The Mirror of Erised
From Harry Potter Wiki
- Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi
Reversing the inscription and rearranging the spaces produces:
- I show not your face but your heart's desire
Upon seeing the mirror for the first time in 1991, Harry Potter saw himself surrounded by his dead parents and relatives. Ron Weasley, overshadowed by his brothers and striving to be noticed by others, saw himself as the Quidditch captain and Head Boy, and holding up the Quidditch cup. Dumbledore, who was with Harry at the time, claimed to see himself holding a pair of thick, woolen 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 joking, the matter being a very personal one. As revealed to Harry in 1998 Dumbledore, like Potter, would have seen his dead relatives (his sister, Ariana Dumbledore; his mother, Kendra Dumbledore; and his father, Percival Dumbledore); as well as his brother Aberforth reconciled to him when he looked in the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore feels extremely guilty about their deaths.
The Mirror was the final guardian of the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore placed an enchantment on the mirror, hiding the stone inside it and allowing the mirror to transfer it to anyone who wanted to find the stone but not use it. Anybody else would see himself making gold or the Elixir of Life, as Professor Quirrell found out for himself. Harry, uninterested in using the stone for his own purposes, saw his reflection pocketing the stone, at which it magically appeared in his real pocket.
