Authors notes: Hey guys... sorry this is a separate story rather then an Update to What Hermione wants... the next parts are on the way just... I've been feeling alot like Harry in the first half of this new story lately and I felt like I needed to write it...

For now this is a one shot, but if you guys like it, I might develop it further into a shorter series.

Let me know what you think.

Hermione Apparated in front of number 12 Girmmuld place. Harry had taken up residence in the old house, or at least this is where the owl's she had been sending him had dropped his mail. They had all gone to the Burrow of course following the Battle of Hogwarts. After all neither she no Harry really had a home to go back to, with Voldemort gone, and Harry of age he had no reason to go back to Privet Drive, and well as for herself, Hermione would only be going back to an empty house full of the memories of what she'd lost.

So they had all gone to the Burrow, but not much more then a week after they had arrived, the day after Fred's Funeral, Harry had disappeared in the middle of the night, disappeared without a word to anyone except for a single note Hermione had found on her pillow, addressed to her, in his handwriting. It had said only three brief sentences:

Thank You Hermione

Please Be Happy.

Goodbye

Hermione nearly broke down to tears thinking about it even now. She had written him constantly, three times a day everyday for the last three weeks, but had not received a single response. Ron had been just as concerned as she … at first, but about a week ago, after it had come out that Harry and Ginny had had some massive fight the night Harry had left, Ron had gotten very bitter, almost nasty towards Harry… and very cold towards Hermione. This had come to a head that morning, when Ron had come down and discovered Hermione penning yet another letter To Harry over Breakfast.

"You're writing him again? What's that about the hundredth letter you've sent him now, and still no response? He's hiding and too right, after the way he hurt my sister, he knows better then to show his face around here again." Ron had said.

"Your right he is hiding, but I'm going to find him, I put a tracking spell on this letter, once it's delivered I'll be able to apparate to him. He's hurting too you know." Hermione had rebutted.

"Oh Yeah and you just know this do you? How can you sit there and defend him, after he used my sister and dumped her when he was done with her, after he hurt my whole family, after he got my brother killed fighting his war." Ron had built into a rage.

"That's not fair Ron, you know there's more to it then that. I know because this is Harry, my best friend. I don't just know he's hurting… I feel it… don't you?" Hermione asked him.

"Meriln you're unbelievable you know that, you always take his side! Harry left without a word to anyone! I don't seem to recall you coming chasing after me last year!" Ron yelled at her.

"That's because you abandoned us… not the other way round!" Hermione had had enough by this point she wasn't going to sit there while Ron compared himself walking out on Harry and her last year, when they were on the run, being hunted by every dark wizard in Britain, to Harry leaving now after he'd saved all their lives and knew everyone to be safe.

"Fine! Go then, if he'll even let you find him. But if you go out that door after Potter, then DON'T COME BACK." Ron had screamed at her.

"Ron…" Hermione fought back the tears swelling to her eyes, "I'm sorry Ron… but I won't be made to choose… and I won't abandon my friend. So if that's how you feel about it… then Goodbye Ron… Please be Happy." With that she had stepped out the door and disapperated.

That is how Hermione had come to find herself standing here in front of Sirius old house. Pulling herself together, she grabbed hold of the door knocker and rapped thrice.

"Master is not taking any company today… or ever." A voice said from the other side which Hermione knew to belong to Kreacher.

"Kreacher you open this door right now, or I'll… I'll make sure you get given a sock!" Hermione demanded.

"You is not Kreachers master, you can't be setting Kreacher free." The voice replied

"Want to put that to the test?" Hermione asked. Evidently the answer was no because the door creaked open slowly.

"Where is he Kreacher?" Hermione asked as she entered the long dark entrance hall. Some how this place looked even more dank and dreary then it ever had. When she'd been here in the past at least it had been full of life, first with the order, then with the three of them together, now there was only Kreacher. Though the house had always been dark, there had at least been light enough to see your way, now it was complete darkness, save for a single flickering light coming from…

"The Drawing Room, master is always looking there." Kreacher said and then popped away, to where Hermione couldn't say. She walked cautiously towards the faint source of light. As she entered the drawing room she found Harry, he was sitting on one of the couches they had used for a bed all those months ago, with his back to the entrance of the room, starring into a large gold trimmed vanity sized mirror.

