The Dreams that Keep Us Alive

�The Dreams that Keep Us Alive�

Rating: PG, with an extremely fluffy ending (I apologize).

Disclaimer: I own noting. I am being paid nothing. JK Rowling owns them I'm just borrowing. Please don't sue.

Summary: At the end of his seventh year, Harry takes one last look into the Mirror of Erised. Once again, he's not alone, but the faces have changed.

Author's Notes: I hate exposition but I had to use it to explain how they got together from the end of Half-Blood Prince. When I finished HBP this was my first thought that came to mind, the final scene of the series. I'm quite sure the Mirror of Erised will come back before the end of book seven. I'm also quite sure that there are other H/Hr stories that include the Mirror but this is my take on it. Hope you enjoy. Feedback is always more than appreciated.

This has not been beta read so all mistakes are mine, I apologize and have done the best I could to correct them.

Long live the H/Hr ship!

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The Gryffindor Common Room was a lot brighter and more cheerful than Hermione Granger had ever seen it in her seven years at Hogwarts. And there were several good reasons for it. The first of which was the fact that it was the last day of the term and the summer holidays had finally come. And for Hermione Granger, it was a time of great expectation as she, and her fellow seventh years, were about to move forward. Their schooling was now complete and they were about to move on. The second reason, and a far greater reason, was that it was all over. The war was over and Lord Voldemort was gone. It was not until this very moment, sitting quietly by the window in the Common Room with Crookshanks in her lap and Ron and Ginny playing a spirited game of Exploding Snap that she realized just how different the scene was from the year before. The castle had been breached by a band of Death Eaters with the assistance of Draco Malfoy and the greatest wizard of their age, not to mentioned the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts had ever known, Albus Dumbledore, had died.

A lot had happened within a year.

Hermione and her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, had set off from Dumbledore's funeral to the beginnings of a long journey. The Trio had returned to the Burrow to attend Bill and Fleur's wedding, and then returned to the Dursley's for a final good-bye. Hermione suspected that there was more to their return to the Dursley's than simply doing �what Dumbledore would want him to have done.� Then they returned to the place where it had all begun for Harry, Godric's Hollow. There the three of them followed the trail that lead to discover the whereabouts of Hufflepuff's cup, one of the remaining four horcruxes. When they returned to the Order Harry decided (against his friends vehement arguments) to go off alone and with the help of Remus Lupin and Charlie Weasley was secretly transported to Romania where he then disappeared for an entire month in search of the missing horcrux.

It was during this month that it had happened.

She and Ron remained waiting for word at the Burrow. Both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny Weasley were sick with worry about Harry. Neither ate or slept much. But they were nothing compared to Hermione who was completely overwrought with despair. Her plan had backfired on her. After the disaster and loss at the Department of Mysteries her fifth year, and knowing Harry was now burdened with more than just the loss of Sirius (although not knowing of the prophesy itself), it had been her intention to keep as much distance from Harry as possible. She had two reasons for doing so. The first was to lighten his burdens. The last thing he needed was to know how she felt about him and then worry for her safety because she would insist that she come with him.

The second came from the decision that as much as she loved him (and she knew that she had been desperately in love with him since the moment she first met him aboard the Hogwarts Express), his happiness was more important to her than her own. They had been friends for five years and neither had taken a step beyond friendship. Taking that as a sign that Harry did not feel the same way about her she decided to watch from the sidelines when it came to Cho and Ginny. She put every effort in trying to be happy for him but still her heart seemed to beat only for him. She then decided a new tactic. She had always known that Ron had taken a fancy to her and she decided to give in. So she put all of her energy into paying attention to Ron, willing herself to fall in love with him, but in the end she had failed.

Less than a week after Harry had left them all behind at the Burrow, and forcing herself to focus only on Ron, she realized that she could never love him. Her heart had always belonged to Harry. She wasn't the only one to realize this. It had crushed Ron to know that once more, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and now the Chosen-One, had beaten him at and won the heart of the girl he had loved since his second year. There was an icy stillness that settled over their friendship for nearly two weeks after this realization; that is until the letters from Luna Lovegood showed up.

