrace power, or else!"

A bright green flash filled her vision again, and Harriet sat bolt upright and screamed. This time she heard herself, however, and heard it echoing about the little dormitory.

"What?! What is it?! Harriet are you alright?" Asked Ronnie's very concerned voice.

Harriet was panting, once again drenched in cold sweat.

"Y-yes," Harriet answered, her voice almost a whimper. "It... it was another nightmare..."

Ronnie slowly drew back Harriet's bed curtains and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. Harriet swung her legs off the bed and got to her feet, getting a towel and wiping off her sweat, shivering a little.

"Was it the same as last time?" Ronnie asked, sounding concerned.

Harriet shook her head. "No... It was worse. Much worse..."

Ronnie bit her lip, giving Harriet a worried look. Harriet sat back on her bed, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging her arms tight around them.

"Are you okay...?" Ronnie asked quietly.

Harriet shook her head, before looking at her best friend. "C-could... could you just hold me a bit... at least until I fall asleep again?" Harriet asked, feeling incredibly foolish for asking such a childish question.

Ronnie merely smiled and nodded. "Sure," she said, though she suddenly looked worried, "as long as you don't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed..." Harriet answered, though she finally smiled and blushed.