My One and Only

Chapter 8 - Year 1

"I WISH YOU COULD TELL ME WHERE WE'RE GOING." Maia whispered, wincing as Ron stepped on her slipper covered toes.

"Sorry." He murmured and she shrugged him off as best as she could without throwing the invisibility cloak off of them all.

"It's a surprise." Harry said, his voice giddy and eyes shining. Maia couldn't find it in her to argue with him when he looked so happy, so she shut her mouth and let him guide her through the empty corridors. He led them into a classroom and waited until the door was securely shut before letting the cloak fall from their shoulders.

"You dragged me out of bed at this hour to bring me to an old classroom?" Maia asked, dragging her fingers over the top of one of the desks against the wall and wincing as dust lifted with the movement.

"Its not about where we are." Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Its about what's inside." He placed his hands gently on Maia's shoulders and guided her to the end of the room where a mirror sat, Latin words sprawled across the top. He situated her directly in the center and pointed to the glass, a wide smile on his face. "See?"

Maia resisted the urge to sigh and followed her brother's finger to the dusty glass. She could look at her reflection in her bathroom, she didn't need to sneak through the castle for that. But it wasn't her reflection that she saw as she peered at the glass, and she felt the air leave her lungs in a sharp gasp.

There she was, clad in a pair of flannel pants, brown slippers, and her Weasley sweater, her hair disheveled and eyes tired. Harry stood on her left, hair just as messy, face nearly split from how wide he was grinning. Behind them stood two figures, a man and a woman. The man's smile was identical to Harry's, and he reached forward and placed his hands on the young boy's shoulders. The woman stood behind Maia, her hair not quite as red as the Weasley's, but beautiful nonetheless. Her eyes were bright green orbs that matched the twins' perfectly, and she smiled softly down at them. Her fingers combed gently through Maia's hair, but as Maia reached up to grab onto the woman's hand, she found nothing but her own scalp.

Her mother smiled sadly at her and stilled her movements, letting her hand drop onto her daughter's shoulders. Maia blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see more figures had appeared in the mirror. Mrs. Weasley stood to the right of her mother, a warm smile on her lips. Her arms were wrapped around Ron, who squirmed in his mother's grip, his face as red as his hair. Hermione stood next to Maia and she laced her fingers through the dark haired girl's. Fred and George shoved each other playfully from their spot beside Maia's father, and they grinned and waved to her when they noticed she was staring.

"Do you see them?" Harry asked, startling Maia as she'd forgotten her brother was actually there, and not just an image in a mirror.

"What is this?" she whispered, her fingers reached out to brush the cool glass. A warm hum passed through her skin and she longed to melt into the glass and make what she was seeing a reality.

"I want to see." Ron interrupted, oblivious to the wave of emotions waving over Maia. He shouldered her out of the way and his jaw fell slack. Harry glanced at his sister, who was frozen in place, staring in the mirror. She could no longer see her parents, as she was no longer directly in front of the mirror, and her chest ached. She felt the loss of them in her heart, her body growing cold, and she shivered.

"Bloody hell!" Ron breathed, his mouth agape.

"Do you see them? Our parents?" Harry asked, fidgeting to keep from pushing Ron out of the way so he could see his mother's kind eyes once more.

"No, its just me, but I'm older. And I'm Head Boy! I've got the badge and everything! Merlin, I've won the Quidditch World Cup!"

"What?" Harry shook his head. "That doesn't make sense."