Theo POV

The Great Hall was in a fit of commotion. It was mostly a single 1st year brunette Ravenclaw girl, crying and wiping at a wet book furiously. A few other 1st years were trying to console her while a blond, Slytherin, boy was sneering at her.

"She ruined it!"

"You can get a new one, Theodora," said a redheaded Gryffindor, followed by a sweet sounding Hufflepuff boy adding. "I'm sure she didn't mean to knock over the drink."

"I can't! Mother won't buy me any more," replied Theodora. "She says I already have too many books."

"Shut up! It's just a book for Merlin's sake!" cried the Slytherin boy, reminding me so much of Draco as a child. He rolled his eyes. "Stupid Ravenclaws and their dumb books"

I scowled at the boy and he jumped, looking away immediately. Good. I hoped someone would humble him much quicker than Draco, that he wouldn't have to go through a war to discover his worth wasn't found in bullying others.

"I can fix it," I said, walking over to the group of students. They all went silent when I approached, but the girl didn't stop me when I reached for the book and pulled out my wand.

A wave of the hand. Fixed. Dry and intact. That's when I read the title and grimaced- The Fool's Gold Trio by Rita Skeeter.

"You should really pick better reading material," I told the girl, thumbing through the book. There was a half finished signature on the front page. How much had it hurt Hermione to agree to sign such trash? I was sure that's all it was, lies upon lies. Rita Skeeter wasn't known for her epic journalism. The evil things she wrote about Draco made my stomach turn. I couldn't even stand to read The Daily Prophet anymore. Every article was cruel and false. I'd read one story that Draco was starting his own group of dark followers. After that, I simply couldn't stomach it. "This book is full of lies."

"I know," she said, in a way that sounded a lot like 'duh'. "I'm researching the differences in the writing of the second wizarding war between history books and reliable news sources versus unverified gossip. Like, did you know that Viktor Krum hasn't received a reply letter from Hermione since before the battle of Hogwarts? The Daily Prophet reported that she wrote him about her jealousy over his new girlfriend, but there's no record of correspondence. Oh! And Harry Potter doesn't have the mirror of erised. Ms. Skeeter said in her book that he had it moved to his house and he uses it every morning to ensure he's following his truest desires at all time. She said that Harry Potter is self-centered and focused on taking over the ministry, but I talked to Headmistress McGonagall and she said the mirror is still in the school. She told me that the old Headmaster had it moved."

The exuberant girl kept talking as my thoughts drifted, an idea forming in my mind. The mirror of erised had become a well known object, an object that I suddenly wanted very much. I cut her off mid-sentence with a question.

"Did McGonagall say where exactly the mirror is located?"

Theodora glared at me, seemingly irritated that I hadn't been paying attention to whatever nonsense she had been talking about. Ravenclaws were notorious for research, getting so caught up in their interests that they could talk for hours. I didn't have the time to listen for hours. I had a plan now.

"Well? Did she?" I asked again.

"No, she just said that Dumbledore moved it, but she doesn't know where. No one has seen it in years."

"Good luck on your research," I said, handing her back the book and plucking a green apple from the table.

I immediately made a beeline for the exit. On my way to the library, I devoured the fruit, spelling the apple away when I stepped inside the room full of books so that the librarian on duty wouldn't fillet me alive.

Typical for a weekend day, the library was a dead zone. I had to ignore the desire to return to the place in the stacks where I had tasted Hermione, tempted to find out if the area still smelled of sweat, sex, and vanilla. I focused instead on a stack full of books on location spells. Lost magical objects were notoriously hard to locate due to the tie of magic to individual people that magical objects possessed. It took a bit of digging to find the spell and I could almost laugh at how simple it seemed. Simple and yet incredibly difficult. Like everything else in my life.

The spell only required four things- string, a scrying stone, a map of the general location, and someone who had used the object that needed to be found to be in its vicinity. There were only two wizards who had been known to have seen the mirror in decades. How in the fuck was I going to get Harry or Ron to return to the castle? I couldn't wait until Harry decided to get time in his busy schedule to come back to Hogwarts and I couldn't use Hermione as the catalyst. She would probably lose her shit if either of them showed up believing her in pain or trouble. Ron might be easier to convince. The guy was clearly obsessed with the attention of others. He was almost more conceited than Gilderoy Lockhart had been before his memory charm accident. I didn't think that was possible. Hermione wouldn't be asking him to come back any time soon and I hated the idea of him being near her, but it made the most sense for him to be the one to come to Hogwarts. He would come back in a heartbeat for nothing more than to bask in his fame. All I needed was help from an excited and innocent Ravenclaw.

I was glad that she was still in the Great Hall when I entered again, her nose buried back in her book as she wrote notes on a piece of parchment. There were more students eating now, and they eyed me strangely when I sat across from her at the Ravenclaw table.

"About that research," I said. "Have you written to Ronald Weasley yet?"

She shook her head, not bothering to look up from the book splayed out in front of her.

"I might be able to get his contact information for you," I declared, the lie slipping easily off my tongue. I would have to sneak into McGonagall's office again to get his direct contact information at the ministry. The things I do for love. "I bet you could even meet him in person."

"Really?" She asked, finally looking up at me, her eyes wide at the prospect. I nodded, picking at a platter of meats, cheeses, and bread.

"But I need you to do me a favor."

The young girl listened in rapt attention to my offer while I ate. By the time I left the Great Hall for the second time, I had a full stomach and was confident that I was one giant step closer to fixing things. I just had to get Hermione in front of a mirror. How hard could that be?