Another short chapter. But I couldn't wait to see your reaction to this!

Chapter 13

Alicia was half dozing in the living-room and Beverly was reading a book beside her when Ginny came to see what they were doing. When she saw their bored expression she knew the two girls didn't like to stay together. Ginny decided to separate them for a while; maybe it would do them good. Beverly had only been there two days and the girls were already counting the days till the end of the holydays.

Beverly and Alicia were just not meant to understand each other.

"Hum, Ginny cleared her voice loudly, Beverly I'm going shopping in half an hour. Do you want to come with me?"

Beverly sighed in relief and closed her book. She glanced at Alicia and then asked:

"Isn't Alicia coming with us?"

Ginny laughed.

"Oh, Ali doesn't like shopping that much."

"Really, what a shame!" Beverly said sarcastically. Alicia sniggered. A least this was one thing Beverly and Alicia both agreed on: they were never going to be tight friends, they both knew it, and there was no reason to hide it anymore.

Beverly got up and poked Alicia's shoulder playfully.

"Ouch!" Alicia cried even though it hadn't hurt her. She rubbed her shoulder angrily to show Beverly she didn't approve of this sort of behaviour.

Ginny watched her daughter and her niece scowl at each other and she began to wonder if their obvious dislike for each other was a hidden complicity.

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The minute Ginny and Beverly were gone Alicia rushed over to the house next door.

"Hey Mitch!" she cried breathlessly as the young boy opened the door.

They talked for a while, sitting on Mitch's doorstep. After a while, they got bored and Ali asked Mitch to come to their house.

"My parents aren't home right now. There's a sort of attic in my house where I'm not allowed to go. Want to see what's so secret in there?"

Ginny and Harry had forbidden Alicia to go into the attic since she was very little. They had put a charm on it so no kind of magic could open it. But Mitch had taught Alicia a few muggle tricks.

Mitch accepted Alicia's invitation. The two teenagers made their way to Alicia's house.

"A secret room? What do you think your parents are hiding in there?"

Alicia was reminded of the secret chamber in Hogwarts.

"Something dangerous probably." She said smiling sweetly.

With Mitch's help, opening the attic's door was a piece of cake. Alicia wondered why she had never come on the idea to open the door the muggle way. Maybe muggles weren't that stupid. They found some interesting things to replace magic.

Alicia pushed the door open. Dust fell from the roof as she did so. She blinked for a bit and then she gasped as she saw the sight in front of her.

A magnificient mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, stood on two clawed feet in the middle of the room. It took up most of the place. Boxes were spread everywhere on the floor, boxes full of her parents' past.

Alicia could feel a sort of energy in the air and judging by Mitch's puzzled face, he felt it too.

"Spooky," he murmured.

Magic filled every inch of the room, Alicia could feel that. She took a step forward. There was an inscription carved around the top of the mirror:

'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'

Alicia looked at herself closely in the mirror. At first she could only see herself in the dusty mirror but then strange shadows appeared in the reflection. Startled Alicia looked behind her. There was nothing. She looked back at the mirror.

There they were. They were surrounding her, touching her. Yet Alicia felt nothing on her skin.

And then someone else appeared in the reflection. Mitch had approached her. He had put his arms on Alicia's shoulders.

The shadows disappeared. Alicia breathed in relief.

She stepped away from the mirror, confused at what she had seen, and bent over the boxes instead.

Most boxes were filled with books and old pictures of Harry's schooldays.

There they all were, in Hogsmeade, the three of them. Harry, Ron and Hermione.

There was a picture of Albus Dumbledore. The picture waved at Alicia and she smiled.

Alicia looked at all the moving pictures for a bit, hoping Mitch didn't notice them. After all muggles didn't have moving pictures.

But Mitch wasn't even paying attention. His eyes were still fixing the mirror, as if he was paralyzed.

Ali thought he probably saw the shadows as well. It was a magic mirror: Mitch was probably confused by that.

"Hum, it's an old mirror. It's dirty and full of dust. It looks as if we can see shadows." Ali said running to Mitch's side.

"I don't see any shadows." Mitch said. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for a very long time.

"Mitchell, are you alright?" Ali asked perplexed.

