on to find my future
things my heart still
needs to know

ϟ

"How's your cheek?" Fred asked as the group ascended the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. Perry now knew the exact path to and fro.

"I'm gonna have a bruise no thanks to you," she said reaching up to touch the swollen part of her cheek. The snowball fight they had earlier had a bit of a hiccup when Fred's beater instincts kicked in and Perry got hit hard in the cheek. Fred couldn't have felt worse about it and continued to ask her about it the entire Christmas. "But, really, Fred," she said with a smile, "I'm fine. In fact this was the best Christmas I've ever had."

"Same here," Harry said using her shoulders to hop up the stairs.

Most Christmases Perry and Harry spent cleaning for the Dursley's, but this Christmas they got to spend with their good friends doing all the things they wished they could do in the past. They ate a feast of food in the morning, the afternoon, and at night, they got to see their professors in a way that haven't all year, and for once they got presents. Real presents from people who cared about them.

They all entered the Gryffindor common room together. The Fat lady used to get mad about them letting in a Slytherin, but at this point she had gotten used to it.

Everyone was so tired from the activities during the day and full from the many Christmas desserts, that they weren't up for anything that night. They sat around the fireplaces but only for about an hour. The entertainment that night was watching Fred and George torment Percy by hiding his prefect badge all over Gryffindor tower.

When the clock chimed ten o'clock they all said their final Merry Christmas and went to bed. Perry was tried and ready to sleep, as was Ron, but Harry didn't seem as tired as they did.

"What's bugging you," Perry said as they walked up the stairs to Harry's dormitory. They were the last to be going up so Perry wasn't worried about eavesdroppers.

"Nothing—"

"Harry, you know you can't lie to me," Perry said with a frown.

Harry looked around and then leaned in to whisper to her, "All I've been thinking about is that cloak, Pare-Bear. We could go anywhere with that cloak! Anywhere in the entire school and no one could see us! This could be the perfect time to look for information about Nicholas Flamel!"

"We could get into the restricted section easily! And no professor would expect any students to be out of bed on Christmas!"

"Let's go then!"

"Wait Harry," Perry said catching hold of Harry's arm, "We have to wait till Ron is asleep and then sneak out."

"Why?"

"We can't have him asking any questions," she explained. "If we find anything we can come back to show him, but if not there's no point in  waisting his time."

"Okay," he agreed while nodding.

Perry and Harry went back upstairs, each taking turns to change, and then putting themselves to bed. They waited for Ron to fall asleep, which didn't take long. Perry was barely keeping herself awake. If they didn't leave soon she would surly fall asleep.

"Hey, Pare-Bear," Harry whispered by her side, "Come on."

Perry hopped out of bed as quietly as she could. She kept her socks on but left her shoes behind so that she wouldn't make any noises while sneaking around. Harry threw the cloak around the two of them and they quietly tiptoed to the door.

"Mmm chicken, and the potato's... talk," Ron mumbled.

Perry and Harry slipped out the door before snickering at Ron's mumbling. They tiptoed down the stairs, through the common room, and out the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Perry and Harry said nothing. They kept as quiet as they could until the Fat Lady stopped looking around.

After collecting themselves the two started for the library. They walked down the stairs and down the corridor to the library. In the restricted section they started going down the different bookcases.

"I can't understand any of these titles!" Harry said in a hushed voice.

"The ones I do know how to read aren't what we're looking for either," whispered Perry.

"Here," Harry said handing the lamp to Perry.

Perry crouched and looked down the shelf for a name that might help. Harry picked up a random book off a shelf and opened it. The book let out a blood curdling scream and Harry dropped it. It landed next to Perry and she shot away from it, dropping the lamp, and knocking out the light.

Oh god we have to get out of here, Perry thought.

I know, let's go, Harry thought.

Perry looked at him and nodded. Right as they went to move, Filch marched in.

They moved in sync, slipping past Filch in the corridor, and under his outstretched arm. As they stepped under Filch's arm he stepped forward, almost skimming the top of the cloak. They scurried out of the library and broke into a full sprint, running as far as they could until they lost their breath.

By the time they came to a full stop to collect their breath, they had no idea where they were. A suit of armor was in front of them, but Perry couldn't remember seeing this suit of armor on the tour the twins took her on.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library— Restricted Section," said Filch.

Perry nor Harry could see Filch speaking, but they knew his voice. What worried them more was who he was speaking too, which they soon found out.

"The Restricted Section?" asked the voice of Snape. "Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Harry looked at Perry with concern in his eyes. Perry looked at him and put a finger to her lips. She looked around, searching for something to help her get out of this situation. Perry's eyes widened when she saw the door off to her left and behind Harry. She pointed to it and he got the gist.

Harry took her hand and they backed away slowly from the two professors conversation. They squeezed through the open space, making sure not to touch the door or make any noise on the way.

Through the crack in the door that they snuck in through, they watched as the two professors left to search for the students out of bed. They weren't looking in the right place. Perry watched them intently, making sure they left for good. Harry, on the other hand, was more interested in their hiding place.

"Perry, get a load of this room!" he whisper shouted.

Perry turned around and looked around. There were piled up desks and sheets on top of different bulky items.

"Looks like an old, unused classroom," she said walking forward.

