Adopted by the Malfoy's {Harry Potter fanfic}

15. The mirror of Erised

Chapter 15: The mirror of Erised

Chapter 15: The mirror of Erised

That night Lexie was seated before the fireplace reading the new book that Harry had gifted her when she heard a noise and glanced up. "Hello?"

She looked around the room but saw nothing and frowned, she was sure she'd heard something. She turned back to her book. Her mind strayed to earlier that morning when Fred and George had come in to visit Ron and Harry, both wearing initialized sweaters. George had smiled widely at her and brushed a kiss over her cheek before she could utter a word. He stepped back, said "Happy Christmas Alexis," and was gone up the stairs before she could react. It was only after glancing up that she noticed a sprig of mistletoe floating above her head and she blushed. Trust George to come up with such an idea, she thought.

Her attention was brought back into focus when she heard the Fat Lady ask who was there, and Lexie watched the portrait slide closed and heard nothing in reply. Now she was confused, something had opened and closed the portrait, unless they both were mistaken? She decided to wait, just to see...what for exactly she didn't know. Lexie waited half the night it seemed when finally, like before, the portrait opened and closed on its own.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" She looked around frantically, certain now that it must be a ghost or something. All of a sudden, before her stood—"Harry?"

Harry took off his cloak, looking at his friend wide-eyed. He had been so excited to try out his father's old cloak for the first time that he had sped right past where Lexie now sat without seeing her. "Lexie? What are you doing out of bed?"

"I could ask you the same question," the girl replied, arching a slim eyebrow at him.

"I was..er.."

"How did you get out of the Common room before?" Lexie looked down at the silvery bundle in his arms, "What's that?"

"Its an invisibility cloak, it was my dad's." Harry hesitated then pulled the cloak on and she let out a soft cry of surprise. "I wanted to see if it worked," he explained as he took it off once more and came toward her to sit and tell her of his adventure.

"Where did you go?" Lexie was fascinated, the wizarding world never failed to surprise her, and while she wasn't sure she liked the idea of Harry wandering the castle after hours, she was amazed by his tale. The Mirror intrigued her, and made her wonder what she'd see if she stood before it. Her parents?

"Do you want to come next time?" Harry asked, caught up in his story as he relayed it. "I can show you my family and maybe you'll be able to see what yours look like." He said this last carefully, hoping his friend wouldn't get upset once more.

Lexie shook her head sadly. "No, I'd rather not." Harry shined his bewilderment and she went on to explain. "I want to, don't get me wrong, I really do. But I just don't think I could bear to see them and then have to turn around and they not be there."

Harry hugged her, he understood now, she didn't want to feel what he had. "I haven't even looked at my dad's journal," she whispered.

"I'm going back tomorrow night if you change your mind," Harry offered. It had been hard to see his family but it also filled him with such happiness too. Lexie didn't respond and Harry stood, took the cloak, and headed up the stairs to his dormitory to wake Ron.

Gazing into the fire, Lexie stayed for a while, thinking it over. Then she stood, went upstairs, sat on her bed and closed the curtains, and opened her father's journal. Now that she had admitted her fear aloud to Harry, she felt strong enough to take the first step toward facing it. She lit her wand and set it beside her and settled back to read.