Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
Hermione could tell that this was the final chamber, if only due to the uncanny resemblance it had to some of the adventure television shows that her father watched. Small steps echoed throughout the room before twin braziers burst into flame on opposite sides of the room, illuminating the area in light. Hermione's eyes swiftly darted across the area, checking for anything that distinctively rang out as being a possible trap, despite how cliche it might be.
Perhaps the shows her father had watched had rubbed off on her more than she had thought.
With no poisonous darts or thick smog coming her way, Hermione made her way towards the single object in the room. The mirror, with it's golden frame, looked completely out of place in the otherwise desolate room. Before looking at her reflection, Hermione circled around the item checking for anything else. Satisfied that it was only the mirror and nothing hidden behind it, Hermione looked at herself in the reflection.
Except what she saw wasn't herself. Or more accurately, it wasn't her current state. If anything, it looked as if it was her at an older age, proudly holding what looked like several certificates and qualifications. By her side stood her parents, the two of them gushing over her accomplishments while her peers clapped and cheered around her. Even Harry was there, applauding her hard work.
Hermione caught a gasp that had formed in her throat, tearing her vision away as she tried to contemplate just how long she had been staring at the image. Seconds? Minutes? Longer even? She had been far too caught up in the image before her that she had forgotten the very reason she was in there in the first place.
Taking several deep breaths, Hermione looked at the mirror again but did her best not to focus on the enchanted image in front of her. It was clearly a powerfully magical item, actively able to show the person in front of it what they wished. Breaking it down, that meant that the item was actively reading at her deepest desires and frankly, once she had ripped her vision away, Hermione had contemplated just what it was she had been looking.
All her life, she had been the top of the class but her academic accomplishments didn't translate into much respect on the schoolground. Her smarts had often gotten her isolated from her peers and even when she had gotten to Hogwarts, she had hoped things would change. While it had altered a little bit, it was still more of the same. Gaining some recognition for putting her heart and soul into her work, that was what she wanted more than anything.
Hermione had to admit that it was an incredibly powerful charm, able to latch onto a person's ambitions and display them.
Was such an item deserving of being hidden behind so many layers of challenges? Did someone actively have to fight a troll and figure out a logic puzzle which could poison them if they chose poorly just to see what their psyche desperately wanted? Surely there had to be something more to it.
Other than the inscription at the top, something which Hermione was able to decipher in a handful of seconds, there really wasn't anything more that she could notice. Perhaps there would be something if she tapped the mirror in specific places, similar to the wall connecting the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley. Without knowing the specific combination however, even if her thought process was right, there was no real way to unlock a secret if there was one to begin with.
Begrudgingly, Hermione had to admit defeat. Without knowing how much time she had spent in the area, it was best to cut her losses and get out of the area before whoever put the mirror down here got wind of how close she was. She just hoped that there wasn't any sort of trace of her or any of her comrades left behind.
Now she just had to consider what it was that she would tell them once they all caught up.
...
Eyes fluttered open at a slow pace before George tried to lift his arm to shield his view from the light of the room. The pain which such an effort caused, forced him to grit his teeth in agony as he recalled what had happened before he had ended up in this location. Unsurprisingly, he knew the roof above him relatively well and was able to swiftly deduce that he was in the Hospital Wing.
"I wondered when you would wake," said Madam Pomfrey as she noticed his movements from where she was filling out her reports. "Take it slow, you've been through quite a bit."
"It was just a brotherly scuffle gone wrong," said George, quickly conjuring up the lie. It wouldn't do well to explain that he was in there because he had ventured down into the area specifically stated at the beginning of the year that no student should go into.
"Your brother said the same thing," said Madam Pomfrey as she indicated to the side of the bed. Looking over, George saw Fred sound asleep in a chair. "I kicked him out at some ungodly time only for him to have snuck back in at an even later hour to be by your side. It must have been some tussle the two of you found yourselves in, given the sheer amount of injuries you sustained."
It was painfully clear through the matron's tone that she didn't believe that George's injuries had come from the two brothers having come to blows but it at least seemed as if she wasn't going to pry for more information. "Now, I've got some potions for you which I can tell you that you're not going to like but all things considered, you should be out of here by this evening," declared Madam Pomfrey.
"Thank you," said George as he beamed a smile towards the nurse.
"Just try not to get into anymore scuffle."
"I can't guarantee that."
"Didn't think so."
...
Albus strolled through the chamber that had been infiltrated by a group of children the day prior, observing all that he could. The numbers that had gathered he he believed to be four in number. The two Weasley boys had been in the infirmary under the watch of Madame Pomfrey after their apparent scuffle, of which both he and the mediwitch knew was an outright lie. The matron of the Hospital Wing however fully believed that the two of them had learnt a great deal from their time in her care.
