Secrets of Erised – Part Two

Time Frame - almost two years after the second war

Hermione walked steadily down the same corridor as Ginny had so long ago, although she did not know it now. McGonagall had offered her a job, and, after declining, decided to take a little tour, just for memory's sake. Walking with Ron through these halls, kissing…

She shook the thought from her mind, however, the thought to where she had last seen him. Seeing Harry and Ginny's wedding… standing in those uncomfortable shoes and listening to some old wizard go on about having and holding.

She was sure Ron had given her a wink as the new couple kissed… Harry and Ginny were truly meant for each other, and she supposed that Ron had finally made peace with Harry over that one simple fact. She wondered how the new couple was doing on their honeymoon, and the thought made her smirk slightly to herself. What Ron would have thought at the sight of his little sister in a hotel room in America's Las Vegas with the Boy-Who-Lived, alone together… Hermione had a feeling that Ginny would be calling him the Man-Who-Lived from then on.

She nearly fell over when the familiar oaken door appeared in the wall beside her. She had almost forgotten about the Room of Requirement; supposedly the surge of emotion had triggered the door to appear? She almost passed it by, but she knew that if she did not take this offer on the last time she would be at Hogwarts, that she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Quietly, she stepped into the same darkened room that the only Weasley daughter, now a Potter, had stepped through so many years ago.

She at once recognized the mirror as the Mirror of Erised, but did not know what to make of it. It frightened her, that piece of glass. What were her deepest desires? What did she really want?

She tentatively walked up the mirror, the magic not yet taken effect. Her own face greeted her, then appeared weirdly distorted for a moment. She gasped.

It was her, but older, she could tell. A ginger-haired man stood next to her. Was it… him?

A few flame-haired children ran past, and she could almost hear their laughter. What…?

Harry and Ginny walked in, older as well. A mini-Harry stood beside him, surely his son. This was it, her version of a happy family. At peace.

I will make it real, she thought, clenching her fists. The older woman in the picture copied her expression: a beaming smile, flashing eyes, and a will to get what she wanted.


A/N: Hermione Takes Charge should be the name of this chapter… haha. She's always been kind of passive to me, never letting herself make the decisions, but she kind of releashed that Warrior-Woman side of her in Deathly Hallows, so I thought I should bring it out again. But I've always seen her with Ron, of course, and children, with Harry and his wife in their lives, the Golden Trio united! Hooray! But we all know what Ron wants. :P Anyway, I couldn't wait to update, I'll probably be releasing two chapters in the time I can write instead of one since they are short.