In The Mirror

My name is Hermione Granger and I'm a seventh-year Gryffindor.

Although, to be honest, sometimes I don't feel like one.

They say that we're brave. Brave. What does that mean, really? Sure, I can stand up for myself, as I'm sure Malfoy could attest. I can tackle any obstacles that get in my way. Nothing really scares me.

Except one thing.

When Harry and Ron told me about it in our first year, I was stunned. Could a mirror really do something like that? I tried to dismiss it from my thoughts, tried to ignore the insistent nagging in the back of my mind.

Until I found it. Five years later.

I'm still not even sure how I did find it in the first place. I guess I took a wrong turn on the way to the loo, or just wasn't paying attention to where I was going. But either way, there it was last year, waiting for me.

I knew what it was right away. I was terrified at what I would find when I looked at myself. I knew what Ron and Harry would say, "What, did you see yourself becoming Head Girl and graduating with top honors?"

I hoped I wasn't that shallow. But maybe I was.

I stood a distance away from the mirror for quite some time that night, trying to gather up my courage - trying to be brave. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't face my own heart. So I went back to my dormitory and cried at my cowardice.

How could one stupid mirror turn me into a blithering idiot?

I went back every night that week without success.

But finally - finally - I did it. I walked straight up to the mirror and looked. Really looked.

I couldn't believe what I saw.

It was me - but not me. I was older, taller, more confident. Harry and Ron - but not Harry and Ron - were at my side, arms around me. We were smiling, all of us, and looking like someone had just crowned us the rulers of the world.

I didn't understand. Was this what my heart truly desired? No prizes or honors or Head Girl badge? Just Harry and Ron and myself - happy?

Then I saw it, and I understood.

Harry's scar was gone.

That is my heart's desire. For the three of us to be happy - and normal.

Because we aren't normal, not even in the wizarding world. Harry least of all, but Ron and I as well. From the moment we stepped on that train six years ago, the moment we stepped into each other's lives, we became marked. Scarred.

Harry's the hero, Ron's the comic relief, and I'm the brains. But we're so much more. We've laughed together, cried together, fought together. We're warriors, each of us. In different ways, yes, but warriors nonetheless.

I don't regret what we've become, what these years have made us - not in the least. But I want a happy ending. I want us to be happy and normal - just like everyone else. I want us to be able to look back on these years with pride, not with grief.

Is it too much to hope for? Even now, I'm not sure. But I think - I know - that Ron and Harry would agree with me. This is what we all want.

Our deepest desire.

Our Mirror of Erised.