AN: I was looking at the breakdown statistics for this fic and there are so many countries that its been viewed in! Granted I don't know if everyone has read all of it so far or just saw the warning on the first chapter, but it's so cool nonetheless. Hello from England. It's nice to (sort of) see you :D

This chapter is a little more chill. You have some breathing room and I'm gonna say now, it's not going to happen very often. Hope you enjoy it. And as usual, a big thank you to WithPatienceComesPeace and CleverMird for beta-ing!

On with the show!


Chapter 6: Now my eyes are open, look what [god] has done


25th December 1991

Much of the first half of her Christmas holidays had been spent in a weird mix of emotions; Halley was happy not to have to go back to the Dursley's - without a doubt, that almost made this the best Christmas she had ever had. But at the same time, she also had no-one to spend it with.

It was so much more noticeable when the Slytherin table was all but empty. The only few staying behind were the Seventh Years who were studying frantically for NEWTs. Halley looked over at the Gryffindor table at the loud laughter of the Muggleborns.

At least they had friends.

The holidays after Christmas morning were spent exploring the castle. Someone - probably a teacher - had gifted her a unique item of clothing. Research in the library had suggested it was an invisibility cloak, though she wasn't sure about that. The note that had been attached to her present had said the cloak had been passed down from her father. From the small pamphlet she'd found, most invisibility cloaks had Notice-Me-Not Charms and very weak Disillusionment Charms that wore off after a couple of years.

This was obviously not the same thing, she thought as she ran her fingers through the silky soft fabric, watching as her hand disappeared and reappeared. Nothing had happened to her hand in the meantime so what would be the harm of trying the cloak out?

The Dursleys had, after all, instilled in her the benefits of keeping things from going to waste. And when better to use the cloak but when no-one was around to see her?

Later that evening, once dinner had been served to the handful of people, Halley made her way back to her room and removed the cloak from its place under her bed. There were so many things she could see, but where should she start?

It was silly to just walk around the castle without any plan, but then...she'd never had the luxury to just walk somewhere without there needing to be a reason. And maybe it was high time she got to spend a Christmas doing exactly what she wanted. With that thought in her head, and a small but rare smile on her face, Halley placed her feet into slippers, put a jumper and a scarf on, and placed the cloak over her head.

The goings on of the castle weren't the most interesting things she'd ever seen. Most of the portraits were asleep - and she wouldn't have been able to speak to them even if she wanted to because she wasn't supposed to be out of bed this late.

But the boredom of wandering the castle was interrupted quickly. Footsteps were coming her way and by the time they were close enough for her to hear their voices she was panicking all the more. Snape would kill her and Filch would happily help!

Halley stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see her, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into her - the cloak didn't stop her from being solid.

Her eyes found a door along the corridor and she backed away as quickly and as quietly as she could - making sure that her slippers didn't scrape across the stone. The door stood slightly open to her left and without thinking, she squeezed through the entry, holding her breath and praying that it wasn't one of the castle doors that creaked. Her heart hammered in her throat for the few seconds it took for them to pass and Halley leaned against the wall, breathing deeply as she listened to their footsteps echo more and more quietly. That had been too close.

She breathed in and out for a few more seconds before she realised that the room she'd escaped into looked like an unused classroom. That wasn't odd in and of itself; how many unused rooms must there have been in a castle this size? But there was something unsettling about being in a room that had no use to it. The dark outlines of the desks and chairs were stacked up against the wall, as if someone had placed them there to be out of the way of something.

It was weird, until she saw what they had made space for.

It was a mirror; magnificent and as tall as the blackboard resting behind it, standing with two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top. So, with all thoughts of Filch and Snape out of her mind, she moved forward to get a closer look. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

It seemed like an old language. Not Latin or Greek, but something else. Almost on the tip of her tongue. Like she should recognise the words, but her brain wasn't making sense of them. Stepping closer to try and understand the new riddle placed in front of her, something felt very out of place. It wasn't until she realised that she hadn't seen her reflection in the mirror that Halley frowned. So she stepped straight in front of it.

She had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Halley spun around, craning her neck to see the intruders behind her - but there was no one there. Heart thumping furiously again, she faced back towards the mirror, then back behind her once more, just to check. But there was no-one behind her

The mirror painted a different picture though. Beside her were two people. She didn't recognise them, but like the feeling she'd had when reading the inscription, Halley felt like they were familiar. The woman standing right behind her reflection smiled and waved. Halley found herself waving back until she realised what she was doing. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to the woman reached out his hand and stroked the back of Halley's hair - but she felt nothing!

So it wasn't that they were invisible. They weren't really there.

But why were they so familiar to her?

Halley studied their features and they stood there, letting her. The woman had tears in her almond-shaped green eyes, and the man's glasses seemed to glint in the light, the smile on his face almost daring her to figure it out. She'd seen those features before - not often. But where?

A choked gasp escaped her throat, struggling to get past the hand that was still covering her mouth. She knew those features because some of them were hers!

"Mum?" she bit out. "Dad?" They just looked at her, smiling.

The hand covering her mouth moved on its own, reaching out to touch the glass. But it stopped before touching the cold surface. What if they left? What if she ruined whatever magic was showing her this?

