Chapter 7- A Light in the Dark
"You can't be serious!" Tom exclaimed, incredulous.
"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I be?" Cecilia flicked a breadcrumb off of the table, seeming to be oblivious yet again to Tom's distress.
"If it wasn't for Zion erasing our memories, we wouldn't be in this predicament now," he reminded her.
"That's exactly why I like talking to him. He knows what happened that night. I told him about the baby, and he understood my pain completely. You don't realize how good it feels to talk to somebody about it."
Tom's head nearly exploded with anger. "I asked you if you wanted to talk about it the other day, and you said no!"
"That's before I realized how good of a thing it was. I thought talking about it would make the pain greater, but it really just makes things much better. Zion helped me realize that." Cecilia sighed. "You know, I don't see why you're so upset over this, Tom. I feel better than I have in days. Can't you just be happy for me?"
"Look, I know Zion. He's not the sort of person you should be around. Besides, the only reason he's talking to you now is because he wants to make me jeal-er-upset."
"And why would that upset you?" Cecilia asked, still confused.
"Because I don't like him! And he knows it."
Cecilia shook her head. "You're acting very childish over this."
"Forget it," Tom stood up, shaking his head "You'll never understand." He stormed off, ignoring Cecilia's pleas to come back.
He kept walking, not knowing exactly where he was headed. Anger and hurt consumed him, and he soon lost his sense of direction. After walking for a while and muttering obscenities, Tom found himself standing in an abandoned hallway that looked like humans hadn't visited it since the time of Professor Binns. It was covered in dust on all sides, and Tom could barely make out the door situated at the opposite end of the hall. He approached it cautiously, for he had seen his fair share of dangerous things at Hogwarts and was not putting anything past the old door. When Tom reached it, he gently pushing it opened, preparing for the worst.
Nothing happened though, and as Tom stepped through the entryway, he was greeted with a fresh cloud of dust. After adjusting his eyes to the darkness, he realized that the room was actually an old classroom. From the spells written on the dusty chalkboard, Tom assumed it had been used as a Defense Against the Dark Arts room. He explored the room, and finding nothing unusual, was just about to leave, when he caught a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. Turning, Tom saw a beautiful mirror situated in the very corner of the room. He didn't know how he could've looked over it when he was exploring; it was the only thing not covered in dust. Tom walked over to it and stood in front of it, staring into his reflection. He gasped as the image in the mirror transformed.
Instead of staring at himself, Tom was now staring into the faces of of a grown man and a grown woman. They were married, he assumed, from the way they were staring at each other. The man had his arm wrapped protectively around his wife, a loving expression on his face. The wife had a small baby in her arms, and was smiling happily down at it. Her golden curls moved slightly as an invisible wind blew by.
Tom's eyes widened at he stared at the loving family; he knew who the people were. It was Cecilia and him. And that baby Cecilia was holding was… Tom moved closer to the mirror, putting his hands up against the glass. They looked like the perfect family. No, they were the perfect family. Tom couldn't tear his gaze away from it. His older self looked so happy, happier than he had ever been. His heart swelled with desire, for he wanted what he saw inside that mirror more than anything. He, the perfect father. Cecilia, the perfect mother. And the child…the child they'd never have. Tom's shoulder sagged as he remembered the baby. The dead baby.
He stepped away from the mirror, and looked away as anger once again coarsed through him. The mirror wasn't showing him what could be, it was showing him what couldn't be. It was almost as if the bloody thing was taunting him. He'd never be the perfect father, and Cecilia would never be the perfect wife. Together, they would never have the perfect child.
Tom picked up his fist, preparing to crash it through the mirror. Who cared if it brought him seven years of bad luck? It wasn't as if he didn't have enough of that now. Tom never wanted to look into that damn mirror again. He stepped closer, and…
"Bloody hell! What do you think you're doing?" a voice from behind him shouted.
Tom's face went white. He dropped his fist and brought it tightly down to his side. Turning, he saw a girl who looked about the same age as him staring.
"What would possess you to break that mirror? Are you out of your mind?" she continued to shout at him. Her black hair was wild, and her green eyes were wide. Her face was flush with anger.
"That mirror is extremely valuable. How dare you take it upon yourself to destroy it!"
"Who are you?" Tom asked, ignoring her lecture.
