Prologue:

Albus Dumbledore watched as the mirror in front of him swirled with brilliant colors. His face showed no signs of surprise at the mirror's show; he'd been expecting such a performance. That was the deal, after all. The mirror would protect the stone and in return, the Headmaster would be there when it fulfilled its task.

The old warlock hadn't asked what his reflection had meant by "task". He hadn't needed to. He was staring into the Mirror of Erised; there could only be one answer.

Young wizards and witches were told many legends, but the legend of the Mirror of Erised had always been Dumbledore's favorite. It spoke of a powerful queen, who, being very vain and spoiled, ordered a mirror to be built by her most powerful mages to give her whatever she wanted most. After months of careful construction and many enchantments, her chief mage presented the Mirror of Erised to his queen.

"You need only to look into its surface and it will give you your heart's desire," the mage instructed.

"Show me!" the queen commanded.

The mage bowed deeply and pulled the cover off the magnificent mirror, but in his haste to follow her orders, he forgot to avoid looking at its glassy surface. His eyes focused on the image reflecting back and in that moment, the mirror granted his wish.

"The mirror! Give the mirror!" the queen cried, her impatience reaching its pivotal point.

The mage ripped his eyes from the reflection and bowed even deeper, all the while hoping the mirror had failed.

The queen stared greedily into her own perfect reflection as the poor mage held his breath, waiting for her verdict.

"Where is it?" the queen asked, searching for the chest of pearls she'd seen in the mirror. "Why is it taking so long?"

The mage didn't dare lift his head for fear of her retribution.

"It's not here! You IDIOTS!" she screamed. "This is nothing more than a scour-glass!"

The chief mage ran to take it away as the queen bellowed her disappointment. "Forgive me, my queen," he begged as he covered the mirror.

The queen yelled for him to get out and the mage wasted no time, taking the mirror with him.

He brought the looking-glass home to his daughter that night.

"What did her Highness say when the mirror gave her her wish?" his daughter asked, running to greet him at the door.

The mage sighed and told her the story, leaving nothing out. When he finished, she had a single question: "What was your wish?"

"I do not know," was her father's response.

His daughter was silent for a long moment. "I believe I know. Father, you must cast another spell. Let it grant one wish every century. No more, no less."

"But my daughter, the mirror failed."

"No Father, it did not."

The mage made no more objections. He cast the spell and, on his daughter's request, hid the mirror from the world.

Legend had it that the mirror was fought over for millennia, and so it was. The mirror passed through the ages, seeing war and happiness, ignored by time and untouched by weather.

Eventually it was discovered in a secret cave in the mountains and was brought to Hogwarts for safekeeping.

So here it was, in front of Albus Dumbledore, granting the wish of the age to the next in the line of true and un-expecting souls. With one last tug of long-forgotten magic, the swirling colors stopped, the job complete.

"Welcome back."

A/N: I've completed the first ten chapters, but I've not decided whether I'm going to post them all yet. This is the tester, so review and tell me if you want me to continue now or wait until I've got more of it written.