Rettop YraM fo retpahc rehtona ot emocleW.

What's that? Why am I speaking backwards?

This chapter is about a mirror.

Not just any mirror though!

It's a magical mirror!

But then again, what else can you expect from Hogwarts?

Chapter 9: The Mirror of Erised

One day while trying to get to class, Mary accidentally entered a different classroom instead.

It looked as if it hadn't been used in some time, partly because the lights were turned off.

There were cobwebs in the room as well.

It was a bit creepy.

Also, for some strange reason, there was a mirror there.

How did it end up in that classroom?

Was it haunted? It could explain why the classroom was abandoned.

However, there was no spectral energy leaking from it.

Perhaps it was safe.

"Well, might as well make sure I look good before I go to class." spoke Mary.

Did she remember to brush her teeth? There was a spell for that…but she had lived with Muggles for about ten years.

However, there was something a bit off about this mirror. It didn't seem like the mirrors back home, or the one she had on her dresser in her dormitory room.

The mirror's inscription was Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

"I wonder what that means." remarked the girl.

Maybe she could ask a teacher to explain it. They were trying to help her learn, after all.

Or maybe she could learn a decoding spell.

Taking a closer look in the mirror, she saw her parents.

"Mom? Dad? Is that you?" asked the girl.

She thought they were dead.

However, when she looked behind her, she discovered that they weren't there.

"I guess they really are gone." spoke Mary.

She let out a sigh.

But when she turned back to the mirror, she discovered they were still reflected on the glass.

"Wait a minute, this isn't a normal mirror! This is a magic mirror!" realized Mary.

It made sense considering what she found in Hogwarts.

Suddenly, she then remembered something.

"Oh no! I'm late for class!" exclaimed the girl.

Luckily, McGonagall only docked her one point…because she apologized.

That, and she was only a few minutes late.

Still, she was surprised that McGonagall docked points from her house.

"You dock points from your own house?" questioned Mary.

"Only when I feel it's necessary." explained McGonagall.

Mary decided to show Ron the mirror.

He figured that he would be interested in magical mirrors.

However, his reaction was not what she expected.

"Hey, look! I won a game of Quidditch!" exclaimed Ron.

"Huh? That's not what I see in the mirror." spoke Mary.

She still saw herself with her parents, though this time Ron was in the mirror as well.

"Really? What do you see?" asked the boy.

"I see my parents. And you." answered the girl.

"Well, I see you, but not your parents." explained Ron.

She was applauding Ron from his perspective.

"I guess you must miss them." nodded Ron.

"Well, my life would probably be better if they were still alive." remarked the girl who lived.

That way they could watch her play Quidditch. Fred and George told her that their parents came to watch them play Quidditch sometimes.

"I don't get it…why aren't we seeing the exact same thing?" asked Ron.

They could both still see each other's reflection in the mirror, but that was where the similarities ended.

There was something strange going on.

"Perhaps it's different for every person." answered the girl.

Now that she thought of it, the mirror's reflection was starting to change.

It showed Dudley graduating from Smeltings.

Also, he had stopped bullying smaller kids. She knew that because he was shaking one's hand.

Mary was still in the mirror, but she was sitting on a bench reading a book.

Wait…maybe this mirror showed people's their heart's desire.

It did feel good to be with her parents.

It would probably be preferable to being with her aunt and uncle. That cupboard was a bit cramped. She had a lot of little friends in there though.

Were they doing fine without her?

She figured it would be a good idea to take her friends to the mirror.

So she would know what THEY desired.

Only when in class wasn't in session though. Snape would kill his students if they skipped class. Except maybe if they were Slytherin.

She considered taking Dudley…but Muggles likely wouldn't be allowed in Hogwarts. Only Muggle-borns.

Besides, she already knew what his desire was.

To eat and eat and eat.

Speaking of Muggle-horns, she decided to ask Hermione.

"Are we allowed in here?" asked the girl.

Like McGonagall, she was a stickler for the rules.

