I Disclaim ownership of Harry Potter.

Pickled Brains: Alrighty! Sorry I've been away for so long. I was shipped out of town for work rather suddenly last year and forgot to take all my notes and fan fiction files (Not that I would've had the time or the means to write and post anything anyways). Still, when I finally got around to it, this chapter came out like projectile vomit after a good, hearty hangover!

In any case, lemme know if there're any inconsistencies in the story, eh? Though I've revised it recently, it's always better to have a few more people on the lookout for plot-cheese of the Swiss variety, right?

-o

Chapter Nine:
The Mirror

-o

"Heya, mate! Why didn't you wait for us?" came Ron's morning greeting as he plopped down on the opposite side of the table him, sounding cheerier than Harry was used to hearing from his best friend, especially with this being the first day of classes.

"Good morning Harry," Hermione chimed in soon after while setting her heavy school bag down.

"G'mornin' guys," he answered them absently as he leafed through some of the general reports of his estate. Bobby had given them to him so he could familiarize himself with his properties and general assets, which would help him once his Magical Guardian began reporting on their current state of affairs. Thankfully, it was nothing specific, just a list of what he already had; their location and whatnot.

"What're you readin'?" Ron asked, serving himself a heap of breakfast foods.

"Hmm, what?" he looked up, noticing absently that the Great Hall was full. "Oh, just some paperwork I have to deal with," he told them, not wanting to go into specifics and remembered the previous question, "And I didn't wait for you because I woke up pretty early."

"What kind of paperwork, Harry?" Hermione inquired.

"Just some stuff about my family, don't worry about it," he waved her off, "I'll tell you once I can make some sense out of it."

"If you need any help, you just need to ask, you know," she pointed out.

"I know. Thanks."

It didn't take long after that for Hermione to start inquiring about classes and remarking on her expectations now that they were at N.E.W.T level, along with all they would be able to learn throughout the year. Harry simply listened with one ear and answered as vaguely as possible while he neared the end of the sheaf of parchment he was perusing.

Honestly, why the hell would one of his ancestors buy a plot of land in a city under the North Pacific Ocean, in the Midway Mer-kingdom? How the hell did one even go there for a visit? Start from Hawaii and swim a few hundred miles north? Was there even a way for him to go there?

He would have to look up this ―he paused and flipped through the file, ah, right― this Jasper Potter in the wish-log. Maybe he'd wished for something that turned him into a merman or helped him live underwater? Harry fervently hoped it wasn't that the man had been a fish animagus or something, because then it'd be a complete waste to own land in a Merpeople City!

. . . No to mention greedy and selfish of him if such were the case; it sounded like a pretty interesting piece of property if what he was reading was true.

Oh well, Harry would see if he'd be able to pay it a visit. If Jasper Potter didn't wish anything to help him get there, maybe a stash of gillyweed would work, right? It would be a fun place to see, to be sure. The trip in and of itself should be exciting. He was certain there was some mer-language (or was it mertongue?) in the Tank of Knowledge, or maybe there was some trinket that helped one learn it—

"Ahem," he jumped and looked up to meet the stern gaze of his Head of House. "I've been trying to get your attention for quite some time, Potter," she raised an eyebrow and handed him a square piece of parchment, "Here is your timetable. Please verify that you're signed into the correct classes. We will also meet again this week to discuss your other arrangements."

"Right, thank you Professor McGonagall."

Taking the sheet, he looked at his schedule and gave a slight smile; Transfiguration, Charms and Magical Creatures. Not an impressive class load by any standards, but just what he needed. It gave him enough free time to practice the magic he'd learned from the Tank of Knowledge, along with more than enough time to research and learn the more recent pieces of information.

The fact that Bobby would start coming over a couple of days a week, half-way through September, to teach him what he needed to know to manage his estate (by taking him to the vault so he could use the Knowledge Tank, of course) was taken into consideration as well . . . not that he'd actually have to manage anything; that was Bobby's job. However, it was a pretty solid excuse to get him out of the castle.

