Although Luna was very happy to have her own pet at Hogwarts at first, quickly she began to find Scabbers a little creepy. The rat was too still, too quiet, almost humanlike, and it's lack of reaction to the others was uncomfortable for Luna to witness. She began to have dreams where Scabbers grew to a full-sized man, pulled a knife out from his person and then stabbed her in her sleep. The other Ravenclaws were also a bit weirded out by the rat but didn't investigate the matter further, so Luna was now given an even wider berth, and left alone in her dormitory more often with just the creepy rat for company.

She told her father about it in a letter and asked him if he could possibly take care of it. She wanted to take care of it until it died because it was a present from Hermione of sorts, and knew her father was equally interested in pets as she was, and possibly more skilled at magic that he wouldn't feel quite so frightened of the rat. His father agreed and soon Luna had sent Scabbers away to his dad on a magical cage.

Her father replied to say he got it, and he was taking good care of it, as well as watching it a little to see what about it had creeped Luna out.

A few weeks later however, he wrote to say that some of his magical instruments had picked up something very strange about the rat, and that he put it in an enchanted sleep to prevent it from knowing anything further. He asked her where she got the rat from and when Luna told him it originally was a stray that came to Ron, his father said then it was impossible to know the true origins of the rat, but that this rat was possibly magical, perhaps had magical properties of some sort, and that it was no ordinary rat.

Luna didn't tell Hermione about it however. Hermione never asked and there was no tangible gain to Luna for telling her. Luna had her own way of thinking about things and she didn't think to tell Hermione with her way of thinking about them.

"Hogwarts: A History says Hogwarts employs many house elves, so we could ask them if they happen to know anything more about the third floor corridor. Or if they could find out something for us," said Hermione to Luna in an empty classroom where they were studying a few weeks later.

"Alright. I've also had an idea," she said, "how about we just magic the bolts of the door and remove the door. We can see what's inside from the other end of the corridor."

"Why didn't we think of that? You're right," said Hermione.

They crept to the third floor corridor at an afternoon.

"Quick! No one's looking," said Hermione.

With that Luna waved her wand and focused hard at the door. She didn't magic the bolts away, but she attempted some other magic to it. She tried to turn one plank of wood into glass and surprisingly it worked. Not the best glass, it was still murky and brown-like, but they could see through it a little.

"Oh my god. A three-headed dog! They're superior guardians of...anything very important," said Hermione.

Luna transfigured it back, however that one plank was permanently a little off looking. Too smooth compared to the others, a little shaved down. But unless you were really looking it was hard to see. Hermione tried to apply her own magic to make the plank more normal looking. She improved it a little, but it still didn't look like it used to.

"Whatever it's guarding must be very small. Or possibly there's some sort of basement or trapdoor for I didn't really see anything," said Luna.

"I think a basement or something," said Hermione, "it just feels more..."

"Hidden," the two girls looked at each other and echoed in unison.

The rest of the first year went by uneventfully. Luna and Hermione suspected that whoever was after what was underneath the trapdoor was getting more and more desperate. Likely a school teacher, likely the new one - Professor Quirrell. And they guessed he would make a last desperate grab for it before school ended. The two of them had taken to wondering about the third floor corridor almost everyday now, to see if there were any new changes. Since there weren't that many people near it they mostly got by alright, and if anyone asked Luna pretended to be looking for the fae.

"There's just fairies in our world sadly," said Luna, "but some people believe in a magical being more powerful than fairies called the fae. I'm pretending to look for something old that I know doesn't exist."

Because most people believed Luna was crazy, they more or less got away with it. A few people even sent Hermione piteous glances.

"They should be envious of me. I have a friend who can sneak around undetected and get away with it a lot," said Hermione.

Luna giggled. It was one of the things she liked about the way others treated her.

One evening the door wasn't locked and swayed slightly with the breeze. Hermione and Luna looked at each other before running down the corridor and entering the room. They decided to go for it.

The three headed dog was asleep. The trapdoor was open. A harp played itself in the distance. Looks like someone had already got there.

Hermione and Luna then went down the trapdoor - it looked like there was a series of obstacle courses which had actually already all been done. Someone had got there first.

The two of them finally made it to the last room where they tiptoed behind and saw Professor Quirrell staring at a mirror. He looked like he had been staring at it for quite sometime. Both Luna and Hermione had the vague feeling the object he had spent all year trying so hard to get was related to the mirror somehow. Perhaps an enchantment of some sort.

