Chapter 16

In the mirror, there were people. Tons of people. People that seemed to fill the whole room. Merlin had his hand on my shoulder as I knelt on the floor crying. Fred and George were sitting next to me. Behind them were Dan, Phil, Mark, Jack, and other YouTubers I loved. There was Steve Rogers, Loki, and Bruce Banner, Quicksilver from the X-Men and Avenger's Universe, and more. There was Sam, Dean, Cas, Gabriel, Chuck, Crowley, and others from the Supernatural universe. There was Leo Valdez, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and all others from the Percy Jackson universe. There was the Doctor, tenth regeneration, leaning against his TARDIS. Newt, Minho, and Thomas were hanging out with other Gladers. Sherlock and John were standing together. There were so many that it would be impossible to name them all. There was even Wheatley hanging from the ceiling. And they were all smiling right at me.

Perhaps you think that my family should be there. Some of my friends from reality should be there. Maybe they should have.

But they weren't.

They weren't there because in my heart, I never really felt at home with them. I could never be my full self around them. Fiction was where I lived. My best friends were people that I had never met. They were people that lived around the world, in books, and in my screen. And they were the only place that I felt at home.

That's all I ever really wanted. To feel like I was truly home.

I knelt there for what felt like forever and just looked at the people in the mirror. I just took in every detail of each of their faces and let the tears slowly stream down my face. I put my hand on my shoulder where it showed Merlin's hand was. Except, there was nothing there. I looked away from the mirror and around the room. I saw emptiness. I was alone. I turned back to the mirror and saw everyone I'd ever hoped to see. The tears streamed faster and hotter. I moved into a more comfortable sitting position than being on my knees and sat there. I sat there, watched them, and I wished that I would never have to leave.

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The next morning, I woke up but didn't feel like moving. Not unless it was back towards that mirror. Eventually I had to get out of bed, though. I dragged myself through the day, every step harder than the last. Then I had to get myself through the week. Eventually, Saturday came. Everyone was going to be leaving for Christmas today. That is, everyone that was going home for the holidays. In other words, out of all my friends, Hermione would be the only one going home today.

I worked up all the energy I could to smile, to wish her a happy holiday. I promised that I would write to her and then she left. As she left, so did my smile and I went back to dragging on.

I went to lunch with Fred and George. They seemed to be able to tell that something was wrong. Of course, it probably hadn't been hard to tell. I hadn't exactly been trying too hard to cover it. They kept asking if there was anything wrong, but I brushed it off.

"I'm fine."

"I just have had a hard time sleeping."

"I'm just a bit off today."

Eventually I finished my lunch and I left. I walked down the hallways, and as I passed the library it drew me to it. But it wasn't the books. For once in my life, I wanted to go to a library for something besides books.

I wanted to go there for a mirror.

I carefully crept in, being wary of where Madam Pince was. As soon as she wasn't watching, I once again slipped into the Restricted Section. This time it only took me 5 minutes to find the room. I took a step into the room and walked to stand in front of the mirror. I sat down in front of it and looked into it.

There I sat. And there I stayed. For how long, I wasn't sure. Long enough that my legs were falling asleep. Long enough that my eyelids began to tug down. But it wasn't long enough. It would never be long enough. Because no longer how long I stared into the mirror, I would never be able to step into it.

I know this is a short chapter, but it's also a much quicker update than usual. Aren't you proud of me? Two updates in one week. I think that's a record for me. I hope you enjoyed it!