"There wasn't a sign saying to keep out." spoke Mary.

They had placed a sign in front of the door where Fluffy was recently.

"Good point." nodded Hermione.

She examined the mirror.

"Awesome! I graduated from Hogwarts!" exclaimed the Muggle-born.

Not only that, but she passed with flying colors.

Mary was clapping her hands, applauding her for a job well done.

In this fantasy, she had graduated herself.

Draco Malfoy's fantasy was somewhat different.

"Look at me! I'm gorgeous!" shouted Draco.

He gave the mirror a kiss.

Also, Mary was kneeling before him.

"I am not worthy! I am not worthy!" exclaimed the girl.

"Why did I bring him?" asked Mary.

In the mirror, Mary saw Draco being nice to Muggle-borns. That was probably not going to happen though.

Hedwig imagined herself having kids. She witnessed them hatching from eggs.

Also, Mary was building them a birdhouse. Why not give them a place to live in?

Much to her surprise, what Neville Longbottom saw was more or less what she saw in the mirror. It was his own parents standing right beside him.

He was surprised to see his parents weren't in the hospital.

And he was sad when it turned out they were still there.

"Your parents are in the hospital? I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they recover soon." spoke the girl.

"I'm afraid that's never going to happen." explained Neville.

"It's not?" questioned Mary.

The Gryffindor first year boy sighed.

Perhaps it was time he told the truth.

He imagined she was going to figure it out sooner or later.

Though he decided he didn't have to describe it in detail.

"My parents…were tortured by Death Eaters." explained Neville.

"They were? That's horrible!" exclaimed the girl. It sounded like the stuff of nightmares.

Was anyone safe from Voldemort's followers? She imagined that some of them were still out there.

"The worst part of it was…their minds snapped like a twig. Or maybe a wand." answered the boy.

Like Hagrid's.

Mary's face turned white.

"Why would they want to do such a thing?" asked the girl.

"They thought that they were responsible for You-Know-Who's appearance." spoke Neville.

They were part of the Order of the Phoenix, after all. So it made sense that they would know something about it.

"Neville, it's just the two of us. You can say his name." explained Mary. If he were in public, things would be different. But he was not.

"But it's scary!" exclaimed the boy.

"Well, Hagrid told me that he might come back someday. I hope that isn't true…but if you can't say his name, you won't be able to stand up to him." explained Mary.

Neville decided to try saying Voldemort's name.

His grandmother might not be proud of him for having the audacity, but Mary had a point.

"V-v-v-v"

"Good start!"

"Vol-vol-vol-vol."

"Keep going."

"Volde…volde…Voldemort!" gasped the boy.

"You did it! You belong in Gryffindor!" exclaimed the girl.

She applauded Neville.

The Sorting Hat had made the right choice.

"That was a one-time fluke." spoke Neville.

He didn't think it would happen again.

"I hope not." answered Mary. She found it to be pretty impressive.

The boy decided to head back to his dorm, unable to believe what he had done.

Eventually, Mary found herself…with Dumbledore standing behind her.

"Oh look! Dumbledore's in one of my fantasies this time." spoke the girl.

Perhaps he was going to tell her she aced all of her exams.

She heard of OWLs and NEWTs. Bill Weasley had taken them, and passed.

However, something different happened from what she was expecting.

"Actually, I'm the real deal." explained Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore?" asked Mary.

She was kind of expecting him to be in his office.

"I noticed that you had been spending an unusual lot of time in a classroom that wasn't even being used, and I theorized why." explained the man with a beard long enough to rival Hagrid's.

"Is it wrong for me to look in it?" questioned the girl.

"Just as long as you don't spend all your time there. It may grant your desires to some extent, but it's not healthy to stand in front of a mirror all day." pointed out Albus.

"Tell that to Draco Malfoy." remarked the girl. He was vain with a capital V.

"Don't worry, he'll learn humility. Eventually." answered Dumbledore.

After all, the student standing with him had learned that a long time ago.