At last one evening Harry had returned. Beaten and exhausted, but happy. He had destroyed one more horcrux and learned the location of the second. It was an artifact that had belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw that had been hidden within the school. Hermione watched quietly in the wings as Ginny leapt into his arms and kissed him fiercely, wishing for all the world that she was the one wrapped in his arms. Two days later it had been decided by Professor McGonagall, the newly appointed Headmistress, that Hogwarts was to be reopened. Longing to be at his rightful home and vowing to protect it from Voldemort Harry made plans to return and to search for the missing horcrux. The Order of the Phoenix had a meeting that night at the Burrow that included Harry, Ron and Hermione as participants. In the end the Order settled on the idea that an Order member would be taking over the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts and Harry, along with the support of the rest of the Order, voiced that the honor should fall on Lupin who accepted.

For those students who returned to Hogwarts that year tension was at an all time high. Voldemort seemed to be lurking around every dark corner, no one walked through the halls alone. And between the reactivation of the D. A., meetings with the Order in the Headmistress's office, his search for the missing horcrux, and his class load, Harry did not have time for anything any more. Tension was extremely high between the three of them. Harry was unaware of Hermione's feelings towards him as neither she nor Ron had told him. Ron, despite the fact that he knew Harry was unaware of the truth, secretly held a grudge against his best friend. And because of the demands and knowledge of what was coming between he and Voldemort, Harry had become withdrawn and secretive which, in the end, destroyed the relationship he had with Ginny.

They were well into March when the next horcrux, an enchanted spell book of Ravenclaw's, had been found and destroyed. Alert to the loss of some of his powers, Voldemort came in full force to Hogsmeade where Harry met him head on. Since the summer Harry had been privately practicing Occlumency and was ready to at last face the Dark Lord in battle. It was fierce and stretched from Hogsmeade all the way inside the castle itself but in the end Harry proved to be more powerful. Voldemort was gone and his Death Eaters were overcome by the joint forces of the Order and D. A. members who had accompanied him into battle.

Upon seeing his weakened and bloodied form return from the Great Hall Hermione forgot herself and rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. Without realizing what she was doing she reached up and kissed him on the lips, she also didn't realize that he returned the kiss.

Ginny sighed angrily and startled Hermione out of her thoughts. �Will you just go talk to him already?� she demanded.

�What?� Hermione blinked at her.

�Harry.� Ginny said sternly. �Where you planning on ever telling Harry how you feel about him?�

Hermione cast an uneasy glance at Ron who was watching her curiously. The resentment he felt toward Harry had fallen away after he realized how close his best friend had come to death the night he defeated Voldemort. That and he had recently started dating Luna.

�You can't keep it inside for ever,� Ron said wisely. �He knows we gave up last summer.�
�He knows that?� Hermione asked quickly.

�Of course, the whole school knows. Especially since we never went on a date. And that Lavender spotted me and Luna snogging last Hogsmeade weekend. The entire school knew by dinner time that evening.� Ron smirked. �And with V-V-Vold-You-Know-Whogone,� he added ignoring Hermione and Ginny rolling their eyes. �Harry's not as distracted these days, is he? He was bound to notice.�

�What did you tell him?� Hermione asked a little fearfully.

�Nothing,� Ron said calmly. �I didn't tell him how you feel about him. That's not my job.�

�This is still so bizarre to be talking about Harry with either of you,� Hermione rubbed her temples.

�Why should it be bizarre?� asked Ginny who had returned to playing Exploding Snap with her brother. �I loved Harry, yes. It crushed me when we broke up, yes. But he wasn't the right one. I was in love with Harry Potter. You're in love with Harry.�

�There's a difference?� Hermione said incredulously.

�Of course there is.� She looked at Hermione as if it were so obvious that the brightest student at Hogwarts would be able to figure it out. �I loved the strong hero everyone worshiped. The one who's mentioned in all the history books and has a special featured article in the Prophet at least three times a week. But you love Harry, just plain old Harry. The only who has nightmares and insecurities��

��who always needs a helping hand on his Potions essays.� Ron interjected happily.

�Exactly.� Ginny said brightly. �You fell in love with the real Harry Potter. I just fell for the bedtime story. I still love him very much, though. He's like a brother. Although, he's an extremely good kisser�.�

�I don't need to hear this!� Ron said loudly over Ginny who held a serene smile on her lips and shrugged slightly.

�Where is Harry, anyway?� Hermione tried to keep her tone casual.

�He mentioned something about taking a final lap around the Quidditch Pitch.� Said Ginny.