Luna and Hermione glanced at each other. They knew they had limited time before Professor Quirrell gave up with the mirror and headed back out, or he began to check again if the coast was clear. A single charm to reveal humans could easily reveal them. He was also a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor whereas they were both first years. They both felt like he could kill them in a heartbeat if they wanted to.

Then...Luna had discreetly pointed her wand at a glass bottle from the potions obstacle in the room before, levitating it to them. Hermione watched, unable to know what was going on in Luna's mind, but able to make sense of it, as the glass bottle slowly reshaped itself into a knife. A very sharp knife. The knife was made entirely of glass, but the edge looked incredibly sharp. Then...Luna began making a copy.

Hermione instantly knew what was going on. She had been to muggle zoos where the zoo keepers said the quickest way to kill someone was a knife to the jugular vein, most animals in nature went for that vein. She glanced at Luna and pointed towards her neck, where her own jugular vein was.

Luna nodded. Then, Luna levitated one of the knifes towards Hermione, who recognised that the girl wanted her to levitate it as well.

Hermione took over the charm, feeling Luna's hold over the object peel away. Then, the two of them looked at each other.

'On three,' Luna mouthed.

The two of them levitated the knife as close to Professor Quirrell as possible, but not so they could be seen in the mirror's reflection. On the count of three they suddenly plunged the knife into each side. Luna the left, Hermione the right, and levitated it to stab, turn, twist.

Professor Quirrell screamed in pain. They had hit him somewhere! One of them did!

In a second he fell to the ground and began convulsing, a gurgling filling the air.

The flames that separated the mirror room from the potions room began to rise higher and higher, as if responding to the energy in the room somehow.

Then...

Professor Quirrell lay motionless, a pool of blood widening around him. But both Luna and Hermione saw a faint wisp of something, grey, dark, rise up out of him, and then fly away...

Luna quickly transfigured the glass knives back into the jar and tried to bottle it up. Hermione levitated the cork from the potions room and they watched as they actually bottled it up.

Then...footsteps echoed.

The two looked at each other; panicking. There was nowhere to really hide in this room if someone was looking for you and neither of them really know advanced enough magic to hide.

Then, almost as if on a whim, they both looked at the mirror. Standing in the middle of the room it was clear it was the main piece of the room, it was magical of some sort (they guessed) and they had both read enough fairytales when they were growing up of stepping through mirrors to another world. Almost as if by some strange instinct that comes out when you're stressed out and grasping at straws, they both looked at each other and then ran to the mirror.

Luna stepped through it first, one foot planted on the tan stone floor outside, then her arm and torso were in; the surface of the mirror rippled like water on a pond, Hermione didn't know what Luna saw there, but there was a slight pause and then Luna was completely through, having stepped her other foot through.

Hermione fought her shoulders through the mirror's surface, she had been a bit scared of stepping through it because she still wasn't used to fairytales coming to life, and if you were scared of entering something the best way was sometimes with boldness. She fell forwards but regained her balance and then the rest of her was through as well.

The mirror's surface shimmered back to normal and reflected the room once more.

A few more seconds later, perhaps ten or so, Professor Dumbledore burst into the room, his wand out and eyes darting about.

"Harry? Is there a Harry Potter around anywhere?" he said, and then glanced into the shadows of the room with curious eyes as if expecting to find a small boy.

No other humans apepared in the room. Not Harry, not Ron, not Neville.

After a while his eye fell on Professor Quirrell's body and the black mist swirlling angrily inside the glass jar.

Instantly he put a stronger magical seal on the glass jar and went to fetch a more magically enforced object to contain it. Professor Dumbledore recognised dark magic when he saw it and knew what was in the glass jar was too strong for the material and could break out any second. If it would realise - these dark magic often had a mind of it's own, and the dark mist appeared like it was trying to figure a way out of the jar, possibly breaking through any minute.

Afterwards, Professor Dumbledore cast the charm to check if someone was dead or not, confirming what he already suspected. It was not surprised Professor Quirrell was deceased. Ever since the start of the year he knew Professor Quirrell was a weakened wizard possessed by Lord Voldemort's horcrux that must be defeated by Harry Potter. He hadn't seen sure if Professor Quirrell would be mortally injured or perhaps dead at the end of the year, he had simply been focused on giving Harry the opportunity to take on a challenge by himself, without any teachers guiding him, but he wasn't surprised at all to find Professor Quirrell deceased. Mix with dark magic such as horcruxes possessing your body and it was very likely the volatile series of events would end up in death.

