For one long moment, he stared face-to-face with his own reflection in the mirror. He could see the Colin in the mirror stare back at him, standing nervously, trembling slightly as if afraid of something that was going to happen. Time seemed to be moving slower. Was this all there was to see? Had he been right when he had told his co-worker that he was satisfied with himself already? Was the the Mirror of Erised, an item that had been labeled as dangerous against the Ministry of Magic itself, powerless against Colin Creevey? This could not be all there was to see surely. If he was so happy with himself, why did the person look the mirror look so sad and nervous?

And then suddenly, the image changed. As if calmed by some unknown turn of events, a new expression enveloped his reflection's face . The mouth curved upwards, into a natural, easy going smile. The reflection stood up straighter, chest out, and broke eye contact with Colin, so that they were no longer looking into each other's eyes. It had its eyes fixed on something above him, something that Colin could not see.

There was something strange about the smile that was seeing on his own face. It seemed to him that the easy-going, bright-eyed smile was something foreign, something new to him. Did he ever smile like that? Was this the first time that such an expression had shown on his face? When was the last time he had been that happy? And why had his reflection's clothes changed into a tuxedo?

He felt, confused, afraid, and yet, he also felt curious. What was going on?

Figures were forming around the Colin that was smiling in the mirror. The outlines of what seemed to be three people, somewhat blurry at first, but slowly coming into focus. They seemed to be standing on a clean white floor. The first shape that Colin could make out was that of a hand, placed on the shoulder of his smiling reflection. Then suddenly, the figure became clearer and clearer. He could make out creamy white arms, slim but not fragile. He could tell that the figure was a woman. A swirl of blood red suddenly shaped itself into the makings of a long, flowing dress. Long, brown hair began to form slowly, as being being drawn slowly on a canvas by an artist. As the rest of the body began to take shape, a strange feeling began to overtake Colin. He knew who this person was.

The next few moments told him he was right.

The face was the last part of her to form. Large brown eyes, warm and alight with happiness. An aquiline nose. A dazzling smile on her full lips. Her visage seemed to light up the dark room as she glowed with unmistakable health. Had she ever looked like this? He could not remember. Maybe when he was young.

Rose Creevey looked exactly how she did before her husband left.

The next person was easier to identify. It was his brother, Dennis. He looked exactly as he did at present, standing in the same confident stance. He wore a black suit with a a bowtie, His eyes were bright as he smiled back at Colin.

The final person to form was was a stocky, blond man with broad shoulders and a large belly who stood behind Dennis. He wore the same black suit as Dennis. The large hands, and the scars etched on his face, gave the impression of a man who was used to manual labor. And yet he was clean shaven, and there was none of the quarrelsomeness or roughness that his face usually carried. His face was kinder, and his expression just as warm and gentle as the other three.

Ever since he had left, Colin had always thought that he had hated his father. His father had left them for no clear reason. It wasn't that they couldn't survive without him. Their mother had been able to survive on her own and Hogwarts had taken care of him and Dennis. But his departure was so shocking because he had always thought that they would always be together as a family. They were a normal family, just like any other in England. They had their disagreements, and times were sometimes hard, but they always made sure to fix them in the end. Colin had always thought that there was nothing the Creevey family could not overcome.

He could not understand what had happened when one morning, he saw his mother crying in the kitchen. He could remember coming close to her, feeling as though he was going to cry himself although there was no reason to cry yet. He had asked her why she was crying, and at first, she did not respond. He stayed beside, patting her shoulder, until finally, he had asked the question.

"Mom, where's Dad?"

The question seemed to bring her back to her senses. She began to stop crying. Wiping her eyes, she slowly looked at him, and he could see that her eyes were red and swollen. She swallowed, then with much effort, began to say words that he would not forget, even to this day.

"Gone... He's gone." That was how he would think of his father in the years to come. He was gone. A gone dad. Being gone defined him.

But as he looked into the mirror, he realized that no matter how angry he was at his father, he would do anything see him in the kitchen, laughing with his mother as they danced to the music being played by the old cassette player they kept in their home. It was close to being destroyed, but Colin and Dennis had used magic to keep it functioning.

The happy family of four continued to smile at the invisible photographer. They were now standing on a white tiles that seemed strangely familiar to Colin. He thought hard, trying to remember where he had seen the white tile floor before. There were flowers on a nearby vase behind them. Roses. His mother's favorite. Wasn't the vase familiar as well?

It hit him suddenly, and forcefully. This was their house.

Colin tried to speak, but no sound came out at first.

"Mom? Dad?" he finally croaked.

It was as though they had noticed him for the first time. Their eyes were drawn to him, their smiles never changing. He looked into his mother's eyes as she began to speak.

"Colin. You're grown into such a handsome young boy." Her voice was musical. He had not heard her speak like this for such a long time. He was used to hearing her either scream or grunt.

"He's grown big hasn't he? I missed this little guy." spoke his father. A wave of emotion welled up inside him; he felt unsure of what to say. He had almost forgotten what his father's voice sounded like. The distinctive twang brought Colin back to a time when he was smaller, and everything was much simpler.

He suddenly found his voice; he could not be silent at a time like this. He had so many things to say.

'Miss me? Why would you miss me? You left us!" he heard himself say. He had waited for so long for this time to come. He felt a strong temptation to punch the mirror. But no, he could not break the glass that held his parents.