�I went with him after lunch,� Ron shook his head. �He went to see the Headmistress about something and then he said he was going to go for a final walk around the castle.�

Hermione suddenly felt unnerved by Harry's absence. She reached over to Ron's bag and took out an old piece of parchment and quickly scanned the Common Room for anyone who might be paying attention.

�I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.� She muttered under her breath and tapped the Marauder's Map which sprung to life before her. On close inspection of the map she discovered that Harry was no where to be found on the grounds. She found this odd for the moment until she remembered that there was one room in the castle that was unplottable. Harry was in the Room of Requirement.

Giving them the excuse that she had just seen Peeves floating around in the Trophy Room and insisting that as Head Girl it was her duty to make sure he was behaving herself she left the common room. Neither Ron nor Ginny believed her of course.

Hermione quickly approached the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. She walked along the corridor three times with her eyes closed thinking Let me find the room where Harry is and when she stopped and opened her eyes the door to the Room of Requirement was there as if it had always been. She hesitated before opening and decided to knock first. When she heard no answer she was starting to doubt that he was there but opened the door just in case. It was a large and circular room. The ceiling was tall and there was only a single window directly opposite the door set high towards the ceiling. The room was empty save for a large object that stood directly in front of her. Hermione knew that she was not alone in the room when she heard soft humming from the other side of the mirror.

Closing the door, Hermione walked to the side of the object and quickly discovered that this room was the current residence of the Mirror of Erised and standing before the reflective surface, humming softly to himself with a content smile on his lips, was Harry Potter.

�Hello.� He said softly without looking at her but his smile widened.

�Hello,� she said returning the smile. �Taking one last peek?� Harry nodded still examining the reflection in the mirror. �Do you still see them? You're mom and dad?�

�No,� Harry shook his head slightly but his smile never dropped. �They're always with me, I know that now. Sirius too.�

Hermione smiled to herself, she could not help but notice how much he had grown over the last seven years. And even within this last year he had grown more confident, more secure in himself. More content. Hermione's curiosity got the better of her, �What do you see then? A defeated Voldemort? A united wizarding world? Dudley looking extremely miserable and roughly the size of a whale?�

Harry laughed. �No, Voldemort is long gone. The wizarding world is already mending. And Dudley is already as large as both my old bedroom and the cupboard under the stairs put together. Not to mention that fact that he is extremely miserable because I'm so happy.�

�Then what do you see, Harry?� her voice was full of both curiosity and anxiety. She was suddenly overcome with the image of Harry and Ginny together, married, with a good number of children all smiling and waving back at Harry from the mirror.

�Myself,� Harry said soundly with a slight smile. Hermione looked up at him surprised. �But I'm not alone.�

Harry looked over at her and the smile on his face was an invitation for her to come and look for herself. Hermione knew very well that she wouldn't be able to see what he could; each vision was unique to the person who looked into the mirror. But in spite of this knowledge Hermione took a few steps forward and joined Harry in front of the mirror. She looked at him, he continued to smile softly at her, and then turned to look in the mirror.

She only saw them. Harry and Hermione. It took her a moment to realize the subtle differences between the Harry and Hermione standing there in front of the mirror and the Harry and Hermione in the reflection. They were still both very young, but he was slightly taller, his jaw slightly more square. She too was taller, but her hair was longer and fuller, less bushy and wild. Their reflections could not be more than ten years older than their current selves.

�You've been with me since I got here,� Harry said softly.

�Oh, Harry�� Hermione looked back at him.

Harry smiled but put a finger to his lips. �Just look.� He turned back to look into the mirror. �He's been there all this time as well.�

Hermione looked back and saw nothing different about the reflection in the mirror. Then the slightly older Hermione moved closer her Harry and linked arms with him. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek and the reflections both gave the real Harry and Hermione a pair of bright smiles. Then from behind Hermione a small boy came into view that could not have been much older than eight or nine. He had very untidy raven black hair, a skinny frame and a slightly eager and mischievous look on his face. He smiled brightly at Hermione and she could see that he looked identical to the young boy she had met on her first train ride to Hogwarts who had grown into the man who was standing next to her. Except there were two distinct differences between the two; where Harry's eyes were green, this boy had her cinnamon colored eyes�her eyes. Also, the boy was clutching a slightly worn book that looked as if it were one of his most treasured possessions. Hermione gaped at the boy when she recognized the title as Hogwarts, A History.

�He loves that book,� Harry said softly. �But he also loves it when I pick him up too. I think Larry might be a natural at Quidditch, once he ties it, of course.�

�Larry?� Hermione snorted.

