Erised's Bane

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm just dropping a little note to show my appreciation for your reviews and such, I never fail to be amazed that so many people seem to really like what I'm doing. I've been having a cool few days but now I'm ready to sit down and give you all the next installment of this fan fiction. Cheerio!

Disclaimer: Read the last twenty-five disclaimers. They all say the same thing. I don't own Harry Potter.

The Mirror's Truth

Harry looked out at the Quidditch field where he would be playing for the next few months. It seemed double the size of any field he had ever seen before, and the idea of trying to find the snitch over all that made butterflies leap out of his chest. He had apparated here, with Liam and Sabrina, and was now waiting to meet his future teammates.

They all exited from the changing rooms at once. Harry felt almost like he had his first time playing with his school team—they were all older, and more experienced, than he was. He couldn't help but feel a little inadequate.

A tall man with dark brown hair saw the group of them and came over. "Ah, Liam, I see you've brought us our new Seeker," he said cheerfully. He extended his hand towards Harry. "I'm Paul Hart."

"Harry…Harry Potter," he responded. A dazed sort of expression came into his eyes for a second. He had known, of course, about Harry, but it still must have been slightly strange to meet him firsthand.

"I'm one of the beaters for the team. This is Elizabeth Graystone, Tracey Rogers and Sarah Wilde, our team of excellent chasers, and this here is the other beater, Keith Hennessey."

The three women all smiled and waved cheerfully at Harry, but the other man that was introduced to Harry pierced him with a dark stare. "So, that's the boy, is it? I wonder how much work it took Dumbledore to get yet another of his favorites on the team?"

Harry took it like a slap to the face. He felt anger rising up, but to his surprise Sabrina put her hand on his shoulder. "You never were one to let sleeping dogs lie, Hennessey," she said. "Harry is one of the most incredibly talented Seekers that anybody has ever seen, and you would do well to keep him happy, otherwise you might blow England's chance of winning the World Cup."

The man, who had dark blonde hair and amber-yellow eyes, put his arms over his chest. "And what would you know about it?" he said. "You abandoned your team sixteen years ago, Sabrina."

"Yes, but I'm sure you haven't forgotten that I did that because my best friends were under the threat of Voldemort? Did it never occur to anybody that I was trying to draw his attention away from the Potters and into America?"

Harry was startled, especially to see the darkness in Sabrina's eyes. He also felt the faint shock that perhaps what she was saying was true…and if that was true, it would mean she had…

"So, shall we begin?" said Paul quickly. "I assume you'll need a Firebolt, that way your broom will match the rest of the teams…"

"No, I already have one. And I quite prefer to keep the one I've got."

A look of surprise that was over in a moment. "Oh…right then. I suppose there's nothing to do but get started."

And get started they did. Harry didn't know when he had had a more grueling three hours in his life. They practiced drill after drill, barreling through chasers and circling other players, catching a regulation snitch (which was somewhat faster than they ones used at Hogwarts) as many times as he possibly could in a certain amount of time, and all the while having to put up with the criticisms of Hennessey, who had to have been a Slytherin while he was still in school.

By the time everything was over, there couldn't possibly have been a muscle in Harry's body that didn't ache. Even his eyes were tired, his vision slightly fuzzy from having stared so long for the tiny flying ball. One by one the rest of the team disapparated. Harry, however, had to stay behind to sign contracts and to be fitted for his new robes.

Liam, Paul, Sabrina, and Harry were all seated in Paul's office. Paul, it would seem, was the coach for the team, and Liam the assistant, something which really surprised Harry. Paul, after all, was very soft-spoken, but it also seemed that he really knew what he was doing.

His robes (which were dark blue, with the British flag emblazoned on the back) were in a box beside him, and he had already penned his name on all legal documents. Since he was only sixteen, Sabrina had taken on her god motherly duty and co-signed on the parts that needed it.

"So, Harry, do you think you're going to like this?" she asked when they had apparated back to Hogsmeade and begun walking back towards the castle.

