I sincerely apologize for the amount of time it's taken for me to update this again. Originally the delay was because I'd joined the National Novel Writing Month challenge and was focusing on my novel. Unfortunately, I also found myself dealing with some health issues. -Coughs awkwardly- Long story short, I've been bouncing in and out of the hospital three times in the last month. I'm not okay, but I'm working on finding out what's wrong. In the meantime it's been making it akward to write (and in some cases, remember what I was writing about x.x), but I promise that while updates may continue to be slow, they will still be coming. I love this story and my future plans for it too much to abandon it now.

This chapter seriously not supposed to happen yet. I totally planned to avoid this scene until at least Second Year. But Tracys are stubborn, Alan is smart, and Virgil is persistent and sensitive. -Glares at them- Thank you both for ruining my plans. I have no idea how the rest of the year is going to progress now.

I dedicate this to all the people who have been anxiously awaiting it. I hope it meets your approval. ^_~

Chapter 24: Solving the Puzzle

Returning to Hogwarts was strangely relieving. Harry had managed to keep his parents from cornering Alan alone as he'd promised, and even the twins had helped, but he'd seen James frowning at him more than once. Lily had acted upset more than anything, and it had become hard to look her in the eyes. Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who all seemed to practically live at the Potters' house, hadn't tried to talk to him beyond casual conversation thankfully, but he'd received more than one odd look from them as well.

Everyone dropped them off at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters just as they had at the beginning of the term, wishing him and Harry well. This time it wasn't just Lily who hugged him, but both twins and Aurora, while James squeezed his shoulder and Sirius and Remus each shook his hand. Peter had patted them both absently before heading for the staff car, ignoring Sirius' shouts about being a workaholic.

This time however, when Scott joined them he brought Virgil and Gordon with them. Everyone acted as if it was an ordinary occurrence, and they all pointedly ignored John's absence, as Alan was now aware that it had been him he'd seen on the platform the last time, saying his goodbyes to his younger brothers. Alan made a point to stand away from all three of them, and was on the train shortly after the whistle blew before Scott could do more than wish him well.

His mind was still reeling over what seeing John had done to him. Thoughts whirled through faster than he could really hold on to any of them. Scott had blue eyes. They were a bit darker than his, but still. Scott and Virgil both had brown hair. Gordon ... well, Gordon's hair was all wrong - more like Aunt Lily and the twins' - but he had the same eyes and build as Virgil. And John -

He tried to force himself to pay attention to his friends as they joined him. Draco was bragging about all the presents he'd received this Christmas, and shortly after got into an argument with Harry about whose presents were the best. Pansy rolled her eyes, petting her cat and chatting absently with Neville and Blaise.

Well, she talked with Neville and tried to convince Blaise to pull his head out of his newest book to talk to them, at least.

Greg was oddly subdued, leaning on Vincent with his eyes closed. Vincent was watching him with a sad expression, and every once in awhile his hand would come up to touch Greg's head. Neither of them spoke much.

Alan was tempted to ask what was wrong, but then he remembered his own holiday and decided he wouldn't have wanted anyone asking him about it, either.

Thankfully they were returning to school on Saturday, so Alan had the rest of the day and all of Sunday to do as he liked before he had to deal with classes. The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match wasn't until next weekend, which gave him plenty of time to himself. He spent most of that night trying to avoid his friends and forcing himself to do homework in an effort not to think.

It failed miserably.

Avoiding his friends only seemed to be working because Harry had said something to them, as he'd caught them all watching him carefully over dinner. They didn't speak to him other than Harry and Neville asking him to pass along food, and Harry was excellent at making sure no one else bothered him either. Not that most of the other Gryffindors spoke to any of them often anyway, seeing as they always spent their meals turned to the Slytherin table so they could talk to their friends. Other Gryffindors besides Virgil and Gordon, at least.

Alan dropped his head against the table with a quiet groan. He couldn't stop thinking about them. About any of it, really. Hagrid's words. The odd things Scott said. James and Lily's behavior. John's face.

He stood abruptly, and Neville nearly fell off the bench with a squeak of surprise. Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Neville's collar, shoving him back into his seat.

"Alan?" Harry questioned, looking up at him warily.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he muttered, already heading for the door. "I'm going for a walk."

No one followed him.

He wandered for some time, not looking for any particular direction. He was out long enough that he got into another minor fight with a pair of students, but this time it wasn't as bad as the first time they'd ganged up on him and he managed to escape with only a black eye and a split lip. The fight left him in an even worse mood than before, and he continued to walk around the castle, turning sharp corners and ducking through doorways to avoid people whenever he thought he heard someone coming.

Inevitably, this eventually led him to a very familiar unused classroom with a large mirror leaning against one wall.

He stood in the doorway, staring at the mirror for several minutes. At last he took a slow, careful step toward it, hesitating just before he was close enough to see his own reflection. Would this really help anything? He still wasn't quite sure what the mirror was trying to show him, just that it wasn't an ordinary mirror. What was seeing himself alone and ordinary, something he'd never been and always desperately wanted, going to do?

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped forward.

It took him several minutes of standing there to gather the courage to reopen his eyes. He still didn't know what he was expecting, or what he thought the mirror was going to change. He just couldn't bring himself to walk away.

But when he finally opened his eyes again, the image in the mirror had changed.

