Inspired by a prompt I saw on some website about what the characters would see in the mirror of Erised, and I hadn't posted any one shots in a while.

Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Sherlock, nor do I own the Mirror of Erised or the Albus Dumbledore's quotes I've placed in here.

"Come on, then, we'll have to do a bit of investigating." A grey haired detective inspector said to his two companions as they walked through London. "One of our suspects was reported to have visited an old antique shop down here. We need to question the shop owner."

The tallest of the trio, Sherlock Holmes, made it to the door of the place first and did not hesitate to stroll inside. The short, stocky man, Doctor John Watson, paused outside to get a good look at the place.

It was a store in a large building, merely one section of the shop complex. "Wizards' Antiques" was sandwiches between "Potions And Poultices", a medicinal store, and "Weasley Gizmos", a shop with window shelves full of machinery, gears, electrical wires, and other such things. The door to the antique store was a shiny mahogany, and the windows had been washed recently, John could tell. The windows of the antique store had black curtains, but John noticed a few candles on the windowsill.

Greg Lestrade, the aforementioned detective inspector, walked past John and into the store, just as eager as the pale consulting detective to interview the man quickly and go. John sighed, mentally prepared himself for any possible things Sherlock could cause to go wrong in the store, and then followed Lestrade.

The place was well-lit, but not by electricity- chandeliers held real candles that were lit, as did multiple shelves on the walls. There was all sorts of old stuff with price tags on them: small Telly sets, slightly scratched desks and tables, creaky chairs, dusty clocks, well-worn couches, several mirrors, and loads of other items.

Sherlock walked up to the counter and flashed the elderly man sitting behind it a false smile. "Hello, my name is Sherlock Holmes. This is DI Lestrade and Dr. John Watson. You spoke to one of us on the phone?"

"Yes, I did," the old man said, moving his long, white beard off the counter top and adjusting his half-moon glasses. "I'm Albus. I do believe you wished to ask me some questions about a certain disreputable fellow that stopped by here?"

"Right. Can you describe him for me?" Lestrade asked, coming to stand beside Sherlock, and then the two were questioning the man. John believed that they had it covered, so he decided to look around. Sherlock had set fire to their kitchen table the other day, and while it was still usable, the scorch marks were not very attractive to look at, so another table might be in order. John walked quietly around the store, looking at different tables and brushing the dust off them. Sherlock, Greg, and Albus' voices became just background noise as John's attention moved from tables to clocks.

They were old and mostly outwardly made of wood, with curly hands, or hands that looked like lightning bolts. One was a cuckoo clock, but it wasn't working, and the time was frozen at one o'clock. The thing that would spring out of it was stuck on the outside- A chimera of some sort, part eagle, part lion, and possibly part something else. John's eyes flicked away from the clock and over to a mirror.

The mirror was taller than John was, and it stood alone, without leaning against a wall or hanging on anything. There was no price tag. The decorative, mirror-holding metal appeared to be dusty, unpolished wrought gold, and there was an inscription at the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. John wondered what it meant.

"I show not your face, but your heart's desire." Sherlock said, long coat swooshing dramatically as he walked over to stand in front of the mirror. John moved next to him, wanting to see where that was written. Not noticing where that quote was, he looked up at Sherlock, brow furrowed in confusion. Sherlock glanced down at him before staring at his reflection again. "The inscription on the top mirrored back to us would be 'I show not your face, but your heart's desire.'"

"That is the Mirror of Erised. It shows the greatest desire of the one looking into it. Men have wasted away before it, not knowing whether what they see is real or even possible." Albus explained, leaning over the counter when he noticed the two men standing before the mirror. "It's not for sale."

"So it shows you what you want?" Lestrade asked, intrigued by the idea. He left Albus to stand behind the mirror, looking to see if there was anything it was plugged up to electronically. If it was a magic trick or something. He found nothing.

"Not just what you want, but your heart's desire. It's inscribed right there, do keep up." Sherlock corrected, sounding bored. "Erised backwards is 'desire'."

John and Sherlock both gazed into the mirror. Albus watched them, curious to know what their hearts' desires were. He'd find out soon enough, though, just as he did when anyone else was shocked by what they saw and asked if the mirror was magical.

"It's just an ordinary mirror," John Watson said, not looking any less confused. "It's just Sherlock and I standing there."

"Indeed," Sherlock confirmed, walking away. Albus was shocked. John followed, but stopped him before he could leave the store.

"It looks like Greg wants to try," John explained, gesturing to the grey haired man who moved to stand in front of the mirror.

Greg Lestrade stood in front of the mirror, and then stumbled back, a shocked expression painting his face. "What the...oh, god, how-?!"

"What do you see?" Albus asked gently, curious as usual.

"I'm standing with my son- but there's a little girl there, too, and her face is blurry. I can't quite see her exact face. There's a woman standing next to me, too, but it's not my wife." The man's voice trembled a little. Sherlock scoffed.

"That's enough, Lestrade. Practical jokes aren't really your forte, stick to police work." Sherlock pushed open the door to the shop and strode away. John waved goodbye to Albus and hurried to follow. Lestrade lingered a moment by the counter.

"Why did it work for me and not them? Is it magic?" He asked, his eyes wide with astonishment. He swallowed and clenched his fists, obviously trying to regain control of his shocked body.

Albus smiled gently and placed a gentle hand on Lestrade's shoulder. "The happiest man in the world 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?"

"So what you're saying is that I'm not completely happy or whatever, but Sherlock and John there, they have everything they want? Each other?" Lestrade asked.

"Something like that," Albus said, his blue eyes twinkling. "You might want to run along, now, your friends are getting impatient. Well, the taller one is, anyway."

Lestrade glanced out the window. Indeed, Sherlock was watching him from outside, tapping his foot impatiently while John spoke to him, words falling on deaf ears. The detective inspector turned to Albus. "Thanks. We appreciate the help."

"No problem at all, my dear boy. Come back again sometime." Albus waved as Lestrade opened his door and departed. He watched the trio as they hailed a taxi. "Curious indeed," he murmured to himself, his eyes focusing on John and Sherlock. "What happy men those two must be."