Hermione made to approach Harry softly, but instead created a rather loud clinking sound as her foot kicked one of the dozens of bottles scattered around the floor, there by announcing her presence. "Kreacher I've told you to leave me be." Harry said without turning round.

He thinks it's Kreacher? Can't he see my reflection in the mirror?

"I'm afraid I can't do that Harry." Hermione replied.

"hmm… Odd I've never heard one of them speak before…" Harry muttered bemused

Hermione took a closer look at the mirror on which Harry's gaze was transfixed. Inscribbed around the top where the words: Erised Stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Suddenly Hermione understood; it was the mirror of Erised. It wasn't showing him a reflection of the room, it was showing him a reflection of his heart.

Hermione walked up beside him placed a hand on his shoulder so he would feel she was real and not a fantasy of the mirror. "It's me Harry, the real me, It's Hermione." Harry's head turned from the mirror to her hand on his shoulder, she watched as his eyes followed from the hand up her arm until they found her own.

"Hermione… why are you here?" Harry asked

"Why am I here?" She said taking a seat beside him on the couch. "You disappear in the middle of the night without a word, you don't respond to my letters for weeks, and you ask why I'm here? Where else would I be?" Hermione questioned him.

"I did leave a note for you." Harry replied.

"You mean this?" Hermione said pulling the note out of her pocket and handing it to him. "Thank you, be happy, and goodbye? You call that an explanation?"

"It's all I could say,… and still give you a chance to be, anyway." Harry replied

"Oh, and how exactly am I supposed to do that Harry? How am I supposed to be happy when my best friend has just up and disappeared from my life?" Tears were forming in her eyes again; Hermione didn't think she was going to be able to fight them back this time.

"Hermione please don't cry over me" Harry said

"Too late" she sobbed, a single tear breaking free and rolling down her cheek. Harry took her face in his right hand, and wiped away the tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry…" He said "… but I'm not worth it… Im not worth anything."

"What?!" How can you say that Harry?" Hermione asked shocked by what he had just said, regardless of anything else he was worth everything to her. Didn't he know that by now?

"I can't answer you Hermione." He said

"Oh yes you can Harry Potter, don't you try to hide from me." Hermione pushed.

"It will only hurt you Hermione." Harry protested.

"Ughhh… some times Harry you really can be thick you know. Do you remember what I said to you, in the astronomy tower a little over a year ago? You were trying to protect me then too, and I told you…" Hermione said

"You told me I was thick then too, said you were coming with me to hunt down Riddle and the Horcruxes… and look what it cost you, your parents,… look what I've cost everyone." Harry interrupted.

"How is it you only ever seem to hear what you want to hear Harry? That is not what I said; I told you I was going with you, no matter what." Hermione corrected him "And yes at the time that meant to fight Voldemort, but that's not what it means." Harry looked confused and slightly ashamed now. "It means I'll always be going with you, no matter how hard it is, or where it takes me, because if it don't…"

She paused for a moment trying to decide how best to make him understand. "Harry in that," she said pointing at the note "…you ask me the impossible, you asked me to please be happy, and then in your very next word you say goodbye. But how can I be happy without my best friend? You are my happiness Harry, there has never been a time in my life where I was happy without you in it, I didn't have anyone before you, and I don't have anyone without you. SO for the last time WHAT'S HAPPENED?"

Harry let out a desperate sigh. "Hermione do you know what that is?" Harry said pointing at the mirror.

"Yes it's the Mirror of Erised." She replied

"And do you know what it does?" Harry asked her.

"It's supposed to show you what it is you want." She answered.

"No…not exactly anyway. Dumbledore described it to me once as showing us nothing more or less, the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts. He left it too me you know, Scrimgeour just had it delivered here since it wasn't exactly something easily carried about. I think Dumbledore knew that, the mirror, there would come a time when the only way for me to find my happiness would be through it's reflection. " Harry explained.

"I don't understand Harry, why would you leave us to come here I thought you were happy, being free of the prophecy, free to be with Ginny?" Hermione asked puzzled.

