Mirror
Chapter One~~~OWLs


He was running as fast as his leaden legs would carry him. His breath came in short, stabbing gasps.

“Sirius! I’m coming, hold on!” he bellowed across the room. Sirius was falling…falling. NO! His insides squirmed as he watched his godfather, the closest thing he had to a family, fall through the veil. “SIRIUS!” He was sobbing. He dropped onto the ground in a helpless heap, and then did the thing he had been yearning to do for months. He picked himself heavily up off the ground, and ran straight into the veil after Sirius.

“BOY! Get down here now!” Uncle Vernon’s loud bellow carried up the stairs. Harry Potter woke with a start. He was sprawled across his bed, sweat dripping down his face. He was shaking all over as he sat up in bed. His legs were aching, almost as if he had actually been running. He wiped his face with his bedclothes, and put on his glasses.

“Sirius…” Harry swallowed heavily and walked over to his dresser. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and stopped. His face was pale, clashing startlingly with his jet black hair. In the middle of his forehead his lightening bolt scar stood out brightly. He sighed, ran a hand through his messy hair, and then pulled on some jeans and a very baggy tee-shirt. When he was finished he sat on the edge of his bed, trying to forget the dream that had haunted him for the past two months.

“WHAT THE DEVIL ARE YOU DOING?” came uncle Vernon’s roar. Harry jumped. He took a deep breath and put on his sneakers. He stood, readied himself for whatever his uncle was about to yell at him for, and marched out the door.

When Harry got downstairs the Dursleys were bustling about in a frenzy. He looked around for the cause and saw a midnight-black owl perched on one of the wooden kitchen chairs. He almost grinned…almost. He walked closer too it and the Dursleys stopped moving as they watched him.

“Get that thing out of here!” Dudley wailed, backing up against the far wall.

“Quite yelling and maybe I can,” Harry said irritably. The owl, its round eyes focused on Harry, stuck out its leg. Harry walked over to it and grabbed the letter that had been tied to it. “Would you like some water before you leave?” said Harry, stroking its feathers. But the owl hooted and fluttered its wings. Harry stepped back as it extended its wings and flew out the open window. Aunt Petunia quickly walked over to close the window, and then she turned to Harry, looking very flustered.

“Is it for you, then?” she asked. Harry stared at her.

“Who else would it be for?” he asked curiously, trying to read her face. Ever since that night in the kitchen when he and Dudley had been attacked by dementors, Harry had suspected that there was more to Aunt Petunia than met the eye. He had often tried to weasel a confession out of her, wondering if she was in contact with Dumbledore. Aunt Petunia glared at him.

“Nobody, I was simply asking,” she said, turning her horse like face away from him.

“Don’t ask questions,” Harry said scathingly, repeating the nasty retort she had often shot at him. Her eyes narrowed. Vernon roared and grabbed the back of Harry’s shirt.

“Take that letter and get out of my sight!” Vernon yelled, throwing him roughly out of the room.

“Temper, temper. You wouldn’t want me to write my good friend Alastor Moody would you?” Harry said, watching his uncle’s face turn purple. But, knowing that little more would cause Vernon to snap, Harry went up the stairs. He closed the door and locked it, a feeling of loneliness consuming him. He hoped that this letter was a letter inviting him to Grimmauld Place, which had been given to The Order after Sirius’ death. He went and sat on his bed, ripping open the letter. It was not from The Order, it was from Hogwarts. Harry’s heart skipped a beat as he read down his OWL scores:

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Herbology: E
Potions: O
Charms: E
Divination: D
Transfiguration: E
Care of Magical Creatures: O
History of Magic: A
Astronomy: P

The above are your O.W.L.s. They will determine what career you will take after your education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The following are the N.E.W.T. classes you will be required to take next year:

Defense Against the Dark Arts
Herbology
Potions
Charms
Transfiguration
Care of Magical Creatures
History of Magic

If you have any questions regarding your O.W.L scores, contact us no later than August 24. Thank you for your efforts, and we wish you a wonderful summer,

Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall

Harry couldn’t believe it. He had gotten seven O.W.L.s! He had even passed potions! Even though he expected that Dumbledore had a lot to do with the ‘Outstanding’ he had gotten. He smiled for the first time since the death of Sirius. He was also happy to see that he wouldn’t have to take Divination anymore. If he had been forced to take another year of being told how gruesome his death was going to be, he would have blown a gasket. Still elated from his letter from the school, he jumped off of his bed and started to write letters to his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He told them of his grades and asked for theirs. He smiled at the thought of Ron and Hermione’s faces as they opened their letters. Ron would be grinning his usual, goofy grin as he got his grades. Harry and Ron normally got around the same grades, and he could picture Mrs. Weasley hugging Ron senseless as she learned the wonderful news. Hermione, of course would get most if not all O.W.L.s. She would smile ecstatically and would quickly pick up a book and start reading up on how she could apply her good grades to SPEW.

Harry finished writing the letters, and then picked up another piece of parchment. He was ready to write a separate letter to Sirius, telling him the good news. His hands froze, and his good mood evaporated. He slumped down in his chair and an uncomfortable tickling started behind his eyes. He shook his head, walked over to Hedwig’s cage, and tied both of the letters to her leg.

“One goes to Hermione and the other goes to Ron. Got it?” Harry asked. Hedwig nipped his fingers affectionately and flew off. Harry walked over to his bed and lay down, ready to sleep the rest of the day away, waking intermittently from bad dreams of Sirius’ death. He had only been laying there for a couple of minutes, however, before another owl flew through his window. It was a dark gray, and very scruffy looking, all its feathers stuck out in the wrong places. Harry stood and took the letter it was now offering. On the front of the envelope his address was scrawled very messily. He didn’t recognize the handwriting and opened the letter curiously. It read:

Dear Mr. Potter,
I found this lying on the floors, sir. I knew at once that it was Harry Potter’s, sir. Winky was wanting to throws it away, but I says, “No, we must send it back to him, we must.” So, I picked it up sir, and here it is.
Dobby

Harry pulled out the contents of Dobby’s letter with shaking hands. It was the mirror that Sirius had given him; the mirror that he had smashed against the wall last year. It was now completely fixed, and reflecting his ashen face back at him.

“…Sirius?”


A/N: I know the first chapter is pretty dull, but I had to get the background info in there. Please R&R!!! If you don't I won't know to write more or not! Ill take the Good and the Bad reveiws, so don't be shy. Critique away!

Mirror
Chapter Two~~~Back To Grimmuald


“…Sirius?” Harry looked desperately into the mirror. He flipped it over and over in his cold, clammy hands. “Come on Sirius. Talk to me dammit!” Harry had tears running down his face now. He looked at it, and was about to put it on his desk when it started to vibrate. He stared in amazement, and then almost dropped it on the floor as it began to grow hot. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. The mirror then began to wail, as if a thousand pained people were screaming as loud as they could. Sparks began to fly from it and Harry let go. It clattered to the ground, unbroken. The mirror continued to vibrate faster and faster, screaming louder and louder. Then it stopped, lay paralyzed on the ground for a spilt second, and exploded. Harry covered his face with his arms, and felt himself being peppered with sharp pieces of glass. When he thought it was safe, Harry lowered his uncovered his face. There, in the middle of his room, was a burn mark on the carpet. What on earth had just happened?

Harry, ignoring the blood now running down his arms and chest, knelt next to the burn mark. Just then the door banged open. Uncle Vernon stomped in, followed by Aunt Petunia and Dudley. There was a deafening silence as the Dursleys took in Harry’s arms, and then the burn mark on the carpet. Aunt Petunia covered her mouth with her hands, and pulled Dudley to her. Vernon still hadn’t moved. Harry stood up, and stared forlornly at them. Then Aunt Petunia spoke up, running to the spot in the carpet and completely ignoring Harry’s injuries.

“What have you done to my beautiful carpet?!” she wailed, glaring at him. “What were you doing in here, you horrible boy!” and without waiting for an answer, she stormed out of the room, pulling Dudley along with her. That left Harry alone with Vernon.

“What were you doing?!” Vernon whispered menacingly.

“Playing with matches,” Harry said, not paying attention to Vernon, but examining his cuts. His Uncle was shaking with fury, but Harry brushed by him as he went to wash the blood off himself. Vernon grabbed his shoulder roughly ignoring the fact that it might be painful, and turned Harry to face him. Harry wrenched out of his brutal grip.

“Get off me!” Harry seethed.

“Not until you listen to me,” Vernon said. “I know you weren’t playing with matches, I’m not stupid. Now I don’t give a damn if you write your little letters to mummy, telling on me. But I WILL NOT allow…” Vernon lowered his voice, “magic, in my house.” With that, he left, knocking Harry out of his way. Harry waited until Vernon was out of earshot, and then went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He turned on the faucet and grabbed a wash cloth. Wetting it, he began to wash the blood off of his arms. When he was finished, he went downstairs, feeling hungry. His mind was filled with the sounds of screaming, his vision blocked by the memory of that mirror. What had happened? Was Sirius one of those screaming voices? His thoughts were interrupted by the door bell. Petunia rushed in to answer it. When she saw him, her whole face was contorted in rage.

“Hide, you,” she hissed. Harry did so, but so he could hear who it was.

“Hello, Petunia. How are you today?” said a familiar voice from the front door.

“Hello, Mrs. Figg. I’m just fine thank you. Would you like to come in?” Petunia replied. Harry heard her open the door wider.

“Oh, no thank you. I’ll be quick. I was just wondering…” Mrs. Figg paused. Harry could tell she was nervous about something. She sounded like she was back at Harry’s hearing, repeating what somebody had told her to say. “There is a summer camp I heard of, and I thought of your nephew right away. It’s a disciplinary sort of thing, you know, sort of like a boot camp. Well, I thought it would be nice for him to try it, as he is always getting into trouble. He would stay at this camp until school started. I’m sure you would miss him awfully, but I thought it my neighborly duty to inform you.” Mrs. Figg stopped, and took a deep breath. Harry almost laughed out loud. What a load of tosh! He grinned, knowing that Petunia was most likely eating it all up.

“Well…” said Petunia, trying not to sound too excited. “Well, I suppose that would be alright. Where should we take him? And how soon?”

“Oh, well it starts today, actually. And I would be happy to take him for you.” Harry crossed his fingers.

“Well, of course. The boy needs some teaching in manners. HARRY!” Harry stepped out of his hiding place. He spotted Mrs. Figg, wearing her floppy slippers and her usual handbag. She winked at him behind Petunia’s back. Harry tried not to smile. “Harry,” Petunia said. “Go and pack your things. You’re going to a disciplinary summer camp.”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia,” Harry said politely, and hurried to pack his things. When he got back downstairs, his trunk was ready and packed full of his Hogwarts books and such. He had Hedwig’s cage was tucked under his arm. Petunia and Mrs. Figg were chatting and lying about how their life was going. Harry cleared his throat, and Mrs. Figg’s face showed obvious relief. “Goodbye Auntie Petunia,” Harry said smiling. He bent down and pecked her on the cheek. He took immense pleasure, as he knew she couldn’t do anything about it in front of Mrs. Figg. Harry also knew that as soon as he was out of the house she would go and scrub her cheek raw. Aunt Petunia nodded stiffly, and Harry left out the door.

As soon as Mrs. Figg had closed the door behind them, she let out an audible sigh of relief.

“What a piece of work that woman is!” she said, shaking her head. “Come on now, don’t dawdle. Put your things in the trunk,” she said, indicating to the trunk of her car.

“Where are we going?” Harry asked as he heaved his stuff into the trunk.

“To Grimmauld Place! Where else?” she said irritably as she got in the drivers seat. Harry’s heart soared. Finally! He was leaving this Hell hole. He got in the passenger seat. Her car smelled strongly of cats, but Harry didn’t mind. He was going to see his two best friends.

When they arrived at Grimmauld place, it dawned on Harry that he hadn’t entered it since Sirius had died. It filled him with a sudden melancholy. He got out of the car and lifted his trunk onto his shoulder. Mrs. Figg carried Hedwig, and together they trotted into the house.

Harry looked around at the gloomy place. He remembered when he had thought that he had entered the house of a dying person. He had been right. His throat closed in on itself as he set his trunk down.

“If you’ll excuse me, I really need to find Shacklebolt. I’m sure your friends are upstairs,” said Mrs. Figg, handing Harry his owl. Harry nodded, too choked up to speak. He stood alone in the empty room, looking at the stairs leading to the bedrooms. He cleared his throat; he couldn’t let his friends see how upset he was. They would pity him and that was the last thing he wanted. Just then a door to the right banged open and Snape barged in. All at once Harry’s insides coiled into a knot. Snape had always been nasty to Sirius. Snape stopped dead at the sight of Harry. Was that fear in his cold black eyes?


A/N: please let me know what you think. I'm hoping to get the next chapter done soon. Read it. Review it.

Mirror
Chapter Three~~~Unfair


Harry and Snape stood absolutely still for several minutes, staring coldly at each other. Snape seemed to have recovered his composure, for his fleeting appearance of being afraid had vanished. Harry began to wonder if he hadn’t imagined it. While Harry’s insides boiled, he couldn’t think of another being on earth that he hated more than Professor Severus Snape. He had made Sirius’ life as hard as possible, mocking him, and sneering at him. Right up to his death. Harry decided that he had better leave the room before he leapt on Snape and throttled the life out of him.

As Harry passed Snape to get to the stairs he half expected to hear a snide remark, or some sign of disgust. He heard nothing, however, and felt a twinge of disappointment. He would have dearly loved an excuse to jinx him. He just kept walking, however, keeping his eyes downcast.

The stairs creaked and moaned loudly as he walked. Dusted coated his hand as he grabbed onto the handrail. The farther Harry went, the more he noticed how run-down the place had become without Sirius to keep it clean. Nobody had appreciated Sirius’ efforts. Now they were sorry. Pictures of relatives lined the walls. Harry could see the resemblance to his godfather, and it made his throat tighten again. He kept going however; once he saw his friends he would feel better. When he reached the door he heard commotion. He poked his head in, and then opened the door all the way.

“Get him!”

“He’s over there! NO THERE!”

“Damn! I almost had it!”

“Don’t hurt him Fred!”

Harry stared wide-eyed at the group now running all over the room. Fred, George and Ron were all chasing what appeared to be a little green bouncy ball. Ginny was standing in a corner, dancing on her toes, here eyes full of worry. As soon as Harry entered the room all the way, however, all the commotion stopped. All four Weasleys stared at him, catching their breath. Ginny was the first to react.

“Hiya, Harry!” Ginny said, walking over to give him a one-armed hug. Harry noticed that it was the first time she had ever hugged him. Strange, that he should notice such a thing. Ron grinned a wide, lopsided grin.

“Harry! We weren’t expecting you until later! Glad to see you mate!” he said, walking over to him.

“You look terrible! What happened to your arms?” remarked Fred and George. Harry laughed. It was good to see his friends.

“It’s along story, I’ll tell you later. Where’s Hermione?” Harry asked, walking over to sit on the bed. Ron followed him and sat down next to him.

“She won’t be here until later this evening. But I’m sure…” Ron broke off in the middle of his explanation as he stared at something in the middle of the floor. Harry followed his gaze. He saw what he had interpreted as a bouncy ball. It was, in fact, a toad. “Ginny insisted on having a toad for her birthday,” Ron muttered. “It hasn’t stopped bugging us since.”

“Hey, there is no need to insult Theodore. Especially since he is much less annoying than you are,” Ginny said, her eyebrows furrowed. Fred and George snickered.

“She’s got a point there, little brother,” said Fred. Harry grinned too. But just then the frog hopped into the air. Ginny leapt on it, agile as a cat, startling Harry. In minutes she had pinned it to the floor. George ran to get a box off of the bedside table. Ginny lifted the toad inside and quickly closed the lid. She was panting when she stood up.

“So,” Harry asked as Ginny pulled a chair out of the corner of the room and sat on it. “What have you all been doing to keep busy?” Ron shrugged.

“The same thing we did last year: trying to clean this place. But it’s a lot of work. So far the only thing we have managed to get clean is the kitchen,” said Ginny.

“Yeah, I never really realized that Kreacher was doing anything at all to help keep the house clean. It was a lot cleaner when he still worked here,” Fred said. The room got uncomfortably silent. Fred had skipped the part where Sirius had done most of the cleaning, and that it was harder without him too.

“What happened to Kreacher?” Harry asked, trying to keep things from going in the direction of talking about Sirius. That would lead to The Prophesy, which he still hadn’t mentioned to his friends. In fact, he hadn’t really thought of it that much. To put it simply, he just didn’t care anymore. Ever since the day he was born he had dealt with hardships. He was so used to it, that worrying about dying everyday was just part of the routine; Get up, eat breakfast, make sure that friends and family are still alive, dwell until nightfall, check that Voldemort isn’t hiding in your closet, and then sleep. That had been his routine every summer. And, he was sure, would be his routine until either he or Voldemort was dead. Which one didn’t matter, as long as it ended.

“Did you even hear me, Harry?” George asked. Harry jumped. He hadn’t even noticed that he was being talked to. He had completely zoned out.

