Summary of the last chapter:

Harry and Tom decide to 'test' the invisibility cloak Harry had been given for Christmas. They sneak into the forbidden section of the library at night and are almost discovered by Filch. They manage to hide in an empty classroom that also houses a mysterious artefact: A mirror that shows one's deepest desire. Harry sees himself with his family - and a boy he assumes is Tom. Tom sees himself arm in arm with Harry. Tom is convinced that the mirror was placed there intentionally for them to discover. He suspects the headmaster. To prove his theory, the boy go there again three nights in a row, only to be discovered by Dumbledore in the third night. He warns Harry about the dangers of the mirror and tells him that it will be taken away, but also makes a rather mysterious remark: 'If you ever run across it again, you are now prepared." Harry and Tom both worry that the headmaster has an agenda.

A/N: Since it came up in a couple of reviews: It's not my intention to bash characters in this story, but to try and show their perspective and find out what drove them to take certain actions. That doesn't necessarily mean they were acceptable. This is especially true for Dumbledore. I firmly believe that he means good (or at least believes he decides on the lesser of two evils), but the actions he takes are often anything but. I'm not entirely sure even now what my own final judgement on him will be. It's the first story in which I'm letting him speak and defend his actions with his own words. We'll see more of this throughout the story. Actually, many things that come up are new and surprising even for me, and I'm curious myself to see where things are going! :)

And thanks to Frank and Amber! If it wasn't for you, I'd think the review function was broken, too.

The Will

The holidays were finally over, classes resumed, and Harry had almost put the incident with the mirror out of his mind. On Wednesday morning, something unusual happened at breakfast: Harry got an owl. It was not unusual for owls to arrive at this time of day and drop letters and packages on breakfast tables – it was just the first time that Harry was a recipient. He was flummoxed for a moment, until he remembered that an answer from Gringotts was outstanding. He quickly took the letter and sent the owl on its way with a piece of bacon, then briefly glanced at Professor Snape who had noticed the delivery – the man seemed to notice everything that was going on. The headmaster, thankfully, was chatting with Professor Flitwick and not paying any attention to the Slytherin table.

"Aren't you going to open it?" asked Blaise with raised brows when Harry stuffed the letter into his bag.

"Later," he said. "I'd rather read it somewhere quiet and a bit more private."

He had to wait until he had a free period after Charms. He retreated to his bed, closed the curtains for privacy and finally broke the seal on the roll of parchment.

Dear Mr. Potter,

in answer to your question we hereby confirm that a will was indeed drawn up and deposited with Gringotts by James Potter and Lily Evans Potter on the 23 rd of March 1981, with an amendment made on August 13 th .

After their tragic death on the 31st of October 1981, said will was opened by the executor of the testament, but it could, however, not be read as none of the persons it concerned were able to appear in person, and no proxy could be located or contacted.

The wizard and the witch named were Mr. Sirius Black, Miss Mary McDonald, Mrs. Alice Longbottom and Harry Potter.

As you are still underage, the opening of the will could be instigated by a legal representative or guardian.

Kind regards,

Borgwalt
Gringotts

Harry's mind was reeling. His parents had left a will! And three people were named in the testament beside himself, most likely either one or both of them were supposed to be his guardians. Sirius Black, Mary McDonald and Alice Longbottom. Why had he never heard of these people? Were they all dead, too?

"You know, it's likely that Neville knows who the woman is," said Tom. "It's also likely that Alice is his mother."

Harry knew that Neville lived with his grandmother, though he didn't know why. He had assumed that his parents were dead as well. It would explain why Alice Longbottom hadn't been there for a reading of the will.

Harry knew he had to be tactful about this. As Neville never spoke about his parents, their death was likely a difficult subject. He waited till the evening after dinner and asked Neville if he could speak to him somewhere privately. After some searching, he found a secluded and quiet spot in an alcove on the fourth floor.

"I wrote to Gringotts during the holiday," Harry began and explained what had prompted him to do so. "They said one of the people mentioned in the will was Alice Longbottom. I was wondering if that's your mother … "

Neville paled and looked at him with round eyes. "Yes," he finally answered, "she is."

