Authors Note: PEN NAME CHANGE: Yes it's still me, but i figured i needed to put my real name in my pen name so i am now and forever known as Ashiie Imperfect.

Thank you for your continued reading of this story.

Excuse the lenght of update, never really been one for schedules. Life happens as we all know. My novel is being published Dec 2010, moved house, uni the usual.

Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this chapter and i will have the next chapter up in a few hours.

Again Many Apologies.

Ashiie Imperfect


I slept soundly that night after looking at the photos in the yearbook and the photo album for nearly three hours. Rogue curled up on my lap and I decided that I would read one of the short stories from the books I'd gotten from my secret admirer. But could you really call him a secret admirer at eleven? I mean I giggled at the idea of kissing a boy. The title was Blood in Between Love and was a story about the original founders of Hogwarts. There was a treacherous relationship between two of the houses, Slytherin and Gryffindor. There were no written rules about whether or not they could date but there was an unwritten rule. The founders had separated the two and refused to let them see each other and in the end they were forced to kill themselves after eloping. I fell asleep shortly after and only awoke when Harry was yelling up the stairs at me.

I jumped out of bed, startled by the sound of Harrys voice. I threw on an over robe and ran down the stairs.

I met him and Ron.

"Harry, what are you doing? What's going on?" I looked around for the source of his distress.

"There is something I have to show you. Come on," He threw the cloak over me, Ron and himself and dragged us along corridors beside the library.

We entered an empty room; it was white and in the middle stood an old antique mirror. I looked at the inscriptions on the edges

"Riley come, stand here," I stood with Harry in the center of the mirror, both of us reflected in its shiny surface. The mirror rippled slightly and I focused onto the two figures whom I recognized from the photo albums I had gotten at Christmas.

"Mum, Dad,"

I stared at them and touched a hand to the mirror, my mum smiled back at me and slid a hand onto my shoulder. I could almost feel the touch.
"Can I see them?"

I nodded and let Ron step in at the side.

"Do you see them Ron?"

"No I only see us,"

I looked to Harry. "Maybe he has to be in the center of it?"

We moved over so that Ron could stand in the middle.

"Do you see them now," I pointed to the mirror, "there is my mum and there is my,'

"Woah. It's me. Only I'm older and I'm head boy. I've seen Bill's badge and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup. Oh I'm Quidditch captain too. Do you think this mirror tells the future?"

I watched him staring at the mirror in awe and felt the confusion cloud my mind.

"How can it, our parents are dead,"

I stepped forward. "Could I look again please?"

"No, you can have it later,"
"Let her look she wasn't here earlier,"

"Don't push me,"

He stopped because at that moment there was sound outside. I'd only assumed that the sound of our voices was loud because of the large room but the sound of soft padding footsteps alerted them to a concern.

"Quick under the cloak," Harry held it up as we clambered underneath it. We settled ourselves making sure that every last inch was covered and that was when Mrs. Norris came round the edge of the door. I usually liked cats but Mrs. Norris was something different, I silently wondered if the cloak hid them from the luminated eyes of the cat. She waited at the door, as if expecting us to give ourselves up and after what seemed like forever she left.

"It isn't safe to be here, she may have gone to alert Filch,"

Ron nodded.

"Yeah she probably heard us. Come on,"

I left the room with Ron dragging Harry and at the doorway I stopped to look back at the mirror. If only that mirror could change reality.

My mind remained focused on Harry's discovery and it became obvious that his mind was never far from the mirror either.

"Do either of you want to play chess?"

"No, I'm right,"

"Riley do you want to go and make snow angels?"

"Not right now Rune,"

"How about we pay Hagrid a visit?"

"Maybe later,"

My two friends were insistent on getting my brothers and my own minds off the image of our dead parents.

Rune took me away from the boys and sat me down.

"Ron told me what you and Harry saw last night. I'm surprised you didn't tell me," she fake pouted and I shrugged.

"Look Riley it might not be such a good idea to go back. I mean look what this one visit has done to you, imagine if you spend every night there. You won't want to do anything ever again. You're fixated on these images that will never come to be real. It's not healthy,"

"Wow fixated that's a rather big word for you isn't it Rune?"

I laughed as I said it, maybe she was right but I had to go again, just one last time to say goodbye.

"I know I think I fried like two brain cells saying it. Does this mean you won't go?"

"Yeah I guess you're right, it's not like I can just visualize them into existence,"

Rune hugged me.

"You still have me,"

I laughed hard.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better,"

"Hey,"

On the outside I was happy and charming but on the inside I was as determined as ever to find my way back to the mirror.

I left after lights out, managing to miss the teachers prowling the night corridor. I hadn't seen Harry in his bedroom so he had already left for the night.

"Bloody git, making me walk all this way without the cloak I could get caught,"

As I entered the room i glanced at Harry sitting in the middle of the mirror. I sat down next to him.

"Move over, I want to see too,"

I looked up as more of my family appeared behind my parents.

"Who do you think that is?" I whispered pointing to a tall elderly man behind my mother.

"One of our grandparents probably,"

I snuggled in next to Harry ready to spend the night watching my family.

"Back again you two?"

I jumped up and spun around to meet the Headmaster. Dumbledore was positioned on a desk just behind them a row to the left. How did she miss him on her way in?

"I didn't see you there Sir," Harry said his voice trembling slightly.

"Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you. Though you Riley, you really should have seen me,"

I put my head down but not because he was being disciplinary, he had a smile on his face. I put my head down because I felt ashamed that my one track mind had allowed me to miss him in such a manner.

"So, it seems you like hundreds before you have discovered the wonders of the mirror of Erised,"

"We did not know it's name sir,"

"But I expect by now you've realized what it does?"

"It – well – it shows me my family-" Harry responded.

"And it showed your friend Ron as head boy,"

I widened my eyes in surprise.

"How did you know-?"

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," Dumbledore walked towards us slowly.

"Now can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all,?"

Harry shook his head while I thought it over. Well didn't Ron want to be Quidditch captain and head boy? I wanted to have my family with me.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, this is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

"It shows us what we want, whatever we want," Harry looked back into the mirror. But I thought there may be more to it than that because the happiest man could still be capable of wanting more.

"Is it possible that it shows us what is in our hearts? I mean not selfish desires but things pure of heart,"

"Yes and no. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. Both of you, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible,"

I looked back at the mirror. For once Rune had been right.

"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow. Harry, Riley I will ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it again you shall be well prepared. It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now why don't you two put that beautiful cloak back on and get off to bed?"

I stood up and nodded at the professor.

Harry waited behind me.

"Sir, Professor Dumbledore. What do you see when you look in the mirror,"

I turned back around. Harry was about to ask a very serious question.

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks. One can never have enough socks,"

If he was lying I could understand but if he was telling the truth once again he'd surprised and amused me.

"Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist of giving me books,"

On the way back I chuckled at his answer. A thought struck me as I lay in bed. Another of my deepest wishes was to meet dreamless aficionado or at least know who he was. But because his image didn't appear in the mirror maybe I liked a bit of mystery.