I Saw Myself

Harry pulled on the Invisibility Cloak and suddenly realized something.

With this cloak on, all of Hogwarts was completely open to him—he could go anywhere!

Ron mumbled a few things in his sleep. Harry thought it over and decided not to wake him.

This was his first time using his father's Invisibility Cloak, and he wanted to use it alone.

Harry's heart pounded wildly as countless possibilities raced through his mind—he could go to the Restricted Section of the library to find out who Nicolas Flamel was, or he could head down to the first floor to see what was hidden there.

Maybe, just maybe, he might even run into Damon—he'd always been curious about where Damon went to practice Charms. If he could find the place, he might even get to watch Damon train?

Harry first went to the Restricted Section on the fifth floor, but found no clues. Instead, he was spooked by a book that kept shrieking horribly, and in his panic, he lost his way.

Because of Filch, the caretaker, he stumbled into an abandoned classroom.

Piles of desks and chairs were stacked against the walls, casting large, dark shadows, along with an overturned wastebasket—but on the wall directly in front of him stood something that seemed out of place, as if someone had temporarily set it there for lack of space.

It was a magnificent mirror, as tall as the ceiling, with an ornate golden frame. It rested on two claw-shaped feet, and at the top was engraved a line of script.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Reversed, it read:

I show not your face but your heart's desire.

An indescribable magic drew Harry in.

He walked forward in a daze and stood before the mirror.

In the mirror appeared a very beautiful woman with deep red hair, her eyes exactly like Harry's.

She was smiling, yet also crying.

The tall, thin, dark-haired man standing beside her had his arm around her.

The man wore glasses, his hair was messy, and a stubborn tuft at the back of his head stuck up—just like Harry's. Harry was now very close to the mirror, his nose almost touching his own reflection.

He understood.

In the mirror were his parents.

Harry pressed both hands firmly against the glass, gazing at them with desperate hunger.

A sharp pain surged through his heart—half joy, half profound sorrow.

Harry didn't know how long he stared.

When he returned to the dormitory, he shared every detail of his night patrol with Ron—he'd actually wanted to tell Damon too, but if he wanted to see him again, going by their pattern, he'd have to wait a few more days.

The second night, he and Ron sneaked out to the mirror again. But what Ron saw was completely different from Harry—he saw himself as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, with Damon hailed alongside him as the "Twin Lions of Gryffindor."

After they returned, Ron's spirits were much higher, his eyes shining as he spoke.

On the third morning, even though it was a holiday, Harry didn't sleep in—he wanted to see if he could spot Damon in the Great Hall. If there was any time Damon was most likely to appear, it was during breakfast.

According to the pattern they'd figured out, Damon would vanish for two or three days and then show up once in the morning.

When he saw that figure sitting at the table, Harry couldn't help calling out in surprise:

"Damon!"

"Oh, Harry, you look pretty excited?"

Damon pulled out chopsticks he'd made with Transfiguration, picked up the beef noodles in his bowl, and slurped them noisily—on the day they'd given gifts to the House-elves, they'd already gone to thank them, and Damon had taken the chance to request some noodle-based food.

Though the House-elves didn't know how to make noodles, magic could solve many problems.

"What's this—never mind, I'm not here to talk about that," Harry said, glancing at the staff table before leaning in mysteriously. "I found something great. Want to come see it with me tonight?"

"Night patrol?" Damon lowered his head and took another big slurp of noodles.

Harry thought he was worried about school rules and was about to say he had the Invisibility Cloak to take Damon along, when the other agreed without hesitation.

"Sure. I'll come find you in the dorm later. See you there."

Damon finished his noodles quickly, wiped his mouth, and left directly.

Harry stared at his retreating back, a little stunned—Damon had agreed too fast, and that somehow made him uneasy again.

"See you there."

That night, Harry led Damon to the mirror with practiced ease.

As for Ron, he thought frequent night patrols were too risky. He'd wanted to talk Harry out of it, but when he heard Harry was taking Damon to see it, he didn't object.

Since the cloak couldn't fit all three of them, he said to Harry with some regret:

"Ask Damon what he sees, and tell me later."

Harry caught on instantly, smiled, and nodded:

"Don't worry. Actually, I'm really curious about what Damon will see too."

Someone as talented and goal-oriented as Damon—what would he see in the mirror?

"That's the mirror. This is what I wanted to show you."

Harry pointed at the Mirror of Erised, his face full of anticipation.

When he saw Damon step fully in front of the mirror, he even grew tense.

Seeing that Damon only raised an eyebrow, his face showing no change in expression—unlike the excitement he and Ron had shown when they saw the mirror—Harry took the initiative to ask:

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, Harry," Damon turned his head and smiled, a hint of satisfaction on his face. "I saw myself."

"What—that's impossible."

Harry's pupils contracted slightly. He stepped up to the mirror again, motioning for Damon to move back. Soon, the images of his parents reappeared.

"It's not broken," he muttered as he stepped aside. "Try again?"

"Alright."

Damon stood before the mirror once more, and the reflection in the mirror turned back into himself.

He naturally knew the reason, but he couldn't say it—according to how the plot was developing, Dumbledore should be watching them from behind right now.

"Still myself, Harry. Maybe this mirror just doesn't work on me."

"But—how is that possible—"

Harry was a bit incredulous, and somewhat embarrassed—he'd finally found something he could share with Damon, and it turned out to be a misunderstanding?

He wanted to have Damon try again, but Damon said:

"Alright, Harry, since you call this mirror a treasure, why don't you tell me what you saw in it?"

"I—I saw my parents. The me in the mirror was standing with them. My father had his hand on my shoulder, and my mother was crying while rubbing my head, her eyes always fixed on the me outside the mirror."

"Sounds wonderful. You've never seen your parents before, have you?" Damon patted Harry on the shoulder. "In that case, how about we take this mirror with us?"

"Huh?"

Harry hadn't expected him to say that, and he was stunned.

Behind them, the magic in the corner suddenly trembled.