- Are you sure you do not need to be escorted? - Vivien Adderley asked.
- You don't have to, Mom, - she answered calmly. - I have a lot things, but the guys are helping.
- Hang on, honey, - said Mrs. Adderley. - You are your father's daughter, so...
- It means: God, help my opponents! - Catherine snorted. - See you in spring, Mommy!
- That boy is very good, - Vivienne sighed. - Now he is a child, but a couple more years and...
- He is not an option, Mommy, his parents will take him steer clear of me, he is pureblood. In addition, he has such a character like wants to be hit all the time.
- But he is cute!
- Mom! Leave me alone! I have to go now...
She kissed her daughter, jokingly saluted her and returned to her car. Well, her husband was sailing, her daughter was in a closed school, she was left alone...
"Might I get a cat or something? Or a dog? This is good idea," - Vivien thought and started the engine. - I certainly will not be bored!"
On the way out, she almost collided with a family car. She managed to see in the back seat a boy in round glasses, then a blue Ford "England" full of redheaded children flashed... The daughter didn't exaggerate or embellish, Vivien Adderley concluded and pressed the speed pedal. It seemed that she needed a double dose of chocolate ice cream and... yes, a visit to the pet store. She decided to buy a puppy and a kitten at once. She'd let them grow together, and the fact that the house would be demolished - those were such trifles...
- Adderley!
- God, Malfoy, why you shout like that? - she complained, turned to him and pointed at the bulky suitcases.
The gesture was interpreted correctly: Crabb and Goyle immediately broke to her, easily lifted the luggage and dragged to the train. She could go lightly, ignoring the views of Weasley and Granger.
- I am taller than you! - joyfully said Draco, standing next to her.
- I'm without heels, - Adderley smiled in response.
- You know how take back well, - he sighed.
- However, you seem to have become wider in the shoulders, - she comforted him, and Malfoy immediately puffed up with pride.
- Again, Adderley and her Slytherin friends... - it was heard near.
- Weasley, don't worry, you still sizzle better than snakes, - she answered and let Notte help her go into the wagon. - Guys, take this suitcase, here are your clothes. And this is the change, I don't know how much is due to whom, so...
- We'll just buy something, - Malfoy concluded without even looking at the money. He was more interested in Muggle clothes. - Adderly, did your mother scold you for it?
- No, she was outraged why it was impossible to bring you to the fitting. By the way, check how it is! We took a little bigger, you will grow fast!
- Well, turn around or something! - Zabini said grimly.
- I will even close my eyes, - Adderley promised, - and I will cover my eyes with my hands. Otherwise, I'll see Malfoy naked and start stuttering!
- Adderley!
- Why are you shouting? Maybe I meant that this'll be due to admiration! By the way, a lot of our girls are sighing for you...
- That's what I need, - Malfoy said sarcastically.
- Cool! Oh, you guys! - said Thomas and Finnigan, slipping into the compartment. - And we also dressed up, what do you think?
- It looks like we were shopping in the same store, - Adderley snorted. - Sit down, here are the sandwiches, here is the juice, tea in the thermos...
- It's convenient, - Goyle moved his mighty shoulders. - And the wand in the sleeve fits well.
- It doesn't hurt like this stupid wool, - Zabini added. - Adderley, I will not ask you who advised you to buy such a... um...
- It's my father, - she answered calmly. - It's usually not hot on his boat, he buys thermal underwear, so we thought it would be good for you too.
- Merlin, why are you laughing like centaurs? - Prefect of Slytherin opened the door. - We are arriving soon, get dressed as it should be!
- You know, Adderley, you were right, - Nott muttered in a quarter of an hour - the jacket is much more comfortable than the robe. It's beautiful somewhere in a meeting, but in general...
- It's really confusing in the legs, - Malfoy said. - Let's go. Adderley, do you have anything of value in your suitcases there? Otherwise, we will take it ourselves. I mean, guys will take it.
- Nah, the only valuable there is underwear, - she answered serenely. - I think elves are not fetishists, so let them take my luggage.
Apparently, Finnigan imaged the elf-fetishist, because he rusted and almost fell off the foot board.
- Sit down to our place for dinner, - Malfoy suggested.
- Are you crazy? My and your Houses will eat us alive! - Adderley snorted. - Let's get out of here and go check on our Den! Thomas, Finnigan, did you buy the balls?
- Yes! - they answered in one voice.
- I have learned to put a barrier, so we won't blow up our tea place, - added Nott.
- Well, that's great! Let's celebrate at dinner and try it all!
- Are you crazy? Tomorrow the first lesson is Transfiguration! Let's just stop by and go to bed!
