!Remus! Lupin was now frantic, and personally, he thought his colleague, !Severus! Snape, looked ready to throw himself off of the North Astronomy Tower. Not that he was going to give the Potions Master any ideas...

The DADA professor was getting immensely worried about the other man. The Potions Master was slowly drawing into himself, breaking any contact from the outer world.

And then, there was Harry. He had disappeared to Merlin-Knows-Where, and no one knew when, or how, he was going to come back.

He sighed and distractedly began to eat his breakfast.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry wandered around the garden after Lily with Sirius and James right behind him.

"Harry," Lily said finally. "It's time for you to go back."

"Must I?" Harry pleaded."

"Yes, child, you must," Lily replied. "There are people who are waiting.

"Okay," Harry finally agreed sadly. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Remember, we will always be here for you," James said.

"Love you, Harry." Sirius' voice was soft as he pulled his godson into a final embrace.

"Love you too."

"Come with me, child," Lily said. Firmly holding his arm, he began to walk back down the road of nothingness. Harry didn't want to go, he wanted to stay in paradise. But he listened to his mother and walked next to her.

After walking for many hours, they reached a long river. The swirling water was every colour one could imagine and looked as if every jewel in the world had combined: lush emerald green, the colour of spring leaves; deep sapphire blue, more intense than the very ocean; a blazing shade of rich ruby red, the colour of fresh, autumn leaves; golden sunlight, erupting onto the surface of the water; the colour of the darkest shade of midnight; the swirling shade of rich, amethyst purple, the colour of royalty, noblity, and spirit; now a cloud of dark, crimson red, a sign of temper, passion, life, a fire within... And millions of other colours, too intense and beautiful to describe.

Harry stared, amazement shining in his eyes. "Mother, were are we?"

"This is the boundry between your world and mine," Lily said. She suddenly bent down and taking out a glass bottle, filled it with the water from the river. She handed it to Harry. "I'm afraid you must leave now. The water in this bottle has healing power and protection beyond belief. May it keep you safe. One drop is enough to heal one of any disease."

Harry's eyes widened. "Can it- can it revive someone who has been hit by the Avada Kedavra curse?"

Lily slowly nodded. "The water is able to revive one if they drink this within one week after the curse hits. After one week, nothing will help them. But do not waste it, dear child. The water only has so much power. To revive one person from the Avada Kedavra curse, it takes all the power from the bottle. The water will just become ordinary water. But," she added. "If the one you revive is one you truely love, then all the power in the world is worth it." Placing a kiss on Harry's forehead, she whispered, "Remember, we will always be here for you. Goodbye, Harry."

"Goodbye, mother." Tears streamed down Harry's cheek. Slowly and carefully, he crossed the river. Waving to the disappearing figure of his mother, he closed his eyes. He was going back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Harry opened his eyes, he found himself in the Potiosn dungeon, exactly where he had disappeared.

He felt extremely tired. The world was spinning around him, and pain shot up his body when he tried to stand.

Gripping the table, he forced himself to stand. !Severus!... His father's private quarters... he had to get there...

Step by step, he staggered towards his father's room. Up the stairs, down the corridors... He was almost there... one more step, just one more step.... there, he was right in front of the door now.

But his strength was failing him. Raising a hand, he managed to knock on the door before his legs collapsed underneath him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

!Severus! sat in his office, staring unseeingly at the wall. He wondered where Harry was right now, and when his son would come back...

His son. What an unfamiliar term. He had never thought he could live to use it. Yet Harry was indeed his son.

He had not realized how much Harry meant to him until the boy had disappeared the day before. The world had come crashing down around him as he realized that his son was gone. Only then did he truely understood that Harry, his flesh and blood, was his entire world.... nothing mattered other than the boy.

He was absentmindedly looking through a stack of Potions essays when he heard a knock on his door. Damn, probably Albus or !Remus!. "Come in," he called, expecting the door to burst open.

But nothing happend. Slowly, he got up and went to the door. "Hello?"

No answer. Raising his wand, he cautiously opened the door. And gasped. Dropping to his knees, he realized that the crumple heap on the floor was indeed his son, Harry.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron, Hermione, and Draco were walking out with the Mauraders for a game of Quidditch to get their minds off of what had happened when a black figure rushed towards them in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

"Oh, dear Merlin!" Hermione gasped as she saw the figure. "It's Professor Darkice... he has.... HARRY!" Her sentence ended in a scream as she followed the professor, dashing down the corridors, knocking down other students on the way.

Ron and Draco were right after her, and the Mauraders, having no idea what to do, followed.

By the time they reached the Hospital Wing, !Severus! had already gotten the nurse, Madam Lyra, to examine the boy.

"Ms. Pomfrey!" Madam Lyra called to her new helper. "Could you get some healing potion, dreamless sleep potion, and pain-killing potion?" Whipping out her wand, she began cleaning the many wounds Harry had recieved from the Death Eaters.

"Will he be alright?" Draco asked uncertainly.

"He's tired out right now, but he should be up and around in a few days."

After cleaning all of Harry's wounds and cuts, Madam Lyra shooed them all out of the Hospital Wing. "MY PATIENTS NEED THEIR REST!" She yelled at them, pushing them out the door.

"Now I know where Madame Pomfrey got her spirit from," Ron muttered as he was pushed into Lily by the nurse. "Let's get out of here before she kills us."

"Alright," Hermione said. "Hopefully, Harry'll be fine."

"Come on, let's play Quidditch!" Remus said, seeing the worried looks on the faces of Harry's friends.

"Yeah!" James called. "I'm Seeker!"

"Same here!"

"I'm Beater!"

Trying to forget their worries and sorrows, they ran onto the pitch and began to play.