Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December,Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet ofsnow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins werepunished for bewitching several snowballs so that theyfollowed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.The few owls that managed to battle their way through thestormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health byHagrid before they could fly off again.
No one could wait for the holidays to start. While theGryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaringfires,the draughty corridors had become icy and a bitter windrattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all wereProfessor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where theirbreath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close aspossible to their hot cauldrons.
I do feel so sorry, said Draco Malfoy,one Potionsclass, 'for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home.'
He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe andGoyle chuckled.Harry, who was measuring out powderedspine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even moreunpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgustedthat Slytherin had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughingat how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harryas Seeker next. Then he'd realised that nobody found thisfunny,because they were all so impressed at the way Harryhad managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy,jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry abouthaving no proper family.
It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive forChristmas.Professor McGonagall had come round the weekbefore, making a list of students who would be staying for theholidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feelsorry for himself at all; this would probably be the bestChristmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were stayingtoo,because Mr and Mrs Weasley were going to Romania tovisit Charlie.
When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, theyfound a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Twoenormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffingsound told them that Hagrid was behind it.
'Hi,Hagrid,want any help?' Ron asked, sticking his headthrough the branches.
'Nah,I'm all right, thanks, Ron.'
Would you mind moving out of the way?' came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. 'Are you trying to earn someextra money,Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourselfwhen you leave Hogwarts, I suppose- that hut of Hagrid'smust seem like a palace compared to what your family'sused to.'
Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.
'WEASLEY!'
Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.
'He was provoked, Professor Snape,' said Hagrid, stickinghis huge hairy face out from behind the tree. 'Malfoy wasinsultin' his family.'
'Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules,Hagrid,' said Snape silkily. Five points from Gryffindor,Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all ofyou.'
Malfoy,Crabbe and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree,scattering needles everywhere and smirking.
'I'll get him,' said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back,'one of these days, I'll get him -'
'I hate them both,' said Harry, 'Malfoy and Snape.'
'Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas,' said Hagrid.'Tell yeh what,come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks atreat.'
So Harry,Ron and Hermione followed Hagrid and his treeoff to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall andProfessor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.
'Ah,Hagrid, the last tree-put it in the far corner, wouldyou?'
The Hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly andmistletoe hung all around the walls and no fewer than twelvetowering Christmas trees stood around the room,somesparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds ofcandles.
'How many days you got left until yer holidays?' Hagridasked.
'Just one,' said Hermione. 'And that reminds me - Harry,Ron,we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in thelibrary.'
'Oh yeah, you're right,' said Ron, tearing his eyes awayfrom Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossomingout of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of thenew tree.
'The library?' said Hagrid, following them out of the Hall.'Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?'
'Oh, we're not working,' Harry told him brightly. 'Eversince you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to findout who he is.'
You wbat?' Hagrid looked shocked. 'Listen here-I've toldyeh- drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'.'
We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all,'said Hermione.
'Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?'Harryadded. 'We must've been through hundreds of books alreadyand we can't find him anywhere - just give us a hint - I knowI've read his name somewhere!'
I'm sayin' nothin',' said Hagrid flatly.
Just have to find out for ourselves,then,' said Ron, andthey left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to thelibrary.
They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's nameever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were theygoing to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The troublewas,it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowingwhat Flamel might have done to get himself into a book.Hewasn't in Great Wizards of tbe Twentietb Century,or Notable MagicalNames of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important ModermMagical Discoveries,and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry.And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library;tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds ofnarrow rowS.
Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she haddecided to search while Ron strode off down a row of booksand started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harrywandered over to the Restricted Section.He had beenwondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there.Unfortunately,you needed a specially signed note from one ofthe teachers to look in any of the restricted books and he knewhe'd never get one. These were the books containing powerfulDark Magic never taught at Hogwarts and only read by olderstudents studying advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts.
'What are you looking for, boy?'
'Nothing,' said Harry.
Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster athim.
'You'd better get out, then. Go on -out!'
Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up somestory,Harry left the library. He, Ron and Hermione hadalready agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where theycould find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them,but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.
Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other twohad found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They hadbeen looking for a fortnight, after all, but as they only hadodd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'dfound nothing. What they really needed was a nice longsearch without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.
Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shakingtheir heads.They went off to lunch.
You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?' saidHermione. 'And send me an owl if you find anything.'
'And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamelis,' said Ron. 'It'd be safe to ask them.'
'Very safe, as they're both dentists,' said Hermione.
Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were havingtoo good a time to think much about Flamel.They had thedormitory to themselves and the common room was faremptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairsby the fire.They sat by the hour eating anything they couldspear on a toasting fork-bread, crumpets,marshmallows-and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were funto talk about even if they wouldn't work.
Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This wasexactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive,which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's setwas very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, ithad once belonged to someone else in his family - in thiscase, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't adrawback at all. Ron knew them so we1l he never had troublegetting them to do what he wanted.
Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lenthim and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very goodplayer yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice athim,which was confusing: 'Don't send me there, can't you seehis knight? Send bim, we can afford to lose bim.'
On Christmas Eve,Harry went to bed looking forward tothe next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting anypresents at all. When he woke early next morning, however,the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the footof his bed.
'Happy Christmas, said Ron sleepily as Harryscrambledout of bed and pulled on his dressing-gown.
'You too,'said Harry. 'Will you look at this? I've got somepresents!'
What did you expect, turnips?' said Ron, turning to hisown pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thickbrown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry,from Hagrid.Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviouslywhittled it himself. Harry blew it-it sounded a bit like an owl.
A second, very small parcel contained a note.
We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. FromUncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Sellotaped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.
'That's friendly,' said Harry.
Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.
'Weird!'he said. 'What a shape! This is money?'
'You can keep it,' said Harry, laughingat how pleased Ronwas. 'Hagrid and my aunt and uncle - so who sent these?'
'I think I know who that one's from,' said Ron, going a bitpink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. 'My mum. I told heryou didn't expect any presents and - oh, no,' he groaned, 'she'smade you a Weasley jumper.'
Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of home-made fudge.
'Every year she makes us a jumper,' said Ron, unwrappinghis own, 'and mine's always maroon.'
'That's really nice of her,' said Harry, trying the fudge,which was very tasty.
His next present also contained sweets-a large box ofChocolate Frogs from Hermione.
This left only one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. Itwas very light.He unwrapped it.
Something Auid and silvery grey went slithering to thefloor,where it lay in gleaming folds.Ron gasped.
Ive heard ofthose, he said in a hushed voice,droppingthe box ofEvery-FlavourBeans he'd got from Hermione. If that's what I think it is-they're really rare, and reallyvaluable.'
'What is it?'
Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It wasstrange to the touch, like water woven into material.
'It's an Invisibility Cloak;' said Ron, a look of awe on hisface. 'I'm sure it is - try it on.'
Harry threw the Cloak around his shoulders and Ron gavea yell.
'It is! Look down!'
Harry looked down at his feet, but they had gone. Hedashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked backat him, just his head suspended in mid-air, his body completelyinvisible. He pulled the Cloak over his head and his reflectionvanished completely.
'There's a note!' said Ron suddenly. 'A note fell out of it!'
Harry pulled off the Cloak and seized the letter. Written innarrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were thefollowing words:
your father left this in my postestionbefore he died.
Ot is time it was returned to you.Use it well.
A Very Meny Chiistuas to you.
There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. Ron wasadmiring the Cloak.
Td give anytbing for one of these,' he said. 'Anything. What'sthe matter?'
'Nothing, said Harry. He felt very strange. Who hadsent the Cloak? Had it really once belonged to hisfather?
Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitorydoor was flung openand Fred and George Weasley boundedin.Harry stuffed the Cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feellike sharing it with anyone else yet.
'Merry Christmas!'
'Hey, look-Harry's gota Weasley jumper, too!'
Fred and George were wearing blue jumpers, one with alarge yellow F on it, the other with a large yellow G.
'Harry's is better than ours, though,' said Fred, holding upHarry's jumper. 'She obviously makes more of an effort ifyou're not family.'
'Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?' George demanded.'Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm.'
'I hate maroon,' Ron moaned half-heartedly as he pulled itover his head.
'You haven't got a letter on yours' George observed.Isuppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're notstupid-we know we're called Gred and Forge.'
'What's all this noise?'
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, lookingdisapproving.He had clearly come halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy jumperover his arm, which Fred seized.
'P for prefect! Get it on,Percy,come on,we're all wearingours, even Harry got one.'
'I - don't - want-'said Percy thickly, as the twins forcedthe jumper over his head, knocking his glasses askew.
'And you're not sitting with the Prefects today, either,' saidGeorge. 'Christmas is a time for family.'
They frog-marched Percy from the room, hisarms pinnedto his sides by his jumper.
Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. Ahundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiledpotatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas,silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce -andstacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Thesefantastic crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle onesthe Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys andtheir flimsy paper hats. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fredand it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannonand engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from theinside exploded a rear-admiral's hat and several live, whitemice.Up on the High Table,Dumbledore had swapped hispointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet and was chucklingmerrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.
Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percynearly broke his teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in his slice.Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine,finally kissing Professor McGona-gall on the cheek,who,to Harry's amazement, giggled andblushed, her top hat lop-sided.
