Hey guys! Here's my next chapter, hope you like! Enjoy!

"Professor Dumbledore" I said, surprised.

"Hello, Harry" Professor Dumbledore said, softly. The sparkle slowly returning to his eye.

There was a short silence between the both of us, while I spent a couple of seconds staring at the framed portrait of himself, completely dumbfounded.

"Take all the time you need, Harry. I have all the time in the world" Dumbledore said, knocking me out of my trance.

"Oh, sorry...I just...how-?"

"How am I able to communicate with you through nothing but a mere portrait of myself, while I am long deceased?"

I nodded.

"The same way any other portrait throughout Hogwarts is able to"

"How is that?" I asked.

"...Magic" Dumbledore chuckled to himself.

I didn't seem to find this funny, for I was not in a laughing mood. Dumbledore seemed to take notice of this.

"Something troubling you, Harry?"

"It's Hermione, she's...dying" I paused for a second. "Leukemia"

"Ah, I see"

I was surprised to see that Dumbledore wasn't as concerned as he should have been.

"Excuse me, sir, but you don't seem very concerned" I told him.

"Nothing can save us from death, Harry. Not even magic. It is our destiny, fate, I guess you could call it. This is Ms. Grangers destiny, and like the rest of us, she must fulfill it"

Dumbledore was not making me feel better at all. He was only making matters worse. I sighed rather loudly, becoming slightly annoyed.

"I know it wasn't the response you were hoping for, Harry. But you must understand that I am only telling you the truth. I know your life has been tough, but-"

"Tough? I've lost everyone I've ever been close to. My parents, Sirius, you, Ron, and now Hermione"

"Good things will come from it, I promise"

"What good can come from my girlfriend dying, huh? Tell me one thing that will be worth losing her over" I said, angrily.

"Bad things happen to good people" Dumbledore said.

"What do I do?" I asked.

"Whatever feels right"

"I want to help keep her healthy"

"You can't keep her alive, Harry. But you can treat her well"

I pondered over something for a few minutes, while Dumbledore waited patiently.

"Can she become a portrait like you?" I asked.

Dumbledore smiled weakly.

"No"

I left it at that. I knew if Dumbledore wanted to tell me why then he would.

"Can I come see you more often?"

Dumbledore's smile faded.

"After today I will no longer be able to speak with you"

"How come?"

"I, myself, am nothing but a memory. Some memories don't always last forever"

I wasn't completely sure what Professor Dumbledore meant, but I left, none the less, on a lighter note. I took Dumbledores advice and searched all over Hogwarts for Hermione. No luck. I was beginning to worry, but then ran into Professor Taylor.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Just the man I've been looking for!"

"Professor, have you seen-"

"Hermione?" Professor Taylor finished. "Come along, Harry. There is so much to tell"

I then followed Professor Taylor out of the entrance hall, and onto Hogwarts grounds.

"Professor-"

"Please, call me Gin" she said, smiling.

"Gin, what are we doing? What's going on?" I asked, as we continued down toward the entrance gates to Hogwarts.

"We need to find a good apparition spot"

"Why? Where are we going?"

Professor Taylor's smile faded. "Now's not the time. First I need to explain to you a few things"

"About what?"

"About me" She said. "I need to tell you who I am"

"This isn't the time to be joking around, Prof- Gin. I know who you are"

Professor Taylor stopped and turned towards me.

"I'm not joking, Harry"

"Then who-"

"Listen, Hermione is in bad shape. She passed out a few hours ago, and was sent straight to St. Mungo's"

"What? How come no one came to find me a few hours ago?"

"I told you I had been looking for you" She said. "That's why I brought you out here. We're going to apparate to St. Mungo's"

I nodded.

"Here, take my hand"

I grabbed Professor Taylor's hand and began to concentrate. Before I knew it, I felt a spinning sensation throughout my body, then solid ground beneath my feet. I opened my eyes and we were indeed standing right outside of St. Mungo's.

"Let's go" Professor Taylor said, proceeding into the building.

I followed Professor Taylor into the building and up to the front desk.

"Hermione Granger" She said, folding her arms on the desk.

The red-headed nurse looked up from her stack of papers, and gave her wand a wave. A vanilla colored folder soon followed the direction of her wand, which she grabbed and began flipping through its contents.

"And you are?" The nurse said, rather rudely, keeping her eyes on the folder.

"Gin Taylor and Harry Potter. Two very close friends of Hermione Granger"

At the mention of my name, the nurse looked up from the folder and began to stare. I pretended not to notice.
"Room 502" The nurse said, keeping her gaze on me.

"Thank you" Professor Taylor said, politely.

"Gin, how do you know Hermione" I asked her, as we made our way down the blinding white hallways.

She didn't answer, so I didn't push it. When we reached room 502 Professor Taylor grasped the doorknob and pushed it open. And there she lay. Her clothes hanging loosely off her petite and fragile figure. My stomach churned, and my mouth became dry.

"Harry" Professor Taylor said, grabbing my arm. "My name is Gin Isabella de Gabrielle Elizabeth Taylor"

I looked at her, wondering why she was telling me this, then she said slowly, "Gidget"

Hope you liked this chapter! It is my favorite out of all of them so far. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. PLEASE R/R!