Chapter 16: The Mirror

Sirius, James and Lily were walking back from watch when Cedric saw them coming and ran to them from their house.

"Sirius!" he exclaimed only slightly breathless as he slid to a stop in front of them. "He's answered!"

Sirius's eyes got wide. "Harry answered?" Cedric's broad grin and energetic nod sent Sirius sprinting for the house. James looked at Lily and Cedric then took off after him.

Sirius ran up the stairs to the house and shoved open the door, nearly causing Frank to drop the mirror he was holding. "Gosh dangit boy! If I weren't already dead, you'd have killed me just then!" the older man said in exasperation as he held the mirror out to the younger man.

"Sorry Frank, I didn't mean too, but Cedric said that Harry had answered!" Sirius explained, a bit out of breath. The older man simply grinned and nodded as Lily, James and Cedric all came running up the stairs.

"It was last night, Sirius, while you were at watch, right after you'd left in fact. I don't know if he has it with him now, but you can do the check and find out." Cedric said his eyes bright.

"What did he say?"

"He said your name, and when I picked it up, he was quite surprised. I told him you'd gone to watch...I didn't explain it to him I'll leave that to you, but told him I'd let you know as soon as you came back." Cedric told him.

Sirius sent the young man a smile and pulled out his wand and cast a spell on the mirror, then said "Harry, Harry Potter."

x-x-x-x

Harry was walking with Ron, Hermonie, Dan, Dani and Amy to Transfiguration when he felt a strange tingle on his leg. He paused and frowned, touching his leg, then his eyes widened when he felt the mirror in his pocket. "Guys!" he said, pulling it out. He looked around, then quickly went into a deserted classroom. His friends frowned but followed him inside, Amy pulling the door shut behind her.

"Sirius?" he asked, his voice somewhat strangled as he said the name. The glass of the mirror wavered once, then again and when it smoothed, Sirius's face was there instead of his own.

"Harry!" his godfather replied his eyes brightening. "I didn't disrupt your class did I?"

"No we were just on the way to transfiguration." He said, his voice getting tight. "I tried calling you two nights ago but Cedric said you were at...watch or something."

Hermonie gasped when she heard Harry use Cedric's name and moved behind him to peer into the mirror.

"Sirius? Cedric's alive?" she asked looking down at him.

"No Hermonie...he's dead, as am I, and Lily and James."

"Mum and Dad are there?" Harry interrupted, and got a slap on the back of the head for his efforts.

x-x-x-x

Sirius grinned when he saw Hermonie smack Harry for interrupting her. "Yes Harry, your parents are here." He said then looked up at them. Lily had her hand over her mouth and was staring at the mirror in his hand with tears in her eyes, as she leaned against her husband who had both arms wrapped around her. James too had tears in his eyes, but he also had a small grin on his face. "Did you want to talk to them Harry?" he asked looking back into the mirror. As he watched, Harry swallowed and then nodded in agreement. Sirius passed the mirror to Lily who stared at it with a small smile on her face.

"Hello Harry. Its so wonderful to be able to talk to you." She said, her voice thick with emotion.

x-x-x-x

Dani sat down at an empty desk and watched Harry talking with his parents for the first time fifteen years. This mirror thing was pretty cool, making it possible for the dead to talk to the living. The dead talk to the living...the DEAD talking to the LIVING! She thought. "Harry!" She blurted out looking at him, her eyes wide and starting to fill with tears.

Harry looked up from the mirror when Dani said his name. "What is it Dani?"

She swallowed then said "Can you ask them something for me?"

He frowned slightly, and then his face cleared. "About...Carrie?" She nodded, as tears streaked down her face. Hermonie looked at Amy and then they both moved over to the other girl, giving her silent support, as Ron and Dan looked at each other in confusion.

James, Lily, and Sirius looked at the mirror in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. "Mum, Dad, Sirius, I want to ask you something." Harry said looking at them through the mirror.

"What is it son?" James asked, a frown creasing his brow.

"Dose everyone go there when they die?" James looked at Sirius with surprise then back at the mirror.

"From what we can gather, yeah. They spend a few years here mandatory, but then can move on if they want. Why?" Lily said.

"Dani's little sister, Carrie was murdered the year she got her letter for Medlets. Would it be possible to find out if she's there?" Harry asked.

Lily's eyes filled up with tears and she put her hand over her mouth. James and Sirius looked at each other and then down at the mirror again. "We could try. How old was...Carrie did you say?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, Carrie, she was five I think, right Dani?"

x-x-x-x

Dani nodded in conformation, tears still running down her face. "Well we need to know what she looks like and all that, so we can keep an eye out for her. It shouldn't be too hard as there aren't too many kids running around this place, but there are a few." James said.

Harry looked at Dani. "Do you want to tell them?" he asked quietly. She nodded and held out her hand for the mirror. Harry put it in her hand and watched her face.

Dani swallowed the lump that'd formed in her throat. "Uhm, hi Mr. and Mrs. Potter." She said softly giving a little half wave. The people in the mirror, the man who looked just like Harry, except for his eyes, and the woman with Harry's eyes looked back at her. The woman's eyes were filled with tears, but she smiled slightly back at her.

"Hello, you're Dani right? Hermonie's cousin?" James said a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, that's me. So, uhm, Carrie my little sis. She's five, and uh...got brown hair like mine, except hers is curly and blue eyes. Oh well...I think I may be wrong about her age. She was five when...when, she died, but she'd be ten now, I don't know if you still age there." She explained.

"We can if we want. In Hiernamaals, we can do whatever, mostly. The only requirement is watch. Other than that, its options." Lily explained.

"Oh well...Carrie was in a big hurry to grow up, so I guess she'd ten then." Dani said wiping her eyes with her robes.

"Oh my god!" Hermonie gasped, looking at her watch. And everyone looked at her. "We're late for transfiguration!" Dani stared at her cousin in shock. Hermonie noticed and looked a bit annoyed. "I know you're really emotional right now Dani, but we're going to get in a lot of trouble if we don't go right now!" she explained, running a distracted hand through her hair.

"She's right," Sirius said through the mirror, "you should go now. Dani, we'll ask around about your sister. Contact us after classes are over alright?" Dani nodded. "Alright we'll talk to you then." He said then faded out.

Dani looked around at the others in the room, then handed the mirror back to Harry and scrubbed her eyes with her robes again. "Well lets go, we don't want to get into too much trouble."