“No, sorry. I was just thinking. What did you say?” Harry said apologetically. Ginny was staring at him, her eyes full of pity.

“That’s all right. I was saying that Kreacher was executed,” George said matter-of-factly.

“Good.” Harry said blankly.

“Harry…” Ron said, looking at him sadly. Ginny gave Ron a warning look, however, and Ron broke off. Harry was grateful. The room got very quite again, and they could hear voices down below.

“What’s going on? A meeting?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, but I expect it’s over by now or we wouldn’t be able to hear them,” Ron said. “They have insisted even more so than last year that we know nothing.”

“Not even the Extendible Ears work,” said George sadly.

“The only thing we have managed to scrape is something about a Prophesy. Anytime I have over heard something, it’s about some Prophesy,” Ginny said. Harry looked away uncomfortably. In the silence they heard somebody coming up the stairs. They all listened, waiting. Mrs. Weasley bustled in, smiling brightly when she saw Harry.

“Harry dear! How have you been?” Mrs. Weasley hugged him tightly. “My goodness, what are all these nicks on your arms?! And you’re so skinny! You need some dinner. Come downstairs, everybody can’t wait to see you.” Harry followed her downstairs with the rest of the group. When he entered the kitchen behind Mrs. Weasley, the room went deadly quite. Everybody looked him up and down. It seems they expected him to faint, or begin sobbing hysterically. Instead, Harry nodded in greeting. Then, out of the crowd of people, Remus Lupin pushed his way toward Harry.

“Welcome back, Harry. I trust you are well?” Lupin put a hand on his shoulder, trying to break the silence.

“Wotcher, Harry!” said a familiar female voice. “Now, is it necessary to gawk at him?! Lord, what idiots. Go back to your own business.” Nymphadora Tonks presented herself. She had short, blonde curly hair today, and her nose was dotted with freckles.

“Thanks,” Harry muttered. Tonks grinned.

“Well, best go and get something to eat before it’s all gone,” Tonks said, marching away and knocking into a chair as she went. Harry shook his head, grinning. He went to get a plate and fill it with food. Then found a seat at the table beside Ron. Harry looked around him, staring at all the faces that were both familiar and unfamiliar. There was Alastor Moody, sniffing a chunk of buttered bread before shoving the whole piece into his mouth. His bright blue eye swiveled around, looking through the back of his head and watching out for potential attackers. Next to him was a witch Harry didn’t recognize. Then Mrs. Weasely sat, smiling and laughing at a joke Kingsley Shacklebolt had just made. Then Arthur Weasely, Tonks, and Lupin were sitting close together, talking about something that was obviously very serious. Next to them was Mundungus Fletcher. Harry shook his head slightly as he watched Mundungus look around cautiously, then slip one of the silver spoons into his long coat. Next to him were two witches that appeared to be twins. They were blinking rapidly, looking around at everybody else. Next to them was Arabella Figg, talking loudly with a rather old looking man next to her. Most of the rest Harry didn’t recognize. He frowned. He knew that it was silly of him, but he had hoped to see Albus Dumbledore. Of course he wouldn’t be here though.

Harry felt comforted as he sat there; eating dinner with a large group of friends and people he knew he could trust. He sighed, he need to get out of this house. It reminded him of Sirius, the one person he was trying to forget. He shook his head, it was only a couple more weeks, then he would be riding the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts, where he would be distracted by homework, and Quidditch. He smiled to himself, and chose to think about Quidditch for the rest of dinner.

After Harry had eaten, he, Ron and Ginny went upstairs. Fred and George disappeared into their own room, whispering and writing out what looked like ingredients. That reminded Harry of the joke shop Fred and George were planning on opening.

“Does your mum know about Fred and George’s plans for a joke shop yet?” Harry asked. Ginny giggled.

“Not yet. They have been trying to get up the nerve for months now,” Ron said, smiling and shaking his head. Harry frowned. What would Mrs. Weasley think when she found out how Fred and George got enough gold to buy premises? Not wanting to cloud the rare feeling of contentment he was feeling right now, Harry pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. Then they heard somebody running up the steps. A few moments later, Hermione burst through the door, a bright smile on her face.

“Ron! Harry! Ginny!” Hermione squealed, running to give each of them a hug. Ron blushed scarlet. “My goodness Harry, you don’t look so good.”

“So I’ve been told,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. Hermione laughed.

“Oh, it’s so wonderful to see you all! I’ve missed you!” Everybody laughed at her enthusiasm. She sat down on the bed. They all found seats and began talking. Ron and Ginny told Hermione about the mysterious Prophesy, much to Harry’s discomfort.

“Have any ideas?” Ron asked eagerly, thinking she might have read about it in a book or something. Hermione shook her head. They all talked about that for a long while. The whole time Harry said nothing, but just listened.

“Harry, are feeling all right?” Hermione asked him, noticing his silence. They all turned to stare at him. He closed his eyes for a minute, and put his face in his hands.

“There is something I think you should know. You are all my best friends, and if anybody deserves to know, it’s you guys.” Harry looked at each of them in turn. “I know what The Prophesy is.” They stared at him. He laughed a sad, hopeless laugh. “Dumbledore told me about it in his office right after…” Harry’s throat clogged up again, and he had to stop for a second. His friend’s gazes were intent on him, full of sadness. “It said that whoever was born at the end of July, and had parents that had defied Voldemort three times would be sort of…the chosen one.”

“You…” Ginny whispered.

“Well, that’s the funny part. It might not have been me at all. There is one other person who fits that description,” Harry said. Ron looked non-plussed, but Hermione gasped.

“Neville!” She said in shock. Everybody stared. Harry nodded. There were a few minutes silence, and then Harry continued.

“Well, The Prophesy mentioned one last, crucial characteristic. My scar. So, I don’t really want to go into detail, but Voldemort sort of…”chose” me, because he had only heard part of The Prophesy.”

“What do you have to do?” Ron asked nervously.

“Well,” Harry said, looking away from them. “It said that one of us will die by the hand of the other, for one can’t live while the other survives. So, in the end it’s either him or me,” he finished, giving a sort of manic laugh. He looked up at them. Ron was paler than he had ever seen him, his eyes wide. Both Hermione and Ginny had tears running down their faces. Hermione shook her head. “It’s not fair…it’s just not fair.”

Harry shrugged. “Since when has life ever been fair to me?”

Mirror
Chapter Four~~~Gideon Hartlock


Over the next few weeks Harry lightened up slightly. It was because of his friends, he was positive, that he felt better. It was the night before they would be leaving on the Hogwarts Express, that Harry got an unexpected visit.

Harry and Hermione were engaged in a game of chess as Ginny and Ron watched, cheering and laughing as they joked. Harry smiled as his knight walked over to one of Hermione’s bishops and dashed it to the ground. Hermione frowned. Harry punched the air. “Check Mate!” Ron yelled, laughing as he said it. Hermione grinned, shaking her head.

“Pure luck,” she said, smiling widely. Harry and the others laughed. They all quieted as they heard footsteps. Mrs. Weasley came in, carrying a large laundry basket full of freshly laundered clothes.

“Here you are, dears,” she said, handing them each their separate piles. Harry took his, and placed it in his trunk. “Harry, when your finished putting those away, there is somebody who needs to talk with you. It’s rather urgent, and,” Mrs. Weasley said firmly, seeing the excited looks on the other’s faces, “It’s private.” Harry nodded, and followed her out of the door, throwing a helpless glance over his shoulder at his friends. When he got to the bottom of the stairs his heart lightened. He had been hoping to see Dumbledore for weeks now.

“Hello, Professor Dumbledore,” Harry said smiling. Mrs. Weasley left the room. Dumbledore turned to him.

“Hello, Harry. How has your summer been so far? No Dementors, I trust?” Harry shook his head. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. He patted his beard down out of his face, and then nodded to some chairs. “Shall we sit?” Harry nodded, and they sat down, Harry sitting opposite Dumbledore in a rather stiff armchair.

“Harry, the information I am about to reveal to you, you must reveal to nobody else,” Harry nodded, but Dumbledore smiled. “I am, however, aware that you hold Hermione Granger, Ronald, and Ginny Weasley in the highest respects, and am in agreement. You may tell them if you wish. I thought, however, that before calling them all down here, I would let you decide. Tomorrow, in the newspapers, will be an article stating that Remus Lupin has been murdered.” Harry leapt up, his heart pounding, no….not another one. “Harry! Harry, it’s not true! Harry, our new minister of magic is a good friend of mine. Jack Spinner. He will see to it that Remus Lupin is labeled as dead. This will allow him more freedom to do what he wanted. He will attain a new identity, given to him by Spinner. That will allow him to get better jobs, and also, with the help of a little publicity, he will be able to influence the people a bit more.” Harry frowned.

“But, now that Fudge is gone…people believe us now, surely,” he said, looking at Dumbledore’s eyes. Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

“I’m afraid, Harry, that a majority still believes that I am lying.”

“How can that be? We have proved it!” Harry yelled in astonishment.

“What matters, Harry, is that they don’t believe, and a strong influence within the media will help them along perhaps.”

“What are you going to do? Turn Lupin into a pop star?” Harry said, grinning. Dumbledore chuckled.

“I mentioned that to him, but I don’t think he liked that idea very much. No, he is going to be Gideon Hartlock.” Harry laughed loudly. “Sound slightly familiar?” Harry nodded.

“Well, we have devised this morning radio show. And, as we lack imagination, we have decided to call it ‘Good Morning Gideon.’”

Then Harry understood. “That’s a good idea, with a radio show; nobody would have to see what he looked like.” Dumbledore nodded.

“Exactly.” Just then Mrs. Weasley bustled in.

“Oh, sorry Headmaster, I thought you would have been finished by now,” said Mrs. Weasley, starting to leave.

“Oh, no Molly. We were just finished,” Dumbledore announced. “And Harry, about what I told you. It will be hard to watch some people suffer, but in the end it will be worth it. Nobody outside The Order must know, except the few I mentioned.”

“I understand, professor. Thanks,” Harry said. Dumbledore nodded and was almost to the door when he turned back around.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here are your Hogwarts letters.” Harry stared at him.

“We already got our letters; we went to Diagon Alley last week.”

“Oh, no,” said Dumbledore, smiling widely. “These aren’t supply lists. You’ll find that there are two letters. One for you and one for Miss Granger. Goodbye.”

Harry walked upstairs, looking at the envelopes. He was about to rip open his letter, when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a long, flesh colored piece of string snaking up the stairs quickly. Harry smiled. He grabbed the string and listened.

“What’s wrong?” he heard Ginny whisper.

“Dunno,” said Ron. “Maybe it’s stuck on something.” Harry smiled evilly. He couldn’t resist. He brought the Extendible Ear to his mouth and yelled loudly into it. “BOO!” He laughed as he heard people yelping. Taking the steps two at a time, Harry walked into the crowded bedroom. Hermione had her hands over her mouth, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself. Ron was laying on the ground, apparently having fallen over in fright. Ginny, however, was doubled over in laughter. Harry grinned.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. How much did you hear anyways?” Harry asked as Ron got up.

“Barely anything,” Ron mumbled disgruntled.

“Well, it serves you right. Harry has more right to privacy than any of us,” Hermione said frowning.

“He would have told us once he got up here anyways, I just wanted to know sooner, that’s all,” Ron snapped at her. Hermione glared.

“It’s all right Hermione, but thanks,” Harry said.

“So…” Ginny said. Harry told them what Dumbledore had said.

“But,” Harry finished, “we have to act upset when we find out. Otherwise people will be suspicious. Oh, and Dumbledore told me to give this to you. I got one too.” Harry handed Hermione her letter. She took it.

“What is it?” she asked, looking at Harry, who just shrugged and opened it. He pulled out its contents, and, for a split second, he thought it was the mirror again. It was a small, gold letter ‘P’ with a lion curled around it. Harry gaped. He looked at Hermione. She was holding one identical to his. She ran over to her bag and grabbed her badge from the previous year, holding them both excitedly. Ginny gasped delightedly, and Ron rushed over to pat him on the back. Harry was this year’s Prefect!

“Whew! Am I glad It wasn’t me again this year,” Ron said. “What a drag it was.” Harry laughed. Hermione hugged him tightly.

“This is the best moment of my entire education! Prefect twice in a row!” Hermione squealed. Ron rolled his eyes. “Oh, Ron, can I use Pig to tell Mum and Dad?” Ron laughed at her excitement, and said she could. Hermione dashed out of the room.

“Way to go Harry!” Ginny said, smiling at him. Harry’s heartbeat quickened, though he wasn’t sure why.

After Harry and Hermione had received a “congratulation” from everybody, they all went to bed, and when they woke up the next morning, they found that it was raining heavily. Breakfast was a rushed event, and people knocked into each other all through the halls, most of all Tonks, who was hard to miss today with bright orange hair. The cause of most of the commotion was Fred and George, running frantically around the house, yelling about having forgotten something, or needing to finish a last bit of homework. Then they would pause for a moment, as if trying to remember something, and would burst out laughing claiming that they had forgotten they didn’t have to go to school, as they weren’t babies anymore.

Once everybody had eaten, and had their things in the trunk, they left for the train station. When they arrived people were running about, trying to get out of the rain. As usual, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys ran straight between platforms 9 and 10. Harry remembered the rest as a big, rainy blur. He had hugged Mrs. Weasley goodbye, and then boarded the train.

Mirror
Chapter Five~~~DADA Teacher


Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny found a compartment all to themselves and settled in. For the most part of the trip it was quiet, until, as was inevitable, Draco Malfoy and his two thugs, Crabbe and Goyle, paid them a visit.

“Well, well. The Gryffindor Prefects!” Draco said, sneering. “I would have thought they would have picked a better suited pair this time,” Draco muttered sadly, shaking his head.

“Get out of it, Malfoy,” Ginny said, glaring at him.

“Oh, look who has gained a mind of her own! Still panting after Potter? Hoping that his riches will help your poor family?” Crabbe and Goyle sniggered, loudly.

“Leave her alone, and get out of here, now,” said Harry, standing up and putting his hand in his pocket, gripping his wand.

“Yeah, don’t you have somewhere else to be? Visiting your dad in Azkaban maybe?” Hermione shot at him. Malfoy’s cool smile vanished.

“Keep your bushy head out of other people’s business, you disgusting little-” But Ron interrupted him, by shoving his wand under Malfoy's nose.

“Finish that sentence,” Ron dared, his face contorted in rage. Crabbe and Goyle started forward, but were met by Harry and Ginny’s unyielding wands. “Get out of here.” Malfoy snorted in disgust, but having very little choice, he nodded to Crabbe and Goyle and left them alone.

Ron glared at Malfoys retreating back. “One of these days,” Ron said.

“Just forget it, Ron,” said Hermione, sitting back down. “You’re only giving him what he wants if you choose to be violent about it.” Ron shook his head.

“I don’t care. If he calls you a Mudblood again I’ll run him through.” Harry nodded. Ginny sat down beside Hermione.

“What a git. Did you happen to notice that he wasn’t wearing a badge?” They all nodded, starting to smile. The rest of the journey to Hogwarts was pretty uneventful. When they arrived, Ron and Ginny were just finishing up a game of Gobstones.

“Come on, Ron!” Hermione said impatiently. Harry stood next to her, holding Hedwig
under his arm and struggling with his trunk. Ron quickly put the game away, and then
grabbed his own things. They walked out into the open, looking around them.

“Firs’ years! Over ‘ere! Firs year! Come on, now. Don’t take all day!” They all looked
around to see Hagrid who waved merrily at them. Harry beamed. He had been hoping that Hagrid wouldn’t be away on business for the Order. Still waving at Hagrid, Harry heard his friends gasp. He turned to see what they were looking at. They were staring transfixed at the Thestrals. Harry looked smugly at Ron.

“See,” Harry said. “They DO exist.” Ron gaped.

“You mean, all those years, THOSE have been pulling the carriages?!” Ron said, looking at Harry.

“Well, I only started seeing them last year, but Luna Lovegood says they have been there all along.” Ron nodded, still staring.

“They’re so ugly…” Ginny whispered. “What are they again? And why can I see them?” Harry was about to remind her about Hagrid’s class on Thestrals but remembered she hadn’t been there.

“They are Thestrals, and they appear when you have seen death,” Harry explained. Ginny stared.

“I saw Death Eaters die at the Ministry,” Ginny said, thinking out loud. Harry nodded.

“Come on,” Hermione said, shivering, “I am freezing!” So they all went inside.

When they were all seated comfortably at the Gryffindor House table, Dumbledore stood up. Harry smiled.

“Welcome,” Dumbledore said, opening his arms to the crowd, “to yet another year at Hogwarts. Now, I have a very long list of things to tell, and it will take up quite a bit of time.” There was a soft groan from the crowd, and Harry’s stomach growled in protest. “However,” Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye, “Since that list happens to be my grocery list, I will detain you no longer, and let the feast begin!” There were many chuckles from the crowd, and immediately food appeared on the golden dishes. Harry grinned, feeling, for the first time since the loss of Sirius, truly happy.

When Harry was sure that he would explode if he ate another bite, and people started talking, Dumbledore stood up again. He cleared his throat and everybody quieted immediately.

