A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger. I couldn't resist! This chapter is a little weirdly formatted. This is because it's how I see Hermione's mind. This Don't forget to review!

-0o0o0-

Alone.

I am alone.

The flash of light hit me. It hurt, dear Merlin, it hurt. But I had survived.

I survived.

I am alive, I am alone.

I am nothing. The whiteness that surrounds me is a blanket.

A snowstorm.

Ice cream.

I remember the black. The black that came before the white, I was free. I saw a light and I followed it. I found my parents. They smiled at me. My mother hugged me as did my father, they whispered that nothing was my fault. I saw Lissy. Oh, how I had missed her! She hugged me and greeted me with a laugh.

"It isn't your fault, my brave twin. I've missed you so much! We can finally play together again!" Lissy said in a voice that wasn't her own.

I tried to walk forward with her to the unknown.

The great beyond.

Heaven.

An unknown force pulled me back. Lissy cried out but I was already swept away. I heard a male call my name. I heard a girl sobbing. I heard a voice apologizing over and over. I heard screams and curses. I tried to respond, to tell them that I am okay! I couldn't speak. No sound comes out of my broken mouth. All I can do is breath. Up and down.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

My white blanket wraps me tighter and my thoughts drift off.

-0o0o0-

Laughter.

A male is laughing.

I can't remember their names. Their just a blank spot in my head. I don't know who I am.

Who am I?

I am Hermione.

Hermione Granger

Also known as 'Mione.

In a rush, my life flies back to me. I remember everything.

Harry.

Ron.

Ginny.

George.

Fred.

Fred. The man I love.

Love?

Like.

Hate.

Want.

Lust.

Need.

He hates me. I kept a secret from him. He should be dead. I saved him. We are bonded.

Why?

Sudden pain distracts me from my thoughts. I shy away in my own mind. Pushing away the pain that's going on with my body.

Searing pain.

The pain begins to fade and I delve deeper into myself, not wanting to face the reality of the pain.

-0o0o0-

I am in a library. The Hogwarts library, to be precise. Rows upon rows of books I had never seen before. Books about things I could never imagine. I eagerly walked down the aisles, smelling the wonderful scent of books. I turn the corner. Lissy is standing there, looking at me with a disapproving expression.

"Lissy?" I ask tentavitly.

"Duh, Hermione." She replies. Then she rushes forward and gives me the biggest hug. I hold her and fight back tears, knowing somehow, this will be the last I see of her for a long time.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead. I thought I was dead." I said curiously. Lissy released me and plopped down on one of the huge chairs. She sighed and rubbed her temples. I studied her, she looked as she did the night she died. It was like looking at a younger version of myself.

"I am dead. I'm just visiting you for a while. I needed to pass on a warning. You died and came back, Hermione. Fred brought you back. Remember the connection between Harry and Voldemort? Neither can live while the other survives."

My mouth opened in a little round 'o' of shock. I had created an almost indestructible bond between me and Fred.

"What's the warning?" I asked nervously.

"You need to stop hiding within yourself, Hermione. I know it may hurt, but healing hurts. Your hurting the people you love by staying so hidden. You've been unconscious for five days. You need to climb the ladder to waking up before you pass the point of return."

My bottom lip wavered, "I miss you so much, Lissy. I'm sorry you died! I could've saved you! I don't want to lose you again."

Lissy's eyes grew calm with wisdom beyond her age, "It wasn't your fault, 'Mione. It was my time to go. I am with you, wherever you are."

"One last thing, does Fred hate me?"

"Things are not always what they seem, sweetheart." Lissy's hand brushed my face. She gave me a gentle smile and was gone in a flash of light.

I need to recover.

For Fred.

For Lissy.

-0o0o0-

Reality strikes hard.

It hits you in the gut and before you have the chance to recover, it hits again.

Reality is getting better.

Getting better is pain.

It reminds me of Geometry, and how if x=y, and y=z, then x=z.

Reality=getting better, getting better=pain, therefore reality=pain.

I lose myself in the wonderfulness of the non-reality. Still not wanting to face the pain.

-0o0o0-

It's very late at night. I walk down a hallway filled with doors. Each door is different, and has a label on it. There is the hall of books, the hall of memories, the hall of spells, the hall of love. Too many to count. I finally come to the hall of people, and I see everyone I've ever meet. Each of their names are on a door. There are a lot of doors, so I only pause at the people I'm friends with.

Harry. I open the door and walk inside. Pictures and moving images cover the room, It's filled with my memories with Harry! I touch the first picture I see and suddenly, I'm thrust into a memory just after the battle of Hogwarts.

I was shaken. I had just saved Fred, and he still hadn't woken up. I could feel him alive though, almost as if another being was located inside of me. It felt like a second heartbeat. I heard a crack of a twig behind me, I whipped around and pulled out my wand. The words to a horrible curse about to fall off my lips and I realize it's Harry.