"I suppose so," Harry said, "I mean, I love Quidditch. And…well, my whole life can't revolve around Voldemort. He's going to be gone…someday…and if I don't make a life for myself now…"

"Harry…don't think about that," Sabrina said softly. "I know how hard it is to want one thing, and to be unable to do anything about it. I…I would have stayed here with your parents, and I would have raised you, if only…"

She paused, shaking her head. "If only I had been able to," she said. "I can tell you've been angry with me, Harry, but you must understand that things have been hard for me. Nobody trusted around the time that everything happened, it was only because of your mother that I was made your godmother. If I hadn't been in America already…I would have been called your traitor."

Harry looked at her, feeling a strange sort of pity for the woman that he had never felt before. He suddenly wondered just how hard it had been for her…but what Remus had said that time still rang true in his head, that she would never die for him…

But then again, Harry didn't want her to die for him.

As much as Harry would have liked to keep it secret for a while, it was only a matter of time before word of his new 'job' got out and things got interesting around school for Harry, not for the first time in his almost six years at Hogwarts.

"I wonder how hard Dumbledore had to pull to score Scarhead that position?" Draco Malfoy was overheard saying in potions. Of course, due to the fact that Harry had never been in a more exceptional mood in a long time, and the fact that Ron was trying his best to ignore anything about Harry due to their argument, his comment went unheeded.

Susan, although she cared very deeply for Harry and very much liked being with him, also found herself the uncomfortable object of attention. "You notice they got back together when he got on that team?" said Lavender Brown once, with a sneer in Susan's direction. This took Harry by surprise, because he wasn't used to this nastiness coming from people of his own house (unless the previous year could be counted, and in those circumstances Harry somewhat understood their reasoning.)

"She really did have a thing for you, Harry," Susan remarked after this. "I think she was about to make her move when we got back together. That's probably why Ginny moved so fast."

Harry, who had been sipping a butterbeer, began coughing violently. "You…you…Ginny…what?!"

"Well, there were some rumors about Lavender wanting to get with you before we got together and then I heard the same things after we broke up. And Ginny…well, it's no surprise that they're going to be a little upset."

"They think you're dating me because I'm famous!" Harry remarked.

"Not really," Susan said, "they know I'm just as uncomfortable with it as you are. But they really did like you…in fact, it seems like a lot of girls in this school really like you."

This struck Harry as odd, as he had never thought of himself that way. He voiced this thought to Susan, who smiled wryly.

"Well, you must admit that you're certainly a romantic figure. Your tragic past, and how talented you are…and you are very cute, too."

At this Harry coughed some more, and then proceeded to completely change the subject.

His schedule, now completely full, made taking a break seem almost impossible. But the truth of the matter was, he had somewhere along the line gotten to the realization that the busier he kept, the less likely he was to start thinking about all those things that were always in the back of his mind. The school year itself was whizzing by uncontrollably, and it seemed like March and April passed into May over a single week.

It was then that another realization struck him, one that hadn't even come to mind until then.

"Do you realize…this is the last summer I have to stay with the Dursleys?" Harry said out of the blue one evening.

Susan and Hermione looked at him. "Well, of course it is," said Hermione. "Technically speaking anyway, but what you told us about the Dursley's protecting you…well, Dumbledore might want you to at least visit once in a while…"

"Well, a day or two of visiting might not be too bad," Harry considered slowly. "And we mustn't forget either that after July 31st, I'll be allowed to do magic outside of school…"

Hermione touted a look of satisfaction, having known about Harry's plight for all of those years, and Susan was trying to suppress a grin, having only heard the stories but knowing full well what their reaction to Harry's newfound rights would be.

"Just promise me one thing," said Susan, "if you happen to be there on the morning of your birthday, apparate down to the breakfast table."

The day of the last Hogsmeade visit of the year came around. Susan, Harry, Ron, and Hermione and divided into two couples, deciding to meet back at the Three Broomsticks after a little while (something Ron only agreed to because he knew Hermione would have a fit if he didn't). Susan and Harry weren't doing anything in particular—they had nothing planned—and ended up deciding to just walk around the streets a little bit.

Harry was surprised to find that he had unconsciously made his way to the street where he had seen Sirius in dog form for the first time after freeing him from the dementors. Susan noticed him tense up and asked him what was wrong.