He kept the horcrux in the jar. He would dispose of it himself. He knew what it was and methods to dispose of a horcrux - had known ever since he'd first suspected Tom Riddle made horcruxes for immortality. He wondered what sad movie he should put on so that Fawkes would shed enough tears for it. Of course Fawkes would understand it was for the purpose of destroying a horcrux, not merely enjoyment of a sad movie to bring himself to tears, but the sad movie would help it along. Witches and wizards had created moving images that played out like movies to model itself after the muggle spectacle.

Afterall, some witches and wizards did hide themselves among muggles and participate in major muggle things like fly through muggle airlines for travel at times. They had seen movies on airplanes, or in electronics stores and had wanted to create a magic version of them. It was horribly time consuming creating magical movies, which was why so few seldom sold, but there were enough that you could have one of any genre if you wanted. They cost a pretty penny but Professor Dumbledore had never exactly been short of money. He could've had more for all his contributions to the wizarding world but he chose to turn down certain lucrative job offers or business proposals with his discoveries.

He was a man whom money meant very little to. It was the other values that couldn't be bought with money like time, truth, goodness of person, harmony, peace, that he put on the highest pedestal.

He didn't see Harry, Ron or Neville, but he had no doubt the boys were involved. Oh, those young troublemakers were good at hiding themselves for sure! He vowed to reward them in house points and hint to them he knew what they were doing.

He also put a lock on the room to prevent anyone from entering (magically) and planned to bring the mirror of erised back to the room of requirement in the morning. He was very busy trying to wrap up Professor Quirrell's untimely demise, he wanted to get it done within a few days. As well as destroying the horcrux, that was most important. The mirror could wait.

If Hermione hadn't known what it was like falling through a magical mirror she knew now. There was no barrier, no glass; if the mirror was truly magical the glass was just an illusion and she fell through it like air when she went through. There was a faint darkening of the air around her as she fell, almost as if she was passing through a passageway or something, like the stage lights turned of, but when she looked up, her body was somehow in a different position than it once was. Instead of standing dressed in her Hogwarts school robes, she woke up sleeping in her pajamas in the Slytherin girl's dormitory, the mirror beside her bed with it's glossy silver surface.

Reflecting the light in such a manner she couldn't see her own reflection in it at all.

There was no light in the room.

The Slytherin girls dormitory had four poster beds with emerald green curtains that could be drawn shut for privacy. The only light within was light from a wand or candle. There was also little room underneath the curtains - not nearly enough floor space for something of the mirror of erised's bulk. Except despite there not being enough light, there was a reflection in the mirror - the only light came from the reflection, and there was somehow just about enough room for it to fit under the curtains of the four poster bed. In fact, the curtains seemed to somehow snake about half a yard away from the bed on all sides.

Hermione had been standing when she fell through, she was lying down sleeping at the next instant.

"Curiosier and curiosier," she muttered to herself, "but I know that I'm not in reality because people don't change their positions without moving themselves in reality like that. And the room's dimensions aren't what I'm used to..."

She looked at the strong silvery curls of light on the mirror. She could see her reflection a little near the bottom where the mirror was more even. Hermione felt the draw back out of the mirror, but also this sense of 'explore the world before you leave'. A strong sense like it was what was supposed to happen she couldn't quite ignore.

Hermione exited the curtains of the four poster bed, keeping the mirror a secret from everyone else and making sure now to pull them back enough to truly show them.

"Hermione! I'm so glad you're here! The school year's finished today but we're having an end of term party because we're so much better and more festive than everyone else," Pansy draped an arm around Hermione. She looked the same but wore less of her usual necklaces, bracelets and expensive clothes, allowing Hermione the feel of being able to walk beside her dressed in what she usually wore without feeling like the differences between them was too huge.

"Totally. I'm so glad you're here. I wouldn't have gotten through the year without answers from you!" Daphne draped another arm through her.

"Me too," Millicent smiled at Hermione.

Soft smiles, no scowls or mean tricks, this was like nirvana to Hermione.

"Naturally. I am the best student Slytherin house has seen in a long time," Hermione said in a confident voice with an uptick at the end.

Pansy, Daphne and Millicent giggled.

"You're the witty and smart one, I love you," said Pansy.

