Winter (Draco x Reader)

Chapter 15- Mirrors and Mud*

"Y/N!" Harry's voice woke me up the following night.  

"What is it?" I moaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"You have to come and see, we don't have much time," he replied feverishly.

My bleary eyes slowly managed to focus on Harry's excited face, green eyes twinkling in the moonlight. A very simple incoherence occurred to me.

"How did you even get up here?" I asked, amazed.

He shrugged, holding out his broomstick with one hand. "I flew."

I smiled. Of course the staircase wouldn't react if his feet weren't touching it. What a remarkable deduction.

"You must be very determined," I capitulated, abandoning the warm sheets in favor of the frosty air that seeped in through the closed windows. "Where are you taking me?"

He grinned, setting my shoes in front of me eagerly. "To a place I discovered last night. I hope you aren't against the idea of meeting my parents."

I offered him a concerned frown. Had he gone mad in the few hours since I had last seen him, or was he having delayed indigestion from Christmas dinner?

"Harry," I said reasonably, "Your parents are dead."

"Well, of course they are," he replied, going over to the staircase, having left his broomstick by my bed. "That's the whole point."

*************

He made us wander about in the dark passageways for nearly an hour, going back and forth in frustrated circles, before I spoke.

"Harry," I said quietly, "It's so cold. Maybe we could just come back tomorrow, and in broad daylight it could be easier for you to find this place."

"No!" he hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."

"I know that," I assured him, "but maybe we aren't going about this the right way."

We passed the ghost of a tall witch who thankfully didn't even spare us a glance, and then Harry pointed towards a nondescript suit of armor lurking in a dark corner by a wooden door. "It's here -- just here -- yes!"

He pushed the door open, practically running inside. I followed more cautiously, edging around the corner.

It looked like a disused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled up against the walls. Against the far wall was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling. Harry stared at its golden frame almost lovingly. It stood on two clawed feet and there was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Something about the words seemed very wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Harry?" I asked, looking around the room nervously. "I don't think this is a good idea..."

He had begun to smile in greeting, lifting his palm to settle it on the glass. "Don't be silly, Y/N. They're here."

I took a small step towards him, watching worriedly as he waved at someone who wasn't there. "I can't see anything."

"Look!" he insisted. "Look at them all... there are loads of them..."

"I can only see you," I breathed, still turning the words over in my mind.

Erised spelled backward gave desire.

Of course! "I show you not your face but your heart's desire."

"Pardon?" Harry answered dreamily.