(Next Chapter! Have fun with the Mirror of Erised! I own nothing but Lucy.)
...
Harry, you're on my foot. Lucy groaned as she struggled to walk while sharing the invisibility cloak with her brother.
Sorry. Harry stumbled sideways almost colliding with a bookshelf. Lucy turned a stern look at him and a put a finger to her lips.
Shh! Someone will hear!...Hold the lantern up a little higher. We're almost at the restricted section. She pointed towards a barred off area of the library and Harry nodded rolling his eyes slightly.
Right. Do you remember that spell we need for unlocking the gate? He furrowed his brows together as he studied the padlock on door to the restriction section.
Lucy nodded her head. I got it. She reached into her right hand pocket and pulled out her wand. "Alohamora." She whispered and the lock clicked.
Harry quickly checked over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming then he gave Lucy a nudge. Okay come on, let's hurry!
Lucy stumbled. She caught herself on the fence and turned to glare at Harry.
Quit it or else we'll really get caught!...Where do you suppose we should start looking first? She peeked through the gap in the cloak and gazed at the rows of shelves stacked beyond the fence.
Harry shrugged. I don't know...Anywhere I guess. He walked up to the first shelf and picked up a dusty old volume from the bottom shelf.
Lucy put her hand on his arm. Harry I don't think-
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The book let out a loud hideous sounding screech as Harry opened to the first page. It scared the twins so much they let the book drop to the ground forgetting about the noise.
"Who's there?" A familiar aged voice rasped as a cane tapped along the ground towards the library. Lucy quickly swooped down to pick up the book when she heard a mew.
It's Filch and that cat!...Hurry! We need to get out of here! She replaced the book then knocked her elbow against the lantern Harry had been carrying causing it to fall and shatter against the floor as well.
Harry quickly tucked the cloak securely around them anyway before turning for the gate. Let's go! He's going to find us!
"I know you're in there!" Filch's voice got louder and the Twins hurried to leave the library taking care not too make too much noises with their shoes.
Lucy chanced a peek over her shoulder just they managed to reach the door. A tall figure was sneaking across the restricted section holding up a lantern to light his way.
Lucy gasped and Harry grabbed her arm. Shh! He warned her and nodded towards the door. Lucy nodded and followed as Mr. Filch continued to search the restricted section calling out to the intruders.
Her heart pounded and her breath caught in her throat as they ran through the corridor back towards the staircase that led to the Gryffindor Tower.
Suddenly Harry stopped running and Lucy collided right into his back. Ow! What the- she started to protest when she heard a mewl.
Harry put a finger to his lips and glanced warningly at his sister while backing carefully away from the cat. Lucy nodded and as quietly as they could manage they turned to run in the opposite direction.
Wait! Stop! Lucy skidded to a halt and barely reached back in time to stop Harry.
"Oof!" Harry bit back a yell and stumbled into the wall causing Lucy to whip her head around at him.
Shh! Snape and Professor Quirrell are around the corner! We'll have to go back the other way. She slowly backed away from the corner and accidentally trod on Harry's toe.
Ow!...Lu we can't go back this way! Filch and his cat are back there!...We'll just have to sneak around them with the cloak. He motioned forward just as they both heard Snape's voice echo around the hallway.
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." The Potions' Master drawled lowly. Professor Quirrell let out a gasp. "I..wha..I don't know what you mean." He stammered in his usual manner of speech though Snape didn't seem fazed by it.
"Oh you know perfectly well what I mean." He retorted, tightening his grip on the other Professor's robes as if not hearing his whimpers.
Harry and Lucy exchanged glances. Lu..come on. Harry gave Lucy a nudge and she nodded. Quietly they tried to sneak past the two professors unnoticed, but then Lucy tripped a tile and Professor Snape twitched his head in their direction.
The two Potters froze. Lucy held her breath and Harry put a hand over his mouth. This way. Harry nodded and quickly tip toed back a step from the Professors.
Lucy followed and bit back a gasp when Professor Snape put out his hand and nearly grabbed the edge of the cloak.
Still the Potters kept walking taking care not to make any noise on the floor with their soft padded shoes until they reached a curious locked door at the end of the corridor.
Lucy frowned. Funny..I don't remember there being a room over there.
Harry tapped Lucy on the shoulder, about to tell her that the door was unlocked when Mr. Filch came up from the library tapping along on the stone cold floor.
Lucy felt her heart sink when she realized he was carrying the broken lantern she had dropped with the snuffed out candle still inside.
"Ah Professors! I found this...in the restricted section." The wily old caretaker grinned as he held up his prize in front of the two confused Professors.
"It's still hot. That means there's a student out of bed." Snape's eyes widened.
Harry poked Lucy in the spine. "Oh!" Shh! The door's unlocked! Let's hurry and get inside before anyone sees us! Harry warned and opened the door slowly.
Lucy nodded and turned to follow her brother, checking over her shoulder one last time before she pulled the door closed.
"That!...was the stupidest thing we've ever done!" She glared at her brother as she pulled the cloak off of her head.