"Oh! Harry! You should have known better than to sneak up on me like that! You could've ended up with three blind heads."

Harry flashed me an apologetic grin. He wandered over and sat down. I sat down again next to him and put my head on his shoulder. We were silent for a while, enjoying each other's company and losing ourselves in our thoughts.

"I can't believe it's over. All my life, I never expected to survive. I thought I was going to die a martyr's death and never live to see life without Voldemort. My life was all planned out for me. Fight, win, die. What am I going to do now?" Harry spoke suddenly and fiercely.

I responded with just as much fierceness, "You are going to live your life, Harry James Potter. You are going to be happy and make up for all the years you've been scared. I don't care what the cost, you are going to be happy and you are going to die a natural death."

The boy-who-lived swept me into a brotherly hug.

"I love you, Hermione."

"Love you too, Harry."

With a rush, I was pulled out of the memory. Harry… I missed my brother from another mother. I missed his warm hugs and careful advice. His dumb attitude when it came to girls, his sweet protective nature. It felt like a piece of my heart came back when I saw that picture. Filled with joy, I opened the door and continued down the hallway.

Ron. He was the next door down. A little bit scared, I opened the door to see what awaited. Ron's grinning face appeared everywhere. To my left, a picture of us smiling together shone back at me. Feeling incredibly drawn to the picture, I edged closer and reached my hand out to touch it. I was swept into another memory.

Ron gently caressed my cheek. We were laying in one of the guest rooms at shell cottage. I was laying on my side and he was laying behind me, spoon style. In the window across from us, a fiery pink sunset blazed. It almost made me forget the days horrible events and appreciate the beauty of now.

The sunset dimmed out and Ron flipped me around so I was facing him. He was smiling gently at me as he caressed my arm.

"You're so beautiful." Ron said gently but sincerely.

"Even now? Even after everything that's happened?"

"You'll always be beautiful to me."

"Ron? Thank you for being there for me. I don't know how I'd live without you. Will you always stay with me?"

"Always."

Always. He had promised to always stay with me. A little more love seemed to fill up in my heart, I felt half-way whole again. I let myself back into the hall and continued to walk. I heard a scream and the sound of doors rattling.

I turned to the door that made noise. The blurry title on the plaque sent chills through my spine, 'Voldemort'. The door rattled again and I jumped back, letting out a screech. Quickly turning my back on the door, I half ran, half walked down the hallway. I was eager to get away from the door.

Ginny. I stopped walking when I saw her name. With a soft creak, I opened the door. The room, like others before it, was filled with moving images and pictures. I touched the one that seemed to have the most power and was once again sucked into a memory.

"Hermione? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Ginny's soft voice filled my quiet bedroom. She looked distraught and dirty.

"Sure, Gin. What's wrong?"

"Oh, Hermione. I think Harry hates me! He hasn't talked to me since the final battle. I'm worried I did something wrong." She sounded so sad, but I could tell she was just a volcano nearly ready to explode.

"He doesn't hate you, Ginny. He's scared you'll reject him. Just go for the first move."

"But I don't want too! I have been waiting for months! MONTHS! Not knowing if he was dead or alive! Do you know what that can do to a person? I was worried out of my mind! I thought he was dead. Do you freaking know how HORRIBLE it is to be so worried about the person you love? It's like being tortured, and don't tell me you've ever experienced anything like that!"

My face fell. She didn't know about Bellatrix. My anger was rising too. How dare she take this out on me? It wasn't my fault Harry was such a chicken!

"Well, I'll have you know, Ginny Weasley! I was tortured under Bellatrix for longer than most people do. I was tortured more than Neville's parents. I STILL have nightmares about it! You think I don't know what it feels like? My PARENTS were MURDERED. After I gave up their memories protecting them. You're not the only one who has it bad, so SUCK IT UP." I finished angrily, turning my back on Ginny.

I heard a shocked silence behind me. Then the tears came, I began to cry. Not just a few little tears, but huge wracking sobs. I felt comforting arms wrap around me.

"You're the strongest person I know, Hermione. If anyone could get through this, you could. Stay strong, I'll be here by your side helping you whenever you need it."

Stay strong. I needed to stay strong. I could do that, I could be strong. Feeling more accomplished than ever, I headed back into the hallway, stopping quickly as I saw George's room. I knew what to expect this time. I quickly let myself into the room and put my palm on the nearest poster. I already knew what memory I would see.

"How'd you find me?" I spoke up.

"I used a tracking spell, pretty simple compared to some magic", he replied with a slight grin, which quickly changed to a frown, "You know the night of the battle when Fred almost died? I saw him die! I felt his presence leave! Then you did some fancy magic, screamed and his presence was back. Nobody noticed but me. I've wondered since then, how did you save him?"

