Moira sat at a table in the library where there were few, if any, other students. Professor Reid had set her up with an older student to help her out on the project, and all she knew was his name and his house. She had no idea what he looked like or even how he acted so she was unfamiliar with what to expect. Not that she knew what to expect with anyone really. People were strange creatures she did not want to study.

Opening one of the books that seemed to have the style of runes that were on the mirrors, currently in a black bag sitting by the books, she tried to focus on the page. As it was, she inwardly admitted to being nervous about this... study session. On one hand she felt she would rather fail trying to do it on her own than have help from another person. On the other hand, she didn't like failing. Her father always told her to do her best at whatever she did.

Shaking her head, Moira glanced at the doorway, she had a good view though she wasn't easily visible, to see if anyone was walking in, before pulling out one of the mirrors and started attempting to match them up to the symbols that were in the book.

The last thing Sasha really needed was something more to do.  But, when Professor Reid had announced to the N.E.W.T level students that she needed volunteers to help out with a project for one of the younger classes, Sasha had found it immensely difficult to say 'no.'  When the sign up page finally reached him, he didn't think twice before carefully adding his name to the list. 

The volunteers had gotten their assigned partners earlier in the week though it had taken a little planning to determine the best time.  As there were really few alternatives during normal, waking hours, Sasha had told Professor Reid that the hour between Herbology and dinner was the best option.  He could meet his assigned student then. 

The arrangements made, Sasha arrived at the library after only a brief stop at the restroom to wash the last remnants of fertilizer and soil from his hands.  He spotted who he assumed was the girl and moved towards her table.  "Are you Ms. McBoid?" he asked, waiting for verification before taking a seat.  "I'm Schlagenweit.  Or, Sasha."  Or Schlagenstein or Captain Schlawkward but those didn't need to be publicized. 

"I believe Professor Reid partnered us up?  You're working on some sort of project?  Some sort of hunt?" 

By the time Sasha showed up she had managed to get herself rather absorbed into what she was doing. Surprisingly she had found three runes that were an exact match. Others were similar, but even one small line could change the entire meaning so those runes that weren't exact matches were really of little use to her at that particular moment. Turning the page she almost didn't hear Sasha when he asked if she was 'Ms. McBoid'. That, at least, caught her attention and pulled her back.

Blinking up at him she gave him a nod, not quite having found the power of speech again, though all she would have said in that case would be 'yes'. Listening to him introduce himself she gave another nod, this one of understanding, then his next questions demanded her answering, and as it was school related and nothing social she knew what to say. "Uh, yes. I had to find something dealing with runes to study. I... found this two way mirror set. Apart from just seeing one another, whoever uses them can talk as well." It seemed it could definitely be a handy item to have around... but why had they been placed in that closet in such a way? Probably had to hide them quickly and never got a chance to go back for them.

Sitting back she motioned for him to take a seat, pulling the other mirror out of the bag to let him view, as she was currently using the other one and there wasn't a single line of difference or color on either of them.

A scavenger hunt.  Those did seem to be the popular assignment these days.  First Professor Hagrid's search for invasive vermin and now rune-embellished artifacts.  At least, this time, Sasha was working with a Hufflepuff who was interested enough to go searching. 

"Two way mirror set?"  Sasha sounded legitimately surprised as he took the offered mirror.  That was a pretty remarkable find but strange, interesting items were always showing up around school.  "Where did you find it?  They both look in relatively good condition."  Which in itself seem peculiar.  Two way mirrors were hardly common place items and Sasha assumed they weren't necessarily cheap.  So, who'd just leave two perfectly good and functional mirrors lying around for anyone to find?  It was possible one of the other schools brought them.  Were they going to come looking for them? 

Sasha carefully lay the mirror on the table and tore a piece of loose leaf paper from the notebook he kept his Biology notes.  He also abandoned his quill and tugged out a simple, muggle pencil.  He leaned over the table and gently rubbed the side of the pencil over the loose leaf, creating a rubbing of the design and the runes embedded in the pattern.  "Have you been able to look any of them up, yet?"

Turning a page in the book she was looking through Moira paused when he asked where she found it. Not really wanting to go into 'how' she found it, really who wanted to admit they hid in a closet and it fell on their head, she glanced over at him. "It was hidden in a closet on the third floor." Quickly she looked to the book again and kept perusing symbols, looking for more matches.