“I do, actually have a few mandatory things I need to go over. Firstly, I would like to remind our students that the Forbidden Forest is exactly as it says; Forbidden. Now, we do have a few new members of our staff. I would like to introduce our new Caretaker, Anya Graham.”

Everybody clapped as a grumpy looking, middle-aged woman stood up from her chair at the staff table. She was very large around the middle, and reminded Harry remarkably of Aunt Marge. Except that she had very large glasses on, and was garbed in all black.


“Why is it that all of our caretakers have to look like they just crawled out of the dumpster?” Ron asked quietly. Harry shrugged, coughing to cover his laugh. Hermione sent them a glare to be quite. Harry grinned apologetically at her and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

“I ask,” he continued, “that you pay her just as much respect as you gave to Filch.” Dumbledore’s mouth twitched slightly at this. “And lastly, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…” he motioned to a woman who stood up nervously. Harry stared, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Harry…” Hermione whispered. “Isn’t that your Aunt?!”

Mirror
Chapter Six~~~The Mirror Returns


Harry nearly fell out of his seat as he stared at her. It was, without a doubt, his Aunt Petunia. Around him people were clapping, looking interestedly at her. Harry couldn’t believe it. That whole time…Petunia was a witch?! Aunt Petunia looked around. Her usual fear of magic seemed to have vanished completely. She was looking around calmly at the students, and then her gaze fell on Harry. She made no signs of recognition, but just stared at him, not with hatred, not with fear, but with absolutely no emotion at all.

“You okay, Harry?” Ron asked, seeing Harry’s pale face. “Did you know? I mean, did somebody tell you or something?” Harry shook his head numbly. Ginny was looking at Petunia, glaring disgustedly. Harry closed his eyes tightly as Petunia resumed her seat. This couldn’t be happening. Just when Harry had thought he had escaped the Dursleys, Aunt Petunia had to come and teach a class? Why hadn’t she told him? Did Uncle Vernon know? All these questions buzzed around his already exhausted brain. It was all too much.

Harry was barely aware of Ginny, apparently taking pity on him, leading him through the crowd of people towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Halfway there Harry realized that he was walking. He looked at Ginny.

“Thanks,” he said looking at her oddly. She blushed.

“Well,” she said in a would-be casual voice, “You looked so dazed, I figured that if somebody didn’t help you, you would still be sitting there staring at your aunt. Is she really as bad as all that?”

“Worse,” Harry muttered. Ginny laughed. Together they worked their way through the crowd of people. “Wait a second…” Harry said. “I’m a Prefect! Shouldn’t I be doing something? Leading first years around or something?” Ginny shook her head.

“Hermione took care of it, don’t worry. Oh, drat, I have no idea what the password is.” She stopped at the portrait. Harry shrugged. Ginny looked pleadingly at the Fat Lady.

“No password, no entrance. Sorry, but…” She was cut off by Neville coming out of the Common Room.

“Hiya Harry, Ginny. Don’t know what the password is? Yeah, Ron just sent me to come and get you. I guess he was right. That password is ‘Dragon’s blood’” Harry and Ginny stepped in.

“Thanks, Neville,” Ginny said, smiling. Neville nodded, and went to sit by the fire. Ron came up to them.

“Feeling better Harry? Sorry I couldn’t stay with you but Hermione wanted me to help her herd the little midgets into the common room,” Ron said apologetically.

“Ron,” said Hermione coming up from behind. “They are not midgets!” Harry laughed. His head was swimming. He needed sleep.

“I’m going on up to bed,” he said groggily. Everybody bade him goodnight, and Harry left up the stairs. When he reached his four-poster bed, he felt suddenly at home. He took a deep breath, trying to relive some of the stress. He took off his shoes, and set them by the bedside table. That’s when he noticed a light blue envelope sitting on his bed. He sat down, and picked it up. It didn’t have any writing on it, and wasn’t sealed very well. He opened it, and reached inside. His heart doubled its speed. It was the mirror. The high pitched screaming started, this time followed by the sound of nails on a chalk board. Harry, knowing what would happen, dropped it on the floor and moved as far as possible away from it. He heard it clinking loudly on the ground, then, right before his eyes, it burst into flames. Harry stared, for in the flames, was a head. It was Sirius.

“Harry! Harry, are you there?! Harry! Harry you must help me! Please…” and then, it stopped. Harry expected it to explode, it didn’t however. He ran over to it, his heart pounding.

“SIRIUS! I am here! I’m right here! Where are you? SIRIUS!” Harry yelled, but Sirius was gone. Harry was looking desperately into the mirror, flipping it over in frustration. “Sirius, tell me where you are! Are you though the veil?! Are you…” but Harry was interrupted as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan piled in.

“Harry! Are you alright, mate?” Dean asked.

“Harry, what is that? Are you okay?” said Ginny frantically, coming over to sit on the ground by him. She took the mirror out of his hands. “What is this Harry? Did it do something to you?”

“We heard awful screams…” Hermione whispered, closing her eyes. “Those came from the mirror?” Harry didn’t move. He wanted to be alone more than ever now. He had just seen Sirius, he seemed to be terrified. Should he be worried? Was this some sort of sick joke somebody was playing on him? All he knew now was that, somewhere, somehow, Sirius had been able to talk to him.

“Harry, I think you should show that to Dumbledore,” said Ron worriedly. Harry shook his head.

“Harry, don’t listen to that thing. These same circumstances drew you into a trap last year. Don’t let it happen again,” Ginny said. Harry nodded. She was right, of course. It was a trap, but in that moment that Sirius had talked t him, Harry had felt the most wonderful feeling of having Sirius back again. Even if he knew now that it was only to trick him.

“You’re right, it’s a phony. I’ll just get rid of it,” said Harry in a voice very unlike his own. They had tricked him once; they weren’t going to do it again. He walked over to the window, opened it, and chucked the mirror out. The only question now was who had sent it? Whoever it was obviously wanted him to go to the Ministry. But he knew better now. He had lost one person like that. It wasn’t going to happen again.

Mirror
Chapter Seven~~~First Day


The next day Harry woke up feeling very groggy and un-rested. He lay on the bed for a while, trying to remember why he was feeling so depressed. Then he remembered the mirror. How the pretend Sirius had shrieked at him to save him. He knew that was false. Sirius was already dead… right? Closing his eyes tightly, he got up and dressed. He looked around the room. Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville were still sleeping. He decided that he would just sit by the fire and think until everybody woke up. Slowly he sneaked down the steps, trying not to make any noise. He was about to sit in his favorite, squashy armchair, but saw that somebody was already sitting in it. Ginny turned to look around at him. She looked almost as stressed as he felt. She smiled slightly at the sight of him.

“Hey,” Harry said. Ginny nodded.

“What are you doing up so early?” Ginny asked, as Harry sat down next to her. He shrugged.

“What about you?”

“I asked first,” Ginny reminded him. Harry looked at her. He didn’t really know why he wanted to tell her. Maybe it was the fact that here eyes showed such compassion, or that she was smiling encouragingly or that Ginny was just an easy person to talk to in general.

“I was just thinking about that mirror,” he confessed, trying to read her expression. She nodded, still looking at him.

“It’s not real Harry, you must remember that,” she said softly. He nodded.

“I know…it’s just…hard,” he finished with difficulty.

“I understand,” she said. “But what you need to realize is that you have other people who care about you, who will help you anytime you need help. Sirius wasn’t the only person who loves you,” she said. Harry looked at her, and his throat clenched. But he felt better.

“Thanks,” he said scratchily. She smiled. “You haven’t told me why you’re here, though.”

“My mum just sent me a letter. Percy was fired from the Ministry,” Ginny said, sighing. “He is in quite a state.” Harry nodded.

“Maybe this is what he needs to help him realize that his family will be there for him always, even when his career might not,” Harry said. Ginny smiled.

“I sure hope so.” For the next half hour, Harry and Ginny talked. Harry was amazed. He had never found it so easy to talk to somebody. Ginny was down to earth, caring, and a very strong person. Harry felt immensely better after talking with her. When Hermione came down the stairs and found them sitting and talking together, she bade them good morning, and left for breakfast, with a knowing smile on her face.

“We’d better go too. Or we won’t have time to get any breakfast in before classes start,” said Harry uncomfortably, who had noticed Hermione’s smile. Ginny nodded, and they went down to breakfast. Ten minutes later, Ron joined them, yawning loudly.

“What classes do we have today?” Ron asked as he pulled up a chair beside Hermione. Hermione rummaged into her bag

“Ummm…we have History of Magic first,” she said. Ron and Harry groaned loudly. “Then we have Transfiguration. And after lunch we have Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Hermione stuffed her schedule into her bag. Harry had stopped eating his breakfast at the mention of Defense Against the Dark Arts. His Aunt Petunia would be teaching that class.

“Wonderful,” muttered Harry, going back to his breakfast.

“Oh, Harry. It can’t be all that bad can it?” Ron asked. Harry nodded vigorously.

“Trust me, it can.” Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but just then the morning mail zoomed in, carried by hundreds of brightly colored owls. Harry looked up, and saw a brown owl flew down to Hermione. It was carrying the Daily Prophet. Harry remembered that Lupin was going to be announced dead today. He braced himself as Hermione’s eyes zoomed over the paper.

“Ah ha,” mutter Hermione. “Here it is.” She read it aloud:

“Yesterday morning, in a very bad flying accident, a fellow wizard and werewolf, was killed,” Hermione took a deep breath, and Harry had to tell himself that it wasn’t real. Hermione continued. “He was found lying in a heap at the bottom of a tree by a squib, Arabella Figg. When officials arrived on the scene, Figg was crouched over the body, sobbing hysterically.” Underneath there was a picture of a broken body lying on the ground. His face was so bloody that you couldn’t make anything out. Hermione shrugged. “The rest is saying all of the stuff he had done and his family members and stuff.”

“Wait, don’t we need to act upset?” Ginny whispered. Ron nodded.

“Well,” said Hermione. “I don’t think we should bring attention to it, let’s just act like we never read it. And if anybody asks about it, then we can start balling our eyes out.”

“Sounds good,” said Harry, “but we really need to get going.” They all got up, said goodbye to Ginny, and left off.

History of Magic was as boring as ever, and Harry, for once, decided to take notes like Hermione. After class Malfoy approached him.

“So, Potter. I here your werewolf friend accidentally smashed himself against a tree. Isn’t that right?” Hermione, who had been standing next to Harry, gave a very authentic look of horror.

“What?!” she said. Malfoy smiled evilly.

“Didn’t you even know? Remus Lupin is dead!” Hermione suddenly stood very still. Then she burst into fake sobs. Ron put his arm around her, pretending to comfort her. He and Harry, not the best at acting, decided on looking devastated and shocked instead of bursting into tears. After that incident, they didn’t have to pretend to be upset anymore, for which Harry was very grateful. The Slytherins, obviously disgusted by their show of emotions, apparently didn’t want to witness it again.

“Nice job,” Harry said to Hermione as they walked away towards their Transfiguration class.

“Welcome, class,” said McGonagall primly. “Today we will be learning how to rather large objects into pigs. This will be in your N.E.W.T.s, so pay attention. We will start with your chairs.” And with that the class set to work. Hermione, of course, had perfectly transformed her chair into a plump pig. Harry’s pig, however, still had wooden legs, so he was given extra homework.

After lunch they all headed down to Potions class. Snape was waiting for them, with a sneer pasted on his face.

“Well, I’m must say. I am completely surprised that some of you were able to make it to my N.E.W.T. Potions class,” Snape said, looking pointedly at Neville. “Therefore, we will have to endure two more years together, until you graduate Hogwarts.” Snape looked at Harry then, who glared back. “Please get out the ingredients that I have written on the board, and begin working.” Harry did so, the whole time thinking about his next class with Petunia. When they were finished, Snape walked around looking at their potions. Harry was surprised when Snape didn’t say anything at all. In fact, now that he thought about it, Snape hadn’t said anything at all to him since the death of Sirius.

When they were walking to Petunia’s class, Harry became very quite. Ron and Hermione kept throwing anxious glances at him, but Harry ignored it. When they entered the room, Harry wasn’t surprised to see that it was neat and tidy. Everything had been organized and dusted. The desks were aligned perfectly with each other, and Ron was obviously trying not to laugh. Harry found nothing funny about this, but looked at Aunt Petunia. She looked back at him, but then looked at the rest of the class.

“Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Petunia said crisply. She allowed no emotion in her voice. It was as if she were a robot. “Take out your wand and lay it on the desk in front of you.” The class obeyed, looking confused. “Accio wands!” yelled Petunia. Harry gasped loudly. Aunt Petunia had just done magic! He was speechless. The wands flew into her hand, and she stuffed them in a drawer. Then she moved around the room and set a jar in front of them. Harry stared at the jar. Inside of it was a bee, it was buzzing around madly.

“Look at your jar,” Petunia said. “What do you see?” Hermione raised her hand. Harry didn’t, knowing how stupid a question it was. Petunia ignored Hermione. “Harry! Answer me please.” Harry jumped. He looked at Aunt Petunia, and saw that she was glaring at him, as if he had already answered wrongly.

“It’s a bee,” Harry answered dully.

“NO!” Petunia screeched. “And you will address me as Mrs. Dursley when you speak.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Dursley,” Harry said, almost mockingly. Petunia eyed him.

“As to your answer, it is not a bee. It is danger. It is a threat. You will terminate that threat. And you will do it without a wand.” Harry stared at her. “Remove its stinger, Mr. Potter.” Harry tried, but he couldn’t do it without his wand. By the end of the class, everybody had a headache, and even Hermione was frowning in frustration, as she couldn’t do it either.

The bell rang, signaling the end of classes. “My head is throbbing!” moaned Ron.

“I can’t believe how hard that was! I couldn’t even make my bee flinch. Nothing!” Hermione roared. “Is it even possible to do magic without a wand?!” Harry shrugged.

“Potter!” came a shrill voice. Harry saw McGonagall coming towards him. Harry wondered what he had done now. “Move along you two,” she said sharply. She took Harry aside.

“What is it Professor?” Harry asked.

“Tomorrow, after dinner, you will attend a lesson with Professor Dumbledore. He is going to teach you Legilimensy.” Harry nodded. “And Harry,” she whispered so that Harry had to lean in to hear. “Do. Not. Tell. Anybody. Not even your friends. The only people that will know about this will be you, me and Dumbledore. If this fact escapes, things will become very difficult for all of us.” And with one last, meaningful look, McGonagall rushed away.

Mirror
Chapter Eight~~~Triumph


“What was that all about?” asked Ron, frowning slightly. Hermione looked at him too.

“She ummm…” Harry mumbled, trying to think of a good excuse. “Well, she wanted to talk to me about class today.” Hermione obviously didn’t believe him, but thankfully she didn’t push it. Ron frowned however.

“Did you really do that bad?” he asked. Harry shrugged.

“I have to take an extra class with her because of it. Tomorrow, in fact.” Ron gaped.

“Wow, Harry. I wasn’t paying attention. You must be terrible.” Harry laughed, feeling very uncomfortable, as Hermione hadn’t stopped looking at him, almost through him, in fact. Harry cleared his throat.

“Let’s get down to dinner shall we?” Harry said. Ron nodded, and after a few minutes, so did Hermione. She was too smart, Harry decided. Harry felt very depressed. He hated lying to his best friends. But for some reason, NOBODY must know. He wondered why. Did Dumbledore suspect, as Harry did, that there was somebody untrustworthy at Hogwarts?

After a very quick dinner, he went back early. He had to try better than last year, he decided, and that would be much easier, especially since he wouldn’t hate his teacher this year. He would find it very easy to learn Legilimensy from Dumbledore. When he walked through the portrait, he was glad to see Ginny there. She smiled and waved at him, and he suddenly felt much better. He walked over to sit down next to her. She saw his ashen face, and her smile was replaced with worry.

“Harry? What’s wrong?” she asked. He wanted so badly to tell her all the stuff he was thinking about. “Are you still thinking about that mirror? Listen, even if there is somebody at Hogwarts working with Voldemort, Dumbledore is here. Nothing can happen,” Harry tried to smile, and nodded.

“You’re right.”

“That’s not what you were thinking about was it?” she said. He was amazed how she could see right through him. He was struggling with himself. He couldn’t tell her. “It’s okay Harry. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.” He just stared.

“How can you read me so well? It’s like you know exactly what I’m thinking,” Harry said, feeling a strong fondness for her. Fondness? Was that it? Ginny laughed.

“All of your emotions show up in your eyes as you think them. You’re an open book Harry,” she smiled, and Harry did too. Was he really that easy to read with everybody else? Or was it just Ginny?

“How do you do that?” Harry asked, smiling.

“Do what?” she asked.

“All you have to do is smile and all the troubles I feel vanish,” Harry couldn’t believe he had just told her that. She was sure to think him an idiot now. Ginny blushed, her face turning the color of her hair.

“That’s funny, because that’s how I feel about you,” Ginny said smiling now. Harry grinned stupidly. Suddenly, everybody broke out in applause. Harry and Ginny both jumped, and then realized that the whole Common Room had been listening to them. Dean Thomas started to pretend cry. Seamus started humming a wedding song. After a few minutes, Harry and Ginny started laughing too.

