6 reviews? :D I'm flattered *blushes* I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment everyone. I'm not quite sure about this chapter, and I might do it over again if I get a couple negative reviews...But please, if you do flame, try to be nice about it :)

Recap:

At first he thought it was Lavender or possibly Ginny, but Ginny hasn't done anything like that in weeks and Lavender was probably sleeping like a log right about now. It was past midnight after all. Then who...?

"Harry?"

Hermione?

Harry immediately straightened up. It just couldn't be...But his gut and heart (which always started beating faster when she was near) had already decided that it was definitely who he thought it was.

"Harry?" the voice sing-songed again, and Harry gasped. It was clearer and he almost 100% sure of whose voice it was. But it just couldn't be—

"It's me."

The voice was right behind him now. Harry was partially afraid to turn around. He didn't want to turn around just to see air or just to see another student awake with him. But he was so sure it was her voice...her voice was so distinct in his mind he'd probably be able to pick it out of a crowd.

"Turn around. I'm right here." The voice said, almost sounding amused.

Harry reluctantly turned around, and gasped at what he saw.

There was his love.

The woman who haunted his dreams every night; the woman who died for the cause; the woman who died for him; the woman who wasn't anything short out outstanding in his eyes.

Hermione Granger was standing in front of him with a smile on her face.

"Well hello. Finally welcoming your lover?" Hermione asked playfully.

Harry felt his jaw drop as he looked at her. It just couldn't be...she was dead! They buried her body! Hermione Granger couldn't be standing behind him! It was logically impossible—

"Oh for Merlin's sakes! There's nothing logical about me being here, but here I am. Stop trying to figure out how I got here or denying it. Just be happy." Hermione whispered, her voice suddenly becoming sad and her eyes began to shine.

"I-I am...but..."Harry whispered, actually speechless.

Hermione just sighed and walked towards him. He didn't move. He just sat there, still staring in shock. When Hermione was near him, she grabbed both of his cheeks and gently pushed his head back so it lay on the arm of the chair. That way her eyes were aligned with his chin and vice versa. Her lips hovered above his for a second, before slowly closing the gap with a soft kiss. (A/N Basically a Spider-man kiss)

For Harry it was as if time stopped. He never imagined that they would ever share a kiss again. Hell, he never imagined her being in the same room as him ever again period. But there she was, her scent filling Harry's nose and her hair tickling his neck. Her lips kissing his ever-so-gently, knowing it would be driving him crazy. At least, that's what it did when she was still alive. But she's dead...This seriously can't be happening!

"Are you seriously still on about that?" Hermione cried suddenly, pulling away from him. He saw something fierce in her eyes, something that he rarely saw unless she was severely pissed off at him.

And then it clicked.

Harry quickly sat up, his eyes wide. "Are you reading my thoughts?" At this Hermione just laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes, and she simply walked over to the couch and sat down with a small huff.

"You finally notice did you? Took you long enough; I mean, you have to have had brains to defeat Voldemort but then here you are, taking at least 10 minutes to figure out I've been reading your mind." Hermione said smugly, crossing her arms.

"Umm, you were the brains behind everything, and you know it!" Harry cried defensively.

"Hmm, true. But still, you'd think—"

"So you're really dead then?"

Hermione was suddenly silent and Harry noticed that her eyes were shining unnaturally. Can ghosts—or whatever she is—cry? Harry silently asked himself as Hermione turned away from him to look at the fire. She didn't answer for the longest time, and just stared deeply into the fire as if it held the answers to all of life's secrets. It was some time before Hermione moved at all. And when she moved, it was only to scoot closer to Harry to lay her frizzy head on his chest. At first Harry tensed a little bit, but then he let himself relax when he realized that she wasn't going to go through his chest anytime soon.

Cross out a ghost...then how is she here?

"Harry...I can't stay for long." Hermione suddenly whispered weakly. It took Harry a couple seconds to let it sink in.

"What?"

"I can't stay for long...he only let me out to tell you a couple of things." Hermione whispered, this time sounding as if something was choking her. Harry strongly suspected that it was tears.

"He? Me?" Harry asked, confused—

Well, that was the understatement of the century.

He was more than confused. He was...

"Bewildered." Hermione whispered, sounding amused but still teary. She then idly began to play with the buttons of his nightshirt...that coupled with her amused-yet-teary voice tipped him off that she was nervous about something. About what he couldn't even begin to guess.

"Please answer my questions 'Mione."

