Mirror, Mirror

It was much later Christmas day, after naps and card games, as they eating turkey sandwiches and chips around the fireplace, that Susan announced quite suddenly, "I think we should go tonight. To the Restricted Section, I mean, with the Cloak."

Just about to take a large sip of pumpkin juice, Harry decided better of it, lowering his goblet before giving Susan a worried look. "Really? Tonight? Shouldn't we at least wait until Neville gets back from break?"

"But tonight is the perfect night to do it!" insisted Susan. "All the teachers will be too tired from the feasts, probably sleeping it off like we did earlier. I bet there will be no one on patrol, either. I mean, who expects someone to break into the library on Christmas Day?"

"You seem very eager to break the rules," Harry with a tease in his voice.

"We don't have a choice, do we?" shot back Susan, though she did seem very embarrassed about that fact, if Harry was to go by the reluctance in her voice. "We have to find out who Nicolas Flamel is, and soon. Who knows how long it will be before someone finds a way to get passed Fluffy and get whatever that three-head dog is guarding. It could be something incredible dangerous."

Knowing that she was right, Harry sighed in reassignment. "Alright. But I don't think this what the person who sent me the Cloak meant when he -"

"Or she."

"Or she," added Harry, "said 'use it well'. It feels like we're using for the exact opposite purpose."

"Actually, I have a question about that." Susan turned so she was facing him, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on them and placing her chin in her hands. "If this cloak was really was your fathers, why did this person have it? It's not your run-of-the-mill invisibility cloaks, ones that have a spell cast that will eventually wear off, or even one made by of the hair of a Demiguise."

"Demi what?"

"Demiguise It's a magical creature that can turn invisible to hide from predators," explained Susan. "But even that will start to lose magic the longer you have it, when the hair loses its magic. This is one of the real things, a cloak woven by pure magic! Extremely valuable, and extremely expensive!"

"How can you tell the difference?"

"The texture," said Susan, shrugging. "Your cloak is too silky to be made of animal hair."

"Well, maybe my father loaned it to them," Harry remarked slowly. "I'm sure he thought that they would give it back."

"But then that must have been ten years ago, before -" Susan cleared her throat, not daring to finish the sentence. "Why return it now? They could have easily kept it, and nobody would have known."

"I guess they grew a conscience," Harry said with a shrug. "Why are you so concerned about this? At least they got the Cloak back to me, and according to you, just in time."

"Well, because – I don't know," Susan resented, huffing and throwing her hands into the air. "Because! This is all very suspicious to me, that's all. If you're not worried about it, though, then never mind." She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Lets just go now."

"Wait, what?" Harry stood up as well. "Right now?"

Susan shrugged. "Why not?"

"... Alright." Harry waved a hand towards the door. "Lead the way."

"Actually, you'd better lead the way," pointed out Susan. "Since the Cloak is yours, and you have better senses then I do - well, of course you do, duh,3 you'll be able to tell if we're about to run into anyone."

"Then doesn't that mean I have a say to this whole idea?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Nope."

Harry sighed. "That's what I thought. Hang on, let me go grab the Cloak."

Fifteen minutes later, the pair were crammed under the Cloak and making their way through quiet halls. It was a good thing that both of them were small for their age, otherwise their shuffling feet might have shown. Harry sniffled the air once in awhile and kept his ears open for any unusual noise, but Susan seemed to be right, it was the perfect night to sneak out. Even Mrs. Norris seemed to be in a relaxed mood and was staying with her master for the night.

"Alohomora," chanted Susan quietly as they reached the locked library doors. They unlocked with a small 'click', and the two friends scurried inside and closed it behind them before throwing off the cloak. There was no point of wearing it while in the library, and they need to be able to move around freely.

"Restricted section is that way," said Susan in a low whisper, pointing towards the back of the library. "We should stay really quiet though." The corners of her mouth twitched upward. "Those rumors about Madam Prince sleeping in the book stacks might be true."

Rolling his eyes, Harry motioned for them to move on. "Well, I don't smell anything but old parchment and dust, so I don't think that's true. Although, Madam Prince smells like that too," he added with grin.

