#there are endless routes you could take with the erised thing

[oatmilkbasic]

may 22: locked in a room | @wolfstarmicrofic | word count: 295

Things were not going well for Remus and Sirius. 

The prank set-up had been successful, obviously. Everything was ready to be triggered at a moment’s (or, more accurately, the moment Slytherins left the dungeon) notice. The only problem, then, was the imminent threat of getting caught. Things would be going smoothly if not for—

“That bloody cat,” Remus grumbled. Mrs. Norris’s grating meows echoed down the dark hallways, and a glance at the map confirmed that Filch wasn’t far behind. 

“Here!” Sirius hissed, grabbing Remus’s wrist and tugging him behind a tapestry. Remus was ready to object— hiding behind a tapestry, as if the cat couldn’t sniff them out, seriously?— but the wall opened up into a room. 

“Great, now we’re cornered,” Remus sighed, listening to the muffled yowls from the other side of the door. But Sirius wasn’t listening. They’d stumbled upon a densely cluttered room perfect for hiding— though if Filch’s pacing and apparently befuddled dot on the map was any indication, they were safe as it was. 

“I think we’ve found the Room of Requirement, Moony,” Sirius said. “Blimey, look at this!” 

Remus sighed, resigning to staying virtually locked in for who knew how long, and joined Sirius beside a dusty, tarnished mirror. “What’s this?” 

“Mirror of Erised,” Sirius replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ve heard stories about it. Didn’t think it was real, though. They say it shows your deepest desire.”

Remus frowned. It looked like an awfully ordinary mirror to him. His and Sirius’s faces stared back, the same as reality— his skin still scarred, his sweater still threadbare. In the mirror, Sirius turned and smiled softly, tenderly, at him despite it.

“Rubbish,” Remus declared. “I don’t see anything different.”