Hey everyone! Thanks for all your great feedback. Some of you are picking up on stuff I'd forgotten about, so I've been re-writing some future stuff. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE MIRROR

Hermione steered the two boys into the room that she'd found the curious mirror in nearly two months earlier. The day that she'd broken into Quirrell's private rooms and read his research seemed as though it had been ages ago, rather than the mere six weeks that had passed.

Wide awake at the thought of seeing the images in the mirror once more, Hermione practically marched the boys into the room. She closed the door behind them and slipped out from under the cloak. She walked towards the mirror and stood in front of it, her face flushing slightly in memory of what she'd seen.

The reflection in the mirror was just as she'd remembered. Herself as an older student; a handsome, older Harrison standing in the mirror with her. Matching wedding rings and matching Head Boy/Girl badges on their Hogwarts cloaks. She hadn't even noticed the HB badge on Harrison's chest the previous time.

"It's a great big mirror," Harrison said wryly.

Hermione gasped and felt herself turn a deeper shade of red.

"You didn't see that?" she asked.

"What, you and me in the mirror? Of course I did."

Hermione had a feeling that they hadn't seen the same images, or he'd have been less blasé about it.

"Well, here, you stand there. And tell me what you see," Hermione moved out of the direct path of the mirror and watched her friend curiously.

Harrison stood there, his eyebrows raised in scepticism.

"What do you see?" Hermione asked.

"Me," Harrison replied drolly. He looked towards Hermione expectantly, only to have her make a hand gesture to indicate to take another look. As he did, he almost fell over in shock.

"Woah!"

"What?" Neville asked curiously. "What is it?"

"It's...me. Only, older. And my hair's grown back. And I obviously haven't learned to shave properly," Harrison said.

"And?" Hermione prompted.

Harrison stared at the image in the mirror. The reflection showed an older version of himself, a carefree smirk on his lips. His double reached up and ruffled the scruffy hair on his head. And then his reflection gave a very genuine smile and held his hand out. A woman stepped into the frame, her brown hair tumbling wildly down to the middle of her back. The woman smiled at his older self, and Harrison couldn't help but smile as well.

The woman was familiar somehow. He glanced left and saw Hermione standing anxiously nearby. He looked back at the mirror, and then realised just who the older woman in the mirror was. Hermione! And she and his older self were kissing.

His cheeks flushed bright pink and he felt his heart begin to pound nervously.

"Is this...is this the future?" Harrison asked.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "But it's an amazing mirror."

Harrison nodded dumbly. He couldn't help stare at his older self and the older Hermione as they danced and kissed and smiled at each other. If this was his future...well, he certainly wouldn't complain.

Another look in the mirror showed that another boy had joined the mirror-couple. A tall, fit looking blonde teenage boy stood behind the older Harrison and clapped him on the shoulder. Young Harrison stared in shock as he recognised the teen as his brother Dudley. He looked whole and hearty, and completely healed.

Harrison reached out to touch the image, but his hand only found glass.

"What is it?" Hermione asked softly.

"Dudley," Harrison whispered. "He looks great. Healthy."

He stared for a moment longer before reluctantly stepping away. He turned to Neville. "Your turn, mate."

Neville took a deep breath and then stepped in front of the ornate mirror. He gaped at the reflection in shock.

"What do you see?" Hermione asked.

"My parents," he replied. "Happy, and healthy and standing right next to me."

He spun around, as if to confirm that his parents weren't somehow standing in the room with him.

"Wow. If this is the future...Merlin, I hope this is the future! My parents!" Neville exclaimed happily.

Hermione and Harrison smiled at their friend. It was unusual to see Neville get so enthusiastic about anything. They couldn't help but hope that the mirror showed the future, both for Neville's sake, and for their own.

"This is great!"

Neville took another moment to stare longingly at his reflection. He hadn't ever seen his parents looking so healthy. Every time he visited them at St Mungo's, they were either kept sedated enough to sleep, or tranquilised enough to seem to be living in a different world. A world where they didn't recognise their son.

"I wonder when it'll happen," Neville said, reluctantly stepping away from the mirror.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "In mine...well, I was wearing the Head Girl badge, so...mine seems to be set six years from now. Harrison, did you notice anything to show a time frame?"

Harrison thought back to what the mirror had shown him. He couldn't think of anything definite. He and Hermione had looked to be in about their seventh year, and Dudley had looked seventeen or eighteen.

"Dudley did look about seventeen. Six years sounds about right for mine as well," Harrison agreed. "Nev? How old did you look in yours?"

"I looked the same," Neville admitted. "Maybe that means it'll happen this year!"

"Alas, Mr Longbottom, I'm afraid that is not how the mirror works."