"Professor?" he called, grabbing McGonagall's attention after she'd finished speaking with Neville.

"Yes, Potter?"

"I need to speak with the Headmaster, do you know when he would have some time available?" he asked.

With a curious expression, the Transfiguration teacher just flicked her wand towards the Head Table before turning towards him again. "And your schedule, is it to your satisfaction?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered with a nod.

With a tilt of her head and a pause, McGonagall riffled through the papers in her hand and handed him a note, which upon closer inspection showed a rather random phrase; Toothflossing Stringmints. Immediately understanding that it was the password for Dumbledore's office, he nodded his understanding. "You have the morning free until lunch, you may meet the Headmaster at any time this morning, Potter."

"Thank you, Professor," and with that, she was gone.

"What does she mean you don't have classes until after lunch, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly, "What about Potions?"

"I'm not taking Potions anymore."

"What?" she almost screeched in surprise before snagging his schedule and stuttering over its contents. All of his mornings were completely free. He had Care of Magical Creatures on Mondays and Thursdays after lunch, Charms on Tuesdays and Fridays after lunch, and Transfigurations on Monday after Magical Creatures and Wednesdays after lunch. This only took the first two periods in the afternoon, meaning the he also had two free periods before supper.

Luna and a few others had already asked him about the D.A., and with half of his afternoons free, he didn't see why he shouldn't. Not to mention that it would allow him to practice his curses, jinxes and hexes on other people. Now he only had to wait until McGonagall could authorize his use of a spare classroom for independent study, and the response of the other teachers about his request for independent tutoring in their respective subjects. In this way, and thanks to the Tank of Knowledge, he was sure he'd be receiving lessons in more advanced magics soon enough.

"Way to go mate," Ron pitched in after reading his schedule over Hermione's shoulder. "I'm so jealous. Mum would string me up by my toes if I only took three classes!" he said, looking mournfully at his own timetable. While it had a lot more free time than their previous years, it was nowhere near as empty as Harry's own.

"Why are you only taking three classes, Harry? What about Defense, Herbology, Potions and Astronomy? Especially Defense and Potions! You need to take those, Harry! I know for a fact that you qualified for all of them. And I thought that you wouldn't be taking Care of Magical Creatures, choosing Herbology instead!"

Ignoring his friend's huffy tone, Harry leaned his elbow on the table, propped his chin atop his fist and smiled in amusement while he waited her out. Her rant lasted for at least five more minutes, whereupon she pointed out his irresponsibility, his job prospects should he not change his class load right this instant, etcetera, etcetera . . . "Done, are you?", he asked during her first lengthy pause. She blushed and he winked at her. "Now, answer me this, how will Astronomy, Herbology and Potions help while fighting Voldemort? And in Defense, how did I learn almost everything I know in the subject?"

He eyed the people around them that flinched at his question and raised an eyebrow at their eavesdropping, finding it supremely funny how the lot of them turned scarlet. "Well . . ." Hermione paused, obviously seeing his point, before visibly rallying around an idea, "But don't you need Potions and Defense to be an Auror?"

"I don't really want to be an Auror anymore, Hermione. After I learned about my family a lot of what I thought I wanted changed." He looked over at Ginny from the corner of his eye as he said this. "So I'm going to concentrate on staying alive first, and if I need to take extra classes to compensate afterwards, then I'll just do that."

He didn't dare tell her about the advantages he now held, both for her sake and his own. Not to mention his plans to take the Ancient Runes and Arithmancy O.W.L.'s at the end of the year, along with a few other things Bobby was helping him line up (Like a chance to retake those same exams in a few of his other subjects). As well, he hoped that the lessons Dumbledore had promised earlier this summer would compliment his own self-study and maybe give him a bit of guidance in where to direct his efforts.

"Besides," he continued, finally storing the files into his book bag, "I'll be getting extra lessons from my guardian a couple of times a week to compliment what I'm learning here and I'm sure that the teachers will be willing to help me out as well. I did this with McGonagall's approval, after all."

