The stars rose in the dark sky behind the highest towers of Hogwarts Castle. The lights in the Great Hall and the sounds of celebration were a sign of the end of one more year of classes.

A few floors above, in an office with a lamp on it, was possible to observe four people talking happily. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall laughed with enough enthusiasm as they toasted with the two women in front of them. One of them, with black hair and blue eyes, gave them a big smile and laughed as the robe moved very easily, revealing a bit of the mark on her forearm. On the other hand, the other red-haired, green-eyed woman simply smiled and drank some butter beer.

It was obvious that they were happy, they celebrated the end of Calynn Black's studies, they celebrated the girl's opportunity to stay alive and commemorate that moment only among them. It had been about five years since Calynn had moved into the room next to that office and was really happy about it. The treatment that the teachers gave her and the support she received from both to be able to finish her studies showed her the love they had for them and that was something that the girl thanked with vigor, it was something that her parents never did for her, she finally felt she had a family.

Lily had formalized more with James, her school life went on normally, so she still had a few years to go. Despite everything that had happened, Lily had returned to normal as much as she could, although Calynn always knew she needed a friend in class since Lily had overcome Meryl's death just a couple of years ago.

The celebrations of that term of courses had been wonderful. McGonagall's gifts and the details Dumbledore had with the girl stood in her room, waiting for Calynn to reveal its contents. The friendship between Lily and Calynn had somehow strengthened, sharing the specific feeling of something had made them more united; besides, like Calynn, Lily missed Severus almost the same way.

When it was over and Calynn had said goodbye to Lily and both teachers, she began to climb the majestic marble steps to her room with a smile on her lips. Moments like that made her value her life, gave her hope and above all made her feel good because she finally felt part of a group, of a family. She sat on the comforter of her bed to think about that important day when she looked at the trunk of her Hogwarts stuff, she knew it would be a great time to remember some objects from her first year. She got up and sat this time on the carpet to open the trunk and start taking out some notebooks. She took her first inkwell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts notebook, Professor Binns' class drawings, Frank's letters that she only saw them without opening the envelope, her friends' Christmas cards and even some gifts that her friends had given her when she was in the infirmary. She took out those and placed them next to the rag doll her father had given her several years ago, just above her bedside table. She continued observing the interior of that trunk when, in one of the deepest parts of it and which was hardly possible to observe, was an old envelope with no addressee. She opened it to try to remember what it was to realize the author of this by seeing the calligraphy of Severus. It was inevitable that the tears would not come, since the memory of that boy had her present every day, the memory of her first and last dance together had her as vivid as if it had been yesterday, the memory of touching her lips for the first time it caused her incredible relaxation, becoming such a powerful memory to create a Patronus. She read that message he had left when he went to the infirmary and brought her a group of flowers with enough love. She read it whole until she reached the postscript that was still deserted, just by observing it she remembered the boy's words: "Try to place the tip of the wand on the postscript and then mention Revelio. Do it when you miss me, it will be a great way to feel that I am still with you."

Calynn turned her gaze to her wand that rested just inches from her fingers. Without thinking, she stretched a little to reach it and take it hard. She placed it gently on the letter, just after the colon that began the content of the postscript. She closed her eyes, what she had kept so hidden would finally reveal to her. She took a breath and mentioned the spell gently. Then she opened her eyes and could see how a fairly long text appeared slowly, forming a large paragraph. Calynn began to read, avoiding whining about the boy's absence.

"Calynn, thanks for waiting. From the moment I left you this letter on your bedside table I knew you were mature enough to wait until you missed me too much, that moment that would make you look back at our memories and the moments together, our moments, I could give you a large number of gifts, sweets, letters, images, but none will be enough to replace our absence, with each other. I know that by the day you open this letter you and I will be far away, I cannot keep a romance with you, it will simply end at some point, at some point we will have to say goodbye.