Albus believed that the two of them had ventured down with the aid of Harry and Hermione, the two of them fitting the bill precisely while their friend Neville participated in the tournament. The four of them had gotten through the first few obstacles with what seemed like relative ease but guessing where they had fallen entirely was another query. The injuries sustained by George Weasley were caused by what he could only assume was blunt force, meaning they had to have made it to at least the chess board or perhaps even the troll. If it had indeed been the troll that had struck George Weasley then he was lucky for it to have only been a glancing blow. The last thing he needed was to tell Molly that one of her sons was no longer amongst us.
If Fred had indeed taken his brother to the Hospital Wing afterwards, there was nothing dictating that Harry and Hermione would have return with them unless Fred had needed some extra help lugging his brother. Excluding that possibility, it would mean that Harry and Hermione, the two first years with little magical knowledge before the year, had ran into the puzzle regarding the potions. Given that it was a test that didn't need magic at all, it was likely that the two were able to figure out the solution that required logic.
Then it was all a question of what Harry had seen in the Mirror of Erised. Given he had had no knowledge of the item held within there, then there was no way for him to have gotten the Philosopher's Stone. Hence, Albus could only make the assumption that Harry may have see a vision of himself without the horrendous scars that littered his body, making him more appealing to the casual eye. Being socially accepted, or more importantly, not being shunned by society as a whole would be something the boy would truly desire. Was it perhaps his deepest desire? Dumbledore believed there was a fair chance. Perhaps it could have something to do with being with his parents but given how little Harry acted like his mother or father, it was a long shot.
He wondered whether he could do something to bring Harry closer to his side utilizing his desire to be accepted. Promise the boy that he would send out word to the best healers across the world to gather some collective knowledge regarding a way to heal him. There possibly was even a way to do so but even if he was to gain such knowledge he would have to keep it to himself until it was best to use it.
Maybe it was indeed something to consider at a later date. There was still many years while Harry was still at Hogwarts and he couldn't play all of his cards within the boy's first year.
...
"That was a stellar performance Neville, never knew you had it in you," said the third year boy as he patted Neville on the way back, one of a number of compliments he had received ever since his showing at the tournament.
"Thanks," said Neville politely as the third year ran off to be with their friends. It was nice to be given the praise that he had just for making it past the first round in the fashion that he had. That also meant that the expectations that had been put on him had been that low to start with. Not unsurprising but it did bring a sense of realism to it all.
Maybe he should write to his mother and inform her that he had managed to best someone who had been studying at Hogwarts for a year longer than him. Surely she would be able to wring that bit of information into a tale to tell his uncle who had thought him no more than a Squib a year prior.
Still though, what he had managed to do was show that even though he believed himself the weakest member between himself, Harry and Hermione, it now stood that he was able to hold his own. A feat in it's own right. Oddly enough, the greatest feat of it all may have been the extra friend he had gained.
Ever since Tracy Davis had partnered with him for a lesson in potions, he had felt that it was something of a unique situation. After all, it was a Slytherin partnering with a Gryffindor which was pretty much sacrilegious in it's own right. Daphne being with Harry could be seen as something completely different and in many eyes it could be taken as Daphne actively using Harry for her own purposes.
Tracy actively cheering for him and being friendly with him for seemingly her own enjoyment as opposed to any benefit would undoubtedly raise some eyebrows in the future to come. As Tracy had said, she was already a target in Slytherin for not being pure of blood. Actively having supported him in the tournament, it would paint a much larger target on her back.
Still, even with such a target, she was still a first year student so hopefully they would give her some manner of leniency. He would hate for anything to happen to her for giving him support. Nobody deserved to be hated for supporting someone they wanted to.
...
No matter how much Madam Pomfrey had demanded of it, Fred had chosen not to leave George's side until he had been fully cleared. Quite frankly, Madam Pomfrey had seen that forcing Fred to leave would have been a futile battle and to choose not to have attempted it would save her much effort.
Now, the twins were finally free once more and in desperate need to catch up with their fellow interlopers and discuss what had been behind the next step in the trials they had faced. For George, he knew not of what was past the chessboard, mostly because his twin had refused to give him any details in only a way in which brothers could annoy one another.
Walking down the stairway however, giving one another a playful push before the first step, the two brothers paused as they saw two girls walking up towards them. One of which was incredibly familiar as they had accompanied them on their journey beneath the Cerberus. The person accompanying Daphne had a cloak thrown over their head, hiding their identity. Given how they were doing their best to make sure that nobody could see their face while on the way to the Hospital Wing, it didn't take much for Fred and George to make some connections.
Both brothers stepped to opposite sides of the stairwell, allowing both Daphne and her accomplice access to the necessary corridor. Daphne gave the two of them a polite nod which in turn was shared by the brothers in unison who then looked at one another. It seemed that the two of them had something else to accomplish.
...
Hope you enjoyed.