“See you tomorrow then?” Harry yelled over the noise. Ginny nodded, laughing, and they both ran up to their separate rooms. Harry was still grinning when he fell asleep in his bed.

The next day Harry woke up early, and got dressed to another chorus of “Here Comes the Bride.” Ron looked at Harry curiously. Dean and Seamus stopped immediately.

“You don’t know?!?!?!” Dean said. Ron frowned.

“Know what? Harry, what are they talking about?” said Ron. Dean and Seamus both blurted out bits and pieces of last night. Harry glared at them, but Ron seemed to get the gist. He smiled and thumped Harry on the back. “Finally,” said Ron. Harry was surprised.

“You’re not mad at me?” Harry asked.

“Of course not! I couldn’t wish for a better match for my sister. You’re a good guy, Harry. Whether you wish to believe it or not.” Harry was touched.

“Thanks Ron.” Ron grinned at him.

Classes went by quickly that day, and Harry found himself zoning out in class, thinking about the coming Legilimensy class with Dumbledore, the Mirror, and Petunia. The only class he enjoyed that day was Hagrid's class.

"Hiya Harry!" came Hagrid's booming voice. Harry waved and grinned at him. It was good to see Hagrid.

"Hey Hagrid," he said going up to him.

"Boy, wait till ye see the lesson I've fer us today!" said Hagrid, beaming and clapping Harry on the back with one of his big beefy hands. Then he bent down next to Harry. "I want ye to come and see me after yer classes tomorrow. Got a bone to pick with ye," he whispered. Harry nodded, glad that he would be able to talk to Hagrid. the rest of the class, Hagrid kept giving him encouraging smiles and winking at him. When class was over Hagrid came over, and put his arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Try and be happy, Harry. Will ye do that fer me?" Harry frowned at the oddness of this request but nodded and went off to dinner with Ron and Hermione. They met Ginny on the way and sat together, eating and laughing.

Finally, after dinner, Harry said goodbye to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione who looked at him suspiciously. Harry’s insides squirmed with guilt, but he ignored it. He was about to head down the hallway to Dumbledore’s office, when he saw Aunt Petunia walking away quickly. Harry couldn’t help himself, he followed her.

He walked behind her for quite some time, then he heard her turn into a room, and, as they were rather near Professor Snape’s office, his interest was complete.

“Yes, of course. I have…yes. No I haven’t had the time…I’ve been…yes of course. Please forgive me. I will try, but…as they have been taken by surprise, especially the Headmaster. Thank you. Very well, I will try harder. I will not fail; we will not fail…yes. Goodbye.” Harry had never heard such gibberish in his entire life! He looked in, and saw that there was nobody else in the room. She seemed to be talking to something in her palms. Harry was briefly reminded of Rita Skeeter, and wondered if perhaps Petunia was talking to her. He doubted it, however, and when she spun around quickly, he was completely lost in his thoughts.

“You! Boy! What the devil are you doing there?!” she aid, her eyes wide. “What were you doing? Listening? What did you hear?!” she was frantic. Harry grinned, his hatred flowing through him like poison.

“Who were you talking to?” Harry said, walking in the room with her. She watched him with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t ask questions!” she snapped. Harry went to sit on a table nearby.

“Why was Dumbledore taken by surprise?” Harry asked. Petunia glared.

“Because he didn’t know I was a witch, of course.” Harry had to admit, she had fooled him his entire life, but he was easy. Fooling Dumbledore was another matter, however. “What did you hear, exactly?”

“I’ll answer some of your questions if you’ll answer some of mine,” Harry said, smoothly, trying not to betray his nervousness. Petunia nodded. “Good. First, I want to know why exactly you didn’t tell me you were a witch.”

“Isn’t it obvious?! If Vernon ever found out, he would have nothing to do with me!”

“Wouldn’t that be a tragedy,” muttered Harry darkly. Petunia scowled even deeper. “Alright then. I also want to know how the Hell you were allowed to teach!”

“Well, Dumbledore was getting desperate, and I took over,” Petunia said sweetly, as if she had done the Headmaster a favor.”

“So,” said Harry. “Why did you want this job? To spend more quality time with your nephew?” Harry said, batting his eyelashes. Petunia laughed airily, but Harry could definitely tell she was thinking hard.

“I think you have asked me enough questions, boy. What about mine?” Harry didn’t miss the fact that she had obviously not been able to answer his last question. There was definitely something wrong with Petunia’s being here. “Boy! How much did you here?” she asked impatiently again. Harry grinned.

“All of it.”

When Harry got to the Gargoyles guarding the passageway to Dumbledore’s office, he realized that he didn’t know the password.

“What about the password, sunny Jim?” asked one of the stone creatures. Harry shrugged.

“I came for…” but then he broke off. He couldn’t tell anybody. “Uhhh…I really need to see Dumbledore. Very important Prefect stuff. Can’t you just let me in?”

“Sorry, Jimbo. No-can-do!” But just then the stone doorway swung open. Dumbledore stood there.

“Do come in, Harry,” he said, smiling.

“Sorry, Professor, I just…” but Dumbledore cut him off.

“No need, Harry. Come, we are wasting precious time.” Harry followed Dumbledore. When they entered Dumbledore’s office, Harry was surprised to see all of the objects he had smashed last year were back on the shelves and in perfect condition. Dumbledore walked over to his des and sat down. “Please, sit.” Harry did so. Dumbledore then closed his eyes. Harry thought for a moment that he was falling asleep. But then he felt a nagging inside his brain, immediately followed by an immense pressure.

He was sitting in Mrs. Figg’s living room for the first time.
He was being thrown into his cupboard by Uncle Vernon.
He was getting his hair cut off by Aunt Petunia.
He was looking into Snape’s loathing eyes, hatred flowing through him.

All of these memories zoomed by before he realized that Dumbledore was reading his mind. Harry started to push Dumbledore away, but just as he started to protest, it quit. Harry was slouching in his chair. He was shaking slightly. Dumbledore was looking at him.

“I am sorry Harry, but I needed to know how long it would take you to react.” Harry nodded, still breathing deeply. “Well, you aren’t as far as I would have hoped.” Harry bowed his head in shame. “That, however, is not altogether your fault. I am afraid I had thought Snape could have taught you without making you so angry. I see in that last memory, it was not one sided. Snape should know better,” the last sentence was more an utterance to himself. Harry had recovered slightly, and was sitting up straighter in his chair.

They did this over and over, for about a half hour. Harry’s head wasn’t hurting half as bad as it had with Snape.

“I think we will try one more time. You are doing remarkably well, Harry. I am sure that only a couple of lessons and you will have it down.” Harry gaped.

“Only a couple more lessons?” he said amazed.

“Yes, well. You did have those lessons with Snape all last year. And you will notice that you can completely throw me off now. Your only fault is the inconsistency. But after practice, that will change. What we will begin working on next lesson is trying to get into my thoughts. You will try to throw my own powers back at me. Snape told me that you were able to do that once. But I need you to do it every time. Ready?” Harry nodded.

Harry was riding a broomstick for the first time.
Harry was watching Sirius in the flames of his mirror.

“Harry?” Dumbledore said, sounding alarmed. “What was that last memory?” Harry took a deep breath, trying to stop himself from shaking. Damn, he had let Dumbledore in that time! He tried to focus on what Dumbledore was asking him.

“Uhhh…well…” Harry decided there was no way around it. He had to tell him. “Last year, before Sirius…” he broke off.

“It’s ok. Keep going.”

“He gave me a two-way mirror. And umm…I was angry, so I smashed it against the wall. Well, a few weeks ago, Dobby said he found it perfectly mended, and sent it back to me. And just two nights ago, I find it again, and it burst into flames. Sirius was in the flames. He was…he was asking me to help him.” Harry’s throat clenched up. Dumbledore nodded, looking very troubled.

“You do realize that it is not real, don’t you, Harry?” said Dumbledore softly. Harry nodded. “But, this does mean that somebody is trying to lead you out of the school.”

“I know. Do you have any idea’s as to who the spy might be?”

“I have my idea’s, but no proof,” said Dumbledore, frowning. Harry was steeling himself, he had already told Dumbledore about the mirror, would it be too much to ask him about Petunia? “Is there something else you wished to ask me, Harry?” Dumbledore said, his bright eyes twinkling knowingly behind his half-moon glasses. Harry grinned, and nodded.

“Yeah, actually. I was wondering, well, if it’s not…why did you hire my aunt to be a teacher? Even when you didn’t know she was a witch until just recently? I mean, how do you know we can trust her?” blurted Harry very quickly. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, and tapped his fingers together thoughtfully.

“I was wondering how soon you would ask me that. Well, I hired her because she was the only one we could find for the job, and I see no reason not to trust her, as she has kept you…well…alive for sixteen years.” Harry nodded.

“But, sir, don’t you find it a bit odd that she suddenly wants to be involved with the wizarding world?” Harry asked. Dumbledore squinted heavily.

“You may not know this, but it is very painful for any witch or wizard to hide their powers completely. After going many years without doing any magic at all, I can imagine that Petunia is finding at more and more difficult of late. I believe her when she says that she wants a place to rid herself of some of the stress.” Harry stared.

“How can it be painful to hold in your magic when I did it for eleven years? I never felt any pain,” Harry murmured, interested by this new bit of information.

“Well, you never ‘completely’ held your magic in did you? Your hair always grew back, you found yourself on the school rooftop, and you talked to a boa constrictor. I’m sure that you have expelled magic. Petunia doesn’t allow for her magic to show at all. Which is why you never see her on school rooftops,” Dumbledore said, smiling. Harry didn’t know what to think. Was he overreacting because she was his aunt? Maybe he was just trying to make her sound like a bad guy because that was what he had grown up with. Harry’s head was throbbing with his contemplating added to his already pained scar.

“Well, off you go. I will see you tomorrow, then. You did very well. I’m proud,” Dumbledore said, interrupting his thoughts. Harry smiled, and left feeling slightly elated. Dumbledore was proud of him.

He had gotten about halfway to the common room when he stopped. He heard stifled sniffling noises. It was as if somebody were crying. He looked around, and then saw the culprit. Ginny Weasley was curled up in the corner, crying. Harry stared in shock for a second, and then went to her.

“Ginny? What’s happened? Are you alright?” he said. His heart was breaking for her. She jumped at the sound of his voice, but upon seeing his face, she sobbed even harder, and threw her arms around his neck. Harry felt just like he did last year with Cho Chang. Except that this was somehow…different. He pattered her back awkwardly. She made a rather disgusting, snorting noise against his chest. He tried not to grimace.

“Oh, Harry. I’m so sorry. It’s just…” she started crying again. Harry sat down on the ground next to her. She wiped her face with the sleeves of her robes, and looked down at her hands. Harry saw that she had a letter clutched in her fists. “Mum just wrote me. Remember how I told you that Percy had been fired?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Harry said, recalling that night.

“Well, He was feeling rather upset. Rather really upset, actually. And, well. Now he’s missing, and nobody knows where he is. Mum and Dad are in hysterics. They are afraid that he may have done something awful. I am so afraid for him,” Ginny said, breaking into a whole new tirade of sobs. Harry felt very sad. Not for Percy, but for the rest of the Weasley family. He held Ginny close, trying to make her feel better.

After awhile Ginny slowed her breathing. She looked up at him

“I am so sorry. I must seem like such an idiot. I’m sure you got enough of this last year with Chang.”

“Hey, I don’t mind at all. You always help me when I’m upset. I’m glad I can repay the favor,” Harry said. He noticed just then how beautiful she was. He smiled.

“Hey, Ginny. Can I ask a favor of you?”

“Another one?” she asked in false exasperation.

“Can I kiss you?” She nodded. Harry pulled her to him, and kissed her. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced, and the first time he had ever kissed anybody. It was nothing like the kiss Cho had sprung on him. He had been completely terrified. This time, he was ready for it, and this time, he actually felt something real for the person he was kissing. Was it love?

“What on earth is going on!?” came a loud, painfully familiar voice. Harry groaned, and pulled away from Ginny. She was blushing terribly, but smiling. They both turned to see Petunia Dursley glaring. Then she saw Ginny there, and her eyes were filled with the oddest emotion: Triumph.

Mirror
Chapter Nine~~~Truth


“Oy! Harry, we’re over here. We’re going to Hogsmeade! Aren’t you coming?” came Ron’s voice as Harry walked back from a very difficult Occlumency class. His brain felt fried, but he had managed to throw Dumbledore completely off every time, and had even been able to read Dumbledore’s thoughts sometimes.

“No, I’m going to Hagrid’s. You go ahead. Where’s Ginny?” Harry asked, noticing that Ginny wasn’t with them.

“No Idea, I haven’t seen her since yesterday, come to think of it,” Ron said, frowning. “She must have skipped breakfast this morning, she is in her O.W.L’s year, and maybe she’s doing homework.” Harry nodded, still troubled.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Hermione asked. Harry nodded, and started smiling and waving goodbye to them.

“Yeah, I’m fine, really. I just have a lot of stuff to do, especially with McGonagall’s extra class. She gives a lot of homework, I’m just busy. I’ll see you when you get back.” He wanted to talk to Hagrid. During their class yesterday, Hagrid had asked him to come and visit him, and Harry had been looking forward to it all day. He passed Petunia in the hallway, and she gave him the oddest smile. It was a smile of satisfaction. Harry frowned, there was definitely something wrong. He pushed that to he back of his mind, however, and made his way down the grounds to Hagrid’s house.

BANG BANG! Harry knocked on Hagrid’s door loudly. He heard fang barking inside, and scratching at the door.

“Get down, you silly creature, get down! It’s on’y Harry!” yelled Hagrid as he opened the door for Harry. Hagrid beamed at him. “Come in! I’ll git ye some tea.” Harry smiled and nodded. He always enjoyed Hagrid’s company. He sat down on one of the huge, scrubbed wooden chairs. Hagrid bustled around, making tea while Fang laid his large head on Harry’s knee. “How was yer class with Dumbledore today?”

“It was good, it sure gave a headache though. It always…” Harry stopped. “How do you know about that? Dumbledore said nobody should know!” Hagrid grinned.

“I don’t know what yer learnin’ in there Harry, so don’t tell me. I just know Dumbledore is teachin’ ye something,” Harry stared. “He told me las’ night, don’ worry.”

“Why do you reckon Dumbledore doesn’t want anybody to know?” Harry asked, glad he could talk to Hagrid about it, if not Ron, Hermione or Ginny.

“Well, tha’s sort of what I wanted to talk to ye about,” Hagrid said uncomfortably. “I want you to be careful. No matter what you see, don’t go blastin’ away trying to save somebody. Whatever you see. Don’t. Trust. It,” Hagrid said firmly. Harry bowed his head. That’s how Sirius was… he stopped. No, don’t go there.

“Don’t think for one minute that I blame ye fer what happened, now,” Hagrid said a little softer, noticing Harry’s face. He sighed sadly, and sat down next to Harry. “Harry, when I told you I had found you in the rubble, that wasn’t true. Sirius found you first. When I got there, he was sittin’ on the rubble of yer house. He had a bundle of blackened blankets in ‘is arms. It was you, Harry.” Harry put his head in his hands, trying very hard not to cry. He couldn’t let Hagrid know. “That’s how I had ‘is bike, Harry. He told me to take the li’l tike, you, and keep ye safe.” Harry, made a quick excuse, and got up to leave. He couldn’t take this. ‘NO!” Hagrid yelled, grabbing the back of Harry’s robes and pulling him back to sit in the chair. “Listen to me, Harry. He told me to keep ye safe. Well, I did. I took you on his bike, to Dumbledore, and we laid you on that ruddy doorstep. Dumbledore and McGonagall left for ‘ogwarts after that. But I stayed behind. A few minutes later, Sirius apparated beside me. We jus’ sat there, for the longest time. Lookin’ at ye and yer future with them Dursleys. Sirius tol’ me about Peter Pettigrew. What he’d done to yer parents. He said he was goin’ to go and kill ‘im.”

“Hagrid…please stop,” Harry said, unable to bear anymore.

“He tol’ me he was goin’ to kill Peter Pettigrew,” Hagrid continued on. “Well, I says, if ye do that, it’s possible that you would die. He told me he didn’ care, justice had to be done, he says. I asked him, why don’ you just let it go, so when the Dark Lord is dead, you can take Harry. He looked at me with a look I’ll never forget, Harry. I will never forget it, I swear. His eyes was full of tears, and he looked all sad like.

The Dark Lord won’t be dead till Harry kills ‘im, he says. ‘Course, I didn’ know what he was sayin’! But he kept lookin’ at me with that look in ‘is eyes, till I started to feel that hopelessness in my own heart. He told me all about The Prophesy, and I couln’ believe it. I was a cryin’ like a baby.” Harry and Hagrid both had tears running down their faces now, but for some unknown reason, Hagrid insisted on telling Harry all of this.

“So, he tells me that Peter will continue to help the Dark Lord, until they have killed you, Harry. I knew he was right, but I just couldn’ cope with the fact that Sirius was goin’ to go hunt him down with no plan or nothin’. So, I asked him, why are you so willin’ to go out there and surely die without some sort of plan? He looked at me again, and then he smiled at me, Harry. He smiled. He says to me, Hagrid…I would die for this boy without hesitation. He is all I have left of Lily and James. I would consider it an honor.” Harry rubbed vigorously at his eyes, he was crying.