Harry shrugged. �Harry and Larry, I thought it would be kind of funny.�

Before she could stop herself she blurted out, �No son of mine will be named Larry Potter!� She blushed a deep crimson and looked away from him. Harry on the other hand was beaming radiantly at her.

�Well, we can worry about names later.� He looked back into the mirror. �When Ron and I first found this mirror, Ron wondered if it might be able to tell the future. But because all I could see were my parents I was more than assured that it could not.�

�And now?� Hermione looked back into the mirror.

It was then that Harry's smile lessened at bit as he contemplated this. �Dumbledore once told me that this mirror gave the viewer neither knowledge nor truth. He also told me that it was unwise to dwell upon dreams, that it could lead a person to madness. But I think there are some dreams, in the most desperate of times that are the only things that help us to keep moving forward.� He turned and looked at her and she met his gaze. �There are some dreams that are the only things that keep us alive.�

Hermione stared at him silently for a moment and then quickly moved forward and surprised herself by wrapping her arms around him and kissing him soundly on the lips. The creature within Harry roared with the utmost triumph and his stomach gave an almighty lurch as if the creature within had suddenly sprouted wings and was now soaring through the air. Unconsciously Harry let out a loud purr against her lips. Hermione pulled her lips away a bit surprised but she was also clearly amused by his response.

�Tell me,� she said with a slight chuckle pointing at his chest. �Is he house-trained?�

�I never asked him.� Harry smiled. �He can dance too. And fly.�

�A griffin,� Hermione raised an impressed and intrigued eyebrow. �How appropriate for the heir of Gryffindor. Half lion and half eagle, king of the land and of the sky.�

�Don't start with that heir of Gryffindor rubbish again,� Harry rolled his eyes but the smile remained. �First the Boy-Who-Lived, then that Chosen-One garbage. And now I'm the Heir-of-Gryffindor.�

�Well you are.�

�There are a lot of people in this school who are related to the founders of this school.�

�Yes, but not one of them was `destined to defeat the dreaded Heir of Slytherin in a heroic battle.' Trelawney and Rita Skeeter had an absolute field day over that one. Well, you saw the articles the Prophet ran about you after the war ended. Just think what they would write about you if they found out you purred and that your `beast within' is a griffin?�

Harry was suddenly struck with the memory of Hermione out on the field of battle. It seemed as if it were ages ago now but he could remember quiet clearly that Hermione's Patronus had recently taken on a new form, just as Tonks' had when she fell in love with Lupin. Hermione's new Patronus was quite different from the otter he had first seen in their fifth year. This new form was large with two front paws and a distinguished cat-like front with two broad sweeping wings behind its front paws and a rear that seemed more bird-like than the front. At first Harry thought it odd that her new Patronus would take on the form of a hippogriff. Now he knew he had been mistaken.

�I'm not the only one who has a secret griffin,� Harry said with a brilliant and toothy smile.

Hermione blushed again.

�When did it change?�

�Earlier this year,� Hermione said quietly. �When we were doing research on Ravenclaw and you discovered that your father's pure-blood history could be traced back to a marriage with Godric Gryffindor's only daughter.�

Harry lifted her chin slightly and kissed her again.

�I love you,� she said in a voice no higher than a whisper.

�I love you too.� Harry smiled. �We should go back to the Common Room or else we might be late to the feast.�

Hermione smiled and took his hand and they made their way to the door. She cast one more look into the mirror and saw that the Harry and Hermione in the reflection were now locked in a deep kiss while their son stood at their smile beaming up at them.

Harry and Hermione continued to hold hands all the way back to Gryffindor tower. Throughout the farewell feast. On the train ride back to King's Cross. And through the barrier that separated Platform 9

I'm adding this because I noticed, thanks much to a reviewer who pointed it out to me, that the last sentence was cut off. For that, I deeply apologize. As stated before, I'm new here and so making a fool of myself is only natural.

But 777 hits in less than 24 hours! You guys are awesome! I promise to write more, I have more ideas that I need to get working on but thank you so much for your support. I'm really touched.

This, by the way, is how the story actually ends (sorry again):

Harry and Hermione continued to hold hands all the way back to Gryffindor tower. Throughout the farewell feast. On the train ride back to King's Cross. And through the barrier that separated Platform 9 3/4 from the Muggle world where they took the first steps into the next stage of their life together.

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