She didn't want to ruin this - not this. She was looking at her family for the first time in her life!

She didn't know how long she stood there for. The reflections didn't fade, but they also didn't interact with her again so Halley stayed staring at what could have been until a noise from outside the room startled her, bringing her back to her senses. She couldn't stay there - if someone found her outside her bed - if Snape found her!

Donning the cloak once more, Halley made her way back to the Dungeons, making note that the slippers were the best things she could have worn, and she thanked whoever had left them for her.

The next night she went back, and the night after she found herself sitting in front of the mirror raking up the courage to touch it. If it was just a mirror then nothing would happen - but what if it did? What then? This was the only way she would ever be able to see her mother and father smiling at her.

After that first evening, they'd done nothing more than smile and look at each other. They were like the pictures in the newspaper - moving just enough that they were stuck in a loop. Not really conscious, just an image captured and repeated. But what if she could somehow get them to talk back to her?

Halley swallowed down the fear and made to move her hand forward. Her fingers extended and almost touched the surface.

"So - back again, Halley?"

Halley yelped. Her insides felt as if they had turned to ice as she turned to look behind her. Sitting on one of the desks was Dumbledore. How had he gotten in without making a noise?

"I - I didn't see you, sir."

"Strange how near sighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, smiling. Halley frowned.

"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Halley. She scooted further away so she wasn't touching his navy-blue robes, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

Halley said nothing, not sure what to make of the situation.

"I expect you realise by now what its purpose is?" he asked.

"It shows you things, images, of...what could have been." She refused to look at him properly, but Dumbledore seemed to be content staring at the mirror with a small sad smile on his face. Halley wondered what he saw.

"The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror. That is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Halley shook her head.

Dumbledore made a quiet noise. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Many 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."

"It's not," she blurted out bitterly. Halley had a powerful kind of ache inside her, some joy, some sadness, but mostly, an overwhelming sense of bitterness and loss. This is what she could have had, but she didn't. And no-one would tell her why!

"I suppose it's not for me to argue."

Halley's cold green eyes flickered to Dumbledore's in the mirror. Something about what he said struck a chord. Halley had the distinct feeling he knew what she had seen - and though it wouldn't take a genius to guess - it left her uncomfortable.

"Do you know what I saw, sir?" she asked.

He looked at her. "If I were to guess, I would say your family."

"What happened to them? No-one knows, and there are no records."

Albus turned so he was looking at Halley face to face, no longer through the mirror. He watched the small figure, hunched over and curled into herself and his mind was cast back to the little boy who'd looked at him with the same longing to understand. The hat was right. Halley Potter was full of anger and he wondered if it was damage that could be repaired. "Your parents died doing the one thing that would make them happiest. They were saving you."

"Why was he there?"

He almost told her the truth, almost told her about the prophecy there and then but he stopped himself. Too often he'd allowed those too young to bear the responsibility of adult hardships. This time he would let the child stay a child. He folded his hands into his cloak and felt the cold fingertips press against his pulse. It thudded in a painful reminder that he was still alive when, maybe, someone else should have been.

"Your parents were a part of an organisation that openly opposed Voldemort's attacks. He was not pleased and on Halloween night, when he was provided an opportunity to, he attacked you all."

Halley's frown tightened and she cast her eyes back to the mirror. "Why didn't he kill me as well?"

"He tried." Her head shot up as he said it. "But there is something far stronger than hate and anger Halley. Do you know what it is?" Silence was once again her answer. "It is love. Love is the greatest force, and a mother's love...it is irrevocable."

His words triggered something in her. Halley's hand went to the mirror, reaching out for the image of her mother. Her stubby nails looked out of place against the smooth surface of the glass but she pressed the tips of her fingers against them anyway, following the line of her mother's jeans. When she moved her hand away there were no streaks.

Tears filled her eyes and she let them fall into her lap. So they had died because of her? It was her fault that they were dead and she couldn't do anything about it.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Halley, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. 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?"

She wiped the tears away as she stood up, barely noticing that Dumbledore now knew about the cloak - she would think about it later and decide whether or not she would keep using it. Halley took a final look at the mirror, and then a thought occurred to her.

"What do you see?"

She watched him as he purposely stifled himself from looking at the mirror. "I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks." Halley starred. "One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

He's lying. The thought was instinctual but it was unshakable. And suddenly Halley wondered how much of what he had just told her was the truth and as she made her way back to her bed she thought about it. The question had been personal, undoubtedly so, but it felt more than that. And Halley had learned to trust her instincts more than anything. People lied. Her gut didn't.


1st September 1993

"Fifteen students collapsed on the train because of the Dementors, Albus!" Pomona Sprout called out angrily as if he wasn't well aware of how many children had suffered. "Fifteen! What were you thinking? Dementors on the Hogwarts Express?"

Dumbledore sighed. Remus' Patronus had come ahead letting them know what had happened and the staff had all gathered in his office where they would have otherwise been preparing for the Sorting. For the most part, they had all been quiet, but Pomona was livid.

"Are the students all well?" he asked.

