The Mirror Illusion

The trio shuffled along the small passageway on their knees. The hallway had turned slightly, and they could no longer see any light coming from the opening leading back to the library. Suddenly, Harry, who was leading the way, stopped, causing Ron to run face-first into him.

"Ugh! A little warning please, Harry?" Ron implored.

"Ron! Get your arse out of my face!" Hermione was in the back and had gotten a face-full of Ron-arse from the abrupt stop.

"Well, Hermione, if you hadn't been enjoying the view in front of you so much, you would have noticed that we stopped," Ron quipped.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at his accusations of her ogling him.

"Shhh... I don't know how well insulated these walls are. We don't want anyone hearing us," Harry warned in a loud whisper. "But look, it opens up here, and we can walk. Just watch out for the step down."

Harry sat back and out of his crawling position and slid off the step. Ron and Hermione followed and found that the passageway now allowed plenty of room to stand up. They found themselves in what appeared to be a small room, and up ahead the tunnel continued. They would be able to walk, but would have to follow it in single-file.

The room wasn't much bigger than the broom shed at the Burrow. There was a small table that stood up against one wall and held an old candelabrum, which obviously hadn't been used in ages. It was holding three candle stumps and was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"I wonder how long it's been since anyone has been down here," Hermione whispered.

"Dunno. We should continue though," Harry suggested. "Nothing interesting to see here."

They continued on, single-file. All three of them had their wands lit up now, and the sight of the cobwebs clinging to the walls was giving Ron the creeps. They only walked a short while before they noticed a bit of light coming from up ahead. They entered another small room, like the one before. But this one was lit up by a small window.

The three of them gathered around the window and peered inside. To their surprise, they were looking inside the drawing room.

"What is this?" Ron asked.

"Isn't there a mirror here? I mean on the other side of the wall in the room?" Even Hermione wasn't sure what it was.

"Wait, a two-way mirror? What would a two-way mirror be doing in the Black house?" Harry questioned.

"What's a two-way mirror?" Ron was confused.

"Well, obviously to spy. But if you're asking why someone here would have used a Muggle spying device, you've got me." Hermione was only slightly less confused than Ron.

"What's a two-way mirror?" Ron repeated.

Hermione began to explain the use of a two-way mirror and how it worked. Harry continued to watch the inside of the drawing room and noticed that members of the Order had begun filing inside. They were taking seats around the fireplace.

He hushed Hermione, who was now getting frustrated with Ron's lack of understanding, and gestured toward the room.

"Apparently, we found what we were looking for."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddled closer to the window. They were surprised by how well they could hear what was going on in the room and were now a lot more conscious of the noise they were making too.

Each of them nearly holding their breath, they listened intently to the meeting. Dumbledore was going over the newest bit of information he had on the Horcruxes. None of that was news to Harry, who had also been sharing all of his information with Ron and Hermione.

They sat through the rest of the meeting, which proved to be uneventful, and then slowly made their way back to the library. They agreed to keep their discovery between just the three of them and quickly began cleaning up the mess Hermione had made, making sure the trap door was as invisible as it had been before they found it.

*****

Over the next few weeks, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were constantly paying attention to what was going on in the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters. Not only was Draco visiting much too often for their comfort, but they had to be aware every time a meeting was starting up. When members began arriving at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, and those who were already there began filing into the drawing room, the trio would stop what they were doing to meet up in the library.

Unfortunately, there was never any mention of Draco's constant presence at the headquarters, but they did retain some other valuable information. Along with learning from Snape that Lucius' presence at recent Death Eater meetings had been scant, Voldemort had developed a new communication system for his followers. Each Death Eater had been given an identical necklace that they could use to communicate with one another. Voldemort could also use his own to find the location of any one of his followers whenever he wished. Unfortunately for the Order, this meant that Snape would have to spend much less time at Grimmauld Place and more time communicating with the Order through Floo from his own home at Spinner's End.