"Hermione… I've never really been in love with Ginny, and she… well she was never really in love with Harry." Harry said.

"What…no Harry Ginny has been in love with you since she was 10 years old." Hermione protested.

"Oh she swooned and obsessed certainly… but over the boy who lived, over the chosen one. That's who she has always loved. But that…" Harry clarified

"That's not who you really are? Is that it?" Hermione finished for him. "So then why Harry, what was all of the last two years between you and her?"

"Delusion." Harry offered "Hermione did you notice how quickly I suddenly became infatuated with Ginny in 6th year? How I went from being annoyed by her constant hero worship to paying her no more attention then any of Ron's other siblings… Did you notice how I paid no mind when she was dating creevey, or Michael Corner, … but then suddenly at the start of sixth year when she was dating Dean… I went mad for her?"

"What are you getting at Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione the reason I went so crazy for her was… Ginny was… she was dosing me with love potion." Harry finally managed

"WHAT!?" Hermione exclaimed furiously. "She did what to you?"

"Hermione wait, that's not all of it… She had been dosing me yes… I found out when I saw her pouring a few drops from one of those bottles George and Fred…" Harry paused for a moment at Fred's name "…well one of the love potions they sold at their shop. But do you know what I did?"

"No" Hermione replied not sure where he was going with this.

"Nothing… I drank it anyway, Ginny never knew I'd found out, not until a few weeks ago." Harry finished.

"BUT WHY?" Hermione protested "Why would you let yourself be…?"

"Because Hermione, I realized that day, that that… that was as close as I was ever going to get. No girl was ever going to love me for me, Cho had been the same, projecting Cedric and the chosen one all in one onto me. As for Ginny, she might only love the myth of me but at least it meant she wanted some version of me, and I…I might not really love her, but if I let her keep slipping me the potion, then it could make me love her, and at least I could pretend to be happy. I even kept up with the doses while we were on the run last year." Harry explained.

"You think no one loves the real you Harry? You think now that the prophecy is fulfilled that there is nothing left of you worth while?" Hermione questioned

"For the most part… yeah because it's true. There has only ever been one person who, I think at least, loved me for Harry, and not the Boy Who Lived. But I lost my chance there, with her along time ago. I realized years ago that her heart belongs to someone else. Hermione love potion, it doesn't just force false feelings on you, it distracts you from the real feelings you have. So I was fine with pretending with Ginny." Harry answered

Who could he be talking about, and if…?

"Wait a minute, as stuuupid as that plan of yours is, to let yourself be forced to love someone you can't… your still not making any sense, if you really were fine with it then what changed, why did you suddenly leave?"

Harry let out another desperate sigh " The night we buried Fred, Ginny started talking about how close Fred and George had really been, about how she hoped we'd have twins of our own some day."

"Don't you want children Harry? I always thought, after the way you grew up… well haven't you always said you wanted a big family?" Hermione asked him.

"Yes but… Hermione you know what it was, the power the dark lord knew not, what Dumbledore always knew it was?"

"Yes you said it was that he couldn't feel love." Hermione answered puzzled again.

"Yes but it's the why he couldn't feel love that's important Hermione. Tom Riddle was incapable of feeling love because his father had been forced to love his mother, because she had kept him drugged on Amortentia for their entire life together. I could let myself live a life with only the echo of love … but I could never subject a child to the same." Harry said with finality.

"But you didn't have to leave; you didn't have to ignore my letters, even if things couldn't work with Ginny you still had Ron and I, … you still had me Harry." Hermione assured him.

"No Hermione that's just the point. I realized that night that I couldn't keep taking the potion, and that once I stopped my feelings for her would be unbound again..."

He's talking about that mystery girl again but who is she… Hermione pondered It can't be…

"…but she was already happy, with someone else, and I wasn't going to let anything take that happiness away from her. So I left, I came here, the mirror, it might only be able to show me a shadow… but a shadow is better then nothing." Harry offered.

"Harry, this mystery girl you keep talking about… who is she?" Hermione asked both afraid, and yet desperately hoping she was right.

"It will only Hurt you." Harry said.

"I Don't care!" Hermione insisted "and if I'm right I don't think it will." She replied.