When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down witha stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a grow-your-own-warts kitand his own new wizard chess set. The white mice haddisappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going toend up as Mrs Norris' Christmas dinner.
Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon havinga furious snowball fight in the grounds. Then, cold, wet andgasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindorcommon room,where Harry broke in his new chess set bylosing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't havelost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.
After a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, andChristmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to domuch before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred andGeorge all over Gryffindor Tower because they'd stolen hisprefect badge.
It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever.Yet somethinghad been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until heclimbed into bed was he free to think about it: the InvisibilityCloak and whoever had sent it.
Ron,full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysteriousto bother him,fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn thecurtains of his four-poster. Harry leant over the side of hisown bed and pulled the Cloak out from under it.
His father's...this had been his fathers.He let the materialflow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well,the note had said.
He had to try it,now. He slipped out of bed and wrappedthe Cloak around himself. Looking downat his legs, he sawonly moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.
Use it well.
Suddenly,Harry felt wide awake.The whole of Hogwartswas open to him in this Cloak. Excitement flooded throughhim as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could goanywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.
Ron grunted in hissleep. Should Harry wake him?Something held him back-his father's Cloak-he felt thatthis time-the first time-he wanted to use it alone.
He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across thecommon room and climbed through the portrait hole.
'Who's there?' squawked the Fat Lady.Harry said nothing.He walked quickly down the corridor.
Where should he go? He stopped,his heart racing, andthought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section inthe library. He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long asit took to find out who Flamel was. He set off, drawing theInvisibility Cloak tight around him as he walked.
The library was pitch black and very eerie. Harry lit a lampto see his way along the rows of books. The lamp lookedas if it was floating along in mid-air, and even thoughHarry could feel his arm supporting it,the sight gave himthe creeps.
The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library.Stepping carefully over the rope which separated these booksfrom the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read thetitles.
They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded goldletters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand.Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it thatlooked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Harry'sneck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but hethought a faint whispering was coming from the books, asthough they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.
He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp downcarefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for aninteresting-looking book. A large black and silver volumecaught his eye. HHe pulled it out with difficulty, because it wasvery heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.
A piercing, blood-curdling shriek split the silence-thebook was screaming! Harry snapped it shut, but the shriekwent on and on, one high, unbroken, ear-splitting note. Hestumbled backwards and knocked over his lamp, which wentout at once. Panicking,he heard footsteps coming down thecorridor outside-stuffing the shrieking book back on theshelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch almost in the doorway;Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him and Harryslipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up thecorridor,the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.
He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armour.He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it wasdark, he didn't recognise where he was at all. There was a suitof armour near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be fivefloors above there.
You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyonewas wandering around at night, and somebody's been in thelibrary-Restricted Section.'
Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever hewas, Filch must know a short cut, because his soft, greasyvoice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape whoreplied.
'The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catchthem.'
Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape camearound the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course,but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearerthey'd knock right into him-the Cloak didn't stop him beingsolid.
He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajarto his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it,holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief hemanaged to get inside the room without their noticinganything. They walked straight past and Harry leant againstthe wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dyingaway.That had been close, very close. It was a few secondsbefore he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.
It looked like a disused classroom. The dark shapes ofdesks and chairs were piled against the walls and there was an upturned waste-paper basket-but propped against the wallfacing him was something that didn't look as if it belongedthere,something that looked as if someone had just put itthere to keep it out of the way.
It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with anornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was aninscription carved around the top: Erised stra ebru oyt ube cafru oyton wobsi.
His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch andSnape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look athimself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it.
He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himselfscreaming. He whirled around. His heart was pounding farmore furiously than when the book had screamed - for he hadseen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd ofpeople standing right behind him.
But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turnedslowly back to the mirror.
There he was,reflected in it, white and scared-looking,and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others.Harry looked over his shoulder - but, still, no one was there.Or were they all invisible,too? Was he in fact in a room full ofinvisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflectedthem, invisible or not?
He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing rightbehind hisreflectionwas smiling at him and waving. Hereached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she wasreally there,he'dtouch her,their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air - she and the others existed onlyin the mirror.
She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair andher eyes - her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edginga little closer to the glass. Bright green- exactly the sameshape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, butcrying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired manstanding next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses,and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just likeHarry's did.
Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose wasnearly touching that of his reflection.
'Mum?' he whispered. 'Dad?'
They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry lookedinto the faces of the other people in the mirror and saw otherpairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a littleold man who looked asthough he had Harry's knobblyknees-Harry was looking at his family, for the first time inhis life.
