Hermione's POV:

I had waited by Harry's door for hours. While his door wasn't locked, he wasn't there, and there was no point in being inside his room (it wasn't exactly clean…). The night passed by dully, and eventually I gave up. I borrowed a piece of parchment, and wrote down a letter quickly for him whenever he decided to show up again.

Dear Harry,
I came to talk to you about something, but you were not here. When you get back, come find me. It's pretty important.

Hermione

I put it onto his pillow and left for the Burrow, falling asleep almost right after I arrived.

Once I woke in the morning, I told Ron and George everything. Ron listened, straight-faced, while I spoke, almost as if he was taking the time to process everything I was saying. When I finished, he looked confused.

"I didn't know there were prophecies about love. What do you think their secret power is?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

George added, "Who knew love could give you superpowers?"

Ron scoffed. "This is serious, George."

"Right," George said. "Well, as soon as Harry replies again, we should go and find out what he thinks about this prophecy."

"We?" I said, "I don't recall this being a group effort. In fact, this whole thing is my doing, and I think I'm more than capable to talk to Harry about this." I crossed my arms. "Besides, we can't tell Harry about the prophecy. He has no idea who Cygnus really is, and I'm not about to ruin this whole thing before they're ready to know."

The two sat in silence; Ron concentrating hard and George trying to find a retort to what I had said, but being unable to find one suitable to use (I was sure, however, that he had thought of something, at least). We all sat, not speaking, rather lost in our own thoughts. To myself, I planned out exactly what I would say and how he would reply, playing the scenario over and over again, accounting for the various things Harry could say.

I'm sure he'll wonder why I'll be asking so many questions about Draco. I thought over this for a while, letting the sun grow higher in the sky, easily passing the time waiting for some message from Harry to arrive. Surely he would be waking up at any moment now to that letter (probably on the floor now if he slept on it, or possibly somewhere beside his bed if he found it before going to sleep), and would be sending a Patronus, or using the Floo Network, or apparating here.

Soon enough, I told myself, Harry will be sending his reply. The moment I thought it, time seemed to slow down significantly, transfiguring itself from a jogging hippogriff to a sprinting snail.

"D'ya think Harry's awake yet?" Ron asked quietly, trying not to shatter the silence so much with his question.

"Well if you're up, Ron, surely Harry must be up and dressed by now. Probably even taken a stroll around Hogwarts a couple times, too." George said, though without much conviction, removing from the humor and adding to the growing impatience we all felt.

Nothing arrived still, and the day continued on without bothering to consider us waiting to receive Harry's message. To pass the time, we chatted about unimportant things, such as the weather, or how George's business was going, or how quiet the house was when it was empty (since Mr. Weasley was at work, Mrs. Weasley was visiting Bill's new house on the coast of England, and Ginny was at school.) I took to tracing the pattern in the couch with the tip of my forefinger while Ron and George stared around the house. A great wall of silence settled over us as we continued to wait, possibly in vain at this point. It crossed my mind more than once that Harry might not reply at all, and I was positive I wasn't the only one to think that.

Giving in to his impatience and hastily crushing the silence, Ron stood and yelled, "Has he even read the stupid letter? Hermione, just send him a Patronus already!"

I sighed. "I can't, Ron," I said quietly. "What if he's with Draco? Then it would reveal that he knows me, since Draco knows my Patronus is an otter. It would be fishy if some random stranger knew your best friend, unless they were actually someone you knew already. And Draco knows I can change people's appearances already…"

"Yes, we get it." George supported his chin with his palm and placed his elbow on his knee.

"You can't owl him?"

"Well, no. If he was with Draco, then the letter might not be only read by Harry. I couldn't really send him a message he would understand without giving away to Draco who I was and who Harry really is. Plus Draco knows our owl."

"And we can't firecall him, apparate to him, or anything, since we have no idea where he is other than not at Hogwarts," said Ron.

"Yes. So, it's best we just wait here for Harry's reply."

Ron sat back down beside me on the couch and lay back so his head was faced toward the ceiling. "He's going to take his sweet time to reply to us, isn't he?"

I sighed. "I'm afraid so…"

Hyden's POV:

After being up more than half the night staring at the stars, I had slept in later than normal, waking with a stretch on soft grass next to a beautiful man with black hair and the most lovely blue eyes that matched the sky on a spring day. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even and deep; a sure sign that he was still sleeping. I was tempted to wake him and spend every moment I could with him before I was forced to go back to my room and change so I could come back again and spend the rest of the day here with him. I loved him, I could just tell, and the thought of spending another day with him was a perfect one.

The morning beams shone through the holes in the ground above us, reflected in the lake to create a glass-like effect on the water and a show of light on the edge of the forest. It was amazing to think that there were living beings, beasts even, in those waters when the surface looked so completely calm and still, as if air couldn't even make it move. I looked back to Cygnus, so peaceful and happy in his sleep.

If I leave now and rush through getting ready, maybe I can be back before he wakes up again. I stood up quietly and made my way into the forest a bit of a way before I apparated, so I wouldn't startle Cygnus's sleep.

