Professor Dumbledore arrived fashionably late.
Tom recounted the entire incident. The three adults in the room fell into thoughtful silence—Dumbledore seemed lost in his own thoughts, while Hagrid and Filch were clearly worried about student safety inside the castle.
"You all did very well tonight," Dumbledore said at last. "Children, you may return to your dormitories and rest. Tom, remember what I told you."
Hermione gave a small nod. On the way back with the others, she quietly pulled Tom aside.
"What did Professor Dumbledore say to you?" Tom asked.
"Tonight… right before we swapped, Professors Dumbledore and Snape came to the dormitory looking for me. They took me to see a mirror."
A mirror?
Tom's mind instantly flashed to the Mirror of Erised.
"Oh? Was it a fancy one with a golden frame? What did you see inside?"
The fact that Tom not only wasn't surprised but had perfectly described the Mirror of Erised made Hermione's eyes widen. "You know about that mirror? Professor Dumbledore said it shows your heart's deepest desire… and then he told me to bring you there tomorrow."
Tom nodded. "Mm. So what did you see?"
"Nothing special. Just future me—around eighteen, looking really impressive… way more impressive than you! I'm going to be an outstanding Auror!"
Hermione lied through her teeth.
Tom's lips curved into a knowing little smile, those jade-green eyes seeming to see straight through her. "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you!"
"Sounds pretty boring, then." Tom shrugged. "I was hoping you'd see yourself stepping on me, or turning me into a rat with one of McGonagall's spells and then siccing Crookshanks on me."
Hermione: "Oh, congratulations—you guessed right! Yes, I turned you into a rat and locked you in Crookshanks' cage. You'd have to beg me to let you out!
Alright, goodbye! Tomorrow I'll take you to the mirror!"
This time Tom genuinely had no clue why she was angry.
He had years of experience reading Misha's moods, and right now Hermione was giving off the exact same "I'm mad but pretending I'm not" vibe.
Back in the dormitory, Hermione crawled into bed, pulled the covers over her head until only her face peeked out, and fumed.
Heartless jerk!
She had seen Tom safe and sound in the mirror, yet that bastard could still say something like that.
I'm not that petty!
As for why the Mirror of Erised had shown her that scene—well, the mirror revealed a person's deepest desire. Hermione refused to dwell on what that might mean.
Hmph!
…
"Master, please forgive me… I should never have let you be harmed. I will deal with that mudblood myself."
In the hidden chamber, Quirrell kept kowtowing to empty air, face twisted in terror.
He unwound the turban from his head. Anyone watching would have screamed—on the back of Quirrell's skull was another face!
The face was an unhealthy greenish-black, like the mint matcha Professor Sprout had been sipping that afternoon. It had no nose. When it opened its mouth, it snarled at Quirrell.
"Mudblood? Idiot! You fool! That boy carries another soul inside him—just like me!
Find out who is behind 'Hermione Granger'!"
Quirrell gasped. "Could it be Dumbledore?"
"Do you think you'd still be alive if Dumbledore had been there?"
Voldemort sounded exhausted. His voice slowly faded away.
…
The next morning.
When Tom climbed out of bed, Hermione was already waiting outside.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Hermione remembered the route. Before long she had led Tom straight to the Mirror of Erised.
Before Tom could step in front of it, Hermione blocked him. "What do you think you'll see?"
"You're really that curious about what's in my heart?" Tom's lips quirked upward. "Miss Granger, you're overstepping."
"I am curious about what you're thinking. And please call me Mr. Tom Riddle. So can you tell me in advance?"
Tom saw he couldn't tease a reaction out of her and gave up. He stepped in front of the mirror.
He clasped his hands in front of him, closed his eyes, and muttered under his breath.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful woman of them all!"
"You're going to die!" Hermione couldn't hold back—she punched him. "Can you not use my body to do something so shameless? I want to crawl into a hole and disappear!"
Strangely enough, Tom always acted perfectly proper in front of everyone else. The moment he was alone with her, it was like he dropped every mask.
But then Tom suddenly froze.
"What did you see?"
