The next day was filled with nerves, after a light night from the feast and everything, full of Christmas pudding and cake, we woke up feeling dead nervous for the match which would take place in a matter of hours. Harry and I decided not to wake anyone and decided to go on a wander through the castle.
We slipped under the invisibility cloak and tiptoed through the silent and secretive castle where even a pin-drop could be heard, the constant shifting of the corridors didn't help our journey, nor did Harry's indecisiveness. He wanted to go to the toilets, then the library, and then finally the kitchens for some food.
From what I could tell, we were on the third floor of the sale, and I knew we had to get out of there before Flich started poking around but of course, my bad luck wouldn't have it. The slow yet heavy thuds of Flich's footsteps came closer and so did the purring of his cat Mrs Norris. Harry and I ran simultaneously and we spun around corridors and banged into suits of armour causing much chaos and noise.
Nothing, however, could stop us from running, the fast-falling steps of Filch behind us, did not cease till we were sufficiently lost and stranded in a random unused classroom on the third floor. We turned, exploring the classroom, ravaging it with our eyes. The unkempt and mistreated tables stacked upon one another, chairs, broken and tattered. But amid this battlefield of school-ware beheld the single grandest thing I've seen since the Ministry.
It was encrusted in gold, but it wasn't put to waste, intricate patterns, and swirls danced along the sides, occasionally halted by the stray lines of silver and obsidian. The object had a sense of foreboding about it. Eventually, I turned to look at the core, a mirror, a weird one at that. I was in it as a reflection, except I wasn't wearing the pajamas that I had on right now, I was wearing Quidditch robes, dark crimson-colored robes.
There was a beater's bat in one hand which was around a beautiful lady, which after some consultation seemed to be an older Ginny, I was older too, in one hand I held the Quidditch Cup, I wore the captain's badge, there was a stray piece of paper flowing around that said, Outstanding on every single one of my NEWTS. My friends and brother were there too, and they were cheering for me.
Harry pushed me out of the way when I told him and he began to look too, he said he saw himself as a Head Boy, with a Quidditch cup, House Cup, and what surprised me the most was his little crush on a certain Parvati Patil. We could've stayed there the whole night but we saw dawn begin to break and were reminded of Dumbledore's warning for "those who wish to avoid painful deaths!"
After a few struggles and squirming under the cloak we managed to find our way back to the dorms and we woke Ron up instantly, much to his distaste, and filled him in, he was excited and by the time everyone was settled, Harry and I had told the girls too. Hermione and Ginny though skeptical at first, possessed the same curiosity and excitement that Harry, Ron, and I shared. There was only a slight problem the cloak wouldn't hold five people so Harry opted out and so did Hermione, I told her we could go tomorrow.
Once again we traversed through the dark and dimly lit castle, occasionally trodding on each other's feet, Ron ended up swearing under his breath, saying this better be good. Eventually, we found the empty, unused classroom and I pushed open the door, revealing the Mirror Of Erised, Ron instantly ran up to it and checked it out, "What's so special-" He had seen his reflection and was left shocked.
"Johan, I see myself but older, stronger, smarter, outstanding OWL's and I have- I have someone at my side, never mind"
I chuckled in response to this, a shit-eating grin on my face as I recalled the late nights that Ron and Hermione had, mostly her doing Homework for him but still, I think they're quite close now.
Ginny stepped forward, shoving Ron out of the way, "I pretty much see everything Ron saw, just that there's a mansion and I have you by my side, Johan."
I smiled at Ginny before telling them that we couldn't be here for long so we ran under the cover of the cloak all the way back to the dormitory, and I took Harry and Hermione down the next day because Harry wanted to see his again. I got them there and took them back too. But it felt too dumb to not just go there once more to get a look at my future self.
"Back again I see, Johan."
"Professor, how come I didn't see you?"
"I don't need a cloak to turn invisible Mr. Potter!"
There was silence for a while as Dumbledore stared into my eyes and I stared into his, what a weird sensation, I felt like I was being watched by a thousand eyes. But then, Dumbledore broke the awkward eye contact and said, "Do you know what the mirror does Johan?"
"Yes professor, at first I thought it showed the future, but It is just a shadow of what we desire the most. I do not come here to lose myself in this fantasy but to remind me of what I want the most."
"Very wise, Mr. Potter, but I do advise you one thing, the mirror is being moved, do not come looking for it, it's for your good."
"I won't look for it professor, I promise!"
"Good lad, now get back to your dormitory!"
When Ron and Harry woke up in the morning I didn't hesitate to relay this information to them, I also told Hermione and Ginny at lunch. I mean, if we can't have the mirror, I thought it was high time we explored the third floor of the castle and tried to avoid painful ends. But first, we would have to make it through Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff.