The Mirror of Erised

"Ow, it's really cramped!" The three stumbled down the corridor. The cloak had been a tight fit for two people already, so how could it not be cramped with three?

"Forget it, Harry, you two wear it." Mia couldn't stand it anymore and slipped straight out. Harry took off the cloak, revealing the two of them.

"What about you, then?"

"I know the Disillusionment Charm. We can hold hands when we walk, so we won't get separated."

Just then, the three suddenly heard Filch's voice.

"Who's there?"

"Oh no, quick, put the cloak on!" Ron hurriedly picked it up and threw it over the two of them, while Mia immediately cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself.

But while trying to avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris, the three accidentally got separated.

Mia had no choice but to get away first and then look for Harry. While she was hiding, she suddenly heard Snape's voice.

"Severus, I..." Professor Snape had Quirrell by the collar, pinning him against the wall.

"You don't want me as your enemy, do you, Quirrell?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"On the contrary, you know perfectly well."

Mia covered her mouth as she listened to the exchange. Did Snape know who Quirrell was?

"Meow!"

Oh no! It's Mrs. Norris.

Mrs. Norris interrupted their conversation, and Mia cursed under her breath.

"We'll talk when we have time." Severus knew this wasn't the time to interrogate Quirrell, so he had to let go. "Have a good talk about who you're really working for."

Seeing that she couldn't learn anything more important here, and that Filch was coming over, Mia hurried quietly away.

Snape seemed to sense something and looked toward the place where Mia had been hiding.

By the time Mia found Ron and Harry, the two were grinning foolishly at a mirror.

Back to when they had just separated.

The two had been lucky enough to avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris and had found an empty room to hide in.

"Oh no, we got separated from Mia!" Harry had thought Mia was still beside them, but now that they were safe, she hadn't appeared, so he realized they must have gotten separated.

Seeing that Harry was about to put on the cloak and go looking for Mia, Ron stopped him. "Mia's much better than we are. Even if we go out now, we won't be able to see each other, so how would we find her? We might as well wait here. What if Mia finds us?"

That made sense, so Harry gave up the idea and prepared to look around the room. Then he spotted a mirror.

"What's this?" Carved across the top of the mirror were the words Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Harry suddenly saw his parents and younger sister appear in the magic mirror. "Mia! Dad? Mum?"

Lily and James stood on either side of them, looking at Harry tenderly.

Harry reached out in disbelief to touch them, but all he felt was the cold mirror.

"Hey, mate, what are you looking at..." Ron saw Harry staring blankly at a mirror and came over for a curious look. "Blimey, did you see that? I've become head boy, and I've won the Quidditch Cup! I'm captain of the Quidditch team too! I look brilliant. Harry, do you think this mirror shows the future?"

Hearing Ron's words, Harry seemed to realize something and answered dejectedly, "How could it? My parents are dead."

"Sorry."

Although they knew it wasn't real, neither of them could help looking at it, as if trying to engrave what they saw in their minds.

"Harry, Ron, how did you end up here?" Mia pushed the door open and saw the people she had been looking for all this time.

"Mia, come and look!" Harry pulled Mia over to the mirror.

Mia examined the object before her. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi? Mia tried reading it backward. The Mirror of Erised showed people the deepest, most desperate desire of their hearts. (It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.)

"Desire?" Mia looked into the mirror. She saw herself grown up, looking about twenty and apparently studying something. Then the scene changed to one of Lily and James by their sides.

"Mia, did you see them too? Dad and Mum?" Harry's eyes filled with tears. Mia's heart trembled, and she raised a hand to wipe them away.

"Yes, I saw them."

Harry couldn't help hugging Mia. She felt the fabric on her shoulder grow damp and gently comforted him.

It will come true, Harry. It isn't a desire; it's the future. I'll make our wish come true.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A kind, gentle voice interrupted Harry.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Ron was a little flustered.

"I think you must have realized what this mirror does."

"A hint: only the happiest person in the world can look into the mirror and see themselves as they really are."

"Then this mirror shows us what we want?"

"Yes and no. This mirror shows us the deepest desire of our hearts. As for you, you've never met your family, so you saw them beside you."

"But remember, this mirror can teach us nothing, nor tell us the truth. People have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or even been driven mad, because they do not know whether everything in the mirror is real or whether it can come true."

"Then what did you see?" Mia was a little curious whether this all-powerful white wizard had desires too.

"I saw myself holding a pair of woolen socks. Thank you for your gift, Mia. They're very warm. Now, children, you should be getting back. I'll move this mirror elsewhere, so don't go looking for it again. One cannot live in dreams." Dumbledore winked at Mia, then urged them back.

In Britain, "woolen socks" were sometimes used as a metaphor for family affection. Could even the most powerful white wizard not protect his family?