The Dead are still living
Hermione:
The room was bright, a white light was spilling its brilliant glow over everything, and al the furniture was the same blinding white. A sofa sat in the centre of the room, empty, and a TV sat opposite it, the screen a blank expanse of grey. A desk was pushed to the side, a laptop balanced precariously on top. A figure sat in the chair behind it, invisible at first glance due to the colour of their skin and clothes compared to the colour of the surroundings: all white. Her hair, pulled back in a ponytail as it was, emitted a sort of glow. Her hands, as they moved steadily over the keyboard, were leached of all colour. I moved silently behind her to see what she was typing.
I am lost, trapped between this world and the next, unable to move on because my purpose on earth is not yet finished.
It sounded like complete codswallop – in Hagrid's words – if you asked me.
"You know it's rude to read things not meant for you."
Her strangely familiar voice made me gasp, jerking back involuntarily. She rose with her back to me so that I couldn't see her face, but I recognised that voice. My mind began to piece together an image: bright, bubble-gum-pink hair, widely spaced eyes and a ducks beak.
"Tonks?" I breathed, eyes wide.
"The very same," she murmured back, finally turning around. Her face looked like her hands, completely devoid of colour, and her eyes, although they had a black pupil, were completely white and devoid of emotion.
"But you're dead," I nearly shouted.
"So are you."
She moved over to the sofa and sat down, gesturing for me to do the same.
"Where are we."
"We are neither here nor there, but everywhere," she murmured in typical Dumbledore fashion. "We call it Limbo: halfway between this world and the next. This is the Gateway."
She closed her eyes serenely and suddenly colour jumped back in. Her famous hair was back and she was dressed in a simple, light-blue, muggle top and jeans. Instead of the ripped clothing I had been wearing, I was now dressed in a plain white summer dress with a baby-blue ribbon around the middle.
Just as I was contemplating what to say, a door I hadn't noticed before opened and in strolled a familiar dark-skinned man dressed in his signature purple robes.
"Kingsley!"
"Hermione," Kingsley nodded to me, "You have told her?" The last was directed to Tonks as he moved further into the room. Behind him came Silena Beauregard from the Aphrodite Cabin at Camp Half-blood, and Beatriz Sulley from the Ares Cabin. Many others entered, all, I noticed, who had either fought for Camp or for Harry.
"We are here for a reason," Kingsley began once everyone had sat down. "We cannot leave here until either Lord Voldemort (many people winced) or Harry is dead. I do not know why but we have been given a chance to send one of us back into the world of the living. They will be able to communicate with us and help Harry win the war. We need to decide who to send."
"It's obvious," Silena said immediately, her shoulders falling, "Harry Potter's best friend and the one who stopped Kronos from taking over the world."
Everyone turned to me and I stiffened in surprise, "Me?"
"Raise your hand if you think Hermione should go."
Without fail every hand rose, but still I tried to protest.. "There are people more experienced than me, Kingsley or Tonks for example."
"The rest of us were casualties of war, you, however, gave up your life for the future of the world," Beatriz murmured, speaking up for the first time. "You should be given this chance."
"I don't think…"
"Enough," Kingsley boomed and everyone turned to him. "It has been decided."
"But…"
"Enough," Tonks repeated Kingsley's earlier words, her voice softer, quieter. "Hermione, I've seen what they're like down there. I've seen it all, and they are absolutely devastated. Even the one who betrayed you – Luke I think his name was. – is distraught. You have to."
"Okay," I whispered, "Where do we start?"
"Follow me," Kingsley shouted importantly, flouncing out. I glanced back only once and caught Tonks' eye with a half-smile. This was it. This was what I wanted, or so I told myself. In reality I wasn't sure I wanted to leave this place where I felt safe, warm, and secure.
I was led into another room, this one slightly smaller than the first. It was completely bare except for a large, red button in the centre. Without a word Kingsley pressed it and the room began to spin uncontrollably. Once it had quietened down I saw, to my immense surprise, what looked like a muggle spy room. The walls – from wall to floor – were completely covered with monitors and screens, some of which were on and some of which showed only white. The floor was a soft, light brown and so was the ceiling. A pensive sat in the centre, where the button had just been, in case memories needed to be seen. All in all, it was amazing.
I moved as if in a daze to the screen close to me. It showed the inside of number 12 Grimmauld Place, where Harry, Ron, Ginny and, to my utter surprise, Jase sat talking quietly. We couldn't hear what was being said but it was clearly important if the expressions on their faces was anything to go by. The monitor next to it had a sound button and a brightness button as well as many others I didn't recognise.
I moved onto the next one. This showed the 600th floor in the Empire State Building, where it seemed like the Greek Gods were having a meeting. This image also had a monitor.
The third one showed a village that looked a lot like Pompeii, where many people – three I recognised as my father, Pluto and Neptune – were in deep discussion.
Other monitors showed various images from various placed around the world, there were even some of the same image.
"Each person who is key to our war has a small chip inside them that means that we can watch their process from down here. Dumbledore arranged it without their knowledge. You must not tell anyone."
"So that's why there is four versions of Harry's conversation. There is a chip inside Harry, Ron, Ginny and Jase."
"Exactly."
I nodded to show I understood and he moved through another door. This one led into a tiny, cupboard-like room with filing cabinets covering every spare inch of space. Kingsley moved over to the right hand side and rummaged around for a moment before producing a small, white object. That must have been a chip.
"Relax your body," my companion intoned monotonously, moving so that he was standing behind me. "This may hurt a bit."
That was the understatement of the century. It didn't just hurt; it killed. I had no idea how Dumbledore put the chip into everyone's body without them realising it. It must have been a near-impossible task. They had even managed to get a chip for Voldemort.
When it was finally done I straightened again, rubbing the back of my neck and hissing lightly. Kingsley then moved over to another cabinet and produced his wand. Why they kept their wands here I had no idea.
"Stay still."
I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. Really, where was I going to go? Nevertheless, I did as instructed and Kingsley waved his wand in a complicated fashion in front of me.
Suddenly I felt a burning hot sensation in my chest, which then extended to cover my whole body. Then I felt a freezing cold feeling from my toes, which cancelled out the hotness until I felt almost normal again, if not a little feverish.
"Sorry about that, it's not very pleasant."
"Could've told me," I muttered, only slightly annoyed.
"That let you be able to contact us at any time, even if you cannot see us. Okay?"
I nodded and turned my back on him and walked back into the screen-room, where we entered another room.
This one was completely bare: white walls, white floor, white ceiling. I was instructed to stand in the centre while another spell was performed, this one to send me back into the world of the living and get my heart beating again.
The last thing I saw before my eyesight went dark was Kingsley's worried, brown eyes boring into my own as he shouted the words, "Good luck."
There you go. Hermione is back. I wasn't sure how to incorporate her, so I hope it didn't seem too outlandish. Hope you like it.