Elphaba cursed herself under her breath. She hadn't meant to stay in the library for so long, but she had fallen asleep while studying. After receiving a rude awakening from Madam Pince, the green girl had been forced to scram. Only half awake, she stumbled through the dark and empty halls of Hogwarts. Through her irritation and her exhaustion, Elphaba found herself briefly wondering if she might find a shortcut back to the Gryffindor tower. She wasn't sure how much further her legs would carry her, so any shortcut would be welcome. Besides, this was Hogwarts. The castle itself was alive, ever-shifting and ever-changing. Elphaba was willing to bet 10 galleons that some mystical door would pop up and lead her down a magical hallway that would somehow open up right over her bed. It wouldn't surprise her at all.
"Here's hoping," she muttered to herself, but as she continued on through the long and winding corridors, no such luck befell her. Every door she opened, or tried to open, had something either very random or very mundane behind it. First there was just an empty classroom. Then a broom closet. Then sleeping griffin (Elphaba had hastily shut that door again). Then a room full of a bunch of random floating lights. Knowing Hogwarts, they were either killer fairies or sentient stars or some strange mix of the two.
"Nope, nope, nope," Elphaba side tiredly. Looks like she was going to have to talk the long way home after all.
But even though Elphaba had resigned herself to this annoying fate, she still opened up a few more doors on her way back, hoping that maybe some room might still offer her a desired shortcut. At last, then, she stumbled upon something that caught her eye.
"Hmmm, this looks new!" Elphaba whispered to herself, perking up ever so slightly as she noticed a new door on the corner of the hallway. As far as she could tell, it had not been there a few hours ago when she first went to the library. Curious, Elphaba pushed the door open. She was slightly started when its hinges made not a traditional squeaking sound, but a ghostly sigh, as if someone had just exhaled when she opened the door. But there was no one there. Elphaba half considered running right then, thoroughly creeped out by the humanistic noise of the door, but then she noticed something tucked against the far wall of the otherwise empty room. A mirror?
Feeling inexplicably drawn to it, Elphaba steeled her nerves and stepped inside, approaching the mirror. For a moment, she couldn't see anything in it, even her own reflection, but she attributed that to the layers of grime and dirt that coated the mirror's smooth surface. Once she was standing in a very particular spot, however, Elphaba finally saw something, but it was something beyond her wildest dreams and it was hideously clear, sharp and detailed. It was herself. And all of her family, living and dead, standing together and smiling. And all of them were totally normal...
Elphaba's mouth opened in silent cry of awe as she reached out and touched the mirror's suddenly-clean and bright surface. Staring back at her was a beautiful, pale-skinned face. The figure's long brown hair was combed back in beautiful waves. It was her! Crazy as it sounded, that girl in the mirror was her! Pale and smooth and flawless! The same deep brown eyes, the same sharp nose (though not quite as offensively long), the same cocky and confident smile, but so much better and happier and... prettier!
"I look... beautiful!" Elphaba murmured, and her pale-skinned reflection nodded back at her, as if agreeing with her whispered statement.
Standing to her left was a girl who looked quite a lot like her, smiling and waving at Elphaba too. That was Nessa! Her legs were strong, sturdy and gorgeous. They weren't tangled, they weren't bone-thin, they were fully functional! And there wasn't a wheelchair in sight! She looked so happy, holding her normal-skinned sister's hand. Elphaba felt tears pricking her eyes at the sight.
Behind the two sisters were Frex, Melena, and the Minister of Magic. All of them were smiling, looking so proud at Elphaba and the strong, beautiful, confident young woman that she had become. The minister was resting a proud hand on one of Elphaba's reflection's shoulder while her father, Frex, rested his hand on Elphaba's other shoulder. For once, he looked quite content with his daughter and his eyes seemed to say, Do you see this? This is Elphaba Thropp. And she is my daughter! Beside him, Melena had an arm wrapped around his waist, her head resting happily on his shoulder. She was smiling warmly at the Elphaba on the other side of the mirror.
"Mama? Father? Nessa?" Elphaba could only shake her head in disbelief, tears finally starting to trickle down her face. What sort of cruel, sick trick was this? What sort of twisted, sadistic mirror was this? But as pained as Elphaba felt, staring longingly into the mirror into a world that she knew she would never be able to join, she just could not stop looking...
For hours and hours Elphaba stared at that idealistic image, trying to burn the reflections into her memory. A normal-skinned her, a happy and able Nessa, a proud and affection Frex, Melena alive once again, and the Minister himself looking honored to know Elphaba. For nearly half the night, Elphaba remained there, all thoughts of sleep vanished from her mind as she chose, instead, to dream.