"We're horrible," said Susan with a small giggle.

Reaching the Restricted Section in a matter of minutes and stepping over the rope that separated it from the rest of the library, Harry and Susan split up. They had already talked about how they were going to divide the search - Susan would look for Nicholas Flamel in what they hoped was magic section, and Harry would look for him in what they hoped was the recent history section. It wasn't much to go on, but it was all they had. Susan grabbed a lamp, but Harry didn't need one, still able to see fairly well in the dark.

The spines of the books didn't tell him much. Most of the book spines had very little writing on them, and the ones that did were peeling off- faded gold letters that spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some didn't even have a title. And one book had a dark stain on it that looked and smelled like old blood. Harry didn't linger long near that one

After staring at the books in front with him for a few minutes without even reaching for any of them, Harry shivered. Something seemed... off about these books. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought he felt an energy radiating from the books. And a whisper, a faint hiss that seemed to come off them and fill his ears with words he couldn't understand, as though the books knew he shouldn't be there.

This thrown together plan that barely seemed like a good idea suddenly seemed much worse.

"Susan?" Harry whispered out sharply. "I don't think - "

A cry of shock, a thunk quickly followed by a crash, and then an ear piercing shriek pierced the air, so sharp and unnatural that Harry yelled in pain, his hands slapping over his ears in an attempt to block out the noise. He rounded around the stacks, heading towards the noise even though the pain slitting through his head told him not to.

"I'm sorry!" Susan said when they caught sight of each other, through Harry could only tell by reading her lips - the noise was so loud! The lamp that Susan had grabbed to see with was not at her feet on the floor, the light sputtering out and fractured in two. Susan was covering one ear with one hand while her wand was in her free hand. It looked like she was trying to levitate a book she had dropped back into its slot, but it was squirming on the floor, screaming like it was being tortured.

"Forget it!" shouted Harry, reaching out and grabbed her by the wrist, startling her so bad that her spell broke and the book fell to the floor with another thud, opening to a random page and screaming even louder then Harry thought possible. "We need to go!" Someone would have definitely heard it, and who knew how long it would be before they came running.

Nodding, Susan let Harry lead her out of the Restriction section as even more books started to scream, making more then certain that someone would hear them. Harry didn't stop, not even pausing as he threw the Cloak over them. Before he could yanked open the door, it slammed open, revealing Filch in a ragged dressing gown, looking around wildly with wide pale eyes that passed right through them. Not even thinking about, Harry forced Susan to duck under Filch's outstretched arm and scurrying out into the hall before the caretaker slammed the door closed behind them, dulling the noise by half.

"What happened?" asked Harry hurriedly as they rushed down the hall, the Cloak fluttering around their feet.

"The book burned me when I tried to open it," whimpered Susan. "And when I dropped it, it started to scream at me." She shook. "It was a horrible sound."

Shaking his head - the scream made his ears ring - Harry whispered, "We need to get back to the Common Room right now."

"Harry," Susan said with a wobble in her voice, "please, I need to stop."

Though ever instinct told him to keep running, Harry slowed down, both of them coming to a halt by a suit of armor. It was probably just as well that they stop - now that he looked around, Harry had no idea where he was. He turned to Susan, who was clutching her hands to her chest and shaking. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine," said Susan, but with a forced smile. "Just stings a little."

"Let me see them."

Hesitantly, Susan held her hands out to him, uncurling them slowly and wincing. The underside of her hand was bright red, as if she had laid her hands on boiling water. Frowning, Harry opened his mouth to apologize for not being able to do anything to help, but then voices drifted down the hall, and both Harry and Susan turned to each with looks of horror as they realized who it was.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night," said Flinch in a gravely voice. "And somebody's been in the library Restricted Section. I found a broken lamp, and they set off one of the books."

"The Restricted Section?" answered Snape lowly and smoothly, and Harry tried not to panic. Of all the professors! "Well, whoever it is, they can't be far. We'll find them."