Hermione just pursed her lips and nodded tightly, though he could see her worry clearly. Ron, however, happily finished his breakfast, "Why did you take Magical Creatures, then, mate?"

"Ah, well," he scratched his neck sheepishly, "I still needed to take a minimum of three classes and Hagrid's class was the easiest by far, especially since there's really not that much homework, which'll leave me enough free time to work on other things."

"Well, good luck with that. I wouldn't want to see what kinds of things Hagrid will come up with for his advanced classes."

Harry grimaced a bit, imagining just that. Hagrid probably had a pet Nundu named Spot living somewhere in the forest. In any case, while he didn't hold the Groundskeeper's love of animals, he'd always had a certain fascination for the more mythical of magical creatures.

"We better head over to Potions, then. Ron?" Hermione pointed out, looking at her watch.

The red-head nodded and all of them stood up to leave. "We'll see you later then, Harry."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later."

They parted ways, and Harry walked down the table to tussle a mop of bright golden hair, ignoring the indignant cries expertly. After all, he could see the smile spreading across the first years face. "Hey Coop, how're you today?" he asked his little friend, snatching the boy's timetable from his hand and nudging the boy's half-full plate of breakfast closer to him. "Eat while I check this out," he pointed with his now withdrawn wand while perusing the first year's schedule.

He valiantly ignored the heartbreaking pout aimed in his direction and simply jabbed his wand at the boy, who's pout evaporated when a few more sausages tangoed onto his plate; burst of music and all. "Hey! Don't put more stuff in my plate, I'm already stuffed!" the blond exclaimed in mock indignity.

Harry grinned at the kid, putting the timetable down after confirming that it was pretty much the same as the one from his own first year. All other firsties had fallen silent at his arrival, with those who lived in the wizarding world openly gaping at him. "You're too skinny, kiddo," he poked the small boy, "so you need to eat more."

Cooper looked at him for a moment and harrumphed before spearing a sausage and munching on it exaggeratedly.

Harry smiled and stored his wand while serving the boy some pumpkin juice, slipping a small dose of a potion Madam Pomfrey had given him for just this occasion. If he wasn't mistaken, the School Nurse had probably given Oliver Wood some of the same potion after the first time she'd checked on him, since he was able to eat a lot more afterwards and Oliver had hovered around him more than necessary back then.

Grinning, he pushed the juice to his little friend and waited until he drank it, satisfied when the blond began eating with a little more vigor. With a final hair-ruffle at the little blond head, and a promise to show him and his new friends around the castle after his classes, Harry went on his way, determined to get his talk with the Headmaster out of the way as soon as possible.

Of course, as he made his way out, he also remembered to pinch Seamus' cute behind, laughing when the other wizard jumped and winking at him when their eyes met, happy when a faint blush spread over the Irish boys face because of it.

It was a good start of the school year.

-O●O●O●O-

"Toothflossing Stringmints," he recited and waited for the Gargoyle to leap to the side. It was only a matter of moments before Harry found himself within the Headmaster's office.

"Ah, Harry, my boy, do take a seat," Albus Dumbledore greeted him and gestured him absently towards a cushy chair with the large quill held in his left hand. It was really the first time he'd been in the Headmaster's office without being called there first, or because of some dire circumstances, so he was surprised to see the old sorcerer pouring over a dusty tome, a quill scratching smoothly in his left hand, obviously reading something while writing something else.

How the old wizard did that baffled him, and Harry craned his neck to confirm that, yes, Dumbledore was reading something completely unrelated to what he was writing.

Huh, that must cut back on his workload, but still, just how much concentration did one need to pull it off?

He was startled out of his thoughts by a tea set appearing in front of him. Looking up, he met the amused eyes and slight smile of the most powerful wizard alive, even as the parchment he'd been writing on rolled up and stored itself. "I'm somewhat surprised to see you in my office quite so soon, Harry. I was planning to schedule our first lesson for the end of the week. However, things are known to change unexpectedly," he gestured towards the tea, "so please, help yourself before we discuss whatever has brought you here today."