"Given that you grew up with your grandma, I assumed she is dead..."

If possible, Neville lost even more colour and looked away. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I'm sorry, Neville, I didn't mean to cause you grief. It's just – she must have been important to my parents, or she wouldn't be named in the will. She might have been named my guardian. And I wondered why she never tried to contact me."

"She couldn't," said Neville with a broken voice. "She ... she's not dead, nor is my dad, but ... they might as well be. Shortly after You-Know-Who was gone, some of his Death Eaters took revenge. They ... they kidnapped my parents and they tortured them. They were Aurors, you know, and fighting with Dumbledore. They were exposed to the Cruciatus curse so long that they lost their minds."

Harry stared at him in utter shock. That was possibly worse than being an orphan. Knowing that their suffering continued. At least the killing curse was said to be immediate and painless.

"God, Neville, I'm so sorry! That's horrible! I had no idea. All the books talk about my parents and how they died for the cause but I've never seen mention of yours, it hardly seems fair."

"Well, my grandmother kept it out of the press, so it's not in the books. It's still widely known that they were injured in service – after all, there was a trial and the Death Eaters who did it received life sentences in Azkaban. But how badly off they are – that's confidential information. Please don't tell anybody."

"Of course not! Thank you for confiding in me, though. I still hope that she was named as my godmother. After all, it would make us something like cousins, right?"

Neville's face brightened. "I'd like that too, Harry. How will you find out?"

"I don't know yet. I'll ask Professor Snape for help."

"Really?" Neville seemed very much in doubt about the Potion professor's suitability as someone helpful.

"He's really not that bad, Neville. Just very strict and ... well, he does seem to hold a particular dislike for Gryffindors and people who don't excel in potions. Though I think you are only struggling because you are so nervous."

"And clumsy and forgetful," the boy sighed. "Remember - my relatives were surprised that I turned out a wizard after all."

"You are really good in Herbology and you remember all the facts about every plant we ever studied in class. There's nothing wrong with your memory. And you were not clumsy at all when we had to tie up the delicate tendrils of the young Devil Snares. None of them broke off from yours."

"It's easier with plants. I'm always more relaxed when handling those."

Harry shrugged. "Well, a lot of what we use in potions are plant parts as well. Maybe you can try to concentrate on that. In any case, there's nothing wrong with you as a wizard."

"Thank you, Harry. You're a good friend. Let me know if you find anything out about my mum and if she's really your godparent, will you?"

"Sure. I'll speak to Professor Snape and see what can be done right away."

*'*'*'*'*

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems you need your Aunt Petunia." Professor Snape put the letter from Gringotts that Harry had shown him on his desk and looked at the boy facing him. It was exactly the answer he had expected.

"What? And have her make an appointment with the goblins?" Harry looked at him in disbelief. "You said you knew her, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Well, we're faced with a bit of a conundrum. When dealing with legal issues, a child needs a guardian or a legal representative. And your legal representative is your aunt."

"Then I'll have to wait until I'm eighteen to learn what's in my parents' will," said Harry frustratedly.

"Seventeen in the wizarding world. But you won't have to wait that long. Your aunt could always name another person as a proxy. It has been done before, when Muggleborns needed a wizard representing them or their interests."

"Really?" Harry's mood brightened. "How about this Sirius Black? He might be named as one of my guardians since he's mentioned in the will."

The professor's face darkened. "Yes, I know for a fact that he is your godfather. But it won't do you any good. He's in Azkaban."

"What? My godfather is in prison?"

"What do you know about the circumstances of your parents' death?"

"What I found in the history books. That they were attacked in their house on Halloween, and that both died from an Avada Kedavra when You-Know-Who then tried to kill me, but that for some miraculous reason, the killing curse rebounded or something and killed him instead."

His Head of House sighed. "That's a very brief version that leaves out many important facts. One of them being that he shouldn't have been able to find your family's dwelling in the first place. It was magically protected."

