Alduin was freaking out.

Alexandra found him in one of the empty rooms where he took his conversation with Harry, evidently hoping they could continue where they were interrupted, but she took one look at his pale face and shaking hands and sighed in resignation. "What is it?"

"Dumbledore wants Harry to wander around the school at night, and gave him an Invisibility Cloak to that effect," he replied in an unsteady voice.

"That man gets creepier by the day," she said with a snort. "I don't see that as quite a reason for the panic you're obviously in, though."

"I told him he could."

Alexandra stared. "Alduin..."

"I know, I know!" He almost wailed. "But you should have seen the determined look in his eyes, I'm fairly sure that if I forbid it, he'd have just ignored me, and this way I at least know something about it...I told him to report to me every night, but I just...does every guardian have this kind of trouble with their ward, do you think?"

Alexandra gave him an amused look. "You hardly had any trouble at all. Except for that one incident with hiding in the hall and listening at the door, Harry has been a model child. It was becoming suspicious, to be honest, especially given his...troubled childhood. The luck was bound to break one day."

"Believe me, I would much rather have to deal with him talking back to me and sneaking out in the night to fly than putting himself in mortal danger."

"Is it really so bad?"

"Well, he'll be wandering the school alone, at night, while there is Riddle's lackey present. Yes, I'd say that's pretty bad."

She considered. "You could contact Professor Snape. Tip him off and make sure Harry stops."

Alduin shook his head. "Harry would see that as a betrayal, especially as his relationship to Snape is...complicated. That would just lead to him not trusting me with these things, and not telling me the next time he does something like that. He has trust issues a mile wide – you weren't present when we discussed him listening at the door, but it was pretty obvious – and I have to work on improving this, not making it worse. But I just...surely there is a way to do this without letting him risk his life? I feel..." He hesitated. "I just feel like such a failure as a guardian, not being able to find another way."

Alexandra stepped closer to him, and pressed his shoulder a little awkwardly. "I think most guardians don't have to deal with these situations," she said. "And look, whatever we think about Dumbledore, he doesn't want Harry to die, and he has very firm control of the school."

"You mean like he almost let him get killed in a Quidditch match?"

"Well, that's just it. Quirrel had to find an innocent-looking opportunity like that. He couldn't just do it inside the castle, during the first week of school. And this was arranged by Dumbledore, he will make sure Harry doesn't come to harm."

Alduin was far from convinced, but he exhaled and let some of the tension seep out of him.

"Did you let Harry see you like this?" She asked then.

Alduin laughed hollowly. "No, of course not," he said. "I do have some control over myself, though it did mean I had to end the talk a little abruptly."

Alexandra nodded in satisfaction and wandered away, Alduin slowly following her. Truth be told, he hadn't planned on her seeing him like that either, but well. It was too late now, and really, it had gone better than he would have expected.

-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-

Harry was trying not to spend too much time in the night awake and wandering the corridors of Hogwarts, but he also didn't want to miss whatever it was that Dumbledore wanted him to find, and so he did sleep much less than he should have, and on Monday, had to fight to stay awake. Especially during Herbology, it being the last class of the day and the greenhouse being stiflingly hot, his eyes seemed to be closing of his own volition and Ron had to nudge him a few times, Neville being too occupied by the plants they were dealing with to notice.

Zacharias Smith, on the other hand, did.

"Don't fall asleep in the dirt, Harry," he said loudly, sniggering. Harry gave him a mean look, and had to deal with Professor Sprout watching him carefully for the next ten minutes. Wasn't there a spell that could keep him awake? He should ask Alduin.

Sprout wasn't the only one watching him either. After class, Hannah came to him and said: "Are you all right, Harry? Zach is right, you really do look tired."

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Just didn't sleep so well last night."

"If you keep having the problems, just ask the elves for a herbal tea, it's very helpful!"

Harry had no idea how to ask the Hogwarts elves for anything, so he just nodded.

"There must be some potion for this, too," Susan added, to her friend. "It might be good to find out – someone could be nervous and have trouble sleeping before the exams, so it could come in handy. We should ask Hermione."

Harry blinked. "You know her, too?" He asked.