They were getting closer by the second, their voices steadily growing louder as they came Harry and Susan's, and Harry wanted to smack himself for not noticing them sooner. But what could they do now? They were in a rather narrow corridor, and while the Cloak made Harry and Susan invisible, it certainly didn't make them any less solid. And they could try to run, but Snape would probably notice the second they tried. So that left them with no options -

There was a gentle tug on Harry's sleeve, and turning to Susan, he saw her nod towards a door behind them, open just enough for them to squeeze through. It was the best option they had, so before Snape and Flinch turned the corner, the two Hufflepuffs slipped inside.

They both froze as Snape and Flinch walked passed, talking in low voices, but when Harry couldn't hear them any longer and told Susan so, they both relaxed. "That was a close one," groaned Harry, tugging the Cloak off them.

"Gets the heart pounding at least," said Susan with a weak grin.

"Are you sure you're alright?" questioned Harry again, looking down at her hands. "I wish I could do something to help."

"Please, you can turn into a wolf; I would be mad if you could already do healing spells too," joked Susan. "Really, I'll be fine. But, where are we?"

Glancing around, Harry quickly decided they must be in an unused classroom, all the desk shoved into a corner. It looked rather normal, except for one thing - a mirror, leaning against a nearby wall. It just stood out, like it didn't belong. There was a white sheet which was suppose to covering it, but it was slipping off so that only half of the floor length mirror could seen. And there was something written on the top of the mirror, so Harry stepped in front of it so he could read it better. The white cloth still hid most of what it said though, making it look like gibberish, so he tugged it off completely, letting it flutter to the ground and pool at his side.

Harry yelped.

"What, what is it?" asked Susan, coming to his side and trying to peer inside the mirror. But Harry barely noticed her, staring at the mirror in shock and awe.

Though it shouldn't have been possible, in the mirror Harry saw himself surrounded by people at what looked like a wedding, with his mother Elysia, Morgan, Fenrir, all older and laughing together, dressed in normal clothing for once. There were older versions of other people he knew too, like Lupin and Susan and Neville, and even Draco. But then there was people he couldn't see the faces of - a man by Lupin, his arm slung around the werewolf's shoulder, who looked so much healthy then he did now. Children raced through people's legs with glee. People his own age clapped him on the shoulder, looking as if they were congratulating him. And blond girl that was dancing strangely in the center of the dance-floor. Harry could have sworn that she looked directly at him and winked.

And then there was the woman on his arm, who he was leading to the dance floor. Both of them danced slowly amid the chaos all around them, to music he couldn't hear, as if they didn't have a care in the world. She tilted back her head, and even though he couldn't see her face, or hear anything, he knew she was smiling, laughing, and that warmed his heart so much that he knew that he must love her.

"Harry," said Susan as she crowned next to him, still tried to peer into the mirror. "What is it? What do you see?"

"I don't know, exactly," said Harry slowly. "I see people, but... I think this mirror is showing me the future!"

"What?! That - That's not possible."

"Here, look," said Harry, taking her by the arm and pulling her in front of the mirror. The moment he stepped away, though, the image vanished. He almost stepped back, but Susan gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth in shock.

"You see it?" asked Harry urgently, leaning forward and trying to look again at his future. But he couldn't see anything.

Silent for a long moment, Susan stretched out her hand, which trembled as she touched the glass. She shook her head, shakily saying, "I don't this shows the future, Harry."

"What - but it showed me getting married, and -"

"It can't be!" yelled Susan angrily, startling Harry so badly that he took a step back. "Because -Because all I can see are my parents, and they're dead!"

As Harry felt the weight of those words hit him, Susan dropped to her knees, the weight even too much for her to bare. She was till touching the mirror, as if she feared the moment she pulled away the image would disappear. "I see my parents, Harry, and they're so proud of me - I don't even know why, but they're so... happy." Tears started trailing down her cheeks, and she there was a hiccup in her throat as she went on. "And my Aunt Amelia is there - she took time off work just to see me."

"Susan -" Harry started.

