Voldemort stood in front of a fireplace. He was waiting. He began pacing, walking back and forth in front of the fireplace, Nagini watching him from on top of a rug which lay beside him.

There were footsteps, and Voldemort turned around. "Finally, Wormtail! I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Wormtail swallowed. "It — It has been done, my Lord. They are here."

Voldemort laughed deeply. "Wonderful, Wormtail! You are magnificent. I trust that there were no problems?"

Wormtail said, "No, my Lord."

"So, I trust that you remembered — "

"Yes, my Lord! Of course, it's right outside," said Wormtail.

"Good. You are repaying your debt quite quickly, Wormtail," said Voldemort. Wormtail's regular hand clasped to the silvery white one he had been given by Voldemort. "And I trust you gave the owl our note?" said Voldemort.

"Y-yes, of course," said Wormtail.

"Good. Harry should have read it by now. I can only hope that he comes — "

"He will come, My Lord. I am sure," Wormtail assured Voldemort.

"You think Dumbledore will let him out of his sight? He won't want Harry's beloved friends to die any more than Harry, I suppose. He should see that I would only allow Harry to rescue them. He also knows that he cannot protect Harry from what is destined to happen. Harry will come, Wormtail, you're right. He will come. And when he does, I will end this nonsense. I will kill him, and everything will return the way it was — and Lord Voldemort will once again destroy every witch and wizard who dare oppose him!"

Harry woke violently, panting. His scar burned. He rubbed it hard, and the pain began to subside. He then became aware of how hot and stuffy he was. He pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of him and felt cool air flow over him. He sighed. Another dream.

Harry pulled out the map. He didn't have very much farther to go. He supposed he would find out soon enough.

Harry grabbed his bag and pulled on some fresh robes. Then, his eye caught the sight of a lake, a few feet away from him. Harry, thinking of a cool bath and maybe a drink, headed towards the lake.

When he reached it though, and looked in, he didn't see his reflection. Instead, he saw himself facing Voldemort, who was holding Sirius and Hermione in his arms. How odd. It was like the Mirror of Erised, which showed someone's "deepest and most desperate desire," as Dumbledore had told Harry in his third year. Harry remembered Dumbledore's warning, and decided it was best to just continue on his way.

But as he was walking away, Harry slipped on a wet rock, and fell, backwards into the lake. However, it was the oddest experience Harry had ever had.

At first, Harry felt as if her were falling through air, and he looked around, and he was. He threw his arms violently around, searching for something to grab onto, but there was nothing, only air. He saw a pool of water grow larger, and was just thinking, Wouldn't it be just my luck if I fell in, as he fell in, with a large splash.

Harry Potter had never learned to swim, and therefore was thrown into panic. Harry was trying desperately to get back to the surface, to be able to at least get his head above water. But he couldn't. Eventually, his body was tired, and couldn't move anymore. Harry gave one last glance towards the surface as it faded dimly into black and saw a vaguely familiar face…

The black that followed passed quickly. When it had passed, Harry found himself on a staircase. Harry blinked, just to make sure he hadn't gone mad, but he hadn't.

He saw a light farther ahead, and began walking towards it; when he heard two voices, one male one female, say together, "No, Harry! Don't come closer!"

Harry called, "Why not?" He looked and saw two people in the light, but their faces were hidden in a shadow.

"Just don't! Go back to where you were — we'll explain, we promise," the female voice asked. Harry obediently walked back two steps to where he had been, and waited. "Thank you, Harry."

The male voice then said, "Do you know who were are, Harry?"

Harry's stomach tightened. He did. He'd heard those voices when a Dementor came near him. He'd heard those voices just last year, when he had faced Voldemort. They were the voices of Lily and James Potter.

"Yes, I do! But, why can't I be up there with you?" asked Harry.

Lilly said, "Don't you understand, Harry? You're still alive, but barely. This is a staircase of life, so to speak. Everyone has their own, one step for each of eight assumed decades of life. However, if someone is close to death, for whatever reason, then they are closer to the top step. And once you reach here — "

"You're dead," Harry finished glumly. "Of course — like the light at the end of the tunnel, right?" Harry looked down, and was shocked to see himself aged a few decades. "What step am I on?"

"Your fifth, Harry. What happened?"

"I nearly drowned — long story," said Harry.

"Did Sirius give you my diary?" asked Lily.

"Yes, just this past birthday," said Harry.

"How is Sirius?" asked James.

"Not so good, Dad. Pettigrew framed him for having betrayed you and Mum, and also for having killed thirteen Muggles. He was put in Azkaban, but he escaped. He found me, and also my friends. It turned out that my friend Ron's rat was Pettigrew in disguise. However, he escaped again, and got to Voldemort. Sirius is still on the run, but he and my friend Hermione were kidnapped by Voldemort," Harry explained, hardly taking a breath.

"Why that no good traitor! I shouldn't have let Sirius persuade me it was all right to let Pettigrew be our Secret Keeper," James shouted angrily.

"Have you met Amoria?" asked Lily.

"No, Mum. You see, I was sent to live with the Dursleys — "

"The Dursleys? You mean my sister and that rotten husband of hers?" Lily asked, seeming irritated.

"Yes," said Harry.

"I can't believe it! She promised me — Harry! You're leaving!" Lily sounded happy. Surely enough, the staircase was fading away. "Good — soon you'll be back in your world."

Harry wasn't so sure he wanted to go back to his world, but he didn't seem to have a choice.

