I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters and I certainly don't make any money off my stories. Enjoy.

Missing

Chapter 2

I am staring at Hermione like she has two heads. I cannot comprehend what I have just heard and I can feel myself starting to hyperventilate. My breathing is labored and my palms are beginning to sweat.

"Are you sure?" I ask quietly. Hermione moves and sits on the seat next to me; she grabs my hand.

"Well, the investigator is certain and the only way we'll know for sure is if we go and see for ourselves." Hermione says softly and with determination. She seems already set on going to the States and finding out the truth.

"I…I need a minute, please" I say as I stand up in a haste, knocking Hermione back a little at my sudden movement. "Can you watch Penelope for me for a few minutes." I do not give Hermione time to respond as I move quickly to the bedroom.

I shut the door a little too hard and sit on the bed. My whole body is trembling at this point. Harry, my soulmate, is alive? Alive and in a hospital in the States….alone. I need to go to him.

I stand up and quickly fumble to my closet. I grab a bag and start throwing clothes into it; hastily shoving everything I will need into it. I move to the bathroom and grab some things from there as well. I catch my reflection in the mirror and it makes me stop for a second.

I look disheveled. My eyes look tired and I look like I have aged years in just mere minutes. I turned on the facet and splashed some water on my face to loosen up my appearance. Once done, I walk back into the bedroom and sit back on the bed for a moment wondering if going is the right decision.

I hear a knock on the door a few minutes later and I reply with a soft, "come in".

I see Penelope poke her head in, "Papa?"

"Yes, Pumpkin."

"Papa, why is Auntie Hermione here in her pajamas?"

"Come here, Penelope." She runs towards me and climbs into my lap. I grab her and hug her tight.

"Penelope, Auntie Hermione is here because she has some important information regarding your daddy." I tell her softly.

I will not lie to my daughter; she has been told almost everything about Harry's disappearance since the beginning. She knew Harry was going on a mission and that he went missing and no one could find him. She doesn't know what the mission was about, but she knew her daddy and I got into a fight about this particular mission a few weeks before Harry left. She also knows that they have stopped actively looking for him for about six months now.

Penelope turns in my arms and grabs my face, "Daddy? What about daddy?"

"Auntie Hermione has hired a muggle private investigator and he believes he has found your daddy in the States"

"Daddy has been found! Let's go to him! Come on, Papa!" Penelope jumps out of my arms and starts tugging on my hands to get up and start moving.

"Pumpkin, it is not that simple," I say as I pull her back onto the bed and into my lap and hug her.

"Papa, why is it not simple? If Daddy is alive, we must go to him! Why are you not getting up, this is important!?" Penelope is starting to get hysterical in my arms and all I can do is hold her tighter as I find the words that need to be said.

"Penelope, the States are very far away and we have no solid proof that this is your daddy. I do not want to get our hopes up if this ends up not being true. We must tread softly here, my sweet girl."

"Papa, we must go to the States to find out if it is daddy! That is the only way we can know for sure!"

"You are right, that is true, but I am not sure we both are ready nor prepared for what might be waiting for us there. You must remember that we do not know for certain this is your daddy and we have no idea what kind of state he will be in when we get there."

"But we must go, Papa! We must find out!"

I look up before I answer her and I see Hermione standing in the doorway with a sad look on her face. She and I both know that Penelope is right and we need to go to the States and find out if Harry really has been found. I make eye contact with Hermione and she nods her head at me. She is telling me we need to go.

"Okay, Pumpkin, we can go, but there are going to be some ground rules, understood?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Why don't you go in the kitchen and clean off the table while I talk to Auntie Hermione, okay?"

Penelope hops off my lap and bounces towards the kitchen. This is the first time in almost a year that I have seen some light shine in her eyes. I hope I am not making a mistake in telling her all this and allowing her to come with us. My palms are beginning to sweat again and my knee is bouncing now.

Hermione comes to sit next to me and starts talking.

