Harry walked over to Hermione, clearly perplexed.
"Whoa, what is this thing?" he asked.
"No clue," she responded.
Hermione and Harry stood in front of the mirror. All they saw was their reflection, but they were oddly entranced by it.
"Why on earth would such a large mirror be hidden in the school? Why wouldn't it be in the prefect's bathroom or something?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, Harry. I have not read about this mirror before. You would think that something this impressive would be in a book or something. I'm going to investigate the back. Stay here and see if anything happens."
Hermione walked around to the back of the mirror, and Harry's eyes followed her. Once she disappeared. His eyes flicked back to the mirror. What he saw made him gasp. Standing before him was a calm, happy family. Sev and Lily were standing behind him, with Hermione slightly behind Sev. Lily was holding a baby in her arms, and they both wore proud expressions. Sev didn't wear all black, and he didn't have so many stress lines around his eyes and mouth. This was a time before Harry was the target of the Dar Lord. He didn't have his scar. He had a genuinely happy family.
Harry smiled at his reflection. So, this was what life would have been like if Lily had married Sev instead, and then had both him and Hermione, and what looks like a baby brother or sister. What he didn't understand, was that this was that he truly desired. Hermione walked back around to the front of the mirror.
"I heard your gasp. What's wrong?" Hermione asked. "Also, nothing important on the back of the mirror."
Harry frowned as Hermione stepped into the mirror. His, well, their family had disappeared. Harry gently pushed Hermione out of the frame. The people returned. At Hermione's confused look, he stepped away and gestured towards the mirror. Hermione kept her eyes on his as she stepped in front of the mirror. As she turned towards the mirror, her eyes widened.
"What do you see, Hermione?" Harry asked gently.
"I see me, and you, and Dad, and I think Mum. There's a table behind them, with a newspaper saying that a past Hogwarts Student, who earned a Special Service Metal to the school, has died after being food poisoned. There are two other children in the picture, a boy and a girl, who are our siblings. They've got green eyes like you, and black hair. Dad's hair is the same, but he's not in all black, but rather in darker colors. You and I are also older. I'm valedictorian, and you are salutatorian of Hogwarts, and you're going on to be an Auror, and I'm studying to be a Potion's Mistress. Draco is in the background as well, we're dating."
At this Hermione blushed.
"Do you think that this shows some point in the future, or do you think that this shows our family?"
"I don't know, Hermione. I had something similar, mine just wasn't as complex. Dad and Mum are similar, but I think Mum was holding a baby instead," he responded.
"It's kind of nice to see everyone so happy and relaxed. I wonder if this could be an alternate world, like a mirror to the other side, where there is no ongoing war between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord."
"We'll never know. As much as we should probably head back, do we want to spend a few more minutes here?"
Hermione nodded. She gestured towards the mirror, allowing him to go first. Harry sat in front of the mirror, gazing almost dreamily towards the center of the mirror, his eyes going to what Hermione assumed was various people in his own world. Nearly five minutes later, Harry got up and Hermione sat where Harry was sitting. Sev and Lily reappeared, happy and proud. Hermione was shaken from her thoughts, when she heard a voice from behind her.
"I see that you have discovered the Mirror of Erised," Professor Dumbledore said.
"Professor!" Hermione exclaimed as she moved to stand behind Harry.
"I can explain, sir," Harry began.
Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him.
"I've heard your possible explanations, and they are not correct. They only show one thing, although I believe that is very unique that your two mirrors show almost the exact same thing. They show your deepest desires. As I have heard from you, your deepest desire is to have a happy family, is that correct?"
Hermione slowly nodded.
"Ah, I see."
There were several moments of silence before anyone spoke again. Dumbledore was the first to do so.
"I am sure by now, that you realize that you are siblings. In that case, I'm sure that you also know that Severus is your father, and Lily is your mother. I know that Severus wavers back and forth with who he, for lack of a better term, serves. I know that you two question it as well. You have obviously met Voldemort, since you call him the Dark Lord. An old habit of Severus' I'm afraid."
"I know that you two probably mistrust me. For that reason, I will answer any questions you have for me tonight, if I deem them appropriate to answer. I want you to be informed from both sides of the battle, and from that information, you can make a well-informed choice as to whom you would rather support."
"Can you tell us about your past and the Dark Lord's past?" Harry asked, slightly covering Hermione, who was busy trying to send a message to Severus, saying "Dumbledore knows that you and Lily are our parents and that Harry and I are siblings."
"Who would you prefer me to start with?" Dumbledore asked, crossing his fingers and looking at Harry over his spectacles.
"You," Hermione responded forcefully.
"Very well," Dumbledore responded, closing his eyes. "I was born in England in 1881, quite long ago. My mother and father were Kendra and Percival Dumbledore, who both had magical blood, although my mother was a muggleborn. I had one brother, Aberforth, and one sister, Ariana. My father died early on in my life, so I never really spoke of him, and my sister had been attacked by Muggle children when they saw her performing magic."