Susan shrugged. "Not well, no, but we have Potions with her and she seems to know absolutely everything there is to know about them, so I thought we could ask."

"We're certainly not going to ask Professor Snape!" Hannah said in a whisper, as if she was afraid he could hear her.

"No indeed," Susan confirmed, but she looked more disapproving than terrified.

Harry longed to tell them that Snape saved his life, that he wasn't all bad, but he stopped himself. He knew it was a secret.

"Millicent told Hannah how he treats you," Susan added to Neville. "It's disgraceful."

"Well, it's not like he doesn't have a point – my ingredient preparation really is terrible," Neville muttered.

"That's hardly an excuse to be mean, though is it?"

In that moment, Ernie joined their little group. "Girls," he said with emphasis, "we should go. Remember that homework from Astronomy we haven't finished."

Susan nodded and she and Hannah waved at Harry and left.

"We going up too?" Ron asked.

"Eh. Let's go visit Hagrid. If I tried to do homework now, I'd fall asleep for sure."

-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-

Alduin had been right. It took only three nights for Harry to find a door open that had always been firmly shut before. He entered the room and discovered it was a sort of storage, with a tall, beautiful mirror at the end of the room.

Under the cloak, he took out the two-way mirror and called his cousin.

"Yes?" Alduin asked, but Harry put a finder to his lips and pointed the two-way at the sight at the end of the room.

"What does the writing say?" Alduin whispered very softly.

Harry got a little closer, and with trouble, read: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. What language is this?"

"It's no language, Harry. It's simply backwards."

Harry mentally translated it and his eyes widened. "It shows you what you want to most in the world," his cousin explained. "You can take a quick peek if you want – it can be good for self-knowledge – but no more than that. And...if you really want to know what Dumbledore is playing at, take off the hood for the peek."

Harry obeyed, and after only a very quick look, put the hood back on and almost ran back to Gryffindor tower.

Once he was in the safety of the now empty common room, Alduin asked him: "What did you see? Unless, of course, it is too private."

Harry shrugged a little awkwardly. "Not really private, no, more like sad. I saw myself sitting with my parents and what must have been younger siblings at the table with you and Alexandra and a little boy who I assume was little Wynn...we were all just very happy and cheerful together, and around us was the wider family, including all those people who have been killed, like your parents and grandparents and Neville's parents and just everyone...your uncle wasn't a Death Eater, either, and neither was Draco's dad..."

Alduin sighed. "In short," he said, "you saw a world how you imagine it if Riddle never was. There are many who share your wish, I'm sure. All that¨s left of that is at least making certain that he does not come back..."

Harry nodded vigorously to that, and there was a short silence.

"Do you want to continue with this?" Alduin asked then, sounding hesitant and tired.

"Of course!" Harry was affronted his cousin even needed to ask.

He closed his eyes in the two-way mirror. "Very well. I do not know why Dumbledore wanted you to see the mirror, but there is a chance that if you keep coming, he will explain. Just never take more then a single peek – it can become addictive. I hope that's not what Dumbledore is going for, but I cannot exclude the possibility...so maybe you should pretend to be entranced. You can stare at the writing or something while doing so. But Harry, one warning: when you are trying to trick Dumbledore, do not look him in the eye. Otherwise, he could read your mind."

Harry's eyes widened. This was terrifying. Read his mind? His secret thoughts? Discover all the doubts Harry had about him? He started at his cousin, not knowing what to say, and Alduin quickly added: "You do not need to do this if you don't want to. We do not need to know. It's completely unnecessary."

Harry shook himself. This was important, and he was a Gryffindor after all. He was brave. "Oh no, it's fine!" He said cheerfully. "I will remember your warning, and I will do my best."

Alduin seemed to hesitate again, but then he said: "Very well then. Good night."

"Alduin?" Harry stopped him, too curious to leave it alone.

"Yes, Harry?"

"What do you see when you look in the mirror, do you know?"

"Yes. Nowadays, I see me and Alexandra with our grown-up children, who are all married and have children of their own, all healthy and happy. I...do my best to look towards the future."

-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-

It took only two more nights for Dumbledore to show up when Harry was in the mirror room. Harry's two-way mirror was active, allowing for his cousin to listen in, as Dumbledore spoke, saying: "So — back again, Harry?"

