#21 This Again

There it was. The mirror entrance that had already led him to nightmares once. It was probably crazy to go back for round two, yet that was exactly what he found himself doing.

Oscar nervously tugged at the sleeve of his robe and then, with a glance back at the corridor, pressed his hand to the mirror and stepped through it.

He made his way cautiously through the first large room, wary of any unexpected changes, and then paused at the door of the second. The second room was where the Gerodenus had been found on his last two visits.

As fascinating as the creature was, Oscar thought its presence a good enough reason to not just burst straight in. What if the creature did not remember that he had fed it? What if it wanted more?

Oscar slowly opened the door just far enough that he could peek around, his body tensed ready to run if he had to. Instead he breathed a sigh of relief to see that the beast was once more asleep like he had left it.

Deciding to take that as a good sign, he stepped fully into the room and over to the dreaded mirrors. The mirrors that were also just like he had left them.

Well, at least he would not have to go through the two that he had already completed. He was still not quite sure what he had done for the Ravenclaw mirror, and if he had to face the Gryffindor one again he might have cried.

Instead he only had the Hufflepuff mirror that he had been so nervous and then resigned over, and the Slytherin mirror that he still had no idea how to deal with. Well, one thing at a time, he supposed.

Oscar eyed the Hufflepuff mirror that he found himself stood in front of.

"Right. I- er.. don't suppose you'll take me coming back as loyal enough?" he asked the mirror after a long awkward moment.

"I mean.. I'm going through this," he waved a hand to indicate the room, "on the off chance it actually helps Hogwarts. That's a kind of loyalty, right?" Wouldn't life be so much easier if that did count as something. His life at least.

"No?" he carried on, not getting his hopes up that it could be so easy. He cast his mind back instead to the other day, attempting to remember what he had tried then. "What did we talk about last time then? Any chance any of that tickled your fancy?"

What had he babbled about? A years old comment from a hat. His own doubts on belonging anywhere. And his hopes that he might be considered loyal to his family. How fun.

As awkward as the heart to heart with a mirror had been last time, Oscar found it even worse after the break he'd had over the night.