The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he staredhungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glassas though he was hoping to fall right through it and reachthem. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy,half terrible sadness.
How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflectionsdid not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noisebrought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here,he hadto find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, 'TI'll come back,' and hurried from theroom.
You could have woken me up,' said Ron, crossly.
'You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show youthe mirror.'
'I'd like to see your mum and dad,' Ron said eagerly.
'And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys,you'llbe able to show me your other brothers and everyone.'
You can see them any old time,' said Ron. 'Just comeround my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only showsdead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though.Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eatinganything?'
Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would beseeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten aboutFlamel. It didn't seem veryimportant any more. Who caredwhat the three-headed dog was guarding? What did it matterif Snape stole it, really?
'Are you all right?' said Ron. 'You look odd.'
What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to findthe mirror roomagain.With Ron covered in the Cloak too,they had to walk much more slowly next night. They triedretracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around thedark passageways for nearly an hour.
'I'm freezing,' said Ron. 'Let's forget it and go back.'
No!'Harry hissed. 'I know it's here somewhere!'
They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the oppositedirection, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaningthat his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit ofarmour.
'It's here-just here-yes!'
They pushed the door open.Harry dropped the Cloakfrom round his shoulders and ran to the mirror.
There they were. His mother and father beamed at thesight of him.
'See?' Harry whispered.
'I can't see anything.'
'Look! Look at them all ...there are loads of them ...'
'I can only see you.'
'Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am.'
Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror,he couldn't see his family any more, just Ron in his paisleypyjamas.
Ron,though, was staring transfixed at his image.
'Look at me!' he said.
'Can you see all your family standing around you?'
'No -I'm alone - but I'm different - I look older - and I'mHead Boy!'
'Wbat?'
'I am - I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to-andI'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup -I'mQuidditch captain, too!'
Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to lookexcitedly at Harry.
'Do you think this mirror shows the future?'
How can it? All my family are dead-let me have anotherlook-'
'You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time!'
'You're only holding the Quidditch Cup,what's interestingabout that? I want to see my parents.'
'Don't push me -'
A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to theirdiscussion. They hadn't realised how loudly they had beentalking.
'Quick!'
Ron threw the Cloak back over them as the luminouseyes of Mrs Norris came round the door. Ron and Harrystood quite still, both thinking the same thing - did theCloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turnedand left.
'This isn't safe - she might have gone for Filch,I bet sheheard us.Come on.'
And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.
The snow still hadn't melted next morning.
'Want to play chess, Harry?' said Ron.
'No.'
'Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?'
No...you go...'
I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror.
Don't go back tonight!'
'Why not?'
'I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it - and anyway,you've had too many close shaves already. Filch,Snape and MrsNorris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you?What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?'
'You sound like Hermione.'
'I'm serious, Harry, don't go.'
But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was toget back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.
That third night he found his way more quickly than before.He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noisethan was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.
And there were his mother and father smiling at him again,and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sankdown to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There wasnothing to stop him staying here all night with his family.Nothing at all.
Except-
'So-back again, Harry?'
Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. Helooked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wallwas none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must havewalked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror hehadn't noticed him.
'I - I didn't see you, sir.'
'Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you,'said Dumbledore,and Harry was relieved to see that he wassmiling.
'So,' said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit onthefoor with Harry, 'you, like hundreds before you,havediscovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised!'
'I didn't know it was called that, sir'
'But I expect you've realised by now what it does?'
'It-well-it shows me my family -'
'And it showed your friend Ron himself as Head Boy!'
'How did you know -?'
'I don't need a cloak to become invisible,' said Dumbledoregently. 'Now,can you think what the Mirror of Erised showsus all?'
Harry shook his head.
'Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be ableto use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, hewould look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does thathelp?'
Harry thought. Then he said slowly, 'It shows us what wewant...whatever we want ...'
Yes and no,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'It shows us nothingmore or less than the deepest, most desperate desire ofour hearts. You, who have never known your family, seethem standing around you. Ronald Weasley,who hasalways been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himselfstanding alone, the best of allof them. However,this mirrorwill give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wastedaway before it, entranced by what they have seen, or beendriven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or evenpossible.
'The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow,Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you everdo run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do todwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, whydon't you put that admirable Cloak back on and get off tobed?'
Harry stood up.
'Sir-Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?'
'Obviously, you've just done so,' Dumbledore smiled. 'Youmay ask me one more thing, however.'
'What do you see when you look in the Mirror?'
'I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks.'
Harry stared.
'One can never have enough socks,' said Dumbledore.'Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get asingle pair. People will insist on giving me books.'
It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harrythat Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. Butthen, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it hadbeen quite a personal question.