When I look in the mirror, all I ever see is what people want to see. I see a happy person with a never failing smile. I see a person who is smart, independent and contented. I see someone who is well liked and well loved. But something in me doubts that. Something in me screams out in indifference.

'I am not my reflection.'

We are two entities, my reflection and I. One is but the mask I put on and the other is the unacceptable face that I have to hide.

'I hate my reflection.'

It is an alteration of what I truly am. It is a thing that has everything that I will never have.

When I look at it, I feel like it mocks me. It mocks me for not having the happiness that it has. It mocks me for having the sorrow and the suffering that it has never experienced. It laughs at me for not being able to attain the joy that it possesses.

'The sad thing is that my reflection is right.'

I know in me that I will never be as happy as that image in the mirror. I will never experience all the bliss that it has. I am never to taste all the delight that it has experienced in its life time. That reflection which I hate so dearly knows that I will never be truly happy with my life.

'My reflection.'

It is a sad portrayal of me. It is a distorted image of me. I will never be that figure which lies in that mirror. It is a fact of life and I have to accept it. When people look at me, they don't see me. They see my reflection, my happy, perky, blissful reflection.

'I am not my reflection…nor will I ever be.'

"Come on 'Mione!" called someone from behind my close door.

"Just a minute Harry!" I called back.

I looked at myself in the mirror and began putting on my mask. I put the smile in place and wiped the sadness from my face.

I got my bag and started to walk towards my door. I took one last look at the mirror and flashed my forged smile. I opened the door, and got ready to face the world once again, confined in my mask…in my reflection.

"Hey there 'Mione! Were going to be late for Potions...not like that's going to be real loss." said Ron.

"Sorry guys, just took time to look in the mirror." I replied.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done to the real Hermione?" asked Harry jokingly.

'I am her mask and the real Hermione is hiding inside of me.' I smiled at the irony of Harry's question. "Oh, come on you two or Snape is going to bite our heads off!"

The cycle never stops. When I am alone, Iam Hermione…but to others I am merely her reflection.