I froze. George wasn't supposed to know anything about that. But if it had to be someone, I'm glad it was George. I knew he wouldn't tell my secret, especially since it involved Fred.

"I used a spell", I said vaguely. I still wasn't quite sure if I should tell him or not. George looked at me with an apprehensive face.

"You're avoiding the question. Was it illegal or something?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it was illegal but that's not why I'm not telling you. It's sort of like a Horcrux."

"What? You made Fred into a Horcrux! How could you? Who'd you kill?" George yelled, livid with anger.

"Of course not! How could you even say that? I said 'sort of'! You really want to know what happened?... I split my soul in two. I basically gave Fred half of my life force. Instead of killing someone, it just takes the part needed from the caster. In a very painful way. We have a connection now; it's supposed to become more pronounced in a month or so. That's all I know about it", I finished. To my surprise, George's eyes were sparkling with tears.

"You did that?" his voice cracking, "But why? You were never close to Fred! Why'd you do it?" I promised myself I'd never tell anyone why. But I felt like I owed George an explanation.

"Don't interrupt me, or I may not be able to finish…" George nodded and I began, "I had a twin. Her name was Lisa, but I called his Lissy. She wasn't a witch, however. And the magic began to force us apart once I started at Hogwarts. When I was 14, I went home for the summer. She was constantly spending time with her new friends and she barely hung out with me anymore. On one of the few days she wasn't with her friends, we went hiking to a waterfall together. At first, we had fun catching up with each other. Then it turned into an argument. Lissy got angry and ran off. As she was running by the river, she tripped and fell in. I screamed and ran after her but it was too late. She was swept over the side of the waterfall. When I ran down the rocks to the pool at the bottom, I saw her lifeless body floating face down towards me. It was only then that I realized I had my wand with me and I could have saved her if I had remembered. I have NEVER felt so alone and afraid. So scared, so hopeless. I felt like I was missing half of me. I drown myself in my studies to try to ease the pain but it only helps the pain fade. It will never truly be gone. I didn't want you and Fred to go through that kind of pain. Fred could have been your Lissy. I did it for myself as well. By saving Fred, I could finally forgive myself for not saving Lissy", I finished with tears pouring down my cheeks. George quickly pulled me into his embrace.

"Thank you. I can't thank you enough for saving Fred. I am so sorry about Lissy. I can't say I know completely what it feels like, but I'm here if you ever need to talk", George said while rubbing soothing circles on my back. This is the last time I'll cry about Lissy, I promised myself, and she wouldn't like all these tears over her.

"Why didn't you tell Fred about his death? Or anyone else?" George spoke up suddenly.

"I didn't tell Fred because it would tear him apart to know he died and we were sharing a soul. I don't want him under that kind of stress. I didn't tell anyone else because I don't want them to look at Fred any differently."

""I guess I understand. I won't tell anyone, I promise. About Lissy or Fred. You can trust me", George replied with a sincere expression. I was still in his embrace.

I could trust him. Even if he had told Fred, I forgave him I should've told Fred in the first place, he didn't deserve to be kept in the dark.

I left George's room feeling complete for the first time in weeks. I slowly edged into the hallway and turned at the corner. I saw a door that was bright gold. The plaque read 'Fred'. I held back a smile as I walked in. I stopped in surprise, the room was completely bare.

"Hello? I know I have memories of Fred! Show yourself!" No one was there. Nothing was there.

Suddenly a glow filled the room. A figure stepped out of the center of the shine. It was Fred.

"I think it's time you come back home, Hermione." Fred held out his hand. I took it, feeling more whole and loved then I had ever felt before. He smiled as we walked through the light.

-0o0o0-

I opened my eyes. It took some effort, my eyelashes felt as if they had been glued together. The first thing I noticed was that I was in a casket. My wand was in my hands, and I was dressed in a nicer dress than I had ever seen. I could hear a preacher talking and several people sobbing.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Hermione Jean Granger. Hermione was a beautiful hardworking girl. She suffered much in life, but still managed to live life to its fullest…"

The preacher droned on and on, I lied there, trying to regain enough strength to sit up. I quickly thanked Merlin that wizards didn't sew their dead shut. I heard another sob. It sounded as if it was coming from Fred. I felt a rush of anger at myself for causing him sorrow.

"Let us now have a moment of silence for the brightest witch of her age."

I felt a surge of strength and using all that I have, I sat up. At first, no one noticed me. Then suddenly, a young boy cried out, "She's alive!"

Shocked whispers filled the beautiful venue. I locked eyes with Fred.

"Fred." I whispered before passing out from exhaustion.

-0o0o0-

A/N: Reviews are love.