"Thanks you, sir," he replied, shaking his head in mild amusement as he began running through outrageous ideas of how Dumbledore was able to do all the things he did. Did the man even use a wand to conjure the tea? Or maybe there was a house-elf under his desk waiting for the Headmaster to give him orders by way of his wiggling toes? In the end, Harry shrugged it off.

The old wizard was just so, well, magical. Any other description didn't do the man justice.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes; Dumbledore paging through his book, Harry drinking his tea and ―Harry quirked a smile― Fawkes hopping on one leg while preening his tail feathers skillfully.

When he put his cup down, more relaxed than when he'd entered the office, Dumbledore set his book aside and spoke up, looking curious, but happy because of his presence. "Now, what can I do for you, Harry?"

Reaching down into his book bag, Harry took out an oval mirror which couldn't be more than a foot and a half at its longest. Its frame was simple and graceful, made of a mixture of both dark and light wood, with their natural grain seemingly following in the same direction as its shape.

"It's really about what help I can give you, sir." Standing up, he placed the mirror in front of the Headmaster before tapping the frame three times with his wand. Dumbledore simply watched on, bushy eyebrows upraised as he stared curiously at the mirror.

"Who seeks what I might show?" a smooth, light, whispery voice asked from within the mirror. Harry saw the Headmaster lean forward in interest as the mirror rippled and the shadow of a face appeared on its surface.

"I do. Harry James Potter," he told the mirror, who turned and nodded towards him.

"It's been quite some time since a family member has sought to use me. Tell, Master Potter, what do you want to see?" The question was both wistful and happy, as if the mirror was glad to be of service once more.

"First things first; what is your name?" he asked the mirror, curious about the intensity of the Headmaster's gaze but ignoring it for now.

The silvery surface of the mirror rippled and the shadow of the face came forward, just as silvery in hue as the mirror itself. It was the young face of a mischievous teenager with long hair, and Harry could see the wide grin aimed in his direction. "I'm called Evander, Master Potter."

"Well, Evander, you already know my name and this is my Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore."

Evander rippled as if waving and sent a beaming smile toward the old sorcerer, "Greetings, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Greetings, my boy," Dumbledore answered in kind, obviously tickled by the mirror's upbeat personality. After the giggly, gossipy, disapproving or disparaging remarks of every other mirror in the wizarding world, Harry could understand the sentiment all too well.

Evander hmph'd and glared huffily at the old sorcerer. "I'll have you know that I'm not a boy! Nuh-uh, I'm well over . . ." the mirror trailed off and darkened in thought before he snapped back to attention in a flash of silver, "I'm well over five hundred years old! So if anyone should be referred to as being young, it would be you, kiddo."

Harry couldn't help but crack up laughing, and he wasn't surprised when the Headmaster's brief chortle joined him as well.

"I apologize, sir," the old wizard told the mirror solemnly after their chuckles had died down, "but I'm afraid that being as old as I am, I have become accustomed to not finding anyone of greater age than I. Please, forgive an old man his habits."

Evander huffed and deflated visibly. "Yes, well, that's quite alright my good sir," and with a solemn nod at the Headmaster he turned toward Harry, who was still smiling down at the mirror. Evander grinned back at him, "So what do you wish to see, Master Potter?"

Winking at the Headmaster, Harry placed a hand on the frame and stated clearly, "Show me Tom Marvolo Riddle, the self-appointed Dark Lord Voldemort," he said firmly.

Dumbledore's head whipped around to look at him, startled, while Evander looked at Harry with a puzzled expression for a bit and opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. With a shrug, the face vanished and the surface of the mirror rippled once again.

Harry wondered why the Headmaster looked like he was holding his breath, but paid it no mind. After a few seconds Harry looked in confusion when a small, two handled cup perched somewhere within a Gringotts vault faded into view instead of Voldemort. It was quite delicate and Harry could make out the engraving of a badger on it before the image changed.