Etchings. Why hadn't she thought of that? That would be much simpler to carry around instead of a couple mirrors. Of course, Moira probably would have drawn them as she had the three runes she had found meanings for. While not being amazingly great at drawing, looking off something she could draw the symbols to look fairly exact. If she tried to draw them from memory, well. That was another thing. "Just these three." Sitting back she handed him the paper of the three drawn runes.

"Somebody probably stashed it there and forgot to go back and look for it."  Sasha hypothesized as he finished up the first rubbing and started in on a second one.  That seemed to happen with a certain degree of regularity around the school.  Quite possibly, that was exactly how Sasha managed to come across his first wand.  It hadn't been until the previous school that Sasha had been partnered with a wand that had properly chosen him. 

Getting his own wand from Ollivander's hadn't been an option his first year - instead, he'd managed to locate an abandoned one.  How a wand had come to be separated from its true partner, he'd never been able to figure out.  But, this was certainly a possible explanation.  Or, Sasha's first guess could be correct: it had been a hand-me-down wand and its owner had pretended to break or lose it in an effort to force his or her parents to buy a new one.  It was, indeed, remarkable what artifacts one might find hidden around the castle.  Wands, mirrors. 

Sasha finished the second rubbing and lay out the relief of the mirror's surface.  "These three?" Sasha asked, pointing to three symbols[1][2][3] hidden in the ornate carved overlay of ripples, squiggles and, what appeared to be grasses or reeds.  Taking a large-nibbed quill, Sasha carefully traced over the three runic symbols with vivid, dark lines.  "I can see two other runes hidden in the pattern.  Can you see them?"[4] Sasha asked, sliding the first, unmarred rubbing towards the girl. 

1.	Laguz; rune for water or lake
2.	Algiz - elk
3.	Ingwaz - the God Ingwaz
4.	Feel free to pick some at random!

Moira had to nod in agreement about the stashing. Though forgetting something like these mirrors was a little hard to swallow. "Could be they never got a chance to. I suppose no point in wondering about that though. Not like we'll find out." It wasn't what they were researching anyway. She was still curious though. After all, it had fallen on /her/ head and not someone else's, and considering the layer of dust that had been on the mirrors, they had been there for a good, long while. Years even.

Watching as he pointed out the symbols she had found she nodded and looks to note the other two he said he saw. "Yes." Rubbing over them she moved to the book and flipped through some pages until she found them. "Here, this one and.... this one." Pointed to them individually she looked over to Sasha.

---

1. Ehwaz rune for horse
2. Gebo/Gyfu rune for gift

Sasha glanced up, surprised and somewhat confused by the girl's assumption that the identity of the mirrors' previous owners was pointless.  Granted, the mirrors' owner's identity might be an unimportant detail.  It just as likely could be that one crucial detail that would connect what might otherwise be a random grouping of runes. 

"I don't know if we should be so quick to assume the mirrors' owners is irrelevant," Sasha offered.  "For all we know, figuring out the mirror's history is part of figuring out the significance of the runes.  It could be quite the mystery for all we know - might have belonged to a professor.  Professor Reid.  Or, our Headmaster."  Or, Headmistress Snark.  Sasha grimaced, slightly.  It was highly unlikely the mirrors in front of them held any clues to the poor woman's whereabouts but the sad truth was Sasha wasn't sure anyone had any more promising leads.   

"So, Algiz, Ehwaz, Gebo, Ingwaz and Laguz," Sasha summarized.  After a quick glance at both of the mirrors, Sasha pointed to the Ingwaz etched on the mirror Moira held and then pointed at his own.  "Actually, these are almost identical except where that one has Ingwaz, this one has ansuz[1].  A clue, perhaps?"

1.

Ansuz

"It could also have just belonged to a student or more who finished school before they could go back for them." Perhaps it was wrong of her to assume so quickly, but whoever had shoved the mirrors in that closet had done it in an effort to hide it. Who else would put a mirror on that high shelf that's always too high to put things on? Especially as rickety as that shelf was.


Bringing herself back to the task at hand she looked over at Sasha as he summarized what they had discovered so far. He also pointed out one subtle difference in the two mirrors. "It could be. Some sort of... working relationship between the two?"

"True."  Sasha said, simply. 

He couldn't deny that the mirrors belonging to a former student was a possibility.  But, he also couldn't rule out that the identity of the mirrors owners would help reveal some of their mystery.  Were it his assignment, he would have pursued and exhausted every potential research possibility before settling on a potential hypothesis. 

