Ronan when looked at the shelves of books before him, he was left befuddled. He was reading up on the second-year course, which he procured with the help of Daphne. So today, after the feast, he came to the Room of Requirement to study the stuff. To shape the room that he required, he asked for a room that he could use to study and practice fighting against dark arts. And in return, he found himself in a rather unfamiliar room.

The walls were lined with wooden bookcases and instead of chairs, there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments, which he did not recognize. He realized that the cushions might be there to practice stunning spells, but he didnt have anyone to test it on. But his main attention was on the shelves full of books at the other end of the room.

Excitedly he ran to the books to read their titles. He didnt know that this room could get him books as well. If he knew about it, he wouldn't have wasted so much of his time procuring the second-year course books.

The thing was, he didnt have any gold at the moment as it was in his vaults. Nor did he know anyone outside the school, from whom he could order the books. So he was stuck to asking seniors for help, and from the courtesy of Malfoy most people hesitated to lend him the books.

So he could only continue his studies by issuing the books from Library, which was easier said than done. When he tried to issue a second-year book, Madame Pince stared at him as if he had asked her for her kidney. She was reluctant to lend him stuff that was advance for him, she wanted him to read the book in the library and wasn't too keen on issuing him the book. It took him a lot of pleading, then she finally relented. But the thing was, a student could only issue one book at a time, which was not good for his studying.

Most subjects taught in the first two years are all related to each other. For example, in the first year, they studied how to treat the bites of werewolves. To treat them, one must know the recipe of a special potion, and one of the ingredients used in that potion could only be handled with a severing charm.

That is why, to understand the basic concepts he needed all the books at the same time to make sense of knowledge that he had absorbed.

Due to Library restrictions, he was having a problem, but as all of the Slytherins were going away for Christmas this year, one particular senior agreed to lend him, her books. And it was all due to Daphne…

Now that he had realized that this room could also give him books to read, it meant that he never had to go to the Library ever again. He went to one of the shelves and started reading the titles of the books,

A compendium of Common Curses, The Counter Actions, The Dark Arts Outsmarted... Wait a minute, I have read these titles before. I have seen them in the Library.

A string of frightening thoughts started popping up in his head. If this room provided him with Library books, then wouldn't it mean that these books would vanish from the Library if he took one of the books away from here? And if that happens, Madame Pince would chew him alive. There was also a possibility that this room could duplicate the books in the library and give him the duplicated version. If that was indeed true, then he could steal and make his collection of books, he liked the idea very much.

The most dangerous thought of them all was, if this room was able to provide him with the books of the library, wouldn't it mean that he would be able to get his hands on the books from restricted sections as well? If that is the case, then he needs to find out what this room is capable of, and then make some changes to his plan.

That night as he had planned, he started his routine by performing disarming charms on some dummies. Then he moved on to read the second-year course book that he had borrowed and lost track of time. By the time he was done for the day, he was exhausted. But he still had a job to do. He took a piece of parchment and wrote his name and date on it. He stuck that piece between the pages of A Compendium of Common Curses and then made his way outside.

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He didnt know what time it was, but he figured that it was a holiday, it didn't matter what time it was. The curfew wouldn't be in effect right about now. So he made his way to the library, he figured that he would check his theory and then go to bed. He wanted to see whether the Library’s version of A Compendium of Common Curses would have the piece of the parchment or not.

The library was pitch black and looked very eerie when he entered. He raised his wand, and whispered, “Lumos”

With the shine of his wand, he made his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section, which was just at the back of the Library, just beyond the Restricted Section. He started browsing the books, looking for the compendium, when he heard the door of the library was pushed open by someone. He clearly remembers that he had locked the door behind him.

“Nox” he whispered to extinguish the light and quickly hid behind the nearby shelf.

He didnt have to wait for long before he started hearing someone’s footsteps approaching. He figured that it must be Flich, and if he gets caught then he would be in some deep shit, after all, no one is allowed to enter the Library after it gets close and Madame Pince returns to her quarters.

Controlling his breathing, he peeked to his side, only to see a lamp floating in the air, above which was the head of Harry Potter.

“Harry?” he said out loud, which startled the poor boy and made him drop the lamp. Ronan then immediately cast Lumos and illuminated his wand. “What are you doing here?” he asked the boy, who still looked frightened.

“Me? What about you? What are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“I was just experimenting on some stuff… Speaking of which, how did you manage to turn yourself invisible?”

It is then realization hit Harry, he looked hesitant, but before he could speak, they started hearing sounds of footsteps coming from the corridor outside the Library. Ronan immediately blew off the light, and came to Harry, “What should we do?” he whispered.

“Come on in,” Harry then wrapped Ronan in the cloak as well, making them both invisible.

Both of them made their way to the main entrance of the Library where they met Filch. That old man’s pale wild eyes looked straight at them, for a second Ronan thought that Flich was able to see them. But both of them maintained their composure, and Filch simply went inside the library to check the source of the noise, leaving them behind. With that, both Harry and he started running while chuckling. It was a very thrilling experience for both of them.

They eventually found themselves in front of the suit of armor, which Harry didnt recognize, “Where are we?” he whispered, and before Ronan could answer, they heard some footsteps.

“You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around the night, and somebody’s been in the library’s restricted section.”

“The restricted section? Well, they can't be far, we’ll catch them.” They heard the voice of Professor Snape

The cloak made them invisible, but didnt stop them from being solid. So they knew that when Snape and Filch would make their way towards them, they might knock into them. Harry understood their predicament, and without exchanging any words, they both started shifting to their right, there was room there. The door of the room was ajar, so they could easily hide inside it.

When they entered the place, both of them held their breath, Snape could barge into the room at any moment. But as they heard their footsteps fading away, they finally sighed with relief. They took off their cloak and turned around. They were in an unused classroom, and most of the benches of the place were stacked to the side. There was a thick layer of dust on the blackboard in front. This place looked like it was not used in many years, but there was something in the room that looked out of place.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi…

Both of them were intrigued by the mirror, it was Harry who jumped in front of it first. As he looked into it, within a second the boy was startled. He abruptly turned around, which confused Ronan. Harry then moved closer to the mirror, trying to see something clearly.

“Mum?” he whispered. “Dad?”

“What? What are saying, Harry?” Ronan asked.

With moist eyes, Harry turned towards him, “My parents. I can see them in the mirror.”

He pushed the boy aside and stepped forward. Ronan didnt see Harry’s parents, but he saw himself, as an older self. He was standing in front of an average-sized house, and a little boy and a girl were standing beside him holding his hands. He didnt know what to make of the situation, so he turned to Harry. “I dont see your parents Harry. I just see myself, or an older version of myself.”

“No.” Harry then took his place, “Move aside. I can see them… They are standing behind me.”

He looked in the mirror, and nothing changed. He could still see himself. “Harry. I still cannot see them. I think this mirror’s purpose is not to show your family. It is something more.. Deep.”

Harry didnt budge, his eyes were stuck to the mirror, so he insited “I think we should leave Harry.”

The boy was reluctant at first but agreed. Under the guise of the cloak, they left the mirror and went to their dorms…