Harry missed his family. He couldn't believe it. For so long, Harry had toyed with the idea of wishing his family was gone. And in a fit of what must have been accidental magic, he made his family disappear.

At first, it had been fun living on his own.

Even setting up the booby traps and outsmarting the "Death Eaters" was fun. But now that Harry was on day two of no family, he missed them. He never realized how appreciative he was for someone to coordinate his schedule. His parents told him when to wake up, when to eat and when to clean up. Making those decisions felt like chores on top of the chore of doing it.

Plus, now every chore felt impossible. He had to think of when to do them. And he couldn't even share the workload with his siblings.

This wasn't fun anymore.

Harry knew he needed to get his family back. He debated with himself on the best next step, and he decided that he would have to go to the Wizarding Christkindlmarket. He could get in front of Santa and also see some of the famous runemasters. If there was anyone who could grant wishes, it would have to be Santa. And, if there was anyone who could undo what he did to his family - it would be the runemasters.

Before he left, Harry reset all his booby traps and added a few extra ones. Then he went to Rose and Raven's room. They had a shed under their second-floor window that made for easy in and out when someone didn't want to be detected. Harry didn't think they had discovered it yet, but when it used to be Arthur's room, he used it all the time.

After Harry jumped down, he moved the hose reel far away from the shed. While he had used it to climb down from the top of the shed, he didn't want to leave anything the 'Death Eaters' could use behind.

Harry went to the market and got in line to meet with Santa. His eyes darted around quickly. This market was stunning and the use of magic everywhere gave him a feeling of gentle chaos.

"Next!" A person dressed up as a reindeer called out. Harry shook his head. He had missed how much time had passed.

"Now, what could a young wizard like yourself want?" Santa asked.

"Santa, I need your help. I need my family back." Harry insisted.

"Back? Where has your family gone? My reindeer can get an announcement read out to call your family to you." Santa sounded serious.

"No! My wish for my family to disappear was granted. I need you to reverse it." Harry said.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense. Magic doesn't work that way. There's no spell that could do that." Santa was shaking his head.

"Of course, magic doesn't work that way. This wasn't a spell. It was accidental magic. You know this big guy."

"Oh, ho, ho, ho, I don't know about that. I'm sure your parents are just around the corner and will be happy to be reunited with you." Santa said.

A wizard dressed as a reindeer from behind Santa leaned down to whisper in his ear. Harry, sitting on the man's lap, heard him easily. "Greg, you just need to last five more minutes, then your shift is up. Wrap it up!"

Wait. Greg? Shift? Was this not the real Santa? Harry was being tricked. Of course Greg wouldn't understand, he wasn't actually Santa.

"Ugh," Harry scoffed in disgust. "I'm leaving."

"Disturbed kid," The man pretending to be Santa muttered as Harry walked away.

Kicking a rock in the path in front of him, Harry was dejected. He wanted his family back and he wanted them back now. Even if they didn't really care for him, he cared for them. Okay, that wasn't fair. His family may get on his nerves, but they did show their care for him in other ways.

"Harry, my boy!" A husky voice called out.

"Uh, Mrs. Bagshot." Harry stammered. "How nice to see you!"

She harrumphed. "Did you know that your father sent me a Patronus the other day? He is worried about you home alone by yourself. He asked me to check in on you. I went to your house, but they must have left some strange warding up. I couldn't get close."

"Oh, um, I-I'm not sure," Harry was starting to sweat. "Wait, my father? What other day? Was it two days before today?" It was suddenly clicking. If it was more than a day ago, it would have been before the wish. But if it was yesterday … maybe his family wasn't as gone as he'd thought.

"I can't keep track of the days as easily anymore." She shook her head and waved her hand in the air dismissively. "It was recently. But, Harry, my boy, wouldn't you rather come stay with me while we wait for him and the rest of your family to get back?"

She nudged his shoulder and started leading him toward the famous runemasters.

Harry was tempted … but the Death Eaters. They were still trying to break in. He had to protect the house.

"I don't know," Harry hedged.

"Oh, at least come look at the runemasters with me before you decide," Bathilda said. Harry followed her easily — he wanted to go there next anyway.

The runemasters were putting on a show by drawing runes in the air to cause stunning magical effects. The fire rune exploded into a puff of fire in front of their faces. They had stopped behind the safety rope.

Harry knew why he wanted to see the runemasters, but he was surprised Bathilda wanted to as well.

"Why did you want to see the runemasters?" Harry asked.

"Do you see that man there with the golden hair?" Bathilda asked.

"I think so," Harry stood on his tiptoes to get a better look. There was a man Harry could just make out that matched that description. But his face made him look a little bat-like.

"That's my grand nephew. Named for his father, Gellert is a master runescrafter." Bathilda said with a dejected sigh. Actually, Harry could see the resemblance between the family — and the animal.

"That's wonderful! I'll wave him down and he can join us." Harry started to wave his hand like crazy.

"Stop that right now." Bathilda's voice had a bite to it.

Harry ceased at once. "Sorry." Harry's voice was barely a whisper.

"No, I'm sorry. I've been estranged from my nephew and his family ever since they decided to support blood supremacists. I'm not sure that he even knows I exist. He was born after my nephew cut me off. But, by all reports, Gellert has rejected his father's ideology. I just … I can't seem to summon my courage to go meet him." She turned to Harry in a daze, as if she just realized that she was confessing to a ten-year-old, Bathilda jerked. "Don't worry your little head about it. The situation will work out."

"Why don't we go talk to Gellert?" Harry asked. "I have some questions for the runemasters anyway."

Bathilda didn't look convinced.

"We don't have to tell him who you are. But I'd like to get his advice on something."

"Well, I guess that's alright then. Let's go!" Bathilda seemed rejuvenated with this new plan in place.

James was thankful to be rid of Elphias — "Call me Elph!" — now, James could finally apparate the rest of the way home. Returning the magic carpet to the Godric's Hollow location, James ran outside and immediately apparated home. Only to find a completely trashed and empty house.

Why was the toaster in front of the door? Was that Lily's copper wire? What on Earth was going on here?

The laundry room was in shambles, the wardstone was a mess, and the front hall was a disaster zone. The floor was littered with obstacles - were those LEGO toys? James had to step carefully to avoid hurting himself. James frantically (and carefully) searched the house for Harry. Only he wasn't there.

Oh Merlin. Did Harry run away? Did he think that his family abandoned him? Okay, deep breath. Before James spiraled, he paused to take a deep breath. Using his wand, James confirmed that Harry had still been in the house this morning. He'd even … James tried not to choke up as he looked at the Christmas tree and decorations. Harry had set up for the holiday alone.

James needed to find his son, and he needed to find him now. With the portkey that he had gotten Lily and the rest of the kids, they'd be home tonight. James had hours to find his son.

"WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" A furious voice called out from the front door. "You little menace. We're breaking in and there's nothing you can do to stop us this time."

James barely had time to feel threatened before the front door rattled. But it didn't budge. Thankfully. Wait, was that, Snape's voice?

Knowing there could be no good reason that Snape was trying to break into his house, James moved quickly. Bending down to the floo network hook-up, James immediately called the Aurors. They could sort that out. Maybe they would also help him find his son.

A/N:

Do I actually remember the plot of Home Alone? Vaguely. Kinda. Sorta. LOL - I'm just going off vibes and wine at this point. Hope you're still having fun.