Answering a Challenge: What if Snape had caught Harry when he was hiding under his invisibility cloak? :: http s6.invisionfree com PanicParables/
The meeting of Erised
"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."
Harry stood rooted to the spot as Fitch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer, they'd knock right into him - the cloak didn't stop him from being solid. Panicking, Harry tried to look around him for a place to step out of the way. Nearly… there… out of the—WHAM!
The two of them fell to the floor, the larger man on top of the other, Harry groaned under the weight and the realization hit him. 'Oh bloody hell… I'm in trouble…' The man on top of him got up from the floor, grabbing the cloak as he went. Harry winced as the cloak floated off him, appearing in plain sight of Snape, Filch and Madame Pince. He never felt so horrified before the moment he was experiencing.
Snape sneered at him, holding the cloak in his hand with disdain. "What do you hope to be achieving by not being in bed, after hours no less?" asked Professor Snape, dripping with sarcasm and gleeful that he had caught Potter after curfew.
"Mr. Potter, were you in the Restricted section?" started on Madame Pince, her face sour. Harry's face went from pale to crimson red at Madame Pince, ashamed of being caught.
"Y—er—yes…" replied Harry, meekly.
"What were you searching for?" she asked, her face drawing closer to Harry's face. Nostrils flared and absolutely angry of having her precious books being manhandled. Harry wringed his hands, wondering if he should tell them.
'Could I reveal that I was searching for any information on Nicholas Flamel?' wondered Harry.
"Well? I assure you, we have all night to confer this," he said, his voice again dripping with sarcasm. "Hurry up boy!" Harry jumped slightly at the answer and sighed.
"There's no way of not telling you guys, then?" he asked, hopeful.
"There isn't," said Snape, curtly, waiting for Harry to continue his 'babbling'. Harry sighed, slumping his shoulders in defeat.
"I—was looking for information on Nicholas Flamel…" The three pierced their eyes at Harry. Madame Pince paled, Snape looked even more furious and Filch sneered.
"What?" growled Snape, his gaze escalating in intensity.
"Ah… we… I mean, I was researching on the person I know nothing about…" stammered Harry, wondering when they would give him the detention and some house deduction all ready. Apparently, it wasn't to happen any time soon.
"Potter, you. Will. Not. Say a word about Flamel and cease your researching!" snapped Snape. Harry frowned and looked to Madame Pince and Caretaker Filch and sighed. He nodded, agreeing to stop researching altogether.
"Okay sir, I will stop researching altogether…" said Harry quietly, looking at his special cloak. Then another presence entered the hallway and into where they are.
"Evening… ah, a student's out of bed I see," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling softly. Harry knitted his brows at this.
'Now, what is he up to?' wondered Harry.
"Albus, this boy here have been in the Restricted Section, looking up Flamel!" said Snape, angry and eager to get Harry in trouble. Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry, studying him and turned to Snape and nodded.
"I'll take him up to my office, good evening to you all," said Dumbledore, leading Harry away. "Ah, I think I shall have the cloak back," he said, picking Harry's cloak from Snape carefully. Snape looked as if he was being sentenced to a lifetime of teaching a class full of Longbottoms. The two left quietly and stopped before a gargoyle.
"Lemon drops," said Dumbledore and led Harry into a spiraling staircase and he was amazed by the eagle statue as it spun around before stopping behind the door. Which Harry assumed would lead into Dumbledore's office. After the two sat down, Dumbledore took a tin can out.
"Lemon drop?" he asked. Harry blinked, not sure how to respond.
"Uh, sure," said Harry, accepting the candy from him and began to suck on it.
"Now Harry, is it true that you're researching my old friend, Nicholas Flamel?"
"H-he's your friend?" asked Harry, widening eyes and arching both eyebrows. Dumbledore chuckled and nodded in answer.
"First, how do you know about Nicholas Flamel exist?" he asked.
"Uh… well…" Harry looked down, uncomfortable.
"If you did anything to cause to break rules, I won't get you in trouble for it," he said, eyes twinkling madly. Harry's face snapped up at him, daring to believe that this man, before him, would keep him out of trouble. Harry sighed, how could he refuse? He began to pour his tale about Malfoy's challenged duel, then was tattled on to Filch. Thus ending them all four, Hermione, Ron, Neville and himself. Into the third corridor on the third floor.
