Mirror of Erised

The duel could not go on. Hermione tried to get everyone to return to the common room entrance and wait for the Fat Lady to come back. Everyone should head back to their dormitories and get some sleep.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, their faces wearing knowing expressions. Both of them were tempted by the thought of sneaking out at night; the Twins had shown off about it in front of them many times. Since they could not get back anyway, why not have a grand adventure?

Whether they snuck out at night or returned to the dormitory, Neville had no preference. He simply did not want to be alone. He would go wherever there were more people.

"Come on! Let's check out the Restricted Section of the library first."

Loren's words made Hermione's heart pound. It was not that she wanted to see the books in the Restricted Section. She was only going along to stop Loren from making an even bigger mistake.

The other three hurried after them. Loren led the group to the second floor, carefully skirted around two suits of armor that were fighting, and arrived at the library.

The library closed at eight, but its doors were not locked. At a gentle push, the wooden door creaked.

Loren poked his head in and swept his gaze across the room. The library was pitch-black. He led the others inside and quietly shut the door behind them. After looking around, Loren stepped forward and lit a lamp sitting on a shelf. Holding it, he walked past rows of bookcases while the other four clustered tightly around him.

The Restricted Section was at the back of the library. They carefully stepped over the rope separating it from the rest of the room, held up the lamp, and began reading the titles on the shelves.

"The Birth of Curses"

"Commanding Souls"

"The Most Painful Torture"

None of them wanted to touch these books. Their titles alone looked evil.

"Advanced Dark Magic." When Harry saw that book, a needle-like pain suddenly flashed through his head, but it quickly passed.

In the end, they pulled out a copy of "Potions" and gathered around to flip through it. The names of the various brews in the table of contents made their heads spin.

Skele-Gro, Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, Love Potion...

Harry wondered whether he could get answers to his questions if he slipped Hagrid some Veritaserum. But he quickly came to his senses. Hagrid was his friend. How could he think something like that? What a muddleheaded idea.

Seeing the Beautification Potion, Hermione wondered whether it would help with her teeth.

At the end of the book was Felix Felicis. Its description said that the drinker would enjoy a period of good fortune and succeed at everything they did, drawing gasps from the group.

But that was all they did—gasp. None of them had the slightest thought of making it themselves. Most of the ingredients were things the five of them had never seen or even heard of. The preparation methods were even more absurd. Brewing Felix Felicis took six months.

They could only fantasize about its effects and satisfy themselves with wishful thinking.

"Will we learn these Potions someday?" Neville sighed.

"Don't even think about it. These are from the Restricted Section. We can't possibly study them. Can you imagine Professor Snape teaching us how to make Love Potion?" Hermione shot the idea down at once.

They thought of Love Potion, then Snape's gloomy face, and shook their heads in unison.

"Should we look at another one?" Harry thought of the copy of "Advanced Dark Magic" from earlier.

Loren did not agree. There was no way they were going to spend their first night sneaking out reading in the library until morning. Good students sneaking out at night, only to spend the whole night reading—wasn't that a kind of...

Ron had just been about to ask what they would do next when Peeves's shrill voice suddenly rang out from outside. "Come on, Filch! Come and catch me!"

That was followed by a series of clattering smacks, as if Peeves were throwing something at Filch.

This was bad. Filch was outside. If they got caught, they would each receive an expulsion notice.

The five huddled together, able to hear one another breathing. Ron and Neville's minds had gone blank. They were completely stunned.

"Shh." Loren signaled for them not to speak. He quickly blew out the lamp in his hand, then led them crouching out of the Restricted Section and behind the first bookshelf near the entrance.

Filch did not go after Peeves. He knew that the more he chased him, the more delighted Peeves would be. If he ignored him, Peeves would soon settle down.

That rotten Slytherin boy had tricked him into thinking someone was sneaking around on the first floor, and he had waited there for ages for nothing.

A diversion. The Weasley twins had used that trick in their First Year too. He had not seen it in a long time, yet this time he had actually been fooled by First Years.

Filch believed that First Years sneaking out would definitely choose the Restricted Section. He had left Mrs. Norris on the first floor just in case and come upstairs himself, only to run into Peeves midway and get tangled up with him for a while.

Once Peeves had run off, Filch pushed open the library door and began searching.

Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves blocked the view in the library, and the nighttime lighting was especially dim.

The Restricted Section was at the back of the library. While Filch headed deeper inside, the five slipped behind another row of shelves, avoided him, and successfully sneaked out of the library.

Without stopping, they ran all the way to an abandoned classroom, darted inside, and shut the door.

They could hear one another's hearts pounding. It was the first time in their lives that they had experienced something so thrilling. They had nearly been expelled.

They looked at one another, panting and smiling from the bottom of their hearts. From that moment on, the five of them became friends.

After sharing an experience with someone, it was impossible not to develop some fondness for them. Sneaking into the Restricted Section at night and escaping from the caretaker was exactly that kind of experience.

After they had calmed their breathing, they finally began looking around the abandoned classroom.

It was like every other classroom at Hogwarts, except many desks and chairs had been piled against the walls, casting large, dark shadows. There was also an overturned wastepaper basket nearby.

What caught the eye most was the mirror in the middle of the room.

It was a very grand mirror, stretching all the way to the ceiling, with a golden frame and two clawed feet supporting it. Across the top were carved the words: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

Loren read the inscription aloud. The spelling let Hermione quickly spot the pattern. Reading it backward, it said, "I show not your face but your heart's desire?"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

No one answered. Everyone turned their eyes toward the mirror.

Ron stood directly in front of it and exclaimed, "Oh! I see myself a little older, as Head Boy! I'm also captain of the Quidditch team, and I'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup!"

"This mirror can show the future!" Ron was absorbed in it, wearing a foolish grin.

The others could only see Ron's reflection from where they stood, but they quickly realized it was a matter of position. Together, they pushed the reluctant Ron aside, ignored his protests, and took turns looking into the mirror.

Harry saw his family—his parents, with more than ten people standing behind him, their features somewhat similar to his own.

Hermione saw herself receiving Outstanding in every subject, while her parents and Professor McGonagall praised her.

Neville saw his parents healthy and well, standing with his grandmother around him. Tears immediately began streaming down his face.

The others found it strange. When Loren explained that Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity by Death Eaters and were still in St Mungo's Sanatorium, everyone felt a little sad. They moved Neville away from the mirror and quietly stayed with him until he calmed down.

Loren never could have imagined that he would see a private booth in an internet café built by the Room of Requirement, with Grandpa Bates sitting on the sofa.

He almost cried out. The Mirror of Erised probably could not penetrate the depths of his heart. Just as the Sorting Hat could not see through his memories, it could not see his desire, so it had combined Grandpa Bates with the internet café.

When Hermione asked Loren what he had seen, he only said that he had seen family.

Other than Harry, no one cared much about the mirror's images. They stayed with him until late into the night. Harry still did not want to leave, but in the end, drowsiness became too overwhelming. Loren called for the others to drag Harry back to the dormitory.

Loren walked last. As he shut the door, he looked toward a corner.

There was a ball of light in the shape of an adult's shadow, flickering with a blazing red glow. The instant they had entered, it had nearly blinded Loren.

In the original plot, this was where an image of Loren's parents flashed by. Loren had no particular reaction, and some readers felt that was unreasonable.

I think that makes sense, so I changed it. However, the foreshadowing concerning his memories will not be revealed until Second Year, so this is only a different way of presenting it. The plot will not change.

If any readers feel there are problems elsewhere, please be sure to point them out. My deepest thanks!