The Mindscape and Acceptance

Harry had never felt anything like this, warmth, affection and a fierce loyalty that could drive giants to the ground. It was if he was surrounded by nothing but happiness, his very being wreathed in hope. Then with a sudden breath he was…awake. Harry couldn't really think of any other way to describe it. He'd felt numb for so long that the shock of emotions, sensations and colours had broken whatever had trapped him. In the back of his mind the faint stinging of pain but it was easy to ignore in favour of the sight before him. It was an idealistic version of the Weasley burrow, idealistic in the sense it seemed to be missing a few things but it was the spirit of the place that mattered.

"Looks like Ron is first," a heart wrenchingly familiar voice spoke. Harry's head whipped around, heart equal parts hopeful and broken. "Hi Harry," Hermione whispered a little teary eyed. Harry tried to throw himself at her only to be separated by something imperceptible, he felt like one of those French mimes banging away at an invisible wall. Hermione shook her head, as if she'd been expecting this. "No touching until the end of it. Do you know what we're doing, Ron and I didn't know what level of awareness you had whilst you were, sleeping." She stumbled when she said 'sleeping' but Harry didn't comment on it.

"I couldn't hear you as such, but when you were chanting, I kind of…felt the words? That doesn't make much sense but I kind of understood." Harry breathed, absorbing every detail he could about the friend he hadn't seen in seven years. Hermione was taller and older than he remembered her being but not as much as he'd expected, obviously whatever had left him ageless had had similar effects on her. Her hair was longer and her figure a little more pronounced since she was wearing a corset like dress and oddly, heeled boots. It seemed a rather impractical thing for her to wear.

"No it makes perfect sense," Hermione replied grinning, though she sobered when she turned back to the house. "We need to go see Ron and… accept him. Each of us will take a turn to face our flaws and insecurities head on, and then we decide if we can accept one another." It was a harrowing thought but Harry knew he had to do this.

"Use a little bit of that Gryffindor courage, I guess?" Harry told, giving her a watery smile and then stepping along the cobbled path. Hermione nodded and scurried up alongside of him; they crossed the threshold together looking for whatever it was they were supposed to be finding. They'd walked through the kitchen, living room and up three staircases before they found him. Ron was stood in the bathroom starring at a mirror. He had bags under his eyes and thousands of broken bottles, dishes and pictures lay on the ground beneath him.

"Ron?" Hermione whispered, eyes wide with fear – not fear of him though, fear for him.

"I don't appreciate anything. My family loved me and I was jealous of my siblings. I met the two greatest friends I could ever find and yet… I'm nothing compared to them. Hermione's like Bill, Fred and George, smarter than everyone and never wrong. Harry's like Ginny, Magic just comes to him and god his life sucked! What little family he had hated him and yet somehow he gets through it." Ron's is mere inches from the half empty sink. "I hate them for it. Sometimes."

Harry felt his stomach drop and his heart shudder, as if someone had stuck a knife through his back. Hermione had her hands clapped across her mouth, tears brewing in her eyes.

"God, why do they want me as a soul bound? Something out of myth and they want me? They'd be better off without me, everyone is. I just, I drag them down." Ron seemed to give up at this point.

"The hell you do!" Harry roared and this seemed to waken some vestige of anger in Ron causing him to turn around. "What did you think when you first saw me?" Harry asked, fire burning in his eyes.

"You looked like some stupid loner!" Ron yelled, not thinking.

"Yeah I did, because I was and still am mate," Harry spat. "Before I met you I never had a friend, Dudley chased them off at school and then Vernon would lock me up at home. You looked at me and decided to be my friend, not because of who I was or that I was freak but because I looked lonely." Harry told him passionately.

"Yeah well it was my fault Hermione was nearly killed by a troll! If I wasn't such a jealous little shit I would have never have called Hermione a Nightmare." Ron told them coldly, full of self-loathing.

"Oh for goodness sake Ron I forgave you for that after you levitated that club over the brutes head, and are you forgetting when you willingly drank a potion I had brewed in a school bathroom because you trusted me? Do you know how much that meant, to have someone, okay a little ill-mannered at times, but so full of faith in me that he'd do that?" Hermione stood close to him and smiled big and bright in his face.

"I drowned Magnolia," He told her. "Because I failed Lisanna, it took them two months to rebuild Hermione."

"Ah that's nothing, when I was training to use my battle forms I started a tsunami, if Gildarts hadn't convinced Juvia Lockser of the deep to absorb the water, it would have taken a lot longer to recover." Hermione rebutted, giggling into her palm.