But after long enough, another face entered into her mind. It belonged to the young Slytherin called Glinda, who was Elphaba's best friend, as crazy as that sounded.
"I must tell her about this!" the green witch gasped, then, with a pained look, she parted from the mirror and silently pleaded the reflections to wait up for her. She would be back faster than the blink of an eye.
15 minutes later, a groggy Glinda all but tripped her way into the same room Elphaba sprinted into.
"Look! Look! Glinda, come here! Come quick! Look!" Elphaba continued to half-carry the girl over to the mirror. Glinda muttered something in protest, but she was so tired that the words came out slurred and Elphaba couldn't understand her. But no matter! She simply propped the girl up and faced her towards the mirror.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Glinda asked tiredly. All she could see was a dirty, grimy... thing.
"The mirror! Look at the mirror!" Elphaba pleaded impatiently, pinching Glinda a little in attempt to wake her up.
"Ouch! Hey!" Glinda's eyes opened up a bit in indignation, but Elphaba only pointed back to the mirror. With a sigh, Glinda turned towards it.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" she repeated, this time sounding more annoyed than tired. Although she loved Elphaba dearly, she loved her beauty sleep too, and could not fathom why in Merlin's beard Elphaba had insisted that she come look at this "magic" mirror at like 2 AM, rudely awakening her from a very deep and peaceful sleep.
"The mirror!" Elphaba repeated, but when she saw genuine disbelief in Glinda's face, she began to realize that Glinda could see nothing.
"Except you and me, just as we are now," Glinda said frustratedly, gesturing to the mirror and then back to herself and Elphaba.
"What? No! That can't be right!" Elphaba muttered, then she moved Glinda to the side and retook her position front and center. Sure enough, her entire family returned. So the mirror was working, by why couldn't Glinda see anything in it? Elphaba looked at the blond in frustration and helplessness. She saw the skepticism and exhaustion in Glinda's eyes and knew that she was losing the little blond's interest rapidly.
"I'm not making this up! I swear!" the green witch pleaded, dragging Glinda back into the spot in front of the mirror once again. Still nothing.
"I believe you, Elphie," Glinda sighed at last. "Truly I do, but maybe only you can see anything in this mirror. It wouldn't be the first time you were capable of something that the rest of us could only dream about," she said and Elphaba, though she hated to admit it, realized Glinda was right.
Although Elphaba was a Hogwarts student just as much as anyone else in the castle was, there were a few things that she was capable of doing naturally that other students could not. Such mysteriously inborn skills included having visions and being able to read in more archaic languages by instinct alone. Maybe this mirror was just like that? Maybe only she could use it, and maybe everyone else would only see it as a normal and nonmagical thing? Elphaba suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed for having gotten so excited over something so silly. Now, she had needlessly awoken Glinda from her peaceful slumber.
"I'm sorry," she apologized embarrassedly as she came to the same conclusion Glinda had.
"Ah, don't worry about it, Elphie," Glinda smiled tiredly at the green girl, seeing how genuinely ashamed she looked. "I didn't mean to upset you or come off as mean. I was just trying to suggest why I can't see anything out of the ordinary in it."
"No, you're right, I was being stupid," Elphaba growled at herself. "I shouldn't have woken you up like that."
"Not stupid, passionate," Glinda corrected, gently stroking Elphaba's arm. "I think it's cute that you got so excited by this mirror, and that you wanted to show it to me. I'm sorry I can't see anything in it!"
"It's not your fault!" Elphaba was quick to try and shut down Glinda's apology just as quickly as Glinda had shut down hers.
"It's no one's fault," Glinda corrected. "But if you don't mind, I would like to go back to bed now..."
"Of course, Glinda, and I'm sorry, again, for everything," Elphaba said sheepishly as she escorted Glinda out of the room.
"It's ok, Elphie, really, it is," the little blond replied with a tired but genuine smile of affection, then she squeezed Elphaba's hand one last time before heading back down to the Slytherin common room. She and Elphaba had created spells that would allow them to contact one another no matter where they were, which was why Elphaba had been able to wake Glinda up despite them belonging to different houses. Glinda could only hope, now, that for the rest of the night, her wand would remain quiet, and that Elphaba wouldn't wake her up again. Like she had said before, as much as she loved the green girl, she loved her beauty sleep too...
