you raise me up || harry potter (revamped)

Chapter 8: Alchemy and Assumptions

Harry was, of course, incredibly angry with Draco when he heard about what he had done. They argued about it over a meager breakfast of scones and muffins that they just barely managed to swipe from the Great Hall before all the breakfast food disappeared. They walked by Terrence Higgs, a Slytherin third year student, whose face darkened as they passed. It wasn't a unique occurrence among the Slytherins, but Harry briefly tried to recall if he had said something a bit too pro-Muggle within the past month in Higg's vicinity.

"Yes, but I gave it back, didn't I?" Draco was saying impatiently about the Invisibility Cloak. "It's not my fault you skimped on your trunk security. You ought to know better."

Harry just about exploded. "And that justifies you rummaging around my things?"

Draco pulled a disgusted face at the muffin crumbs Harry had just sprayed out of his mouth, conveniently withholding a response as he busied himself with brushing off his robe sleeves.

"Anyway," Harry said, forcing himself to cool down a bit as he took another bite of his muffin, "So you stole my cloak and went down to the Mirror, and Dumbledore was there. Weird, huh. Like he knew you'd be there."

"He probably did know." Draco daintily nibbled on his scone. "He's the headmaster of Hogwarts. It would be weird if he didn't have a way of tracking all the students."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the teacher patrols?"

"Hm. You have a point."

"Anyway," Harry said again, "What did he say to you? You're clearly still here and not expelled."

Draco fidgeted. "Nothing."

"Oh, come on, if you're going to lie to me about it, at least put some effort into it. Did he tell you anything about the Mirror?"

Draco sighed. "Erised, Harry. What's Erised spelled backwards?"

Harry looked up for a moment as he mumbled to himself.

"... I, R, E... Desire? What's that got to do with... Oh."

"Yeah. And not just any desire. Your deepest, most desperate desire. His words. The happiest person in the world would just see his reflection as he is."

They walked in silence for a while, polishing off their food.

"You said you saw your family," Harry finally said. "But you have your family."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Draco said. His face was pinched.

"Sorry. So... what else did he say?"

Draco flushed. "Er... He essentially told me to go back to the dorms and give you your cloak back."

"He... he knew it was mine?"

"You can be incredibly dense sometimes, Harry. He didn't just know what it was. He was probably the one who sent it to you."

Comprehension dawned on Harry, who almost choked on the last of his muffin. It was Dumbledore?

"... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore to want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side..." Harry suddenly recalled Hagrid saying the day they had met. The words resonated properly for the first time. He felt an irrational swell of jealousy, that Dumbledore had spent more time with them as people than Harry ever would.

"As for the Mirror, it's going to be moved today."

Harry's head whipped up in alarm. "What?"

"'It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live,'" Draco quoted in a comically deep voice as Harry reeled from the fact that he would never see his parents in the Mirror again. "Or something like that. I think Dumbledore is right, Harry. That Mirror can drive someone mad. Do you think I haven't heard you having nightmares?"