Looking Back at Me

Harry and Ron were whispering together at breakfast, heads bent close together, trying to be as quiet as mice as they discussed something apparently not wanted to be overheard by other sets of ears. They were ignoring me like I wasn't even there, like I was invisible, or just simply not important. I know perfectly well that I'm not exactly as close as friends to them as they are to each other but it's rude to ignore someone sitting right across from you, trying feverishly to block them from the conversation. Harry should know that, Ron too, even though he can be inconsiderate sometimes.

Occasionally Ron's voice would rise and I could catch a few words, not enough to make any sense of, mind, but a few fragments. Noticing the change of volume in Ron's voice Harry would quickly shush him and they would take a glance at me, trying to see if I've heard anything or not. I'd act oblivious, intent on reading my Transfiguration textbook and eating my bacon and eggs.

Ron's voice had risen gain and this time Harry didn't notice. It hadn't increased in volume much, just a little, but enough for me to hear by straining my ears and ignoring the chattering of the other students.

"Maybe ... it can show both," Ron said, pausing between each word, his crystal blue eyes lighting up with an idea. Ron's eyes were always active, widening at surprises and narrowing in concentration. It was nice how they did that; always fairly easy to see the emotion he was feeling at that moment.

"Then why would it pick only one for each of us?" Harry asked, apparently bewildered. He ruffled his midnight black hair in frustration and looked intently at Ron for an answer.

"I dunno," Ron said, bewildered at his own answer apparently. I resisted the urge to click my tongue and shake my head. "Maybe it's different for each person."

"I don't think so," Harry answered.

"Well ... maybe ... maybe then ... I dunno," Ron finally finished after a good half minute of stuttering. What were they talking about anyway?

"Let's think," Harry said, a determined look on his face to solve whatever the mystery was. "It showed me with my parents and it showed you as head boy and the captain of the quidditch team. Mine would be the ... past, right? Yeah, the past, and yours would be the future. Right?"

Ron nodded slowly. "But what's the same about both of them?"

They paused and thought for a moment. Ron put his head in his hands, almost as though in defeat, and Harry looked up at the ceiling of The Great Hall absentmindedly.

What are they talking about? What thing? Whatever it was it showed them something, something good happening to them. Where is this thing and when did they see it?

"I know!" Harry said jubilantly, quickly casting his gaze back onto Ron and erasing the bemused expression from his face.

"What?" Ron asked eagerly, his face alight with anticipation.

"It shows us what we want! I really want to see my parents alive and be with them and you want to be head boy and all of the other things it showed you! Right? Right?"

"Yeah, but shh! You're getting a little too excited there mate."

"Sorry," Harry said as he lowered his voice back down to the point where I had to strain my ears terribly to hear.

"Maybe we should go see it again," Ron said, an excited expression on his face and a look of longing in his blue eyes. "You know, just to make sure we're right. Maybe it will show us other things we want too! I'd really love a broom, a Nimbus 2000 would be amazing. You remember where it is, right?"

"Yeah, by the library, near the suit of armor," Harry answered.

Hermione made a mental note of this. Whatever it was they were talking about she was going to find. She wanted to see the amazing things it would show too.

It was 8:40. Most students were already in their common rooms and settled in for the night. Students weren't allowed out in the corridors after nine so I had 20 minutes to find whatever Ron and Harry were talking about.

"Where're you going, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking up from the chessboard for a second and at the same time moving one of his pawns forward, his face calculating. The pawn took Harry's knight and knocked the little horse and rider piece off the board.

"Not my knight!" Harry moaned.

"Bathroom," I answered simply as I walked through the portrait hole having no intention of going there unless the thing was hidden in a stall.

I walked quietly past the library, looking into classrooms to see if they had anything peculiar in them. I hadn't noticed anything yet.

There was the suit of armor Harry and Ron had been talking about. The moonlight that drifted in through one of the windows reflected off of the metal, causing it to look quite foreboding. Whatever it was had to be nearby. The corridors were dim and eerily quiet. The only light came from the weak moonlight partially obscured by clouds and the occasional torches on the walls. I had figured a lot of the students were in their common rooms but not this many. I thought there must be some people who were just leaving the library. So far the only person I had seen in the corridors was a Ravenclaw boy, his arms full of heavy, thick books coming from the library. Everyone must be really tired and had gone to bed early.

What was that?

A glint from something caught my eye. It was coming from a room off the corridor. I stopped in my tracks and stepped backwards a few paces and rocked back and forth on my feet to see if the glint would appear again. The glint was still there, shining and twinkling in the darkness of the room. It looked like light reflecting off of something, much like the suit of armor.

I walked into the room quietly to investigate the glint. Was this what Ron and Harry had been talking about? Had the glint come from some precious stone?

The room appeared to be an unused classroom. There were dusty desks and chairs in messy rows and a few boxes with their contents spilling out onto the floors and desks.

Then there was something unusual leaning up against a wall where the glint had came from. It was a mirror, but a very grand one. Its frame was made of real gold and it stood on two clawed feet.

On it was a tarnished inscription that read: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. What could that possibly mean?

This had to be what Ron and Harry had been talking about. It was just too strange and out of place not to be, even for Hogwarts.

Nothing seemed strange about the mirror though, other then the fact that it was in an unused classroom and had the strange inscription on it. It showed my reflection like every other mirror in the world. I didn't notice anything too terribly peculiar about it.

I slowly walked around it, taking each step slowly and keeping my eyes on the mirror the whole time. I stopped very quickly when I reached the point where I was looking into it properly.

It still showed myself but it wasn't how I was at the moment. My hair wasn't the least bit bushy and my teeth were not large, but a normal size. I was smiling widely and holding up my O.W.L. test results. On it was marked the best results I could possibly receive. There were people crowded all around me. All of them were all paying their undivided attention to me, laughing at my witty jokes and remarks, and just enjoying my company. I had friends, lots of friends.

Ron and Harry were standing on either side of me. I was mainly talking to them even though the mirror wasn't making any noise as everyone moved his or her mouth. Ron's face was cracked into a grin and his eyes were filled with what appeared to be admiration and care. For once he wasn't poking fun at my intelligence and we both weren't at each other's throats. This was most certainly a refreshing change.

Harry was just chatting with me and smiling in a way that showed immense appreciation. This made me beam. They both noticed how bright I was and wasn't jealous or annoyed at it.

Then there were all of the Hogwarts professors along with my many friends and admirers. They were all holding out my essays and reports, beaming. Even Snape was smiling slightly which came as quite a shock. Perhaps it's a good thing he smirks instead of smiles, his grins are quite ... well, scary really. All of the papers were marked with an A+; Professor Sprout had even put a small, smiling face on hers.

"This is what I want," I murmured to myself. "To be popular?"

I shook my head in disgust at myself. There has to be something I want more than that. Being popular couldn't be it. It's so ... well ... shallow.

Am I shallow?

I don't think so but it would be nice if I was popular and people didn't make fun of me for being smart. It would be nice. It would make life much easier having everyone like me and admire me like they should all along. Too bad it will never happen though. This mirror can't predict the future most likely ... could it?

Besides, do I even want it to happen?

Popularity hardly matters to me really, I thought. I have good, true friends and I'm fully content with that. I don't need everyone to like me. If some people don't then that's entirely their problem. As for grades, I'm not exactly about to fail right out of school am I?