Of course, number twelve, Grimmauld Place was Unplottable, but spending large amounts of his time in Unplottable areas would look suspicious. He did show up for meetings when he could, like now, when he was sharing the news about the necklaces. He had brought his own for the members to see, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to get a good look at it too. The necklace consisted of an elegant, silver chain with an intricate, silver-framed emerald amulet hanging from it. Hermione had to admire the lovely piece of jewelry, but wondered who had picked it out. Surely Voldemort wouldn't choose something as feminine as an emerald necklace for his Death Eaters to carry about. She also seriously doubted that Voldemort had been the one to charm the amulets or even come up with the idea in the first place.

*****

Two days before the start of the new term, Dumbledore visited the returning students who were currently residing at Grimmauld Place to give them their booklists personally. Harry and Ron were in their shared room, packing, when he arrived. After giving them each their envelopes, Dumbledore asked where he could find Hermione. Both the boys shrugged and suggested the library.

"I wonder if Mum will actually let us leave the house to buy our own books. She's been so obsessively protective lately."

"Well, she is your mother, Ron," Harry pointed out. "Isn't it her job to protect you?"

"Yeah, but it's starting to be a real pain in the..."

Ron's voice broke off when they heard a loud scream come from somewhere in the house. They both recognized it immediately. "Hermione!"

Wands at the ready, Harry and Ron dashed down to the library to find a squealing Hermione hopping up and down on the couch in a very un-Hermione-like fashion. Dumbledore was smiling at her and chuckling with amusement.

"It seems Miss Granger is very happy with my news." Dumbledore nodded at Harry and Ron and exited the library.

Hermione leaped off the couch and ran to her friends. "I got it! I'm the new Head Girl!"

Harry and Ron blinked at her. They were still a bit bewildered by her extreme display of excitement and weren't sure what to say.

"So did you make Head Boy, Ron?"

Coming out of his daze, Ron began fumbling at his unopened envelope. "Dunno. I haven't opened it yet."

"Well, come on," urged Harry.

Ron suddenly became nervous and excited about the idea of being Head Boy. He hadn't thought about it all summer and forgot that, as a prefect, he was in the ranking to be the next Head Boy.

"Wouldn't that be great? We would get to share a common room, and Harry could come over all the time!" Hermione mused.

But Ron's shoulders visibly sank as he pulled the parchment from the envelope. Harry and Hermione peered over his shoulders. All that the envelope contained was the customary introductory letter from Dumbledore and the list of new books he would need to pick up.

Harry clapped a hand on his back. "Sorry, Ron."

"I don't understand why Dumbledore wouldn't have made you Head Boy," Hermione said, obviously disappointed. "You were the best candidate."

The three left the library and saw Dumbledore greeting Malfoy in the entry hall. The headmaster was grinning while Malfoy opened his own envelope and pulled out a green and silver Head Boy badge.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione gaped at the scene before them. How could Dumbledore have chosen Malfoy over Ron for Head Boy? Ron turned on his heel and strode away furiously. Harry followed him, and Hermione remained where she was. After a moment, Dumbledore shook Malfoy's hand and walked away into the house, winking at Hermione as he moved past her.

Malfoy was still looking down at his badge when Hermione walked towards him. "Congratulations on making Head Boy." She held out her hand stiffly.

Mafloy glared at her hand and then at her. Tucking his envelope into his robes, he replied coolly, "Yes, it seems Dumbledore isn't quite as senile as my father likes to believe. I just hope the Head Girl is tolerable enough to share living space with."

Hermione's hand dropped to her side. "I regret to inform you, Malfoy, that you will be sharing a common room with me this year," she said through gritted teeth. "I hope this doesn't offend you," she added sarcastically.

"Just try not to shed on the couches, Granger." He flicked at a piece of her curly hair and pushed past her.

"If you're looking for Snape, you won't find him here, Malfoy," Hermione called to his back.

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "So I've heard. I've just come to retrieve something I left here yesterday. So if you'll excuse me..."

Hermione clenched her fists and strode towards him. "So you've heard!? You don't mean to tell me that he has been informing you on matters to do with the Order!?"

"On a need-to-know basis, yes." His tone was surly and cold.

"Reporting everything back to your Death Eater father, Malfoy!?"

Malfoy charged at her. He was bristling with anger, and Hermione immediately grabbed her wand.

"Mind your own business, Mud..." Malfoy's voice faltered and hesitancy flickered in his gray eyes. He knew Hermione noticed this, and so he pushed past her and out the front door.

TBC