Curiosity killed the cat. Later on, Edward would look back at this moment and remember that saying as words to live by. Right now, however, he only felt anticipation and excitement as he traced the invisible magical thread to its origin. He had been practicing this ability since he found out that he was more sensitive to magic than the other students, and he'd discovered that he could locate someone based solely on their internal magic, that everyone'd a unique magical signature. He could also detect places that possessed unusually high magic concentration, which led him back to his current little expedition.
He had been sensing it for several days now. The whole castle emitted magic, which to him felt like a consistent humming, and this particular area was similar to an out-of-tune melody. It'd been growing stronger by the day, and Edward found himself brimming with curiosity. It seemed that he had a thing for adventure. Harry didn't know this, but a few days ago Edward had snuck out of the castle and stood at the edge of the Forbidden forest, dying to come in. In the end, he had abandoned the idea and turned the trip into a visit to Hagrid. Sitting and chat with the gamekeeper while trying his best to work through his plate of fruit cake (or was that rock cake?) was quite interesting, though his eyes still lingered longingly in the forest direction. The place he was going to now was different, though. It was inside the castle, and there were definitely no "Danger, Do Not Enter" warnings like the third-floor corridor. That was why, having finished his classes, and dinner was not for another few hours, he decided to go and take a peek.
The wave was leading him closer and closer to what seemed like a classroom. Edward didn't know what was taught here, though. He himself certainly didn't remember having any class in there. He pushed the door open, noticing that it wasn't locked, and poked his head inside. It was instantly clear to him that this room hadn't been used for a while. There weren't any tables here, and the several chairs present spotted a fine layer of dust on their surface. Edward stepped into the chamber, took a look around, searching for the power source he was seeking. He found it immediately, partly due to the totally-out-of-place appearance of said item as well as the magic that was coming off of it in pulses.
It was a mirror, with a magnificent ornate gold frame, kept standing on two clawed feet. Its top was engraved with an inscription: 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'. The mirror looked like it had just been put there recently, as it was the only thing in the room that was clean. Edward cautiously walked over to the front of the mirror and stared at its surface. It took him a few seconds to realize that the space where there should be a reflection was empty. He waved and tried to shift himself into a right angle, but still nothing would show up. Edward was just about to give up and turn around when something finally happened.
People. It wasn't clear, but Edward could make out the blurry outlines of three or four persons as they suddenly shimmered into existence in the mirror world. Startled, he whirled around but there was no one except him. After double-checking and double-checking again, he turned back to the mirror. The mirror-people were still there, only that by now, he could see every detail their faces clearly. Edward gasped.
The sensation was similar to a punch to the gut, magnified ten times. Edward collapsed to his knees; however, he didn't even notice the sudden change in his height of vision. All he had eyes for was those standing in the mirror smiling at him, beaming like he was their long-time friend. The problem was that he didn't recognize any of them. The one closest to him was an old man in his seventies with shoulder-length silver hair, his eyes full of kindness. Holding his right arm was a young woman with curly black hair and lovely brown eyes, which matched her skin color. She was waving at him enthusiastically. To her left stood another woman whose face was clearly marked by age but still remarkably beautiful, and the ways she looked at Edward was full of love. Without even knowing why, Edward scrambled forward and put his hands on the mirror, desperate to reach the people within it. His heart yearned for them, but his head didn't know the reason, and the inability to remember was causing him terrible anguish. He was crying-Edward realized when he felt his cheeks hot with tears-crying because of these strangers whom deep inside he knew he loved, crying at being left alone here, crying because no matter how hard he pushed, his fingers just wouldn't go through the mirror surface and he was locked here in reality. Lost in agony, he almost didn't notice the fourth figure forming in the mirror. Almost. As it was, his head jerked up and he knew what he would see before he saw it.
Blond hair. Blue eyes. A proud posture. A face that held a smile that somehow seemed both mocking and caring at the same time.
That was the last thing Edward saw before everything went black.
The first thing that appeared in his line of vision when Edward regained consciousness was Harry's and Ron's face hovering above him. He blinked slowly, his mind drawing a blank as to why he was lying down.
Several more blinks, and the sight of the Hospital wing came into focus. What the heck?
"He's awake!" cried Harry.
Edward pushed his elbows against the mattress and hoisted himself up. As he did so, pain shot through his head and he winced, holding his temple, attempting to soothe a killer migraine.
"Whoa, you okay there?" asked Ron.
Edward nodded, but the movement caused him more pain, so he just sank back to the pillow.
"What happened?" he questioned his two friends
"We were hoping you'd tell us." Ron shrugged "You didn't turn up for dinner, and when we went looking for you, they said you were brought here because you fainted."
"Fainted?" Strange. He didn't remember.
"You don't know?" said Harry. Edward shook his head.
"I only recall finishing my last class." The memory loss was starting to annoy him.
"Well, Madam Pomfrey said you're fit for class tomorrow, so it's okay, I guess." Ron said thoughtfully "Oh, and something else happened while you was out."
"Really?" Edward straightened, his face full of interest.
"Yeah. On our way here, we saw a corridor being rounded off. It was open just this afternoon, but at dinner Dumbledore said that it is off-limits now."
"That's weird." commented Edward. He wondered what occurred there.
At said now forbidden corridor, Dumbledore was looking at the mirror of Erised, or rather what was left of it. Shard of the mirror littered the floor in sparkling pieces. It wasn't the only thing in the chamber that was completely and utterly destroyed, however. Dumbledore's eyes swept around the room, only it couldn't exactly be called a room anymore, for only the wall with the door remained somewhat intact and the rest lying in rubbles, along with about two-third of the whole corridor, and he was looking directly at the castle ground.
The Headmaster closed his eyes. This wasn't a laughing matter anymore. Not that it ever had been.
Beta: FlyingLovegood123
