"Death in and of itself is not a tragedy." Well that's what people say anyway. But looking around the day after the war, seeing all the bodies, well, it's hard to believe. So many nameless people, dead, gone, many

of whom we don't even know which side they were fighting for in the first place. Does it really matter though, which side they fought for while they were living, they all lost in the end, didn't they? Is that what the

saying is supposed to mean then, that they didn't lose, we did. They are living on somewhere else. They didn't lose life's experiences; in fact they're gaining new and better ones. It's us, the ones who survived,

that lost. Is that the supposed tragedy in death then? Because there has to be some tragedy somewhere, or else people would be ecstatic that we just won the war, but rather, few are happy and most will never

want to come back to this place ever again. So, then the tragedy is selfishness? We long so much for our loved ones to be back with us so we can experience them, but they aren't missing anything. Or is it not

selfishness, but empathy for the ones who lost so much, for the mothers who did not know what was happening, who rush in to see if their brave children, barely even adults, are okay, but, most often, they are

not. Most often, they are with the other dead bodies, or maybe it they're luck in the hospital wing, or in the worst case unrecognizable or never was found. Or maybe it's seeing the dead parents of young children,

who will grow up in a world of peace, but without parents to love them; without someone who is always there right when you need them. So, I guess, really, death isn't the tragedy, is it? Its continuing living,

picking up and moving on, that must be where Dumbledore's saying "There are things far worse than death comes from too." Maybe we need to stop living in the past and becoming selfish, but rather, celebrate

the life the deceased lived, find that young child and give him a hug, let him cry, or maybe just distract him from the reality of the world, help the distressed mother pick herself so that she can start the cycle all

over again. Maybe we can't all get up and start going back to our old lives now, because this experience has changed us. We are all different people then we were when this all started, whether that was just 20

minutes ago, or over 20 years ago, we have grown. Now is the time to clean up the mess, to repair the government and the families and the people. Maybe someday we can go back to something that could be

considered normal, but not yet. We all need a bit of time to gather ourselves back up.

What do you think? I imagined it coming from Hermione's point of view, but I'm interested to know who you thought was speaking. Please Review!

~You Go Girl