"Halley Potter, Percy Weasley, Terry Boot, Hannah Crawley and Neville Longbottom were the worst off, according to Lupin. All of them were given their fill of chocolate from the trolley," Minerva reported.

"Good," he said, nodding. "I'll speak to Fudge about the Dementors. For now, we will put up stronger wards for the students and tonight I'll affirm the importance of not wandering past the thresholds when they arrive."

It didn't bode well that the Dementors were already pushing the boundaries put in place for them. In fact, it was worrying Albus more than he would care to admit. But he would send an owl right after the feast and his talk with Halley.

The sound of the train arriving came from Hogsmeade and Albus moved over to the window. The steam from the Express curled and stretched with the wind, vibrant white could be seen against the black sky until it dissipated. He sighed again hoping this year would bring more happiness than the last.

"The students are here," he said addressing the room. "Come. Let us take our places at the table in the Great Hall. Familiarity will do some good, I think."


There was a distinct lull in the hall that hadn't been there since Myrtle Warren's death all those years ago, and Albus was disheartened to see it once more. Death was unifying in its domination, and fear even more so. Especially for those who were left behind to deal with it.

He took a moment and then stood. The Hall went quiet as it usually did and Albus began.

He welcomed back old students and welcomed the new. He introduced both Remus and Hagrid as new professors and heard the litany of murmurs from Slytherin and happy applause from Gryffindor.

And then he addressed the topic of the Dementors.

"I have no doubt that many more of you were affected by the Dementors' presence than you would have otherwise been, especially after last year's events. Hogwarts has lost one of our own and it is with great sorrow and sympathy that we remember her."

The silence was thunderous, and the eyes of hundreds of students were all trained on him. This was the part that he hated each year, but this was particularly aggravating.

Still he continued.

"The Dementors are here and will be until Sirius Black is captured and once more returned to Azkaban. As such, the Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds so a word of caution: They will not distinguish between those they hunt and those in their way. Give them no reason to harm you."

The students were still and quiet, reliving their experience on the train.

"But," he continued, raising his tone, "happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."

His eyes scanned the tables hoping the words would reach some, if not all, of the students. When they came to the Slytherin table, he sought out Halley. She was looking down, her hands cupping a mug of something he hoped was hot chocolate.

By the dullness in her eyes, Albus didn't think she'd heard anything he said at all.


She'd come after the feast - as he'd called for her - and was now sitting in front of him staring blankly at Fawks.

"How are you, my girl?" Albus asked gently.

"Fine," she said. The response was automatic, she hadn't even looked up at him. Even now, the Sorting Hat's words echoed in his mind.

"I heard about the incident on the train."

Halley looked up then, and her eyes focused on his for a second before she slid them away and back to Fawks. It wasn't long enough to try Legilimency even if he was inclined. And Albus was not.

Voldemort was still alive. She had such a task ahead of her. The girl deserved some semblance of dignity at the least.

"How did you hear about that?" she asked.

"Professor Lupin was on the train; he was unable to leave his previous place of residence before the month's end, unfortunately. He sent the staff a message."

Halley frowned. "What are Dementors?" she asked. "Why did they affect me like that?"

Albus clasped his hands together and placed them on the desk. From beside him Fawks trilled soothingly and Albus took comfort in his familiar. "Dementors are dark creatures. They feed on hope, peace and happiness and are drawn to those who have had hardships."

The guilt ate at him some. But he didn't tell her the rest.

"How do you get rid of them?" she asked.

"I'm afraid no-one has found a way to destroy Dementors as of yet," he said solemnly. "But there is a charm powerful enough to chase them away." Halley's eyes perked up some and Albus flinched at the hope he would have to take away. She was powerful, no doubt, but not enough to cast a Patronus this young.

"It takes a great deal of power and control over one's magic to master this particular spell, I'm sorry to say."

"So how am I - we - supposed to keep ourselves safe from them?" she asked angrily.

"Do not worry, my girl. What happened on the Express won't happen again," he assured her. It didn't look much like it had worked; she was still angry and Albus couldn't fault her for it. He wondered what she had experienced, but he had a fair idea.

"I also wanted to check in on you after our last meeting," he said. "Did anything come back to you over the summer?"

He watched her carefully. She was easier to read than she thought because her lips tightened, and she stiffened in her chair noticeably.

"No," she said. "I still can't remember."

Albus nodded and thanked her for her time, letting her know he was there if she needed support or if she remembered anything. "I expect you're tired and I'm sorry for keeping you from your bed for so long, Halley."

She shrugged and made to stand up. "Goodnight, Professor," she said.

"Goodnight," he replied.

He sighed when she left. He didn't quite believe her. There was something that she was keeping close to her chest. Though in time, he hoped that she would trust him enough to tell him. It was important.


AN: I hope you enjoyed, and I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

I'm going to take a week's break with this fic. I'm about to start a new government job and I have a feeling I won't be able to edit chapter 7 and get it to my betas in time for next week. So I'm going to try and build up a little edited backlog of chapters just in case work gets to be a lot over the next couple of weeks. If somehow I get more done than I thought, I'll upload between Friday and Sunday next week but I don't know how likely it is.

Enjoy your week :)