After the Dawn: The Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Seventeen: The Mirror of Erised

Harry insisted Neville make the promised run, which the other boy was not happy about, and they continued to train quite a lot over the next couple of days.

Harry, however, was growing ever more possessed by the idea that he would like to see how he went without his godfather to guide his steps when it came to mischief making.

He had the Marauder's Map, and he had his fathers invisibility cloak – he didn't think that he would be able to do all that badly. Each night it was becoming a challenge to just go to bed and fall asleep, every time he got the urge to go and explore the castle alone.

On the third last day of the Christmas holidays, he gave in. He didn't know where he wanted to go, he just wanted to do something. With the invisibility cloak swirling around his shoulders and the Marauders Map tucked into his pocket, Harry ventured forth.

He wandered down through the castle, then, by chance, came across Filch and Snape – he wasn't using the Map yet, because he wanted to see how far he could get without it.

"He's out again tonight," Filch was saying. "Forth time this week I've noticed him poking his nose where it don't belong."

"Hopefully one of these days soon something will bite it off," Snape muttered darkly. "Have you tried to scare him off?"

"Why would he be listening to a simple care taker like me? No one ever listens to Filch," the man snarled.

Harry wondered who they were talking about, there were plenty of students who crossed Filch on a regular basis – but no one went out of their way to do so … and no one really wanted to see Filch mad. In a bad mood, Filch could easily try to expel you – rumour had it that once he had succeeded to get a student expelled for putting mud in the hallways.

"Keep an eye on him, won't you?" Snape said silkily, "If he does anything for which we can catch him, let me know immediately and I will go to the Headmaster about it."

"Yes Professor Snape," Filch muttered. "You might be wanting to have a look for him yourself – never know where he might turn up. Mostly round the third floor, of course but …"

"Of course," Snape said. "I will keep an eye out."

Harry decided that he had better make himself scarce. Who knew where Snape might go? He didn't want to get caught by the Potions Master. Snape had had a grudge against him since the first day when Harry hadn't been all too polite in his introduction.

He hurried down the hall, then stopped for a moment. He could hear sounds of destruction from up ahead – it seemed that Peeves was up to his usual tricks. Harry could hear Filch coming to investigate and swore quietly.

He looked quickly along the hallway he was on, and noted one door that went off to the right. With a sigh of relief, he pushed it open, raced inside and shut the door again quickly.

He heard Filch come stomping along the corridor and start to yell at Peeves, and quickly realised that he was going to be there for a while – Filch sounded pretty pissed off.

Harry sighed, resigning himself to a time spent hidden in the room. Well, may as well put time to good use and examine the room – there might be something hidden in it.

Turning around, Harry immediately noted the room was an old, disused classroom from a time when Hogwarts had had more students. Then he noticed that there was something that he didn't think had been here when the classroom had been abandoned.

At the opposite end of the room was a looming mirror, as high as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame and stood on two clawed feet. Around the fame, Harry realised as he came closer, words were etched.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Harry's quick mind flashed through various coding games that he and Sirius had played in the past, and soon came up with what the caption really read. I show not your face but your hearts desire.

"So," Harry murmured allowed, "You're the famous Mirror of Erised. I wonder what my hearts desire is?"

He drew the invisibility cloak closer around himself and stepped in front of the mirror. For a moment he saw nothing but himself. He knew that this was not right, because only the most content man on the planet would be able to see only himself, so Harry played around a bit, stepping this way and that.

Eventually the scene in the mirror changed. Harry smiled in quiet delight. Now reflected in the surface of the mirror was Potter Mansion. Sirius was there, smiling widely, and so were Harry's parents, alive and well. There were many other people around them, all talking and laughing silently, milling around.

He knew that in this vision, Sirius was a free man, and he, Harry, was happy and had many friends. Harry smiled contentedly. It was a nice desire, he thought pleasantly to himself. His desire was not to see himself changed, but to see an end to the secrecy that had shrouded his life, and the vague misery that came from the knowledge that his parents were dead.

He had to wonder, however, what the Mirror was doing here – it was supposed to be a very important and valuable object after all. Perhaps Dumbledore had some plan for it, and if he did, Harry wondered what that might be.

