Disclaimer: Ah, ya all know what I'm gonna say! But again, many lines in here are those that JK Rowling wrote (seeing as its based IN the books, so, yeah)
Author's Note: Well, this was a fun chapter to write, I hope you like it! Sparkie's great in this one, so, be warned!
Chapter Twenty-five
Christmas Mirror Fun
Dinner was wonderful. There was so much food that there was no way that they could finish it all in their small numbers. Sparkie, however, was not pleased. He pouted through bites of turkey, dinner rolls, and even the deserts, every once in a while muttering, "All that bacon…" Thorn sighed.
There were also wizard crackers, that, when pulled, let loose white mice and strange hats. Thorn felt something drape over her ears and removed said object to find a large, black top hat. She looked behind her to Maken, who was staring at the ceiling in an all too guilty look. "What?" he asked when he noticed her accusatory stare. She sighed and rammed it over his head, making him tumble off of his seat. Then she noticed Piper, who was sitting in the spot that Thorn usually did. The blonde was sending her a deadly glare and Thorn rolled her eyes and sat back down.
Yah know what… Sparkie said, for a moment forgetting his wonderful bacon dream, I don't think she likes you that much, Thorn.
Where'd you get that idea? the Slytherin asked sardonically.
After dinner Thorn went back to her common room, and sat idly by the fire and read her book. Now she was in the "I's." Sparkie himself was sitting above the fire, a malevolent look to his eyes, and it was obvious that he was planning something. "You are not going to that mirror," Thorn said suddenly as she turned the page in her book.
He made a small, 'Hmp!' sound, and turned his back to her. She chuckled monotonously and stood. She plucked the lizard from his perch and placed him on her shoulder. Then she climbed the stairs to the dormitory got into bed for a good nights sleep.
Which she never got. Thorn woke up suddenly late at night, and looked around. Sparkie had woken her, with a loud cursing exclamation. She looked under her blankets, but the little reptile wasn't there. She sighed and thought, Sparkie, you get you're scaly behind back in here!
The little reptile was quite surprised. That had been the closest thing to vulgar he had ever heard Thorn say. He rubbed his head from where he had accidentally run into a suit of armor in the dark corridor. He shook his head. Nuh uh! I gotta see my bacon just ONE more time…
Thorn sighed and sat up in bed, carefully making sure that her curtains were tightly drawn, and took out a random book from her bedside table. "Sparkify!" she whispered and suddenly Sparkie's sight came onto the cover. She did the same to her ear and heard the quite pitter-patter of his clawed feet on the stone floor.
It's really cold… he observed as he began to crawl into the door.
Thorn nodded and said, In the winter it generally is cold, Sparkie.
The lizard rolled his eyes and made his way towards the mirror. Thorn momentarily wondered what she would see through Sparkie's eyes in the mirror. If it would indeed show her her own desire or Sparkie's. It showed her what the lizard wanted. At first she only saw the blue and red lizard, looking rather misplaced in the reflection of the large mirror, then the reflection altered and it showed the room filled with bacon. Thorn sighed. There… you've seen your room full of bacon. Come back now.
The lizard shook his head. Five more minutes… Thorn rolled her eyes as suddenly Sparkie was nose to nose with his reflection, trying to leap into the mirror as he had hours previous. Then a sound came to both of their ears and Sparkie jumped, and suddenly became invisible. There was something in the room, Sparkie's keen ears caught the sound of quiet footsteps. He flew to the top of the mirror just as Harry Potter dropped an invisibility cloak and walked towards the mirror.
A cloak, Thorn mused. Potter made his way near to the mirror. When he was before it he clapped his hand to his mouth and looked behind him. He looked as if he were in sheer shock. He slowly turned back to the mirror, and stared into it in awe.
What does he see? Sparkie asked Thorn curiously.
The Slytherin shook her head. I don't know. The only way that I could figure out would involve letting him know that he's connected to me, though he undoubtedly doesn't know who I am. It's too risky, besides, he might think that he's insane and do something drastic. Sparkie shrugged an agreement and repositioned himself more comfortably on the ornate golden frame.
"Mom?" a whisper escaped from Potter's lips, "Dad?" Thorn and Sparkie exchanged understanding thoughts as they watched Harry press his palms against the mirror, as Sparkie had done with his head. Sparkie and Thorn watched him for about thirty minutes, but he never moved, so Sparkie sighed and began to fly from the room, yet right before he was out the door he caught a glint of bright blue, like someone's eyes, in the corner of the room, just above an unused desk.
He shrugged it off and darted from the room, ignoring the strange blue gleam that he had seen, and flew back to the Slytherin common room.
The next night Thorn sent Sparkie back to the mirror, much to his delight. When he slipped into the door both Harry and the red-head Ron were there. "See?" Harry had just muttered. Sparkie gave a quite chuckle. Harry was standing before the mirror, and his friend was off to the side.
"I don't see anything," he answered as he looked at the reflection.
"Look!" Harry insisted, as if he couldn't, or wouldn't believe that Ron could not see his family. "Look at them all… there are loads of them…"
"I only see you."
Harry seemed rather annoyed. "Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am." Then he moved aside, and Ron stepped forward. He seemed rather disappointed, because he didn't see his mother and father.
"Look at me!" the tall Gryffindor said.