Jerking her hand from the glass, Susan turned away and angrily swiping the tears that were falling from her eyes. "I - I can't -"

Immediately, Harry stepped towards Susan and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and just letting her cry against his shoulder. He couldn't imagine what Susan was going through - at least when he was the Dursley's, before he had felt the warmth of his clan, he knew they hated him and nothing he would ever do when gain their attention or love. There was no point, and besides, his new family made sure he was wanted.

But Susan - even though she lost her parents just like him, had someone who must have loved her. But from what he could gather her Aunt just never took the time to be with her. Never noticed her. Was this why Susan tried to be so knowledgeable, and try get the best grades in Hufflepuff, so her Aunt would pay even a little attention to her?

It was a while before Harry could help Susan pull herself together and get them back to the Common Room, despite the fact that he'd rather look into the mirror again, and find out why that particular image had been shown to him. They made it back, thankfully, with no incident, and Harry groaned as he dragged himself to his own room.

"Well, that was very Gryffindorish," said Harry as he opened his trunk, looking for something to help Susan's burns.

"You mean idiotic and reckless?" said Susan with her own groan as she sat at his desk chair nearby.

"Exactly."

"So... does mean no more midnight walks?" Susan said it with a smile, trying to look happier then Harry knew she probably felt.

Harry sighed heavily. "Not for a while at least," he mumbled, grabbing two different ointments and wondering which one was better for the burns.

"So we didn't find anything on Nicolas Flamel, but we did find a mirror that shows us different things," said Susan thoughtfully. "I'd say this was a productive night."

"That's one way to put it," said Harry with a roll of his eyes as he screwed the top off the jar of ointment he chose. "Here, give me your hands."

"Did you see what it said at the top of the mirror?" asked Susan as she showed her still red hands.

"Yah, but I didn't get a chance to see what it said," remarked Harry as he drew Neville's desk chair over so he could sit next to her while putting on the medicine. "It looked like a bunch of gibberish to me."

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

Harry blinked, pausing just before he put the ointment on Susan's hands. "Uh... what?"

"That's what it said," said Susan thoughtfully. "But it doesn't seem like Latin. But its got to mean something... do you have a quill?"

"First, your hands," said Harry firmly, taking one of her's and covering the red skin with ointment, working the medicine onto her burns. Susan winced at first, but then slowly relaxed. "Second, I can't believe you memorized that. And third, you can think about this tomorrow, alright? It's late, and breakfast is a few hours. We should at least try and sleep a little."

"Yah, I'm sure you're right," said Susan after a short moment, smiling a little to brightly. "I'll think about it tomorrow."

For some reason though, Harry didn't believe her.

The next three days were rough for both Harry and Susan. While Harry wished he could back and see the mirror again, he knew that it probably wasn't a good idea - there was something hypnotic about it, that made you want to spend all the time in the world in front of it.

Susan obviously didn't care. Sometimes she would slip out for a few hours during the night, always seeming more exhausted then when she went to sleep. And when Harry tried to ask her what was going on, she would snap that it wasn't any of his business before storming off.

Finally, a few days before school was to start up again, Harry decided that this was enough. When Susan slipped out that night, Harry decided he was going to follow.

It was passed midnight when Susan finally left the Common Room, glancing behind her often, as if she knew he would follow her. Waiting until she had a good head-start, Harry slipped out of the Common Room under his invisibility cloak. While he couldn't see her, he followed her with a sniff of his nose, tracking her scent down to the room he hadn't been back to since they had their midnight trip to the library.

The door was open when he arrived, and just before Harry could slip inside and confront Susan, he heard someone speak.

"I didn't see you there, sir," said Susan with a slight quiver to her voice. "I - I was just -"

"Please, Miss Bones," said the gentle voice of Dumbledore. "Calm down. You are not in trouble. And as for being seen... well, there are many ways to be invisible. Like an invisibility cloak, for instance."

Hearing that, Harry froze, wondering if he had been caught too, but the Headmaster went on. "A word of warning, young lady, you would be surprised how determination can make you blind to everything else around you." Dumbledore sighed, and Harry could hear him walking. "So, I see that you, like many others, have discovered the mirror. Can you tell me what it says?"

