1000 Paper Cranes
Paper Crane Number 1: Reflection
Sometimes when I walk by a reflection of myself, I think about everything that I would change if I could.
"Harry? Are you alright?" I can feel the stares of bystanders as Hermione and I walk down Diagon Alley. Her arm clings to mine like it usually does. Sometimes I think she does it to make sure she wont lose me, that if she lets go even a little, I'll vanish.
I smile at her. "I'm fine Hermione. Don't worry."
"Did you brush your hair this morning?" she runs her fingers through my black locks. Does she really think that doing that will make it lie flat?
The first thing I would do is permanently shave off all of my hair. The same black hair the James Potter, perfect seeker and marauder,tried to possess. The feature that makes me truly identical to him.
She sighs. "Have you tried using a potion?"
"Yes. They don't work Hermione. I think my father cast a spell on it or something."
She smiles. "Or maybe your mother? She was the charm worker from what the professor say."
The second thing would be to gouge out my "beautiful emerald" eye. My mother's eyes. The perfect student who could do no wrong.
"Speaking of charms, you know, there are spells to correct your eyesight." I wonder what sort of fascination she has with my appearance, but I suppose it's something girls just do.
I realize that my glasses are beginning to fog and I take them off to clean them. When we stop I hear a voice.
The final thing I would do...
"Isn't that Harry Potter?"
...is take a knife to remove the scar that sits on my forehead. The scar that belongs to the Boy Who Lived.
"Hermione," I whisper as the crowd gathers, "can we go home?"
"Sure." She nods and apparates us both.