The Mirror

Chapter One

It had been approximately one month since Harry Potter had seen his friends at the train station, and already he felt as if it had been too long. In his mind, he had indeed endured quite enough, and he sat down at the desk in Dudley's second bedroom, took a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write.

Dear Professor Lupin,

I remembered something that I think may be vital. Before I went to Hogwarts last year, Sirius...

"Sirius? Isn't that the convict? Your godfather?" Dudley was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Apparently, Harry had been reading his letter out loud as he wrote. "Didn't he bite the big one?" His smirk was evil and careless.

Harry paused and looked at the name he had written. He said aloud, more to himself than to Dudley, "Sirius is... was my godfather, and he was a much greater man than you'll ever be, so just shut it."

Had this been any other circumstance, Harry would have attacked him and tore his brain out his ears with his wand. Instead, he just sat there. He could feel tears begin to swim in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away and didn't turn to face him. He took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. Having to talk about Sirius in the past tense was just too much for him.

"What's wrong, Harry? You act as if he were your boyfriend."

Harry sat there, fist clenched tightly onto the quill. "Dudley, get out of my bedroom. Now."

"Hey, I reckon you shut it! This is my room, not yours and you better watch it before you wind up back in the cupboard!"

Harry stood up slowly, and set the quill delicately on the desktop. Swiftly, he moved his hand to his pocket and grabbed his wand. Then, he turned with precise speed and precision, so that he wound up with Dudley against the wall outside the room and the wand buried in the fat of his neck. "I said get out of my bedroom, Dudley. Now." He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, regaining his self control. "Please."

Dudley swallowed hard and his whole face jiggled with motion. He nodded slowly and Harry stood back, tucking his wand back in his pocket. Dudley took off, muttering something about 'You wait 'til I tell dad' and 'You'll be back in the cupboard before you know it' but they both knew that he wouldn't dare say one word to Uncle Vernon. He just wouldn't dare.

Harry turned and walked back into his room, slamming the door in anger and frustration. He paced about his room for a minute or two until he had calmed a little. Then, he walked to the desk where the unfinished note lay and suddenly realised it. He grasped it and tore it to pieces. What kind of fool was he? To send a letter about something that could be vital to the Order by owl when it could be intercepted was ridiculous; he wanted to smack himself for being so stupid. He was thankful, though, that this had happened in the privacy of his own home, and not somewhere else where anyone could have seen it.

A quiet tapping at his window snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over to find what looked like an average barn owl. Harry walked over to the window, unlocked it, and lifted it open, and then owl swooped over to his bed.

"You have something for me?"

The own hooted impatiently and nipped at Harry's fingers when he reached towards it.

"Oh, you want a treat? Right then," he groped in the bag of treats that hung from Hedwig's cage. "Here you are." He tossed it and the owl caught it with his beak in midair. It took it's time with it, and Harry stood by, waiting impatiently, until the owl decided to give him his letter.

After what seemed like forever, the owl looked up at Harry with some kind of recognition as if it was thinking, 'Oh yeah, I came to give you something, didn't I?' Finally, almost reluctantly, it gave Harry the note it had been carrying, and Harry opened it quickly, reading its message eagerly.

Harry,

I can't tell you where I am sending this from in case of interception. I can tell you that I am sending this to tell you not to try to send anything by owl. If you have something you need to tell us, please wait. We will be by around five in the evening on Sunday. Please be ready!

Ron

After a quick glance at his watch, Harry immediately began to gather his things. It was already 4:30 in the evening on Sunday, he only had a few minutes to get ready. As he packed, he was almost drowned by an sea of emotions. His mind was racing with thoughts. 'I can't wait to see Ron and Hermione again! I hope they're okay.' and then 'I hope the note means something. I has to mean something!'

When he had everything packed, he just sat on his bed and waited patiently for the booming voice of his Uncle Vernon to fill the house with the frustrated yell of 'Boy! What are those bloody friends of yours doing here?' He grinned to himself at his uncle's expense when he suddenly froze, realisation dawning on him. He was forgetting something. The vital clue. He had to get it to Remus and the Order!

He jumped up and practically dove at his desk, ripping open the top drawer. The piece of paper... the note... where is it? He was almost panicked. His mind was filled with 'I can't find it I can't find it I can't find it..' and then 'ah... I found it.'

His fingers wrapped around the note as he pulled it from the desk. He opened it up and stared at it, his eyes glazing over instantly. On one side, it read'Use it if you need me, all right?' He turned it over, hands shaking and read:

'This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other.

If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it;

you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours.

James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.'

"How stupid was I?" he asked aloud, his voice shaking. "Sirius, I'm so sorry. I'll... I'll set things right."

His thoughts were interrupted. "Boy! Get down here, you're leaving!"

'That's it? No yelling? No insulting? What's going on?' he wondered as he shoved the note in the back pocket of his jeans and started down the stairs. He would have toppled over Tonks, had he not seen her short, spiky and sky-blue hair.

"'Lo, Harry! I'm just fetching your things! Remus, Ron and Hermione are downstairs waiting to see you, so hurry on, they've missed you terribly.' She moved on up the stairs.

He continued down the stairs and when he came to the foot, he saw everyone standing in the doorway. Normally, he would have cheered and jumped for joy at the "rescue" but not this time. Instead, everyone was solemn and it was quite depressing.

"Oi, Harry." Ron offered a smile and stood there awkwardly as Hermione gave a small wave.

Harry nodded and forced a smile. "Ron. Hermione." He looked to the man standing behind them. "Hello Professor Lupin. "

It remained quiet for a long while. Harry attempted to say something to his friends, but he came up with nothing and was left looking like a fish out of water. Aunt Petunia kept looking towards the strange group standing in the doorway, looking disgusted and appalled. Uncle Vernon had an arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, as if to say 'This is what normal people should look like. You are not normal people.' His face had the expression that he had just eaten a salted lemon.

The silence was broken. "Uh . . . could someone please help me with Harry's things?" There was a pause, which was quickly followed. "Not Harry, though. To be kind."

Everyone looked to each other. Harry looked around to everyone, not wanting to lose sight of any of them again. Not after Sirius. No way.

Suddenly, and strangely, Uncle Vernon cleared his voice and spoke up. "Right then, Dudley, what are you waiting for? Hop two, hop two. Go help the woman."

Dudley opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. Dudley knew better than to argue with Uncle Vernon when he had that look.. It was a look that meant business. So Dudley got up and walked reluctantly up the stairs, his massive girth bouncing with every step.

Harry stared at Uncle Vernon. "Why?"

"Well, someone needed to, and... well, it gets you out of my house faster, doesn't it? You were all staring at each other like a deer stares at headlights. The man of the house has to take some action," he said this matter-of-factly.

"Right."

"Come now, Duds! Lift! You can do it! No! Not the cage! THERE'S A LIVING ANIMAL IN THAT CAGE! Yes, okay, you got it, you got – NO! NOT THAT WAY! WATCH OUT!!" This was followed by a large crash and a hiss of pain from Tonks. "You went the wrong way, Duds. Now please! Pay attention! Come now, help me up."

Everyone was looking towards the stairway, where Tonks and Dudley finally emerged. Tonks looked lively, her hair now a fiery red, and Dudley panted for breath, holding one end of the trunk in one hand and Hedwig's cage in the other.

"Right, lads." Remus spoke up. "Let's get his things outside." He turned to Vernon and Petunia. "See you again soon, folks. Have a nice one." He nodded and then left, and everyone but Harry followed.

"Thanks a lot, Ver – Uncle Vernon," Harry managed to spit out and with a small, curt nod, he left.