In the bedroom, Adderley laid out the essentials, checked if the nightstand was well locked, wished the neighbors good night and immediately fell asleep. Tomorrow she had a lot of things to do.
- Malfoy, might I have a word, - Adderley said at the break.
- To Den?
- Whatever... Let's go there.
- Shall I call the others?
- Not yet.
- Well? - He asked when they sit on the comfortable sofa.
- I overheard something, - began Adderley. Malfoy smiled: her ears resembled Muggle radars or these... he wasn't sure... microphones - always on standby catching any suspicious sound. It seemed they spun in all directions. - Potter staggers somewhere at night. I asked Tilly - he wasn't in the kitchen. So I followed him once.
- Shorter!
- Shall we go and see for ourselves? - she suggested. - I don't know what's going on there, but when Potter came out of the room, he was really sad. I am curious, but going alone is not interesting.
- When are we going? - asked Malfoy.
- Tonight. Don't tell the others. They'd think we will have dinner. So we are really going to have dinner, but quickly, and then will go to that room, understand?
- Got it, I'm not stupid... - he burbled.
- You're not stupid, you're boastful and talkative, too. Chatterbox is a find for a spy, so allies said.
- What allies?!
- Malfoy, don't tell me you've never heard of World War II! - Adderley asked.
- Is that the one with Grindewald? - he specified.
- What kind of... what a Grindewald? - she inhaled, exhaled, made herself calm down and said: - So. I will tell you about the war later, but in the meantime, let's get out of here before the others start looking for us. What a terrible ignoramus you are, Malfoy?
- I don't have to know about Muggle wars! - Draco was outraged.
- Yes, you do! Your father knows about the Princess of Wales, but you... If you don't listen, I'll hit you!
- You always have only one argument, - he mumbled offended.
- But it is convincing. And weighty.
- Yeah, you have all the kicks weighty. Okay, you tell me about the war later, maybe I'll even remember something... Come on, I'll see you tonight!
- Well, where do we go? - Draco asked in a tense whisper.
- I've already told you many times - don't whisper, it's more audible... This is where he wanders. Shall we go in?
- Since when are you interested in my opinion, Adderley?
- I might be also scared, Malfoy, - she snorted and gently pushed the door. - Nobody...
- Look, - he pointed to a huge mirror in a fancy frame. There was nothing in this room except it and some old furniture.
"Probably, another deserted room, - Draco thought, - it's even strange."
- Do you think that Potter runs here to admire his irresistible appearance in the proud solitude?
- I don't know, I don't know, - Adderley said, bypassing the mirror in a wide arc. - Malfoy, do you know any stories about enchanted mirrors? Because I only remember school scary stories. Also, in the house where's the deceased, the mirrors are hanged, there is such a custom.
- I don't remember anything, - he shacked his head. - Well, except for fairy tales, you know that you can walk through a mirror and find yourself in another world where everything is the opposite.
- I knew that Carroll is from this world, - she mumbled incomprehensibly. - Shall we take a look?
- Aha! Oh...
- What are you doing, Malfoy? - Adderley asked. - What did you see?
- I saw myself, - he replied, staring in the mirror with spell.
- I can see myself, too, what's so amazing about it?
- You don't understand! - Draco barely broke away from the mirror and looked at the girl. - There's I, but... the other me. Can't you see?
- Nah, - she answered with surprise. - I only see my reflection and yours is not there at all. Probably, the mirror is magic... Malfoy, what do you have there, huh?
- Well... I am an adult there, - he said confusedly. - You know, tall and handsome, like Dad. And my wife is next to me... well, I think so, that the wife, she has a ring on a finger, she hugs me and smiles, and ... just don't you dare to laugh!
- I wasn't even going to.
- There are three other children. They look like me, too... platinum. A girl, a boy, and another boy, they play with dogs. And, far away, Mom and Dad are drinking tea in the garden arbor and talking about something. There's our estate, roses bloom, it is so nice.
- Is your wife even pretty?
- She's pretty, - said Draco and blushed desperately. - And...
- Quiet! - she grabbed his hand. - Quick, hide, someone's coming!
Behind the old broken desks in the far corner it was dark enough that the one who came in couldn't see the lurking children. True, they didn't see that person, too. Or rather, they heard footsteps, saw the door opened and closed, felt the air movement - but only.
Realizing that Malfoy might not be able to hold back the scream, Adderley quickly put her palm on his mouth. In the light of the moon, which barely made its way through the window, she saw his eyes rounded up frighteningly. Her eyebrows frowned, and she pressed her finger of her free hand against her lips. They didn't need to be afraid of any ghosts in the castle, where they are almost everywhere!
Draco's eyes just pop wide open, he tried to point at an unknown with his chin. Adderley looked back just in time to see Potter coming out of the void. It was not a spell, the boy was holding something in his hand.
