Hermione, of course, still had no idea about the mirror and no one else did either. However, she did have an idea, even though she had no confidence it would actually get her anywhere. A while back, when she first started dueling with Draco, the house elves told her how to find the Room of Requirement. It was with what they had originally told her about the room in mind that she began pacing in front of Barnabas the Barmy one fine Saturday afternoon. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, almost precisely one week after Tom's mysterious arrival, so she knew she had plenty of time and privacy.

I need to know what sent Tom to this time. I need to know what sent Tom to this time. I need to know what sent Tom to this time.

A door appeared and she entered. Inside was an empty room with a mirror in it. She approached it warily and gasped, jumping back in shock as the glas began to change, showing more than just her reflection in spite of nothing else being there. As she drew closer and saw as Tom's image began to form on the glass next to her, she recognized the object as the Mirror of Erised.

Her thoughts began to race but she stopped them and forced herself to think rationally. Tom was sent 50 years into the future by the mirror and, according to that mirror, he was her greatest desire, even though she was certain that was false. The first question, then, was how Tom was sent 50 years into the future by the Mirror of Erised, the second was why a mirror that was meant to show the viewer what they most want was not actually doing that, and the third was what Tom would have seen in the glass.

With these questions, Hermione went straight to the library. She pulled every mention she could find of the mirror and piled them all on a table where she began to sift through them. She was on her fifth book when Tom showed up and interrupted.

'Please tell me it isn't another theory that you're researching.'

'Good thing it's extra credit for Flitwick, then.' Something about this situation made her believe that lying was her best choice. She would tell him the truth, potentially, once she knew more.

'I can't imagine why someone as brilliant as you would need extra credit, though.'

'Do my ears deceive me or was that a compliment, Tom?' Rather than deny it, he ignored her.

'What is it that you are researching for this project?'

'The Mirror of Erised.' If not for her experience with Slytherins, she would not have known to look for small enough tells to be able to recognize that he did, in fact, tense oh so slightly at her words. 'He's really fond of it, says it's a brilliant example of charms work and I'm inclined to agree. I can only imagine how someone could enchant a mirror to show you what you want.'

'In your reading so far, have you found anything interesting?" He took the seat next to her.

'Interesting how?' He shrugged in a carefully poised and choreographed attempt to look nonchalant that she saw right through.

'Well, for example, it is a mirror, a very old one, and I would imagine that it has been broken before. If so, who would have repaired it and how? Or would the mirror mend itself?' That was a very interesting point he made and one that she was grateful for since it was the answer to one of her questions - Tom, or someone else, had broken the mirror.

'I haven't encountered that yet, seeing as I've barely started, but that is a fascinating idea and I hope I'll be able to find the answer. Personally, what I want to know is if the spellwork can truly work with everyone or if there's ever anything incorrect or inconsistent. With something like this, I feel like it must be impossible for it to truly work with everyone.' He regarded her suspiciously and she knew it as she pretended to be unaware.

'Perhaps that seemingly impossible consistency is why Professor Flitwick admires it so much.' She nodded.

'Yeah, you're right. So, tell me, Tom, what do you think you would see if you looked in the mirror?' Now, he was more than suspicious- he was defensive, though he tried not to let it show.

'I'm not sure, I've never put much thought into such things.'

'I think, for myself, it would be the opposite, that I can think of plenty of things I want but I don't believe I could properly rank them and determine what I want above all else.'

'Indeed.' He stood to leave. 'Much as I love our little chats, I should leave you to your unnecessary project.' She smiled.

'You know, on your first day here, Pansy warned me right after class that I shouldn't speak to you because she was convinced you already hated me but, now, here you are, telling me that you "love our little chats." It's funny how things work.'

'. . . Indeed.'

. . .

At the end of the day, she compiled and reviewed her findings. The only thing apart from learning that Tom had shattered the glass that was of any value to the task at hand was something she had seen about a very few cases where, instead of seeing something they know they want, the viewer would see a person they did not know. Nothing else was said about it that wasn't just speculation. The speculation that was included, however, was quite . . . interesting, as it spoke of things like soulmates and past lives. Her best guess was that he had seen someone in that mirror he did not recognize, someone from her time, his soulmate, and, in some sort of accident, the glass was shattered and the mirror brought him forward in time to be with them. That would explain why he didn't want anyone to know about how he came to be there.

Now, the question she was faced with was if she should bring this up with him or not. She was inclined not to since he had only been there for a week and was only just beginning to warm up to her. Also, something like this was quite personal and she didn't want to upset him by bringing it up, especially since he might think that she was trying to uncover who this soulmate was. No, she would wait and, in the meantime, work on earning his trust while bringing him into her friendly dueling that she was certain he would love.