AN: Well, its been a year, but I'm going back and redoing things here. I somehow doubt many people remember the first version of this, but I'm hoping this rewrite is more successful. Those who do remember the old one will recognize the lions share of this material. I had a, mostly, good start to this story. If a bit jumpy and such. Thus, I'm using most of that to save time.

Will I be able to finish this? I'm not sure, but I'm giving it a shot at least. Hopefully I can keep it up for more than a month this time! :P

Harry James Potter, aka 'The Boy Who Lived', was currently running along a hallway like his life depended on it. The eleven-year old First Year had snuck into the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library, using an invisibility cloak left to him by his father. His purpose there had been simple…find a book on Nicholas Flamel, because he had something to do with the mysterious room on the Third Floor. What he had to do with it was up for debate of course, but Harry's curiosity got the better of him here.

Thus, after sneaking into the room, Harry had found the room to be full of dark looking books. There was even a sense of foreboding around some of the tomes. After opening a handful of the books, Harry had reached one that screamed in a disturbingly human voice when he opened it. Quickly slamming the book and replacing it, Harry ran out of the library, desperate to get away before someone found him. What the First Year hadn't expected however, was for Argus Filch, the Caretaker, to be right around the corner.

Why was he in the Library?! Harry couldn't help but wonder, holding his breath as Filch moved closer and closer.

"Come out whoever you are!" Filch shouted, his lantern swinging dangerously close to Harry's cloak.

And it was thanks to that cloak that the old man didn't notice Harry, and continued on. This let the young boy get an opportunity to sneak off...or at least try to. Unfortunately for him, Filch had sharp ears for his age. The moment Harry had tried to open the door out of the library, the man spun around, sharp eyes scanning for whatever had made the noise. Naturally he couldn't see Harry, but it still spooked the eleven-year old enough for him to make a break for his dorm.

"Come back here!"

Not even looking over his shoulder, Harry ran as fast as he could without losing the all-important cloak. But he couldn't outrun Filch forever, and needed somewhere to hide. The first thing he saw was a slightly ajar door into an old classroom, and he took that option. Locking the door behind him, Harry barely dared to breathe as Filch examined the door.

"Locked…losing your touch Mrs. Norris. Come on, we need to find that little brat somewhere else," the man said, quickly moving off.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry slid down the doorframe. After getting his breath back, the young Gryffindor moved away from the door. His curiosity getting the better of him (and quickly forgetting it was why he was here in the first place), Harry started to explore the room. It was obviously a classroom of some sort, but it seemed like it had been out of use for quite awhile. The desks were covered in dust, and it looked like they hadn't been used for months at least. But when he reached the other end of the room, Harry saw something in the corner. It looked like a large mirror, gold frame and all. Walking around to the glass side, Harry got a bit of a shock. Instead of seeing just himself in the mirror, he saw two adults standing behind him.

Looking behind his back, the young First Year saw no one else. It was just him in the room, but when Harry looked back at the mirror, the adults were still standing there. Now that he looked closer, Harry could see them smiling at him. The woman had long red hair, and striking green eyes, while the man had messy black hair and hazel eyes behind large round glasses…it was then that Harry let out a sharp gasp of shock.

"Mum…Dad?" he said weakly, walking up to the mirror, barely able to believe his eyes.

The red-haired woman nodded her head, though she didn't talk. The man looked down at Harry, but quickly looked away. As the eleven-year old walked up to the mirror, he noticed tears in his father's eyes. James Potter was crying, and it looked like Lily Potter wasn't far behind.

Feeling wetness on his own cheeks, Harry realized that he was crying too. His parents…he hadn't even seen them before he got to Hogwarts. To be fair, he still hadn't, beyond a few pictures. And now this mirror was letting him see them, and they see him. Was it some sort of portal? Could he communicate with his parents?

"Mum, Dad…can you hear me?" he managed to croak out.

James turned his head back around, wiping his eyes, and nodded. It seemed that neither James, nor Lily could talk back however. Or they could but Harry wouldn't have been able to hear them.

Continuing to walk forward, Harry managed to get out another question, though it was somewhat shaky, "Are you really there?"

