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Chapter 5

Mirror of Erised

all this time I can't believe I couldn't see
kept in the dark but you were there in front of me
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
got to open my eyes to everything
without a thought without a voice without a soul
don't let me die here
there must be something more
bring me to life

--Evanescence

Her heart pounded in her chest as she placed the picture back where she found it. Her eyes shifted to Lucius…still asleep. Her mind began rummaging through all the family pictures at the house that was once her parents' house. She couldn't recall if there was a relative that looked anything like her. Fear struck her at the idea of going back to the house to look, but she had to know.

Hermione turned to leave, but something or someone blocked her path. A small house elf wearing…clothes. The house elf seemed nervous as it fiddled with its hands nervously.

"Hello," Hermione said sweetly.

The house elf's ears perked up slightly.

"Hello, miss! Punky is yours now."

Suddenly it dawned on Hermione how the cabin seemed to remain stocked. From the look of the elf, it was clear Dumbledore took care of it.

"Punky, are you paid?"

Punky nodded her head vigorously.

"Yes, miss! Oh yes! The master, Dumbledore paid Punky!"

Hermione brow crinkled in slight confusion.

"Punky, you do know that Dumbledore is dead?"

Punky lowered her head as if sad and nodded.

"Yes, Punky knows. Dumbledore give Punky savings at Gringotts to pay for service to miss!"

Hermione smiled slightly and then an idea struck her. She wouldn't have to go to her parents' old house after all.

"Punky, can you do me a favor?"

Hermione ran through the corridors. She wasn't late by any means, but she wanted to be there to help Harry create the room. She skidded to a halt outside the tapestry. Harry looked up and smiled. He knew Hermione wouldn't let him down. She said she would be there and that meant she would be there. Ron looked everywhere but at Hermione. Rolling her eyes at Ron's behavior, Hermione walked to stand next to Harry and together they walked back and forth three times until the door appeared.

Stepping in, the Room of Requirement looked just as it had in fifth year—it was as if time stood still in this room. Immediately, Hermione ran over to the books and started to thumb through them. Within minutes, Remus arrived to observe the DA followed by a myriad of students. There were people from every house present, even Slytherin. Harry watched all the people file into the room and begin sitting around on the soft floor. Harry stood in front of them and began talking.

"I am going to go ahead and warn you—this is not a game. If you are here believing you will play and not have to actually work," he pointed toward the door. "There's the door. Leave. Now."

Hermione smiled as she watched Harry get the attention of everyone in that room. The giggling girls stopped giggling and began looking at Harry with wide serious eyes. He had grown since the first ever DA meeting. Instead of being slightly unsure of himself, Harry was confident and was not about to take slacking off during the DA meetings—not if they wanted to survive this war. It saddened Hermione to think that it took the death of Dumbledore for Harry to reach this point.

As Harry was pointing at the door though, it opened. Draco Malfoy sauntered in with a smirk on his face as everyone watched him. Mouths were open as all eyes followed him. Draco made his way to the front, where Hermione and Ron were sitting and took a seat on the other side of Hermione. She looked at him completely indignant. He simply smirked and nodded his head.

"Granger."

He looked up at Harry.

"Please continue Potter."

Harry's eyes narrowed.

"If you are here to cause trouble…then leave, Malfoy."

Draco looked Harry up and down in what could only be described as hate.

"No, Potter. Believe it or not, I am not here to cause trouble. Get in touch with your Slytherin side, Potter. I could be useful."

Whispers immediately spread.

"Quiet!"

Everyone jumped at the loud sound of Harry's voice. Draco smirked.

"Are we channeling Snape now?"

Harry stepped forward, but Remus stuck his hand out stopping him.

"Draco," Remus said. "Could I have a word with you outside?"

Draco looked thoroughly chastised as he followed Remus out the door. Hermione moved toward the door. Harry watched her but said nothing. She held her head against it and all watched as her eyes grew wider and wider as the seconds passed.

Out in the corridor, Draco had his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. Remus rubbed his head before turning to look at the boy.

"Draco, I am disappointed in your behavior. When your mother was killed Tonks and I took you in, gave you food, shelter, and love, Draco. Your father may have condoned your behavior, but neither Tonks or myself will tolerate the bullying and the bating. Is that clear Draco?"

Hermione heard footsteps and ran back to the group. Harry's eyes followed her and when she looked up to meet his, Harry understood what she was saying.

"I'll explain later."

Not one comment came from Draco the remainder of the meeting.

Lucius sat up in bed. The morning sun was shining through the windows lighting up boxes that lay on the floor in the living area. His mind felt slightly groggy as some house elf named Punky brought him a trey of breakfast. He simply nodded his head and dug in. It didn't take long for him to begin waking up and realize he felt a tad better than he had when he fell asleep.

Instinctively, as if this was something he did every morning, Lucius' hand reached out and took the picture on his nightstand. His eyes traveled over the young woman sitting across from him in the picture. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she nibbled on her sugar quill. He used to love watching her do that. He couldn't explain why and he would never admit to that out loud, but he did.

His mind wandered from the picture to the irritating girl caring for him for who knew what reason. They were uncannily identical and it served to do nothing but fill Lucius' mind with nightmares—nightmares that could not be true. That Mudblood was not the same Hermione he knew from his last year at Hogwarts. Angry and disgusted with himself, he threw the picture back onto the nightstand. He sat on the bed as his foul mood festered within him.

