Shadow opened his eyes and blinked blearily several times to clear his vision. The view did not change. Bright white mist surrounded him, its tendrils curling off in every direction like an impenetrable wall of silence.

He sighed in vague relief as he recognised the Mirrorverse – the vast space surrounding him – the place where he had appeared when he first became a separate person from Harry, a mere two and a half weeks ago. This time it looked very different compared to how it usually was. This time, there were no mirrors hanging like windows to another world within this great, open space.

This time, the mist was absolute.

Shadow slowly pulled himself to his feet and dusted his shabby clothes off, wondering how in the hell he had managed to get there when he was supposed to be dead. The last thing he remembered was Harry looking panicked and struggling to get to him, then there was a moment of blankness, of absolute and unexplainable puzzlement – a time in which he'd said something or done something but had no idea what it was. There had been an old man - Dumbledore, he realised now - who had pointed his wand at him and said some words...

Shadow gulped and rubbed his forehead, remembering the sudden pain - as if the mirror itself had rejected him, slamming him back from the surface and flinging him... somewhere.

How did I get into the Mirrorverse? How am I not dead? Groaning, he hid his face in his hands, trying to ignore the headache that was making it near impossible for him to think. The Obliviate. How come I can remember? It’s impossible! This is so confusing...

All he knew for certain was that he was on his own and had no plausible way of letting his twin know that he was all right.

He glanced around briefly and started walking, hoping that it would clear his mind enough to allow him to think – there was no point in trying to remember directions in this place, everywhere was the same here. The mirrors in the other world would normally reflect back-to-front representations of the world outside into the Mirrorverse, mostly allowing the people living within it to use whatever was in the reflected room. Now there was nothing for as far as the eye could see; nothing there for people to orient themselves with.

Well, person.

As far as he could tell, Shadow was alone here – a fearful idea which he did not want to think about. Not yet. Before he’d always had Harry, even when they hadn’t been separate identities; there had always been a feeling that he was not alone in the world. Now, he could almost feel the Mirrorverse pressing in on him, mocking him. This time, there was only him.

But wasn’t that what I wanted? Shadow thought bitterly. Didn’t I want to get as far away from Harry as I could so I wouldn’t hurt him anymore? I didn’t want to die, I didn’t want to be alone, but I didn’t want to hurt him anymore. But if that was the case, why now do I want nothing more to go back, see Harry again, tell him I’m OK...

Shadow had been terrified of death – after all, there’s no such thing as a heaven for reflections. However, at the time a small part of him had wondered if Dumbledore had got it right – if all Shadow really was, was a fractured part of Harry’s mind. He didn’t feel like that. He felt real to himself; he felt real to Harry, so he had taken a chance – had willingly subjected himself to Dumbledore’s spell to see if he really was nothing more than Harry’s alter.

Well, now he had his answer; the spell hadn’t worked and once more, Shadow didn’t have a clue about who he was, what he was, why he had appeared to Harry in the first place or why he remembered every detail of what Harry had witnessed in his young life as if he, Shadow, was the one who had experienced it.

And because of his curiosity, Shadow was trapped in this endless dreamscape, completely alone.

Shadow stopped walking, breathing heavily. No. “No! I refuse to accept that!” he shouted defiantly into the silence, his voice echoing through the empty space.

He threw his head back and glared up through the sparkling mists. Harry. Harry will save me, I know he will. He’ll know I’m not dead and come to rescue me ‘cos he’ll know something’s wrong. I know he will…

A determined smile curled at his lips and Shadow strode forward into the mist, which temporarily parted around him before falling back into place as though he had never been. The Mirrorverse muffled his footsteps until they were completely silent.

No more sounds were heard and no more disturbances rippled the slowly swirling mist, until any person looking upon it might as well have been blind for all the variety it showed.

Harry will save me…