"We really don't want to get into the mishaps I made whilst I worked in the emergency ward, trust me." Harry continued it was at that point that he knew he'd accepted Ron regardless of his darker inner thoughts. Looking at Hermione he knew she shared similar sentiments.

"We. Don't. Care." They told him in unison, causing a smile to split Ron's cheeks. Their attention snapped to their wrists where a single cursive loop had formed.

As Ron reached forward the scene disintegrated and another shape began to take place. Harry vanished from sight, and everything reformed, though this time in the shape of cookie cutter house, with a perfect lawn, flower boxes filled with petunia's of various colours. The door was wide open, so taking the invitation for what it was Hermione and Ron entered.

As the entered the home they were assaulted by how unsettlingly 'perfect' it was. There were pictures in the hallway featuring people Ron vaguely recognised as the Dursley's and every inch of the house was spotless. In another room the sound of generic sitcom poured through but it was of little interest to the party of two, no what interested them was the small cupboard under the stairs, that featured a heavy bolt and lock that had no place in a suburban home and the dim light that shone from beneath the door.

With a sick feeling in her stomach, Hermione unlocked the padlock and pushed the bolt aside. There inside the cupboard, laying on a baby mattress in a filthy space, was what had to be a six year old Harry Potter, complete with taped up glasses that were too big for his face.

"Hi Harry," Hermione whispered again, repeating the words she'd greeted him when he'd 'woken up'.

"Oh, hello Hermione, you need to go away now." He told her smiling, but backing up none the less.

"And why does she need to do that?" Ron asked, squatting next to Hermione.

"Because they said if I stayed in here and never came out, no one else would get hurt." He told her with heart breaking sincerity. "I'm like the plague you know, everyone I know gets hurt, first my parents, then you and then the Haven."

"Harry…" Hermione didn't know what to do or say.

"Stuff and nonsense that is," Ron said in a playfully haughty tone. "If it wasn't for you so many more people would be gone, remember first year, how you beat Quirrel and stopped Voldemort getting the stone and becoming immortal?"

"Or in second year, when you defeated the basilisk? Ginny would be dead and Hogwarts would have probably closed down." Hermione chimed in.

"I hear you're a big shot in medicine as well, without you Hermione's treatment wouldn't have gone as nearly as well as it did." The reminders of Harry's good deeds and accomplishments stopped him from shrinking back but he still looked hesitant.

Hermione sighed quietly before speaking again. "You know, a really wise friend of ours made a promise to her friends after she tried to die for them. She made a promise to live for her friends. If you really want to help us Harry, live for us." Hermione told him soundly. She stepped back from the entrance and held the door open for him. Harry hesitated for a moment before clambering out. "Promise?"

"Promise." Harry told her, returned to his original age. Hermione nodded triumphantly and then glanced back down at her wrist where the ink had resumed its spread. It was now two complete loops that were stretching out to form the last of the continuous loop. When it stopped the scene disappeared again, though Ron had the time to notice the lightning bolt tattoo he'd gotten in honour of Harry had disappeared.

When the mindscape rightened itself Harry and Ron found themselves in a prettier, compact and more summery version of Hogwarts. Unlike the harsh Scottish highlands, the castle was a lush Eden of flora. Ivy tendril climbed the walls of small, white iron and glass gazebo and a great turret stretched into the heavens from a corner of the castle. Both Ron and Harry were utterly bewildered. Their mindscapes had both created their childhood homes and Hermione had lived in London, why would… Ron nearly kicked himself for not realising sooner.

"She can't remember," Ron whispered. Harry heard him and raised a brow at the cryptic mutter. "It's kind of a long story, which I think Hermione would prefer to tell you about herself. Regardless, Hermione lost a lot of memories of her younger years when she was here," Ron said gesturing to the castle.

"Her mindscape took the form it recognised as its own?" Harry pondered aloud, starting to understand. "It would explain why my mindscape was privet drive and not the Haven."

Ron nodded agreement as they wandered through the pristine garden until coming to halt in front of a great oak door, reminiscent of the great hall's entrance. Ron shrugged and pushed the door open, entering a surprisingly well-lit foyer. Twin grand staircases lead them up the second flight of stairs, which they followed until they came across a hallway with floor to ceiling glass windows. At the end of it, staring out was a Hermione. Except, instead of being in her physical body she was floating in her incorporeal form. Her eyes glowed an iridescent gold, as did the small butterflies that flapped gently around her but the rest of her was a dark, lifeless grey.