The trio gasped at the voice that had suddenly come from behind them. They spun and came face to face with Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Headmaster," Hermione managed to squeak.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," Dumbledore replied politely. "And good evening to you as well, Misters Evans and Longbottom."

"Evening sir," Harrison murmured guiltily.

Neville managed to push out a sound that sounded like "meep."

"We were just-" Hermione trailed off, unsure how to explain what they were doing out and about at nearly one in the morning.

"You are not the first to become captivated by the Mirror of Erised," Professor Dumbledore said mildly. "Nor, I expect, will you be the last."

The trio winced and stared at the floor, willing it to open up and swallow them whole.

"I fear, Mr Longbottom, that the return to health for your parents is not something that you can count on to come true," Dumbledore said gently.

Neville looked up, and felt tears come to his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that this mirror does not show the future," the Professor replied.

Neville swallowed hard, but felt traitorous tears well in his eyes. "Oh."

"That is not to say that it may not come true," Dumbledore consoled. "Only that it cannot be taken as fact."

"Then, if it doesn't show the future," Hermione began, "how does it work, sir?"

Dumbledore considered the young student for a moment.

"Let me explain. 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. Does that help?"

Hermione mused on the Professor's answer for a moment.

"It shows us what we want," Harrison chimed in. "Whatever we want."

"Yes, and no," Dumbledore replied. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts. You, Neville, who have never known your parents, see them standing beside you. Hermione, you strive for excellence, and so see yourself with the Head Girl's badge, and perhaps a companion for your future days. And Harrison, you saw your brother, whole and hearty, standing beside you and your own future companion."

Harrison and Hermione glanced at each other, and then, catching the others gaze, nervously looked away.

"However, the mirror gives 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."

Neville inhaled shakily and nodded. "I understand, sir."

"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow," Dumbledore said. "I must ask that you not come looking for it."

The trio nodded, a little reluctantly to comply, but certainly not about to argue with the Headmaster.

"Now, why don't you put on that admirable cloak, and get back to bed," Dumbledore said.

Harrison gaped at him.

"Aren't we going to get detention, or anything?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I believe that this is a lesson that has already been hard to learn," looking sympathetically at Neville.

"Thank you sir," Hermione said.

"Good night, you three. And Mr Evans...no more betting on your wand."

Harrison gaped after the headmaster as he gave a quick wink and then left the room.

"Unbelievable," Harrison muttered. "How the heck did he even know about that?"

"He is the Headmaster," Hermione replied. "He probably knows a lot of what goes on around here."

"Yeah. Too bad he doesn't do anything about it," Harrison griped.

"At least we didn't lose any points," Hermione said.

Harrison rolled his eyes.

Hermione glanced across at the extremely quiet Neville and saw his attempt at a brave face. She moved closer to him, and put her arm across his shoulders.

"Alright, Nev?" she asked softly.

Neville sighed despondently. "I guess. It's just...hard. I got my hopes up for nothing."

"I'm sorry Neville."

"Not your fault," he replied.

"But if I hadn't insisted on showing you the mirror, none of this would have happened," Hermione said.

"You were excited about it," Neville said. "Nothing wrong with that. Now...how'd you even find this thing anyway?"

Hermione winced. "Remember that day I broke into Quirrell's study? Well, on the way back, I nearly ran into that crazy Divinations Professor. I hid in here to make sure no one saw me too close to Quirrell's room. Anyway, I meant to tell you both about it, but then, after everything that happened that afternoon, I just forgot."

"I think you can be forgiven for being distracted by Quirrell's craziness," Harrison said.

Hermione shrugged. The mirror had truly been forgotten until they'd nearly gone past the door to the room it was hidden in. She'd forgotten how fascinating the mirror was until she'd stood in front of it again.

The Mirror of Erised, Dumbledore had called it. She wondered what language it was in. She thought she remembered seeing the word 'erised' etched on the mirror. She stepped towards the ornate frame and looked up at the words once more.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," she read out slowly.

"What language is that?" Neville asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No idea."

Harrison approached, and carefully stood to the side, so as not to see his reflection again.

"Desire," Hermione blurted out.

"What?" the boys asked together.

"The Mirror of Desire," Hermione translated. "Professor Dumbledore said that you would see what your heart desired. Erised is desire backwards. So...the translation of the inscription is...desire arts urhe-"

"That doesn't sound right," Neville said.

"You have to start at the end, read it as a true reflection," Harrison said. "I show not your face, but your heart's desire."

"Not the future," Neville said sadly.

Harrison placed his hand on Neville's shoulder. "But not an impossibility."

00

A/N: I do have a question in regards to the mirror: was the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone hidden in the mirror the whole time? Is it ever explained in canon why the mirror was in an abandoned classroom if it *was* hiding something so valuable? Or, was Dumbledore keeping it in the mirror in the unused classroom because, why hide something in the place you say you've hidden it? Any opinions?