"She is right, you know. You will have to go there in order to know for sure."

"I know, but I am scared. And worried about what this will do to both Penelope and I if this turns out to not be Harry. I mean, if it is Harry, we have no idea what state he is in or if he…" I trailed off because I was getting choked up and could not talk anymore.

Hermione reaches for my hand and squeezes it, "But if you do not go, you will never know and that will eat at you for always, Severus. It is better to know than to imagine what could have been."

Hermione is right. "What about Penelope? Do you think it is a mistake to allow her to come with me?"

"No, Severus, I do not. She has missed her daddy just as much as you and you do not keep secrets from her. She is very mature for her age and that is because of you and Harry. She can take it, do not worry. You both have each other to lean on."

"Will you come with us, Hermione?"

"Absolutely! Ron and I both will come. We are all in this together and will be until the end."

"Thank you, Hermione. I am not sure I want Penelope to go to the hospital at first. I want to make sure it is Harry first and assess his condition before she sees him."

"Yes, I agree. Ron can watch her and keep her busy while we go to the hospital."

I squeeze Hermione's hand that is holding mine and give her a small smile. We both stand up and make our way to the kitchen where Penelope is finishing cleaning up. She smiles when she sees us come in.

"Are we leaving today, Papa?" Penelope asks with hope in her voice. Hope. This is what I am worried about; false hope. I cannot imagine what this will do to Penelope and myself if this person in the States is not Harry.

I beckon Penelope to sit down at the kitchen table. I bend down on one knee in front of her and push some of her long red hair behind her ear. I say to her, "Penelope, please understand that you have to look at this situation with two possible outcomes. One good outcome and one not so good. We may see Daddy in the States, but it may also not be Daddy. Do you understand, Pumpkin?"

"I understand, Papa, but I know we are going to see Daddy again. I just know it!"

I stand up and move to get some hot tea for myself. I feel like I need something stronger but it is only 9am in the morning.

"Papa, when are we leaving?"

I look to Hermione and then to Penelope, "Tomorrow, Auntie Hermione and I need to get some things in order before we can go." I see her face drop and I put my tea down to console her.

"We cannot just leave at the drop of a hat, Pumpkin. I need to get some work in order at the shop and Auntie Hermione and Uncle Ron need to take care of work and other obligations too. Be patient, we will leave first thing in the morning."

"Okay, Papa, I will go pack now!" Penelope gets up and heads towards her bedroom. I hear the door shut and I slump into a chair at the kitchen table.

Hermione also sits at the table and tells me, "I will get in touch with the muggle private investigator and get the details. Ron and I will take care of work at the Ministry and get packed to go in the morning. Can we meet at 8am here?"

"Yes, that sounds good. I will make the necessary transportation accommodations."

Hermione gets up to leave and I grab her sleeve, "Hermione, thank you for not giving up on Harry."

"Never, Severus. We will see you in the morning." Hermione is gone in a second and I sit here for a few minutes, sipping my tea and contemplating all that just happened in the last hour.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Next Day, 8am

Everything is packed, more properly this time, and ready to go. Penelope, Ron, and Hermione are in the living room, waiting for me to join them so we can leave for the States.

I am in the bedroom, sitting on Harry's side of the bed, holding a picture of the three of us on Harry and I's wedding day. Harry was looking beautiful that day; all smiles and looking dashing in his suit. Penelope was in her pink dress standing in front of Harry and I in this picture, she is looking up at the two of us, while we are holding her hands above her head. Harry and I are looking down at Penelope, all of us with smiles on our faces and holding hands. It is a magical picture.

This is my favorite picture of us and I hope we will get more pictures like this one in the future. I touch my hand to Harry in the picture and whisper, "I am coming, love, it won't be long now" I put the picture back in its spot on Harry's nightstand and leave the room to meet the others so we can leave.

Penelope and I are on the way, Harry.

-Lovetoreadseverusdotcom