"Hermione?" Harry asked cautiously. Like Ron had, Hermione did not respond and continued to star out the window, one hand of the pane of glass. Then, abruptly she turned back down the corridor and started to walk further away. Harry and Ron ran to catch up with her. She walked briskly through the maze of corridors, unyielding and uncaring to Ron and Harry's calls. Eventually they found themselves deep underground in a barely lit corridor, heading towards a small, low door.

The door made Hermione pause for a few moments, she hesitated a moments, before gently pushing the door open and stooping low to enter. Harry and Ron followed suit, but were shocked to discover a thriving garden beyond the door. Ron sneezed as the pollen hit his nose, but reigned it in.

"They're graves." Hermione spoke up lifelessly, she was staring at the only empty patch of ground. She raised her hand and pointed to it. "That was supposed to be mine, for after she killed me. The other Aurora's were going help cultivate a flower there, since there wasn't going to be a body to bury. Gildarts stopped her killing me but I lost most of my leg."

Hermione spoke of this depressing summarization with such certainty that Ron and Harry felt their collective stomach heave.

"But you didn't, die that is." Ron says, uncertainty tainting his lips.

"I should of," Hermione replied, lifeless eyes staring out vacantly.

"Hey at least you weren't expelled," Harry joked. Hermione turned and starred at him blankly but Ron 'got' it and chuckled nervously. Together Harry and Ron recited those memorable words right at her:

"Now, if you don't mind I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed or worse expelled!" They cackled at the memory.

"I was quite silly wasn't I," Hermione said quietly but suddenly the darkness in her eyes wasn't quiet as oppressive.

"You did have some strange priorities," Ron told her, grinning brightly at her, the sharped fang of his canine slipping over his lip in a toothy smile.

"Then again, we also thought it was good idea to jump into an unknown creepy chamber with a clearly dubious teacher, with an interest in me that bordered on the paedophilic," Harry pointed out. "Plus, if it wasn't for you, how would we know what the Slytherin common room would look like? Or, well anything, about Flamel?" Harry asked, taking a careful step forward

"Or even have passed second?" Ron continued wryly.

The reminders went a way to warming Hermione up but they weren't quite over the precipice yet.

"I'm not going to be much use it a fight you know, I won't be able to keep up, you guys are well beyond anything I can ever do. My leg-"

"Is a master piece of engineering and medical expertise I am told from several very reliable sources and if I am not mistaken the heart of one of your many battle forms." Ron argued. "You're going to give the rest of us mortals a complex at this rate!"

"Really, you built your prosthetic? That's amazing Hermione!" Harry spoke up, Harry was a medical 'expert' and he knew how hard it was to create a functioning prosthetic.

"I guess…" Hermione replied uncertainly, smiling a little.

"You guess? You're one of the most brilliant person in two worlds Hermione! If that isn't something to be pleased with I don't know what is." Ron told her with glee, he jumped upwards and floated by her shoulder. Harry back flipped and landed on a nearby grate, smiling easily.

"Come one Hermione, I want to see this Fairy Tail guild of yours, my memories of it say it's the home to some of the craziest mages out there," Harry prodded, testing the water so to speak. He'd recognised the emblem well enough to know what guild they belonged to.

"Yeah, they kind are." Hermione whispered back with a smile. She takes a hesitant step towards them and both Ron and Harry hold out their hand, waiting for her to take them.

"I'm…I'm scared." The whispered confession is enough to break the boy's hearts all over again. Clearly, they're all kind of soppy but Ron can't bring himself to care particularly much. Harry looks over at Ron, then steps off the crate and walks close to Hermione. Ron follows suit and together they hug her close. They expect to be repelled again, thankfully they aren't, though it seems to break the last vestige of Hermione's control, causing her to sob uncontrollably. The boy's eyes are similarly wet (though they'll deny it afterwards) as they hold her close and none of them pay any attention to the scenery that is fading behind them.

They wake up to find that they are once again in the dark cave standing in that conjoined circle but now Harry's hands can squeeze back – weak as his grip may be.

"Oh god, we did it. We did it!" Hermione sobs, throwing herself into Harry's arm and dragging Ron with her. Some of her tears are obviously relief but neither Harry nor Ron were stupid – occasionally a little dim-witted and suicidal reckless (what second years chased after a basilisk?) but not stupid. They know that part of the tears are left from the lingering sensation of that in-between place. Hermione had always been a little more sensitive to these kinds of things, ls slickly to bounce back as fast as either boy. They wouldn't go as far as to say that she was fragile, because she wasn't. It was more like her scars stuck around for longer. The boys shared a look that spoke volumes then focused on holding one another close.

They could fix their problems later, for now they were going to revel in the rightness of it all. After all, they'd seen the worst they could offer, stared it in its face and accepted it. They didn't need to think of anything else for a while.