Harmony and the Philosopher's Stone

17-The Mirror of Erised

I woke up (still on my bed, thankfully) facing the top of my canopy curtain, and my first thought was how I hadn't eaten in over thirty-six hours.

I yawned and sat up, stretching my arms like they do in movies. I dangled my legs off the side of my bed, and-

"OW!"

A shriek filled the dorms as I stepped on something unsteady. My feet rolled over what I was standing on, and at that moment I remembered Claire had been sleeping next to my bed last night.

"Claire! Oh, Merlin!"

I squatted next to Claire, who I think was laughing and crying at the same time.

"Claire!" I yelped, with no answer. "Claire! Are you okay?!" I giggled the last word, and I had to shake Claire's trembling body for her to face me and remove her hands from her head.

"Oh, Merlin!" I cried again. Claire's nose (which is what I must have stepped on) was bleeding a steady amount of blood. I looked around my dorm in a frenzy, and ended up grabbing one of my ties that I had left on my trunk lid. I took the red stripe and held it up to Claire's nose as we were both laughing and crying, until he blood seemed to stop.

Harry and Ron both burst in to the dorm room, probably because they heard our racket.

"What are you lot doing up here?" Ron inquired, then his eyes travelled to Claire and her, now that I notice it, crooked nose.

"Oh, Merlin," I repeated, this time more solemnly.

"What?" Claire said. "What are you doing in the girls' dorm?"

"Why, your nose," Harry said observantly, pointing at Claire's face. "It's crooked. Sort of oblique. And, um, would you care for a real tissue?"

Claire gawked at Harry in horror, stood up and rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. After a minute, a shrill scream filled the whole castle, and Claire came running back out.

"My- my nose! What did you do to my nose?" Claire whimpered.

"I don't know!" I defended. "I didn't see you, honest! Or else I probably wouldn't have stepped on you!"

"Probably?!" Claire repeated, again horrified. I couldn't help but giggle, causing Claire to storm back into the bathroom to look in the mirror in disgust.

I shrugged at Harry and Ron, and they both slowly stepped out of our dorm room and into the hallway, closing the door behind them. I tiptoed into the bathroom so Claire wouldn't lock herself in knowing I was coming, and quickly walked towards her.

I made eye contact with Claire, trying to avoid having my gaze drop to her nose.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I definitely wouldn't have stepped on you if I'd known you were there."

"I told you last night I was moving in for the holidays!"

I threw my arms in the air. "Well, sorry! I forgot! Everybody gets the fresh-memory restart in the morning, don't they?!"

Claire pulled the ends of her hair. "I suppose so... but my nose! I look like Professor Snape! What am I going to do, walk to the Hospital Wing like this?"

I leaned against the pastel wall. "Aren't you the metamorphmagus genius here? Just make it go back to normal until you get to the wing."

Claire stared at me for a minute, then squealed and gave me a hug. "I love your brain. It's better than mine but I want it out of here while I'm changing, okay? Now get out."