i just finished reading the first book again and i started to wonder about the mirror of erised. dont you think that it is like a dementer? i mean a dementer shows you your deepest fear but the mirror of erised shows you deepest desire. maybe they are related or something, maybe they arent. why would dumbledore have the mirror of erised in hogwarts in the first place?? that brings on another question, what did dumbledore see in the mirror. ok, he said that he saw socks. but can you really believe that? i thought that he should have seen voldemort being destroyed or something. why socks??

Isn't it a boggart that shows you your biggest fear?

I agree, there's probably more to the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore probably brought it to Hogwarts to protect the Sorcerer's Stone, but there may be more than that. Where did it go after the Stone was destroyed? Is it still in Hogwarts? I don't think we know the answer to that. Maybe it'll come in handy in a future book.

As for Dumbledore, I don't know what his deepest desire is. The thing about socks seems pretty reasonable for DD, I think. He is a very wise and learned wizard, but he doesn't take life too seriously. His whole thoughts aren't focused on destroying Voldemort (at least I hope not).

yeh, a boggart shows you your biggest fear, but that is another thing. doesnt a dementer let you feel your deepest sadness or something like that? the dementor takes more emotion in it than just a boggart. and the mirror gives emotion...anyone understand or am i confusing??lol

Don't you mean it's like the opposite of a Boggart? Those are the thingies that turn into whatever you fear most. (edit: I'm a slow typer. Cross-post)

Boy, you certainly have alot of mirror queations there! I wonder who made the thing in the first place, how they did it, and why.

As for what Dumbledore actually sees in the mirror, I suspect it's probably those people he cares about growing up and growing old without having to suffer the violence of war. Dumbledore has had to make some hard decisions about innocent people being sacrificed for the Greater Good. It must weigh on him terribly.

yeh everyone looks to dumbledore for everything. maybe he see's peace or something, like a better magical world

socks...hmm...do you think it might symbolize something? i mean, there are socks mentioned throughout the books a couple of times...oops, got off topic! well whatever dumbledore see's, i am not so sure it is socks

About the emotions tied to magic, we've only seen Harry do magic by accident because of emotion. Then again, the story is told in Harry's perspective. Good point Mrs. Brisbee!

why do you think it was made in the first place? i think that maybe they got something by useing it.

I totally think the mirror of erised shows whats GOIGN to happen, cause look at what ron saw. hes prefect now (well on his way to becoming head boy) they wont the quiditch cup and i think therew as soemthing about a house cup too? idk i cant remember
i dont knwo about harry and his parents though, but thats why i dont write the books and the worlds most ingenious genious does!
Muchos Props to JKR

i dont think that harry will be able to see his parents in bodily form because it is something that he truely wants, and is his deepest desire. maybe he will get something else, like he got the srcerers stone.

You know...something suddenly struck my mind.

When the mirror was firstly introduced, Harry saw his parents. But when he stand in front of it when Quirrel asked him to, he saw that he was holding the stone and the stone magically appear in his pocket.

Did Dumbledore cast a spell on the mirror somehow, so that it doesn't shows people's deepest desire anymore...instead it shows people 'who wants it but doesn't want to use it' holding the stone. If I'm not mistaken, Quirrel said, when he was standing in front of the mirror, he can only sees himself and nothing else. No deepest desire...

If the mirror can be recast with different spell, perhaps it could serve its purpose again in later books?? But of course, LV won't be easily fooled twice...

Good point zyra! A very thought-provoking question.

I was thinking maybe, at that very moment when Harry was with Quirrel, that his biggest desire was to find the stone. So maybe the mirror goes with your biggest desire at the moment you look upon the mirror?

Or of course, Dumbledore could have enchanted it as you said Zyra. Well if Voldemort can't be fooled twice, maybe one of his less-intelligent followers will fall into the hands of the mirror.

At the end, where did Dumbledore say the mirror went? It went to a "safe place", or something? If it is in a "safe place", we know that things are never safe with the Dark Lord roaming around. What if Voldemort stumbles upon it and enchants it some way so that it is used against the Order?

it'll probabaly be hard for him becuase it would be something that he really wants. if he didnt really care about the order, then maybe he could get what he wanted.