"Paper and pen—quick!" Tom spun around. "Now!"
Hermione had no idea why he was suddenly so urgent, but she handed them over anyway.
Tom immediately squatted on the floor and started scribbling, eyes flicking back to the mirror every few seconds.
"You saw textbooks?"
"What textbooks? Do I look like a study-obsessed maniac to you? I'm not that boring!" Tom kept complaining, but his hand never stopped moving.
Hermione's curiosity grew unbearable.
Maybe I should just take a peek?
She crept up behind him on tiptoe.
[March 1, 1982 – 1:23 a.m., age 2 – wet the bed.]
[February 17, 1983 – 5:21 p.m., age 3 – cried after a rat scared me.]
[July 12, 1985 – 1:21 p.m., age 5 – woke up, couldn't find my parents, thought I'd been abandoned, cried for half an hour.]
[March 3, 1986 – 2:00 a.m., age 6 – dreamed I was on the toilet, wet the bed again.]
"Tom!" Hermione's face flushed scarlet.
She tried to snatch the paper, but Tom reacted like lightning, tucking it protectively against his chest. "Careful with your identity, Tom! What are you, a big man, trying to do to a delicate young lady like me?"
"You! Are! Writing! What?!"
Tom blinked innocently.
"Want me to read it out loud for you?"
"Jerk!! Throw that away right now—Incendio!"
Tom dodged nimbly and kept reading the mirror's records.
"Stop looking, Tom! You're so annoying!"
Hermione had imagined countless possibilities.
Given how hard Tom studied, she'd thought he would see himself as a successful future Minister for Magic!
Or maybe a professor at Hogwarts—he was so gentle and loved magic so much.
At the very least, returning to the Muggle world and living happily at the orphanage…
Or finding his parents…
But never—not once—had she imagined Tom seeing his own black history in the Mirror of Erised!
Those memories had been buried deep. Even her parents weren't allowed to mention them!
"You're still looking!" Hermione shouted, raising her fist.
"Wait!" Tom held up a hand to stop her. "Do you really think I'm that shallow?"
He tore the paper into pieces—his memory was good enough that two glances had already burned most of it in.
"Listen to me. What I wanted to know wasn't this. What the Mirror of Erised wanted to show me wasn't this either. You were just misled by the surface.
My deepest desire… is actually to understand you!
You're my best friend. I wanted to know what happened to you—because you never talk about it. I wanted to know about your primary-school days, the fights you had with friends, everything.
Hermione, you're an amazing person in my eyes. We're friends, right?"
"…Right."
Right?
Hermione suddenly sounded unsure.
"Trust me, Hermione. I wrote those things down, but the mirror actually showed a lot more. If you could see it, you'd understand."
Hermione huffed and turned her head away. "I'll believe you for now. But you are not allowed to look at this mirror again. Ever!"
"Deal. We can leave now. Professor Dumbledore is waiting for our report, right?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, but… what should we tell him?"
…
Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore had finally been joined by the two most troublesome children in the castle.
"Hermione, Tom, I'm sure you both saw something in the mirror. Since I brought you there, would you mind telling me what it showed you?"
Hermione (played by Tom): "Professor Dumbledore, I saw future me—around eighteen—becoming the youngest Minister for Magic.
I'm going to work hard from now on to make that happen."
Dumbledore's smile was radiant, white beard trembling with delight. "And you, Tom?"
Tom (played by Hermione): "Professor Dumbledore, I saw a future world at peace. No Dark wizards, no Azkaban, no criminals at all. Wizards and Muggles living together happily."
Even Hermione felt a little embarrassed saying it out loud.
"Ha—good, good. The Mirror of Erised only shows your heart's deepest desire. Never forget that, you two. Your future is in your own hands. Don't let illusions lead you astray."
"Then may your dreams come true here at Hogwarts."
After the two left, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, eyes twinkling.
Two little ones who didn't want to tell the truth…
But that was fine. His goal had already been achieved.
What they saw in the Mirror of Erised didn't matter. What mattered was whether their eyes had shown that flicker of desperate longing.
Clearly, neither of them had.
---
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