Potter approached the mirror, sat on the floor and stared at the magic glass.
- So, are you here again, Harry? - a familiar voice was heard, and Malfoy almost hit his head on the nearest desk. Adderley clutched his hand with her death grip, but it didn't matter, she managed to hold him on.
- I didn't see you, sir.
- Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you, - said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.
Adderley made scary eyes and sweep her palm across the throat. Malfoy nodded, showing that he had understood everything and would keep silent, no matter what happened.
- So, - said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, - you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."
- I didn't know it was called that, Sir.
- But I expect you've realized by now what it does?
- It... well... it shows me my family
Malfoy and Adderley looked at each other.
And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."
- How did you know?
- I don't need a cloak to become invisible, - said Dumbledore gently. - Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?
Harry shook his head.
- 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?
Harry thought. Then he said slowly:
- It shows us what we want... whatever we want...
- Yes and no, - said Dumbledore quietly. - It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. 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 or 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. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"
Harry stood up.
- Sir... Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?
- Obviously, you've just done so, - Dumbledore smiled. - You may ask me one more thing, however.
- What do you see when you look in the mirror?
- I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.
Harry stared.
- One can never have enough socks, - said Dumbledore. - Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.
Adderley and Malfoy'd been sitting in a dark corner for another quarter of an hour after Potter and Dumbledore's footsteps had subsided.
- Do you think he'd seen us? - he asked when they snuck into such cozy Den and sat on the sofa almost cuddling, trying to keep warm - it was cold in the abandoned class, and on the floor it was doubly cold.
- Hell knows it, - said Adderley, rubbing Malfoy's ice fingers. - Dumbledore obviously waited Potter, but I don't know he appeared before us or after. You have heard that he may be invisible! But even if he has seen us, so what? It seems that we didn't overhear anything particularly important. Otherwise, I think he would have escorted Potter out.
- The invisibility cloak, - he sighed. - Terrible rarity! It must have cost a fortune! Where did the four-eyes get it from?
- Malfoy, let's not ask idiotic questions, eh?
- Mm... Listen, Adderley, - he raised his head, - you said that you saw only yourself in the mirror. So, it turns out you are the happiest person in the world?
- Malfoy, I didn't say in what form I saw myself, - she snorted.
- Well, knowing you a little... I suspect that you were there dressed in Muggle uniform and commanded it... what was his name... destroyer!
- Close, but not guessed, - giggled Adderley. - Look, mirror is the dangerous thing, the headmaster was right. So, people see their desires, then they don't know what to do.
- Yeah. - sighed Malfoy.
- What do you have to be shy about? You are not dreaming about the past, but about the future. So that there would be a big family, children, parents next door, a house in order, peace and tranquility... I think, you have the most normal human desires, - she breathed a sigh. - But I have no idea why Potter dreams about his ancestors.
- You will not understand it. You are not pureblood.
- Hey?!
- Adderley! - he moved a little bit. - I didn't try offend you, I mean:
I know my ancestors going back... oh, it's hard to count to what generation! Parents made me learn... I remember who my kin is. That's not how Muggles do it, right?
- Well, that's not how most people do it, - she nodded. - There are some individuals who are trying to derive a genealogical tree almost from William the Conqueror or King Arthur, but mostly all treat it without fanaticism. All right, what's this really about?
- Potter has just learned that he isn't homeless, - Malfoy said. - That on his father's side, he's very noble. I think he just wanted a normal family, but the mirror showed him everybody from his family, so he's stuck. Weasley didn't need it, he had nowhere to go from relatives, but he had ambition, so he saw what the headmaster said.
- In general, it makes sense, - the girl said, thinking. - I was wrong, your mind can work, but usually with a fright.
- Adderley, - Malfoy said very gently. - Please, just don't scare me on purpose!
- This is an idea! - she was happy. - So, stop. We'll talk about it later. What will we lie if the director calls us tomorrow? What did we do in that class?
- We kissed, - gave out Draco.
- It's too early for us to kiss in the corners, - Adderley said. - You know... If they ask me, I' tell I'd decided to play spy and had found the mirror, so, then I took everyone there, including you. The last time we almost got caught. Do you understand?
- Yeah, I'll tell Nott and Zabini to come up with something... untested... - nodded Malfoy. - Well, I don't even have to lie about myself. Look, what did you see there, huh?
- I won't say, don't even ask. Let's go to the bedrooms. Otherwise we'll sleep in the morning in class...
- Fine, the first lesson's History!
- Remind me, who was going to write an essay on transfiguration on it?
- You're evil.
- I am fair. Good night, Malfoy.
- Good night, Adderley...