"Can you see all your family standing around you?" Harry asked hopefully.
Ron shook his head. "No—I'm alone—but I'm different—I look older—and I'm head boy!" The lizard quietly flew to the top of the mirror once again.
The boy who lived was blatantly confused. "What?"
The carrot top continued. "I am—I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to—and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup—I'm Quidditch captain, too!" He turned his head to look to his friend. "Do you think this mirror shows the future?"
Harry seemed to be struck by sorrow and Sparkie itched to go down there and force them away so he could see his own desire. But he refrained, for Thorn warned him that if he did, he'd never get to eat bacon again. "How can it?" Harry muttered. "All of my family are dead—let me have another look—"
Ron shook his head. "You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."
"You're only holding the Quidditch cup," Harry insisted, "What's so interesting about that? I want to see my parents."
Sparkie's keen ears caught a quite padding sound outside in the hall just before Ron warned, "Don't push me—"
Then a sudden, questioning meow came from the corridor. The two of them froze stalk still for a moment just before throwing the invisibility cloak, which had been laying on the floor, over themselves and Mrs. Norris came into the room. Sparkie watched her. They were probably wondering if she could see them, despite the cloak.
Sparkie knew that she couldn't see them, but she could probably sense them, or smell them. Thorn had the certain gift, only because she sometimes had to find him in his invisible state. Yet Mrs. Norris didn't seem to find anything amiss in the room and walked off, or maybe she was looking for Filch. Which was a thought that Ron had pondered, because he muttered, "This isn't safe—she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."
Then he pulled Harry from the room, and Sparkie took one look into the mirror before darting back to Thorn.
"Sparkie…" Thorn muttered to him the next day. "You have to go back tonight, too." She was sitting at the Gryffindor table, next to Maken, who was next to Piper. She and Sparkie were speaking in his tongue, and getting a rather strange look from the blonde.
"Does she honestly think that she can talk to that thing?" Piper asked Maken incredulously. Thorn ignored her. Piper was a nice girl, it was just that she seemed to have something against Thorn, just like Sparkie had something against Maken. He didn't respond.
"Okay!" Sparkie said happily, "I'm liking this more and more."
Thorn shook her head. "Only because we have to know what Albus is going to say. He doesn't know about Quirrell, but we need to know about this mirror… if he wants Harry to see it then it must play an important roll." But Sparkie was hardly listening. He was too busy wishing that night would fall soon and he could look into the glorious heaven that was bacon.
This time Sparkie went earlier, wanting to beat Harry there so that he could have his own time in front of the mirror, but he nearly cursed as he saw that Harry had been able to find the room faster this time. He flew to the top of the mirror, regretting that he had come now, for he didn't see Dumbledore anywhere. Until…
So—back again, Harry?"
The sudden voice and sudden appearance of the headmaster on one of the desks made Sparkie fall over backwards in surprise and plummet from the mirror into a flump on the floor. After Thorn asked him if he was okay he leapt up and peered out from under the mirror. Luckily Potter had been to busy in his own state of shock to hear the dull thump that had come when wings and little body struck the stone floor.
"I—I didn't see you, sir," the Gryffindor muttered quietly.
The headmaster smiled. "Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you." Harry seemed relieved. Thorn gave a small thought of agreement, for Sparkie often did rather stupid things while he was in that state, such as running into the portrait of the fat lady.
"So," he continued as he slid off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry. Sparkie could have sworn that he glanced at him, even though he was invisible, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."
Harry nodded, but said, "I didn't know it was called that, sir."
"But I expect that you've realized by not what it does?"
Potter thought, "It—well—it shows me my family—"
"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy." Albus added.
The Gryffindor seemed stunned. "How did you know—?"
"I do not need a cloak to become invisible," the headmaster said softly, and Sparkie realized that he must have seem him the first night, and the second at that, when he stared at his own tiny reflection. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"
Harry shook his head, and Sparkie wanted to shout out the word, "BACON" but Thorn had kept him quiet.
"Let me explain," Albus continued, "The happiest man on earth would be bale to use the mirror like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself, exactly as he is." He paused. "Does it help?"
There was a moment of silence, then Potter slowly said, "It shows us what we want…whatever we want…"
"Yes," the headmaster said with a small nod, "And no. 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."
Sparkie felt Thorn give a short nod, almost a regretful one. Then the headmaster continued. "The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry," Sparkie could have sworn that he'd seen the elderly wizard glance at him, "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, gathered the cloak, but, before he put it on, he turned back to the headmaster and said, "Sir—Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"
"Obviously, you've just done so," he gave a smile with a twinkling eye, "You may ask me one more thing, however."
"What do you see when you look into the mirror?"
"I?" he clarified, pointing to himself, "I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks." Sparkie almost laughed out loud, Thorn gave a short chuckle, and Harry merely stared. "One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."
Harry nodded and left the room. Once his footsteps could no longer be heard Dumbledore sunk onto his hands and knees, close to the ground, his long silvery beard sweeping the floor. He came face to face with Sparkie and kindly muttered, "And you, Miss Rose, would do well to go to bed as well." He gave a soft wink as Sparkie nodded quickly.
Back in her dormitory Thorn chuckled and said, "To wish to dream dreams that I could never experience, Albus, or just to bring on another day that brings me one step closer to my fate?"
