Disclaimer: I keep trying but I still don't own J K Rowling's Harry Potter.
AN: I won't be making comments on most individual reviews but rest assured that I do read them and appreciate them- even the ones that criticise. I know Harry has a hard time in this fic but what do you expect with angst as one of the genres? There will be the odd break for Harry but don't expect too much!
Trying to Live
By Willowcharm
Chapter 6: A Mirror and a Prank
As the days and then weeks started to slip by, Harry spent more and more of his free time underneath his invisibility cloak, wandering the halls and grounds. He'd written home a couple of times saying that things were fine. He didn't like lying to his father, but he knew that he was about to go abroad to do something important for Professor Dumbledore whom he worked for and thought it better not to worry him. A couple of times Hagrid had been alone when Harry had gone down to his hut and they had had a cup of tea together. But more often than not Weasley and Granger were there before him. They seemed to be forever pestering Hagrid about the break in at Gringotts Bank that summer. One of Harry's favourite occupations became following Fred and George Weasley at a distance. They seemed to enjoy life so much and had such fun planning mischief together that Harry almost felt that he was joining in with them. Sometimes he almost made up his mind to reveal himself and beg them to accept him as a friend, but then he thought that they might reject him because he was a Slytherin and his courage always failed.
In most lessons he was doing well. When they were working individually in Potions he was okay as well. Otherwise it depended on his partner. The other Slytherins paired off together which meant that Harry always had to go with a Gryffindor. It appeared that the Gryffindors had an arrangement to take turns at the unpleasant chore of working with Harry. Hermione Granger was so desperate to get perfect marks that she caused no trouble. Neville Longbottom was so terrified of blowing things up he let Harry do all the work and that was fine too. But Ron Weasley and one or two others made no attempt to work properly with Harry and the result was usually points from Gryffindor and a detention for Harry.
Flying lessons were pure torture. Harry was forced to walk down to the quidditch pitch and sit on the sidelines watching, while all the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years mounted their broomsticks and rose skywards, gaining height and speed as they acquired more skill and confidence. During these lessons Harry longed for home more than ever and was grateful for his father having relented about his punishment on his birthday.
One evening as Harry was wandering unseen through the corridors he tripped over Mrs Norris, a particularly nasty cat, belonging to the particularly nasty caretaker, Mr Filch. Within seconds the bitter old man could be heard coming close and Harry quickly slipped through a classroom door which had been left ajar and closed it. He stood with his back to the door , holding his breath until Filch evidently decided that the miscreant had got away. He was just about to leave when his curiosity was aroused by a huge ornate mirror standing at the front of an otherwise empty and decrepit room.
Discarding the invisibility cloak, Harry made his way to the mirror to investigate it. He was astonished to see reflected in it not only himself, but many others. It looked in fact, as if a big party was being held, with Harry the centre of attention and having all the fun in the world.
'Maybe this mirror shows the future ,' thought Harry to himself, and he continued to stare at the spectacle before him for a long time. Only when he found his eyes closing involuntarily did he put his cloak back on and make his way to bed.
Every night for the next week Harry returned to the room with the mirror to drink in the sight of himself having fun. He found he could not resist the hope it gave him that one day he would have as many friends as others of his own age. Then one night as he sat crossed legged on the floor and prepared to dream he heard a slight cough behind him. Startled, he turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing there.
'Harry, my boy, ' the old man said ,softly, but with a note of firmness. 'I know that you have been coming here this past week to gaze at the delights of the Mirror of Erised. But this mirror shows only the deepest, most secret desires of your heart. It does not promise that these things will come true. I am going to move this mirror to another location tonight and I must ask you not to try to find it again. Concentrate on living, and do not dwell on impossible dreams, Harry. '
Harry felt an acute sense of loss on hearing the true purpose of the mirror. But this fast changed to anger at the headmaster's last words. Forgetting any respect that was due and all his father's lessons on not whining about what could not be helped he spat out,
'Yeah, well my impossible dreams happen to BE OF LIVING!' The last words were practically screamed. 'You've made my father keep me home without friends all my life , and then you don't even let me go shopping for my school stuff , and then I can't get the school train like all the others, and now I'm stuck in a house where everyone hates me and the rest of the school hates me because I'm in that house. I've only ever wanted to live a normal life and now you tell me it's an impossible dream. Thanks a bunch!'
In tears now, Harry pushed past Dumbledore and fled the room, flinging the cloak over himself as he went. He ran up to the owlery where he spent a long time in tears before eventually returning to the dungeons and bed.
After that Harry reverted to his pastime of tailing Fred and George Weasley whenever possible. They seemed to have a never ending supply of joke products and often laid traps for unsuspecting victims. And teachers were not always exempt from their attentions. Harry was fascinated one day to see Professor Flitwick, the charms teacher walking down a corridor with his hat floating two inches above his head. Suddenly he seemed to sense something was amiss and put his hand up to tug it back down, but as soon as his hand was away the hat rose again. Harry was hard pressed not to burst out laughing but managed somehow.
Another night found the twins down in the dungeons. Harry held his breath in astonishment as he watched the troublemakers set up a trap right outside Professor Snape's office door and then hide round a corner. Much as he loved the idea of Snape getting covered in red pain the couldn't help but think that the twins were playing with fire. As indeed they were. The office door opened and the pot of paint fell down , unfortunately missing its victim. The Slytherin head must have had a sixth sense because he strode furiously straight in the direction of Fred and George who would have no chance of escaping, Harry knew. Thinking quickly, he started to run himself , but in the opposite direction , making as much noise as possible and darted inside the Potions classroom. As he had hoped, Professor Snape changed course at the sound of Harry's flight and went after him. He stepped inside the room where Harry was standing flat against the wall holding the invisibility cloak tightly around himself. Seeing no one, Snape made a sound of pure fury and stalked away. Harry let out a long breath and waited a full ten minutes before returning to his dormitory to catch up on homework.
One Saturday afternoon some days later Harry sat on a wide windowsill on the sixth floor of the castle gazing out at the skies. The first quidditch match had been taking place and Harry had not felt any desire to cheer on his house against Hufflepuff. He remained where he was as teatime approached, preferring to avoid the inevitable taunts about being a traitor to Slytherin. Lost in his own thoughts, he failed to hear the approach of two boys behind him and was totally unprepared when a hand was placed over his mouth and a wand pressed into his back.