Disclaimer- I do not own the Harry Potter series

Harry was staring, sightlessly, into space of some unknown time and dimension. He did not feel the cool earth beneath him or the soft breeze that rustled his hair. He did not even notice the presence of three people, watching him intently. HIs brows were furrowed as if in deep concentration. He was trying to understand something, something that didn't make sense in any sane world. Why did he survive? Why, in this exact spot, did he die and then by unseen forces brought back? How is it possible? Harry was trying to figure it all out. Why did he have to be the chosen one? Why did so many bad things happen to him? Why must he be the one to bare this burden, and he alone?

The answers never came though, only silence.

He broke out of his reverie and looked around and noticed what he had not noticed before. The sun had sunk much lower from the early morning hours and his stomach gave a nasty growl like some sort of monster that haunts young children under their beds.

"Harry?" a tentative voice asked. He looked up then and saw Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid all staring at him as if he was crazy, and he may just well be.

Harry didn't respond at first, just looking at his close friends, reminding him that maybe he wasn't alone. He just wanted a moment of silence so he could just feel warmed in their presence.

"Harry, why are you here?" Hermione asked looking concerned.

"I needed answers and time to think," was his simple reply as he looked at her with innocent green eyes.

"We have been looking all over for you. Why didn't you tell us where you were going?" she asked, always the mother figure.

"I didn't think I would be gone this long."

"Harry, are ya 'right?" Hagrid asked, moving into the clearing a little more.

"I...I don't know," Harry answered truthfully as he bent his head to look at his shoes.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, sitting down beside him and enveloping him into a hug. "We are here for you, you know that don't you?" Hermione said, tears streaming down her face.

"I just don't understand. Why me? Why am I the only one that had to survive? Why did people have to die so that I could live? What makes me so special that I should get a second chance at life? Why not people more nobler then me? Why not even Dumbledore, Lupin, Mad-eye, Sirius, or even my parents? They were all murdered, yet I am the one that survived. I came to this forest to die, Hermione, DIE. I wasn't expecting to walk out; I was ready for everything to end! I was ready to let go and meet my parents! I didn't want to live so why am I still alive!" Harry screamed, his hands fisted in his hair as he tried to understand this one concept.

"Because of love," Hermione said simply, taking his head in her hands.

"NO! It's not because of love! That was always Dumbledore's bloody explanation but it explained nothing!"

"Mate, it's all said and done, you can't go change the past, so stop dwelling on it," Ron said, sitting down next to the two.

"Ron's right, 'arry, you can't change the past," Hagrid said, joining the trio.

"But it's all I have left," Harry brokenly said.

"You have us, Harry, and don't you ever think differently, and we will never leave you, not without a fight," Hermione said, defiantly. She wouldn't lose her best friend because of Voldemort; they had already lost so much.

"I have nowhere to go, nothing to do after this. My whole life's goal has been to defeat Voldemort that I don't know where to go from here," Harry looked up at them with that same broken look, like a shattered mirror.

"You can stay at my place, mate, you know mum already thinks of you as one of us," Ron said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"And didn't you always want to be an auror?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know anymore. I think I've had enough fighting for a lifetime."

"You don't need to make a decision right now. You have time and we will support you in whatever choice you make," Hermione said. "While we are talking about the future, are you guys going to go back to Hogwarts next year?"

"I really have no idea, Hermione," Harry said as Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I heard McGonagall talking about having everyone just come back to the year they were just in, since many kids didn't even come to school, some dropped out in the middle of the year, and those that stayed didn't get the correct education. She also said something about testing students to see if they could move up to the next year if parents have a problem with it, so the end result would just be a larger first year than usual. Would you guys even consider going back; this is our education we are talking about?" Hermione asked with a pleading look in her eyes.

"I don't know if I can come back, Hermione, so many things have happened here, so much death. I don't know if it could ever be the same. Like you said we should leave the past behind us, and this might be a step in doing so," Harry said rationally.

"But you will at least consider it?"

Harry nodded and then with a glare from Hermione Ron did also.

"Now that we've had some nice heart to heart conversations, can we go get some dinner now, I'm starving?" Ron said and, as if on cue, his stomach growled.

Laughing the three friends walked back to the school together, enjoying each others company. It seemed Hagrid had disappeared sometime during their conversation, knowing that he wasn't needed at the moment.

Authors Note- two more chapters left and they are already written! So YAH! Anyways I would like to have you all know that there will be a sort of sequel if you would like to read it. I should have it posted a little while after this one so I can have a few more chapters already ready so people won't have to wait so long for me to write them! The story. I think, could also stand on its own, but anyways it's just a heads up and hope you enjoyed this chapter!