His reflection was still standing opposite him looking relaxed and carefree. There was no wand in his hand and no scar on his forehead. But now instead of being surrounded by a crowd of strangers that ignored him, he was surrounded by the four Tracy brothers. Each of them looked down at him with fond and affectionate expressions, all standing close together, as if they wanted to be as physically close to him as they possibly could.

On Scott's opposite side stood a man he had never seen before with dark hair and brown eyes. He kept one arm around a tall, beautiful woman with golden blond hair and eyes the same shade of blue as his own. Both of them were smiling down at his copy warmly, as if nothing else in the mattered to them in the world.

Her eyes were also the same shade as the reflection of John, he noted distantly.

Distantly he felt it when his back hit the wall, and he knew when he slid down to sit on the floor. But everything was sort of hazy, and his breath was coming in short wheezing sounds, like when he'd broken his ribs fighting the troll. The memory of the troll reminded him of Gordon, Virgil, and Scott's concern when he'd been hurt, and he hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face in his arms.

He wasn't stupid. He knew what everything was pointing towards. He knew what they'd been trying to tell him, but had been so afraid to. He knew why the Potters and the Tracys were close, why Scott Tracy had come to help James and Sirius rescue him from the Ministry. He knew why Virgil always seemed to be keeping an eye on him, why Gordon wanted to know him better. Why John had been so insistent on visiting the Potters this Christmas.

The familiar ache deep in his chest was back. His face felt wet, but he couldn't bring himself to wipe the tears away. He was being handed everything he'd ever wanted on a plate, and it was still all so wrong.

He had a family he couldn't acknowledge because who knew what the Ministry would do to keep them away from him. He had relatives who claimed to worry about him that he still wasn't sure if he could trust. He had a father who didn't even know he existed, and never would.

He had brothers who wanted to know him when he didn't even know who he was, outside of the BWL. He didn't know how to act around them, or what they expected from him. He barely knew what a family was to know how to be part of one.

" ... Alan?"

The voice was sudden, but spoke so softly he didn't jump. He tensed when a hand touched his back lightly, but didn't move. "Hey. Are you all right?"

He snorted wetly.

There was a pause, and a quiet sigh. "Physically. Are you physically all right?"

He considered that for a few minutes. He wasn't in pain, but he wasn't sure if the black eye and split lip counted as being physically all right. "More or less," he muttered finally.

Another hand moved to his chin, slowly lifting his face to meet Virgil's. The older boy frowned, looking over the marks. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

He shook his head.

Virgil hesitated, eyeing him as if he didn't quite believe him, but at last let go of his chin. He looked at Alan for a long moment before at last sitting on the ground beside him. "So you found the mirror," he said eventually.

Alan glanced at him.

Virgil looked back at him and shrugged a shoulder before returning his gaze to the mirror on the other side of the room. "Being Head Boy means I have to patrol the halls at night before I can go to sleep," he explained. "I came across this thing just before we left for Christmas and asked Dumbledore about it."

"And he actually told you?" Alan asked skeptically.

Virgil smiled slightly. "Dumbledore isn't always known for giving straight answers, but he does give them when he thinks it's safe to. He told me this is called the Mirror of Erised."

"Erised?" Alan echoed.

"It's in the title. See?" Virgil pointed to the inscription at the top. "It's actually pretty simple when you realize the code."

"What code?"

"That's not a foreign language. It's actually just some letters rearranged to make it harder to understand."

Alan eyed him warily.

Virgil chuckled softly. "Look at the words again. Try reading it backwards."

Backwards?

Alan gave him another odd look before glancing up at the lettering again. Ishow .. no ... tyo ... urfac ... ebu ... tyo ... urhe ... arts ... desire - wait, desire?

He blinked, squinted, and tried again.

"I ... show ... not ... your face but ... your hearts desire," he read slowly, feeling stupid. Then he blinked again. "Your hearts desire?" he repeated with a frown.

Virgil nodded. "This mirror shows you the thing you want most in the world."

His frown deepened. "The thing you - "

Alan froze.

He had seen himself, alone and ordinary, when he was lonely and frustrated by the label of the BWL. And when he was upset and confused and wanted to know the truth, it showed him with a family. It showed him with the Tracys.

He closed his eyes, willing himself not to start shaking. "What do you see?" he asked finally. His voice came out softer than he'd wanted it to be.

There was a pause. "I see myself with my family," Virgil said finally, equally quiet. As if speaking too loudly would break the sudden feeling in the air. "I see both of my parents alive, and all four of my brothers together. I see us as a family again."

Silence lingered. Alan knew what he needed to say, knew he'd never know until he finally asked. He knew Virgil wouldn't say it for fear of scaring him away. And he had to know. But he was so, so scared of the answer.

"You're my brother," he whispered finally, eyes still shut tight. "Aren't you?"

For several heartbreaking moments, he thought Virgil wasn't going to answer. Was he wrong? Was he not related to them? Was he right, and they were related, but ... but they didn't want him after all?

At last an arm slowly came around him, and a body pressed closer. "Yes," Virgil breathed.

His eyes remained closed even as tears slowly began to slip down his cheeks again, and Virgil pulled him into a careful hug. They stayed closed as he tried awkwardly to return the hug, and Virgil squeezed him tighter. One of them was trembling, but he couldn't tell which one. He didn't care.

They remained that way for a long time.