Ever since James started Hogwarts, Teddy had regarded him as something like a younger brother. Before then, James had been no more important than any of the other Potter children. But when he arrived, confused and insecure, at the school, he had turned to the only familiar face there to help him get through his first few weeks. While Teddy helped James around Hogwarts, they had developed a close bond, a bond which lasted even after he had gotten comfortable with the castle and all its oddities. Long after Teddy had answered every typical first-year question James presented him with, he continued to be his mentor on how to deal with everything from biased teachers to rivalries with classmates. And after he had gotten over his initial shyness, Teddy had been a godsend to the prank-loving James, assisting him with the harmless ones and advising him against the riskier ones.

One night, Teddy was doing his Advanced Herbology homework in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, the scarlet firelight contrasting oddly with his green hair. He didn't look up when the painting of the Fat Lady swung open, nor when James Potter slammed his books down on the table in front of the fire.

"Hi, James," he said, still reading his textbook.

"That coward!" James howled in reply. Teddy looked up from his homework, an expression of mild surprise and concern on his face.

"What happened?"

"Scorpius Malfoy and I got in a fight on the fifth floor – " Teddy rolled his eyes, exasperated, to which James responded by throwing him an annoyed look and continuing with his story, " – and we got around to using wands, and one of my spells pushed him into that bit of swamp in that corridor. I never meant for it to happen!" he added defensively, as Teddy's face took on a patronizing look. He made motions with his hands, indicating to James to continue, and James obliged.

"So then he went running off to a prefect, and I couldn't say I hadn't done it, he was covered in mud! So when the prefect asked me about it I told her Scorpius started the duel, and we both got a detention." He dropped down into the armchair across from Teddy's, looking forlorn. "So now we'll have to spend Saturday cleaning out the prefects' bathrooms."

"They put you in the same detention together?" Teddy asked, bewildered. "You'll kill each other, and everyone in the vicinity!" James made a face at him, and Teddy responded by crossing his eyes and changing his nose into a pig snout. James laughed, and Teddy smiled as his nose shrunk back to normal. He knew James well enough to know how to cheer him up.

"Well, hopefully I'll think of a way to stop you killing each other by Saturday. Now, don't you have homework to do?" he asked, leaning forward and tapping James's school bag.



That Friday night, Teddy walked down the stairs to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, two small, flat objects clutched in his arms. Reaching the common room, he scanned the room for James's dark head, finally spotting it, just visible over the armchair he had sat in just the other night. Teddy walked across the room to the chair, and dropped one of the mirrors in James's lap, holding the other one up.

"These are two-way mirrors. Your dad gave me this pair for my last birthday. Just say 'Teddy' into yours, and you'll appear in mine, and we'll be able to talk to each other."

James looked down at his mirror, his mouth hanging slightly open, then raised the mirror to his face and said "Teddy." Teddy's reflection faded from his own mirror, to be replaced immediately by James's bewildered face. The bewilderment, however, quickly turned to ecstasy.

"This is so cool!" he crowed.

Teddy could practically see a number of less-than-licit plans forming in James's head. "I'm only lending it to you temporarily," he warned, heading James off before his imagination got too carried away. James's face fell slightly, and Teddy continued.

"These are so that I can know if you've gotten into any trouble with Scorpius. They are to be returned to me immediately after your detention is over."

"You're wasting these things. Do you realize how much we could pull off with them?" James said petulantly. Teddy smiled slightly, but said nothing. James settled back into his armchair, and spent the next half hour polishing the mirror and making Teddy's face swim in and out of the view of its reflective surface.



The next morning dawned drizzly and cold. Teddy was sipping his coffee and reading a copy of the Daily Prophet when James dropped down in the seat next to him.

"What's Kingsley up to now?" James asked, eyeing his photograph on the cover of Teddy's Prophet.

"He's announced that he's taking down the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects."

"About time, too," James said. This department had been left up for many years, as even after Voldemort's demise many crooks had remained peddling fake amulets and dud spells, preying on the fears of many that the Dark Lord might resurface again – after all, people had believed he was dead all those years ago when he had first attempted to kill young Harry Potter. Who could say it was totally out of the question that he might come back from the dead again? But, it seemed, the black market trade of protective devices had slowed, if Kingsley Shacklebolt was finally closing down the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects.

A hand reached over the top of Teddy's paper and pulled it down. He found himself staring into James's brown eyes instead.

"I've been thinking – " James began.

"This should be good," Teddy muttered. He immediately received a blow to the shoulder, but James ignored him otherwise.

"I don't want you fighting my battles for me." Teddy's eyebrows shot up, and James continued hurriedly. "Not right away, at least. I'll keep the mirror in my pocket, and if things get too nasty you can come down and help me. But – " James said deliberately, as though to make absolute sure that Teddy understood, " – only if Scorpius is playing unfair. I don't mind a few bruises, but if he's, say, about to use an Unforgivable – "

"Be realistic, James. I don't think any eleven-year-old is going to be willing to suffer the consequences of performing an Unforgivable Curse, much less actually knowing how."

"Well, if he's using anything more than minor jinxes, then you can come help me. But no less," he said.

After a few moments of thought, Teddy replied, "All right. I don't see how much damage two first years can do to each other, but if he's not playing fair I'll come down and stop him. And – " he added warningly, " – the same goes for you. If you do anything that's not strictly in defense I'll come down and stop you, too."

