Kitty: Chapter 13.

Yugi: Many secrets will be revealed in this chapter!

Lina: And the Mirror of Erised reappears. (grins)

Kitty: And Dumbledore too!

Yugi: I can't wait to find out what everyone sees in the mirror.

Hermione: R&R!

Chapter Thirteen:

Your Heart's Deepest Desire

"You could've woken Harry and me up, Dare," Ron grumbled crossly.

Diana had been telling Harry, Bakura and Ron about the strange mirror she'd stumbled across the night before, and all of them had been a little bit grumpy because of a series of wake-up pranks that the school poltergeist, Peeves, had been experimenting on the students that involved a bugle, a large bowl on chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry.

"Sorry," Diana said quickly, licking some chocolate sauce off of her chin, "I was kind of out of it. I just want to go back to the mirror tonight...and you guys can come with me."

"I have wondered what your mum looked like," Harry said as he ate the cherry he'd found on top of the whipped cream that had appeared in his hair that morning, "All Ron's told me is that she looks like you."

"And I'd love to see all of your family, too," Diana said with a smile, "Although there's no reason to go to the mirror to see Ron's, since they're always at his house."

"I'd be interested to see if we could see each others' reflections," Bakura said thoughtfully, "And maybe the mirror only shows dead people."

"Hmm..." Diana smirked evilly, "If that's the case...then my dad really is alive after all...so I can spill his blood on the ground when I find him..."

"Dare, knock it off, you're scaring me," Ron muttered.

Diana cleared her throat and turned serious.

"Anyway..."

She looked at Bakura.

"I forgot to make you explain last night what the hell's name is going on with you and Ryou."

"I'd like to know that too, frankly," Harry said with a frown.

"I never really noticed anything wrong with you until you suddenly started talking about some kind of 'Shadow Realm,'" Ron muttered, "Then I started to wonder what the bloody hell was wrong with you."

"To tell you the truth, I started to wonder when we'd have to tell ya," the Tomb Robber said, "Firstly, my name is Bakura. Yeah, my name is my Hikari's last name, I know. I live inside the Millennium Ring."

He pulled the Ring out from under his shirt in order to explain the situation better.

"That gold dream catcher?" Harry asked.

Bakura nodded.

"I'm a spirit from 5000 years ago...from Ancient Egypt, to be precise. The Pharaoh of Egypt at that time created seven Millennium Items and hid them away, along with each of their powers."

"Do all of them have spirits in them?" Diana asked.

"I don't think so," Bakura said, "The Millennium Puzzle is the only other Item with a spirit in it...that we know of, at least."

"That pyramid thing Yugi wears all the time?" Ron asked.

"You got it."

"So that's why he acted strangely when Marik, Mione and I were going down to duel Malfoy!" Diana said triumphantly.

"I suppose so," Bakura said with a smirk, "The little runt's Yami was Pharaoh, would you believe that?"

"Pharaoh?" Harry repeated, "Was he that ancient Pharaoh who hid the Millennium Items away?"

"You guys figure things out fast," Bakura noted, "Yeah, he was that baka."

"But if Yugi's other spirit was a Pharaoh, what were you?" Ron asked.

Bakura snorted. "A Tomb Robber."

"That is so wicked," Diana said with a grin.

Bakura blinked in surprise. "You...actually like that?"

"Yeah," Diana replied, "You could go into all those tombs...and traveling all the time! That would be so cool."

Bakura smirked. "Well, you'll find little who agree with you. Marik, in particular, dislikes my old profession."

"Oh...because he's a Tomb Keeper?"

"Right again, Dare-kun," Bakura replied, "I guess I was right in saying you're clever for a mortal, wasn't I?"

He ruffled her red hair a little, and Diana laughed.

"Nice to hear that from a Tomb Robber," she replied with a grin, "I guess this means you'll keep in touch?"

Bakura winked mischievously. "Hey, if it means we can kick Malfoy's fat ass a little, sure!"

And with that, Ryou took his Yami's place.

He blinked, before muttering to himself.

"My Yami did it again! Why couldn't I have been gifted with the tolerable Pharaoh instead of this stupid Yami who calls himself a King of Thieves...OW! MY ASS!"

Bakura, from inside his soul room, had picked up a voodoo doll of his Hikari, and had started to play with a needle.

That night, the three Gryffindors and the Tomb Robber ended up meeting near the library, so that Bakura and Diana could show them the mirror.

