A/N: I do not own Harry Potter. So...some of you may remember this fic, previously, A New Reflection. I took it down a while back. I just wasn't happy with it. But, I've revamped my plot and outline. I feel much more secure with this one now. There won't be many changes from the beginning, but I'm sure you'll spot them. Many thanks to Sectumus for their assistance!

Chapter 1: Through the Veil

July 31, 2003

"Unauthorized personnel in the Department of Mysteries! Code 2 response teams, move out!"

The stern voice of Gawain Robards gave no room for dispute. Not that Harry Potter was too concerned about that at the moment. He had been spoiling for a fight. A part of his mind knew that he should have taken the day off after breaking up with Ginny, especially considering that it was his birthday. After everything they had fought about the night prior, he wasn't in the correct mental state to be going into a possible battlefield. It was irresponsible and reckless. True to his Gryffindor nature, though, Harry's blood was burning to hunt down a Death Eater or two.

He got up from his spot at his desk, pulling on his navy Auror cloak. It was a beautiful piece of spellwork. It was designed to be light, but charmed to withstand any climate and still have the wearer feel comfortable. As he made his way to where Robards was sending off squads, he avoided casting any glances at Ron. He was sure by now that Ron knew a good bit about what had happened and he did not want to be any more distracted than he already was.

"Right, four intruders," Robards began. "Reports indicate that Rodolphus Lestrange is among the possible suspects, be prepared for Unforgivables. Potter, take Westen, Savage, Weasley, and Longbottom for your strike team. Let's see if you blokes can't catch them unaware. The intruder alarm went off a bit ago, so they shouldn't know you're coming."

Harry nodded and looked over as the three aforementioned wizards and one witch made their way to him. He took a final glance at them before leading the strike force to the emergency elevators. With a wave of his wand, the doors opened and the five of them stepped in. It was a bit cramped, but the others took a corner while Harry took the center of the cab. With a wave of one of the junior auror's wand, the elevator began moving to the lowest levels of the Ministry. The entire ride stayed quiet, with even Ron not making a joke of any kind as they made their way down. This was unusual for Ron, but Harry figured that he was recalling their first incursion into the Department of Mysteries, just as he himself was doing.

His thoughts turned to his first few months as an auror. They'd just finished a raid, capturing Daniel Greengrass' disowned older brother, Marcus. The little snot had taken out one of the senior aurors before a well-placed Stupefy from Harry had knocked him out. Harry had been glad that they had tagged another Death Eater. However, Minister Shacklebolt, still acting as Head of the DMLE, had not been pleased. He had called Harry into his office almost immediately.

"Tell me, Harry, was it worth it?" Kingsley's voice was abnormally quieter, and Harry was immediately put on edge. "We've lost three aurors since the Battle of Hogwarts. All of them in Death Eater raids. Was losing Auror Williams worth letting Marcus Greengrass take an extra victim before a stint in Azkaban?"

"But sir—" Harry tried.

"Marcus Greengrass will spend ten years in Azkaban, fifteen if we're lucky. Then he'll be out of prison once again, causing more death. We're still at war, Potter. We don't have the time and, quite honestly, the patience to coddle your sensibilities. You need to aim to kill, because the next person that we lose might be Ron, or Neville, or Susan. Is that what you want? Because if you keep it up, you're going to lose friends before all of this is over."

Kingsley sighed, running his hand over his bald head. His voice was noticeably softer when he spoke again. "You've got the makings of a great auror, Harry. But we're not going to coddle you anymore."

"Sir?" asked Harry, feeling, not for the first time, distinctly unsure of himself.

"I will be pairing you up with Robards. He's going to be training you in how to cast more efficiently. You're damn powerful, but you need to learn how to use it. Now get out."

Harry stood and made his way to the door. He paused, his hand sitting on the gold handle, and turned to the man he considered a friend and mentor. "I am sorry about Auror Williams' death."

Kingsley nodded. "Honour him by becoming better, Harry. Do that, and I will consider it even. Leave me, I need to write a letter to Alexander's wife."

His robes swished behind him as he stepped off the elevator. Up ahead, Harry could hear the sounds of an ongoing battle. He brandished the now-familiar elderwood wand as their response team picked up their pace to get support to the Unspeakables. He missed his holly wand, but he was never able to fix it, even with the help of the Elder Wand.

Spells were flying about as they entered the Department of Mysteries. Harry allowed himself to fall into the familiar flow of battle. This wasn't the first incursion by rogue Death Eaters that were still griping about the death of their master. It was almost sad, in a way. They claimed to be all for blood purity, yet their constant attacks had resulted in the end of seventeen more Pureblood lines.

Harry snorted. That's a crapload of shite. They didn't care about purity. As Quirrel had once said: "There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it." While Harry didn't believe in such a viewpoint, just as he hadn't as a child, he recognized the truth behind the veil of blood purity. Yes, it wasn't about just their precious blood purity, but also theirpower, both political and magical, and who was able to seek it.