"It... It says 'I show not your face, but your hearts desire,' written backwards," answered Susan. "I found out when I accidentally held the words up to a mirror."

"Very good, Miss Bones. It is called, appropriately, The Mirror of Erised, or The Mirror of Desire," said Dumbledore, pausing to move again, and Harry heard him tap on the glass of the mirror. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. What did it show you and Mr. Potter a few nights ago, when you found it the first time?"

"It showed... my parents, still alive. And my aunt paying attention to me," whispered Susan with some hesitation. "And Harry was at a wedding, and he was surrounded by a bunch of people.

"Ah. I believe your aunt is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, isn't she?" There was a pause where Susan must have nodded, and Dumbledore went on. "Being such an important woman in the Ministry, she has been very busy, perhaps too busy to raise a child. All you want is some attention, which understandable." He paused. "However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth in showing us these desires. Wizards and witches have wasted away in front of it, entranced by what they have seen as you have been. Or they've been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

"Oh." The single word shook with fear, Susan probably realizing what kind of danger she had been in.

"The Mirror will be moved quite soon, Miss Bones, and I must ask that you not look for it. For remember, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." He cleared his throat. "Now, please go back to your bed."

"Headmaster?" asked Susan hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"What about Harry? What about his desire?"

There was a long pause, and Harry strained to hear in case Dumbledore had lowered his voice. But Dumbledore went on in a normal, thoughtful tone. "If Mr. Potter had stayed with his blood related family, then I might say that he would wish for a family of his own, the one he never meet or no longer remembers. However, he was taken in by some wonderful people that I'm sure he considers his family. I believe Mr. Potter, who now has the weight of being "The Boy Who Lived" on his shoulders, wishes for a happy, normal future, one that you or I might take for granted sometimes."

"Now, if i have satisfied your curiosity, I bid you goodnight, Miss Bones."

As Susan also said goodnight, Harry rushed off before she could leave the room. He didn't need to bother her about the Mirror anymore now that it had been moved. And while he wasn't sure how he felt about Dumbledore so accurately interpreting his image, he couldn't deny it. Sometimes, all he wanted was a normal life. Not one without his werewolf clan, or without magic and Hogwarts. Just... just a life without being the Chosen One. Something that had been weighing on his shoulders since he was five years old and told the first time about the wizarding world by Fenrir, and even before that, when he was too young to understand that he had 'defeated' the Dark Lord.

That was a life that would never happen.

But all thoughts of that went on the window as Harry turned a corner, and slammed into something solid. He started to fall backwards, spinning his arms to try and keep upright, but instead he fell forward, his outstretched hands the only thing from keeping him from fall on top of the one he ran into, who was groaning underneath him, clutching the back of her head from where she hit the ground.

"Regina?" said Harry in surprise as he pushed himself away.

Freezing, Regina started straight up at him, then scrambled backwards, glancing around wildly. "W-Who said that?" she squeaked. "Who's there? Is that you Peeves?! I'll- I'll call the Bloody Baron!" she said shakily.

"Oh, sorry, you can't see me." Standing, Harry tugged off the cloak, smiling sheepishly. "Hey."

"Harry?" Regina looked at him with bewilderment. "How - how did you do that?"

"Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, holding up the silvery material that made his hand disappear. "What are you doing out this late?"

"Oh, I was, um," Regina looked flustered. "I was trying to find the kitchens. I can't sleep, so I was hoping to get some hot chocolate. That use to do the trick when I was younger." She looked embarrassed. "But, I think I got a little lost."

"Well, let me help you get there," offered Harry, holding out a hand for her to take and helping her up. "I was heading back to the Common Room anyway."

"Thanks." Letting Harry help her up, Regina smoothed down her dress gown, which was a dark purple, and underneath was a pair of pink pajamas decorated with tiny white bunnies. It was... kind of cute.

