Chapter Four; The Man In The Mirror
Harry pulled his car into the parking lot in-between Ginny's and Aaron's. "Wow Harry, it looks like your girlfriend's already here. I'm sure that you're happy about that." Heather said while she watched out the window.
"Yeah, but it's only a matter of finding her now." He told her before he put the car in park and then turned off the engine. Then he took his foot off the brake and removed his seatbelt along with everyone else. Harry walked to platform nine and three quarters with his father and little brother and sister. "It's funny, I didn't think that I'd still coming here at nineteen." He said.
"Well surely you would have realized that family members are still allowed to come and visit occasionally. Especially with the Halloween and Christmas celebrations." His father told him when all of a sudden they ran into Ginny, Brittany, Aaron, and all four members of The Dragons. Harry grinned as Ginny's face lit up with excitement before she raced towards him and threw her arms around him. Then they both closed their eyes and started kissing each other passionately.
"Oh please." Heather began with a groan and a roll of her eyes. "Not in front of the children." She said before Harry and Ginny finally broke apart. Harry stifled a laugh as Ginny giggled.
"You'll like it someday." She told them.
"But not today." Heather began with a shake of her head. "I'm still trying to keep my breakfast down." She told her.
"Well come on we better go or we'll miss the train." Aaron said.
"I could always bewitch the car and we could fly there." Harry suggested with a grin.
"No." his father replied. "Once was enough." He told him.
"What do you mean?" Heather wondered.
"You mean to tell me that your brother never told you that when he actually did fly a car to Hogwarts his second year?" Ginny questioned her with a grin.
"Cool!" Teddy and Heather chorused together excitedly as Snape just simply rolled his eyes at them.
"Oh great, you Weasleys are all alike. Well don't let her give you any ideas. When the time comes that you're old enough to go to Hogwarts yourselves you'll be taking the train just like everybody else. You won't get to drive until you're seventeen." He told them.
"Aw,.. man!" Heather cried indignantly. "That's not fair!"
"You're no fun." Teddy added.
"Sorry, but that's the law in England. It doesn't matter whether or not you're a witch or a wizard or a squib or a muggle. It's the same for everybody." Their father told them.
"I wonder if you break a muggle law if that means that you have to go to muggle jail." Teddy said.
"I dunno." Harry admitted. "But I really wouldn't want to find out either." He told him before he raced towards the wall and escaped through it to the other side. Ginny followed closely behind him and then it was Aaron's turn followed by Rickie, Derek, Justin, and Brittany. After that Snape took both of his youngest children by their hands and disappeared into the wall as well.
…
Once Harry and the rest of his family had gotten to Hogwarts, Ron, Hermione, and Eve were very happy to see them and Tobey was very excited to hear all of their voices again. Teddy and Heather both stroked the top of Angel's head while Harry embraced Hermione tightly. "It's so good to see you." She began as a wide grin stretched across her face before she finally let go of him.
"Hermione's been in the_" Ron began.
"Library." Everyone else finished for him.
"Oh c'mon guys! Am I really that predictable?" Hermione questioned them.
"Honestly Hermione, you know that you spend every waking moment that you're not busy teaching or singing in the library." Ron told her.
"Well for your information there's a reason why I spent all day in the library today. And it was for Harry's sake." She said.
"What? Why would you do that for me?" he questioned her.
"Because, everyone knows that this Halloween marks the eighteenth anniversary of your father's death." Hermione told him.
"I know!" Harry snapped. "I'm sorry but I already know that he's dead. I wish that everyone would just stop reminding me!" he exclaimed but she just simply shook her head at him.
"No Harry, listen, you don't understand." She told him before she took ahold of his hand and pulled him aside and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "There might be a possibility that James is still alive." She told him.
"What? But that's impossible. Voldemort killed him when I was just a baby." He told her while quickly shaking his head at her.
"That's just what he wanted you to think. That is, as long as my theory is correct." She told him.
"And what theory is that?" he asked her.
"Do you remember the Mirror of Erised?" she questioned him back.
"Yeah?" he replied questioningly.
"Well, if what I read is true, that mirror isn't just a mirror Harry." She told him.
"I know, it shows you whatever your heart desires." He said.
"Yes, but it's also a portal to the next world." She told him.
"You mean Heaven?" he questioned.
"No. I mean a portal to another dimension. A dark dimension. Harry, I don't think that Voldemort killed your father." She began with a shake of her head. "I think that he hated him more than that. I think he sent him to that other dimension. I think that he's trapped there." She told him as Harry just simply stared at her.
"Are you sure?" he asked her.
"No. I'm not if I'm going to be quite honest with you. Don't get me wrong Harry, you're my best friend and there's no way in the world that I would ever want to give you false hope. But look on the bright side, it's more than you had before isn't it?" she inquired.
"Yeah." He replied. "You're right." He told her.
"Really? Because you don't seem all that happy about it." She told him. "Well, how would you feel if you found out that your father was trapped in some other alternate dimension and that there wasn't anything that you could do about it!?" he hollered.
"I'm sorry Harry, I honestly didn't mean to make you upset." She told him before he took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"It's alright. You were only trying to help. I'm sorry Hermione but my father's dead. That's just the way it is." He told her. "I'll see you at the feast tonight." He said while giving her and Ron a slight wave.
"See ya." Ron told him while he waved back at him before he turned around and started walking towards the staircase.