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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +50 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions!
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"It's. Not. Her. Theo. I'm so sorry but it's not really her. The mirror is a trap. The words over the mirror are backwards writing and they say "I SHOW NOT YOUR FACE BUT YOUR HEART'S DESIRE. And that's just an awful thing to show to someone who's hurting, because to show someone his heart's desire when he can't have it or even touch it is just the cruelest thing you can do to someone. Now forget the mirror and just focus on me. Go on with your story. What happened to your mum? I'll be here to listen and be with you and help you, but you have to stay focused on me."
The two slowly turned to sit on the floor with their backs to the mirror. It was still difficult though because somehow, even with his back to it, Harry swore he could feel the image of his loving family still in the mirror calling out for his attention, and he was sure it was worse for Theo. Harry put his arm around his sobbing friend's shoulder and held him firmly.
Theo took a few seconds to collect himself. "When I was about five or so, I heard them arguing and poked my head out of my bedroom door. He was drunk again, and he'd just found out that the Malfoys had set up an arranged marriage between Draco and Pansy. He was furious, yelling about what a waste I was and what a failure she was. They argued and ... and he backhanded her hard. She was standing at the top of the stairs and ... she fell."
Theo broke down at that and wept for a moment, resting his head on Harry's shoulder. Not knowing what to say, Harry just held on tight to Theo's shoulder and waited for him to continue.
"After ... that happened, Father saw me and realized I'd seen everything. He grabbed me and said he'd kill me if I didn't go along with his story. When the auror's came, he told them that I'd bumped into her on accident while running down the hall and that's why she lost her balance and fell. I said it was true even though it must have been obvious I was lying. Not that it mattered. We're an Ancient and Noble House, so none of them wanted to look too closely at how the Lord's wife ended up dead. But Alex knew. That's why he gave me his Rememberall – in case Father ever tried to change my memories so that I believed his story. Alex didn't want me to carry the guilt for what Father did, but he made me promise not to tell anyone because ... because Father would kill me." Theo laughed brokenly through his tears and wiped his sleeve across his face. "Father wants to kill me anyway. He's joked about it enough. He actually jokes at dinner about how he many different ways he could kill me and get away with it. I think he's just waiting for a good excuse. That's why ... when I saw ... I thought she was a ghost or a spirit or maybe the mirror let you talk to the dead. And if she could accuse him, maybe the Ministry would do ... something!"
Theo's whole body shook with silent tears as Harry rubbed his back while trying unsuccessfully to come up with something – anything – comforting to say. The boy's distress was so loud and heartfelt that Harry almost didn't hear the cough. Almost. He spared a quick glance over towards the entrance to the room and saw nothing. Then, he looked at the floor and noticed telltale footprints on the dusty floor. Two sets belonging to Theo and himself, and a third set that looked like prints from a pair of trainers that led to an alcove directly across the room where the boys were sitting.
"Theo?" Harry whispered. The boy slowly looked up into Harry's suddenly intense eyes. "I need you to keep very calm and still. Keep your eyes on me, and keep your back to that mirror, okay? Can you promise to do that?" Theo nodded slowly. And then, Harry moved, snapping out his wand and standing as he cast. "VENTUS!" He put as much power as he could into the air-generating spell and was rewarded with a powerful gust of wind that enveloped the intruder in a cloud of thick dust that had him coughing uncontrollably. But more than that, the wind also caused the edges of the invisibility cloak the other person was wearing to flap up, revealing the legs of a boy in Gryffindor robes wearing the same expensive new trainers that Harry's brother had shown off at Christmas dinner the previous day. Theo watched in surprise before stiffening in fear at what sounded like a feral beast somewhere nearby. Then, he realized it was Harry ... growling.
"ACCIO JIM POTTER!"
Jim yelped as his legs were pulled out from under him, and he banged his head as it hit the floor. The invisibility cloak fell away completely as the boy slid feet-first towards his brother. Disoriented, he tried to pull his wand out of his pocket, but Harry kicked at his hand and the wand went flying across the room. Then, Harry jumped on top of Jim, landing hard astride the other boy's stomach and weighing down his arms. Jim coughed in pain as the air was knocked out of him. Instantly, Harry had his left hand around Jim's throat with his thumb just below the Adam's apple and the tip of his wand sticking painfully into the flesh below Jim's chin.
"Hello, Little Brother," Harry said through clenched teeth. "So glad you could join us." There was a terrible rasping edge to Harry's voice that Theo had never heard from him before. Jim froze. He couldn't move easily anyway, and from this position, Harry had his choice of crushing Jim's larynx or shooting a spell straight into his head. The Boy-Who-Lived looked up into his brother's deathly green eyes, and after four months of calling Harry a "dark wizard," Jim suddenly wondered just how dangerous his brother might really be. He wasn't the only one.
"Theo?" said Harry in a commanding voice without ever moving or breaking eye contact with Jim, "are you still looking at me and not the mirror?"
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