"Hold up! You forgot me!" Tracey-Davis trotted out after them as they left the Slytherin dormitory and headed over to breakfast.

"Keep up Trace! I swear you're getting slower by the day," drawled Pansy.

"Yeah, are you growing backwards?" sneered Daphne.

"Hey! Go easy on me! I'm not as used to magic as you guys are! Just yesterday I got my hair switched colours for the first time and am still recovering from the side effects of a potion to bring it back!" Tracey-Davis clutched at a stitch in her side as she took her place beside the girls on their way to the table, "and I'm not smart like Hermione. I can't figure out how the magical world works as easily as she does. Give me a break. I'm doing well enough just to survive here!"

"Well enough. Survive," deadpanned Pansy. Then the four of them laughed like it's the biggest joke.

They reached the Great Hall where Hermione felt the envious eyes of everyone on them, then sat down.

"Well well well, it's the infamous Slytherin clique again," drawled Draco Malfoy, "who's coming to the party in the afternoon today?"

All five girls giggled. They appeared as a united front in front of anybody here in this universe.

The day went by smoothly. Classes where Hermione was top and everyone admired her for it. People envied her. Teachers spoke of job opportunities when she graduated. Hermione felt like the world had opened up for her.

There was something amiss.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what but it was there.

Something long and sad, a forlorn feeling Hermione had before. When Hermione wanted something so bad but when she got it, it wasn't as good as it was. The feeling of wanting the wrong thing.

Towards the end she lay in her four poster bed.

'If this is the last day of Hogwarts than why am I getting ready for another sleep here?' she wondered to herself.

Quickly she got up and peered at the mirror once more.

In the darkness of the night it felt like it was the only thing alive and speaking to her. The mirror glowed brighter.

"I feel like I ought to stay here. It is a comforting world and one that I shall like. But there is something calling me out..."

With that Hermione stepped through the mirror - almost like she had been shoved or pushed from behind.

A swoop of darkness fell over her, she had barely any recollection and then...

It was onto the stone pavement back in the original room underneath the trapdoor.

Professor Quirrell was gone, so was...

"The jar!" Hermione's fingers scrabbled on the floor almost as if she was in some desperate rush to find it. She then had the sense someone else was coming from the mirror and headed to the side of the room to make way. The flames bordering the room had also been extinguished. An odd sort of silence hung in the air. Empty, like the major event had passed for the day.

"Don't worry about the jar. It is in a safe place. I, we have to get out of here Hermione. It's dangerous," Luna looked at Hermione. There was a fire and pleading in her eyes. A thousand questions tugged at Hermione's heart but she knew her friend was sincere in the heat of that moment.

"I, um, okay," she said.

The two then turned and sprinted as silently as possible back up the corridor. All the obstacles were gone. It felt like it was later in the day. Briefly Hermione wondered how much time had passed. Her recollections of her trip through the mirror were growing foggier and foggier, all that remained was mostly brief images of happiness in some alternate universe at Hogwarts, and the feeling of happiness - which was the strongest feeling. But it felt fake somehow. Like it was happiness obtained the wrong way, which wasn't as real as the real thing...

Like how artifical juice was never as good as freshly squeezed...

The two were in the room just beneath the trapdoor. It was open and they could still hear the sound of the enchanted harp and see Fluffy sleeping.

"I think it's the same day," said Hermione.

"Yeah me too," said Luna, "if we want to talk we shall better do it here for I don't think we'll get another moment alone like this soon. The end of term is coming up soon," she said.

"What makes you think the jar is in a safe place? What was in it?" said Hermione, "the weird mist that came from Professor Quirrell?"

"I don't think the weird mist had anything to do with Professor Quirrell. Nothing like that happens when normal witches and wizards die. It's something bad alright, anything with a mind of it's own, especially small and weak things like mist, that thinks of it's own accord is generally bad news. You could see the mist was moving about as if driven by emotions and responding to the environment when it's out. It's not nice. I...don't know what it is," admitted Luna with only the innocence she could. Luna was the only person who could admit things she didn't know in the face.

"But I know the jar is in safe hands. Didn't the Oracle tell you when you were in the mirror?" Luna peered at Hermione.