I arrived in front of Hogwarts and quickly made my way up to my room. Once there, I ran about like mad, rushing to shower quickly, change clothes, brush my teeth, and comb my hair (even if the ring made it seem like I always had perfect hair, I could feel my hair standing up straight and it bothered me). I sat on my bed, trying quickly to pull on my pants, when I heard the crumpling of parchment beneath me. I sat up and pulled it up to find a letter from Hermione.

She has to talk to me about something? Why now? I need to get back to Cygnus. I went and found my other pants and pulled my wand from my pocket. My date last night with Cygnus…

"Expecto Patronum." My ghostly stag appeared and ventured off to inform Hermione that I would talk to her later, and that I had some business to attend to (though I didn't mention what sort of business). I quickly pulled my clean pants on, shoved my wand into my pocket, replaced my ring on my finger, and rushed out of my room back down to the entrance of Hogwarts so I could apparate back to the field. I hadn't even bothered to put on shoes, as I wouldn't need them if I was to spend the day with Cygnus in the field.

I passed the Great Hall, empty since breakfast was long over, when a white, almost-invisible otter came my way.

"Harry," it said in Hermione's voice, "this is really important. I just need to ask a few questions. It will take some time, but we need to discuss this."

Pulling out my wand, I thought of a happy memory.

Watching the stars through the holes in the ground…

"Expecto Patronum." In a rebellious manner, I had told Hermione that her business could not possible be more important than mine, and that I would talk to her later, adding that I would appreciate if she didn't send any more Patronus replies.

Once I had made it to the entrance of Hogwarts, I apparated back to the field. It was still silent, so I figured that Cygnus had not yet awoken. I quickly made my way to the hole in the grass, crawled through it, and walked the lighted path through the forest. I figured that I was here, and so I strolled along the path, taking time to admire the beautiful world Cygnus had created. The trees had perfectly symmetrical trucks with variations in their branches and leaves, organized either randomly or in complicated patterns, it was hard to tell. Each one was perfect and gave of the scent of fresh air, even if they were underground.

When I reached the edge of the forest, I saw nothing but grass and shimmering water. I looked around, trying to find Cygnus, but I could not find him. He had woken up, it seemed, while I was gone.

Damn. I walked on until I was looking right down at the water of the lake. I saw no reflection of me, but pure blue glass as always. I was tempted to touch it again, to see if maybe this time the surface was really glass, but I did not because I knew it was water. From above, I could hear birds chirping, as they hunted bugs and flew off to seize the day. The sounds were quite relaxing, and I tuned in my ears to hear them better. I could hear the breeze rustling the blades of the grass, a few tweets, and the flapping of wings. As I listened more intently, my ears picked up a different sound; a mixture of rustling and some sort of thud; a stomp maybe? I held my ear to the sound's direction and slowly stood to find the source. It seemed to be coming from the forest, astray from the path. With a quick wave of my wand, I silenced my steps and made my way through the trees, making a (very indirect and detoured) path through the trees to the sound.

Closer now, I could hear a voice, though I couldn't make out what was being said. With one careful foot in front of the other, I slowly crept up to the voice, which, I could tell now, was Cygnus. One more step, and my foot found just about the only stick on the ground to step on. I froze in place before I remembered I had placed a silence spell on my feet. Feeling rather dumb now, I continued on forward, not necessarily being too sneaky anymore.

"I should've known all that would be a dream. I really am going…" The voice faded in and out. With a few more steps toward the voice, I could make out a clearing in the trees where light escaped. The trees seemed to form a circle around the clearing, and in that circle (or maybe oval? I'm sure it was easier to tell inside the clearing) Cygnus continued to speak.

"…honestly can't let my mind go wild like that again. I mean, I always figured insanity wouldn't come without its tricks and obstacles, but I didn't expect something so harsh. One lovely night, completely torn from reality." He paused. "I'm sure I must have looked quite silly walking around, talking to someone who wasn't really there." Another pause, and I could see from between the trees that Cygnus lying down, looking up at a hole in the ground from which light poured through, just talking to himself. "Does that mean I bought my own broom, then? Do I even really have it? Was that a dream, too?"

I took a step forward, so that I was visible to him at the edge of the clearing, and then leaned on a tree.

"It's real. I bought it. I thought for sure you'd remember something like that. I guess I'll have to try harder next time to do something you'll never forget."

Cygnus sat up and stared at me, almost as if I should disappear at any second (actually, he probably did expect me to disappear). "Are you real?"

I smiled. "Well...if I wasn't real, asking me if I was wouldn't accomplish anything, as I would just say yes. But I am real. At least, I'm pretty sure I am."

"So…" He hesitated. "So last night really did happen?"

"Yes, it did." I took another step forward into the clearing and sat down in the grass. "And I'm glad it did."

He sighed.

"That's exactly what a figment of my imagination would say." He laid back down and continued to stare at the ground above us.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What does one say to someone who thinks you're imaginary, even though you aren't? If he truly thinks he's insane, then what would convince him otherwise?