Harry tossed the cloak aside and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Even stupider than the time you accidentally mixed Uncle Vernon's laundry with Dudley's and Dudley ripped Uncle Vernon's briefs right in two?" He grinned slightly.
Lucy responded by giving her grinning brother a shove. "Oh shut up! This is easily twice as as stupid as anything we've ever done! We could get in so much trouble for what we did!" She started to pace the length of the room.
Harry reached out to tap her on the arm. "Lucy..."
"I mean once they start questioning our house it won't take long to figure out who was missing from bed tonight and then they might start-."
"Lu!" Harry grabbed his sister by the forearm stopping her from pacing so that she could see what he had noticed.
"What?" Lucy started to get cross when she saw it. A large floor to ceiling mirror was leant up against the wall across the room from where the Potters stood.
Its frame was worn and showed the signs of age, but still it was beautiful and Lucy couldn't helping staring at it.
Harry nudged her with his elbow. I have a feeling about this thing. What about you? Want to get a closer look? He asked without moving his lips.
Lucy turned to meet his gaze.
Without a word, she stepped towards the mirror and Harry followed her lead both keeping an eye on their reflections on the glass. It wasn't until they were both standing right in front of it that the Potters realized...
...their reflections weren't the only ones being shown in the mirror.
"Harry!" Lucy gasped and Harry shook his head. It can't be!...
He looked up first at the man that stood behind him then to the woman.
The man was tall and had a kind fun loving face. He wore glasses that were round and sat on the bridge of his nose like Harry's and he had a smile that looked a lot like Lucy's.
The woman on the other hand was very beautiful and had a kind angelic look on her face. Her eyes were a piercing green and she had red hair much like the red color in Lucy's hair.
Both Potters knew who they were without even asking a single question.
"Mom?" Lucy finally spoke looking up at the woman's eyes with hope in her tone. The woman nodded her head.
Harry smiled and turned towards the man. "Dad." The man smiled back. Lucy and Harry exchanged glances with each other.
"I can't believe this." Lucy whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked hurriedly back at the mirror where her dead parents stood smiling at her and Harry as if nothing in the world were wrong.
As if all they had to do was walk forward into the mirror...and they would be a family again.
Harry stepped forward and tried to put his hand out to touch his Mother's hand through the glass, but as expected the effort was futile.
Lucy frowned and rubbed her nose as Harry dejectedly put his hand down at his side.
The woman smiled as if able to read their thoughts and put her hand on Harry's shoulder. The man followed her example and set his hand on Lucy's.
Without thinking about it, Lucy reached back to grab his hand and felt her heart wrench when she put her hand down on top of the sweater she was wearing instead.
"It's not fair." She murmured suddenly out loud and lowered her arm back at her side.
She looked up to meet her parents' eyes again in the mirror just as her mother gently ruffled Harry's long untamable hair with one of her soft white hands, the smile never leaving her beautiful face.
Her Father's smile though fell a bit as if he had heard what Lucy said and understood her pain, but he reached over and smoothed out her hair in a comforting manner as the Twins continued to stare at them longingly and hopelessly in the mirror.
Finally Harry turned to face his twin. Both he and Lucy were thinking the same thing, but Harry knew it would be futile to talk about it.
So instead he shrugged and asked, "Do you think we should show Ron?"
Lucy turned to meet his gaze.
...
"Ron!..You've really got to see this! Wake up!" Harry burst back into his Dorm room scaring Ron who almost hit his head on the wall behind him.
"Ow!...Harry it's late and we aren't allowed to-."
"But there's something you've got to see!" Harry cut him off and snatched his blanket. "Come on! Get under the cloak!"
Ron gave him a strange look. "But...why? And where's Lucy?" He asked stifling a yawn. Harry lost his patience and tried to yank him out of bed.
"Just come on! I promise it'll be worth it! Lucy's downstairs! She's waiting for us! We want to show you our parents!" Harry explained as he held out one end of the long cloak.
Ron sat up instantly on the bed. "Holy cricket! Your parents?! Well why didn't you just say so? Let's go!" He hopped to the ground and hurried to get under the cloak.
Harry quickly wrapped it around them before turning towards the door. "Just stay close and try not to step on my toes. Lucy's done quite enough of that already." He grumbled as he turned around to close the door.
"Ha!..Very funny Harry. As I recall you trod on my foot more than I did on yours." Lucy grinned as she flicked a bit of lint off the staircase.
Ron and Harry gaped at her through the cloak.
"How did you-?" Ron began. "Did you forget that only the girls' staircase is charmed?" Lucy cut him off and walked towards the boys with a smile.
Ron and Harry exchanged glances. "Uh..."
"I'm getting in. Try not to step on my foot." Lucy told Harry as she squeezed in under the cloak with the boys.
Harry narrowed his eyes as he secured the cloak over all three of them.
"Sure..."
...
"I don't understand! Aren't your parents dead?" Ron asked the minute they were safe inside the strange room with the mirror.