The view came into focus again and they were soon seeing the length of Knockturn Alley, where Mundungus Fletcher was standing in a darkened corner showing off a thick, heavy gold locket with an ornate 'S' on its face. Harry glanced up briefly when Dumbledore took in a sharp breath but left his questions for later, since a new view was becoming clearer in the mirror; a view of the seventh floor corridor appeared and then a door to the Room of Requirement opened into a huge space filled with junk, where the mirror's sights moved quickly to show a tiara atop a statues head.

Lastly, the mirror faded into a view of a forest and a rather unmistakable python waiting to pounce on its prey, before the surface of the magical object rippled one more time and finally settled into the terrifying features of Voldemort.

It stayed still this time and Harry was confused as to what all of those objects had to do with anything, but he was startled out of his thoughts by a free, carefree laugh escaping the old sorcerer in front of him. "Harry, my dear, dear boy, do you know what this is?" he asked joyously.

Still bemused, he nodded, "It's a mirror that shows you anything and everything that you might want to see."

"Not everything, Master Potter," Evander's voice came from the mirror, though his face remained unseen. "I cannot show the past or the future, and there are things that I can never find . . . and boundaries my sight can never cross."

"I already figured as much, Harry, but that wasn't what I was referring to." Still smiling, Harry could see that it took the old sorcery some effort to control himself. "However, first things first," and with a wave of his wand and a flash of his still blackened hand, parchment and quill were summoned before him. Quickly, the Headmaster wrote a few sentences before taping the page with his wand and sealing the now letter-shaped parchment with wax. "Fawkes, quickly. Take this to Alastor."

The phoenix just gave a thrill and leapt into the air, grabbed the letter from the old wizards hand and disappeared in a flash of fire.

"What were those things that Evander showed before focusing on Voldemort, Professor?" Harry asked hesitantly. He was almost sure that Dumbledore's letter to Moody had something to do with it.

The Headmaster focused on him and considered him closely, before he stood up from his chair and stopped in front of Harry. Without answering his question, Dumbledore extended a hand and brushed trembling fingertips across Harry's temple. Where his curse scar used to be located, now only smooth skin graced his features. Slowly, Dumbledore pulled away, looking into Harry's confused green eyes. He could see the old warlock hesitate and throw a few glances toward his pensieve and the multitude of small vials surrounding it. ". . . Truly, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Refocusing on him, the old warlock nodded to where his scar used to be, "This happened during your stay at your vault, then?"

"Yes, sir," he responded, and left it at that. The spells protecting his family's secrets wouldn't allow the Headmaster more than that before they redirected his attention, Harry was sure.

"Very well, Harry," he nodded before returning to his place behind his desk. "I admit that the lessons I promised to give you were about those objects Evander showed us, since they are tied irrevocably to Voldemort. Alas, to truly understand their significance, you would need to know how a young Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort. So I had planned to tell you all that I know about him throughout the year, and as often as time would permit me to meet with you, seeing as I have been and would have continued to search for information on those same objects and their number for well over a year. In fact, I've been researching them since Voldemort's return at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. It was because of this that my exile from Hogwarts last year didn't affect me as much. With no ties to the school, the Wizengamot or the ICW, I was free to trace Voldemort's history, though I was a long way from discovering what we now know."

"Then . . ." Harry trailed off, looking toward Evander, who was still showing a meeting between the Dark Lord and his minions.

"Yes, exactly," Dumbledore waved toward the mirror, "This mirror of yours has not only confirmed all of my theories, but answered many of my remaining questions about the number and location of those objects. You cannot begin to imagine what this means for the war, Harry," he raised a hand to stop Harry from speaking, "But worry not; I will explain it all to you this coming weekend, and keep my promise to you. It will take me until then to arrange a few things, now that I find myself with more free time than I was expecting this year. If you would allow me to borrow Evander, I'm sure that my efforts would be all the quicker."