The professor explained to Harry what a Fidelius Charm was and how the knowledge of a hiding place was keyed to a person, from whom it couldn't be extracted against their free will, not even under torture.

"Sirius Black was a close friend of your father's since his school days, and he was their Secret Keeper. He betrayed them to the Dark Lord."

Harry's chin fell. "My godfather is a traitor and is responsible for my parents being dead? For me being almost killed? Why would he do that?"

"Nobody knows. It's widely believed that he went mad at some point. He killed another friend of your parents as well, together with twelve muggles. He received a life sentence, and only because he was declared insane."

"You really have the worst of luck, Harry," said Tom glumly. "Your parents killed by a madman, your godmother tortured into insanity and your godfather in prison because he was a psychopathic killer and traitor. Not to mention that you have another person living in your head, which is not exactly sane, either."

"Wow, you really have a way of building me up," said Harry with mild sarcasm.

"Just stating the facts as they are."

"Well, then I hope Black rots in there," Harry said to Professor Snape, trying to get his emotions under control. His parents had been dead before. Knowing that his godfather was responsible for that didn't really change anything. "So what does that mean for my situation with a legal representative?"

"Nothing. A legal representative can be anybody. You just choose somebody and get Petunia to sign the nomination of proxy."

Harry sat in silence while he processed the suggestion. It sounded easy, but was anything but. Who should he nominate? He didn't know anyone in the wizarding world, apart from his teachers. And how should he get Aunt Petunia to sign such a document?

"Well, you could always choose a teacher," suggested Tom "Professor Snape himself has proven helpful and supportive. And he knows your aunt."

Harry nodded. It was the logical option. "Would you be willing to be my legal representative then, Professor Snape?"

The addressed looked at him and sighed. This is exactly what he had feared: the boy needing a wizarding representative and him being the seemingly logical choice. Except that he wasn't, but he couldn't give the boy the true reason for is ineligibility. "I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Potter."

"Why not?"

"I told you that your father and I had our differences. Maybe I should have been more blunt. We hated each other's guts. Your father would roll in his grave if I were to have any influence on your upbringing. He might not be resting well with me being your Head of House, as it is."

"I had deduced that already, Professor. But you were also friends with my mother once. Shouldn't that count for something, too?"

"We had a falling out in our fifth year. We haven't spoken since. I'm sure she wouldn't approve, either."

"Well, as they are dead and I am the one having to live with the decision anyway, they don't really have a vote. And I don't have many options. I could probably ask Professor McGonagall, but she's not my Head of House. I don't really have anything to do with her, whereas you have been very supportive on numerous occasions. My mum, if she loved me, would surely approve. If you don't want to do it, that's another thing. I'd understand. Dealing with my aunt won't be a pleasure."

"You think I'm afraid of Petunia?"

Harry shrugged.

"Are you perhaps trying to use reverse psychology on your teacher?" asked Tom interestedly.

"Maybe. I though it wouldn't hurt to try."

"After all these years in your head, you still manage to impress me, Harry."

"Thank you!"

"Alright, Mr. Potter," said Severus, wondering why he allowed himself to be manoeuvred into this position, which would bring him into conflict with the headmaster and in serious trouble with the Dark Lord, should he indeed return. But he was Lily's son, and Severus had sworn to protect him, even though he had been sure that he wouldn't like him. But Harry was surprisingly – tolerable, and he didn't have anybody who put his interests first, as he should have. He wished he'd had such a person in his life. Things might have turned out very differently.

"If you're sure that's what you want, I'm willing to act as your representative for your dealings with Gringotts on the condition that this arrangement stays strictly between us. For reasons I can't disclose to you, no one can know that I have any legal rights with regard to you. I can't stress the importance of that enough."

"Okay. I don't understand, but I agree to your conditions. I don't want anybody to know about my private business anyway."

"Especially not the headmaster," added Tom silently.

"Especially not him," confirmed Harry. To his professor he said: "Any idea how I get Aunt Petunia to agree?"

"Leave that to me, Mr. Potter."