A letter, a plain old letter. Or so he thought.

He had found the letter when he had returned to his room after he had been thinking about the image he had seen in the mirror in his favorite spot on the school grounds, which was a spot in a tree by the lake. He never climbed up there, always using his broom, and that was how he had gotten back to his Head Boy dorm without being detected by Hermione, who was sleeping next door. Her sleeping form seemed so peaceful and serene, and to wake up such a beautiful creature would really be a crime.

It was a letter, a plain old letter, with nothing but a sticker on it to hold it together. He grabbed the note carefully and walked down quietly to the common room that the two shared.

He sat down in the big red lounge chair and opened the letter, careful not to tear the sticker. When he looked down at the bottom and saw who had written it, he smiled.

It was a letter, but it wasn't anything plain or boring. Opening it more, is green eyes scanned the note, fluttering open and closed as they examined every inch of the piece of parchment.

Dear Harry,

This may seem awkward coming from me, but after what I saw in a mirror I stumbled onto not too long ago, I had to tell you what I saw and what I feel now.

About a week or two ago, I stumbled onto a mirror. At first I thought, "What is a plain, old, regular mirror doing in this room, and why is the room empty?" but then I actually looked into it.

I expected to see myself, because that's what you normally find when you look into a mirror. But I was no where close to seeing myself in it. I was completely off appearance wise. Instead, I saw a young man, who happens to be one of the most responsible and mature people I will ever know. Sure, he can get quite angry at times, but I know it's not because he really is angry. It's because he has so much stress and pressure put onto his shoulders by millions and millions of wizards and witches around the world. And why he has to have that burden I'll never understand, but I do know he would never drop it and let those millions die. He'd do whatever he could to save as many as he possibly could.

Harry paused. It was hard to not cry while reading that letter. He glanced up at Hermione's room and saw a portion of her sleeping figure. He smiled, and then gathered up some more strength to continue reading.

I had always admired that about him. Not that he's heroic enough to try and save innocent peoples' lives, but the fact that he's brave enough to do it without just breaking down. That's a true strength, and it's not something that every person has.

Anyways, I was confused when I saw him. I really had expected to see me, I really did. But I didn't, so I sought after help. I consulted my headmaster about it, and all he told me was "It shows not your appearance, it shows what is in the eye of the beholder."

Still confused, I returned to the mirror and sat in front of it. And once again, I saw my friend, the one with emerald green eyes and jet black hair. But something was different about him. You see, in actual life, his eyes weren't as bright as they were in the mirror. The light in his actual eyes was going out, and stress was taking its toll on him. I sat and thought while still looking at his carefree figure in the mirror, trying to figure out a way to return the light to his eyes.

And so I did, which is why you have this letter. What better way to show how appreciated and loved you are than to express it to you in a letter, especially when expressing things through words is what I do best?

And now the hard part.

Even through words, it's hard to express the way I feel, and I still can't help but cry while I write this.

I love you, Harry Potter. That's as simple as I can put it.

Harry needed to stop again. This time he really was crying, though not crying the way girls do. His eyes were just watery, that's all. He took his long sweatshirt sleeve and wiped away the salty water and looked back up into Hermione's room. He looked away quickly, and then got up and walked into her room, careful as to not step on any of the floorboards that creaked.

He inched his way closed to her bed until he could see her face. It looked so angelic, and all he wanted to do was lay by her side and stare at her innocent and pure face. But, he had a note to finish reading. He crept his way out and sat back down again, grabbing the letter and gazing at it once again.

As he sat there, Hermione had been smiling, and she had been as soon as Harry had turned his back and made his way out of the room. She had heard a sniffle from the common room, so she poked an eye open and saw Harry sitting there, reading her letter. When she saw him get up, she quickly closed her eye and had continued to sleep until he had left. She poked an eye open again and saw him staring at the letter, and then went back to sleep, still smiling.

Turning around, Harry looked at Hermione once more, and then continued reading a little before where he had left off.

I love you, Harry Potter. That's as simple as I can put it. I love the way you smile when you ride your broom and the way you treat everyone so kindly and sweetly, even if they're annoying. I love the way your hair is always messed up and how it can never be tamed. I love your emerald green eyes and I love how all of your clothes are all slightly too big for you. I love how you procrastinate on all your projects and still end up getting decent grades on them even though you only put half of your effort into it. I love the way your glasses all seem to get broken and how you always come to me to fix them. I love your fits of anger even though they can be scary and I love how you always hold me when I'm having a bad day. I love how you never eat anything on the day of a quidditch match and then come back to the common room ready to fill up on food and butterbeer. I love the way you never step foot into a library and I love it how you always tease me for reading Hogwarts, A History so many times I've lost count. I love everything about you, Harry, and I really don't know what I would have done if I hadn't realized it.

I can understand if you don't feel the same way, because I wouldn't have figured it out if it wasn't for that mirror I found and Dumbledore. I can understand if you still see me as the little sister you've never had and nothing more. But please, don't let the awkwardness from this letter stand in the way of our friendship. Because I really don't know what I would do without you Harry, I really don't.

Harry paused again and examined the note. There were tear stains all over it at that part, and it was amazing how the ink hadn't smeared. He then went back to the note, noticing that there was barely anything left.

I love you so much, Harry and please don't leave me. I can't live another day without knowing that you'll never leave me. My life wouldn't be worth living.

Anyways, I know this still may seem awkward, but I had to get this off of my chest, and I hope you understand.

Love Always,

Hermione

Harry folded the note up and walked into her room again, this time not caring if he stepped on a creaky floorboard or if he bumped into something which would cause Hermione to wake up. Coming up to her bed, he kneeled down and set his arms on her bed, folding them in and laying his chin down on his arms, which caused the bed to squeak.

Being a light sleeper, Hermione woke up when she heard the squeak and blinked a few times before finding her warm honey eyes staring into his intense emerald ones.

Harry stared at her from a moment, and then sent his lips crashing into hers, catching Hermione by surprised.

Her eyes widened to the size of baseballs from the shock, but she soon relaxed and deepened the kiss before Harry pulled away.

He smiled at her and she smiled back, knowing that for the first time in their seven years at Hogwarts that something would last forever even with the dark times that lie ahead.