James and Lily looked at each other, before turning back to Harry. They seemed somewhat hesitant to answer the question. Harry didn't notice that however…he was too busy looking them over, and committing everything to his memory. Once he actually reached the mirror, the young boy stared up at his parents. They were so much taller than him, but he didn't care. These were his parents...the parents he had never known. And they were smiling down on him, tears leaking out of their eyes. But the looks on their faces were so…proud. Harry had never been one to gain that look, not with the Dursleys. But...

I like it. They love me. They really do love me.

Hesitantly, Harry reached a hand out towards the mirror. He saw Lily stick her own hand out, and so the young Gryffindor moved his hand towards hers. But instead of feeling the glass, Harry could have sworn he felt his mother's hand. It felt soft and warm…nothing like the cold glass he had been expecting. Harry looked up, and saw a look of shock on Lily's face. It seemed she hadn't expected to be able to touch him...but...how could she?

Though he relished in being able to feel his mother's hand, Harry knew he couldn't stay with the mirror much longer. It was only a matter of time until someone noticed him missing, and found the room. So gathering up the cloak he had discarded earlier, Harry gave one last look at the mirror. His parents gave the young boy encouraging looks, and with that image engraved in his mind, Harry left the room. He knew one thing for sure though…he was coming back the first chance he got. And Harry was going to bring Ron with him…maybe his friend knew more about what was going on? Or even Hermione…she would certainly know if there was anything to know about this mirror.

Even so, one thought ran through his young brain.

I love magic!

The next morning, Harry found himself barely picking at his food in the Great Hall. He hadn't been able to get to sleep the night before, not with the thoughts of the mirror running through his head. And so the young boy had no real desire to eat, since he couldn't get the thoughts out of his head. The forthcoming day was going to be torture for Harry, as he had to wait until after dark to actually get back to the mirror.

"Harry, why aren't you eating?" Hermione asked from across the table.

"Just not hungry Hermione," Harry replied, pushing a piece of bacon around on his plate.

Hermione just frowned back at him. It was obvious something was bothering her friend, but she wasn't sure what. It seemed that it was a good thing her parents had cancelled their plans and let her stay at Hogwarts after all. Looking to her other side, the young witch saw Ron stuffing his face full of food, and seemingly not noticing what was going on with Harry.

Typical that...was the thought that went through her head with a mental sigh.

Giving him a nudge with her elbow, Hermione got Ron to divert his attention to Harry. At which point he promptly started to talk to his friend.

"What's up mate? You aren't eating?" the redhead asked, after swallowing his food.

Harry looked over at Ron, "I'm not hungry Ron. Please guys, I'm fine."

Ron shrugged, knowing that Harry would spill whatever was bothering him eventually. Hermione looked ready to argue some more, but this time Ron nudged her shoulder. He shook his head slightly, and then went back to eating.

He goes from ignoring Harry to being concerned for him?

Huffing irritably, Hermione joined Ron in finishing her meal. Harry watched them eat, wondering when he would be able to tell them about the mirror. He had wanted to tell them right away, but realized that he couldn't let word of this get out. Harry was surprisingly mature for an eleven year old after all (hard not to be with what he went through at 'home'), and realized that he needed to keep this secret for as long as possible.

Once his friends were done eating, Harry stood up and followed them out of the Great Hall. With the amount of students home for the holidays there were no classes to go to. So the group went back to the common room, planning on resting and catching up on homework. At least, that was what Ron and Hermione were planning on…Harry was wondering if this would be his chance to let them know about his parents.

"It will be hard to hide in the day...but...I can't wait..." the boy muttered under his breath, his friends sending him concerned looks.

After giving the password to the Fat Lady, the small group sat down in the Common Room. It was empty aside from them, since very few people had stayed behind from Gryffindor, and they were all outside or roaming the castle at the moment. After settling in, Harry started to think about how he was going to bring up his concerns.

Will they believe me? They're my best mates…but I don't know… the young boy thought anxiously, looking at his friends.

Noticing that he was looking their direction, Ron turned to Harry, "What's up Harry? I heard you muttering something on the way up here."