"Obviously, this frightened her, but she was able to get past it. Things were wonderful in Hogwarts. I was a Gryffindor, Head Boy, Prefect, and had various awards and plaques for my work in school. My best friend was Elphias Doge. We got along fairly well. Shortly after I graduated from Hogwarts, my mother died, and my sister shortly after that due to...reasons. I haven't spoken to my brother since then, nor do I know where he lives or what he does. I became the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, then the Transfiguration Professor, and finally Headmaster after that. And here I am to this day."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at the Headmaster. He was definitely hiding something from them, but she thought it best not to pry.
"I see," Harry said, throwing a glance at Hermione. "Now tell us about the Dark Lord."
"Lord Voldemort was originally-" he started.
"Wait," Hermione said suspiciously. "Where do you stand on muggleborns and muggles?"
Dumbledore paused, clearly caught by surprise. "Clever girl, Hermione. When my sister was attacked, I must admit that I felt a rage towards muggles and muggleborns. I thought they were all the same, but after I meant kind and thoughtful muggleborns in school, my attitude changed greatly. I was greatly mistaken, and although I never made plans to go after or went after muggles and muggleborns, I regret that period of my life."
Dumbledore's eyes softened, and he glanced in the Mirror of Erised. Hermione was watching his every move and he recognized that he had to act as if he was telling the truth. He didn't trust these two students with any of the facts about his past. Did he regret all of them? Yes. Did he wish that he had made better choices? Of course. But he was trying to paint himself and his younger self in a good light to make him seem as if he was the wizard they should follow and serve. He was trying to bring down the man who was wrong in every way about everything.
Dumbledore locked eyes with Hermione, who was staring at him with a look of distrust. She was the smartest witch in their year and was obnoxiously analyzing every word that came out of his mouth. He needed to be careful with how he painted Tom Riddle, if he wanted to earn Hermione's trust. Harry's trust would be easy. He didn't trust people blindly, but he also didn't think too much into their actions like his annoyance of a twin.
"Please tell us about the Dark Lord, sir," Harry prodded.
"Ah, yes, my apologies. Telling my past brings a lot of happy memories. Lord Voldemort was my student and was originally known as Tom Riddle. He, like me, was a prefect and Head Boy, and had won several awards from the school for magic and special service. His mother was one of the remaining ancestors of Salazar Slytherin, and his father was a muggle. His mother, I believe, was a squib, or was so nervous and anxious that she couldn't do magic."
"Tom became an orphan, and I myself went to go fetch him from the orphanage, where he was thankful to get out of the muggle world and into the wizarding world. He was fascinated by it, and Hogwarts became his one and only home. He was sorted into Slytherin and was known for being disgusted by Muggles. He is a parseltounge, which means that he can speak to snakes. It is a rare gift, or curse, rather, depending on the situation. For many years, I had to keep an eye on him, for I feared that he had opened a most dangerous Chamber that killed a fellow student, even though a possible suspect had been caught and expelled."
"He was a very quiet and angry boy. Once he graduated Hogwarts, I feared that was not the last I had seen of young Tom. Over the years, I began to hear of odd crimes and murders of muggles and muggleborns that no one could prove. Odd, isn't it? I then began to hear of a man named Lord Voldemort, and lo and behold, it was my untrustworthy student Tom. I was shocked to see that he was ordering his subjects, or Death Eaters, as they are called, to do his bidding and to murder innocent people. Then again, they all had the same opinion as Tom, so in reality, it was expected."
"He came to me one year and asked for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position as a professor. I told him no, as I didn't like what he stood for, and who he had become. Obviously, Tom was very angry with me, so he left my office, and cursed the position so no professor could stay it in longer than a year. Each time a professor leaves, it is for a different reason, but I have not been able to control or stop the curse."
"He then became more powerful and would start to show up randomly to murder witches and wizards if they ever spoke his name. He instilled fear into people, and those brave enough to speak his name almost always wound-up dead by the next day. Did I know that I had taught the darkest, most dangerous wizard of all time? No, otherwise, I would've found a way to stop him. I am not sure what all Tom had been up to besides killing witches, wizards, and muggles during the time when I refused him the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. I know that he had gotten more powerful."
"It was news to me that he had disappeared after he killed your mother and James, Harry. I know that Tom will still try to return. He is still out there, wandering through the mystical wonders of limbo, life and death. We will all need to be ready when he returns, for none are sure when he will."
"That is enough for now. The mirror will be moved to another location tomorrow, as many men and women have gone mad in front of it, and I do not want to see two of my brightest students fall prey to it. I expect to see you toddle off to bed now. Have a good night, Harry, Hermione."
And Dumbledore walked away, leaving two morally confused students alone in front of the Mirror of Erised.