Ron went up to the mirror and looked at the words carved around the frame carefully.

"It looks like Latin to me," he muttered, looking at Diana with raised eyebrows.

Diana shrugged. "Do you know anyone who knows Latin?"

"Neko-chan does," Bakura remembered, "Maybe she could translate it for us later."

Ron looked at his reflection casually, before jumping back in shock.

"What?" said Harry.

"Did you see my mum?" Diana asked immediately.

"N-no," Ron stammered, "I-I'm alone...I'm older...I'm Head Boy!"

"Huh?"

Diana wasn't expecting that.

"I am..." Ron whispered, "I'm wearing the badge Bill used to wear...I'm holding the House Cup...and the Quidditch Cup...I'm Quidditch Captain too!"

Ron looked at Diana in excitement. "Maybe this mirror shows the future!"

"That can't be," Diana whispered, "My mum's dead...and there's no way to bring back the dead that I know of..."

Harry looked in the mirror, and his eyes widened.

"What d'you see, Harry-kun?" Bakura asked.

Harry didn't answer. He was as quiet as Diana was the night before, unable to tear his eyes away from the mirror. He touched the mirror like he was trying to touch a distant dream, his eyes longing and sad.

Diana stepped toward him.

"Your parents?" she whispered.

Harry turned to stare at her. "How'd you know?"

"I know that look," Diana said gently, "I've had the look on my face more than once."

Harry nodded, before looking at Bakura. "Are you going to take a look at it?"

Bakura walked toward the mirror as Harry got out of the way. He looked at his reflection, but he didn't react at all except to blink in surprise.

"What?" Diana asked.

"Egypt," he replied slowly, "I-I'm back in Egypt...as a Tomb Robber."

Diana looked at the mirror, trying to see Bakura as a Tomb Robber, but she saw nothing.

She frowned. "I wish I could see that..."

Bakura looked at her with a rare smile on his face. "I suppose I was right in thinking we couldn't see each others' reflections..."

There was a silence, not awkward, but thoughtful, with Diana and Bakura looking into the mirror and Ron and Harry keeping a look-out.

Finally, Ron spoke.

"C'mon. We better get back to bed."

Diana shook her head. "You guys go on ahead. I'm staying a little longer."

"But what if you get caught?" Harry asked.

"I won't," Diana said quietly, sitting in front of the mirror.

Bakura sat down next to her. "I'll stay with Dare-kun," he said to them, "You guys go on ahead."

"But you'll need the Invisibility Cloak to get back to bed," Harry protested.

"No we won't," Bakura said, pointing to his Ring, "I have everything we'll ever need to protect ourselves."

Ron and Harry looked at each other, and then nodded, before putting the Cloak over themselves and disappearing out of sight.

Diana looked back into the mirror without a word.

She stared, her eyes filled with small traces of tears, at her mother smiling proudly at her and mouthing soft words Diana would never be able to hear.

It was nearly midnight. Bakura had dozed off, his head resting on the floor nearby his mortal friend, but still Diana watched the mirror, her heart aching with yearning as her mother continued to smile at her.

Diana sighed.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Why did she have to stare at this mirror avidly to see her mother when she could never even hope to have her mother embrace her in loving arms?

Her mother would never be there...and yet...Diana liked this feeling of her mother being proud of her...she adored the feeling she felt as she stood by her mother, equal to her...

"Back again, Diana?"

Diana whirled around to see Albus Dumbledore sitting on one of the desks near the wall, with a serious expression on his face.

Diana felt like she had been frozen in ice. She must not have heard him come in.

"I...I didn't see you there, sir," she stammered.

"Strange that being so quiet can make you invisible," Dumbledore replied with a small smile on his face.

Diana looked at Bakura, and then looked at Dumbledore, immediately coming to his defense.

"Professor, it's not Bakura's fault, I-"

"No need to protect the Tomb Robber, Diana," Dumbledore interrupted smoothly, "I know he hasn't done anything wrong. He just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Diana sighed in relief.

"I suppose that you and your friends enjoyed looking into the Mirror of Erised?"

Diana blinked.

"I-I didn't know it was called that, sir," she said quietly.

"I trust, by now, you've realized what it does, however?" Dumbledore asked.

Diana shrugged.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," she admitted, "It shows me my mum being proud of me..."

"And it showed your friend Bakura his past in Egypt, it showed Ron himself as Head Boy, and it showed Harry his family."

