I forgot to say it before, so I'm sayin it now…..I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT! Please don't sue me, Ms. Rowling! I'm poor!

So today, Harry Potter would say goodbye to his wife and his children. He would be alone for ten long months. But the mystery he had stumbled upon yesterday would help a little.

He mused on this at breakfast that morning. He had told Ginny about the parchment when he returned home the evening before. Though it was clear she worried for her husband, she encouraged him to work on it in his spare time. It was her way of saying "Don't go crazy missing us," and Harry was pleased for it.

Of course she had offered to help him, but Harry had told her that it would interfere with her work. They went to bed with assurances that Harry would be fine. He could figure it out on his own, and he would keep Ginny posted on his findings.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts when Lily bounced down the stairs, grinning and sporting what must have been her tenth hair style that hour. "Does this look alright, Daddy?" Harry smiled as James and Albus rolled their eyes in unison at their sister's uncanny ability to become frighteningly girly as the clocked ticked down to eleven. Ginny gave each boy a light swat on their heads with the Daily Prophet as Lily twirled around to show her family.

An hour and twelve outfits later, the Potter family piled into the car Harry had rented just for this occasion. As the kids were getting their seatbelts on, Harry started the engine after sharing a long look with Ginny. As they took off, the beautiful redhead laid her head on Harry's shoulder where it stayed for the entire trip.

Once the hectic atmosphere of Platform nine and three-quarters was upon them, Harry and Ginny held on as if they would never be reunited. "Don't kill yourself with research, love. Make sure you get some sleep." Harry grinned and kissed her soundly. "I'll be fine, Gin. You just remember to keep those first years in line." He winked at her and she smiled, remembering exactly how he had gotten on the Quidditch team in the first place.

Ginny smiled and kissed the love of her life once more, and stood aside as he said his goodbyes to the children. "You boys had better keep out of trouble. One toe out of line and your mum just may have to call your gran." The boys looked horrified at this thought. For though Molly Weasley had mellowed in the years, she was still a force to be reckoned with. Lily, meanwhile, smirked, no doubt imagining the spankings her brothers would get this year before her father turned bright eyes on her.

"Don't be frightened of the creatures Hagrid has you learning about, sweetheart. He would never let his students be seriously hurt." Lily pouted at the man, and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not a baby, Dad. I know Professor Hagrid won't let me get hurt. Besides...I don't think there's anything scarier than Uncle George's experiments." She smiled cheekily before her father continued. "Just study hard, and don't worry about what house you're put into."

This time, the smile was confident, and carefree. "I'm not worried, Daddy. If I get into Slytherin, then I can at least plot pranks just as good as the boys." Harry laughed at this, but fixed his face into a stern expression at the clearing of Ginny's throat. "I mean don't get yourself into trouble over petty house rivalries. Just concentrate on your studies and owl me whenever you can." Lily giggled at her father as he swept her into a big hug, kissing her cheek and winking as he straightened.

Their goodbyes ended just as the train whistle blew. Harry and Ginny stole one last kiss before she and the children hurried onto the train, trunks and all. Harry smiled fondly at all of them staring out the window and waved until his arm felt like it was falling off. Once the train was out of sight, Harry turned and proceeded to cross the barrier and headed to his car. He took a few moments before he decided to just go home.

Once he was home, Harry immediately felt the loneliness that Ginny had warned him against. He sighed and dropped gracelessly into his favourite chair in front of the television. He usually didn't watch much TV, but at the moment, he just wanted a distraction. It was about three hours into a Torchwood marathon that he thought about the journal page.

Smacking his forehead, Harry turned off the TV, and strode toward his study. As he sat at his desk, he closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to think of the best approach to the situation at hand. Opening his eyes, he took a quill, ink, and a roll of parchment from his drawer, and reread the page very carefully. As he read, he noted facts about the person who wrote it.

After about two hours, Harry had compiled all he felt he could that day. The person was not human-undead to be specific, but could not bring himself to kill humans. The person had a certain distaste for Harry, himself. This vampire-or whatever-had been offered protection from Dumbledore. He had had a close relationship with Severus-so much so to cry for the man. He had been disowned, apparently. His father had been hard on him, and idealistic. And last but certainly not to be overlooked, this man was horribly suicidal.

Just as Harry was clearing away his things, his stomach gave a gurgling growl that caught the man by surprise. Frowning to himself, Harry closed the drawer in his desk and went to find something to eat.

Not two seconds after Harry had turned on the stove to cook himself a hamburger, he heard Ron's voice from the living room. Turning off the fire, he wiped his hands on a towel, and went to speak to his friend. Ron stared up at him from the fireplace, looking pleased, but a bit stressed. "Hi, Harry. You alright, mate?" Harry grinned at his best friend. "Yea, I'm good, Ron. Just trying to cook my dinner."

He gave his mate a cheeky smile and abruptly changed the subject. "So, I'm guessing Mione's hormones are acting up again?" At this, Ron gave a look behind him before he answered. "You'd think I would've prepared for this after the Rose and Hugo, but this is getting insane! It's as if everything I do is an evil plot!"

Harry quirked a grin at his ginger friend, and gestured with his head to come through. Ron turned from the fireplace, shouting to his wife before he appeared in Harry's living room.

That night was full of raucous laughter and the reminiscence of their school days together. At one point, Harry hiccupped through a glass of wine about his new mystery. Ron had giggled through the story with incoherence. Obviously, Ron had never been great at holding his alcohol.

As the night ore on, and both men began to lose their respective buzzes, Harry brought the parchment for Ron to read over. After a few moments, he spoke. "Why do you want to help this bloke, Harry? I mean you said it yourself he doesn't exactly like you. So what if you find him and he doesn't even want your help?"

Harry gazed at his friend through half glazed eyes. "That is possibly the most logical thing you've ever said in your life, Ron," he slurred. At Harry's grin, Ron opened another bottle of vodka and giggled. "That's not what the wife says, mate. She reckons I've never been logical. Not even once! I'm lozhical, right?" Ron had been slurring since his third drink, but only now did it amuse Harry.

"Well, when ya say it that way, I guesh you are! Lozhical, heehee!" Not long after, both men fell asleep on the floor, pissed beyond reason, and thoroughly pleased at spending time together. Neither thought of the hangovers that were inevitable.