But, then, she was a Hufflepuff.  They did have a tendency to favor hunches and intuitive guesses over thorough analysis.  Jumping to conclusions like that usually drove Sasha crazy; he'd just keep reminding himself this wasn't his project he'd be turning in. 

"That's possible," Sasha agreed, resisting the urge to point out that knowing the owner's identity could be a clue.  Especially since, if there'd been a working relationship it could mean that the mirrors were owned by two individuals.  Two co-conspirators.  But, she wasn't looking to get that detailed.  "So, Ingwz and Ansuz.  What do you remember about those two runes?  Do you see them being potentially compatible?"

While Moira did enjoy her Runes class it was not the most intriguing class, in her opinion. Only one class could hold that for her. Still, this wasn't the study of magical creatures or any of her side hobbies. This was a graded project, one she wanted to do well on but not put more into than absolutely necessary.

Looking between the two runes Moira considered what she remembered. "They're supposed to represent two different gods aren't they? The stories say the gods weren't always cooperative with each other, but without one their couldn't be balance and harmony, so yeah. I do see them being potentially compatible." As far as the mirrors went it was kind of the same thing. Without one, the second could only have the potential at being a regular mirror with nothing magical about it.

Sasha nodded his head but after careful consideration, shook it slightly.  "Ingwaz denotes a specific god.  Freyr, I believe.  Who, I think,-"  Sasha's voice trailed off slightly as he rummaged in his bag and tugged out one of his old runes notebooks.  He flipped through the pages, quickly finding the relatives notes to confirm his memories were serving him well.  "A Norse god of virility and prosperity." 

He then pointed towards the Ansuz engraved into the pattern on the opposing mirror.  "In both the Furthark alphabets, Ansuz denotes 'god' in general terms.  Not a specific God.  In some contexts it can also denote a tree - an oak or ash.  Or, like you said, it denotes another god, it just doesn't say who." 

"Interesting."  It was all, indeed, very curious.  "Do you think they're just symbolic decoration?"

Moira rested her forearms on the table, watching as he rifled through his notes. Listening to his explanation of the two runes she looked between them and shook her head. "Why would someone make the only difference in the two mirrors a decoration, symbolic or not? Surely there's /some/ sort of reason behind it." Ha. Maybe it was the reason why it waited all this time only to fall on HER head.

Sighing she shook her head. This whole mirror mystery thing was starting to make her head hurt. Glancing around as though for inspiration her eyes suddenly stopped, alighting on a book she had only dreamed of reading. "Barry!" Without a second thought to the project, or even her tutor, she scrambled up and half jumped over the table to reach the book shelf. Tugging the book expertly off the shelf she flipped it open, eyes gazing over the words, eyes practically glowing in her excitement.

Sasha shook his head as he tried to think about the puzzle in front of them.  "Maybe it has to do with who created them.  Or, how they work together.  Maybe, they effect the way they-"  Sasha's string of hypotheses were cut off when the girl suddenly sprung to her feet. 

"Barry?  What about..."  Sasha gestured vainly towards the two mirrors. 

He was accustomed, by now, to his study partners getting suddenly distracted by anything.  Especially the Hufflepuffs.  Figaro.  Heliotrope.  Now, Moira.  Even Blake, if he remembered correctly, was prone to sudden bouts of distractedness.  Maybe it was a Hufflepuff thing.  Every year, the sorting hat reminded them that they were patient and true and unafraid of toil but, well, maybe that was relative.  Maybe, Helga had just been distractible herself so toiling patiently for two minutes seemed an eternity to her?

Sasha blinked and shook his head as the girl plopped back down in her seat with a book.  "Will that help with the assignment?" he asked, with a capitulating resignation that hinted he was sure he already knew the answer.  "What is it?"

Moira continued to skim through the book as her feet moved, taking her back to her seat without her full awareness of it. Sasha's voice snapped her out of her trance-like study of the pages. "Huh? Assign.... oh right. Um, no." Closing the book to show him the cover she continued. "I never imagined I'd find this here. There are only about two hundred copies of this book, and the whole thing covers Unicorns and nothing but."

Her eyes practically sparkled as she opened the cover again to look more at the table of contents. She hadn't seen anything quite so beautiful since she had left home. This book was one on the top of her list that had to be read and memorized if found. There was a high probability that one to two notebooks would be filled with notes on this book alone. Without realizing it a smile slowly spread across her face, looking over the drawing on the front page.