“Well, we sat there for quite sometime, just thinking, then it dawned on me. I got a bone to pick with ye, I says to him. When the spell rebounded on Voldemort, why didn’t Voldemort die? He looked all funny then, and his eyes went to the ground. You know how Lily was an Auror, right? He asked me. I told how I knew, and he got very upset like. He started cryin’ and all. Well, he says, that meant she needed to know how to do all the unforgivable curses. I still didn’t get what he was sayin’”

Hagrid looked at Harry, who was looking at him intently. Hagrid’s eyes bunched closed, and then he sighed. Harry was getting nervous, what else was there to his parents death that he didn’t know about? Did Hagrid know why Voldemort hadn’t died? Why hadn’t he told him before now?

“You know how disgusting You-Know-Who is Harry. He likes to play with his prey first,” Hagrid got all choked up.

“What happened Hagrid?” Harry asked, afraid of the answer now.

“Voldemort made yer….he…he put the Imperius Curse on Lily,” came a sob. “And he…he made her use Avada Kadavra you, Harry. The spell rebounded and hit her. Tha’s why Lily died, and Voldemort didn’. She couldn’t stop it, Harry. She put that protective curse on ye right before You-Know-Who got there. She tried her best to resist it, Harry. But she just wasn’ strong enough.” Harry stopped crying. He sat in his chair, rigid and unfeeling. Voldemort had made his mother try to kill him. Hagrid couldn’t look at him “I had to tell ye, Harry. You had to know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Harry said calmly. Hagrid choked. “I was goin’ ter, but then after Sirius…I didn’t think you could ‘andle it. Dumbledore don’t even know, Harry. I’m sorry.” Harry couldn’t breath. He tried to stand, but fell to the ground. He looked around, very dizzy. Where was he? He couldn’t breath! He tried to pick himself up off the floor, but couldn’t. He rolled over onto his side, and vomited all over the floor. He couldn’t breathe…he couldn’t breathe…black. When he woke up, Hagrid was leaning over him.

“Harry?! Harry!” WAKE UP!” Hagrid’s face was stark white. He lifted Harry roughly off the floor and carried him over a huge rocking chair. Sitting him down on it, Hagrid rushed to get something out of his cupboards. Harry was crying terribly now. This was certainly not what he was expecting to happen during his visit with Hagrid. Hagrid bustled over and shoved something into his hand. “Drink this, quick now,” Hagrid said. Harry did so, not realizing what was happening quite yet. As soon as he drank it, he felt better. His breathing slowed, and his heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.

“Thanks. What was that?” asked Harry, the taste was odd, but quite good actually. Hagrid took the cup from his and putting it over in the sink.

“My own secret recipe for a calming draft,” Hagrid said rather proudly. Harry nodded. “Are ye mad at me?” Hagrid asked tentatively. Harry wanted to shout at him, scream until his lungs could scream no more. But he didn’t. It wasn’t Hagrid’s fault that Voldemort had done that to his mother. He was, however, slightly ticked at why Hagrid hadn’t mentioned it before. He watched as Hagrid waited on the edge of his seat for an answer. Harry took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the information he had just learned.

“Is there something else that you need to tell me?” Harry asked, watching him. Hagrid shook his head. “Of course I’m not mad at you. I just…wish you would have told me earlier, or something.”
“Well, to tell ye the truth. I wasn’ supposed to tell ye at all!” said Hagrid. “Sirius told me never to tell ye. Said that ye shouldn’ know that. But I thought ye had the right to know. And I’m not sorry that I told ye Harry. Yer a young man. You should be able to know about yer own life,” Hagrid sat down at a chair next to Harry. “I figure it’s better that ye find it out from me and not Voldemort, anyways.” Harry suddenly forgot all thoughts of anger. He calmed down immensely, and he knew it had nothing to do with the potion. Hagrid had just said Voldemort’s name.

“You said his name…” Harry told him. Hagrid nodded.

“I can’t do much this year in The Order, especially after the Giant catastrophe. At least I can try and say his name.” Harry actually smiled, and so did Hagrid.

“Thanks, Hagrid. It means a lot to me.” Hagrid nodded.

“I know. Now, how about some rock cakes…” Hagrid said, and started to get up. Harry opened his mouth to say he wasn’t hungry, but then he saw Hagrid was smiling at him. They both laughed. Hagrid’s rock cakes were just that: Cakes that were as hard as rocks. Hagrid wasn’t the best cook. A knock on the door interrupted their laughter. Hagrid looked out the window.

“It’s yer bloody Aunt!” Hagrid whispered loudly. Harry’s heart jumped to his throat. He didn’t feel like dealing with her. “Damn, she saw me lookin’!” Hagrid said, flattening himself against the wall. The knock came again, much louder. There was little choice, now that Petunia had seen Hagrid was already home. “Maybe ye could hide? If ye don’ want to deal with her right now…” But just then the door burst open. Petunia stood there, she had used her wand to open the door! She stepped into his house, and Harry stared coldly at her. She studied him hard, and he was sure she could see the tear-stains on his face. He reached up with his shirt sleeve and wiped hi face.

“Now, see here. I have company over, and I would thank you to get out of my house!” Hagrid bellowed. Petunia stared disgustedly at him.

“I’m sorry to interrupt. But Mr. Potter is needed up at the castle,” Petunia said, strolling in towards Harry.

“Oh yeah? Who says?” Harry asked hotly.

“The Headmaster. Now come.” Harry glared but if Dumbledore really did need to see him, he had to go. Hagrid nodded.

“I’ll talk to you lat’r Harry,” Hagrid said, not taking his glaring eyes off Petunia. Harry nodded, and followed Petunia out of the house.

“What does he want with me?” Harry asked stiffly. Petunia smiled, and then she pulled out her wand.

“He wants you to go and talk to the Dark Lord, and he wants you to go without a fuss…” with that she raised her wand, and brought it down on Harry.

“Transportatia!” she yelled. Harry was whirling away. What was happening? Petunia was laughing, and then the world around him disappeared completely.

Mirror
Chapter Ten~~~Sacrifice


Harry stumbled forwards, toppling over onto the ground. He stood up quickly, and saw that he was in the Ministry of Magic, surrounded by four death eaters, and their leader, Lord Voldemort. He wondered how he had gotten here. He moved to pull out his wand, but it had tumbled out of his hand when he had clattered to the ground, and Voldemort was now holding it.

“Well, hello, Mr. Potter,” said Lord Voldemort evil voice. Harry nodded politely.

“Hello. How are you today?” he said boldly. Many of his surrounding Death-Eaters laughed. As Harry looked around him he saw Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, one he didn’t know, and…Peter Pettigrew! Harry stared at the last Death-Eater. “Pettigrew…” Harry said. “I thought you were…” but Harry was cut off.

“Dead?” said Voldemort, clapping Peter on the back. “No, no, he has spent the last year training the newest member of our group…convincing her that our way is best. At first I don’t think she agreed, but then she decided that her son, Duncan, or whatever, was important to her, and she didn’t like the idea of him being transformed into a corpse. She is here now, in fact. Petunia…” Harry gaped. Aunt Petunia was a Death Eater?! She had been being trained by Peter?! Voldemort had threatened Dudley?! This was all too much. Harry started to laugh loudly as Petunia stepped out of the shadows. Voldemort kicked him in the stomach, causing him to cease.

“But how did I get here?” Harry asked, clutching his stomach.

“Well, little Potter. I had Petunia transport you. We were hoping you would come of your own accord after you saw your godfather in the mirror. We underestimated you, and had to do it the hard way,” Voldemort said, while Petunia glared.

“You’re pathetic, just like your parents,” Petunia said, sickened. Harry glared at her. Wanting to kill her, but knowing that it would do no good. Except to get him killed faster. “Now you will face the same death they died, the same death you deserve.” Harry, still clutching his stomach, spat at her. She shrieked in fury. The next thing Harry new, he had fallen victim to the Cruciatus curse. It seemed to last for hours.

When they finished torturing him, for now at least, Harry was a crumpled heap on the ground. He had never been in this much pain. Needles stabbed at him from all sides. Hammers pounded non-stop in his head. He was crying, but tried not to show it. Bellatrix saw.

“awww…is poor little Harry going to cry for his mummy?” Bellatrix said in her infuriating baby voice. Harry was shaking furiously.

“Get…stuffed…” Harry managed. He was hit with another bout of torture. After awhile, Voldemort seemed to get bored, and he stopped. He walked over to Harry, lifted him off the ground, and threw him into Wormtail.

“Bring him, Wormtail, Cordell.” Voldemort commanded shortly. Harry was then forced by Wormtail and the unfamiliar Death-Eater, apparently Cordell, to follow Voldemort. What was this all about? Why were they at the Ministry? How come there weren’t any Unspeakables down here? After they had gone down so many corridors and rooms that Harry gave up on trying to remember the way out, they stopped. Voldemort opened a door that was directly in front of him with a wave of his wand. Harry was shoved inside. Harry got to his feet quickly, looking around him. He had been here before, only last year. It was a large room, and in the middle of it, was a large veil. He remembered this veil very well. It was the one that had killed Sirius. His heart clenched.

“What do you want from me this time? What are we doing here?” Harry said, almost as if he was impatient. Voldemort laughed, and so did some of the death-eaters.

“What are we doing here?!” laughed Narcissa, mocking him. “He doesn’t know! Idiot boy!” Voldemort raised his hand for silence. Narcissa stopped abruptly, as if she had never been laughing.

“We are here, Potter, because you know what The Prophesy is,” said Voldemort, smiling. Harry’s heart thudded loudly. “You are going to tell me about it, what is it? I will not risk making anymore mistakes. Tell me, if I killed you now, would I lose all my powers again? Is there something else I must know? Tell me Potter.” Harry stayed completely silent, staring straight into Voldemort’s eyes. He could feel Voldemort probing his mind, trying to get in. Harry wouldn’t let him though, instead, he did as Dumbledore had taught him. He threw the powers back at Voldemort.

A little boy was sobbing in the corner as he watched his mother crying and screaming.
A teenage Tom Riddle was torturing a fellow class mate in a corridor.
Tom Riddle stood alone in the woods, vowing to kill his father.
Lord Voldemort glared down at a young woman with bright red hair, raising his wand.

“ENOUGH!”

“What is it, my lord?” Bellatrix asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me he had been taught Legilimensy?!” He roared. “I can not read his mind!” The Death Eaters all quaked, but none as bad as Petunia. She looked stunned.

“I had no idea, my lord. Dumbledore must have suspected somebody was spying. Please forgive…” she stuttered, but was interrupted.

“SHUT UP!” Everybody went silent. Harry smiled. Now he knew why Dumbledore had wanted to keep it secret. “Very well, Potter. You make it difficult for yourself,” and with that he raised his wand. Harry was shoved hard into a chair that flew towards him. Wooden ropes came out of the chair and wrapped themselves around Harry’s neck, wrists, and ankles. Harry struggled, very scared now. But he refused to show it. He stopped struggling.

“I will never tell you, no matter what you do.” Voldemort chuckled.

“Yes, I realized that. So I brought one of your little friends along too. One you seem to be very fond of.” Harry’s heart leapt. No…no, please don’t let it be her. The Death Eater known as Cordell left the room, and returned shortly with Ginny.

“NO!” Harry yelled. Ginny was rather battered, but struggling madly.

“Get off me!” Ginny said. She punched Cordell right in the face, and that sent him sprawling. But Voldemort, rolling his eyes, pointed his wand at her, and ropes wound themselves around Ginny’s ankles and wrists. She struggled, and then stopped once she saw Harry. She looked stunned.

“Yes…” Voldemort said, knowingly. “Now you will tell me what is said in The Prophesy. If you don’t, I will make your little girlfriend wish she was dead.” Ginny seemed to realize she was being used to taunt Harry.

“Harry! Don’t you dare tell them anything! Don’t you…” but Cordell grabbed her roughly and clamped a hand over her mouth. Harry’s insides boiled, Cordell was a dead man.

“I will tell you, just leave her alone. NOW!” Harry said, not looking at Ginny.

“Tell me first, and then I will let her go.” Harry opened his mouth, but didn’t get a word out before he heard a dozen popping noises. It was as if last year was happening all over again. Standing, their wands at the ready, was the entire order, including Dumbledore. Harry struggled, trying to get to Ginny. Lupin came over to him, and broke the pieces of the chair that were binding Harry. Harry nodded to Lupin, and then ran to help Ginny. She seemed to have it under control, however, as she had the other man’s wand and had it pointed at him. She hexed him, and he dropped on the ground, twitching. Harry dropped down beside her.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked, freeing her. She nodded, and together they stood up and started fighting. Minutes later, Hagrid rushed in, followed by Hermione and Ron.

“Harry! Ginny!” they both yelled. Then they pulled out their wands and joined the battle. Dumbledore and Voldemort were fighting viciously, as were the rest of the Order. Then, from behind, Petunia started fighting with Ginny. Harry turned to help her, and was so distracted, that he didn’t notice Cordell sneaking up from behind. Cordell raised his wand.

“Avada…” he said, and Harry turned. In the split second before the killing curse was said completely, Harry new there was no time to block it. He was going to die. And then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hagrid. “…Kedavra!” finished Cordell. A jet of green light sped straight towards Harry. A millisecond before the spell hit, Hagrid slammed into him from the side, knocking Harry out of the line of fire. But, in the Process, the spell hit Hagrid instead. The world seemed to stop turning as Hagrid’s eyes widened in shock, and then closed in death.

Hagrid was dead.

No…this couldn’t be happening. Harry looked slowly around at Dumbledore, just as Voldemort vanished, taking the opportunity to flee. Harry stood up, and then fell back down. Hagrid….At that moment, he knew that his heart would never heal.

Why was everybody he loved being ripped away from him by the harsh and uncaring claws of death? It was as if he was a curse, a disease, a roaming deadly disease. Everything he touched, everything he cared about…withered away. His parents…Sirius…and now Hagrid.

Harry looked slowly at the Death Eaters surrounding them, slumped over and beaten. Petunia stood whimpering in a corner. Harry tried to hate her, but he couldn’t. He just didn’t care anymore. His entire being was numb to emotion. He looked over at Ron, who was tending to Hermione, and fussing over her. He tried to care about them. But he couldn’t. He saw Dumbledore leaning heavily against the wall, looking at Harry. Harry tried his best to feel grateful for Dumbledore’s saving his life, but he just couldn’t. His gaze turned slowly to the veil, it was swaying innocently, and Harry could hear soft voices floating towards him. He walked over to Hagrid’s pale, motionless body. He knelt beside it, and grabbed one of Hagrid’s big beefy hands. Harry would have given all the money in the world to have Hagrid sit up and tell him about his latest, deadly monster. But he didn’t, and he never would again.

He closed his eyes, but then opened them immediately. He had caught a glimpse of his aunt, looking at him. As she gazed at him, her composure seemed to recover slightly. It was almost as if they were the only ones in the room now. She smiled slightly, almost insanely, and put her hand in her pocket. Out of it she pulled a small, double-sided mirror. Harry nearly snapped. She had been the one trying to lure him out of school. She threw it on the ground between them. Harry sensed Dumbledore tense up a few feet away. Petunia met Harry’s gaze, and for ages they seemed to stare into each other’s soul. Then the voices from the veil grew louder. His head seemed to be spinning. Why was he here? What was the point? All he was good for, it seemed, was getting his friends killed. He looked at Dumbledore then, who seemed to be reading Harry’s mind.

“No, Harry,” Dumbledore whispered calmingly. That got the attentions of Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They looked quizzically between Dumbledore and Harry. Harry looked at his three best friends. He sighed, and then smiled, tears now running down his face. He looked at Petunia, and she looked dumb-struck. He then did the thing he had dreamed of doing, the thing he had yearned to do for months. He picked himself up off the ground, and ran straight into the veil.

“HARRY!”

Mirror
Chapter Eleven~~~The Secret of The Veil


Harry flew forward. He stumbled, and then crashed right into the wall. His glasses snapped at the nose piece. He winced, and then picked himself up off the ground. He pulled out his wand and tapped his glasses, "Reparo." But just as he put his glasses on to look at his surroundings, he was smashed back against the wall again.

He fell to the ground, and whoever had knocked him over was now lying on top of him. Harry looked up to see Ginny. The wind was nearly knocked from his lungs, not from the fall, but from the shock of seeing her there.

"Hello," she said brightly. Harry gaped. His eyes widened at the feeling of having Ginny Weasley lying on top of him.

"Comfy?" he asked. Ginny grinned.

"Very, do you know where we are?" she said, rolling off him and standing up. He got up to, adjusting his glasses. He looked around. They were in a hallway, it seemed, and the walls were made of stone.

"It kind of looks like..."

"Hogwarts!" Ginny provided. Harry nodded. Had the veil bring them back to Hogwarts?! That thought brought him to remembering the reason he jumped through the veil. His eyes swelled up with tears.