Maybe the person who said it was showing the futur was right...


I mean Ron saw him as a prefect and he also saw that he was going to win the Quidditch cup...

Harry can die then and he would be with James and Lily..?

Or

Voldemort told him that together they could bring them back, was it true?After all Voldemort was almost dead..

I'm really sorry for double post but I've found something that I would like to share it with you guys...

From the book 'The Magical World of Harry Potter : A Treasury of Myths, Legends and Fascinating Facts', I found a paragraph that I find too interesting not to share...

hmm I do like this idea. Not only does it make sense, but it gives the mirror a purpose (because now the mirror is sort of granting wishes instead of sitting there and driving people mad).

The one thing is that with this the mirror gave Harry the Stone, while in the book Dumbledore says that it is set up so that someone who wants the stone but not to use it can get it. Although, I guess that you could even make that work out. For instance, the mirror was right there in front of Harry and since his greatest desire was to have the Stone but not to use it the Mirror granted the wish while if you wanted to use the Stone that isn't a 'selfless act' so the Mirror wouldn't grant that wish.

The Mirror makes more sense also because then if Dumbledore just set up a spell so that anyone who want the Stone but didn't want to use it can get it then the Stone could have just appeared in Harry's pocket before he even got past Fluffy. So the Mirror thing makes a lot more sense and makes it a lot more logical.

That is a very intriguing idea...I like it.

However then, I don't think that the Mirror will give Ron what he wants, because what Ron wants is totally for himself. Harry wanted the Stone not for himself, but for a higher purpose....anyway. I think the Mirror definately has a way of checking on someone's motives. So then it would make sense that Legilimency went into the making of the Mirror....

The following was a post made by mary498 in a thread that has now been closed.

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in COS, remember how dumbledore told harry he saw himself in the mirror with new socks? and harry had the feeling that dumbledore's answer was "not entirely truthful," but then he realized how personal of a question it was...

so my question to everyone here is - what do you think dumbledore sees when he looks into the mirror? i've thought about this question ever since i read that part, and i think it's one of those things that was too significant an omission for jkr not to bring it up again some time in the last two books.

my own personal theory: after reading dumbledore's speech at the end of OOTP, i think it has to do with harry, and the responsibility he has had to place on harry's shoulders. when you think about it, dumbledore is an almost divine figure in the story. we don't see him as having any flaws, except for when it comes to his affection for harry. it seems like his only real weakness is his affection for harry and the fact that it leads him to not tell harry the prophecy. i think of all the things in the world, what dumbledore most desires is that HE could be the chosen one, the only wizard with the ability to kill voldemort, so that he could take the horrible responsibility on himself and not put it on the shoulders of a young man that he's come to love almost as a son. so therefore he would look into the mirror and see himself killing voldemort - or maybe he would see harry living a normal, peaceful life... what do you guys think??

Below is a post made by QueenWeasley on a topic that has been locked. Any reply should be refer back to her. Thanks.
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Remember when Harry and Ron looked into the Mirror of Erised? What if some how, if you really want it to happen, the Mirror of Erised not only shows you your heart's desire, but it also portrays your fate or your future? Could Ron's and Harry's experience possibly be foreshadowing?

Harry saw himself surrounded by his family. What if he experiences that in the future books? I know it's impossible even in the Wizarding World for somebody to come back to life, what if he's surrounded by memories of them?

It has happened, come to think of it, in GoF, his parents "ghosts" or "memories" were there with Harry during Priori Incatatem.

I also think that it has been proven of being capable of showing the future or your fate. In PS, Harry saw himself holding the Philosopher's Stone and putting it in his pocket. Surprisingly, the Stone appeared in his pocket.