"Okay...I can't tell you who he is, so please don't ask. And as for you...I had to see you and the others again one more time. You might not believe this, but I've been watching you guys from...well, I can't tell you, but I've been watching you all and you have to stop." Hermione whispered, her voice getting alarmingly teary again.

"Stop what?" Harry asked, feigning innocence and confusion. But he knew it was no use; she probably already knew that he did know what she was talking about. If what she was saying was true, then he knew exactly what she wanted him to stop.

"You know what. I can't let you guys do this anymore." Hermione cried, suddenly sitting up and looking at him in the eye. He now saw the tear-stained cheeks and it confirmed what he had thought before. She had been crying.

"You guys are just hurting yourselves by hanging onto me and the others. It's not healthy for one thing, and for another as long as you're hanging on I can never really be at peace. I can't be happy where I am; knowing you're pining over me and wishing me here. Wishing I had been selfish or wishing you took the curse yourself," Harry now gaped at her. That's exactly what had been on his mind for months now. There were so many scenarios in which they both lived and had their happy ever after...or at least she lived. She had no idea how much he wished he could change the past—

"You're so predictable Harry," Hermione cried exasperatedly, "Don't be shocked that I know you better more than I know myself...But that's not the point. The point is; you can't. There's no possible way to turn back time. Every Time Turner out there has been confiscated by the Ministry, and they're bound to be destroyed soon so don't even think about it...Darling, there's only one thing you can do that'll help us both out...let me go..." Hermione finished, tears gushing down her cheeks.

Harry instantly began shaking his head, his own eyes getting watery. "I-I can't Hermione. It's the only way I can keep your memory alive and your life and your imprint on this planet can't just disappear—"

"You can keep me alive...but you have to let me go. Go ahead and keep my memory alive, but you can't keep on living this way. No more depression, no more pain. It's okay to mourn, but you've already done your fair share of it. Let me—"

"Please don't ask that of me." Harry pleaded. Hermione sighed before going silent once more and returning to her position from before; her hands playing with his t-shirt with her head on his chest. It was a while before either of them spoke.

"Maybe we should just stay here Hermione...we can have little babies, grow old. Watch our grandchildren laugh and tumble in our quaint little cottage." Harry whispered in Hermione's ear, suddenly remembering the baby he could've fathered. The baby that probably would've had Harry's adventurous personality and Hermione's smarts...The baby that he lost. He felt his heart give a little pang when he remembered the little girl he would have insisted be called Rain Lilly Potter. She would have been beautiful...

"As much as I'd love to...I made my decision when I stepped in front of you Harry. I can't do all of that. I can't be the mother of your children or help spoil your grandchildren. You're going to have to find another woman to do that for you." Hermione whispered with a fake smile.

Harry twisted and looked into Hermione's eyes, and was baffled by the pure look of longing in Hermione's eyes...

It was then Harry had an epiphany.

Harry realized that there was no doubt in his mind that she wanted to be his everything so much...but because of the move that saved his life and made her lose hers, she obviously couldn't. She couldn't be his wife, the mother of his children, the grandmother of her spoiled grandchildren.

She was truly gone, and there was nothing he could do about it, no matter how much he wanted to.

But as Harry sat with a very corporeal Hermione snuggling against him, he couldn't help but wish...wish this and everything from the past month had all been a dream. Maybe in a few moments he was going to wake up in a cold tent with Hermione shaking him, telling him it was his turn to watch out for Snatchers and Death Eaters.

"I want you to know though...the baby girl that passed with me...well, she's with me in—where I'm going to after this." Hermione suddenly whispered. She whispered so low that Harry almost believed that she didn't want him to hear her.

But he did and he was gaping.

"A girl?"

"Yeah. Her name is Rain, just like you wanted. She can't wait to meet you, but I told her it might be awhile because her father was going to live out the rest of his life. She was upset but she understood. She's so smart." Hermione whispered with a watery smile. Harry couldn't help but give Hermione a small, pained smile back.

As he sat there with Hermione in his arms while silence consumed the room, he couldn't help but think that he couldn't survive losing her again...

He refused to let this go. He didn't want to let this go. She just couldn't leave him...not again.

That was the last thing he thought before his world was flipped once more.

"Harry!"Hermione cried urgently, sitting up quickly. It was so sudden that she actually almost fell to the ground.

"What is it?" Harry asked in alarm.

"I-I...I can't hear your thoughts anymore. I'm going to be leaving soon." Hermione whispered, tears gushing down her cheeks.