"I thought I was going to die..." Harry muttered dismally.

"Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but you look very alive to me," Ginny said, frowning at him. Then Harry seemed to realize something.

"You're here!" Harry exclaimed. Ginny stared at him.

"What did that veil do to you?! Of course I'm here!"

"No, not that. I mean, you followed me through the veil, even when you thought we were going to die!" said Harry, realizing the full impact of Ginny's decision. She smiled.

"Well, I couldn't just sit back and watch you run to your death, really. Did you think that was going to bring Hagrid back? It's rather selfish of you if you ask me," Ginny said reprovingly. Harry glared.

"Selfish?" Harry said, his eyebrows knitting together.

"You heard me, selfish. What do you think Dumbledore and Ron and Hermione are thinking right now? They think we're dead. You have broken the hearts of many people, Harry. And what about Voldemort? If you had died, nobody would be able to kill him!" Harry stared. He had never even thought of all that stuff. The magnitude of it hit him. He dropped to the ground, staring hopelessly into the stone floor. Ginny sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Harry. I just...I miss Hagrid too." Harry sat there, his face showing the utmost melancholy.

"I'm so sorry," Harry said his voice crackling. "I'm sorry for everything. My parent’s death...my fault. Cedric’s death…my fault. Sirius' death...my fault. Hagrid's death...my fault. I just figured, everybody I care about, everybody that is anything to me, is taken away. They die, Ginny. They all die and in the end…In the end, I will die too. Voldemort is going to kick my ass, and there is no way I can stop him." Ginny had tears in her eyes. She put an arm around his shoulders.

"Harry...you have been able to beat Voldemort for the past six years. You haven't failed even once. You never will, because you are one of the strongest people I know. You love, Harry. You love your Parents, you love Cedric, you love Sirius, and you love Hagrid. Voldemort fights for hate, Harry. He feeds off of it. That is what he is fighting for, Harry. But what you fight for holds much more power, and that is why you will overcome; Because your love runs much deeper than his hate."

Harry was at a loss for words, and he felt remarkably better. He actually smiled. He pulled Ginny into a hug, and then kissed her. His heart tumbled out of control as Ginny started kissing him back. He ran his hands through her bright red hair. God, how he loved her!

"Ahem!" came a rather chipper voice.

"Damn," muttered Harry, smiling. Ginny laughed, but her smile vanished as she looked up. Harry followed her gaze. His heart leapt into his throat. Staring back at him with bright, twinkling eyes was Albus Dumbledore. This wasn't the Albus Dumbledore that Harry knew, however. The Albus Dumbledore he looked at seemed to be about twenty years younger!

"Professor Dumbledore!" squeaked Ginny in surprise. "What..." Harry stood up, and looked at him. Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, I hate to interrupt, but I'm afraid that you need to be moving along, before the Headmaster finds you two!" Then Dumbledore turned to walk away. Harry gaped.

"You mean...wait. Who is the Headmaster?" Harry asked, tentatively. Dumbledore turned, and frowned slightly.

"You don’t know who the Headmaster is? What is your name, boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"Don't...don't you know me? I'm Harry Potter." Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.

"Are you a brother of James Potter?" Dumbledore asked. Ginny gasped then.

"Harry..." Ginny whispered, "I think...I think we're in the past!" Harry stared. He looked at the young Dumbledore, and was strongly reminded of when he had gone back in time by Riddle's diary.

"I think you're right, Ginny. Please, professor. Is the headmaster Armando Dippet?" Harry asked. Dumbledore nodded, and then he looked straight into Harry's eyes.

"Lily..." Dumbledore muttered. His face etched with shock and realization. "Potter..." Harry glanced sideways at Ginny.

"Should we explain?" Harry asked Ginny. She shrugged. "Alright then. This might sound crazy to you, but I'm Harry Potter. My mother's name was Lily Evans, and my father's name was James Potter. This is Ginny Weasley, her mother is Molly Prewett and her father is Arthur Weasley." Dumbledore nearly fell over at all of this outrageous information.

"You have Lily's eyes, and James' hair. But, I still don't know if I can believe you," Dumbledore admitted, looking over Ginny. He smiled. "Red hair… just like…Arthur?" Ginny grinned and nodded.

"What can we do to prove it to you?" Ginny asked. Dumbledore frowned. What could he possibly ask them? Then it dawned on him.

"I haven't told anybody this. In the future I plan to form an Anti-Voldemort group and call it..."

"The Order," Harry provided. Dumbledore smiled, and nodded.

"Come to my office, I think we need to talk," Dumbledore said, still eyeing them warily. Ginny smiled encouragingly at Harry.

When they got to the office, Harry saw a baby Phoenix perched on a golden rod.

"Hullo, Fawkes," Ginny cooed, petting the bright bird. Dumbledore stared. Harry realized that there was a lot of explaining to do. He sat down and Dumbledore followed. Ginny and Harry explained the best they could, and by the time the were finished, Dumbledore was staring at them without blinking.

"So now you need to know how to get out..." Dumbledore concluded. Harry shrugged, but Ginny nodded vigorously.

"Can't you just transport us there or something?" Ginny suggested. Dumbledore smiled.

"I'm afraid that spell doesn't help in the case of time-travel," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.

"Then how will we get out?" Harry asked. Dumbledore frowned in thought.

"I don't know. Are you carrying anything at all that has an identical twin back in the future? Do you have a pair of socks that are exactly the same? Anything?" Dumbledore said, obviously with an idea now. Harry and Ginny thought hard. Harry didn't have anything the same. He looked at Ginny, who shook her head. "You have nothing that is the same?" Dumbledore asked, slightly desperate.

"Nope, I don't even have a matching bracelet or anything!" Ginny said hopelessly.

"Me either. Sorry professor. But how would that have helped us anyway?" Harry asked.

“Well, I won’t be able to transport you using a spell, but…there might be another way. If you had something that had a twin back in normal time, I could put a spell on that article, telling it to go back to it’s twin. I’ve never tried it, but, if I put a sticking spell on you two and the item, it should be forced to take you along with it, even if it meant taking you through time,” Dumbledore explained. Harry and Ginny stared.

“Wait, why can’t it be something like a chair from the great hall? It has a twin in the future!” Ginny said excitedly. Dumbledore shook his head, and Ginny’s face fell.

“I’m afraid the object must belong to one of the people that were taken from that time,” Dumbledore said sadly. Harry closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“This is insane…going back to the past…I’m glad you believe us though, professor. Even though we do sound mad…” Harry said. Dumbledore froze.

“Yes…yes you would sound insane. Just like…hold on...this reminds me of something that happened almost a year ago! A man showed up...right where I found you two!" Dumbledore stood up, his eyes wide with realization. "He claimed to be from the future, just as you two. I didn't bother with him, because he was an adult but...I do remember him looking almost exactly like…" Harry leapt to his feet, knocking his chair backwards.

"SIRIUS! SIRIUS BLACK!" Harry yelled in excitement. He face was bright red. Ginny stood up slowly, not daring to believe it. Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes, yes that's what he said. Gave the younger Sirius Black quite a spook! Is he a friend of yours?" Dumbledore asked. Harry leapt up in the air; this was the happiest day of his life.

"Where is he? I want to see him right away!" Harry enthused. Dumbledore frowned, and Harry's heart dropped a notch. What had happened this time?

"I'm afraid, the Headmaster thought the man unstable. Black was sent to St. Mungo's. He has been there for almost a year now..." Dumbledore said. Harry's heart broke. Sirius had spent thirteen years in Azkaban, only to be put in St. Mungo's. Harry glared, as did Ginny.

"Don't worry, Harry we'll get him out," Ginny said reassuringly.

"I'm afraid, Miss Weasley, that it isn't that easy," Dumbledore said sadly. "He would need to be released by the Headmaster, and I'm afraid we won't get him to believe that he really DID come from the future." Then Harry realized something.

"Dumbledore...would the hospital take a mirror away from him? If they found it?" Harry asked. Dumbledore looked at him curiously.

"It depends on what kind of mirror. If they see that it is a potential weapon, they might put it away in some closet for when, if ever, the patient is released. Why do you ask?" Dumbledore said.

"Well, if that's true. I may have just found our way out. Sirius had a two-way mirror with him. I have an identical one in the future!" Ginny clapped, and Dumbledore smiled triumphantly.

"That is wonderful, Harry! But there is still the issue of getting to him. He showed a great deal of violence when he was first received, making it impossible for you to get in to see him. But...wait. I might be able to write some letters to some important people...yes. I might be able to get you in to see him in...maybe a few months, if we're lucky."

"A few months?!" Ginny cried. Dumbledore sighed.

"It's the best I can do. But until that time, you two are
Gryffindor exchange students. You may keep your first names, but I'm afraid your last names just won't do. Harry, your last name will be Brown. Ginny, your last name will be Johnson. Also, Harry, your eye color has to go. It's too obvious." Harry nodded, and Dumbledore raised his wand. "Pigmenttora!" he yelled. Harry's eyes watered badly. Dumbledore handed him a mirror. Harry saw green liquid running down his face, he was crying away his eye color! It was the most bizarre thing he had ever seen. His green eyes were quickly replaced with dark brown eyes. He looked very different. Ginny stared at him. Dumbledore smiled.

“One more thing…your scar. Where did you get it? Oh…wait don’t tell me. I shouldn’t know yet, if ever.” Dumbledore smiled, and raised his wand and tapped Harry’s forehead. Harry grinned.

“I sure won’t miss that thing. Is it permanent?” Harry asked eagerly. Dumbledore laughed.

“No, I will take it off you if and when you go back to your own time,” Dumbledore explained.

"Wow," was all Ginny could say. Dumbledore guided them to the door.

"Now, Harry Brown, Ginny Johnson, off to dinner you go. Remember, nobody must know! Oh! I almost forgot...Harry, you will need to take this potion every twenty four hours to keep your eyes brown. It is essential that you do so. Good luck!" with that he whisked them out the door. Harry stared at Ginny, who was transfixed by his eyes.

"I miss your green eyes," she pouted, jokingly. Harry laughed. "I can't believe we have to wait so long to find Sirius! It's unbelievable. But he is alive, Harry!" Harry grinned. This was definitely the most wonderful news he had heard since his "death."

"We are not going to wait that long, though," Harry said matter-of-factly.

"We're not?" Ginny said confused. Harry shook his head.

"We are going to break into the Ministry of Magic, steal the mirror, and rescue Sirius," Harry announced.

"Oh, alright...but can we eat dinner first?"

Mirror
Chapter Twelve~~~Family Reunion

Harry and Ginny were walking towards the Great Hall, chatting and looking around them in awe. They were about to turn the corner when Harry heard voices coming down the hall. He and Ginny froze. They knew those voices.

“That was a nice touch, Padfoot,” a very rich, dark toned voice sad.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, Prongs. Did you see the look on his face?” another voice said, laughing deeply, with a rather rough, scratchy voice.

“You guys really shouldn’t have done that. You could have gotten in trouble,” a calmer, cooler voice chided.

“I think it was brilliant,” a different voice squeaked.

“See Moony, Wormtail agrees with us. You’re…” but the voice broke off as they turned the corner to see Harry and Ginny standing dumb-struck, listening to their conversation. Harry’s mouth nearly dropped off his face as he stared up at the sixteen year-old James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and standing in the back, Peter Pettigrew.

“Hello,” Sirius said, grinning. “Wait…” he then frowned, taking in their robes.

“You’re Gryffindors? How come I’ve never seen you before?” James asked. Remus glanced side-ways at Remus, taking in Harry’s resemblance to James. Ginny looked at Harry, wondering what they could say.

“We’re exchange students,” she supplied.

“I didn’t know Hogwarts had exchange-students,” Remus said, frowning. “Where are you from?”

“Uhhh…” Harry said, looking at Ginny.

“Brazil,” she said, wincing at her stupidity.

“Brazil…?” James said, glancing oddly at Sirius who covered a snort. “Right…”

“Yeah,” Harry said uncomfortably.

“So…My name’s Sirius Black. What’s yours?” Sirius said grinning and eyeing Ginny. Harry tried not to burst out laughing. Ginny grimaced. Sirius was checking her out?!

“Ginny…Johnson. And this is Harry Brown,” Ginny said uncomfortably, glaring at Sirius. The pervert.

“I’m James Potter,” James said, smiling widely as he saw Sirius looking at the new girl. This here is Remus and the one hiding behind him is Peter.”

“I wasn’t hiding!” Peter squeaked indignantly.

“What is going on here? You’re not harassing anybody, are you Potter?” came a new, yet familiar voice. Harry’s eyes watered slightly. His mother. Lily Evans rounded the corner, her long red hair swinging behind her. Her bright green eyes shot to Harry, and then to James, noticing their resemblance. Harry rolled his eyes, this wasn’t good. “Who are you two? I’ve never seen you around.”

“Of course I wasn’t harassing anybody, Lily,” James said, giving her his most winning smile. She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t remember giving you permission to use my first name, Potter,” Lily said raising her eyebrows, but Harry could see she was amused. James grinned and bowed deeply.

“Please forgive me Miss Evans. And allow me to introduce Harry Brown and Ginny Johnson,” he said, standing up straighter and running his hand through his hair. Lily smiled brightly at them.

“I’m Lily Evans! I’m pleased to meet you. I am the Gryffindor Prefect, along with Remus, so if you ever have any questions, just as me, alright?” Harry stared in awe, still not having moved. All he could do was nod. “Where are you from? Why are you at Hogwarts?”

“They’re exchange students,” Sirius said mockingly. “From Brazil…” he said, grinning sloppily. Ginny blushed, feeling more and more like an idiot for saying they were from Brazil. Lily shot an odd look at James.

“Brazil?” she asked looking oddly at James, who shrugged. James seemed to realize that Harry was staring at Lily, and frowned slightly. Was this new kid trying to steal his girl?

“Hold on…You’re a Prefect too!” Remus said, staring at Harry’s Prefect Badge. Lily’s eyes danced with excitement.

“Oh! But this is wonderful! We can have three Gryffindor Prefects!” she said excitedly. James grinned, obviously taking pleasure in her happiness, but Harry also spotted a bit of jealousy.

“Come on, let’s go eat,” Sirius said, clutching his stomach as if starving. Lily nodded and they all went down to the dinner table. As they ate, the suspicious looks towards Harry and Ginny decreased, and they began to talk normally. Harry and James, of course hit it off great. They had the exact same interests, and kept doing things or saying things simultaneously. Also, to Harry’s delight, Ginny got on well with Lily. They also had much of the same interests, although Lily was much more straight laced than Ginny, who was a bit of a rebel. Harry smiled as they enjoyed each other’s company, and then even more when he was able to talk to his father.

“is it just me, or does or new friend seem to be an exact replica of Jamesie,” Sirius muttered under his breath as Harry and James both simultaneously leaned back in their chairs the same way.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. What do you reckon?” Remus asked, eyeing them. Sirius shrugged.

“Do you think they could be spies?” he asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll definitely have to keep an eye on them,” Remus said.

“I think that we should…” Sirius began, but was interrupted by Harry.

“could you pass the butter Snuffles?” Harry asked casually, still chatting with James. All of the Marauders, Ginny and Lily froze. Harry stopped, and it was a couple of minutes before he realized his mistake. He resisted the urge to slap himself in the forehead.

“Did you just call me…Snuffles?!” Sirius asked in a hushed whisper. Harry shook his head.

“No,” he said.

“Yes you did,” Remus said, sitting up straighter. James stared in accusation.

“How did you know I called him Snuffles? Nobody knows that nickname except the Marauders,” he said. Harry shook his head.

“I heard you guys saying it in the hall earlier,” Harry said, trying to sound unconcerned.

“No you didn’t. We only use that name when we’re on holidays,” Peter said. Harry held his stomach.

“I’m not feeling very well. If you’ll excuse me,” he said, and rushed off. He walked quickly past the house tables, and once he was out of sight he began running towards the Common Room. He managed to get in by asking a fellow Gryffindor the password, saying he was Prefect. Once inside he sat down on one of the chairs and laid his head in his hands. He had really blown it. A few minutes later Ginny burst into the room, fuming.

“How could you just do that to me?! Leaving me by myself to explain!” she said angrily.

“Sorry,” Harry muttered. “What did you tell them?”

“I said that you had jet-lag, and just needed some rest,” Ginny said, sitting down beside him.

“Did they believe you?”

“Well, first I had to explain what jet-lag was. I think they thought I made it up. Anyways, we are definitely on their watch list,” Ginny said, looking stressed. “Honestly, you could have come up with a better excuse than a stomach ache.”

“Well, you try having your dead parents sprang at you. It’s not exactly fun,” Harry muttered. Ginny put her arm around him.

“It’s going to be ok, Harry. You’d better get upstairs and act like you’re asleep, before they come back,” she said soothingly. Harry nodded, and then started walking towards the stairs. He stopped however, turning around and running back to her quickly. He kissed her on the lips, before smiling and sprinting back up the stairs just before the portrait hole opened.

The next morning Harry woke up, very confused about where he was at first. He saw that everybody else was gone already, and sat up. He put on his glasses, and looked in the mirror. His bright green eyes stared at him. He quickly pulled out his potion, and drank it. His green eyes melted down his face once again, and he went down the stairs.