Now how about Ickle Ronniekin's dream? Of receiving fame, accomplishment and being proud for once. Which includes things that you get honoured for at Hogwarts which for him the most important things are winning the Quidditch Cup and being the captain of the Quidditch team. Now, my little Weasley here has proven Hogwarts what he is capable of achieving in that last game they had which gave "Weasley is our King" a positive side. Starting to see some progress huh? Now I might be overreacting but this does sound suspicious, especially with JKR and her little bits of foreshadowing, I'm almost certain that Weasley will be captain (he's already won the Cup)


I love those paragraphs. I can see a big bubble of fame heading Ron's way. Does this mean that the Mirror of Erised shows the future? What kind of effect do you think that this would have on HBP? Do you think Harry's gonna have another meeting with his dead family?

I wanna hear what you have to say about this

I agree with Dana that what Dumbledore sees in the mirror has to be significant, even if it does turn out to be socks. (though I dont think it is)
In which case, it really does have to make another apearance in the books, or at the very least, Dumbledore may use the truth of what he sees in Erised as a means of explaining something poinient to Harry.

I think the main focus should still be that the mirror only shows you your 'deepest and most desperate desires' cos I think that in itself is powerful enough magic. The fact that what Ron saw looks to be coming true is more of a reflection (pardon the pun) of what motivates Ron. Who he is. But lets not forget it hasn't come to fuition yet, and may never.

And all this begs the question 'What does Dumbledore see?' as Dana asked. I like the idea that it is something to do with Harry. When you first read PS, you are not aware of how important the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore is. It's still so early in the saga that the enormity of Harry's destiny eludes you. However upon re-reading the PS, armed with the knowlege of all five books, it's clearer that Dumbledore has known much that we have not about what Harry will have to face.

I think Dd has great empathy for Harry's plight and his love of the boy has grown much over Harry's years at Hogwarts. Harry has proven he has a pure heart and Dd has seen this. It makes a lot of sense that the one thing Dd would desire the most is to take Harrys place, (see Dana's post) and to relieve an innocent boy of the horrific destiny that awaits him.

Anyway, I think we have not seen (or heard of) the last of the mirror of Erised.

If Harry doesn't go back to hogwarts or doesn't play Quidditch again (JKR said no more game descriptions), then it makes sense for Ron to become capitan as well as head boy, win the cup and thus gain eveything he saw in the mirror of erised in book one.

If Harry ends up with Ginny and has a boy he will have gained pretty much what he saw in the mirror too (his mum had red hair), just from a slightly different perspective.

I think in the first book DD says something like "this mirror doesnt show the future.." not the exact words but something like that...or maybe ron says it...lol or maybe it was Harry. I dont know, i just know someone says it.

I don't think Rowling would let the mirror be forshadowing when they have already said its not the future. I guess it could happen tho as kind of an irony.

I see what your getting at, and it could happen, but i doubt that if hogwarts does open again in the next book, i doubt quidditch will be played. Simply because it's too dangerous to be doing it in these troubles times. lol.
And DD did emphasise strongly on the whole "it shows not the future, but more or less the deepest desires of our hearts" so i can't JKR making this a whole forshadowing thing. I don't know, i think it will give off the wrong message.

I don't recall Dumbledore saying anything about it not showing the future

"It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible"


Ron gets his deepest desire and Harry gets close to it

bajab, but Ron's not gonna come back to Hogwarts and I don't think that all of them will be as interested in Quidditch as they used to be. And correct me if I'm wrong but I guess i've read somewhere that Rowling said that there wouldn't be any Quidditch matches in part7.

bubotuber_pus, I think JKR said she wasn't going to write any more quidditch match descriptions, not that there would not be any more matches. Ron telling Harry he and Hermione would go "wherever you're going" doesn't necessarily mean they are not going back to school (to me), just that when Harry goes to 'special' places or confrontations they will go with him. If Hogwarts opens again I just can't see Hermione not going back, too radical for her.

Harry might still change his mind too, or have it changed for him, but I think Ron and Hermione will go back, at least at the start of the year.

I really don't think Hogwarts will open in book 7. I think by then the war will be in full feldge and Harry, hermoine, and Ron will go in search of the Horcruxes.

On topic though i do think the mirror will come back into play. Otherwise JKR wouldnt have put it in such esteem. Maybe Harry will look into it and be able to find where Ravenclaw's object is (or what it is). Since he is in essence the "champion of Hogwarts" the founders would try to help him along. Even if it is just the magic they left behind.