His father continued to smile, but it was a different sort of smile this time. Somehow, his smile only radiated sadness and regret. Colin could see tears in his eyes.

"Yeah. I left you. I was a right idiot didn't I?" his father choked out. Colin had never seen him like this before. Their father taught them to never cry.

"I left you guys. Me and your mom, we had a tough time working things out. But it doesn't mean I never loved you. I missed you and Dennis. I kept thinking about you guys. I wanted to see you so badly. It was tough on you, it was even tougher on me you know that? Some nights I'd stay up, I'd wondering how you guys were, what you were doing. Kept wondering what you looked like. You've grown into a good kid son. Might not mean much but I'm proud of you."

"Why didn't you come back then?" asked Colin. He was choking as well. He fought back the hot tears, but failed to keep his composure. He couldn't stop himself. He was such a weakling.

" I didn't know if you guys would take me back. I figured you had moved on with your lives, and me coming back would just complicate that. I wanted to. I knew I'd made a mistake. But I'm here son. I'm back now."

Those last three words swept powerfully over Colin. His dad was back? Was it really going to be this easy?

But then, was the person in the mirror really his Dad? It was just an illusion wasn't it? All of the figures in the mirror were just illusions. But if it was just an illusion, why did they all seem so real? As if he could really touch them, smell them, feel their presence just a few feet from where he stood?

"What... what do you mean you're back? This isn't real is it? You... you aren't really there!"

"It's as real as it needs to be son. And I'm as real as anyone else. Your mother, Dennis, we're all here. Only person that's not real is this person standing next to us. But you can change all that. Come over here son. You can take his place in the picture. And after we take it, we can catch up. You and me and Dennis. I wanna get to know you son. You and your brother. I wanna see what my little boys have grown into."

His mother spoke up again. "Colin, come over here and be with your family. The Colin that you see here, he is nothing but an illusion. A copy of the real thing. He can easily be replaced. You are the real Colin. We want you to complete our family picture. It's been so long since we've been complete Colin. We're so close to being whole again. Come over here. We're real Colin. Me and your Dad and Dennis. Just come over here to where we're standing."

"Can I really do it?" asked Colin, although he already knew the answer. His family had stopped being images in a strange mirror a long time ago. It was strange, because he could still see the ornate mirror. The distinctive markings around it. And yet, he felt as if he what he was looking at was not glass but reality. His family was real, just as real as him. And he felt as if he could count how many steps he needed to take on the white tile floor until he reached where his reflection was standing.

His mother smiled, then reached out and extended her hand to him. He could see it coming closer. It was warm, living flesh, and it was covering space. It could reach out past the glass that separated them. It was only a few feet away. He would be able to touch it, if only he walked a little closer...

"It's easy Colin. Take hold of my hand. Come my son. See? I'm real. Don't be afraid of me Colin. I'm your mother. "

He really wanted to rush into the mirror, arms wide open, and hug them all. But something held him back. Why did he feel as though he would be leaving something behind if he took her hand?

Colin took a deep breath. He felt nervous. But he also knew that what lay beyond that mirror was everything he had ever wanted. He would never ever have a single nightmare again.

He took his first step.

Then a second.

Then a third.

Why was his fourth step much slower? Why why was his right hand lagging behind? And why did he feel as though it was already holding on to something?

He took another step, and he could feel his shoulder extend to full length. He could not move anymore. Someone was pulling him back with all their might. He wanted to turn his head, and see who was pulling him back. But he dared not turn his head away from the mirror because he feared that his family would disappear if he did.

He was holding someone's hand.

It was a soft, fragile hand, with a weak grip. The fingers were slender, and felt delicate. It was a girl, or a woman, pulling him back.

He could hear something, a barely audible voice calling out something. It seemed like it was calling out his name. It was the voice of a girl. Was the girl crying? Why was she crying? There was no need to cry right now. He was going to be with his family.

He looked into his mother's face. Her expression seemed to be pleading now. His father and brother had the same look as well.

"Please my son... We miss you so much." His mother seemed to be begging now.

He had to go over to them.

"Let me go.. please.." he told his captor. "I need to be with my family"

He heard her speak clearly somehow.

"Its not real Colin. Please. Wake up. Its not real"

Not real? How could she say that when the truth was right in front of them?

"Let go of me!"

He wrenched his arm away forcefully from the girl behind him. He felt his elbow graze her chin, and he dimly registered the sound she made at the contact. But he could not stop to say sorry. Maybe he could do that later. After the picture was taken. What mattered was that he could take his mother's hand...

Maybe he should really say sorry? The girl sounded like she was hurt. He did not want to hurt her.

His mother was beckoning frantically. She was so close he could feel her already. She had never been admitted to the rehab center after all. His father was coming back now. It had all been a bad dream...

"COLIN!"

The scream filled his eardrums, and he felt as though a haze had been lifted from the room. Suddenly he was able to look away from the mirror and look her straight in the face.

His jaw dropped, and for one moment, he forgot all about the Mirror of Erised.

Her blue eyes were wide open with fear and confusion. Her lips was trembling, she was breathing hard, and she stared apprehensively as if worried that he was going to hurt her. She looked fragile, vulnerable. And yet he could also feel worry and concern emanating from her.

What in the world was Gabrielle Delacour doing here?