"Stop torturing me, figment. Just leave." Once again, only air came out of my opened mouth. Apparently I could outsmart dragons, goblins, Death Eaters, and even Voldemort himself (several times, actually), but I couldn't think of something to say to convince someone that I was real? My skills were very limited.

"I'm…I'm not a figment." (That was the best I could come up with)

Cygnus sat up again. "How do I know that? You said it yourself; you would say you were real even if you weren't."

"Well…what makes you think I'm not real?"

He stared at me a moment, those blue eyes so piercing. "Last night was wonderful. Perfect even. And we fell asleep under the stars, and I was happy. But when I woke up, you were gone. Obviously I imagined the whole thing."

I knew I shouldn't have left… I offered half a smile.

"Well actually, I left so I could get ready and change at home while you were asleep so I could come back before you woke up. I suppose I didn't really do a good job with my timing…"

He narrowed his eyes. "And how convenient it is that you've found me here. I never showed the real Hyden this clearing."

"Well…uh…I heard you talking to yourself, so I figured I should come and find you." I scratched the back of my head.

Come to think of it, it is all pretty convenient…

"Look, I'm real. I promise."

He looked at me still, seeming to try and concentrate, but after a few moments he stopped. "Alright, I believe you," and laid back down.

I smiled at him. "So… you think last night was perfect?"

Cygnus's POV:

I couldn't help but smile at his question. He was so cute, even his personality made me want to hug a bunny.

"I think it's safe to say it was easily my best day ever." But my smile quickly faded.

All morning, I had been concerned that my mind had finally lost its sense of reality and that I was starting to hallucinate entire days with people. From the moment Hyden showed up, I had been expecting him to morph into Harry, as that is how all of my dreams went. I stared at him, telling my mind to turn him into Harry Potter. But he didn't. So he was real.

I felt guilty.

As much as I tried to convince myself that Hyden was perfect for me, and that he cared for me as a person and not for me as what I had or used to be, I still loved him less than he deserved. I could trust that if I took my ring off, he would be shocked, but still love me because he didn't care who I was to society as long I was still me to him. He would devote all his time to me, trying to rush away to get changed before I woke up so he could focus on me, and not even care if I was insane enough to think he was a dream this whole time. If I could control myself, I would love him unconditionally. But somehow, through years of being enemies, calling each other harsh names, getting into fights, and being forced onto different sides of the war (though honestly I cannot say that I wanted to be a Death Eater, and I'm sure that he would much rather have been normal instead of the one to defeat The Dark Lord), I still loved Harry Potter.

I didn't understand how my heart could be so cruel. It was handed this absolutely stunning boy, perfect in every way, but yet it turned up its nose and refused to change its mind.

What the bloody fucking hell, Heart? Why couldn't I just rip out my heart and replace it with a new one so I can like him instead? Hyden's head touched mine as he lay down beside me.

"You know, Cygnus, I don't think I've ever been in such a perfect place before."

"Well, I made it that way."

We sat in silence, staring at the sunbeams that lit the clearing. I felt so trapped inside my own mind just arguing with myself over how I should feel. As much as I tried to be free from the thoughts, they kept coming back just as fast as I could toss them into the back of my mind. I was growing more and more stressed until I heard a few words from Hyden.

"Is this the real life?" He asked, then paused. "Is this just fantasy?" he continued, in song. "Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality." He sat up. "Open your eyes. Look up to the skies and see…"

I sat in silence, not having heard this song before, but enjoying listening to Hyden sing all the same.

"I'm just a poor boy…I need no sympathy. Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me…To me."

Hyden got up on his knees and looked to the ground. "Mama…just killed a man. Put a gun against his head," using his fingers as the gun, "pulled my trigger, now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun, but now I've gone and thrown it all away. Mama! Ooh ooooohhh! Didn't mean to make you cry! If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters…"

I leaned to the side and held myself up with my hand, watching him with amusement.

"Too late, my time has come. Sent shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time. Goodbye, everybody. I've got to go. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth. Mama! Ooh ooooohhh! I don't wanna die! Sometimes wish I'd never been born at all."

Hyden then proceeded to act out the entire guitar solo using his air guitar, which he was very talented with. I laughed and plopped back onto the ground and he joined in. Above us, the light was blocked. We looked up to see an owl, its light brown foot stuck in the hole that was meant to let light in, not owls.

Hyden pulled out his wand and pointed it at the foot.

"Reducio." The owl shrunk in size and slipped through the hole, half-flying half-falling down to Hyden. He untied the note from the owl's leg and read it, sighing shortly after he had unrolled it.

"What is it?"

"Well…I…I'm sorry. I have to go. One of my friends really needs me. It's an emergency. I…" He looked at me with those big puppy eyes, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll be here."

Hyden stood, but continued to look at me. "Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean I'm not real."

I laughed. "Yes. I understand."

He smiled and turned, vanishing with a crack, leaving both me and the small owl alone. The light brown and foreign owl looked at me with huge luminous eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

The owl turned its head to the side.

"I don't have a note for you. I, actually, don't have anything for you. I can't even make you your normal size again."

The owl gave a soft hoot and took off back through the hole, leaving only me behind in my own little world, unable to get out of my own thoughts.