I do see where you're trying to link the pieces together with this, bajab, but I don't think that will be the case. To echo some of you, JKR said there will be no more quidditch matches, and Ron and Hermione said they would accompany Harry on his quest. And the fact that the mirror only shows us our hearts greatest desires, I think that if we were to see the mirror again, perhaps it will show Harry finding the locations of the horcruxes- showing him the locations they reside. But other than that, I'm really not sure it holds.

I don't think we will see the mirror again either. I was just wondering if JKR had given us another hint of book 7 in book one (or something close to it anyway). A happy ending for Ron and Harry?

Here is a question, does it say or hint anywhere that Hogwarts closed during the first war with Voldemorte?

Everyone is certain that Hogwarts is going to close because it's DD got killed, but like Ron says 'Maybe it won't. We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we? Everywhere's the same now. I'd even say Hogwarts is safer, there are more wizards inside to defend the place. '

During the great wars of the muggle world schools stayed open. It sometimes even helped to keep children safe and out of the way by sending them there.

Sorry to go off topic, but yeah, I don't see why Hogwarts would close. Now that DD is gone, Voldy would have no business there, especially if Harry's decision not to return follows through.

So technically, the vision Ron had in the mirror could still go through.

The mirror gave Harry the Stone not because it can tell the future, but because that it what Dumbledore enchanted it to do...enchanted it for that specific reason regarding that specific item during that specific time. Dumbledore could have used any object to hide the Stone in.

The Mirror is just an old magical item sitting around at Hogwarts. Dumbledore wanted to move it anyway so he used it to safeguard the Stone.

If I recall correctly, the only time Dumbledore talks about where the Mirror is going is the last time Harry goes to look in it, when Dumbledore is also there. He tells Harry it is being moved and to not go looking for it. I don't believe they ever discuss the mirror after Harry comes to in the hospital wing.

Ok, this is a bit of a stretch, but like someone else said I think what DD desires most is for Harry to be free of the burden he carries. Now, when Harry frees Dobby he gives him a sock, and that sock represents his freedom, so maybe DD saying he sees socks can be taken as he sees the ability to give Harry freedom from his burden?

OR

Maybe DD sees himself with something that actuall can relieve harry of his burden and he tells harry he sees socks because hes speaking metaphorically in hopes that harry will someday understand what he was saying. Because remember, at that time Harry did not yet know that he was the choosen one and DD wasn't ready to tell him. So, DD saying "I see socks" is like him saying "I see myself having something that can set your free from this burden you carry" without actually saying it.

In other words, DD is speaking metaphorically. If he has socks, he can grant harry freedom. So, he wants socks AKA the ability to grant harry freedom.

Does that make sense? What do you think?

BOOK 6 SPOILER IN THIS POST***************

I don't see that the Mirror of Erised fortells the future because Ron saw himself as Quidditch captain and that can't happen according to JKR who has said the last Quidditch match was in Book 6, and though Ron did hold the cup, he won't be able to be Quidditch captain. So I don't buy into that theory.

Also the spell cast on the Mirror to show a person the stone for them to find it but not use it would no longer be on the mirror as Dumbledore who admitted to casting the spell in SS, is dead (yeah, that's right I think he's staying dead).

The fact that the Mirror shows a person's true heart's desire is fascinating, though, and I do think it may reappear in Book 7. It would be interesting to see what Snape would see in the Mirror of Erised.

As a side note, the socks are interesting, though. Socks keep coming up in the storyline. As mentioned previously, Dumbledore told Harry he saw himself with warm socks (which Harry didn't really believe), Harry uses a sock to free Dobby and Harry wraps his bottle of Felix Felices in a sock.

Very interesting how the socks keep coming back.

