. . . Dumbledore entered the empty classroom and looked around. Harry hadn't arrived yet, but he knew that he would. Harry was drawn to the mirror like a moth to a flame. Dumbledore sat down on one of the desks that had been pushed against the wall and waited. He didn't have to wait for very long. He saw Harry come into the schoolroom, remove the cloak and sit down on the floor in front of the mirror. He let him sit there for a moment, then –
"So – back again, Harry?"
Harry's fear showed quite plainly on his pale face.
"I – I didn't see you, sir." He whispered.
"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," Dumbledore smiled. He got off of the desk and sat down on the floor next to Harry. "So, 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 – "
"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."
"How did you know – ?"
"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," Dumbledore said 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?"
Dumbledore saw that Harry was turning his words over in his mind. Harry 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?"
Dumbledore remained sitting on the floor as Harry stood up.
"Sir – Professor Dumbledore?" He said. "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." Dumbledore suppressed a chuckle as Harry stared at him in disbelief.
"One can never have enough socks," He said. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books. Now, off to bed."
Harry picked up the cloak and put it on. Dumbledore enjoyed the interesting sight of Harry's head floating in mid-air as he walked to the door. Harry turned and looked back at Dumbledore and smiled.
"Goodnight sir," He said.
"Goodnight."
Harry pulled the cloak over his head and left the room. Dumbledore waited until Harry was gone, then he got to his feet. He was about to leave also, when he turned back toward the mirror. He looked up at the words carved into the gold frame:
" Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi"
"I show not your face but your heart's desire"
Very slowly, almost as if he hardly dared to, he looked into the mirror. There she was. He knew she would be. Every time he looked into the mirror he would see her, reflected there. She was smiling at him, happy and peaceful, her eyes full of love. She was so beautiful, looking exactly as she had looked on that day when they had first met, so many years ago. He remembered that day as if it were yesterday. He had spent the day in the mountains and as the sun was setting, there she was. She looked exactly as if someone had taken a perfect summer's day and spun it into a human being. And from the first moment he saw her, his heart was completely hers. Their time together had been too short. Her life had ended, suddenly, one dark, evil night. But, every moment of their time together was locked safely away in his mind and heart. She would always be in his heart. He turned away from the mirror.
"Goodnight." He said. Then, without a backward glance, he left the room and headed for his study. . .
Harry carefully folded up the cloak and put it in his trunk. He started to climb into bed, but Scabbers was curled up on his pillow. He pushed him over to the edge of the bed and then climbed under the covers. As he was drifting off to sleep it occurred to him that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, it had been quite a personal question . . .