"You have that right, Headmaster!" Evander piped up.

Nodding at Dumbledore's inquisitive look, Harry gave his permission, "That's one of the reasons why I brought him to you, Professor."

"Very well," The Headmaster said gratefully before returning his attention to the mirror. "Could you widen the view, my dear Evander?" the Headmaster pressed on, and it was then that Harry noticed the old sorcerer's blackened hand once again, which has been covered by the long sleeve of his robe until now. It remained as blackened and burned as when they had met Slughorn all those weeks ago. However, before he could question the Headmaster about it again, Evander did as Dumbledore requested and Harry could now see several Death Eaters standing around Voldemort. "Can we listen to what they are speaking about?" the old wizard asked eagerly, sounding both younger and happier than he had in quite some time.

"I cannot, but I can repeat the words, Headmaster," Evander paused. "They are a nasty lot, aren't they? They're talking about kidnapping someone. And this flighty fellow is a rather ugly git . . ."

"Flighty?" Dumbledore asked, while Harry's eyes drifted back to the Headmaster's hand periodically, his thoughts speculative . . . He was certain there was something in the Potter Vault that could help with it.

"Yes, well, Voldemort means flight from death, right? It's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?"

"It is indeed. Harry? Could you deactivate the mirror for a few moments?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"Of course, sir."

Before he could speak, however, Dumbledore held up a hand. "Thank you for everything, dear Evander. I'm sure that we will speak again soon."

"Certainly, Headmaster!" the mirror chirped in reply.

Harry tapped the mirror's frame three times with a wink at the young face reflected there, and soon found himself gazing at his own reflection.

"Harry―"

"Sir," he interrupted, "before you ask me anything, could you tell me what happened to your hand?"

"Ah, this?" the Headmaster asked while uncovering his blackened hand unconcernedly. It was shriveled and ugly; burned black by some magical means, Harry was sure. "This is a story for another time, Harry. Truly―"

The green-eyed wizard shook his head. "I don't want the full story, sir, just to know what caused it. If I know the cause, there is the possibility that something in my family's vault could help."

Dumbledore considered him for a few long moments; his brow's creased as he examined his burned-looking hand. "Truly?" the old warlock asked softly, "If that is the case . . ." he hesitated and sighed. "It was caused by a terrible curse, Harry. Only through quick thinking and more than a bit of skill on my part, did I manage to return to Hogwarts in time for Professor Snape to arrest the curse's progress. Alas, we have yet to find any more information on it."

Harry nodded. At least he knew the damage was caused by a curse, which meant that while the small bottle of liquid magic meant as a general curative that would leave someone alive and strong enough to reach the Tank of Healing wouldn't work on it, the Tank itself would surely be able to restore the Headmaster complete use of his hand.

The question was, then, would he be able to take Dumbledore into the Vault? He would need to ask Bobby about it, that's for sure.

Finally, he looked over at the Headmaster, who was peering at him from atop his half-moon spectacles. "I'll look into it, sir."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Splendid, Harry. I thank you for your efforts. However, I'm afraid I don't have more time to give you today, since something rather important has come to my attention. Still, I have to ask; why did you bring this mirror to me?"

"Well, that's rather easy to answer, isn't it, sir? While I could have kept it for myself, you and the Order can put it to better use; if you have people watching Voldemort and his Death Eaters night and day, every day of the week, you can help a lot of people. Maybe you could even disable Voldemort's operations indefinitely!" Harry leaned forward eagerly, having thought about this since he'd first laid eyes on the mirror. "Just imagine, Professor, you'll know when they'll attack and who his targets are. Using the mirror, you would only have to ask and it will show you each and every one of Voldemort's supporters, even those within the Order, so another Pettigrew situation can be avoided. You need only ask it to show you who is under the Imperius Curse, and the mirror will give you the answers!"