Shaking his head slightly, Harry stepped back from the Mirror. He had no wish to remain enthralled in the vision for the rest of his (most likely short) life. He considered himself well off, since he had not come upon the Mirror with no idea what it might be. He knew that what it presented was purely fantasy, but it was nice to know what his strongest desire was.

Harry took out of the Marauders Map and opened it up, looking quickly around his general area. Snape was heading towards the third floor corridor, and Filch was headed for the Headmasters office. Peeves was bouncing off upstairs, no doubt to cause more mayhem while Filch gave a report on him to the Headmaster.

Harry smiled. It was safe to move on, and soon enough Hermione would be back from her Christmas holidays so they could resume their search for the elusive Nicholas Flamel.

Quickly and quietly Harry made his way back up to the Gryffindor tower. He knew that everyone else was in bed, asleep, so at least he would not be caught when he got back.

Harry reached the portrait and scrambled into the common room, heading quickly upstairs, the Invisibility Cloak and Marauders Map hidden in his clothes.

"Nemo? Where were you?" Neville asked, sitting up as Harry came into the dormitory.

"I went downstairs to the toilet," Harry replied, "then stayed up to study for a little bit."

"Why did you want to study at a time like this?" Neville enquired sleepily. "You sound like Hermione."

"Spare me," Harry smiled. "I wondered if I had remembered a fact right and I wanted to check on it – I had."

"Oh, OK," Neville replied, and turned over, falling asleep.

Harry smiled slightly. He would not have let the matter lie at that, and eventually he might tell Neville about the Invisibility Cloak, but for the moment that was his, and his alone. Eventually he would also train Neville to notice when people were lying – it would be a useful skill for the other boy to have.

Undressing, Harry slipped into bed and was asleep within moments.

The next day after breakfast, Harry wondered outside to stand on the shore of the lake. A little while later Blaise came out to join him. Harry knew that Neville was up in the common room, finishing up an essay for Potions which would be due in next term.

"How are you?" he asked Blaise as she joined him.

"I'm alright," she said cautiously.

"Your housemates haven't given you a hard time for being seen with a Gryffindor have they?" Harry asked.

"No, they haven't. There aren't enough of them here to have noticed yet," Blaise replied.

There was a momentary silence which Harry was happy to leave as it was, enjoying the company of his new friend as he looked out over the lake.

"So why do you hang out with me?" Blaise blurted out suddenly, "Your house will hardly like it any more than mine will! At least mine will think that I'm befriending you to get into your confidences."

"I don't think anyone has the right to tell me who I can be friends with and who I can't," Harry said icily. "I have no intention of paying any attention to the words of those who don't know what they are talking about. You seem a nice person, and at this point in time I am more than happy to be friends with you."

"Oh," Blaise said.

Harry smiled briefly at her. "Hermione and Neville taught me that while having friends means that I may get hurt, avoiding having friends for that reason is hurt in the making. I like having people around me, and I think that you are someone I would like to get to know more. If you aren't averse to the idea, of course."

"Sometimes you seem a lot older than your years," Blaise said quietly. "This is one of them – I would love to be your friend."

"Excellent!" Harry replied.

"Do you think Neville and Hermione will mind?"

"I don't really care," Harry replied. "Neville said that he's willing to try and get to know you, and I obviously don't know about Hermione, but you're going to my friend, not their's, so there opinion doesn't really matter that much does it?"

"I thought that they were your friends though…"

"They are," Harry replied, "But that doesn't mean that I can't have other friends who aren't friends with them."

"I guess," Blaise said. "Look, I have to go and do some homework for Professor McGonagall, but maybe we could meet in the library after lessons on the first day of school?"

"Yeah, sure," Harry replied. "I'll see you then … you don't mind if Neville and Hermione come along do you?"

"Of course not," Blaise said quickly. Too quickly, Harry thought – she did mind after all. She was probably afraid that they would reject her, and that Harry would too, to keep pace with his friends. Well, she didn't need to worry there. He had made a friend and he intended to stick by her!

He and Blaise returned to the castle and then went their separate ways. Blaise to the dungeons and Harry up to Gryffindor tower.

"I heard you were talking with a Slytherin, Protectium," Ron Weasley was in Harry's face the moment he walked through the door.