"What? No! Please... stay..." Harry cried back almost sternly, grabbing her arms forcefully. He wasn't going to let her go...she wasn't going to leave! She couldn't, not when she had just come back to him.

"I can't! I'm so sorry Harry...But please...please promise me something." Hermione sobbed, grabbing his face in her hands.

"What? Anything, just please don't go." Harry whispered desperately, tears gushing down his own cheeks and sternness gone. Vaguely he realized that he has never been this emotional over anything before, even over Sirius' death, but he honestly didn't care. He needed her back in his arms. And if tears were going to keep her here, then so be it. He's cry her a river if he had to.

"I can't promise to stay...But please, promise me something before I leave. I beg you." Hermione pleaded, looking into his eyes. Her eyes were so pleading that Harry had to nod—albeit reluctantly.

"I need you to stay strong. Fight Harry. I know it's tough to lose people you love, but you can't do this to yourself. Not for me or for Rain. You don't have to forget us, nor do you have to get over us. Just please, please, attempt to live your life. You only have one life, so live it well. If that means you unmarried all of your life, then fine. If that means you have to visit my grave every couple of days, so be it. Just please live on. Because by living your life Harry, you're not only living for you, but for us as well. You're living for the little girl in my womb that never even got to breathe. You're living for the 17 yr old book-worm with frizzy hair that wanted to change the world but never got to. Please..." Hermione whispered, tears still running down her face but her voice still strong.

Harry couldn't argue with that, no matter how much he just wanted to be with her forever. No matter how much he wanted to just curl up and die so he could be with her and his child, he had to live...He had no choice. He had to make sure the world remembers his love.

Hermione smiled slightly and brushed her hand gently across Harry's cheek. She was still crying, but her tears were slowing down and she looked...proud. Proud of him. Harry couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride in his heart at that thought.

"I thought you couldn't hear my thoughts?" Harry suddenly whispered, wondering how she figured out his resolve so quickly. He didn't even realize that he was grasping Hermione as if he was in the middle of the ocean and Hermione was his only life raft.

"I can't...I could tell by the determination in your eyes that you've decided to do the right thing." Hermione said, running her hands though his raven-coloured hair. Harry just slightly smiled, and gave her a small, yet very firm, kiss.

But they weren't meant to stay like that, because nobody belongs in a dream world, no matter how addicting it sounds.

"Harry, I need you to do me another favour." Hermione whispered, suddenly pulling away from the kiss. Harry looked at her, and was instantly confused because he saw that an overwhelming sadness had replaced her pride in him.

"What—"

"Don't say anything love...It's time for me to go...It's time for you to wake up." Hermione whispered, placing a finger on his lips. Harry's eyes widened at her words. He felt as if Hermione had grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the heart with it...but even he had to admit the knife would've hurt far less.

"What do you mean wake up? You mean—this has all been a dream? A lie? A figment of my imagination?" Harry asked with a hysterical bitterness, not quite believing it. But if he really thought about it, it was blatantly obvious.

She obviously wasn't a ghost, a-and no one had interrupted them ever since they started talking and kissing (which was at least an hour ago), and she was dead. Gone! And so was his child. Of course it had always been a dream. What else could it have been? How could I have been so stupid?

"No! This has not been a lie! I was able to reach you through your dreams, because there was no other way I could. Now please, don't be upset with yourself or with me. You have to go back to the world of the living sometime." Hermione whispered, the sadness in her eyes growing stronger.

"But—I—" Harry cried, trying to pull away from Hermione, something he never thought he'd ever do, with her alive or not.

"I love you Harry." Was the last thing Harry heard from Hermione and chocolate brown orbs were the last thing he saw before everything around him vanished. Hermione, the fire, the Gryffindor Common Room, the windows that showed the beautiful stars...everything. Harry didn't cry though, even though he felt tears wet his eyes. He was too numb to let himself cry.

Harry was now surrounded by darkness, not a light in sight. It scared him, but it also enthralled him, something the dark has never done before. He felt as if he was falling through a black tunnel with no bottom. He felt like he was falling and falling with nothing to catch him. It almost felt like flying on his Firebolt.

He liked this tunnel, because in here he felt like all of his emotions were all on hold, and all there really was was the darkness and the tunnel. Nothing more, nothing less. He was just being...And it felt pretty nice actually.

But just as he began to think that the tunnel would keep him captive forever, he looked down and saw light beneath him...and he was falling towards it.

Bright and brighter everything became until suddenly—

"Hey! He's waking up!"

...

TBC

I'll be posting the last part soon :)

Review please *pouts and gives puppy dog eyes*