It didn't matter that even after all of these years, the purebloods still held a majority of the political power in Wizarding Britain. Nor did it matter that there were no elective seats in the Wizengamot, only hereditary ones, those afforded to Department Heads, and the Minister and their secretaries. No, Death Eaters just wanted to be the ruling class to assert their fascist views upon the country.

"Potter, keep an eye out!" Samantha Weston's voice called out, shaking Harry out of his thoughts. A blue spell, likely the Organ-Swelling Curse, barely missed his torso. He could hear Robards cursing his carelessness in the back of his mind. He forcibly silenced the voice and retaliated with a Bone-Breaking Curse.

"Damn," Harry muttered as a last second Protego kept his spell from hitting. He turned to Ron. "Give me a count."

"Four reported wands, but I'm only seeing three. Looks like Rodolphus is missing. What'd you expect?" Ron answered as he fired multiple curses towards the opposing Death Eaters.

I expected them to take care of their own bloody Department. Harry kept himself from grumbling out loud. "I'm going to take the Death Room," he said, placing his hand on Ron's shoulder. "If they're here, it's for a reason. Finish these guys off, I'm going to go find Lestrange."

Ron nodded as Harry broke away from the group. He left them behind, slipped on the Cloak of Invisibility, cast a Muffliato on his feet, and went down the hall. Harry had no doubt that the Death Eaters were hoping to find some artefact or ancient magic to bring their long deceased master back from the grave.

Just like the last time he had fought Riddle's Death Eaters in the Department, the corridors were suspiciously empty. You'd think after the last break-in they'd have invested some time into putting up a decent security force. It's not like they couldn't afford it.

Unlike last time, though, the silence and deserted feeling of the hallways didn't bother him. He had a job to do and a bone to pick with Lestrange. Harry hadn't gotten his comeuppance against Bellatrix, so taking out her husband would have to do. Ahead of him was the door of the Death Room and he sent a powerful Banishing Charm at the door, quickly overpowering the smaller wards laid upon the door.

He flicked up a shield with his wand to stop a particularly nasty looking purple spell, the standard Organ Liquifying Curse, if he recalled correctly. Granted, it would probably be a bit worrying to both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley that he viewed any curse as "standard" in his day job.

He slashed his wand and a Bone-Piercing Hex flew back at Rodolphus, hitting his offhand arm in the elbow. Harry made his way into the room, launching a volley of curses, probing Lestrange's defenses. Rodolphus proved to be as able a fighter as he had been during the war, launching a quick Avada Kedavra followed by a volley of other curses. Harry dodged the Killing Curse and parried the rest. Recognizing every spell, Harry repressed the urge to roll his eyes. He's trying to play with me. If he wants to play, let's play.

Harry began conjuring shadow ravens, a staple of Black family battlemasters. They poured out of the end of his wand like shadows given liquid form. While they kept the Death Eater busy, Harry made his way deeper into the room. He rolled his shoulders, focusing himself back towards his foe. Unlike many curses, Corvi Umbrae had a single purpose, to completely enthrall and distract the caster's opponent.

As Harry was quickly reminded, however, Rodolphus had not been a member of Voldemort's inner circle just because of the financial support the Lestranges had supplied.

Rodolphus had used a Flame-Whip Charm to chase away the shadow ravens. Harry had a Lightning Curse ready when Rodolphus looked over Harry's shoulder and cast a white spell at the ground in front of Harry's feet. Harry let loose the curse, catching Rodolphus unaware, but he didn't recognize the spell for what it was until it was too late.

The words Bombarda Maxima flashed in Harry's mind as the ground before him exploded, sending Harry flying backwards. His last sight was of the Lightning Curse hitting a grinning Rodolphus even as Harry's body was launched into the Veil of Death. It didn't matter to Harry, though.

He'd gotten the bloody bastard.

In hindsight, falling into the Veil of Death should have felt more death-like and frightening, similar to when Harry marched up to his death in the Forbidden Forest. Instead, for once, it'd felt just like Sirius had told him back then: "Quicker and easier than falling asleep". There was definitely much less fear in his heart as he closed his eyes and flew through nothingness...

Only to have the breath knocked from his lungs as he abruptly landed on his back.

The first thing that he noticed was the crackling of flames. The second thing he registered was that, wherever he was, it smelled like autumn. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see the Gryffindor common room. He slowly pushed himself up and looked at the fire. Feeling a slight chill, he immediately made his way to the flames to warm his hands.

"Hello, Harry."

The words were spoken so softly that Harry might have missed them. If they weren't spoken in a voice that he hadn't heard since that fateful night of his first death, he probably would have jumped. Instead, he closed his eyes as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He turned to look at the man that he had regarded as almost a second father.

Sirius looked so much healthier than he had when he was on the run. Harry's gaze roamed over him, drinking in the sight, afraid that if he closed his eyes Sirius might disappear once more and he would wake up, as if it had all been a dream.

"Sirius?" Harry's voice quavered.

Sirius gave him a grin. "That's my name."

