IWSC4 round 7 writing school

Beauxbatons exchange 1

Techniques: Pacing, sentence fragments (including one incorrect usage)

Optional prompt: mirror [word]

Word count: 876


Author's note: In canon, Percy says that Aberforth tipped him off that the Battle of Hogwarts was about to begin. While this story may appear to contradict that, it is feasible that Aberforth's message arrived just after the events related herein.


Hall of Mirrors

or, Reflections on the World

Percy turned left instead of right and came up against an unfamiliar door. The sensible thing would be to turn back and go down his usual corridor. He looked at the papers in his hand. The Minister needed them immediately, but for once, Percy didn't really care. In fact, over the past few weeks he'd found it increasingly difficult to remain focused on his work.

For years, he'd supported the Ministry, regardless of the cost. He'd believed implicitly in the integrity of its officers. Even after Cornelius Fudge had been proven wrong in the matter of He Who Must Not Be Named's return, Percy had been sure it was simply an honest mistake. He'd been so certain of that fact he'd rejected his family. Completely, utterly.

But after the Ministry fell in the summer of 1997, the real state of affairs had burst on him like a clap of thunder. Percy knew that the Ministry could not have fallen if it hadn't had traitors within it. The nine months since that event had become a matter of keeping his head down, doing his job, and watching. Always watching. Trusting colleagues was dangerous, even after sudden promotions revealed some of the traitors.

He'd wanted to admit his error to his father, but they were both safer if he didn't. Arthur was under surveillance—it was better for the whole family if Percy showed no sign of wanting a rapprochement.

The months had passed, and Voldemort's grip on power had strengthened. The Daily Prophet could no longer be trusted to tell the truth. Two weeks ago, in desperation, Percy had tried password after password until he finally cracked the code to listen to Potterwatch. He'd recoiled in horror, at first; the reality was so far from the bowdlerised version the Prophet published. But it was the only way to get accurate information about the Order's activities—and his family—so he'd continued to listen. And got more and more agitated. More preoccupied. Less diligent.

Now he was consumed with the desire to abandon the Ministry and join the Order. He just needed to find the right moment.

Percy looked at the unidentified door again and shrugged his shoulders. It was time he learnt his way around other parts of the building, anyway. The Minister could wait a little longer. He pushed open the door and strode into the hall beyond.

A movement on his left caught his eye. He started, and then smiled wryly. It was only his own reflection. Above it, an inscription read:

Reflect well, friend, as self you see,
On life within and life beyond,
For self's desires are e'er the key
To wisdom, if you then respond.

The tall mirror was the first in a long line, and when he turned to the right, he could see another line of mirrors stretching down the other wall. The first mirror on the right-hand wall had a scroll-plate above it. He moved closer and read, "Muggle House of Commons". His brow furrowed, and he leaned forward. Instead of his own reflection, the mirror was full of swirling mist. He stared at the shadowy forms in the fog. The image crystallised into rows of suited Muggles in a long, rectangular room with green leather benches on either side. One man was on his feet, mouthing vehemently and banging his fist in his other hand for emphasis, but the vision was silent. Percy watched for a moment, trying to lip-read what the man was saying, then gave up and moved on to the next mirror. Its scroll-plate read, "Gringotts Bank". When the swirling mists evaporated, Percy could see the main hall of the bank, with its six-pointed star set in the marble floor and the goblins seated behind their counters.

His eyes widened. He glanced at the next mirror; it was labelled "Diagon Alley", and the mirrors beyond it said "Knockturn Alley", "Horizont Alley" and "Carket Market". He turned to read the scroll-plates of mirrors on the other wall and found "Ministry Entrance", "Leaky Cauldron", and "Azkaban". His file of papers fell to the floor unheeded. Among so many mirrors, there surely had to be one for Hogwarts. Percy marched quickly along the hallway, checking the scroll-plates on each mirror. Halfway down the corridor, he found what he wanted: a row of mirrors labelled "Hogwarts Great Hall", "Hogwarts Forbidden Forest", and several more. He stared with grim intensity at the "Hogwarts Grounds" mirror. The swirling mists cleared. His knees buckled, and he clutched the sides of the frame. Flying straight toward him, silhouetted in the light shining out of the broken castle window in the background, was a dark, bat-like form, its familiar greasy hair whipping in the wind. Professor Flitwick's figure appeared at the hole in the shattered glass, and jets of light shot from his wand into the grounds.

Percy turned and ran for the door. He no longer cared whether it was the right moment or not. All he knew was that he was about to do the wisest thing he'd ever done. The shame and mortification that had deterred him vanished in his eagerness to atone for his folly.

The only thing that mattered was to rejoin his family and fight beside them.


Sentences for judging

Good fragments: "Always watching." "And got more and more agitated. More preoccupied. Less diligent."

Poorly used fragment: "Completely, utterly."