Mirror of Erised

> "*The Mirror of Erised is an ancient, ornate mirror. It has clawed feet and a gold frame inscribed with the phrase "* Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi*." The mirror shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart, a vision that has been known to drive men mad.*"
> ― Description[source]
>
>

The **Mirror of Erised** was a magical mirror, which, according to Albus Dumbledore, shows the "*deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts*." The name "Erised" is "desire" spelled backwards, as if reflected in a mirror. The happiest and most satisfied person in the world would look in the mirror and see a reflection of them, exactly as they were, for they would then have no one and nothing more to yearn or desire for that the mirror could ever show them. But of course, it is intrinsically inherent for human nature to desire something greater than one's own self - meaning that an event wherein the mirror fails to carry out its intended purpose rarely, if at all, happens.

The writing engraved on the frame of the mirror was supposedly in a foreign and probably dead language, but if one looked closely it said "*I show not your face but your heart's desire*" backwards, with the spaces rearranged. *Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.*

## History

### Early history

> "*Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible.*"
> ― Albus Dumbledore explaining the danger of the mirror to Harry Potter[source]
>
>

The Mirror of Erised was created before the end of the nineteenth century. It is unknown who the creator was. The mirror is one of those magical artefacts that seems to have been created in a spirit of fun (whether innocent or malevolent is a matter of opinion), because while it is much more revealing than a normal mirror, it is interesting rather than useful.

Indeed, it became grimly apparent over the years that the mirror could bring more harm than good; many wasted their lives before the mirror, losing track of reality as they were deluded by what they saw and unable or unwilling to accept it as mere fantasy. Some were even driven mad by seeing their most desperate desire presented before them as a mere image confined within the frames of the mirror, unable to achieve what they are witnessing.

It is unknown how it came to be at Hogwarts. A succession of teachers have brought back interesting artefacts from their travels, so it might have arrived at the castle in this casual manner, either because the teacher knew how it worked and was intrigued by it, or because they did not understand it and wished to ask their colleagues' opinions. The Mirror had been kept in the Room of Requirement since around 1891.

In September of 1927, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Albus Dumbledore looked into the mirror and saw his former best friend, Gellert Grindelwald, indicating he still has lingering feelings for him, as well an old memory of himself and Grindelwald in a barn where they made a blood pact; swearing an oath never to fight each other, showing that Albus still valued that memory, manifested before him by the mirror as his greatest desire, of the time when his friendship with Gellert was at its strongest that led to the two of them cementing it with the pact in the first place.

64 years later, in 1991, Dumbledore, now headmaster, had brought it out, and, tucking it out of sight in a disused classroom, initiated some key modifications to the mirror, so that it could hide the Philosopher's Stone.

### 1991-1992

> "*It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.*"
> ― Albus Dumbledore, when he discovers that Harry has been using the Mirror[source]
>
>

The Mirror was discovered by Harry Potter on the night that he used his father's Invisibility Cloak for the first time, to search the restricted section of the library for information about Nicolas Flamel. In his attempt to stay hidden from Argus Filch, the school caretaker, he stumbled upon the classroom where the mirror was being stored. Upon looking into it, Harry saw his late parents, Lily and James Potter. On his next midnight visit to the mirror, he brought Ronald Weasley, hoping to show him his family. However, Ron saw himself as the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Head Boy, holding up the Quidditch Cup, as he has always been overshadowed by his brothers and is always striving to be noticed by others.

Over the next few days, Harry proceeded to visit it as often as he could to see his parents' faces; the Mirror also occupied his thoughts beyond anything else, to the extent that he disregarded Ron's warning that he was growing obsessed with it. Dumbledore found Harry visiting the mirror one night, and after explaining to Harry what the mirror was all about, told him that the mirror was to be moved and requested that Harry not go looking for it. Before heading back to bed, Harry asked Dumbledore what he saw when he looked into the mirror. Dumbledore claimed to see himself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks, telling Harry that "*one can never have enough socks*." If this had been true, it would suggest that Dumbledore was so content with life that the only things he wished for were small things. However, Dumbledore was lying — the matter being a very personal one. Unbeknownst to Harry, for a long time, Dumbledore’s greatest desire was to be with his former lover, Gellert Grindelwald. But, by 1998, as revealed to Harry, Dumbledore, having come to terms with his guilt over his sister’s death, saw his family whole and intact, free of any pain or suffering. It is unknown if Grindelwald, as a redeemed man, was included in these later reflections.

> "*He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket — and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow — incredibly — he’d gotten the Stone.*"
> ― Harry gaining the Philosopher's stone by looking into the Mirror of Erised[source]
>
>

In 1992, the Mirror was the final guardian of the Philosopher's Stone in its Chambers. Dumbledore placed an enchantment on the mirror, hiding the stone inside of it, and allowing the mirror to transfer the stone only to one who wanted to find the stone but not to use it. Anybody wishing more than simply to find it would see themselves making gold or the Elixir of Life, or in Professor Quirrell's case presenting the stone to his master. This is because the greatest desire of anyone wanting to use the stone would not have their greatest desire to be finding it in the first place; anyone just wanting to find the stone but not use it would thus have their greatest desire to find the stone thus have their wish granted.

When Professor Quirrell ordered Harry to look into the mirror, Harry focused on finding the stone, and, uninterested in actually using the stone for his own purposes, saw his reflection pocketing the stone, at which time it magically appeared in his real pocket.

It is not known what happened to the mirror after these events. It might have stayed in the chamber or returned to its classroom.

## Powers

> "*Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?*"
> ― Albus Dumbledore explaining the Mirrors powers to Harry Potter[source]
>
>

The Mirror shows the greatest desire of the one looking into it upon its surface, often with them having achieved some goal or ambition. However, since each person is unique, only they can likewise see it from their point of view and no one else. According to Albus Dumbledore, the Mirror shows neither truth nor knowledge (though it can if the subject being or question what is is it that the person most desires), and some have in fact gone mad from staring at it. Additionally, in time what a person sees in the Mirror can change, if that person's greatest desire changes. Dumbledore later bewitched the Mirror to hold the Philosopher's Stone, where the only one who could retrieve it from the Mirror would be one who wanted to find the Stone but not use it or have it used.

## Etymology

The word "Erised" (pronounced *eer-eh-said*) is "desire" spelled backwards, meaning the name could also be known as the "Mirror of Desire". The backwards spelling symbolises how mirror reflections flip images around (for example, "erised" when reflected in a mirror spells "desire"). However, because this is no ordinary mirror, the text also shows how the mirror is very different from standard mirrors, in the way that it shows the inner desires and not the outside appearance of a person.