It was much harder moving with three people under the cloak and despite all care, everyone got their toes stepped on at least twice and they almost got caught by Filch's cat again.
Lucy shrugged though as they dropped the cloak to the ground.
"Yes, but for some reason we were able to see them in this mirror." She pointed towards the large mirror where she could already see her parents silhouettes appearing in the glass again.
Harry smiled and quickly pushed Ron in front. "Look!...Stand right there! You'll see them! See? Our Mum's got red hair like Lucy's and Dad has-."
"That's me!" Ron suddenly exclaimed an excited smile lighting up his face. "Only I'm...Head Boy! And I'm holding the Quidditch Cup!"
Lucy gave him a strange look. "What?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Harry. Ron didn't seem to hear them.
"Bloody Hell Harry! I also made Quidditch Captain!" He jumped up and down a bit on the floor then stopped to admire his reflection some more.
"Oh I look good!...Do you guys think this mirror shows the future?" He asked looking towards Lucy.
Harry shook his head. "How can it?...Our parents are-."
"-dead." Lucy finished and scowled at the mirror slightly. Ron frowned at that. "Oh...right. Sorry." He looked at his feet.
Harry shook his head. "It's fine. Let's just get back before we get caught out of bed." He turned to go get the cloak and Ron followed.
It took them a minute to realize that Lucy wasn't following them.
"Um Lu?...Aren't you coming?" Ron asked hesitantly, staring worriedly at his friend's back. Lucy emitted a sigh.
"Yeah I'm coming." She gazed at the mirror one last time before turning to rejoin the boys. Harry turned to look at her sympathetically.
We could always come back ourselves. He suggested so Ron wouldn't hear. Lucy nodded her head.
I guess... She ducked under the cloak. Ron helped secure the drawstrings at the front. "Okay, let's go." He nodded at Harry.
Harry nodded back. Let's go. He nodded at Lucy. Lucy nodded back.
...
"Back again, are we Potters?" A kind familiar voice boomed from behind the Twins causing them to jump slightly as they sat on the ground together in front of the wonderous mirror gazing at their parents images in the glass once again.
It had become a nightly ritual. Right after dinner they'd always sneak off with the cloak to visit the strange room where the mirror was.
The mirror that could show them their parents.
"Ah!...I see that you two like so many before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." Dumbledore smiled slightly as he gazed at the two Potters from the doorway.
"And I trust by now that you both know what it does."
Harry and Lucy exchanged glances.
"Uh...yes Sir. At least we think we do." Harry answered softly after a minute and Lucy nodded her head. She looked at the floor which seemed strangely polished and clean for being a part of the castle.
Dumbledore smiled and stepped towards the Twins. "Let me give you a clue." He glanced between them. "The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror...and see only himself...exactly as he is."
Harry and Lucy looked up to meet his gaze then they glanced at the mirror. "So then...it shows us what we want." Lucy murmured studying the glass of the mirror with more interest than before.
"Whatever we want..."
Dumbledore nodded his head. " Yes..and no. It shows us nothing more or less...than the deepest and more desperate desires of our hearts." He smiled as he spoke and she smiled too despite herself.
"So...that means-."
"Yes Lucy,...for you and Harry who have never known your family, you see them standing beside you. With you as they never could before." Dumbledore nodded.
Harry smiled. "That's so wonderful." He said turning to look back at where his parents were still being reflected on to him and to his sister.
Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes, but remember this Children,...this mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away in front of it...even gone mad." He warned causing Lucy to shiver.
She glanced back at the mirror again. "What should we do?" She asked softly, staring at the smiling images of her parents as Harry imitated her movement.
Dumbledore put his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I would advise you two, not to come looking for this mirror anymore. For even you do, it will not be here." He told her gently.
Harry looked alarmed. "Why not?"
Dumbledore gave him a sympathetic look. "Alas Harry, tomorrow the mirror will be moved to a new home. Where it will be safe...and set away from the world where it may do harm."
He turned to the leave the room and Harry nodded his head. "I guess I understand." He murmured as Lucy followed his lead.
"Yes...however hard it is, we won't go looking for the mirror anymore, Professor. We promise." She turned to look at her brother.
Harry nodded his head.
"Good." Dumbledore seemed satisfied as he reached the doorway of the room. "It is not well to dwell on dreams after all." He smiled as he quietly left the room.
Harry and Lucy lingered for a minute thinking about what the wise old Professor said. Finally Lucy walked forward to grab the cloak.
"Let's go Harry." She turned towards her brother with a sad yet satisfied smile. "He's right. We shouldn't be sitting here anymore. Our parents wouldn't want that."
Harry looked up to meet her gaze. Slowly a smile spread across his face and he nodded before walking up to join her in the middle of the room.
"Yeah, you're right." He picked up one end of the cloak and threw it over his head. Lucy smiled and did the same.
Ready?
Ready! Harry grabbed her hand under the cloak.
Without even one last lingering look at the Mirror of Erised the Twins quietly slipped from the room never to wonder again of its strange and wonderous power.
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