"Is it finally over?" Harry asked quickly. He needed to know, he was not sure that he could take it again if he was to be ripped away from them a third time. Sirius gave him a small frown and motioned to the seats by the fire. Harry took the cue, sitting down together, leaning forward to be closer to Sirius as a new voice entered the room.

"I suppose that depends. Are you sure that you're ready for it to be?"

Harry whipped around, his heart thudding in his throat. His mother was no longer translucent, and Harry could not help but lean into her hand when she rested it upon his cheek, hardly aware of the tears that trickled over his cheeks.

For the first time since he could remember, he experienced his mother's touch.

Lily pulled Harry into a hug, rubbing his back as silent tears broke free like a burst dam. Quiet sobs told Harry that his mother could feel it too. Her arms tightened around his waist and Harry rested his head on her collarbone. He could smell a light perfume and he inhaled deeply; Harry could finally hug his mother. That, more than anything, slowed his tears to a stop. He slowly pulled back from his mother and looked at her through bleary eyes.

"I'm ready, Mum. I'm so..." he struggled to find the correct words, "tired. I'm ready. I just want to rest, please don't make me give that up." He sucked in air, gasping for breaths.

Lily frowned when his voice turned desperate at the end. She hugged him again and tried to console him. "Maybe so, but you've never had a chance to live your life properly."

Harry let out a watery chuckle, tears flowing once more. He was finally with the only family he had ever known, and even that, only after dying. What life could he have ever lived properly without them?

Lily nudged Harry back to the chair, "You need to understand. You united the Hallows."

Harry looked about ready to interrupt, prompting Lily to keep going before he could, "I know, it wasn't intentional. We saw you trying to get rid of them. The problem is, you weren't supposed to die. If it wasn't for you being flung through the Veil, you likely would have lived for centuries, as the Master of Death. By taking them through the Veil, you've cleansed them of their taint."

"Their taint?" Harry questioned, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"You are the first person to successfully merge them," his mother told him. "By bringing them with you through the Veil, they've been cleansed of their previous owners, affording you another chance at life."

Harry looked between her and Sirius. "Another chance, how?"

Lily smiled softly again, running her fingers through Harry's hair. "If you agree, you will be sent back in time and have to fight against Voldemort from an earlier point, allowing yourself the chance to save many more lives than those that were lost originally. That said, if you choose to go back, you won't get another opportunity to make a life for yourself if you die again."

Lily paused and turned to Sirius, hesitating, and Harry thought of what she'd said. An earlier point. He gathered his courage and asked, "When, exactly, would I be going back to?"

Sirius was the one to answer when Lily looked a bit pained. "That's the thing, Harry. In 1971, your great-uncle and aunt, Charlus and Dorea, were killed in Diagon Alley by Death Eaters. They'd caught them unawares and Charlus gave his life to save another of his grand-nephews and his grand-nieces. It snapped something inside Dorea. She went on a rampage and killed 3 Death Eaters before she was killed herself." Sirius dragged his hands through his hair. "While my grandfather refused to ever join Voldemort, he decided to not interfere because of this."

"In the Grindelwald War, Arcturus and Charlus were on the same squad. They were demons on the battlefield and masters of the political arena. By removing them from the equation, Voldemort was able to get laws passed in the Wizengamot without an organized opposition. You'll be going back to the day it happened, July thirty-first. You'll have a couple of hours before the attack starts, at around noon, to get to Diagon Alley."

Harry looked at them, distraught. "But what about you? Will I see you again?"

Lily rested a hand on Harry's cheek, silently crying. "Not like this. But you'll have the chance to know us as we were growing up."

She hugged him close to her. Harry looked at Sirius and pulled him in to join them.

"I'm going to miss the both of you so much," Harry murmured, "but I'll do it." He looked at Sirius and grinned. "How could I pass up a chance to see the Marauders in action?"

"Or a chance to properly fall in love and spit out some more Potter terrors," Sirius added in with a sly grin.

Lily glared at Sirius. "Be seri—" She cut herself off when Sirius' eyes lit up and restarted, "Hush yourself, you know what needs to be done." She met Harry's eyes. "It's time for you to go. Always remember that we're so proud of you, Harry. We will always love you."

Harry shivered as the world around him chilled and began to fade. For a moment the world was dark. Then the feel of cold, stone ground met his back, forcing out a grunt of him. Harry took a moment to just rest and come to terms with everything.

His mother. She had been right in front of him. He had hugged her. Now she was gone, and he was where?

Harry opened his eyes. The archway of the Veil of Death towered above him, seemingly inert. He was tempted, briefly, to jump back in, but he thought of what his mother and godfather had told him.

He was needed here. In 1971.

He stood and looked down at himself, glad to see that the Cloak of Invisibility was still in place. He cast another Muffliato to replace the one he had cast before his 'death', and quietly left the room. Entering the hallway, Harry unobtrusively made his way out of the Department of Mysteries.

He would stay. He had things to do.

A/N: Like I said, not many changes here. Besides editing, the only major change is that it's a tad bit shorter than the original. I share a server with Sectumus. Information can be found in my profile.