Looking remarkably like a deer caught in the headlights, Harry said, "I found something last night while I was trying to find a book on Flamel."

Hermione looked surprised, "You were looking for a book? At night…oh Harry you didn't!"

Ron just looked confused, "Did what?"

"Sneak into the Restricted Section! And how did you do it?" Hermione replied, turning back to Harry.

"I got this as a Christmas present," Harry replied, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak and putting enough of it on his arm to hide it.

Hermione gasped, "An Invisibility Cloak? Those are very rare Harry…and very expensive. Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know…the letter just said it was my father's," the young Potter shrugged.

"And I remember you showing me that…it's still wicked by the way," Ron broke in, a little irritated at being ignored.

"But what did you find Harry?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron...again.

Taking a deep breath, Harry jumped head-first into his explanation, "When I was in the Restricted Section one of the books I opened screamed at me. I had to run away from Filch after that…and I had to hide in an old classroom. While I was in there, I found an old mirror, but it wasn't normal. I saw my parents standing behind me when I looked in it."

Both of Harry's friends gasped at that.

"You saw your parents? Are you sure it was them?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, "Yeah…but that isn't it. When I touched my Mum's hand in the mirror…I felt her hand, not the glass. I don't know what to think…are they really inside that mirror?"

Once he finished saying that, Harry actually looked like the young boy he was…desperate to have his parents back, and clinging to the hope that they were inside that mirror and he could get them out.

Hermione for her part had a thoughtful look on her youthful face. She had never heard of magic like this before. Granted she was a Muggle-born, but she thought that she knew a lot of what there was to know. For his part, Ron was openly gaping at Harry. He was from a wizarding family, and an old one at that, but he hadn't ever heard of magic like this before. When people were dead...they stayed dead. Not popped up in some old mirror at Hogwarts.

Looking over at Hermione, Ron saw her deep in thought. The way she bit her lip and crinkled her brow told him as much. She was planning something…and the redhead knew he would be dragged into whatever it was. Soon enough, Ron saw Hermione stand up and walk up to Harry.

"I need you to show me this mirror Harry. And we need to get a teacher too," the young witch said.

Harry looked up at Hermione, brilliant green eyes going wide, "No! I don't want to bring a teacher in. What if they just take away the mirror? These are my parents we are talking about Hermione!"

Hermione looked ready to argue, but she saw the crushed look in Harry's face at the idea of losing his parents again. Darn Potter and his puppy dog eyes…

"Oh fine then…but if this is dark magic we are getting a teacher," Hermione said with a sigh.

Harry jumped up from his chair, "Thank you Hermione! Come on follow me!"

And with that, the young Potter almost ran from the Common Room, his excitement getting the best of him. Hermione and Ron chased after him, making sure that they didn't lose sight of Harry's mop of black hair, or attract any teachers. Eventually they reached an out of the way classroom door, in a deserted hallway. Harry opened the door, and waved his friends in, before shutting and locking it.

As they looked around the room, it didn't take long for Hermione and Ron to notice the rather large mirror. Of course, Harry had already walked over to it, and was gazing longingly at his parents. But his friends were shooting him confused looks. For they didn't see James and Lily Potter in the mirror.

Ron saw himself as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, holding up the Quidditch Cup, and standing aside from all his brothers. Hermione however, saw herself surrounded by books in a massive library, with her friends and family around her and congratulating her on her hard work.

"Harry...I don't see your parents," Hermione said, while Ron was just gazing at the mirror in awe.

Said boy turned around, "You don't? But they're right there."

Hermione shook her head, "I just see myself in a library Harry."

"And I see myself as Head Boy with the Quidditch Cup…this is a wicked mirror Harry!" Ron added eagerly.

"Bu…my parents are right there," Harry said, turning back to the mirror, and seeing sad looks on Lily and James' faces.

Hermione meanwhile, had torn her eyes from the image in the mirror, and was reading the inscription on top of it. Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi…it was obviously Latin, and it seemed to be reversed. Which made sense, since it was written on a mirror after all. Muttering under her breath, Hermione worked at translating the inscription. She knew some Latin after all, and she figured she could translate it. Sometimes being a bookworm could come in handy.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire," Hermione read under her breath...at least she thought that was what it said.

