The Mirror's Reflection

It was an unused classroom. A jumble of desks and chairs had been piled against the walls, casting a mass of dark shadows, and an overturned wastepaper basket lay on the floor.

The entire classroom looked as though it had been abandoned after years of disuse.

On the opposite side of the room stood a magnificent mirror that reached all the way to the ceiling.

Two claw-shaped feet supported the mirror beneath its ornate golden frame.

At the very top of the mirror, a line of tiny letters had been engraved:

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

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

Harley needed several tries to finish reading the inscription.

After all, Demonesses were masters at manipulating magic mirrors. Harley knew that many magic mirrors produced special effects by having their victims read specific words.

After reading the inscription, Harley frowned.

She sensed no danger from the mirror, so she decided to examine it.

Harley stood before the mirror, ready at any moment to switch places with her wand, which was outside the mirror's reflection.

Then Harley looked into the mirror. She froze.

In the reflection, Harley saw herself standing with one foot on a statue—a statue of an evil god.

The statue was the Primordial Demoness.

"What does this mean?" Harley quickly interpreted the message conveyed by the mirror.

"Does the mirror show the future?

I'm standing on the Primordial Demoness. Does that mean I usurped her authority and gained the power of the Disaster Domain?

I... did I become a god in the future?"

In her shock, Harley's Spirituality surged violently, and she automatically dropped out of her invisible state.

But Harley paid no attention to that. Frowning, she pondered the message the mirror was trying to convey.

"No, that's not right," Harley thought.

"The Primordial Demoness isn't even in this world. How could I possibly get the chance to kill her?

And if this mirror really can see the future, how could it know the Primordial Demoness exists?

But this is exactly what I want. I want to become a god, destroy the Demoness Sect that's been hunting me, and kill the evil god they serve.

Wait, this is what I want!"

Harley couldn't help saying the last sentence aloud.

"That's right. This mirror shows what I desire! What I yearn for deep in my heart!"

As she spoke, Harley quickly summoned her Spirituality and sealed off her consciousness, preventing outside forces from probing it.

Sure enough, once Harley had sealed off her consciousness, the image in the mirror disappeared.

Suddenly, applause rang out in the room.

"You've truly surprised me, Harley," said an elderly voice.

The Spirituality within Harley sprang to life, ready to switch places with her wand at any moment. But she didn't act right away. Instead, she looked toward the mirror.

With Harley's consciousness sealed off, the mirror had truly become an ordinary mirror.

Its smooth surface showed her clearly that an old man was slowly appearing.

It was the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore." Harley immediately turned around and curtsied.

"Good evening, Harley," Professor Dumbledore said softly. "Though this isn't exactly a suitable time for greetings.

If I'm not mistaken, you should be in your warm bed in the girls' dormitory at Gryffindor Tower right now, not keeping an old man like me company in a chilly abandoned classroom."

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore." Harley's mind raced. She guessed that when she'd broken into the library, some unknown defense system had alerted Headmaster Dumbledore.

If so, the headmaster had probably already discovered that she'd taken a book from the Restricted Section and had been monitoring her ever since.

But none of that was certain.

So Harley simply apologized and said nothing about what she was apologizing for.

If the headmaster hadn't discovered all of her rule-breaking, wouldn't she be giving away more than she needed to by admitting to it?

"There's nothing to be sorry for. If a Gryffindor student doesn't sneak out at night, can she really be called a Gryffindor?" Dumbledore said with a smile as he walked over to the mirror.

"I was in Gryffindor House myself, and I sneaked out at night many times. Fortunately, my head of house never caught me.

I had a bit of talent, after all, and managed to learn the Disillusionment Charm well enough to make myself invisible."

Harley didn't answer. She stood to one side with her eyes lowered, looking at the floor.

Dumbledore didn't say anything more. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Harley, I'm curious. How did you figure out that this mirror shows what you desire deep in your heart?

What exactly did you see? Would you mind sharing it with an old man like me?"

Harley certainly couldn't tell him that she'd seen herself standing on the Primordial Demoness with a divine kingdom raised high above her.

She hesitated, then said in a very soft voice, "I... I saw my parents, who have passed away."

Professor Dumbledore fell silent. His hand, which had been stroking the mirror, came to a stop.

After several seconds, Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, you saw your departed parents.

How heartbreaking. So you concluded that the mirror shows what you desire most in your heart?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," Harley answered quietly, with sorrow she couldn't hide in her voice.

"That was a very perceptive conclusion," Professor Dumbledore said with a nod.

"This mirror is called the Mirror of Erised. I'm sure you saw the inscription on it.

If you read it backward, you'll discover that it says, 'I show not your face but your heart's desire.'

As those words suggest, the mirror lets you see the deepest, strongest desires in your heart..."

Dumbledore softly explained the mirror, then added, "I'm glad, Harley. You have a strong will. You resisted its temptation the first time you encountered it."

Harley nodded silently, then raised her head and asked curiously, "Professor Dumbledore, what do you see when you look into the mirror?"

"Me?" Professor Dumbledore gave a soft chuckle. "I see myself holding a thick pair of woollen socks."

Woollen socks? Harley looked doubtful. Professor Dumbledore didn't explain, though. He stood up.

"Harley, I think it's time you went back to your dormitory. I should get some rest too. I have to move this mirror somewhere else tomorrow."

"All right, Professor," Harley replied obediently, and quickly left the classroom.

Professor Dumbledore didn't leave right away. Instead, he sternly surveyed the room and tapped his wand against a few spots.

Only after ensuring that the classroom was completely shielded by magic and that nobody else could break in and do something that might damage the mirror did Dumbledore leave.