What I'm Looking For...

The Christmas dinner was probably the best I’d ever had. There was a hundred fat, roasted turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of think, gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.

These fantastic crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones that mum and dad normal got, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats. I pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn’t just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed us all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a Rear-Admiral’s hat and several live, white mice.

The food and the crackers wasn’t why it was so great though. My parents were always away together, or we’d have dinner at different times, so we never really spent much time together. Christmas dinner was great, because the Weasley brothers, and Harry, felt more like family than my parents did.

Up on the High table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard’s hat for a flowered bonnet and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in his slice. I watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to my amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When we all finally left the table, I was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, my own new wizard chess set, and a pack of mini fireworks. The white mice had disappeared and I had a feeling they were going to end up as Mrs Norris’s Christmas dinner.

Harry, the Weasley’s and I spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds. Then, cold, wet and gasping for breath, we returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common-roomm where Harry and I broke in our new chess sets by losing spectacularly to Ron, one after another.

After a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they’d stolen his perfect badge.

When I got to bed, I fell asleep straight away.

---

“You could have woken us up,” I said crossly, the next morning.

“You can come tonight, I’m going back, I want to show you the mirror,” said Harry.

“I’d like to see your mum and dad,” Ron said eagerly, “and your family, too, Corey.”

“And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you’ll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone.”

“You can see them any old time,” said Ron. “Just come around my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren’t you eating anything?”

“Are you all right?” I asked Harry. “You look odd.”

---

That night, Ron and I followed Harry around the castle, all of us under the invisibility cloak. We slowly retraced his steps from the library, where he had run away from last night, and we were wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.

“I’m freezing,” said Ron. “Let’s forget it and go.”

“No!” Harry hissed. “I know it’s here somewhere.”

We passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite directions, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry nearly jumped in excitement.

“It’s here – just here –yes!”

I pushed open the door, and Harry dropped the cloak from around us, running to the mirror.

“See?” Harry whispered.

“I can’t see anything” I said.

“Look! Look at them all.... there are loads of them...”

“I can only see you.” Ron said cautiously.

“Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am.”

Harry stepped aside. Ron 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’m head boy!”

“What?” Harry said confused.

“I am – I’m wearing the badge like Bill used to – and I’m holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup – I’m Quidditch captain, too!”

Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry, and I, since I was now standing next to him.

“Do you think this mirror shows the future?”

“How can it? All my family are dead – Corey, you have a look.”

Ron stepped out of the way, and I took his place. At first all I could see in the magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed, was myself, standing in my blue pyjama pants, and my jersey. I looked at the frame where there waaaaas an inscription carved around the top; Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. I wonder what it means.

“What do you see, Corey?” Harry asked me, hopeful.

I looked back down at the mirror, taking a step closer. My eyes grew wide, my jaw nearly dropping.