Harry faded back into consciousness and saw that he was in a bedroom. He looked around. The walls were all a pale blue, and the floor was a polished dark brown wood. There was only a bed, a chair by a window, and a simple wooden desk by it, on which there was a candle. There was a door, which was wide open, to Harry's right. He heard a woman whistling a song, which sounded vaguely familiar, and then he remembered what had happened… the lake, the face, and the staircase.

"I've heard that song before," called Harry. He heard something crash, and it sounded like the teacup that had had been dropped when Harry had visited Hagrid.

"Harry? Harry, are you up?" a voice came from outside the door. Harry knew that voice. "Sorry if the teacup startled you, you just startled me. I pulled you out of the water in time, although I must say I was nervous you were going to drown — "

Then, the speaker stepped into the room, and Harry gasped.

"Professor Somorum?"

Professor Somorum, dressed in pale pink robes, holding a teacup on a plate, smiled at Harry. Her hair was up in a neat bun.

"Yes, Harry, it's me. Here, drink this." She handed Harry the teacup. He eyed it nervously, but then took a gulp. It tasted good, sweet, like honey and chocolate together. He drank the rest in one gulp, and found it made him feel somewhat stronger. "Like it? It's a mixture of lots of honey, some melted chocolate, water, and a few drops of Elbicnivni Potion."

Harry stared at her.

Smiling, she said, "That, plus the chocolate, helps rebuild your strength, Harry. And believe me, you're going to need it."

She sat down in the chair by the window. "So, you knew that song I was whistling?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure where from," said Harry.

Professor Somorum shook her head, and Harry heard her mutter, "Poor Harry. Must've hit his head harder than I thought."

Harry was silent, but then asked, "Professor? Where exactly am I?"

Professor Somorum sighed, and pushed a couple of stray black hairs out of her face, and said, "I'd better explain something. I'll warn you, it'll take a while.

"Nearly a century ago, two wizards who were wandering lost through these woods. They came upon this lake, and became aware of its amazing ability to show people's desires. They wondered if an object with this ability might not be rather useful, so they took lots of sand from the bottom of this lake. From that sand, they created the Mirror of Erised, which, as Dumbledore tells me you already know, has the same powers.

"But, when the Ministry of Magic got wind that there was such a devise, they decided to use it in an inappropriate manner. They set it up by the front of the Ministry building, and set a guard up, where he could see the mirror without seeing his own desire. You see, originally, the mirror did not only show your desire to you, but to anyone with you. So, the Ministry saw people's deepest, darkest wishes. And, if they decided that someone had a desire that was a threat to other witches and wizards, then they were sent to Azkaban.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, that is completely unjust. Eventually, people brought the issue up, and tried to persuade the Ministry to change its ways, the leader being Dumbledore, of course.

"The Ministry decided that it was unjust of them to use the mirror, but the question arose of where to put it. Dumbledore was the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts at the time, and volunteered to keep the mirror hidden inside Hogwarts. And so it was agreed, that Hogwarts would hide the mirror. Dumbledore put the spell onto the mirror, which allowed people to see only their own desires. However, the mirror has had to be moved twice."

Twice? Harry was bewildered. He remembered Dumbledore moving the mirror after he found it and showed it to Ron in his first year, but why had Dumbledore moved it a second time? Had that been before or after Harry's first year?

"I guess that doesn't explain why you're here, does it? Well, you're inside the lake," said Professor Somorum.

Harry was stunned. "Inside the lake? How can I be?"
Professor Somorum sighed. "You're in the illusion that the lake creates, the one of your desire. I must say, quite noble, although I didn't expect less." She grinned, but Harry didn't grin back.

"Are — are you… real?" asked Harry.

Professor Somorum laughed. "Yes, Harry, I am. You see, one person has the ability to come into this lake to save people like you, who have fallen in. They can come in and leave as they please. I happen to be the person now. I've known the spell to come and go for the last fifteen years. However, my replacement is nearly ready…" She then bit her lip, seeming to not want to think about being replaced. She looked at Harry. "Did you see anything when you were unconsciousness?"

Harry looked at the bed. "I… I saw my parents."

Professor Somorum breathed deeply. "You don't have to tell me anything else, Harry. Listen, if you want to go back, just let me know. I'm ready when you are, although you might want to change out of your wet robes." Harry only then noticed that he was still soaking wet. "I figured you would rather change out of them yourself," said Professor Somorum wisely.

Harry nodded his thanks, and Professor Somorum stood up, took the teacup from Harry, and left, shutting the door behind her.

Harry got up, and changed into dry robes. Then, he opened the door. He walked out into a long hallway, the walls of which where covered in pictures. Harry was dazzled by the sheer number of them. He saw Professor Somorum come out of a door at the end of the hallway, and walk steadily but swiftly towards Harry.

"You're ready? Let's head outside then."

She put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and steered him out of a door, and into the bright sunlight. Harry squinted for a moment, as his eyes adjusted. Professor Somorum stood facing Harry, her wand pointed at him.

"I'm just going to say a spell, and you'll be back outside the lake. Just be careful, all right?"

Harry nodded, and Professor Somorum whispered her spell while she waved her wand. Harry saw a white whirlwind form around his feet, and rise. Soon, he was caught in it, and spun violently around. Professor Somorum was fading from view. The wind was whistling loudly in Harry's ears.

"Are you going to be back at Hogwarts?" called Harry.

"I've got one more thing to do before I return," she yelled back.

Harry was about to ask what, but now Professor Somorum had vanished from view, and Harry only heard the loud roar of wind.