Hermione hurried through breakfast. She knew she had too many boxes to go through to have time to dilly-dally. Harry and Ron watched her eating as fast as she could without looking like Ron.

"Why are you in such a hurry? The library isn't going anywhere," Ron said in a voice laced with sarcasm.

Harry sighed in a pure sign of exasperation at how stupid his friend could be. Hermione slammed her fork down causing several people around them to jump.

"I am not going to the library Ronald! And where I am going is none of your concern."

She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and stormed from the Great Hall. Harry shrugged at Ron as if saying "I don't know," but in reality Harry was ready to throttle Ron. When Harry turned back around his eyes met the one person he least expected at that moment. Across from him sat Ginny with some of her friends. Her eyes met his and Harry could see the fathomless depths they held—the bittersweet sorrow, the understanding, the love. Harry looked away, wishing any other life were his but this one.

Hermione charged into the cabin to find Lucius halfway across the cabin. He was no longer in his bed, but making his way to a sofa sitting by a fireplace. Hermione shut the door and slowly placed her bag down in the corner. Their eyes were locked on each other, neither willing to give in.

"What are you doing," Hermione asked.

Lucius sneered as he began to make his way to the sofa.

"I thought you were a smart Mudblood."

Hermione sighed not really wanting to put up with his comments, but knowing there was really no choice if she was to look through the old family photos. As Lucius sat down and watched Hermione make her way to a large cushy chair, he noticed she was wearing muggle clothes—no school uniform. It was Saturday. He picked up the book he had been reading and tried to submerse himself in it. His mind and eye kept roaming to Hermione looking for some sign that the Mudblood was not in any way related to his lost friend.

Before Hermione dug into the boxes before her she reached into her bag and pulled out a small hand held mirror. She handed it to Lucius. His eyebrow quirked as he looked from the mirror in hand to the Mudblood.

"I cast a variation of the protean charm on it so if you need anything in your weakened state you can contact me."

He tossed the mirror onto the table between them. Looking at her, sneering, she felt the disdain radiating off him.

"I assure you I am not so weakened that I cannot help myself. I believe I proved that the other morning."

Lucius turned to his reading. Hermione nervously licked her lips and then turned to the boxes before her.

He watched her pull out everything from family photo albums to loose pictures to actual painted portraits. She seemed to be searching for something. Lucius kept glancing over at various pictures also, hoping to see some sign that "Mudblood Granger" was not his Hermione. She knew he was watching though. She felt it every time he looked up from his book. Tears were forming in her eyes, but quickly she would blink them away. It went on for hours until Punky arrived with a plate of sandwiches and pumpkin juice. Hermione paid no attention though and continued her perusal of the various boxes.

"Miss Granger, you may want to take a break and eat something."

Hermione looked up at Lucius as if she had forgotten he was even in the cabin.

"You don't want to lose what strength you do have," he said in the smooth silky voice. "You want to keep your strength up for when I am up to par…you are going to need it." Hermione blinked letting his words sink in.

I'm going to need it?

An odd chill ran up and down Hermione's spine causing her to shiver slightly. Her eyes shifted to the plate of sandwiches that sat between Hermione and Lucius. Taking one, she sat back with a great sigh of defeat. It was no use. There were no pictures of anyone resembling Hermione so closely.

Frustrated, she tilted her head back, resting it on the back of the sofa. The loft. She hadn't thought of it before for some reason and decided it was time to explore a bit. Getting up without a word to Lucius, she climbed the stairs. The loft above was dusty and crammed with boxes and various objects apparently stored there. Standing there, she noticed a rather large object in the middle of the room with a deep blue covering.

Curiosity won out inside Hermione. Glancing down behind her, she could see Lucius still reading. Walking across the room sent puffs of dust in the air. Whatever this large object was, there was a box sitting in front of it as if it was meant to go together. Glancing at the box Hermione debated whether to look.

These are not your things.

But the more Hermione tried to tell herself no the more logic argued telling her that Dumbledore had left these things to her. The box was partially open already and the corner of a picture could be seen. Bending over, Hermione lifted the picture up into her hand and stared at it. Her heart began to beat faster than anything she thought she could withstand. The picture made no sense.

It was a photograph of the same couple from the picture next to Lucius' bed. This time they knew they were being photographed and posed for it. The young Lucius nodded his head in acknowledgement and the Hermione-look-a-like waved vigorously. She then rolled her eyes, wrapped her arms around the younger Lucius, and kissed him soundly on the cheek. The younger Lucius' mouth uncontrollably turned up into a full smile.

Hermione simply stared at this picture too. This person had to be related somehow. How else could someone going to school with Lucius Malfoy look exactly like Hermione Granger? And why was Lucius Malfoy of all people enjoying the company of an obvious muggle-born? With the picture still in hand, she reached up with the other hand and removed the deep blue covering on the large object.

She stood back in awe. Hermione knew what this was…it was the Mirror of Erised. She knew Dumbledore moved it back in their first year, but to a cabin? She stood there with the confusing picture in one hand, staring open-mouthed at the image in the mirror. It couldn't be. It just didn't make sense. In the mirror in his full aristocratic glory was Lucius Malfoy.