That explained why her and Ron were seeing different things than Harry then. They were seeing their hearts desires, just like Harry would be seeing his parents. After all…what more could an orphan want than to see their parents smiling faces?

"Harry…this mirror is just showing us what we want to see. It isn't real," the young witch said, hating having to break Harry's heart like that.

"But…I felt my Mum's hand…it can't be just that. Ron, see if you can feel anything," Harry asked his best mate, who was still staring at the mirror.

Nodding absently, Ron walked forward and brought a hand to the mirror. He touched one of the twins, but felt nothing more than cold glass. Shaking his head slightly, Ron turned back to Harry.

"I'm sorry mate, but all I felt was the glass," the redhead replied, walking over to his friends.

Harry just shook his head in denial. It just didn't make sense…why could he feel him Mum when they couldn't?

"Maybe you couldn't feel anything because your brothers are alive!" the young boy said. It made as much sense as anything.

Ignoring his friends comments on that, Harry walked back up to the mirror. Lily and James looked down at Harry sadly, knowing what must be going through their son's head.

Shakily reaching a hand up, Harry tried to touch his parents again. And once again, Lily stuck her own hand out. When Harry touched the mirror, he felt his Mum's hand again. It was still the same soft warmth as the last time. But this time, Lily didn't look shocked…she just looked happy, even with tears rolling down her face. It was then that the Gryffindor realized his parents hadn't seen him since he was a baby. This had to be the same for them as it was for him.

I miss them so much! Why can't Ron or Hermione see them?!

But Harry had to tear his eyes away from her, when he heard two gasps behind him. Hermione and Ron were standing slack jawed and staring at the mirror in shock. Instead of seeing their own images, they now saw a very faint image of a woman they could only assume was Lily Potter.

"Harry…we can see your Mum now…" Hermione said in a shaky voice.

"You can? I told you that they were there!" Harry shouted back, happy that his friends could see his parents…or at least one of them.

But then he felt an odd tingling sensation in his hand…and was shocked to see that Lily's hand was now grasping it. His Mum's soft hand was sticking outside the mirror, and Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Looking up at Lily, Harry saw a look of extreme concentration on her otherwise beautiful face. It was obvious that she was doing something…but what?

"Harry mate…you're glowing…" Ron said in shock, looking on as his friend took on an otherworldly glow...what was going on?

Harry didn't hear him though, as he felt himself slowly pushed away from the mirror as more and more of his Mum came out of it, with James holding on to her other arm. As his friends watched in shock, James and Lily Potter came out of the mirror, and stood tall next to Harry. Something that shouldn't have been possible. It shouldn't have been possible at all.

"Wh…what just happened?" Hermione asked Ron.

"I don't know…tell me I'm not seeing things Hermione…is that Harry's parents next to him?" Ron asked back, rubbing his eyes to see if the impossible sight was still there.

Hermione nodded, her own brown eyes wide as saucers, "Yes…those are Harry's parents, I recognize them from the books…but how?"

Before Ron could form an answer, they were distracted as they saw Harry launch himself at his parents. Lily held onto him, hugging her son tightly while James patted her on the back. Despite the shock of the situation, the young First Years couldn't help smiling at that.

"I'm so sorry Harry…I'm so, so sorry that you had to grow up without us…" Lily said, stroking her son's hair.

"I don't care about that Mum…I'm just so glad to have you back," Harry mumbled into his mother's shirt, completely overwhelmed by what had just happened.

"Don't worry Son…we aren't leaving you again," James said, moving his hand to pat Harry on the back...frowning as his son flinched slightly at that.

Said boy looked up, tears flowing freely from his green eyes, "I know you won't Dad…Voldemort is gone, you don't have any reason to leave me again...right?"

Ron and Hermione flinched at that name, while James and Lily just smiled down at Harry.

"You've got that right kiddo, we aren't leaving you again," James replied with a grin on his face as he ruffled Harry's hair…something he hadn't done in ten long years.

"Of course we won't leave you Harry…we love you with all our hearts," Lily added, giving her son a kiss on his forehead.