Smiling at Dumbledore's astounded expression; the young wizard leaned back in his chair again. "I'm giving it to you, professor, because you can save lives with it, and keep Voldemort at bay with its help while I get ready to face him."

The old wizard smiled a small, proud smile at him before turning his attention back to the mirror, his expression turning somewhat grave and somewhat thoughtful. "Such magic should not be possible, and those arts that could produce similar results usually come at too grave a cost. Do you know where this mirror comes from, Harry?"

He could see what might be worrying the old wizard, so Harry was quick to allay his concerns. "I do, sir. And I can tell you that the magic which created this mirror isn't what you're imagining. Later on, when I have a better idea of the enchantments protecting my family's secrets, I will tell you in more detail if you want, sir."

"Certainly, my boy," Dumbledore responded, standing up and casting a few spells upon the mirror, probably to see if he could figure it out, "Hmm. Yes, I can see what you mean; old and very powerful magic, true, but thankfully not magic originating from the Dark Arts. Before we go our separate ways, can you tell me what you know about the mirror, my boy?"

"Of course, sir, but let me activate him first." Tapping Evander's mirror three times, Harry identified himself once again before turning to Dumbledore. "Evander is tied to my family, Professor. I can lend him out for one month at a time, and I have to see him and authorize his use again before that time runs out or he will be recalled by the enchantments that protect him, and end up within the Potter Vault once again."

"Remember that I can't be used against you or your family for that very reason, Master Potter," Evander piped up.

Dumbledore nodded and Harry grinned at the mirror. "Apart from that, Evander can answer all of your questions better than I can, sir. However, before you can do that, I should formally introduce you so that you might use the mirror as a friend of the Potter Family. I have to warn you, however, that if Evander is handled by someone who whishes me or my family ill, he will disappear from their grasp and return to the Vault. I suggest you ask him to locate those who would use him properly within the Order instead of risking it by letting him be handled without checking."

"I see." the Headmaster nodded, "A most ingenious security measure."

"Now, Evander?" When the face in the mirror came forward and smiled, the young wizard placed his hand on the mirror's frame, "I am Harry James Potter, and I would like to formally introduce you to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; Did I get that right, sir?" Dumbledore smiled and nodded when he looked at the old wizard.

At the same time, Evander's silvery face rippled before he too, smiled. "I recognize Albus Dumbledore as a friend of the Potter Family. Please tap me three times with your wand and then touch my frame, Headmaster Dumbledore."

The Headmaster did as told, causing Evander's surface to ripple once again.

"That's it, Professor. You just need to introduce him like I just did for someone else to use the mirror," Harry said, standing and picking his bag up, "I know that you have other things to do today, so I'll take my leave. If you have any questions, please let me know."

"Of course, my boy," Dumbledore told him gently, "And again, I thank you for this. As soon as I have a free moment, I shall call upon you. I already have more than a few questions. However, we shall leave that for another day."

"See you later, sir."

"Off with you, then."

Shaking his head, Harry decided to find a spot by the lake and practice some of his wand-work. Hopefully McGonagall would find him an empty room to use for his stories soon. As well, maybe he could catch up to Hagrid and ask him about his first class this afternoon, that way he could prepare . . . maybe climb into a suit if armour if necessary.

-o

TBC...

-o

Pickled Brains: There we go then. I bit more serious than previous chapters, but I wanted to get the heavy stuff out of the way. With Dumbledore taking care of the Horcruxes for now, Harry is free to be a kid and have fun! Not to mention begun his search for a suitable boyfriend.

Anyways, I've been reviewing my reviews and I have to give David305 a big fuzzy puffskin! Thanks for pointing my 'Oopsies' for me! I've gone over the ones you pointed out and fixed 'em. Also, if anyone is interested in Beta-ing the already posted chapters, could you give me a shout out? Thanks!

Apart from that, I'm hoping this chapter stays as one of my more serious ones. I admit that my writing groove isn't completely back, either, so bear with me while I get into a more lighthearted mindset for the upcoming chapters.

Now, review!