But while Glinda went back to bed, Elphaba went back to the mirror, staring deeply into its mystical depths. She continued to turn Glinda's theory over in her mind. She wondered, then, what sort of mirror this was that only she could see anything in it. She decided that she might try to ask someone tomorrow, and if they asked how she stumbled upon the mirror, she could easily lie and say she took a wrong turn. Since Hogwarts was notorious for switching up its physical layout nearly every five minutes, this lie would be very credible. And she didn't have to incriminate Glinda since the mirror had proven its mysterious and amazing powers even before she came along. So it was settled. Tonight, Elphaba would allow herself to get lost in the parallel universe that this mirror was offering her. Tomorrow, she would ask someone what it was.
12 hours later, Elphaba managed to run into Dumbledore in the hallway.
"Professor!" she called out to him.
"Ms. Thropp!" he gave her a pleased and surprised smile and a gentle nod.
"If you don't mind, I would like to ask you a question," she told him cautiously.
"My dear Ms. Elphaba, I am the headmaster of a school!" he began and, just for a second, Elphaba was worried that she might've caught him at a bad time. But then he continued on. "It brings me no greater pleasure than to answer the questions of my students!" and his eyes twinkled merrily. Elphaba heaved a tiny sigh of relief before she dared to ask her question...
Five minutes later, the two of them had gone their separate ways, each pretending as though nothing at all had happened. Elphaba's mind, however, was a hurricane of activity. From what Dumbledore had said the mirror, called Erised, had the power to show all of its viewers their heart's truest desires. It was not meant to be a permanent object within the castle, however, and was going to be finding a newer, safer home that coming night. As Dumbledore had cautioned, although it was a very beautiful thing, it was also a very dangerous one, and people had wasted away in front of it, trapped in the allures of all of its promises. That was why it was being moved. It was only taking up a temporary stay in the castle.
"I advise you not to go looking for it again," Dumbledore had warned Elphaba gently, but even though his voice was soft and kind and warm, she could hear that serious edge in it and she knew she would rather jump off the top of the astronomy tower without a broom than defy his command.
"Yes sir," she promised, then they had parted ways.
Elphaba made good on her vow to never seek out the mirror again and, a week later, when she found herself walking back from the library in the dead of night yet again (though this time, it was by choice, and Madam Pince had not thrown her out), she kept on walking the entire trip home, not stopping to open a single door on the way. When she reached the place where Erised used to be, the door was gone, and only a smooth stone wall remained. Elphaba couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. Although it saddened her to think she would never get to see that beautiful vision ever again, it also relieved her that she would not accidently fall slave to it and waste away trying to reach it. With it gone, the temptation to return to it was nonexistent. But then Elphaba remembered something funny.
Glinda had claimed that she had been unable to see anything other than herself and Elphaba in that mirror despite standing in the correct place. And her face had been full of genuine confusion and disbelief, so Elphaba knew she hadn't been lying or trying to hide. But as Dumbledore said, anyone, magic or not, could see into the mirror. If that were the case, why didn't Glinda get a vision? It truly puzzled Elphaba and she honestly had no theories on why Glinda had been immune to its powers. Maybe it didn't work on blonds? (No, Elphaba decided, that was too cruel and silly of a theory to be real). Glinda certainly was smart enough, and talented enough, so it wasn't like it was a lack of brains or imagination that might've kept her from seeing anything in Erised. But as she had testified, she had only seen herself and Elphaba as they were. So would could explain why Glinda couldn't get Erised to work? Had the mirror itself decided to deny her a vision? Elphaba wouldn't put it past that mirror...
But while Elphaba spent the rest of her walk back to her dorm pondering this question, she managed to entirely miss the most obvious and easy answer. And it was also the answer that was correct. Glinda had seen something in Erised, and it was just what she had said: herself and Elphaba, as they were. Glinda's Erised was Elphaba. Her deepest desire was already granted: her and Elphaba, together. That was why, to her, the mirror had been nothing but a common looking glass. Because her vision was already a reality. Erised had nothing to offer her, because she already had it. She already had Elphaba. But this answer never crossed poor Elphaba's mind, not even once.
AN: Inspired off a post that said Luna would be the one to look into Erised and see herself only as she was, because she already had everything she wanted in life (because Luna is just that pure and humble of a cinnamon roll).
Also, I know full well that it's far more likely that Glinda would have A LOT to see in Erised, but for the sake of some Gelphie fluff, Elphaba is all she sees. (Which means it's going to get tragic when she loses Elphaba and then looks into Erised only to see Elphaba still standing at her side. At least she would finally get to see how Erised worked though, heh heh).
Also, I know I sort of already did an Elphaba-Erised in my "Mirrors" fic, but this one just has a nice Gelphie spin to it!