Mirror of Erised

Eliana returned to Hogwarts two days early—she wanted to hang the curtains back up while no one was around.

Otherwise, what would she say if other students saw them and asked why? That she failed at stealing curtains, washed them herself, and sheepishly hung them back up?

Who ever heard of a plan backfiring so badly—the thief even got beaten up?

She'd lose face if word got out, wouldn't she?

Actually, not many students chose to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, so the castle was mostly empty. Still, Eliana opted to sneak back in at midnight.

Don't ask why. The answer is: she cared about her reputation and wanted to avoid any potentially embarrassing situations.

Fortunately, the journey back was smooth. She used the Levitation Charm to guide all the curtains back into place. Including walking time, it took less than half an hour.

See? She was a genius!

Eliana walked to the Gryffindor common room with her hands on her hips. Before she could even speak, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open.

It's no exaggeration to say Eliana's heart nearly stopped at that moment.

What was going on? Had her sneaking out been discovered? Was Professor McGonagall waiting here to catch her?

Was she that unlucky?

A mass of air crawled out from inside and bumped squarely into her.

"Who's there?!"

Eliana held her wand aloft, her voice low. Had the castle spawned new monsters for Christmas?

No, she twitched her nose slightly. The smell was familiar. It must be a person, and someone she knew—

"Ouch." A pained cry came from the air, followed by an excited, "Eliana!"

The air seemed to tear open, and Harry's messy hair appeared.

"Oh, Harry." Eliana relaxed, now in the mood to rub her throbbing forehead. "What is this thing?"

"It's my dad's Invisibility Cloak, but that's not important," Harry said urgently. "Actually, I wanted to invite you to see my mom and dad."

"What?" Eliana didn't understand.

Weren't Harry's parents dead? How could she see them?

But having just received a righteous punch from Mrs. Brown for speaking carelessly, she held back and didn't say it directly.

"It's a mirror—my mom and dad are in it—but for some reason, Ron couldn't see them. I'm not sure if it's just me who can see them—"

As soon as she heard this, Eliana, who had been uninterested, zipped into the Invisibility Cloak.

She absolutely had to see what was so special that only Harry could see it.

She didn't believe it!

Covered by the Invisibility Cloak, Harry expertly led Eliana to the room behind the suits of armor where the mirror was kept.

"This is it!"

Harry impatiently tossed the Invisibility Cloak aside and pulled Eliana to a giant standing mirror.

"Do you see them? My mom and dad!"

Eliana saw Harry, dressed in pajamas, standing in the mirror.

"Emmm..."

Eliana began to ponder how she could explain to Madam Pomfrey that she found Harry possibly suffering from mental distress due to excessive longing for his relatives, without mentioning his nighttime wanderings.

Harry eagerly thrust his head towards the mirror, looked at the glass, then turned back: "Look again. Ron said yesterday he couldn't see them either."

Eliana's competitive spirit flared up again. She quickly walked to the mirror—she really wanted to see what kind of "noble" mirror this was, that it was picky about who it showed!

She stared blankly into the mirror.

The reflection of herself seemed a bit older, and her attire was completely different—she appeared to be in a castle, dressed in clothes that looked very expensive. She sat high on a chair, holding a glass of wine as red as blood, her legs crossed. At her feet lay a pile of gold coins, interspersed with various jeweled necklaces.

She seemed very powerful. Eliana watched as she snapped her fingers, and a swirling hurricane floated from her hand, drifting out the window. The sky instantly became turbulent.

???

Her eyes widened dramatically, and she lunged towards the mirror.

"Did you see them—my relatives?"

Eliana stared, then turned back to Harry: "You mean, this mirror is showing another world? Like the parallel universe theory proposed by William James?"

Harry didn't understand the latter half of her sentence but tried his best to grasp the first part: "Another world? It's possible. My parents are in another world."

Can't find the book title? Try searching for the author's name. Maybe the title was changed!

Eliana stared at the mirror: "Then why is the me over there living so well?"

She was breaking down. She was truly breaking down.

Her own poverty was sad enough, but seeing another version of herself swimming in wealth was agonizing!

"Let me see again—" Harry pursed his lips and stepped forward. Having learned from the loud argument he had with Ron the previous day, he spoke with forced calmness, "I want to see my parents again."

"Go ahead, look. I'm just getting angry looking at it. It's not me living a good life, after all."

Eliana stomped away from the mirror, looking as if she wanted to kick it.

"I'm poor and weak, and you're telling me about another world where someone is rich and strong."

"What do you mean?"

"Who told you to tell me!"

"You talk too much!"

"Slap your mouth!"

Eliana, puffed up like a pufferfish, waddled to a corner and was about to sit down.

A voice came from beside her, "This is the first time I've seen a wizard react to the Mirror of Erised like this."

"Then you haven't seen enough," Eliana said grumpily, still upset.

Suddenly, she realized something and looked up in alarm.

Harry, who had been engrossed in the mirror's reflection, also turned his head in shock.

The two of them met a pair of gentle blue eyes at the same time.

"I, I didn't see you, sir," Harry said.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, you're out for a stroll too," Eliana said.

Dumbledore winked at them with a smile, which made the two of them relax slightly.

"Harry, it seems you've discovered its fun, just like the thousands of people who have stood before the Mirror of Erised."

Harry looked at him, a little confused, "Erised... Mirror?"

"This thing can be fun?"

Eliana muttered in disbelief.

She had probably guessed the mirror's function from Dumbledore's words, but she couldn't understand why seeing a phantom version of oneself possessing everything the current self lacked would bring happiness.

Was a mere reflection with only one face even worthy of being considered her?

The thought of the mountain of gold piled at the feet of "Mirror Eliana" made Eliana grind her teeth secretly.

If it had the ability, it would manifest physically so she could pack some up!

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was still earnestly lecturing Harry, "People are fascinated by this mirror, even driven mad, because they don't know if what's in the mirror is real, if it can be achieved..."

"Speaking of which, I wonder if little Eliana could satisfy an old man's curiosity—why weren't you mesmerized by the mirror? Don't you want to be surrounded by wealth and power, as shown in the mirror? Could the Mirror of Erised also make mistakes?"

For some reason, he seemed to be looking forward to it.

"Of course, that's what I want," Eliana said loudly. For some reason, the old man in front of her seemed to choke.

"But what can a flat image prove? It can't even give me money directly; it's useless."

She looked like she wanted to kick the mirror again.

"I'm different from Harry. Harry wants to see his parents, and perhaps the mirror can comfort him, but what I want cannot be given by the mirror. If I want money, I have to earn it myself; if I want power, I can only train and grow stronger myself."

She shrugged. "What I want is what I actually possess. What use is this broken mirror's illusory reflection besides making me covetous?"

"How dare this broken thing make me covetous," Eliana realized, glaring at the mirror. "I'll become richer and more powerful than what's in the mirror, and then I'll tell this broken mirror—its scope is too small, it doesn't even dare to imagine boldly enough."

"A very peculiar thought," Dumbledore chuckled, tilting his head to look at Harry.

"The mirror will be moved to a new location tomorrow, Harry. Dwelling on illusory dreams and forgetting real life is utterly useless."

"Alright, why don't you two put on that marvelous Invisibility Cloak and go back to sleep?"

The two squeezed out of the room. Harry suddenly turned his head, "Then sir, when you looked in the mirror, what did you see?"

Eliana perked up her ears.

"Woolen socks," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I saw myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks. I never have enough socks, but people always give me books as Christmas presents."

Eliana tilted her head, quietly making a mental note—she had given him a book this year.

No, who would have thought the greatest wizard of the century lacked socks?