He told her as much as he dared to without giving up too much. Susan, who already knew about Sirius but didn't know the details exactly, laid a hand on his shoulder in understanding. He was about to say something else to her when suddenly a strange feeling occurred to him, like something in the back of his mind was trying to get out, but he didn't know what it was.

"What is it?" Susan asked, frowning.

"I…I don't know," Harry said. "I think it has something to do with…" he trailed off as a look of dawning realization struck him full in the chest.

"What?" she said again, but Harry shook his head and took off at a run towards the castle. "Go find Ron and Hermione! I think…I think I remember something, but I need some help…"

He was out of breath and a painful stitch had developed in his side by the time he got to Dumbledore's door, but Harry didn't care. He hit it with the palm of his hand, doubled over and taking gulping mouthfuls of air. The door swung open quickly, and Dumbledore was staring down at him, a concerned look on his face. "Harry?"

Harry walked in quickly, standing up and looking into Dumbledore's face. "I need you to help me understand something," Harry said. "It's about the Mirror. I need to know…I need to know something about it."

A look of surprise crossed Dumbledore's face. "The mirror? Harry, what do you need to know?"

"Why is it in the room of requirement?"

Silence fell. Dumbledore was still for a long moment before he crossed over and sat behind his desk. "The room of requirement? Nothing appears in there unless it is needed, so if you somehow thought you needed it, then of course it would be there. But Harry…"

"What professor?"

"The mirror was destroyed."

Harry's face fell. "But…sir…I was certain I saw…I remember now, I had forgotten visiting, or I had thought it was a dream but it was real…"

"I don't see any way, unless the mirror borrowed glass from elsewhere in the castle. But regular glass would negate the magic of Erised, and glass with any other magical property would have altered it…"

It didn't even take a fraction of a second for Harry to remember the broken glass of Sirius' and tell Dumbledore about it.

When he had, Dumbledore's face went blank. "Harry, could you take me…"

They went to the room quickly, Harry eager to know just what this new development was. When they got there the mirror was standing in the center of the room. Harry gazed deep within, and the image he had gotten before, of him without a scar, began to surface…

"No, not that!" he said quickly.

The image faded, and then arose the man he had wanted to see so badly when he had first come, the one he wanted more than anything to see right now…

"I thought you had stopped visiting, Harry," said Sirius with a grin.

"There!" Harry said.

"I'm afraid I can't see it, Harry," said Dumbledore quietly.

"But…but sir!"

"He can't Harry," said Sirius, "but now you can, and now you remember seeing me. I need to give you something Harry, before I go forever…"

Sirius was reaching towards the surface of the glass. Harry saw the area around Sirius—it was dark, and gray, and shadows were spinning around him. Was this the area behind the veil? Harry could almost hear the whispers…

"Sirius…"

He reached forward, but his hand only touched glass. Sirius smiled and held up before him a small golden key, and then the image in the mirror began fading to Harry's own reflection.

"No!" Harry shouted, but it was no use. Sirius was gone…and Harry knew that this time it was forever.

He turned around to face Dumbledore, who had gone slightly pale. "Harry…"

But then Harry noticed a sudden weight around his neck and looked down. It was the medallion given him by Sabrina. Harry lifted it up and slowly opened the fifth catch. The keyhole that had been there before had faded away, and now there was left an object covered in black velvet.

"The key…" Harry said. "The key opened the fifth catch…"

He unwrapped the velvet, and into his palm fell a small golden key in the shape of the Hogwarts seal.

"And this is the key that leads to the locked door in the Department of Mysteries," said Dumbledore quietly. "It seems…it seems like Sirius was able to pull off one final stunt from beyond."

For those of you who don't quite understand what I did, the glass of Erised and the mirror Sirius gave Harry combined, so Sirius could use the mirror he had on him when he died combined with Harry's desire to see him. He was therefore able to contact Harry from beyond, though for reasons I won't go into yet Harry wasn't able to remember this. The key was passed to Harry in the same way as the Sorcerer's Stone, and yes, Erised is now unable to work in this way. Sirius has done what he needed to do, and he is finally moving on.

Oh, and this isn't the end of the story. We still have to find out just what Sabrina is up to, and remember, Harry still doesn't have his wand (his TRUE wand) back yet! And who was the Snape imposter, exactly? Hmm…this and more, coming soon!