I know you miss me, that made you return to the past and that's why I want to give you what you want. Many years ago, my mother lost one of the most valuable artifacts she carried with her; I found it years later and never returned it. You may think it's crazy, but look for the envelope where I placed this letter and touch the inside until you find a small tab, when you do it, pull it with all your strength, you will see that the envelope will become a small box, there will be the artifact."

Calynn took the envelope quite strangely while finding that tab that Severus mentioned and pulled quite hard, obtaining a small box with a piece of glass that looked slightly worn, had a circular shape like a hand mirror.

"This is a magic mirror," Calynn read while holding the mirror in that same box without having touched it, "it allows you to see the person who has the identical and unique twin pair it has. I am the only one who has the twin pair, you will know that I waited for you for many years since until the day you open this letter, I will be able to see your face once more. We cannot speak or communicate in any way, just see each other, but I know that you understand that looks say more than a thousand words. Just remember that your happiness should never depend on the mirror.

Severus"

Calynn rushed to take the mirror in her hands, she simply never expected to find something similar in that letter. She placed it right in front of her face and there she managed to see the face of Severus looking down, apparently, he had not yet seen her at all. When the boy turned around, he blinked several times to realize that the image of the girl was real after such a long time. Smiles and tears were the only thing they could observe from each other, the proximity of their faces, feeling that they touched, that they were there, when they were separated by a great distance. Calynn watched Severus, he had grown, he had changed, he was becoming a man. The less childish look, the most groomed hair and the beginning of the beard and mustache were signs of the years that had passed since they had last seen each other. However, the boy's smile and innocent gaze betrayed his true age. Both looked at each other for a great period of time, only there without saying a word, without emitting a sound, only seeing each other. Both had believed that perhaps they would never see each other again and words were not necessary, they only missed contact with each other, they just wanted to kiss once more. They looked at each other for a few more moments, the absence of the image of each other's face had been present in their minds and finally they had managed to see it once more, at least they could see each other from time to time, even if fate separated them by different circumstances.

After about fifteen minutes, Severus gave a last smile as he lowered his head a little and his figure stopped being seen in the mirror. Calynn looked for him for a moment until she left it again in that same box, reading again the last sentence the boy had left: "Just remember that your happiness should never depend on the mirror," so he understood what the boy was referring, she must move on. She would never forget him, she would never forget their first kiss or their anecdotes together, they simply had to learn to live without each other, that mirror was just one more object to remind her of the presence of Severus in her life, remind her that she was never alone and remind her that the battle not only ends with already formed relationships, but also with the young love that is just beginning.

Calynn got up from the floor after saving the entire contents of the trunk except for the letter, the envelope and the mirror, and sat back on her bed. She didn't see Severus anymore, she was even looking for him for a long time, she knew that he was disappearing so she could learn to live without his presence, so that she would be able to be happy without his physical presence because the only thing that both would wish for the other would be eternal happiness.
With tears in her eyes and quite wet cheeks, Calynn arranged one of the most valuable things she had on her bedside table to place the letter right next to her and placed the mirror inside the bureau drawer, the last thing she wanted was that mirror would break and take away the only way to see her lost love after so many years.

She turned off her lamp, then went to bed and felt quite comfortable. She kept awake with the image of the boy in her eyes, all she wanted at that moment was to dream about him, relive her last dance and her first kiss, in the moonlight, before their last farewell. She tried not to think about the bad times, tried to divert the revelations about her family and how bad she had felt when she first saw him at the Malfoy Manor, just wanted to dream about him, wanted to feel him there again, she wanted to hear his voice and feel his hug once more.

She closed her eyes, she hoped it was no vision since these were becoming more blurred and less common, that was only an indicator that she would be able to remember things from her childhood. In the end, she was lucky to immerse herself in the dream she so requested, the one in which she felt loved for the first time, that night where she really felt love in the first kiss and trust in a hug, this time she simply dreamed of a smile, she just dreamed.

Moodboard by: peakyscum