A/N: Er—forget what I said about this being a one-shot thing,

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Awakening

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"You've been here a long time."

I open my eyes and see sunlight streaming on to the grass. It takes me a moment to remember where I am before I realize I must have fallen asleep. I even remember which headstone I'm leaning against. Sophia Waterman's.

"You've been here a long time," the voice repeats. I look up and see the voice belongs to a girl around my age. The girl has long black hair, pale skin and light brown eyes. She comes closer and sits down by a headstone near where I am sitting.

I realize I should say something so I just say "Yeah."

"I saw you walking around the headstones," she says in her calm voice.

I feel myself blush slightly and try to work something out say but she speaks first.

"That was nice of you."

I stutter out a very quiet "Thanks."

We just sit there quietly for a while until she speaks once more.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I realize she must think that these headstones belong to relatives of mine so I quickly say, "These aren't my family."

She looks at me with her calm brown eyes and says, "I meant Sirius."

I am quite surprised and I imagine my face shows it. "How'd you know about Sirius?"

She stays quiet for a bit before she replies. "If you listen and observe you'd be surprised how much you can learn."

There's a quiet beauty of that line so I stay silent while I contemplate it.

"You know he's still here." It isn't a question but rather a softly spoken statement.

I have a feeling I know what she's getting at but I still say, "What do you mean?"

"He's all around you. Watching over you. Making sure you'll be alright. Your parents are too."

I've heard similar things a lot but somehow when she says it...it just seems more true.

We sit there a bit longer, just appreciating the sunlight and the smell of the grass. I realize that they're probably worrying about me back at Grimmauld Place but somehow I don't want to leave.

The girl--I still don't know her name--starts speaking in her quiet, all- knowing voice, "You should get going. The Order will start to worry."

I don't ask how she knows about The Order and I'm not suspicious. Somehow, she just knows. I stand up and say, "Yeah." I swallow before I realize I don't know how to get back to Grimmauld Place.

"Do you want me to walk with you?"

I feel myself smile and say, "Yeah, that'd be nice."

She smiles back and stands up. Her white-with-flowers summer dress somehow managed to avoid all grass stains. She walks over to me and grabs my hand. I'm surprised at how icy cold it is. We walk out and I glance back to make sure I remember the name of the cemetery. I'm not sure why I want to remember it, I just do.

We walk slowly, stopping to smell the flowers and listen to the birds. I notice she smells of lavender. I gather my courage and decide to ask her a question. "Are you a witch?"

I notice her give a slight nod before she replies. "I know you're a wizard."

I'm not particularly surprised. She seems to know a lot more than normal people and the entire wizarding world knows who I am.

We walk a bit more and I notice we're at the end of the block where Grimmauld Place is. I'm disappointed. Somehow I hoped we could just keep walking.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Always remember to listen and never forget to look. You can find the ones you love in others."

I nod, not really sure what she means.

"And Harry?"

I look up at here, into those surprisingly deep eyes.

"Whenever you feel lost go to where you met me and you shall find me again."

I nod and we keep walking. We're nearing Grimmauld palace when I decide to ask her one last question. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What's your name?"

"Sophia."

I nod and say "That's a nice name."

She smiles and says "So is Harry."

We're at the walkway to Grimmauld Place when I turn and smile at her.

"Goodbye, Harry," she says softly.

"Wait!" I blurt out.

She turns back to me. I lean forward and give her a kiss, slightly startled to find her lips are colder than ice. When it ends she smiles at me and I smile at her.

"Goodbye, Harry."

"Goodbye, Sophia."

I'm holding her hand when all of a sudden the door to number 12 Grimmauld Palace bursts open. Mrs. Weasley runs out followed by Hermione, Ginny and Ron. She envelops me in a hug and seems close to tears. I feel a hand slip away from mine.

"Oh Harry! We were so worried about you! Where were you?"

I smile and for a second I don't see Mrs. Weasley's red hair, I see my mothers. "I'm okay. I just got a bit lost." I break from Mrs. Weasley's hug and add, "Sophia helped me find my way back, though."

"Who's Sophia?" Ron asks, looking utterly confused.

I turn around to find Sophia and see that she's not there. "What? She was just here," I say confused. I wonder if she apparated but I would've heard the crack. Also, I could tell she was too young to have passed her apparating test.

Ginny looks at me and says, "We didn't see anybody with you, Harry."

I frown and say, "Huh, that's strange."

"Oh well," Hermione juts in, obviously wanting to prevent an argument.

They're all so excited to see me they practically push me to the door. I look back to the end of the walkway, one last time. And I suddenly smell the faintest hint of lavender.

"Goodbye, Sophia," I whisper softly, knowing that she will never truly leave me.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Molly Weasley, Harry Potter, Sirius Black or Hermione Granger. J.K. Rowling does. However, the plot and Sophia Waterman belong to me.

A/N: Okay, now I'm pretty sure there won't be anymore chapters. Please review and I hope it isn't too confusing. I think I stuck just the right amount of hints in but I might be wrong.