Solitude
"Harry!"
I gasped, opened my eyes, and looked around wildly. I faintly caught images of people, whom looked familiar, but I wasn't so sure, I was too preoccupied with my erratic thoughts.
'Where is he?' I questioned over and over, as if it were my own personal mantra.
My heart was pounding and I was so terribly confused. Why wasn't he here?
"Harry!"
I whipped my head in the direction of the voice and saw….Remus? Yes…. Remus……Remus was…..Remus….he was standing next to me….that was odd. So was it all just a dream?
'Was he just all a dream?' I thought mournfully.
As I was reliving all the moments I could remember, Remus grabbed my chin and forced me to look upwards. While I was staring into his eyes, all my memories of the mysterious man were slowing fading and withering away from my subconscious. I felt my mind try to fight it; I was scouring every imaginable corner of my mind for a flicker of the familiarity of his touch, but I found nothing…absolutely nothing.
My body began relaxing; my heart hummed quietly, and my breathing returned to normal.
I brought my attention back to the 'staring' contest I was apparently participating in with Remus. He was staring so deeply into my eyes; as if searching for some unknown answer.
'What are you trying to see, Remy?' I thought miserably.
My mind was blank, he wasn't going to find anything in me, and knowing that I couldn't help Remus was eating away at me.
Suddenly, Remus nodded his head, kissed my cheek, and leaned in and whispered, "Welcome back to the world, Harry."
"When did I leave?" I asked him seriously.
He cracked a small smile and I heard someone bark a laugh in the background. I turned my head to left to see Ron chuckling softly even after Hermione had given him a death glare that clearly said, "Now is not the time Ronald." When she realized I was looking at them the death glare immediately vanished and was replaced with a bitter sweet smile. I could tell she was glad to see me and at the same time she was very much concerned about me…but why should she be concerned?
My curiosity slowly left me when Ron questioned if I was about ready to go. I nodded and told him that my bags were right behind him and that Hedwig had gone ahead.
"Ah, yes Harry. As we were leaving headquarters we saw her arrive safely. If I'm not mistaken, Molly is still likely to be trying to fatten her up." He said with a cheery smile. "Are you ready to leave Privet Drive?" He questioned.
Without hesitation I replied, "Merlin, yes!" That earned some laughs and as I looked around at the three happy faces I realized that this is what it must feel like to be a part of something…..part of a family.
However, as we were descending down the stairs of the Vernon residence I couldn't shake the feeling of missing something…I was alone and I didn't like it one bit.