It was Harry's turn to look confused now. He stood up and after pondering for a moment in silence, he took the note off the couch and scribbled down something. Then he said, "If you really want to know, then I'll show you." He turned to stare into the mirror once more, then he offered Hermione his hand and said "I've written down the answer to your question, but before I give it to you, come stand with me, take my hand… and…tell me what you see, if it's not what I think, then I'll give you the note." Harry offered.

"Alright Harry" Hermione took Harry's hand and watched the mirror for any sign of change. So far all she could see was Herself and Harry standing there holding hands.

"Well?" Harry asked

"I don't know… I don't think it's working Harry, I just see…" Hermione began. Then the figures in the mirror began to move. The Hermione in the mirror turned and put her arms around Harry's neck, mirror Harry did the same but around her waist. Then her mirror self guided him down into the most passionate kiss the real Hermione had ever seen or even dreamt of.

Hermione's face went flushed. Somehow she had always known this was what she had wanted but thought she could never have. Was this… was this what Harry saw too?

"Hermione…" Harry said. "Open the note."

It had only a single new line on it, a simple question:

Do you just see me… the way I see you?

Hermione flung her arms around Harry, and just as her mirror counterpart had done with his, pulled Harry into the most ardently passionate kiss of her life. Hermione never wanted this moment to end, as though this right now was the happiest she would ever be. When she finally pulled away to take a breath, after what felt like a life time, Hermione looked up into Harry's Emerald Green eyes, those beautiful loving eyes, and said "Yes… I only see you."

"I've wanted so long for that… for this to be true Hermione… but… what about Ron? For all these years, I thought you loved him… not me?" Harry asked.

"I… did, at least I think now I convinced myself I did. But I always knew it could never really work between Ron and I, … not as long as I wanted something,…wanted someone else. But I thought that guy, that he was in love Cho Chang, and then Ginny Weasley.

So Ron… well he was my silver medal. When I kissed him during the battle I did it because I thought we were going to die, But as I did I realized something, it was like kissing my brother, I'd always love him… but I'd never be in love with him." Hermione explained

"But Ron still loves you doesn't he?" Harry asked

"Yes, just the way Ginny loves you, but we can't love them back, not properly anyway, and so they are either hurt now or latter but either way we hurt them." Hermione replied.

"Not if we stop right now, not if you go back to him and we pretend like none of this ever happened." Harry said

"I can't Harry, not now, knowing that you love me, the way I've always loved you. I could never even pretend to be Happy with anyone else." Hermione stated plainly.

"Hermione…" Harry started but she interrupted him.

"Come with me Harry." She said taking his hand and leading him out of the drawing room.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked her

"You'll see" She said leading him up the stairs. She wanted to prove to him that it could only ever be Harry she'd love from here on. They entered Sirius old Bedroom, it unlike all the others was bright and warm, decorated in the gold and red of Gryffindor. Hermione lead Harry over to the bed, then releasing his hand, she reached up and began undoing her robes nerves running wild through her body.

"Hermione… Your trembling… you don't have to do this." Harry said.

"No Harry, I want to… it's just… I've never done this with anyone before." She assured him.

"Me either" He replied

This seemed to calm Hermione's nerves somewhat, she finished removing her robes revealing the simple red lace bra and matching Tanga briefs she had thrown on this morning.

Oh If I had known where I'd end up today…

"Hermione…Your more beautiful then I ever imagined" Harry stated, his eyes wide, mouth hung slightly open at the vision in front of him.

Hermione reached up behind Harry's neck and undid the facings on his robes letting them fall to the floor revealing him to be warring only a pair of crimsion red boxers.

Hhhaa mmm. He's so… Perfect. Hermione thought as she ran her hands slowly up his chest and placed them upon Harry's shoulders.

" I can't believe this is really happening" Harry said

"Me either" Hermione replied just before she kissed him once again, pulling him down on to the bed, on top of her.

"I Love you Hermione Granger" Harry said with a passion in his eyes she had never seen the like of before.

"I Love you too Harry Potter, and I always will." She said speaking for the first time the truth in her heart. And with that, they commenced the most magical night of their lives.