Summary: Harry James Potter was a stillborn in the physical plane, but in the spiritual plan he is a soul fated to roam through the realm of mirrors, to learn from an unexpected Hogwarts student how to wield magic and to fall in love with the person he would have been fated to kill had he been born alive.

Warnings: Profanity, Alternate Universe, Cussing, Maiming, Death, Spirits, possible snarkyness along with eventual yaoi.

Pairings: Will eventually be a Voldemort(older version of Tom)/ Harry

Disclaimer: I don't own HP, no matter how much I may want to.

P.S. - Hi people! Slight Filler Chapter here, but it sets the stage for the rest of the story! Be prepared for a major time jump as well- we're sprinting forward by five years! The boys are now 16! Oh, and this chapter also informs about what's going on with everyone else too! Including, Lily and Dumbledore! I mustn't forget! Tom appears too! Well… Kinda… You'll see.

Mirror Struck

By Ciel Leon

Chapter 3- 'The Inquisitor'

Sometimes, Lily spotted a pair of bright green eyes- eyes like hers, the type her son would have been born with- peering at her from the inside of a mirror.

At first she believed it was just her imagination, the second time she forced herself into believing that she was just catching the sight of her own reflection, the third time it became obvious that there was something in the mirror.

She became eager and horrified- already tense and paranoid due to her long hours working as an Unspeakable and dealing with the meetings of the Order. Every glimpse she caught of those bright green eyes made her believe for a second that her son- her baby Harrison- was alive somewhere, only to face the horror that this could be anyone scrying her from the mirror.

Slowly her paranoia built, and in the few hours she managed to spend with James (who had dived head first into his work as an Auror) lead to his building worry and concern for her health.

Then one day, she realized she had gone over a week without seeing those bright green eyes- she became even more cautious waiting for some type of trouble, but soon days became weeks, and weeks became months which in turn became years.

But she never forgot those eyes, a color even brighter than hers staring at her, and when she realized that those eyes would probably never watch her again, she felt strangely bereft. Despite this, Lily continued to soldier on, falling back into her routine and calming James's nerves.

Harry came to find Theodore's presence both soothing and enlightening.

The wild haired brunet enjoyed regaling Harry with the tales he grew up with, teaching his obsidian haired friend about Pureblood tradition, history and etiquette, and in return he found out more about Harry.

Harry told Theodore of his conversations with those that traveled through the Mirror Realm, about what he could remember growing up, about his mirror scrying, and most important of all, the woman Harry sometimes watched who he believed might be his mother.

Theodore was skeptical of course, and told Harry not to get his hopes up, but Harry just shrugged before changing the subject.

Their study in magic never faltered either- Theodore happily helped enlighten Harry on the schedules of the upperclassmen, silently copying the schedules that were posted on the Slytherin Common Room bulletin board. He also tried to help Harry when the other boy practiced magic, and in return, Harry helped him with his homework and helped teach him spells and theories from the classes the upperclassmen attended.

However, despite their budding friendship, Theodore began to have problems with his classmates.

The Slytherins sneered at him for his lack of contacts and learning obsession- though he never showed off. Meanwhile, the Gryffindors began attempting to corner him due to the rumor of his lack of friends and confidents.

He was bullied and ridiculed despite being from a well standing pureblood family and his knowledge in magic, but he held firm, Theodore stood up for himself- he never wallowed in despair or sulked because of his situation. If anything, the state of his situation became all the more reason to hold on to Harry.

Something he did without thought, but with the strength of his whole being.

And overtime he became determined to free his friend from the mirrors that held Harry prisoner.

Albus Dumbledore didn't know what to do.

The Prophecy from sixteen years ago had never come true.

Lily and James' child had been a stillborn and the child belonging to Frank and Alice Longbottom was never 'marked' as 'the Dark Lords vanquisher', hell, Tom hadn't even invaded the Longbottoms' house when the three Lestranges had tortured Neville's parents to insanity.

Dumbledore sighed softly as he rolled a lemon drop idly between his thumb and fore-finger.

It didn't really matter now though did it? The 'Dark Lord' had virtually vanished off of the map- the Death Eater attacks faded into people's memory like a bad dream and Dumbledore was left with a sense of foreboding for what was to come.

He occasionally called upon Severus to ask about the Dark Mark- to no luck- even as he scoured the newspapers for any news of any hint of Dark Magic.

He always found nothing.

There was one thing the Daily prophet failed to 'get the scoop' on that year- bad luck on their part.

It was actually an article in the few newspapers mailed out only to the Pureblood families that subscribed to them.

The Inquisitor was written by Pureblood for Purebloods, it searched vigorously for the truth of the happenings in the Wizarding World, reported the important event (none of the gossip printed by The Daily Prophet), and it also made sure to note and print articles relating to Pureblood Traditions ('Subtle Insult, Genuine Complement' was a section focused on the interpretations of the actions and words of Pureblood elite), the events and scandals within the Pureblood Elite ('The Right Settings and Wrong Situations'), and the discovery of heirs to old Pureblood families (a section entitled 'New Findings of the Old Blood').

The Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry wasn't privileged to receive such a prodigious News Paper and none of his Order members even qualified to receive The Inquisitor except one Severus Snape who held no interest in reading 'The gossip of Pureblood fanatics.' Thus causing the Headmaster to miss what would possibly be one of the most important articles of the century.

It was a Front Page Headline in fact, the picture of a regal, almost aloof handsome man covering the majority of the page.

The Headline exclaimed "Heir to Slytherin Family Discovered!"

Unfortunately for most of the student population, most of the children of even the Pureblood families did not receive The Inquisitor due to the papers' desire to only print and deliver it's copies to those mature enough, and the copies would burst into flame if touched an under aged magic user- thus preventing its reading by the student population.

It just so happened that Theodore's Aunt ran the paper and sent a copy to him every morning.

So it should have been understandable when Theodore, upon catching sight of the Front Page Headline, gapped like a fish for a moment before bolting from his secluded spot at the far end of the Slytherin table in the middle of breakfast, moving as quickly as his long legs would allow, leaving the curious and scornful eyes of his peers behind as he took off towards an abandoned room with the knowledge that his friend would follow him.

He really needed to talk to Harry about this- it wasn't everyday that the Dark Lord made his first political move after over a decade of silence after all.