"Ah… I see, so I can infer that you saw the trap door it lay beneath?" Dumbledore asked and Harry replied, face reddening. Dumbledore sighed, growing weary as the night grew old. "Well, there is something that I had Hagrid to take from the vault at Gringotts. It simply wasn't safe there anymore…"
"Oh, I remember the Gringott's attempted robbery…"
"Ah, you remember? Indeed, indeed… well, I'll give you a clue in aiding your research on my friend…" his eyes twinkled. Harry stared at him, dumbfounded that the Headmaster would even encourage to keep researching! "He is not of a recent born, rather, he lived for a long, long time. He is skilled at alchemy… that is all I can say for you. Now, I think I shall accompany you back to your dorms, don't you think?"
Harry nodded, absorbing what Dumbledore just revealed to him and on top of that, willing to let him to continue researching! It's as if… he wanted Harry to find, whatever it was. Sighing, he stopped short at the portrait into his common room.
"Th-thank you sir, for getting me out of trouble…" said Harry, face still beet red. Dumbledore chuckled and stared at him.
"There's another thing I would like to share with you, do you remember where my office is?" Harry nodded slowly. "Meet me there under your cloak at eleven P.M."
The next day arrived, Ron and Harry was in the Great Hall for their breakfast. Harry quietly explained what happened last night to his best mate. Incredulously, Ron replied what he thought about Harry's little excursion.
"What! Blimey, didn't the greasy git take any points?" Harry shook his head no as he ate a bit of muffin. "Bloody hell, that's… Snape could have taken away a hundred points for that mate!"
"I know… and Professor Dumbledore…" he hesitated, "wants me to meet him near his office tonight…"
"What for?" asked Ron, eyes widening in horror. Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know, I suppose we'll find out tonight, huh?"
"Yeah mate… I hope it's not about last night," said Ron, frowning. "So, what was the Restricted section like?"
"Spooky," replied Harry."
"Is that all?"
"Yes Ron," replied Harry, rolling his eyes. "It wasn't that bad though. The section just had this air of spookiness, that's all."
"Mmm, well I wish I could come with you to see Professor Dumbledore…" said Ron, still using quiet voices as they spoke.
"Me too…" said Harry, frowning. "After last night, I don't really want to sneak out so soon, even if the Headmaster requested to see me."
"Well, will you wake me when you come back, then?" asked Ron. Harry nodded in answer and they were finished with their breakfast. After the boys went back to the tower, they played several games of chest. Every time Harry tried to take a pawn or a rook, Ron took something more valuable, namely his Queen. "Damn Ron, you always beat me," cursed Harry playfully. Then Ron moved his bishop in the line of Harry's king.
"Checkmate," said Ron, grinning and Harry groaned. Before they knew it, it was nearly ten at night.
"Well, what do you think he might want?" asked Ron for the tenth time. Harry sighed and put down his book.
"I don't know Ron," said Harry tiredly. "Can you please stop asking that question?" Ron nodded and looked at the time.
"Blimey, you have one more hour… maybe you should go in half hour and wait for him…" said Ron.
"Good idea, I don't' want him to be waiting for me," said Harry, nodding. With that, the Gryffindor pair went up to their dormitory to admire Harry's newest cloak for a moment longer.
"Can I try it?" asked Ron, unable to quench his awe for Harry's cloak. Harry grinned and nodded, Ron eagerly tried on the cloak. "Oh blimey… are you sure you can't give it to me?"
"I'm sure, Ron," said Harry, still grinning. "It's the only thing I have of my father's after all."
"Yeah…" said Ron quietly, slipping out of the invisibility cloak and delicately handed the cloak back to Harry. "You should go see the Headmaster." Harry nodded, taking the cloak back from Ron. When the pair went down back to the common room and stood next to the painting. "Well, I'll be up, waiting for you to come back. I want to know what Dumbledore wanted."
"All right, I will," agreed Harry, swinging the cloak on himself. Then Harry left Gryffindor Tower and headed for the meeting spot. He arrived at the place before a gargoyle that led up to Headmaster's office. Suddenly, the Professor came through the hole as the gargoyle statue jumped out of the way. His eyes were twinkling as he stared at Harry. Gulping nervously, Harry took the hood off his head.
"Hello, Mr. Potter," greeted Dumbledore. "I anticipated you coming earlier than I have requested. Now, please cover your face again and follow me," he politely said. Harry apprehensively obeyed the request and covered his face again. Then the two went off toward the library. When Dumbledore went into an abandoned classroom, he turned around to face Harry. "Please remove your invisibility cloak… and observe the mirror."