Oracle? So we must've seen different realities in the mirror-world. Hermione felt stirrings of discomfort from deep within her. But she wasn't sure she wanted to reveal to Luna that what she saw in the mirror world was different to what Luna saw. Because...Hermione didn't really like the world she saw. It reflected a fake world back at her. Like showing her her heart's desire, but one she couldn't obtain. Like it was teasing her. She wanted that world so much, but had no idea how to turn the Slytherin girls to her side or win them over. Like it was spiting her. It showed her her desire but not the way to get it.

Somehow she didn't want Luna to know. Also because the mirror was dark magic (Hermione was rapidly beginning to dislike it) and although she and Luna were friends, they weren't...Hermione trusted no one that much in the wizarding world.

"What does it matter what the Oracle said? We're out of the mirror now. Where is the jar in real life?" said Hermione.

Luna threw her such a strong quizzal look that Hermione felt sure she said something wrong. Or if she saw what Luna saw in the mirror world everything would totally make sense.

"I mean, sorry no. It's just, you're right. I'm tired, I shall go to sleep now. I think the mystery's over right?" said Hermione.

"Yup, stone safe," said Luna.

With that they bade goodbye and Hermione found herself tossing and turning over the covers of her real bed uncomfortably that night.

Stone. What stone?

How did Luna know anything about the jar?

Who was the Oracle? Did it mean Luna's desire was to know everything? How could anything the Oracle said in the mirror hold true for anything outside the mirror? The mirror seemed like a trick mirror that showed your heart's true desire but didn't help you get it to Hermione. It seemed like a cruel joke. She wanted to avoid it.

But yet...

There was a real item stolen and that Professor Quirrell had wanted to get. It must've been the stone Luna was talking about. If Professor Dumbledore had wanted Harry Potter to find the stone and get rid of Professor Quirrell then possibly there was some good magic or enchantment cast on the mirror. It was the last obstacle involved afterall. Which used it's qualities for good.

Hermione had the feeling that one couldn't usually enter the mirror world, it simply showed your heart's true desire back at you. But they were able to that day. Perhaps Harry Potter was supposed to enter the mirror world and find the stone instead of Professor Quirrell?

Because Hermione suspected Professor Dumbledore purposefully tampered with the stone and the mirror, she trusted that what Luna saw had some amount of truth to it. That the jar and the mist was indeed in safe hands (possibly Professor Dumbledore's?) and that the stone was also in Professor Dumbledore's possession, and that the mirror was now unenchanted...

Perhaps Luna saw what she was meant to, and a little bit of her heart's own desire.

Luna had entered the mirror world before Hermione, so the magic was probably stronger and that's why she got the experience with the stone and Hermione didn't.

The next day Luna and Hermione were able to catch up after school. They had both worked out that Professor Dumbledore's footsteps were those they heard and that he must've disposed of Professor Quirrell. They also theorised that Harry Potter was supposed to save the day but he didn't and Professor Dumbledore probably thought he did.

They were both confused.

"So what if we didn't decide to step up," said Hermione, "would Harry Potter save the day at all? Would nothing happen? Professor Dumbledore's plan doesn't exactly seem to be working..."

"I think the wizarding world is just full of surprises and anything can happen," said Luna, "in another alternate universe it might've been Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Even though he didn't do anything to choose this fight. But I think other times, we take care of it. People who are interested in the magical world and want to become something more, not just those who were born into it. I think it's more fitting in a way."

"So will we be solving the mysteries or whatever throughout all the years? Anything more?" said Hermione, "there is so much uncertainty to this and how it all plays out. I don't like it."

"The ones we want I think," said Luna, "or at least. That's what I'm going to do."

Soon it was indeed time to go home. Professor Dumbledore awarded an exorbitant amount of house points to Harry, Ron and Neville but since he often confused the students and spoke in quizzes, the others (and the trio) didn't seem to think much of it and just accepted it without complaint. Gryffindor won the house cup that year, which the Slytherins hated in particular. Hermione was in slightly low spirits over the lack of credit but nothing would ever make her give up her secret about her adventures with Luna. (She did not trust anybody in the wizarding world for that yet).

The Slytherins were cruel and mocking towards her, as if to dig it in that they weren't friends, and Hermione was left with a sort of bitterness as she rode the train home with Luna, although the other girl helped cheer her up. Hermione wished she hadn't lived an imaginary mirrored day, even in that time warped world...

Author's Note: The real divergent events happen a bit later on than first year so that's why it wasn't focused on much in this story. I have some idea of what Luna saw in the mirror but didn't write it in this chapter because it's not an important thing to know for the story. Please review, I love reading them :)