Slytherin Poison

thirteen

I found myself in a small classroom, hidden deeply in the castle. Not knowing why I felt drawn towards it, I slipped inside, noting that there were cobwebs in the corners.

My eyes skimmed the room before they landed on a mirror. I read the carved letters on instinct. 

The mirror of Erised. 

Erised was such a strange word.

It was a beautiful mirror, large and embroidered, and I couldn't help but wonder why it was here. Why was there a mirror in an abandoned classroom?

But that also wasn't accurate.

The mirror was shiny and new. As if it had been cleaned recently.

Stepping forward to it, I looked into it, expecting my own figure. Instead, it was something else. I drew closer to it, watching as figures formed in the reflection. I made out the faces instantly. Grandfather. Grandmother. Draco. Severus. And then it was...

My parents. 

I couldn't even move. My mother was stroking my hair. My father was placing a hand on Draco's shoulder. My friends in the background.

What was happening?

But that wasn't it. My eyes narrowed as I saw myself in the middle, laughing. Black flashed on my hand and then I saw it. It was a ring. A ring on my finger. 

And that ring. It was the Gaunts'-

"Miss Yvons," A soft voice said and I almost screamed, stumbling backward. "This mirror was just about to be moved. I had no idea anyone would find it at this moment."

My gaze ripped away from the mirror of Erised. My wand was instantly in my hand, pointed towards the direction of the voice. My heart pounded and I swallowed, waiting for whatever it was to come out. 

Then I realized it wasn't whatever. But whoever.

Emerging from the shadows, an old man with a white beard and long hair and spectacles reminding me of a moon peered at me. Serenely.

"Dumbledore," I said, before blushing. "Uh- I mean Professeur Dumbledore? No, I meant Headmaster-"

"It's quite alright," his eyes twinkled in amusement. I relaxed instantly, knowing that he wouldn't hurt me.

Then, I realized, he was trying to read my mind.

My mind instantly created a bubble and I felt Dumbledore's surprise as he recoiled from reading my mind. The effort to keep him out made me so drained that I gripped the nearest table to keep me steady.

"That is a violation of privacy," I gasped at him, glaring at the professor. "You- You had no right-"

"My apologies, Miss Yvons," he grimaced, after staring at me during my outburst. "You just reminded me that similar students in similar situations do not guarantee the same reactions."

I stared at him.

He's bleeding mad.

Maybe I am. I'm probably going insane.'

"Why are you here?" Dumbledore then asked me softly. "You should be leaving for the train. The school year term is over, Rosalyn."

"I was going down but decided to take an unused passageway because the other way was too crowded." Not a lie, but also not the whole truth. I was trying to find Draco but he disappeared.