"By the way, what's your own personal desire?" asked Mary. Was it alright if she asked that?

"If you're talking about the mirror, I see myself holding a pair of socks." explained Dumbledore.

"I take it they're clean?" asked Mary.

"As clean as a whistle." answered Albus.

Though to be honest, him having socks in his hands was a half-truth.

He wasn't ready to talk about his family yet though. Though perhaps Mary Potter would understand how he felt. Seeing as she was an orphan.

"We're planning to move the mirror, so I figured I would tell you that in case you noticed it was missing." explained Dumbledore.

"That makes sense." nodded Mary.

"We're replacing it with a different mirror, a mirror that allows you to look into alternate realities." continued Albus.

It wasn't as addictive, but it was still worth a look after all.

Sure enough, Hagrid came in carrying another mirror.

Mary decided to check it out.

For some strange reason, she was a boy in this reality.

Also, she (or should we say he?) was relentlessly bullied by Dudley.

The worst thing Dudley did in her reality was swipe her glasses.

It was a bit annoying, but he gave them back. Perhaps he was worried that he would drop them. She knew a spell nowadays, but Vernon might not approve of her using magic. Even if it could save him a pretty penny.

Perhaps it was lucky she had been born a girl instead of a boy. Otherwise the bullying would be a lot worse, it seemed.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley seemed about the same, though Petunia was meaner to Harry than she was in her reality.

Maybe she was nicer to her because she resembled her sister Lily,

Again, she was lucky she was born a girl instead of a boy. She might not resemble her mother otherwise.

"Yeah…my spectacular luck isn't going to run out any time soon." noted the girl.

On the other hand, Neville seemed to be suffering from a curse from some kind. He didn't believe in himself.

She sure hoped that that curse was dispelled someday.

He also had a lower opinion of Ms. Figg than she did.

Perhaps Vernon had sent her to Ms. Figg because he assumed she wouldn't like that.

The one thing he had forgotten was that she loved kittens.

She also loved puppies though. It was a bit ironic.

Mary noted might want to do something about the smell of cabbage though. What if she had guests?

The girl who lived noticed her male counterpart and Dudley were now at a zoo together. They were at the exact same place that she had been prior to being chosen for Hogwarts.

However, Dudley pushed Harry to the ground.

He must not have approved of that, because Dudley later found himself part of the reptile exhibit.

"Doesn't he belong in the warthog exhibit?" asked Mary.

It might be a better place.

Still, she figured Dudley was going to face some justice sooner or later. Bullying had consequences.

Unfortunately, Harry too had been sent to the cupboard. And he didn't get dinner that day, either.

Now that she thought of it, was Dudley getting in trouble at school?

Something told her she was.

She could ask her foster parents about that, but they seemed determined for her to stay at Hogwarts until the summer. So maybe she shouldn't write them any more letters.

Anyways, she heard that another Quidditch game was coming up.

It was going to be against Hufflepuff this time.

She heard that Hufflepuff students were nice, so it would likely be fun for both of them.

Well, it looked like she would be practicing. So she decided to stop looking at the mirror.

She would probably check it out again later.

"By the way, do you know who made the Mirror of Erised?" asked Mary.

She assumed that Dumbledore wouldn't tell her where he was taking the mirror, on account of it being considered dangerous to some.

"No, I do not." answered Albus.

Though he imagined the crafter was a depressed person.

Happy that she had learned the desires of her friends, Mary went back to her tower.

She could relax easier now that she felt like she had been temporarily reunited with her parents.

Mary decided to read a book.

"Let's see now…what to choose…" said the girl.

J.K. Rowling could have called the first book Harry Potter and the Mirror of Erised…but I think Sorcerer's Stone has a better ring to it.

I wasn't sure what Hedwig would want, so that's what I came up with.

You think I should include the mirror of alternate reality in later chapters? It might be fun.

It might show the reality of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child…

…that would be disturbing though.

And yes, I featured a sad moment in my fanfic. Were you expecting that?