"So I was – what's it to you?" Harry asked.

"You're in Gryffindor, in case you haven't noticed," Ron replied, as Seamus and Dean came up behind him. Surreptitiously, Neville set down his quill and scurried over to stand behind Harry, half shielded by him, half trying to make a stand.

"I had, actually, considering the fact that I am in the Gryffindor tower right now," Harry said irritably.

"Gryffindors and Slytherins don't make friends," Ron told him. "We hate each other!"

"You may hate as many Slytherins as you like," Harry informed the other boy, "I think Blaise is a nice girl, and that she will be a good friend. I don't try to run your life for you, though god knows you need someone to do it, and I'd thank you if you didn't try to run mine!"

Ron blustered a bit, then turned and stalked upstairs to the dormitories, with Seamus and Dean hurrying along behind him, glancing over their shoulders at Harry every now and then.

When they had gone upstairs, Fred and George wandered over to where Harry was standing, still shaking quietly in fury. "Sorry about our little brother," George said.

"He can be quite dense at times," Fred added.

"He can't really help it," George remarked sadly.

"You were right, you know," Fred grinned wickedly.

"He does need someone to run his life for him," George laughed.

"He doesn't seem to do a very good job of it himself, anyway!" both said together.

Harry laughed, his anger retreating. "You don't think I'm being disloyal, befriending a Slytherin?" he asked hesitantly.

"Hell no!" Fred replied.

"We don't much like most of the Slytherins ourselves," George admitted.

"But we know that there are some nice ones in the bunch," Fred said.

"And it's really no one's business who your friends are!" again, they said the last line together.

"Why can't you just talk one at a time?" Neville asked in confusion.

"Because it's fun,"

"To confuse people like this,"

"And it's ever so easy!" Fred and George said, following their usual pattern.

Neville sighed and shook his head, retreating back to his homework.

"Odd fellow," George said, looking after him.

"Seems nice enough though," Fred agreed.

"Oh he is," Harry said, "You saw him trying to be supportive – he'll get there soon enough. He's a great guy."

Fred and George nodded, then guided Harry into a corner, looking around carefully to make sure that no one had noticed them. As there were only a few people in the common room, it wasn't difficult to find a spot where they wouldn't be over heard.

"How was your trip home?" George asked, "We noticed you came back without Ardeo."

"Yeah – he came along because I didn't really intend to make any friends here," Harry said, "But it seems that I wasn't given much of a choice in that, was I?"

"Seems not," Fred remarked. "But anyway, as you know, we're pretty impressed with your work as a prankster … we were wondering if you had any more prank ideas that we could help you with?"

"And if you don't, I'm sure we can think some whoppers up between us!" George agreed.

Harry smiled slightly, "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something," he said lazily.

Note: In some languages, the word for male and female are quite different, and JK said to just translate Blaise as a guy.

Well, that's that chapter. Next chapter is Nicholas Flamel, and Quidditch practice! Hopefully a little longer than this one, but I posted this ahead of time, so I think that slightly less writing is alright … will try and update more frequently, but can't say anything.

Thanks: Mrs.Sniffy, Alaranth-88, blank, Surarrin, Nerwen Elendil, IceSurgarHigh, athenakitty, Xyverz, Zaxxon, Motif, Unknown, Kraeg001, Nphipps, JeanieBeanie33, Fire tempest, Nefertiri Riddle, torifire126, Musicstarlover, Cyblade Silver, bigstu, cyress,Wytil, azntgr01, AgnesSophia, FreedomStar, cantfindagoodname, cantfindagoodname, Empress Sarah-sama, grand admiral chelli, Julieroo2, gaul1, Jeanne2, wicky, Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy, Tombadgerlock, Wynjara, BloodRedSword, jbfritz, icedrake1, I Have Sirius Problems, theauthorthatwrites2,Samara-Morgan-101, prinzess-pippi, Nasser Himura, Mark Turnlach, ethan5, Bukama, PreetoakaRavenPotterWeasley, Callme001kat, Romulan Empress, rankokun.

Nerwen Elendi: plenty of people write to J.K. but she doesn't personally write back any more – it says so on her website: www.jkrowling.com.

WolfMoon