"So what are you doing out so late?" asked Regina quietly in return as they started walking, glancing around as if Flinch or Mrs. Norris might come around the corner any minute. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that," said Harry offhandedly, sticking his free hand in his jean pocket. "I was worried about a friend. But I think she'll be alright now. How's your mother, by the way? You said she was sick, and that's why you couldn't go home?"

"Yes, but I received a letter from her today, she said that she was feeling much better now," Regina said with a smile. "I was worried. And you? Why did you stay?"

"Something going at home, I guess, and my mother didn't want me to get involved." Harry frowned. He had sent her an letter to ask if everything was alright, but he had yet to get a response.

"I'm sure everything's alright," Regina tried to reassure him. "Oh, before I forget." She came to a stop before she reached into her gown's pocket, fumbling as she pulled a small present wrapped in gold and with a green ribbon on top. "I was going to leave this outside the Common Room entrance, but I guess I can give it to you now." Her cheeks turned a pale pink. "Merry Christmas, Harry."

"You didn't have to get me a present," Harry said with a shake of his head. "I didn't get you anything."

"Just take it," urged Regina.

With a huff, Harry took the present with a little bit of reluctance and started to unwrap it, stuffing the green ribbon in his pocket. Regina watched with her hands clasped behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels, a excited look on her face as Harry pulled out what looked like a small mirror. It just fit in the palm of his hand, encased in silver, and in the corner was a small green light, just a pin prick that didn't waver.

"Wait, is this?" Harry turned it over in his hand, smiling brightly. "Do you actually invent the Micro?" he asked, remembering the phone-like mirror they had talked about before.

"Not exactly," Regina said with a shrug. "Its a bit like the two-way mirrors I told you about before, or maybe walkies-talkies except this one is linked to a total of five instead. You, me, Milli, and the Weasley twins," she explained before Harry had a chance to ask. "It was in payment for them helping me with the spell, since I wasn't sure how to preform it yet. They thought it was "wicked" if they had a way to communicate with the Harry Potter. Sorry for using your name to my advantage," she added, her cheeks turning a shade darker.

"Don't be - this is awesome," said Harry, turning it over in his hands. "How does it work?"

"Touch the glass and say the name of whoever you want to talk to," Regina explained with a hint of excitement. "Their mirror will vibrate once or twice to let them know someone's calling, and if they decided to answer, they'll touch the glass. It should be possible to have multiple conversations too, but I haven't had a chance to really test it yet." She tapped the green spot. "It needs to be charged by magic every so often, just wave your wand over it a few times and while saying Vis Veres, but it'll turn red to tell you when."

"This is great!" Without warning, Harry wrapped his arms around Regina's neck in a surprise hug, who squeaked at the sudden contact. "Thank you so much!"

"It-Its not a problem," mumbled Regina, and slowly, she started to lift her arms to return the hug, hesitant.

"Miss Winters."

Practically ripping away from Harry at the sound of the low voice, Regina shrunk under the gaze of her Head of House, who briefly turned his sharp eyes on Harry. "And Mr. Potter. How... unexpected to find you together." As Snape's eyes flashed, Harry could hear the silent 'again', both of them remembering when Harry had been with Regina in wolf form.

"Miss Winters, I have been searching for you,"said Snape. He was dressed in a dark dress gown, which boggled Harry's mind since he'd never seen the teacher out of his black robes. He nodded to his side where Milli Bulstrode stood, looking at Regina with flashes of worry and apologies. "Miss Bulstrode - pardon me, I forgot," corrected Snape almost automatically as Milli glanced up at him. "Bulstrode told me that you might be coming down here when I questioned about you."

"I'm sorry, Professor," quickly said Regina, trying to apologize before either one of them got in trouble. "I shouldn't have left the dormitory -"

"You are not in trouble," said Snape just as quickly, cutting her off. "I came to find you to deliver some... unfortunate news that I just received." He paused, looking unsure how to go on, and Regina started to pale, as if she knew something must be terribly wrong for her Head of House to be so hesitant to tell her.

"Miss Winters, I'm sorry to inform you that your mother has passed away."