(A/N) How was the last chapter? I forgot to beg for reviews. So: Please review! Do you like the way it's going? Did you cry? Loved it, hated it? I NEED FEEDBACK – it's what keeps the story going!

From, FantasyIsTheNewReal. :)

HPOV

Chapter 2) What if I can't do it either?

Hermione Granger's scream of joy could probably be heard a mile away. In her hand is a scarlet letter, embellished with the Hogwarts seal. This is my second chance, she thinks. Her chance to finish her education, something she had dreamt wistfully about all summer. Her chance to take a shot at the world, to do something worthwhile, to make a difference. Just thinking about the challenging NEWTs coursework, the higher level classes, and the opportunity to bury herself into a book from the vast Hogwarts library for hours on end makes her stomach tingle with anticipation. Of course, this year was optional, but who would turn down such a chance?

Re-reading through the letter once more, she finds out that the "eighth years" – which would be everyone in her own year – would have the same syllabus as the seventh years, but a whole living quarters would be set aside especially for them… Inter-House-Unity or something. The letter also states that according to Dumbledore's last wishes for the school, any child may retake the year. Obviously referring to the Death Eaters' children, Hermione thinks slightly sourly. But she shakes off those thoughts, and focuses on the positives. She's going back!

She is just about to run down stairs to show her parents, but then she remembers. The pain cuts at her like knife to her chest. They are gone. Never coming back. Ever.

Hermione bites back her lip, forcing the tears away. Enough days of her summer had been devoted to sobbing herself to sleep, looking at old albums and mourning over something she knew that she couldn't fix. Merlin, half of her just wants to stop, give up. Yes, the war is over, but she feels barely any happiness. Pushing the thoughts of her parents away, Hermione sits back down on her bed, and places the envelope carefully onto her desk.

Was she ready to face Hogwarts again? Was she ready to put all the thoughts of the war behind her and start afresh? And what about all those who fought against Hogwarts? She admitted to herself that she was not ready to see them, without hitting them with a full on Bat-Bogey Hex. And were her friends even going to come?

She drops her head into her hands, closes her eyes, and lets the tears that have been burning them seep out of the corners. Suddenly she feels as if her heart had dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Harry wouldn't come back, she knows it. He has had enough. He was still under the impression that every life that had been taken had been his own fault. He does not need the rest of his education. He does not want it. It would be too much for him – every step he takes in the castle would be a reminder of those who had died for him.

And suddenly she's angry. How can he think that it's any different for her, for Ronald, for anybody else? Doesn't he realize that for her, too, every step through the familiar halls of the school will feel like she's living through it all over again? Doesn't he know how hard it will be, whether or not Voldemort is a constant threat? Doesn't he know that memories of loved ones lost during the war and the Battle of Hogwarts will haunt every single one of them that return to Hogwarts? Doesn't he?

A sob tears through her chest as a broken slideshow of familiar, anguished, and terrified faces flashes in front of her. She sees the falling bodies, the deadly curses flying through the air, and all her friends, covered in blood, all over again. She sees her parents, staring at her, with lifeless, glazed eyes. She hears the screams, the oaths and swears, that chilling, malevolent cackle of the monster who was the cause of all the pain. She feels the mind-numbing pain of Bellatrix's unforgiving Cruciatus inflicted upon her over and over and over. She hears her own screams.

She's choking back the sobs now, because she knows it'll only make her pain worse. She will not cry anymore. She will not. But it's so hard to hold it all in.

As soon as she can breathe freely once again, she feels unbelievably selfish and guilty. She has no right to judge Harry. He has lost more than any of them, endured more and gone through more. She has no right to be angry at their savior, their hero – the reason it was over, the reason they could walk the streets without having to look over their shoulders in suspicion. They all owed him their lives, and she could understand why he wouldn't – couldn't – return to Hogwarts.

And suddenly, she doesn't know how she's going to manage it either.

(A/N) What did you think? Anybody shed any tears? I did. :)

I know this one was a bit longer than the last one, but hopefully they were still good.

Please review! Go on, just click that little button down there, go on… :)

From, FantasyIsTheNewReal.