Most kids would have been angry and moved away from all the attention…but Harry just soaked it all in, and enjoyed every moment of it. He was finally back with his parents…he almost couldn't believe that his was real. But then he remembered that his friends were also in the room. Hesitantly moving out of Lily's hug, Harry walked his parents over to Ron and Hermione. Who were still in shock at the impossibility of what they were seeing.

"Mum…Dad…these are my friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasly," Harry said proudly.

Lily spoke up first, "It is nice to meet you. I am happy that Harry has such wonderful friends, who would come with him on something like this. Especially with unknown magic."

"Weasly eh…Arthur and Molly's kid?" James asked, looking over Ron, "red hair...freckles...I would be surprised if you weren't."

"Yes sir…" Ron replied hesitantly. After all, he was talking to someone who by all rights should be dead.

"Good people the Weasly's…I'm glad that Harry made friends with them," James said with an approving nod, before turning back to Harry, "I'm assuming that Padfoot or Moony introduced you to them right Harry? Probably met them years ago I would think."

Said boy gave his newly returned Father an odd look, "Pad…foot? Moony? Who are they Dad?"

James' face turned into a mask of shock, "You don't know Sirius and Remus? But they were supposed to raise you if we died…right Lils?"

Unspoken, but still in the front of the elder Potter's head was how Harry had flinched when he patted him on the back. Why would he do that? Especially if he was raised by Sirius or Remus?

Lily nodded, fairly confused herself, "Yes they were James…what happened to them Harry?"

Before Harry could answer, Ron let out a strangled gasp, "Sirius? Sirius Black? You wanted the man who betrayed you to raise Harry?"

James eyes took on a dark look, a look that would send lesser men running for their lives, "Sirius would never betray us…that was Peter Pettigrew."

Ron gulped, "I'm sorry sir! But everyone knows what happened to Sirius Black…he betrayed you and killed Mr. Pettigrew afterwards…he's been in Azkaban ever since. That's what I was told when I told my parents about Harry anyway."

"Azkaban…what were you thinking Albus…you know that Sirius would never betray me," James muttered darkly, before heading for the door.

"James wait! We can't just leave and walk around Hogwarts!" Lily shouted, dragging Harry along with her...mostly because her son was in shock still.

"And why the Hell not?! Albus would only have to use Veritiserum on Sirius to know he wasn't the Secret Keeper…so why hasn't he in ten years Lils?! Ten. Years!" James angrily said back.

"Umm…excuse me Mister and Mrs. Potter…but what are you talking about?" Hermione asked in a small voice, finally getting over her shock.

Lily turned to the young girl with a gentle smile on her face, hiding the anger that rivaled James', "When we were hiding from Voldemort, we made people think that Sirius was our Secret Keeper…the one keeping us hidden. But we really switched to our other friend, Peter Pettigrew…who betrayed us to Voldemort."

"And I'm going to figure out why Albus hasn't figured that out yet!" James angrily said, opening the door and storming towards the Headmasters office.

Lily sighed, and had the kids follow quickly behind her, hoping to avoid any encounters with the residents of the Castle. After all, what more could be worthy of the Hogwarts rumor mill than the return of the Potters?

AN: Well, there we go. Again, mostly the same but I cleaned things up somewhat. Also, as was stated in the original authors note:

NO CHARACTER BASHING.

No matter how much people say 'Dumbledore sucks! manipulative old *******!' I'm not going to treat characters any different than the canon view of them, or how canon Lily/James would treat them. So annoyance with Dumbledore/Snape/anyone else that did something bad to Harry...yes. Hating them/thinking they are evil/bashing...NO. The Dursleys will be the furthest Lily/James go in 'hate' mode. Nor will I be making bad guys good. Snape is redeemable, with Lily around to straighten him out. But there are limits there. Malfoy and the Slytherins...I'm sorry, but short of making them totally OOC there is little that can be done there.

Sorry, but I had to get that out since its my biggest pet-peeve with the HP fandom. Now, assuming that didn't make people ditch the story...I'm hoping to have the second chapter rewritten soon, if at all possible. See you all then!