The Marauders: Moony

Remus and the Mirror

Remus was curious. He walked up to the front of the mirror and closed his eyes. When he opened them he saw something which made his breath stick in his throat.

His reflection was exactly the same, minus a couple of bruises and scars, but the thing which shocked Remus the most, was a small white orb behind him. It was the full moon, yet he was in human form.

Remus smiled at the sight.

"What do you see?" Freya asked.

Remus did not know how to answer. He was smart. He knew that this mirror showed what you wanted most, as what he wanted most was to not be a werewolf. In addition to this, inscribed on the top of the mirror was erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. 

Remus read it backwards. I show not your face but your hearts desire.

"I see myself. A little older. As a teacher, here at Hogwarts." Remus lied.

He stepped out of the mirror's frame towards Freya.

"What do you see? When you look in the mirror?" He asked her.

Freya took a deep breath and look at Remus for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

"I see myself. Free of the problems life dealt me. Free from the worry of messing everything up with one action."

"I don't understand." Remus replied, wanting to know more but not wanting to pry.

"A story for another day." Freya replied, guiding Remus away from the mirror.

Remus couldn't wait to tell his friends about his newest discovery. The passageway. The mirror.

He wondered what each of them would see in the mirror. They could have all guessed Remus's straight away, but Remus found it difficult to guess what James and Peter may see. He knew about Sirius's issues with his family and guessed that Sirius may see something relating to them, but the other two were a little more difficult.

"Guys, we have a new passageway to add to the map!" Remus exclaimed as he entered the dorm room.

James jumped off his bed in excitement.

"Show us!" He exclaimed, opening his trunk at the bottom of his bed and rummaging inside until he found his invisibility cloak.

The four boys snook along the corridors until Remus re-found the secret passageway behind a tapestry. 

"What's in the room at the end?" Peter asked, nibbling on his fingernails out of nervousness.

"Let me show you." Remus replied, leading the other three down the passageway and into the room. 

The harp had stopped playing on its own, and the soft sunlight was no longer beaming in through the tiny glass window at the far corner of the room. It was cold and different.

"Lumos." Remus whispered, lighting up the end of his wand.

Remus walked up to the mirror and guided his wand along the inscription at the top.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?" Sirius struggled.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Read it backwards." He responses.

"I show not your face but your hearts desire." Sirius said slowly.

"It shows what you want most." Remus confirmed. "So for me, myself in human form during the full moon."

Sirius, brave as ever, was the first to step up to the mirror. He smiled, the joy evident in his eyes, until James broke him out of the trance.

"What is it Padfoot?" James asked.

Sirius's face dropped as he remembered that it was just an illusion, that what he was seeing wasn't true, and would never be true.

"Me and my family." Sirius croaked, his voice hoarse. "But they accept me."

Remus felt guilty for showing Sirius the mirror, as Sirius's family would never change, his wish would never come true, much like Remus's.

"We're your family Padfoot. And we accept you." Remus said, stepping into the frame and putting his hand on Sirius's shoulder. James and Peter followed. 

"I know. Thank you." Sirius replied, nodding at each of them in turn before stepping out of the frame.

Remus and Peter stepped away, leaving James.

A grin filled his face, and he looked down at his hand, expecting to see something, but it wasn't really there.

"I'm in my quidditch robes. We've just won the house cup, and... Is that a head boy badge? I'm the head boy! And of course... As you all expected. There's Lily." He said, putting his arm out as though around someone, but of course, Lily wasn't really there.

James stepped away and nodded to Peter, it was his turn.

"Wormtail." James encouraged.

Peter shuffled nervously towards the mirror but stopped before he was in view.

"Go on Pete." Sirius cheered.

Peter stepped into the frame and took a deep breath before looking at his reflection. He stood up tall, different to his usual slouched position, and his eyes wandered the frame, taking everything in. A small smile lit up his face, before growing into a much larger one.

"What do you see?" Sirius asked him.

Peter blinked a couple of times. 

"I... I..." He stammered.

James cocked his head to one side.

"You can tell us, Pete, we're your friends." He added.

"I see myself, but I'm more confident, more powerful. There's an army behind me and..."

Peter stopped before he could reveal too much.

"Anyway, it's not real." Peter said, turning away from the mirror.

Remus looked around and saw Sirius carefully watching Peter. He decided not to question it, and the four boys made their way back to their dorm to update the map with their new discovery.