"Amelia Gregory, 5th year Ravenclaw. But that's beside the point! What are you even doing down here? Nobody is supposed to be here."
Tom shrugged. "I got lost. What are you doing down here?"
Amelia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I, um, got lost, too." She turned away from him and began to trail her finger against the dusty wall. For someone who was screaming on the top of her lungs just moments ago, she became awfully quiet.
"You're lying," Tom said, his eyes penetrating into her back.
Amelia groaned and turned around slightly. "Alright, it's no use keeping up this act. You're right; I am lying to you. You see, I discovered this room a couple of weeks ago on accident. When I spotted the mirror, I looked into it and…" She trailed off.
"You hated what you saw?" Tom asked.
"No!" Amelia exclaimed. "I loved what I saw. So I've been coming back once a day now to stare into the mirror for a while. It makes me feel happy."
Tom was shocked. How could the mirror show her something good, while it taunted and angered him? "What do you see when you look into it?" he inquired.
"None of your business," she said, waving away the question. "After I discovered the mirror, I did a little research in the library, and came across an article that explained what it was all about." She went back to trailing her finger along the wall.
"And?" Tom asked impatiently.
"It's called the Mirror of Erised. It shows you what you desire. That explains why I was so happy when I was looking into it."
Tom frowned. Shows you what you desire? Impossible. Tom didn't desire having Cecilia as his wife and them having a child together. Well, maybe he did. Or maybe he just desired having a perfect family. And Cecilia was perfect to him…
"Is something wrong?" Amelia asked, frowning at Tom, who had his arms wrapped tightly around himself.
Tom just shook his head.
"Now you're lying. Just tell me what's wrong. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I don't have friends, unless you count a few of the house elves." She came closer to him and sat down at one of the old desks, waiting for him to begin. Tom sighed and sat down next to her.
"I might have feelings for my best friend," he said slowly, realizing how awkward that sounded.
"So?" Amelia asked. "Just tell her. Or is it a him?"
Tom blushed. "It's a her, thank you very much, and it's not that simple. Our relationship is…complicated." Tom then launched into the story of how she became pregnant, how he killed the baby, and how their relationship was now strained because of that. He ended by telling her about Cecilia and her new-found interest in Zion.
"Wow," Amelia said, her eyes wide. "That's quite a relationship."
"I don't know what to do. She's the only friend I have," Tom said, surprised that he was actually telling all of this to someone that he had just met. The thing was, though, that talking to somebody really did help. Tom felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest.
"Are you sure that you have feelings for her?" Amelia asked.
"That's the thing, I'm not sure. A while back she told me that she was Mu-"
Suddenly a bell rang, signaling for all students to head down to the Great Hall.
"Why don't we meet back here tomorrow, same time?" Amelia suggested, standing up and wiping the dust off of herself.
"Okay," Tom said, smiling slightly.
They walked down to the Great Hall together, and Tom learned a little bit more about Amelia. She was the smartest student in their year, and most people thought she was a freak. She spent her days studying instead of socializing, but the fact that she was friendless didn't bother her. "They'll all work for me someday," she said with a smile.
When they entered the Great Hall, they went in opposite directions; Tom heading to the Hufflepuff table to sit with Cecilia, and Amelia to the Ravenclaw table to sit by herself. Tom thought about inviting her to sit with him, but he wanted to be alone with Cecilia.
"Hello," he said to Cecilia, taking his seat across from her at the table.
"I thought you might not want to sit with me," Cecilia admitted sheepishly. "You know, ever since I've become friends with Zion."
"Well, I'll admit, I was angry with you. But that was before I met Amelia."
"Oh, is that the girl you walked in with?" Cecilia asked, and Tom thought he saw her frown.
"Mhm. You were right. I talked to her about what's been going on lately, and it helped so much. I feel so much better."
"Good," Cecilia murmured, and although she spoke it quietly, Tom could've swore he heard a trace of jealousy in her voice.
Author's Note: Sorry for the update wait, everyone =( My life has been so chaotic lately! Luckliy, I have a plan for the next two or three chapters, so that's a start. I really, really, really enjoy writing this story, and I really, really, really hope you enjoy reading! Thanks to all who have reviewed past chapters, and I hope to see them and new reviewers for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and happy holidays to all!