The next few weeks passed without any problems, and classes were pretty easy. Nobody knew who they were, except possible a few teachers, and of course Dumbledore. They said they were exchange students and left it at that. One Friday evening, they all slumped back to the Common Room, looking foreword to the weekend.

“Anybody up for a game of Truth or Dare?” James asked jovially. Everybody shrugged, Lily looking around apprehensively. “Prefect duties can wait, Lily. Let’s just have some fun, alright?” James added softly. She nodded, and then smiled. James grinned, realizing he had just gotten away with calling her Lily.

“Ok, I’ll go first. Sirius,” James asked, sitting down on a couch. “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Sirius said grinning, and so the game went. Sirius and James seemed to be mainly testing each other. Until finally, Lily rolled her eyes.

“This game is more than just you two, you know. You need to include everybody. Alright, I’m going to ask Harry. Truth or Dare?” Harry’s heart sank. He hated to be called on.

“Dare,” Harry said, thinking that Lily’s dares wouldn’t be so bad.

“Alright, I dare you to…” but she broke off, staring at Harry. James looked worriedly at her. He grabbed her hand out of instinct.

“Lily? Are you alright?” he said, and then followed her gaze. Soon the whole room was staring at Harry. Harry felt something slowly creeping down his cheeks. He cursed himself. He had forgotten to take the potion. James looked at Harry’s now green eyes. Then he looked at Lily’s green eyes.

“You have the exact same eyes as Lily!” James said, leaping up. Sirius snarled, pulling out his wand.

“What is going on?” he barked. Remus also had his wand out. James was still looking dumb-struck, holding Lily’s hand. Harry looked at Ginny for help.

“If you don’t tell us, we will force it out of you. I swear!” Sirius yelled hotly, brandishing his wand.

“I know where they keep the Veritiserum,” Lily said coolly. James seemed to snapback to reality, and finally pulled out his wand, slowly pointing it at Harry and Ginny in turn.

“We can’t tell them!” Ginny said.

“Lily, go get the Veritiserum,” James said. Harry shook his head.

“We have to Ginny. They will make us anyways,” he said. A little part of him wanted to tell them anyways. “Go ahead and sit down. This is going to be a long story,” Harry said. Everybody sat down, still pointing their wands at Harry. “I’m Harry Potter. And this is Ginny Weasley. You, James, are my dad. You, Lily, are my mum.” There was a large gasp at this, and many outrageous remarks. But, Harry kept explaining, the odd story coming out of his mouth in a rush.

"I know you're a werewolf, Remus. And I know that James, Peter, and Sirius are all Animagi. once a month you guys go out and fool around as animals. I know that James has loved Lily ever since he first came to Hogwarts, and that he has regretted treating Snape the way he did, because it pushed her away. I know that Lily tries to avoid him like the plague, but I'm sure she feels the same way about James as he does aout her. She is afraid of her own emotions. Sirius, you're just a big play boy, but that's okay, you'll grow out of it. Remus, you always feel guilty about letting James and Sirius get away with stuff, because you are a Prefect. I know all of this because you told me, in the future...." Harry continued. Trying not to sound too insane. Before long, they had heard the story. There was a complete silence when he finished, and Harry waited. How would they react now?

Mirror
Chapter Thirteen~~~Busted


“I can’t…I won’t believe…the future?!” Lily exploded. Then she looked at James “With him? Have a child?!” she folded her arms across her chest, closing her eyes tightly. “But…how else could you know…” she trailed off. Harry felt bad for her, for them all. How would he react if somebody walked into his life and told him they were from the future? He shook his head.

“You must believe me,” he said, desperately. James shook his head.

“There was no other way that you could have known…” Remus muttered. James shook his head again.

“What do you think of all this?” Remus said, looking at Sirius. Sirius shrugged.

“He knew a lot that he couldn’t have known just from spying…and he does look exactly like James and he has Lily’s eyes.”

“I don’t know what to think!” Peter wailed.

“You never do,” Sirius said snidely. “Not unless we tell you what to think.”

“Don’t be nasty, Sirius,” Lily said. She was crying. James went over to comfort her, and she didn’t object.

“Look what you’ve done? And for what purpose?” James roared.

“You were pointing your wands at me, telling me you were going to force it out of me anyways!” Harry yelled indignantly.

“That still remains an option, you know. I don’t know about everybody else, but I still think this is a load of crap. Comes from the future? Like Hell he did!” James yelled, standing up. Then Harry was hit with an idea.

“Let me show you something then,” Harry said. “I’m going to do the Patronus charm, alright? If I do anything else, you can blast my head off.” James nodded, pointing his wand at Harry.

“You can do a Patronus?!” Peter squeaked in amazement. Harry ignored him and raised his wand. He conjured up his happiest memory. It was quite recent. It was standing in Dumbledore’s office, hearing that Sirius was alive. He closed his eyes tightly.

“Expecto Patronum!” Harry yelled, and he could feel everybody holding his breath. He felt something being pulled out of his wand, and he opened his eyes. A huge stag erupted in front of them, cantering around. James stared at it, his eyes wide with amazement.

“It’s…” he began,

“My dad…you,” Harry finished. James lifted his hand to stroke the beast. The stag moved closer to him, but then slowly, as if a breeze had just swept by, it wafted away. James, his eyes watering, looked at Harry.

“You’re my son,” he said, looking at Harry with belief in his eyes.

“’Luke, I am your father,’” Sirius said, grinning. Everybody rolled their eyes at him. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he said sheepishly. Harry grinned. “Now hold on a second, this means that that bloke that came through earlier was telling the truth! He really was…is…me?” Harry nodded. Sirius looked aghast, “That’s what I’m going to look like?!?!” Ginny giggled. “Well, we need to get me out of that place. A whole year! You guys left me in there for a year!”

“We thought you were dead!” Ginny said defensively.

“You don’t look too choked up about it!” Sirius said.

“You have no idea,” Harry muttered, remembering how much pain it had caused him. Sirius noticed his tone and became somber.

“I’m sorry for dying Harry,” he said. Harry looked at him, trying to smile. “Well, let’s get on with it then! If I know me, and hopefully I do, I would not like being cooped up in St. Mungo’s for a year.”

“But, what about Dumbledore? What about the future?” Lily said, standing up and looking terrified. Harry frowned.

“How about we deal with that later, alright?” he said.

“After we find Sirius, will you be able to go home?” Remus asked.

“Well, Dumbledore say’s he might be able too, if Sirius has his mirror. But I’m sure they probably took it away from him, so we might have to make a side trip.” Everybody nodded. James grinned broadly.

“Another adventure for the Marauders, ay?” he said, clapping Peter on the back, who grinned shyly. “When do we leave?”

“Now!” Sirius barked. “I won’t stand to let myself be in that place fore another second!”

“Let’s go then,” Ginny said, smiling also. “Are you up for it, Lily?” Lily, who had been standing awkwardly to the side, looked around at everybody, seeing their eager face. Her gaze stopped on James. She smiled.

“Alright, let’s go. But we could definitely get expelled for this,” she said nervously.

“Does that sound familiar or what?” Ginny murmured to Harry, who laughed, realizing how much she sounded like Hermione. “Ok everybody! Let’s go!” She yelled, people cheered, and they walked to the door. Then, slowly, they started stopping, one by one until everybody was looking at each other. Finally, Peter asked the question they were all thinking:

“How do we get there?”

Harry thought for a minute, and he remembered all ways of Wizard travel, going through which one would work for their desperate need. Then it came to him… “We’ll go by Floo Powder!” Everybody thought this a wonderful idea.

“But how will we get the powder? It’s not like we carry it around in our pockets,” James said. Peter made a funny noise in his throat. They all turned to stare at him. “Peter, don’t tell me you actually carry Floo Powder around in your pockets!”

“No, but I do have some upstairs under my bed,” he said, shuffling his feet. Sirius made an odd cough that sounded very much like ‘nerd’.

“Just go get the powder, Wormtail,” James said, rolling his eyes.

A few minutes later Peter came back down with a large sack in his hands. “Here,” he said, handing the bag to James.

“that still doesn’t help the fact that we don’t have a fireplace to do this in,” Lily pointed out.

“What about the one?” Harry said, pointing at the fire across from them in the Common Room.

“But…there’s fire in that one!” Sirius complained. Lily rolled her eyes, walked over to the fire, and pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and water came pouring out of the tip of her wand. “Brilliant,” Sirius said, grinning. She laughed.

“has either of you done anything like this at all before?” James asked. Harry and Ginny shook their heads. “Well, at least you’re honest,” James muttered. “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll go, Harry said, grabbing a handful of powder. He stepped into the fireplace, and threw the powder down.

“St. Mungo’s Hospital!” he yelled. He swirled and rushed down the space between fireplaces. He tried his best to keep his elbows in, but still ended up with a couple of bruises. He lunged out of the fireplace, trying his best to keep his feet. A few people stared at his sloppy landing, but he smiled embarrassedly and waved.

Several minutes later he and the group were puddle in front of the fireplaces.

“Are you people in line for the Fireplaces?” one very old looking man asked.

“Oh, no, sorry go ahead,” Peter said timidly. Harry grinned, but then noticed the custodian staring suspiciously.

“Let’s go,” he muttered, and led them all up to the custodian. He looked extremely bored. “We’re here to see our aunt,” Harry said. The man grunted, and pulled out a long golden rod. Once he was sure they were carrying no weapons, he motioned for them to go on in.


“Which floor is it on?” Sirius whispered, trying to act like a well behaved boy. They had told the custodian they were visiting an aunt, and it would help to look like they knew where they were going. Harry looked at Ginny.

“I reckon they would put him next to where Lockhart and Neville’s parents were, don’t you?” he asked her. She nodded.

“Come on, we know where he might be,” Ginny said quietly. They all followed her. They went up many stories to get to the area where they thought he was. “Quiet everybody,” she warned unnecessarily.

“He should be…right…here,” Harry said, turning the corner. They all stopped dead, staring through the window. Lying on the bed nearest to them was a man, clean shaven, with a nice hair-cut. His expression was of the utmost boredom, but he looked very healthy. He was eating, slowly, and reading a newspaper. Harry felt faint. He was staring at his God-father. The man he had thought to be dead for the last year. He looked at the younger Sirius, and saw that he was in shock too.


“It’s…me,” he said. Harry nodded. Ginny grabbed Harry’s hand, which was shaking. Harry smiled. He smiled a smile that would engulf his entire face. Sirius! He was alive!
“Harry, are you alright?” Lily asked gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. Alright? Alright?! This was the best moment of his life! He ran up to the door and reached for the handle. Everything was going to be alright, his god-father was there. He turned the handle, and was shocked…literally. An electric current zapped his hand away, and a loud, carrying alarm went off. ERG! ERG! ERG! Damn! Harry looked around him. They all were looking terrified. What were they going to do? They heard heavily footfalls.

“Hey! There over here!” a heavy voice called from one side of the hall.

“You there! Freeze!” another voice called from the other side. Harry looked around him; he was surrounded now by big, burly wizards, all pointing their wands at Harry, Ginny, Lily, and the other Marauders.

Mirror
Chapter Fourteen~~~Welcome Home

Harry looked at Ginny, she looked terrified. He grabbed her hand, trying to comfort her. The men surrounding them raised their wands.
"Alright men, on the count of three!" the largest one shouted. "ONE! TWO!" Harry waited with baited breath, knowing there was no way out of this. If any of them got hurt in this, the future would be messed up even more than it probably already is. It seemed to take forever for the man to say three. In fact, they were still waiting...still waiting. Harry blinked, thinking that this man was holding the drama for a little longer than was really necessary. Sirius glared at the man.
"Will you kill us already?!" he shouted. The man didn't move. In fact, now that Harry looked closer, none of the men were moving. Harry looked into the window where the older Sirius was eating dinner. He was moving, but what...? They heard footsteps; slow, measured footsteps. Who was this? Harry took the opportunity and whipped out his wand.
“Be prepared for anything!” Harry warned. They waited for whoever it was to turn the corner, and it seemed to take an eternity. It’s Lord Voldemort, Harry thought, I’ll be anything it’s him.
Albus Dumbledore turned the corner. There was a tangible feeling of relief in the air. Harry lowered his wand at once, and everybody else followed him. Ginny gaped.
“I didn’t know you could do that? Why didn’t you just do that from the beginning?! We could have made everything so much easier!” screamed Ginny. Dumbledore smiled at her, and then pushed his way past the frozen men.

“Well, I’ll be quite honest with you. I don’t really take pleasure in breaking the law, which I am doing at present. And plus, these fine men were only doing their job, and after awhile it gets quite uncomfortable being frozen,” he explained. Everybody just stared. Dumbledore looked at James and Harry. “How are you doing, Harry? Ginny?”

