Here lies Harry James Potter were the words written on the stone, carved in by hand instead of magic. Even though Voldemort had been defeated, Harry had still been killed in the battle of Hogwarts. After the fall of Lord Voldemort, one of the Death Eaters became angry and aimed his wand at Harry, catching the young wizard off guard and killing him with those wretched words. Hermione had seen Harry's death with her own eyes and she, out of pure hatred for the Death Eater, aimed the wand at the man who had killed her friend, and said the words she hated with all her heart. The Death Eater fell onto the ground, his eyes wide open in fear and realization. Hermione fell onto her knees, shaking very much. Ron came and found her along with Harry's body nearby. "Shhh," Ron said, holding Hermione close to him. "Everything will be alright." Hermione wanted to believe Ron, but she knew that Ron was trying to be strong just as much as she was.
Hermione knew this was torture for him. Ron's best friend was dead and Harry couldn't be brought back. Time Turners were no longer an option. They had all been destroyed once Voldemort took over the ministry. Harry was not coming back and both Ron and Hermione knew it. Hogwarts was in ruins. Huge pieces of the once beautiful castle were on to the ground, cracked and chipped and even in tiny pieces from being blasted apart by a spell. Hermione knew it would take years to get Hogwarts back to its once beautiful state. 11 years old wizards would not be able to attend Hogwarts until it was repaired. Hermione stood up, thinking of only one place she needed to be right now.
"Ron, I need to be alone right now." Ron nodded, knowing that Hermione needed some time to herself. Hermione went into the damaged castle and walked down the staircases until she reached the dungeons. Hermione walked through a set of doors and continued further and further until she knew she was in the part of the castle that was under the black lake. Hermione walked up to the portrait on the door that was at the end of the hallway. "Volubilus potion," Hermione said. The portrait door opened and Hermione walked inside the room.
It was an average sized room with dim lighting, stone walls and a stone floor. There were no windows, which made the room even more dark. "Lumos," Hermione whispered, the tip of her wand illuminating brightly. There, in the middle of the room, was the Mirror of Erised. Many people wondered what had happened to the mysterious object, but only Hermione knew. Dumbledore had trusted Hermione with the secret of its location, which Hermione proudly kept. Hermione would sneak down to the room whenever she needed to be alone. Of course, the Slytherins weren't fond of Hermione lurking around the dungeons, but they didn't question it. Snape was the only other person who had known where the mirror was and he allowed Hermione to go through the dungeons without any problems.
Hermione walked over to the mirror, still holding her wand. Her face was stained with tears and her hair was a mess. Her lip was cut and she was covered in dirt as well. If anyone asked what had happened to her, she would say that she was involved in one of the biggest wizarding wars of all time. She would say that she survived and she would say it with pride, despite knowing everything and everyone she had lost along the way and during the actual battle. There were scars all over her body, including the scar on her arm from when Bellatrix had tortured her in Malfoy Manor. Hermione stared into the mirror, wanting to know what it would show her.
As the image appeared, Hermione began crying silently. In the mirror was Harry. His smile made her both happy and sad. Happy because she knew that he was with his loved ones, but sad because she knew that she would never be able to see that smile again. Her heart swelled at the thought. Harry really was gone. It was just her and Ron... and Ginny, of course. Ginny. Hermione wondered how much it hurt Ginny to know that Harry was dead. Ginny would be devastated and Hermione knew that Ginny would never get over Harry's death.
Hermione continued staring into the mirror, her eyes going in and out of focus constantly. Harry's figure began to fade away and Hermione was curious as to why. "Harry?" Hermione asked, taking a step closer to the mirror. Harry disappeared and Hermione began to panic. "No! Come back!" The tears started falling again. "Please, Harry!" That's when she noticed another figure appearing in the mirror. It was a man, quite handsome as well. He wore strange robes that were green and golden, his black hair was slicked back and his green eyes stared back at hers. Hermione looked at the figure in awe. Who was this man in the mirror? Hermione didn't know, but she knew that she wanted to find out.