"How did you know...?"

"Like your friend Bakura, I don't need a cloak to become invisible," Dumbledore said, "Now...do you think you can figure out what the mirror shows us?"

Diana thought a moment.

"It shows us...what we want...what we desire..."

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts," Dumbledore agreed, "You, Diana, who have always been overshadowed by your mother, see her standing beside you as your equal. Ronald, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself alone, the best of all of them. Harry, who has never known anything about his past, sees his parents standing beside him."

Diana looked down at Bakura. She gently stroked his silver-white hair as he continued to sleep, a small smile appearing on her face.

"And Bakura..."

"Who has always been alone, with no one caring about him, sees himself back in the place where he at least had someone to care about him."

Diana looked at Dumbledore in surprise.

"His family?"

"You could say that," Dumbledore said quietly, "But remember, Diana...this mirror shows us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of this mirror, entranced by what they have seen in their reflection, or have been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or fantasy. That is why tomorrow, it shall be moved to a new home...and I must ask you not to go looking for it again."

Diana looked ready to protest. "But-"

"If you ever do run across it again, you will now be prepared," Dumbledore added, "It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live, Diana."

Diana slowly looked at Bakura, then the mirror, and then at Dumbledore, and nodded.

"Now," Dumbledore whispered, "Why don't you wake up the Tomb Robber and get off to bed?"

Diana stood up, and sighed.

She then thought of something.

"Uh...Professor? May I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you have just done so," Dumbledore smiled, "But yes, you may ask me one more thing."

"What...what do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a thick pair of woolen socks."

Diana stared. "Socks?"

"One can never have too many socks," Dumbledore said, "Another Christmas has gone by, and I haven't received a single pair. People still insist on getting me books."

Diana grinned. "I'll have to tell Molly Weasley about that," she said.

Dumbledore smiled back, and then started to leave.

But it was only when Diana and Bakura started back toward their common rooms that she actually thought that Dumbledore might not have been completely truthful. Then again, she reasoned, it had probably been a very personal question.

But as Diana got into her bed back in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, she remembered Dumbledore's words about Bakura...

"And Bakura..."

"Who has always been alone, with no one caring about him, sees himself back in the place where he at least had someone to care about him."

"His family?"

"You could say that."

Diana frowned. What else could Bakura possibly be hiding?

Kitty: Wonderful question. Now all it needs is an answer, which will be revealed in a while.

Yugi: Aw...why not now?

Kitty: Because it's such a good cliffy!

Lina: (groans) I DESPISE CLIFFIES!

Kitty: (glares) But it makes people want more, smart ass.

Harry: Reviews?

Kitty: (types on her computer) WHAT?????

Yugi: What is it, Kitty?

Kitty: AM I DREAMING? DID I ACTUALLY GET THIRTEEN REVIEWS FROM ONE PERSON????

Everyone: (gawks)

Kitty: Whoa. (grins at lily queen) Thank you so much! I'm very flattered!

Yugi: Who else sent a review?

Kitty: Hmm... (types) Let's see...Engie also wrote a review. (grins) Your own story? KEWLIES!!!! I wanna read it!

Yugi: I would assume you'd do a good job, Engie.

Kitty: But of course! She's my friend!

Noa: Who else, Kitty?

Kitty: Kani.

Harry: (pant) (wheeze)

Kitty: Kani, chill. Harry loves you too, but don't strangle him, I need him for the fic.

Kara: (grins) Yeah, I'm here too. And I'm gonna have tons of fun with Marik-chan! (glomps her boyfriend)

Marik: (about to kiss her)

Ariel & Kane: WAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Kara: (runs over to comfort the babies)

Marik: Aw...I didn't get my kiss... (pouts)

Kitty: Last, but certainly not least, RAINBOW GUARDIAN ANGEL!!!! (smiles) Yeah, we like ya. And Marik being a father would be difficult, ne? And when you do write your fic, I promise, I SHALL REVIEW!!!! (grins)

Atem: (blushes when he gets the kiss) Nice to know you're happy. (eats the cookie)

Yugi: (takes the mallet) Hee, hee, hee... (eats the cookie while making back-up plans to hurt Malfoy if something happens to the mallet)

Kitty: I'VE GOT A FAN! YAY!!!!

Lina: (pointing out) You've got more than one, Kitty.

Kitty: (not paying attention) YAY!!!!!

Lina: (sweatdrop)

Ron: R&R!