“I’m alright, at first it was…difficult, but now not so much,” Harry said and Ginny nodded her agreement. Then he got up the nerve to ask the question he had wanted to ask Dumbledore ever since he had discovered they had went back in time. He walked over, and pulled Dumbledore aside, so the others couldn’t hear.
“Dumbledore, I was wondering…well, everything would be so much easier for so many people if…if Lily and James hadn’t died. May I kill Peter?” he asked with trepidation. Dumbledore frowned.
“Why would you want to kill Peter?” Dumbledore asked, confused. Then Harry realized. This Dumbledore didn’t know! He had to decide for himself. He looked around, saw Ginny, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter, and sighed. Who knows what would have happened if Lily and James had lived, then Neville might be standing where he was, making this decision right now. Or perhaps Voldemort would be ruling the world, or perhaps Harry wouldn’t exist anymore. Or perhaps a thousand other things would have happened, and Harry wouldn’t be standing there looking at the girl of his dreams, about to save the life of the only family he had.
“Never mind, he just gets on my nerves in the future,” Harry muttered. Dumbledore nodded, though Harry suspected that he didn’t believe him. “Can we go and save Sirius now?” he asked. Dumbledore nodded.
“Are we going then? This is me we’re talking about, sitting in that room like some mental person living on exlax and mashed potatoes!” Sirius roared. Dumbledore chuckled.
“Of course, let’s go,” he said.
“Allow me,” James said, moving forward and raising his wand.
“I’m afraid,” Dumbledore said, stopping him, “That this is not Hogwarts, Mr. Potter. This is St. Mungo’s and you are attempting to enter a highly secure door. Allow me .” He put his hand flat on the door, and then removed it, a bright red hand shaped mark was left on the clean white door. Slowly, however, it began to fade away. He took his finger and traced the word ‘open’ onto the door. The door latch clicked, and swung open. James stared in amazement.
“Wow,” muttered Peter.
“After you, Harry,” said Lily kindly. Harry looked at Ginny, who was backing away to let him go in by himself, but Harry reached for her hand, and lead her in with him. She grinned, and the two of them went in.
Sirius looked up at the sound of footsteps, and immediately he froze as if Dumbledore had put the spell on him too. He put down his drink, and stared at Harry. Harry felt his eyes watering, as it had seemed to do quite often these past days. He moved forward, closer to his God-father.
“S-Sirius?” he muttered uncertainly, not wanting to believe his eyes. Sirius got off the little hospital bed, and nodded. Harry noticed that, unlike the other residents of this ward, Sirius was dressed perfectly normal. “Are you…you’re Sirius Black right?”
Sirius broke into a grin, and barked out a laugh. “Harry! I knew it! I-Knew-It! I told them you would come from the future, but would they believe me? Noooo. I’m just crazy bugger, and they treated me like one too! Would I please go sit down and live on exlax and mashed potatoes, they would say… well not in those words, but that was the message they were trying to get across. I never gave up hope though, I knew you would come.” Harry sat down in a chair, his legs not able to support him any longer.
“For the longest year of my life, I thought you were dead,” Harry said hoarsely. Sirius saw how upset Harry was, and frowned.
“I’m sorry for dying Harry,” Sirius said somberly.
“Just don’t do it again, alright?” Harry said grinning.
“Come here, kiddo,” Sirius said and pulled Harry into a huge hug. “How did you get them to believe you?” Sirius said.
“Well, we looked like students, and Dumbledore found us, and I looked so much like my dad,” Harry explained.
“And I suppose I didn’t look anything like…” but Sirius trailed off as the rest of the crowd piled in.
“Sirius Black,” the younger Sirius supplied for him, staring at his self.
“Bloody hell!” Lily exclaimed upon seeing Sirius. Her eyes darted from the younger Sirius to the older one and back again.
“Wait…I remember this!” Sirius said excitedly. “You’re…Harry Brown…and you’re Ginny Johnson! Sorry for flirting with you…” Sirius said, grinning rather awkwardly. Ginny laughed.
“I still can’t believe it,” James muttered. The older Sirius looked at James, and his smile left.
“James…Lily…” he said, his voice choking up.
“Sirius…they can’t know,” whispered Ginny sadly. The older Sirius nodded sadly, looking pityingly at Harry.
“How did you handle seeing them?” he muttered.
“It was…difficult,” Harry murmured. The older Sirius put an arm around him.
“Are you sure this is him, Harry? Ginny?” Dumbledore asked. They both nodded. The older Sirius actually giggled.
“I remember you saying that! It’s amazing, I’ve felt weird for that past few weeks, almost as if my memory was being rebuilt, but ever so slightly,” Sirius said, his eyes bright. Harry laughed.
“What do you make of it Sirius?” Remus asked his classmate. Sirius shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know what to think,” he admitted.
“Still don’t believe me?” the older Sirius asked. “Try this on for size.” And with that he turned into a big, black shaggy dog. Everybody in the room gasped. Dumbledore’s eyes widened, and then glared at the younger Sirius, who, in response, had also turned into a younger version of the dog. The two dogs looked at each other, and then turned back, both of them grinning ear to ear.
“Any advice for the future?”
“Ummm…next year you’re going to meet a really pretty blonde named Caroline, don’t snog her, she has a very mean boyfriend. Go for…the girl named Rosmerta instead,” the older Sirius advised thinking. His younger self nodded. “So, Harry, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I would love to leave this place, I have a whole year to make up.”
“Right,” said Harry nodding. “Do you have the twin to that two-way mirror you gave me?”
“They told me it was too dangerous for me to have, so they put it in a room until I was ‘released’” Sirius said, shaking his head. “The scum-bags.”
“Do you know where that room is?” Ginny asked. Sirius nodded. “Let’s go then.” Sirius walked to through the door, but then stopped staring evilly at the frozen guards. The younger Sirius seemed to be reading his mind.
“Shall I?” he offered, and, with a mischievous nod from his future, went and tipped one of the guards over. The two of them burst out laughing, while Harry and James shared a grin. “That felt good.” Lily rolled her eyes.
“Let’s get going,” Remus said, and Sirius led the way. It took a surprisingly long time to get there, but they managed it, and allowed Dumbledore to open the door again. Harry walked into the room, and nearly fell over with shock. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made up completely of different sized lockers. As they all piled in, it got very noisy from stepping all over the metal. Sirius, however, seemed to know exactly where to go. He marched over to the corner, and knelt down, looking longingly at a locker with the name ‘Sirius Black’ engraved onto it.
“I thought they didn’t believe that was your name,” Lily said confused.
“They didn’t know what else to put, because I wouldn’t give them any other name,” the older Sirius explained. “Could I borrow your wand, Harry?” Harry thrust his wand to him, and Sirius caught it nimbly. He muttered a spell, and the lock clicked loudly, reverberating off the other lockers. Sirius pulled out only one thing. A mirror. Harry hated that mirror, and yet now it was going to save them. Dumbledore came closer.
“Is this the mirror you told me of?” Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded.
“It’s weird,” the older Sirius remarked. “For once, I know something Albus Dumbledore doesn’t.” Dumbledore chuckled.
“Ever the same, Sirius,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“I think a couple minutes of silence are in order, I know something Dumbledore doesn’t!” the room was quite, and then Sirius grinned. “Okay, that’s enough. But when I get back into the future, I want you ta have remembered this moment. I’m going to quiz you.”
“Cane we just hurry before somebody catches us?” Peter said nervously. Harry and Sirius exchanged murderous looks…it would be so easy. Lily was looking at Harry.
“I know it’s silly of me, but I’m going to miss you,” Lily said, wiping away a tear. “But I geuss I’ll see you in the future, being my son and all,” she laughed and gave Harry a huge hug. Harry felt as though she had just hit his heart with a baseball bat. No, she wouldn’t see him in the future. She would be dead.
“Same goes for me Harry. I just want you to know, I am really proud that you’re going to be my son. You’re a good man, and an even better Marauder,” James said, grinning. Harry almost fell to pieces right there. Ginny put her hand on his shoulder. Harry forced a smile.
“Thanks, dad,” he said. His dad was proud of him. He had said he was a good man, a good Marauder. He was proud!
“I hope I’ll see you in the future Harry,” Remus said, grinning and shaking his hand.
“You will, I promise,” Harry muttered. He looked at Peter, who appeared very busy looking at the floor. Harry nodded in satisfaction, if Peter had tried to touch him, Harry would have lost his self control and killed him on the spot.
“I’ll always remember this day,” Sirius said, “and I have no doubt that we will continue to be friends even after this,” he said motioning towards the older Sirius.
“I’m afraid, Mr. Black, that I cannot allow you to remember this day. Who knows what it has affected already. We need to put it right, and then anything that has changed because of your knowing, will be gone.” The marauders and Lily groaned, along with the older Sirius.
“You mean I won’t remember meeting Harry as kid?” he asked. Dumbledore shook his head.
“In fact, its best if I do it now, before you three go back. Hold on,” he said, and pulled the current Hogwarts students out of the room.
“Bye!” they all called sadly before they left the room. Harry tried to smile and wave, but as soon as they were gone, Harry allowed several tears to fall across his face. Ginny hugged him, and Harry put his arms around her, gathering his strength from her. Sirius smiled, and Dumbledore re-entered.
“It’s time.”
Sirius, Harry and Ginny all gathered around the mirror, gripping it tightly. Dumbledore placed a sticking charm on all of them and the mirror.
“This isn’t just going to take our fingers with it, right?” asked Ginny uncertainly. Dumbledore laughed.
“No, Miss Weasley, I have managed to enlarge the charm so that it includes all of you,” he said. “Now, all you need to do to activate the process is to jump into the air at the same time. My spell is strong, but it will need a kick start.”
“You want us to…jump?” Sirius asked. Dumbledore nodded. “Alright then. Ready? On three then…one…two…THREE!” they all jumped into the air, and vanished.
“See you in twenty years,” Dumbledore muttered sadly, and left the room.


Harry, Ginny and Sirius closed their eyes, as they jumped. They waited to be lifted away into the air, instead, they landed back onto the ground. Harry opened his eyes, and looked around. He was in Dumbledore’s office! All three of them were standing on a shelf.
“H-Harry? Ginny?! Sirius?!?!” Dumbledore yelled, leaping a foot in the air. Harry grinned, it was a Dumbledore from his time period. He leapt off of the shelf, and, as they were all still glued to the mirror, Ginny and Sirius stumbled after him. “You’re alive! Tell me everything! Actually don’t. I was just on my way to dinner with The Order. You can tell us all there! Sirius Black is alive!” Harry had never seen Dumbledore this happy. He clapped his hands together, and called Fawkes. “I’ve got a big load for you tonight, old friend, but you’ll manage. Now off we go!”

Back at Grimmauld, Harry had just finished telling his story to Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Ron and Hermione who was in tears. Of course, now that Harry had gotten there, she had been in tears. When he had first walked into the crowded Living Room, there had been such a loud silence; Harry’s ears were still ringing. Following that was a huge burst of noise and rushing and tears. Harry, Ginny and Sirius were hugged and kissed senseless. But Dumbledore had pulled him aside to explain to the select few what had happened.
“Oh, Harry, I can’t tell you how I’m feeling right now. I’m too happy for words!” Hermione said through a sob as she got up and hugged Harry for the millionth time. Ginny walked in and everybody rushed up to her. She grinned. It had been an hour since they had returned home, but every time they entered a room, it seemed to be the first time. Harry, after many retellings of the story, decided to go upstairs and lie down until dinner. He received a hug and a kiss from everybody once again, and left. He heard Ron follow him, and was glad. Ron had been so choked up that he hadn’t been able to say much.
“Hey, Harry. I just wanted to tell you…” He broke off, and for the first time ever, Harry saw a tear running down Ron’s face. “when I thought you were…You’re my best friend, Harry. Thanks for being there for me all those years. I hope we stay friends forever.” Ron laughed at how stupid that sounded, but Harry grinned.
“You’re my best friend too, Ron,” Harry assured him. They stood there in silence for quite awhile. Ron cast around for another subject, wiping his face off.
"I asked Hermione out," Ron said, blushing. Harry stared at him, and then grinned.
"Finally!" he said, and they both burst out laughing.
"Hey, Harry? I don't know if it's dumb of me to ask you this, but...what do you think Voldemort will do now that your unprotected?" Ron asked, sitting down on his bed. Harry followed him, shrugging.
"Try and kill me," he said, matter of factly. Ron nodded, but then Harry realized something. He looked up, his eyes wide. "You...you just said Voldemort's name!" Ron blushed.
"Yeah well, I thought he had killed my best friend, my sister not too long ago. Saying his name became the least of my problems," Ron's voice crackled slightly. "I had never felt the way I had that night Harry. I had never had anybody I love die right in front of my face like that. And to watch you and Ginny run through that veil..." he trailed off, unable to speak from the memory of it. Harry nodded understanding. "And plus, I knew that saying his name meant a lot to you, it was the least I could do."
“Don’t forget about Hagrid,” Harry said, noticing how Ron had not mentioned Voldemort’s killing Hagrid.
“I didn’t forget, it’s just…hard,” Ron said, choking up again. Just then Hermione burst in her face pink with excitement.
"Harry! Ron! You'll never believe who’s decided to join us for dinner!" she practically burst. Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged.
"I dunno, Santa Clause?" Ron guessed. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"No, of course not! Percy's here! Ron, your brother is back!" she wailed, tears in her eyes. Ron jumped up, and so did Harry. "Come on!" and they followed her down the steps. When they got down there, Mrs. Weasley had Percy in a tight hug and was sobbing loudly. Mr. Weasley was also crying, and had his arms around both his wife and son.
"I'm so sorry, mum, dad," Percy said, also tearing up. "I'm so sorry." Ginny was holding Bill's hand, blowing her nose on a handkerchief. Fred and George were frowning, obviously not as forgiving as the rest of the family. Ron seemed stuck, not sure whether to forgive Percy or not. He managed by not showing any emotion at all, but Harry could see his ears were bright red.
"Ron, go on," Hermione urged. Percy caught sight of his youngest brother, and then Harry. He broke away from his parents, and moved towards Harry and Ron.
"Ron, Harry, I owe special apologies to both of you. Please forget about that letter I sent you," Percy said.
"I burned it," Ron said stiffly.
"Good," Percy said. "Listen, I know you don't want to forgive me, and most likely the same with you Harry, but you must realize that I am genuinely sorry. I became obsessed with my job, and then when Mr. Crouch died, I didn't know what to do. So, really, I'm not asking you to forgive me, but I am asking you to give me a chance to prove myself as the brother, and friend, I should have been to you all." Harry looked at Ron, ready to back him up in whatever he had to say.
"Alright Percy. Okay," Ron said, looking at Ginny. Percy embraced Ron, who patted Percy awkwardly on the back. Percy then moved to the twins.
“Forgive me brothers?” he asked, pleadingly. Fred and George glared at Percy, and it was obvious that they were still very angry with Percy. Mrs. Weasley, however, was glaring at them to forgive Percy, so they both nodded stiffly. Percy embraced them both tightly.
“Okay, Perc. Now you’re pushing it. No hugging,” Fred said with disgust while George peeled Percy off of them.
“Alright, Weasleys, time for a talk. I personally want Percy to explain every day he was away from us with detail,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Strictly family! Unless, of course, Harry and Hermione wish to join, being part of out family.” She smiled warmly at Harry and Hermione, who felt both very flattered, and very reluctant to have Percy tell them about his boring days as a secretary.
“That’s okay, Mrs. Weasley. We wouldn’t want to intrude,” Hermione said slyly, glancing sideways at Harry.
“Yeah, we don’t want to intrude either,” George said. “So we’ll just skip this one shall we?” and the twins started to walk/run out of the room.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Mrs. Weasley roared, glaring. And with a moan, Fred and George followed Ron, Ginny, Percy, Fred, George, Bill, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley (Charlie being in Romania). Harry and Hermione started laughing.
“I heard about you and Ron,” Harry said, grinning.
“What? Oh, well…yes,” Hermione said, slightly uncomfortably. “It was actually quite funny, because I was going to do it tonight if he hadn’t.”
“Why did it take you guys so long to get together?” Harry asked, smiling widely.
“Well, to put it simply. Ron’s a moron,” she admitted. Harr burst out laughing. He pulled her into a hug.
“I’m really happy for you two. Now I won’t have to listen to my two best friends bickering all the time, you’ll be too busy snogging!” Hermione hit him playfully on the shoulder. Just then, Sirius came in, beaming. He spotted Harry and his smile grew.
“Hey, Harry. A word?” Harry followed him out into the hall.
“What is it, Sirius?” Harry asked. Sirius was…blushing?!
“Rosmerta! She owled me today…says she wants to ‘get together!’” Sirius whispered. Harry grinned.
“I didn’t know you liked her so much,” Harry said.
“Remember those time I disguised myself as a dog in Hogsmeade in your fourth year?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“Well, one day, I transformed into a human to climb over a fence and…Rosmerta saw me. I thought she would scream and run away but…she didn’t. She didn’t recognize me at first! So we got to talking and after she really liked me…I told her who I was. She has been quite for awhile, but Remus turned her into a believer for me! She loves me Harry! And I think…I think I love her too.” Harry burst out laughing, but then realized Sirius was serious! He stopped abruptly.
“Sirius, that’s great. That’s really great. I’m happy for you!” A door to their right opened, and Snape walked in. Harry and Sirius froze. Snape walked up to Sirius, who was glaring with malice. Snape had absolutely no emotion on his face. Harry waited with geld breath, gripping his wand tightly in his hand in case he had t break up a fight.
"Sirius...welcome home," Snape mumbled, putting out his hand to shake it. Sirius looked stunned.
"What?" he whispered. Snape looked down at the ground.
"I'm glad you made it back," he said. Sirius burst out laughing, then, completely without warning, slammed his fist right into Snape's face. Harry widened his eyes. Snape looked shocked as he reeled back, holding his eye.
"I deserved that," Snape mumbled.
"Damn right!" Sirius said, grinning. He grabbed Snape's hand and shook it. "It's good to be back." Snape was grinning too. Harry couldn't believe it. Snape and Sirius were shaking hands? What had happened to the world since they had been gone?! Just then, Mrs. Weasley rushed in. When she saw Snape and Sirius shaking hands, she beamed.
"Oh! Oh this is wonderful! Come here, all of you!" she said, and pulled them all in a hug. Snape's eyes widened in disgust. Sirius grinned.
"This is what you get when you decide to be a half-way decent person," he said.
“It’s time for dinner, everybody. Come on!” and with that Mrs. Weasley guided everybody to the kitchen.
After dinner, everybody started talking. Many faces kept glancing and winking at Harry, Sirius and Ginny.

Harry stared around him, watching and smiling. Ron and Hermione were sitting close together, their arms around each other. He had thought it would take them forever to get a clue about each other, but they seemed to have gotten the clue quite well, Harry thought as he watched Hermione lean up and kiss Ron on the cheek. Ron blushed red.

His eyes roamed Mrs. and Mr. Weasley laughing happily, at something Fred…or George…oh well one them said something funny. Then he looked at Lupin. His talk show had been a huge success, and he was now wearing one of the new robes he had bought for himself. He had also been able to convert a few dedicated fans into believing Voldemort was really back. Most wizards believed Dumbledore now. Then Harry looked over at Snape, a big black eye now forming. Harry almost laughed out loud as he saw Snape and Percy listening intently to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had a very Somber look on his face.

Finally, his eyes rested on Ginny, who was sitting next to him, with her head on his shoulder. He grinned to himself; she was the girl of his dreams. They hadn’t really said anything as far as boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but they had this sort of silent agreement. No words were needed. They simply loved each other.

Harry was happy, he was truly happy, and he came to peace with his decision back in the past; he was glad he hadn’t killed Peter. If he had, he might not be sitting here with the girl he loved leaning against him, or his god-father, happy and healthy, sitting beside him.
Then Harry felt eyes upon him. He turned his gaze towards Dumbledore, who was smiling knowingly. He winked at Harry, who smiled back.

“Hey, Harry. There was something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Sirius said beside him.

“Yeah?”

“Well, your aunt, as you know, is in Azkaban right now,”

“No, I didn’t really know that”

“Well she is,” Harry could tell Sirius was really nervous about something. “So, that means that there is no point in you staying at the Dursleys.” Harry nodded, wondering if he was hearing correctly. Could Sirius be asking what he thought he was? “Well I was wondering if maybe you would like to…well…I mean…I dunno…stay here with me during the holidays? Help me put my life back together?”

Harry’s heart leapt! He wouldn’t have to go back to the Dursleys ever again! He jumped up and then sat back down, unable to control his actions

“Are you serious?!?!? You wouldn’t mind?” Harry burst.

“Mind? Harry I would be honored!” Harry couldn’t believe it. This was without a doubt the most wonderful he had ever felt in his entire life. He was home, he had home! He had a family! His heart swelled. All he could do was nod, his throat clenched with his joy. He looked over at Dumbledore, and saw that he had tears running down his face. His eye twinkled, and he whispered, so softly, yet so clearly it carried over the chatter to Harry’s ears.

“Welcome home, Harry. Welcome home.”



A/N: Well, that was my story! I hope you guys had as much fun reading it as I had writing it! Thanks so much to everybody who reviewed, it meant so much to me! It seriously made my day to come home from school and see your reviews! Simply amazing. I'm geussing if you made it to this last chapter, you must have liked it, otherwise you would have ditched it a long time ago! If that's true, maybe you will consider reading my sequel "Scar." Love ya!
Lish