Harry gave a start, and said: "I — I didn't see you, sir."

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was rather irritated – he hadn't seem Dumbledore because he had been invisible, the old tosser.

"So," said Dumbledore, not noticing his mood, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I guess so, sir."

"I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

Harry tried to imagine how much he could have figured out on his own. Surely he could have decrypted the writing? "It says here that it shows our heart's desire," he said slowly.

"That is the short explanation, yes. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. 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. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, 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 nodded mutely, not quite trusting himself to speak, and left. He had really wanted to give Dumbledore the benefit of the doubt, but he was becoming more and more irritated by the headmaster. His behavior in this entire business was extremely shady, beginning with the fact that he did nothing about Quirrell trying to kill him. What kind of headmaster was that? It had seemed pretty strange to him in itself, and his friends' enraged reaction – especially Neville's and Dean's – only served to drive it home how absurd it was. Seamus seemed mostly incredulous, doubting that Dumbledore truly knew what was going on. Harry was a little irritated by that, but couldn't truly blame him – it was surreal enough.

And now Dumbledore was pretending that it hadn't been his intention that Harry founds the Mirror. "Because stuff like that obviously just randomly appears in unused classrooms full of old stuff," he muttered under his breath as he approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who gave him a strange look.

His friends were waiting for him, as they always were when he returned from his night wanderings. Sophie, Ron and Dean had asked him to take them with him, and he had been glad to have the excuse that they wouldn't all fit under the cloak, because he remembered his cousin's words that the Mirror could be dangerous, and he didn't want to put his friends at risk. Though, admittedly, he was also curious about their dreams.

Now he brought back the news about Dumbledore, and the topic was brought up again. "Come on, Harry," Sophie said. "This is our last chance to see the Mirror. Your own cousin, who's no risk-taker from what you've said, told you to take a look because it can be good for self-knowledge. If we go together, we can make sure we don't stay looking too long. Come on, I want to know!"

Harry sighed. "Fine," he said. "Who wants to go?"

Ron and Dean both eagerly nodded, apparently not having changed their minds in the last few days. "Okay, we can't all fit, so we'll go in stages," Harry decreed. They tried and found out that three of them could actually fit under the cloak, so Ron and Sophie went first, with Harry giving his word that he'd come back for Dean.

The way to the Mirror room was uneventful, and once there, Sophie stepped forward without fear. Then, she blinked. "Oh," she said, in a weak voice.

"What is it?" Harry asked, rather worried. Then, when she didn't react, he tugged insistently at her hand.

She stepped back, blinking quickly. "What did you see?" Ron asked. Harry gave him a look. Clearly, it was something personal.

Sophie shrugged and muttered something incomprehensible. "You go have a look," she said then, and Ron obligingly stepped forward.

He looked at the image, and shrugged a little awkwardly. "Yeah, that'd be cool I guess," he said and stepped back.

Harry gave him a questioning look.

"I saw myself as a Head Boy and a Quidditch Captain," Ron said, sounding embarrassed.

"That's a good thing to see," Harry observed. "At least you can work towards that..."

Sophie was still silent. They moved back towards their House, where Harry took Dean and led him back. Dean apparently just missed his family and wished they could come and see him at Hogwarts.

There were no more people interested in seeing the Mirror, and so they went to sleep in a rather pensive frame of mind. "You sure you didn't want to see?" Harry whispered towards Neville as they prepared for bed. "There won't be another chance..."

"No," Neville replied quietly, not looking at him. "I mean, I know what I'd see anyway."

Harry winced. "I'm sorry, Neville," he repeated, for the upteemth time.

"Well, you saw your parents as well. You know how it is."

Harry nodded, and after a short hesitation, added: "It wasn't just them, you know. I didn't want to mention it before, but I saw your parents, all right and happy, as well."

Neville looked at him then, and a big, grateful smile bloomed on his face. "Thank you, Harry," he said. "It means a lot to me."

-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-

AN: In case someone was wondering how Alduin knew what he saw in the Mirror, I don't imagine it as being one of a kind sort of thing. They can be made on order, I imagine, so of course Alduin would have access to one.