Harry nodded after he took the cloak off. Curiosity piqued, he saw a mirror and frowned, he looked at Dumbledore who only waved him to stand in front of the mirror with a smile. Harry timidly stood in front of the mirror. First, he only saw himself then something faded into view. He gasped in surprised and knitted eyebrows as he looked around for the two people that were obviously next to him. When he saw no one, he looked back at the mirror. There were more people than previously! Harry blinked his eyes several times, making sure he wasn't seeing things.
Harry looked to Dumbledore for any explanation but he remained quiet. So he studied the mirror further and realized that the woman had a familiar pair of eyes, emerald green eyes. Then the man next to her had a jet wild black hair with knobby knees. With a sudden realization, Harry murmured softly. "Mum… dad…?" his heart felt as though he was being squeezed, his tears prickling. He got to his knees, staring at the people that he now realized that was his family. The long lost family he had wanted all his life ever since he came to live with the Dursleys.
"You see your parents, Harry?" asked Dumbledore quietly, not ruining the moment. Harry could only nod in answer, not trusting himself to speak. The pain in his heart was much too great. "Last night… when you came to the library, I had anticipated that you would… stumble into this room accidentally." He sighed, "unfortunately, Professor Snape and the others have caught you. I felt… that you needed to see how your parents, your family looked like."
All Harry could do was nod in answer, one stray tear fell down his face, his back fortunately to Dumbledore. He couldn't stand to cry in front of the Headmaster of the school right now. Then he found his courage to ask one question. "What does this mirror do?"
"Ah, the Mirror of Erised. See the inscription along the top? It translates into 'I show not your face but your heart's desire,' can you guess what that means?" explained Dumbledore patiently. Harry shook his head no, still confused. "Let's try this way, then Harry. If the happiest man on Earth were to stand in front of the mirror now. What would he see?"
"I don't know…" replied Harry, knitting his brows in confusion and thought. "He sees just himself?"
"Exactly," replied Dumbledore, eyes twinkling in a proud manner. Harry had continued to stare at his parents and the family in the background.
"Um, if you don't mind asking, Professor…" began Harry. "W-what do you see?" Dumbledore raised both eyebrows in response then spoke.
"Ah, I suppose it would be socks, one can never have enough socks. Everyone just insist on giving me books when I want socks," said Dumbledore, chuckling. Harry nodded as he put his hand tentatively on the mirror as he studied his parent's smiles, their kind eyes and the mischievous grin of his dad. "Well, I am sad to say that many men in the past have wasted their lives standing before this very mirror for many centuries…" he said apologetically. He sighed and Harry finally broke his view from the mirror to his Headmaster. "Harry, you have one more night to view the mirror as you wish, but after that, the mirror will be moved to a new home. Can I trust you to not look for the mirror until… another time comes?"
Harry nodded in confirmation, but briefly wondered why Dumbledore wanted to even let Harry out wandering late at night. Shrugging mentally, he got up from the floor, looking at his parents again. Without word, the two left for Gryffindor Tower, feeling oddly contented, but he also wanted to keep looking at the mirror. He guessed this must be the feeling that many people before him had felt, that they had wasted their lives on Mirror of Erised. After giving the password to the Pink Lady, he entered the common room and found Ron sitting by the fire.
Ron immediately sat up when he saw the portrait hole open and waited for Harry to come over where he sat. When Harry took the cloak off and sat down on a pouf chair next to Ron, exhaling.
"Well?" asked Ron, anxiously. "Were you in trouble? Did something go wrong? Did he teach something to you?"
"No, no, and no," said Harry, laughing. "He actually… showed me something tonight that I should have seen for myself last night. I don't really understand though… but it's… amazing, Ron!" said Harry, breathlessly. "I… I saw the Mirror of Erised. I saw my parents, my family… for the first time in my life."
"Mirror of Er-what?" asked Ron, lost.
"Dumbledore granted me to see the mirror one more time, so you can come with me. It's just, there's too much to say about one object. It shows the things you desire the most in your heart."
"Blimey Harry, I think I heard of those," said Ron quietly, dawning on comprehension. "Oh mate, we really should see this mirror tomorrow!" Harry nodded enthusiastically.
"Dumbledore also said that the mirror will be moving to a new home after tomorrow night so we can't miss this chance," said Harry.
"Oh, you're right," said Ron, nodding. "We should get to sleep now so we can out-snowball the twins tomorrow," Harry grinned and nodded. Then the boys were off to sleep.
End
This is a one-shot story and is not intended to be continued. Thank you for reading and reviews are most appreciated.