The boy didn't answer. Instead he reached out and touched the glass of the mirror. He frowned.

"Mitch, what's up?" Ali cried again. She began to worry that maybe Mitch had seen something he shouldn't have seen. What if he saw something else?

"I can't explain it, Ali. I think I've lost my head."

Alicia sighed and grabbed Mitch by the arm. She shook him vigorously. That seemed to take Mitch out of his trance.

He looked away from his reflection.

"Let's get out of here." Alicia snapped. She had just realised how risky it was to bring a muggle in the attic of a wizard family.

She pushed Mitch out of the attic. Just as she was about to close the door again, she caught a glimpse of a weird cloak in the far corner. The cloak was made in a very strange sort of material. It looked like water.

Alicia knew immediately what it was. She had read about invisibility cloaks. And she had just seen a picture of her father with the cloak.

Grinning, Alicia closed the door. She knew she was going to come back. She wanted the cloak for herself.

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Mitch and Alicia played football outside for a bit after visiting the attic. Mitch kept laughing because Alicia always fell down head first in the grass. Alicia tried not to shout at him. She couldn't understand muggles. What was so interesting about football? Quidditch was much more fun.

After a while, Mitch said he had to go home. He laughed at Alicia's relieved face.

"You really don't like football, eh?" he teased.

"I hate it." Alicia said shooting into the ball as hard as she could.

Mitch picked up his ball and then left.

As he made his way to his house next door his thoughts drifted back to what he had seen in the mirror.

Was it a trick mirror?

Mitch didn't know, and he didn't care either. He wanted to go back into the attic, go back to see his reflection.

Then Mitch thought of Alicia. Surely the mirror was playing tricks on him. And yet, Mitch couldn't help looking back at Alicia's house and smirk.

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"Alissia, have you forgotten the chamber of ssecrets?"

"No, I haven't, Morla."

"Do you even know where the chamber of ssecrets is?"

"No, but I will find it easily. I have the invisibility cloak."

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One night Alicia had a nightmare. She woke up sweating in her bed. She couldn't remember what her dream was, but her head was hurting her so much she felt dizzy.

She tried to get up, but the pain in her head stopped her.

"Beverly!" Alicia whispered.

No one answered.

"Beverly!"

Alicia looked over at Beverly's bed. It was empty.

With great effort, Alicia got to her feet. She was very aware of the fact that her hair were sticking to her face, and her feet were shaking. Whatever her dream had been, it had been a bad one.

It hurt to walk, it hurt to keep her eyes open, it hurt to stand on her feet, but still Alicia looked everywhere in the house. Beverly was nowhere to be seen.

Alicia went into the kitchen and drank a bit of fresh water. Her throat hurt as well, and simply drinking cold water took out all her energy.

It was one of the last days of the holydays. Alicia was looking forward to go back to school, so she could begin her search for the chamber of secrets.

Suddenly Alicia heard voices outside. Slowly she made her way to the front door. It was locked, but Alicia knew her house very well, and even in the dark she found the key for the lock.

It was very cold outside and very dark. It was hard to see anyone in the dark, but Alicia recognized the two persons in front of her immediately.

Beverly and Mitch were sitting on the garden wall. They were kissing.

Alicia let out a groan of pain. She felt even dizzier than before. She blinked a few times trying to fight the pain in her head but it was too much.

She lost conscious.

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Alicia woke up again in her bed. Someone had changed the sheets, and had washed her face. The sun was shining in her room. Alicia blinked and opened her eyes.

Ginny was looking down at her, smiling.

"Hello, little one." She said kissing her daughter's forehead.

"What happened?" Alicia asked.

"You fainted in the garden. Beverly woke Harry and me up and we carried you back here. I washed your face and changed your sheets. It seems you have had a bad dream."

Alicia was confused. She couldn't remember anything, yet something was bothering her. Something else had happened that night.

"Where's Beverly?" Alicia asked.

"She's making breakfast for you downstairs."

Alicia could feel her headache coming back as she thought of Beverly.

"How come Beverly found me in the garden?" Alicia wanted to know.

"She said you were dream-walking, so she followed you. When she saw you faint outside, she ran into our room and woke us up." Ginny explained.

"Where's Dad?"

