This story will cover the character's visions of the Mirror of Erised of those whom I most wanted to see. As series of one-shots, some may be inter-related, some may be independent. Chronological order will not matter.

Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore

Harry, it seemed, had an unhealthy infatuation with the mirror. As he strode towards the empty, unused classroom to look for the Mirror, little did he know that he was being tailed by none other than the Headmaster of the greatest wizarding school in history. Dumbledore couldn't see him, but he certainly could tail him. It wasn't the first time Albus had been required to follow an invisible person, and Harry was no professional. He made loud noises with his feet, despite trying to control that, and his breathing was certainly audible. As soon as the eleven year old boy ducked into the classroom, Dumbledore caught the closing door with his foot, as nimbly as a young man could. He quickly cast a Disillusionment charm on himself, and made his way inside the abandoned room, closing the door behind him.

What he saw was quite disturbing. Harry had taken off the cloak; it was lying beside him, unthought-of. Harry himself gawked at the mirror before him. Albus knew better than to look into the mirror, but it caught his gaze anyway. He gasped silently, and stared at the reflection.

Staring back at him was a beautiful fourteen year old girl. She had dirty blonde hair that reached the middle of her back, a fair complexion, and soft brown eyes. She wore a slim ankle length dress, with short sleeves, and she had her hair tied back. She was bare foot, and Albus saw that her feet stood on grass. Albus tried not to look the girl in the eye, and instead focused on the backdrop. Big Mistake.

He saw a small brick house, with two windows and a wooden door that hanged, an couldn't close properly. A chimney jutted out, with white smoke pouring out of it. A brown and fading picket fence bordered the grounds of the home, and the grass grew green and tall, so it reached the girl's ankles. The girl smiled at Albus, as though she could see right through the Disillusionment Charm.

Albus's mind traveled back to the last day he had talked to Ariana. A proper, brother to sister talk was rare, as Albus was away a lot, but when it came around, Ariana and Albus cherished every moment of it.

He walked down the short corridor, and stopped in front of a decaying wooden door. He had just received word from his brother that Ariana had another fit. Albus was confused and enraged when he heard the news. He had been travelling around the world with Gellert, gaining knowledge from different wizards and witches. He had gone to the furthest corners of Eurasia, trying to find a way, any way, to cure Ariana of her ailment. He knew the Healers at St. Mungos could only delay the malady that afflicted his sister. Albus had gone through the darkest books, the most well kept secrets, yet he found nothing. At his brother's insistence he came home and found that he was too late. An enraged Ariana had caused an explosion causing the roof of the cellar to fall. She was rescued from the rubble by Aberforth, but Kendra was crushed by the debris. Her body was recovered, mangled and broken. Ariana could not stop screaming and crying. Eventually, after the funeral, she fell asleep.

Carefully, he knocked on the door. 'Come in,' a broken voice answered. Ariana laid on her bed, with the covers covering everything but her face, and feet.

'Do you hate me, Albus?' she asked. The eldest brother wanted to cry.

'No, Ariana. I love you. This...our mother's death... it was not your fault. It was those kids. The ones who...' Albus could not complete the sentence, so he started over. 'Listen, Ariana. Whatever you did, it was an accident. Y-you weren't in control. If anything, it's m-my fault. I should've been there for you. I shouldn't have dumped you on Aberforth. I'm the eldest. You, Aberforth, this house, it was my responsibility. I've failed you.'

Ariana shook her head vehemently. 'No, Al. It's not. Maybe we can get past this. We can try to mend things. I just wish I could see Father.'

Albus shuddered. 'You know we can't. He's in Azkaban, surrounded by dementors. With your ailment, and the Dementor's effect on happiness, and emotions, I don't know what will happen. Besides, Father made his decision. Tell you what, you're birtdays coming up, isn't it? What do you want?'

Ariana, for the first time in months, laughed. 'You know my birthday isn't for another three months, Al!'

Albus shrugged and grinned. 'You can have a second birthday, two in one year! How about it? So, tell me, what do you want?

Ariana, with mocked seriousness, replied, 'Socks. Thick, woolen, socks.'

Albus chuckled. 'Socks?' he asked incredulously.

Ariana opened her mouth to answer.

At that moment, Albus snapped out of it. He looked back at the mirror and saw that three more figures had joined him and Ariana in the mirror. It was his father, Percival, mother; Kendra, and brother; Aberforth. Albus shook his head, and removed his Disillusionment Charm.

'Back again, Harry?' he asked, announcing his presence to the young boy. The eleve year old quickly jumped to his feet, and turned his back to the mirror. Albus could still see his family in the mirror. His father hugged Kendra, and Ariana. The little girl gave Albus a mischievous wink.

'I see that you, like many before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised,' the headmaster stated. 'I trust, by know, that you realise what it does.' Harry shook his head.

'Let me give you a clue,' Dumbledore started, 'the happiest man on earth would look into the mirror, and see only himself, exactly as he is.'

'So,' Harry started, beginning to catch on, 'it shows us what we want? Whatever we want?'

'Yes, and no,' Dumbledore answered cryptically. 'It shows, nothing more, or nothing less, than the deepest, and most desperate, desires of our hearts. Now you, Harry, who have never known family, see them standing beside you.' Dumbledore looked Harry in the eye and marveled how similar he was to his foe, Tom Riddle Jr. They were both orphaned, and they both never knew family. The led sad lives, with nobody to love them. The only difference, and the most significant difference between any two parties, is that Harry knew what it was like to love. He found friends, and cherished them. Voldemort never made friends, only allies and minions.

'But know this Harry,' the wise man continued, 'neither gives us knowledge, nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it. That is why it will be moved to a new home tomorrow. And, I must ask you, not to go looking for it again. It does not do good to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.'

The boy looked down at the floor. Dumbledore trusted that Harry would take his advice, but he couldn't be sure. The lure of the mirror was very powerful, and he was asking an eleven year old boy to do what many men failed to; show restraint.

'Professor, can I ask you a question?' Harry asked.

'It seems that you already have. But you may ask me another one if you wish,' was the old man's reply.

'What do you see, in the mirror?'

Dumbledore almost burst out laughing. The boy was essentially asking his heart's greatest desire. 'I see myself holding a pair of thick woolen socks.'

'Socks?' Harry repeated incredulously, mirroring Dumbledore all those years ago.

Albus opened his mouth to answer

'One can never have too many socks,' she said, keeping her faux serious tone intact. She was dead one week later.

This turned out longer than planned. Feel free to suggest characters if you wish.