Well Ron almost achieved what he saw in the mirror. If Harry survives and marries Ginny (who has a lot in common with Lilly) won't Harry have almost achieved what he saw? (with him and Ginny and a son instead of Lilly and James)

I think it was another little bit of forshadowing by JKR rather than a power of the mirror to grant wishes.

bajab...when you said there may be some sort of hint to book 7 in book1 i sat back and carefully thought and i came up with this...do you remember when harry and dumbledore stood in front of the mirror of erised harry asked dumbledore what he saw in the mirror and dumbledore said that he saw himself holding a pair of socks...harry later sort of realised that dumbledore had been lying as it was a personal question...now what was the one thing dumbledore would have desired so much?

If the mirror of erised was a sort of foreshadower, perhaps what Harry saw, was his death. He would be with his entire family that he saw in the mirror considering that they are dead.

Just a thought.

Hmm, this is quite an interesting concept. I do think that the mirror could come back into play, but probably not as showing the future - or at least not in the conventional way. The simple fact that the mirror shows the deepest desires of the heart, though, should mean that it is also showing some form of the future. After all, don't we do anything possible to achieve the deepest desires of our hearts? In that sense, Bajab is right. Harry probably still does deeply want a family, and this could "come true" by his being with Ginny, although not necessarily in the seventh book. However, it must also be taken into consideration that people's desires change and can be interpreted in different ways. Ron didn't necessarily want to be quidditch captain and head boy and all that; what he wanted was to be out of his brothers' shadow. At this point, though, something entirely different might be more important to him (Hermione?). Basically, I think that the mirror of erised could potentially foreshadow things to come, but it is not an absolute thing. It all depends on how you look at it.

The mirror was only in one book. I'm sure it will return again. A lot of you guys already read my mind, so Im just goint to agree.

corijp, I like your post, about the horcruxes. But I'm not sure that's Harry's deapest desire...I mean, it might be, but he has other things on his mind. Ginny, his freinds, or still his parents? Sirius, Dumbledore? This little guy's been exposed to way much in just 6 years now.

But I think that the mirror will return, but not as much as important. Maybe it WILL show him through the horcruxes, just like how he found the stone by using the mirror.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Ron's desires has just been performed. He saw him being prefect (and he actually was) and he wished to be captain (not yet, let's wait, maybe he'll be captain of a profesional Quidditch team) and he saw he'll have tha Quidditch cup, which he won in TOoP.
I think, in any case, that the Mirror don't shows the future, in fact, I think that Ron made his wishes become true for himself, he became the person he wanted to, isn't it reasonably??? So maibe, in some capter od the 7th he, Harry and Hermione will look at the mirror and just see themselves... It could be a really happy ending, wouldn't it? The three of them being completely happy??? A little of an utophy but really a pretty and lightning ending for a sad and dark saga.

I'm hoping that this appears in the book again. I mean, it would add some more "juice" to the story. Besides, I think it will point Harry to the answers. It will tell Harry WHERE the horcruxes may be hidden.

The mirror of erise. The only time we really get into this is in the first book where it plays the major role of telling harry the location of the sorcerers stone. this mirror, is supposed to show you what you want the most, though is often intangible. though dd says that it would only show someone where the sorcerers stone was if they wanted to destroy it. could this be the same for a horcrux? or even voldemort.??? i think it will. agree?

WOW, i neva neva eva though of that, u may have found something.
It may play a part in him finding one of the last horcruxes.

Not sure weather they would use the same stragety to find something twice in a series but from what i can see it may be able to tell harry where to find a horcrux.
Did dd get ride of it, didnt he say he would put it somewhere that no one would find it?

-Sarah

well, coolcharm, thts a good point. i thought about that too though, but again this is just a theory. i think that, possibly, the mirror of erise could have been put into the room in the department of mysteries that is alwyas locked. that would go with dd aying that no one would be able to get to it and it would be safe since the doors always locked. yet, i know that that doesnt really go with how the room contains the power that harry ahs and lord voldemort doesnt, but its a possiblity.

I'm confused on what you are saying here? Are you saying there is a horcrux in the mirror and only someone who wants it but doesn't want to use it can get it out? If that is it, then that doesn't really make much sense. I can't see DD putting a horcrux into the mirror, it would make more sense to destroy it. And I don't think Voldy has put one in the mirror either because that also would not make much sense.