"Come on, do you really think I would stoop to his level?" James asked in an offended tone.

There was a pause, and then they both broke into hysterical laughter.



That evening, at fifteen minutes to six, James rose from his perch on his favorite armchair. Teddy looked up from his Potions textbook as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Do you have the mirror?" he asked.

James scoffed. "Of course I do. It's right – right – " James rummaged around in his bag with increasing panic. "Where is it?" he asked frantically.

"I was only joking, I have it right here," Teddy grinned, pulling both mirrors out of the pocket of his robes and handing one to James.

"Very funny," James glowered, but nevertheless, Teddy was sure he heard a hint of relief in his voice.

"Good luck," he said. James nodded once, and left the common room. Teddy picked up his own mirror, said "James" in it, and it clouded over to reveal the dark inside of James's robe pocket. He distinctly heard James's light, first-year footsteps as he walked down several staircases to the fifth floor. Teddy set the mirror on the table, and picked up his Potions textbook again, trying to ignore the snobby voice of the prefect giving James and Scorpius their instructions.

Teddy had been studying for almost half an hour before anything happened. Before both boys had been working in stony silence, but suddenly Scorpius's voice was issuing from the mirror lying on the table.

"I hate you," he growled faintly. Teddy rolled his eyes at Scorpius's uncreative insult, and buried his nose in his book once more. He jumped as James's voice, much louder than Scorpius's, since he was nearer the mirror, retorted.

"I hate you, too. Now can we just get this over with?" James said in a voice straining clearly from the effort of remaining polite. Teddy quickly snatched up the mirror, avoiding the curious stares of those who had overheard James's voice as he bolted for the staircase, stifling a grin. Once he reached the solitude of the seventh-year boys' dormitory, he set the mirror down on his bedside table. The boys had resumed their icy silence, but Teddy couldn't risk anybody hearing them if they started speaking again. Several minuted later, Teddy was jerked from his textbook again by the sound of Scorpius's voice.

"You didn't have to push me into that swamp, you know. I wasn't really insulting your dad, I just said he isn't the best Head of Auror Office."

"Shut up," James snapped. "He's the best thing that ever happened to the Ministry. He saved your dad's life once!"

"He also left Dad's best friend to die. If your dad's such a saint, then why didn't he save him?"

"Whatever you've heard from you dad's a lie, Malfoy!" James shouted. Teddy heard James get up and felt a momentary urge to go help him, but then the remembered his promise.

"Why don't you ask yours, Potter? He'll tell you the truth. Unless of course," Scorpius jeered, "he's too chicken to admit it." Teddy could practically feel James's internal struggle to keep from jinxing Malfoy, but so far he was doing an unexpectedly good job of restraining himself. He heard James let out a shallow breath and get back to his knees. As Teddy turned back to his textbook again, however, he caught a flash of light in the mirror, dulled by the fabric of James's robe pocket but bright nonetheless, accompanied by a shout of pain. This was what Teddy had been waiting for. He leapt to his feet, snatched his wand and the mirror off his bedside table, and sprinted down the stairs. He could hear flurries of movement and shouted incantations – none very advanced ones, but bad enough to send a first-year to the hospital wing. Heads rose in shock as he ran through the common room and pushed the portrait hole open, but he didn't slow his pace until after he had reached the sixth floor. The prefect's bathroom had suddenly slid into view on the mirror's surface, which could only mean that James's mirror had fallen out of his pocket. Scorpius had the upper hand.

Teddy ran down the next flight of stairs and past the statue of Boris the Bewildered, badly scarred ever since the battle at Hogwarts all those years ago, shouted "Bacon rashers!" at the door behind it, and skidded into the bathroom just in time to see Scorpius Malfoy advancing on James, whose legs were jerking frantically around as though he were dancing. Before Teddy could do anything, though, James aimed his wand at Malfoy with difficulty, due to his feverishly jerking legs, shouted "Wingardium Leviosa!" and something small and hard flew at Malfoy, hitting him squarely on the shoulder.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Teddy, and Malfoy's wand arced high into the air, landing in the empty bathtub. He then directed his own wand at James, muttered "Finite Incantatem," and his legs stilled. Teddy looked around to see how much damage had been done. There were several scorch marks on the floor around James, and one of the faucets surrounding the tub had been blown off, and the exposed pipe spewed heavily scented, bubbly water into the air. Both boys were drenched. As Teddy approached Malfoy he saw that it was the faucet that had hit him. Scorpius eyed Teddy defiantly, but then horror overtook his features as he noticed the Head Boy badge on his chest.

"I'm not going to give either of you another detention," Teddy said, "but I'm going to have to dock twenty points from Slytherin. Five points from Gryffindor, as well. I'm sure you both know that dueling is against school rules."

"What?" Malfoy shouted. "He only gets five off? You're playing favorites!"

"I happen to know that it was you who initiated this fight. Now, clean this place up or I'll be forced to take even more points from Slytherin."

Teddy supervised them as they completed their detention in silence. When he pronounced their punishment complete, Malfoy trudged out of the bathroom, grumbling. However, when James made to follow him Teddy extended an arm to stop him.

"I'm going to award Gryffindor eight points," he said, "since you managed to resist his goading for so long."

James's disgruntled expression immediately changed to one of delight, and he said, "So you do play favorites!"

"Don't push it," Teddy said warningly.

However, as James exited the prefect's bathroom positively radiating glee, Teddy couldn't help but smile himself.