Harry pulled off the cloak and walked towards an object in the room. It was a big mirror. The only thing in the room that wasn't covered.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?" Perry read allowed in confusion.

"What does it mean?" Harry asked.

"Not a clue," Perry said. "I thought maybe it was in Latin and I'd be able to understand it, but not one word of that is Latin."

Harry shrugged and stepped forward. Quickly he whirled around to face Perry, but he wasn't looking at Perry. Harry stood there looking around the room with a face of panic.

"What?" Perry asked, concern in each her features.

"The mirror— there was—" then he turned back around.

Perry stared at him as he moved closer to the mirror. What was happening? Was he going insane? Did he break from all the school work and quidditch? Perry was very concerned for him.

Harry walked closer and touched his hands to the mirror.

"Harry!" Perry whisper shouted.

"Mom," he whispered, "Dad."

Perry's face sunk. The corners of her mouth quivered down as she pulled the cloak off and went up to stand next to Harry. He was looking at the mirror with tears springing in his eyes. Perry looked from him to the mirror. All she saw was her and Harry's reflections.

"Do you see them?" he asked. "My parents."

"No," she said delicately, "All I see is us."

ϟ

Perry sat at one of the desks watching as Harry stared up at the mirror. It was the third night they had visited the mirror. Perry had tried so hard to see something in the mirror, but all she ever saw was her reflection.

Harry always saw something. He always saw his parents and a room of crowded people. Why was it she never saw anything?

When they took Ron here he even saw something. He saw himself as head boy, and the quidditch captain, and all around glory. Perry, she saw nothing.

Ron didn't want them to return. Perry didn't want to return either. It wasn't fun not seeing anything. But Harry wanted to see the mirror again, and Perry would never let him do it alone, so here they sat for the third night.

Perry had brought her art supplies this time. Hagrid's present was more than useful. He was right about her being able to find a spell to make carrying the box easier.

The morning after their first trip to the mirror Perry went back to the library to find a spell to shrink the box and then make it bigger again. Madam Pince was required to question all students who entered about the restricted section, and Perry has always been horrible at lying.

She stuck her head into a book and said very few words to answer Madam Pince's interrogation questions. Eventually she left and Perry got to read until she found the charms.

Now she sat using Cedric and Alana's quills and Viktorija's bottomless ink to draw a picture of what she saw around her. Harry kept describing what he saw not knowing he was even saying it, and Perry took his words and put it into her drawing.

"So— back again Harry and Persephone."

Both children were startled. Harry sprang up and Perry scribbled a random line across her parchment.

"Oh, I hope I didn't mess up your drawing, Persephone," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Nothing I cant fix, Professor," she said putting her quill down.

"I— I didn't see you, sir," Harry stuttered.

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Perry and Harry were relieved to see a smile on his face.

"So," Dumbledore continued as he strode over to the mirror, "you two, like hundreds before you both, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know it was called that, sir," Harry said.

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

Perry listened to them. Harry explained that he could see his family. Dumbledore explained what exactly Harry was seeing.

"The happiest being on earth would be able to look into the mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, they would look into it and see themself exactly as they are."

That's what Dumbledore said. Perry started thinking to herself, this couldn't possibly explain what she was seeing. She wasn't completely content. Why was it that she saw herself?

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, Harry, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Beings have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

"Why don't I see anything?" Perry blurted out. "I mean, I'm most definitely not the happiest creature alive, and yet I look into the mirror and I see myself."

She was standing in front of the mirror now, staring at her reflection.

"Nobody's around me," she said. "I still have the scar. My hairs messy. There's ink on my hands. My eyes are still purple." She turned and looked up at Dumbledore. "Why does nothing change?"

He took a deep breath. "Your a bit young for me to put all of this on your shoulders Persephone, but I believe it's because you don't know what you want. Your hearts desire is to have answers, so looking back at you is a girl who knows everything you don't. She looks exactly the same physically, but mentally she knows what you can't."

Perry looked at that version of her. Was that what she really wanted? Did she want answers? The longer she thought about it she realized she did want answers, and that girl in the mirror had them. Perry shot daggers at the girl in the mirror while tears stung the brink of her eyes.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow," said Dumbledore. "Perry, Harry, I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed. Your own bed, if I may add."

Perry looked at him with a bashful smirk spread across her lips. He looked down at her with his eyebrows raised and a slight smile across his lips. Perry shrugged and put her hands up in the air as if to say "my bad".

Harry stood up next to Perry.

"Sir— Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask one more question, however."

Perry loved Professor Dumbledore's sarcasm.

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

Perry snapped her head over to look at Harry. Of course he would ask something so personal.

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks," Dumbledore said.

Perry looked back over to Dumbledore with furrowed eyebrows until she dawned on the conclusion that he must not be telling the truth.

"One can never have enough socks," Dumbledore stated. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

Perry and Harry walked down the flights of stairs towards the dungeon.

"He's a funny man," Perry whispered.

"He really is," Harry agreed.

"You can leave me here Harry," she whispered.

"What?" Harry whisper shouted.

"The walk from the Slytherin common room to the Gryffindor common room is not a fun walk," Perry whispered. She gave him a hug and whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow, Hare-Bear."

She stepped out of the cloak and walked down the stairs. She looked up to where he was watching her and waved at him. He waved back and started up the stairs as she continued down.

"Funny man," she whispered to herself.