Hey guys! Guess what? Marching season is over! Yup, Master has given Rosealone a sock! Rosealone is free! If you want to know what i've been doing for the past few months look up 'Aquaria spirit of waxahachie band' on youtube. Now I know what you're thinking, "Rosealone, marching season ended in the first week of November. Where have you been?". Well i'm glad you asked. I was portraying 'The Narrator' in my school's production of 'The History Of Tom Jones, A Foundling', The story of a man who finds a baby in his bed and decides to raise it. Anyhoo, I'm back now, and while I heartily apologize for leaving you with such a cliffie, I haven't forgotten about you.

Hermione looked him in the eyes. "No, you're not dead. At least not yet, and i'm going to do my best to keep it that way!" she said determinedly.

"Hermione I am dead. This is all a hallucination! You are all figments of my imagination, you're here so I can tie up lose ends before I die." Harry said.

"Harry Potter! Listen to what I have to say before you go around deciding that you're dead!" she said before slipping back into her school teacher mode. "Now, I suppose you're wondering what's going on here".

The boys all nodded afraid to invoke her ire by speaking out of turn.

"Well... I guess the best place to start is the beginning. Well I say the beginning, but I guess... Not the beginning but Harry's beginning. So, James how much do you know?"

"Me?" asked James.

"No the other one," said Hermione.

"You can call me Prongs, little darlin'," said Prongs in a bad imitation of an American cowpoke. "How much do I know? Well, I know that me and Lilly Flower get together, and that Little Harry, and presumably many others, come along in due time, and we all frolic about like the happy little herd of deer we are." At this point James' tone of voice went from blissful, to angry, "That is until that snake faced bastered hits Harry with a killing curse, and for some reason we all end up here. Now i'm not entirely clear on the whole 'Harry is dead, but he isn't, but he could be' thing, but I know that I won't stand for anyone hurting my son".

Hermione nodded. They had told Prongs a highly edited version of the truth. Probably for the best. "So you know about the killing curse. Good. What you don't know, is that months before it happened Albus Dumbledore predicted it, and called me to his office. He told me about the integro charm."

"Which is?" said James.

"I was getting to that," She said. "The Integro Charm is a complicated bit of healing magic that is used primarily on trauma victims. It creates a sort of alternate dimension/dream world that exists outside of time or geography, so that the trauma victim can heal with out interference. The dream world is responsive to the whims of it's inhabitants. Any questions so far?"

Prongs raised his hand. "So, Harry's been placed under this Integro Charm?"

Hermione smiled. "And so have you and James".

"What?" asked James. "Prongs and I aren't trauma victims".

"No, but the way the Integro Charm works, it brings in a person that can help the victim, a person of the caster's choosing, but it can only bring one person. Dumbledore arranged for all three of you to be placed under an altered version of the Integro so that the three of you would share the same dream world."

"So Harry would have more than one visitor!" said James.

"Exactly," said Hermione.

"So Sirirus was Prong's visitor, You're Harry's, and mine hasn't shown up yet?" asked James.

"Yes," said Hermione, "That's correct. In a way Harry was right. We're all here to help him".

"But how does the Integro charm save him from Avada Kedavra?" asked Prongs, concerned for his son.

"He doesn't need to be saved from Avada Kedarva, does he?" asked James. "He's protected, from that at least".

"Right. But not exactly," said Hermione. "Yes he can survive, but he has to choose to. That's where the Integro comes in."

"Wait? How is he protected from Avada Kedavra?" asked Prongs.

"Just know that he is," said James.

Harry shook his head. They were talking about him like he wasn't even there. He didn't care.

He could be alive?

That thought scared him more than he could express. His mind felt like an open wound. His soul was dragged through glass with every passing moment. When he thought he was dead he had allowed himself to become numb. Numb to the pain, Numb to the loss, Numb to it all. But now that he was alive? It was all fresh again.

But he wasn't really alive was he? He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive. He was in this limbo dreamworld, and his life or his death was reliant upon his choice? Well if it was his choice, he was dead.

"Why does it matter, Hermione?"

There heads spun around back to him. "What's the point, Hermione? I did my job. Voldemort's dead, or at least 7/8ths of the way there. Neither can live while the other survives? Hah, Neither can live period."

Hermione's eyes seemed to swarm with tears at his words, but instead of letting them overcome her she used her emotion to charge her words. "Harry! How could you even think that? You can live! You can-"

"No, Hermione! I can't! I won't! What do I have to live for? Can you think of a single thing?"

She pursed her lips. "You have me. And Ron. And all the rest!"

"I make things worse for you! How many times have I nearly lead you to your deaths? How many times have you been hurt because of me?"

"I told you, Harry Potter-"

"And I'm telling you! It's better for you if I'm dead!"

Prongs crossed his arms. "And what do you think your mother and I would do if you died?"

Harry took a deep breathe. "Yes Hermione. Shouldn't I be with my parents?"

"Dad, If you make that choice I won't be born!" said James. "How can you do that to me? I have a brother, and a sister, too! We need you! Teddy Lupin needs you!"

"And what about Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"She could have any guy she wants," said Harry. "Any guy".

"But she wants you, Harry. And it's her choice Harry. She chose you. We all chose you, and you're trying to take that choice away from us."

"But what about my choice, Hermione?"

Hermione saw that she couldn't win this argument with logic. She couldn't keep her tears in anymore. Harry was her best friend. And now that Ron was being a complete and total toerag, maybe her only friend. How could he want to kill him self, or let himself die like this. She couldn't imagine how she could go on with out him. Nothing would ever be the same. She went to him and said, "I need you Harry. We need you, Please, please don't leave us".

She could tell her words had shaken him. But when he began to speak her heart broke anew.

"Hermione the part of me that you want is already dead. I'm a broken husk, Hermione. Even if I choose to live part of me is dead".

She gave him a shaky smile. "Please Harry. Don't count yourself out. At least think about living".

"Okay". He squeezed her hand. "I'll think about it".

"That's all I ask". And with that she disappeared.

Hermione ran down the stairs from her dormitory through the common room and up the stairs to the boys. She had to see him, had to make sure he was alright. He was still there of course. He was entirely unaltered. Same shaggy black hair, same lighting scar. She wasn't surprised. The Harry she had spoken to in the dream world was at least a year older than the one that she saw now. What could have happened in that year to make him lose the will to live?

There you have it. Hermione's chapter, and an explanation of why they're there. Any critics, comments, or questions are welcome. Happy Thanksgiving!