"He had to go to work. Apparently a wizard terrorized a few witches in London, saying he's the new Voldemort."

Alicia smirked. It was funny how many people who pretended to be Voldemort turned out to be complete freaks.

There was a knock on the door and Beverly entered holding a tray. It was obvious she had done her best to make a good breakfast without using magic.

Beverly silently handed Alicia the tray.

Puzzled, Alicia looked at Beverly. It reminded her of something that had happened the night before, but Alicia couldn't quite remember what.

And then, all of a sudden, Alicia's memory came back. She was just drinking her hot chocolate. She spluttered and spilled chocolate milk all over herself.

Sighing Ginny drew out her wand and made the chocolate milk disappear from Alicia's nightdress.

"Okay, Ali, I have to go see my doctor now. Beverly will take care of you."

Ginny left the room. She didn't even seem to notice the tension between the two cousins.

There was silence for a while. Beverly sat down on her own bed looking uncomfortable. Alicia enjoyed making her wait. She ate her breakfast slowly, without saying a single word. When she had finished, she pushed the tray on the floor and said nothing.

Beverly couldn't stand it anymore.

"Alicia, are we going to talk about what happened last night?"

"I don't see why." Alicia said.

Beverly sighed.

"Alicia, Mitch and I are worried about you."

"You're lying!" Alicia cried. Tears of anger came into her eyes. She felt so betrayed, betrayed by her cousin and one of her best friends. How could they do this behind her back?

"No, I'm not. You really scared us last night when you fainted."

"And why do you think that happened?"

"You have a lot of fever." Beverly said shrugging.

Alicia snorted.

"Yeah, right."

"Okay, maybe Mitch and I gave you a shock but –"

"How could you do this to me?" Alicia cut across Beverly. She didn't want to hear Beverly's excuses. She didn't want to hear Beverly anymore, didn't want to see her.

"I have done nothing wrong!" Beverly cried back her temper rising.

"Then explain to me why you lied to my mother about what really happened last night."

Beverly had no answer to that one. She looked down at her pale hands. Half of her felt guilty, the other half wanted to shake Alicia and tell her to get a grip.

"I don't understand you, Alicia. Why does it bother you so much that Mitch and I like each other?" Beverly asked.

Alicia's tears rolled down on her cheek. She didn't even bother to hide or stop them. It felt good to cry.

"I can't explain it, Beverly. It's just that when I picture you two together I feel like screaming. You're my cousin. He's my friend. The only muggle friend I've got. I need him. You can't take him away from him."

Beverly could suddenly see something very clearly about Mitch's and Alicia's relationship. Obviously Mitch and Alicia hadn't noticed it themselves, but Beverly had.

"I will leave Mitch, but only on one condition."

"What?"

"Make an effort with Ginny's baby. Please."

"I will." Alicia nodded. She hated the idea of accepting the baby nicely but she found her friendship with Mitch much more important.

Beverly smiled weakly, dreading what she had to do. But she had made up her mind as soon as she had seen Alicia faint. After all, Mitch had been just a fling. There would be other guys in her life, she was sure of that.

Beverly couldn't quite find the words to explain it, but she found herself getting attached to Alicia. She knew that if she had to choose between her boyfriend and Alicia, she was always going to choose Alicia.

Although Beverly had never showed it, she had always been interested in Alicia. She wanted to turn her cousin into a better person. And when Beverly fixed herself a mission, she always did everything to accomplish it.

Alicia stretched out her two weak arms and motioned to Beverly to come over to her. For the first time the two girls hugged each other.

Alicia cried softly in Beverly's arms.

"Thank you." She whispered in her cousin's ear.

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Beverly had left to break up with Mitch. She was gone a very long time, but she had warned Alicia that she may feel like taking a walk after her break-up.

Alicia was humming to herself as she turned on the television. She loved this muggle invention.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Only one person didn't use the doorbell.

Alicia opened the door.

Mitch was standing in front of her. He wasn't smiling. He looked at Alicia up and down with disgust and said:

"We need to talk."

Author's note : I didn't know how to describe the mirror with my own words so I used J.K.Rowling's.

I think you've noticed that without me saying so.

Anyway, please leave reviews, and tell me what you think of Beverly!