In a place and time far removed from the beautiful forest of Lothlorien, an old and drafty castle stood. It was alive with the sound of young voices making their way from their various dormitories to the eating hall near the entrance to the great edifice.

Well, that is all but four students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were eagerly looking forward to the leaving feast that Hogwarts was famous for. School was over for another year and tomorrow they would be boarding a gleaming red steam engine to take them home to their families.

The four students in question were eagerly looking on an ancient piece of parchment in the hopes they could find the friend they knew was in a lot of pain.

“Ron. Harry is definitely not on the map, we really should report that he is no longer in the castle to Professor Dumbledore, now,” Hermione urged yet again.

“But Hermione, he had his wand and invisibility cloak with him. If he was intending to leave he would have taken his trunk and Hedwig, he would never leave without her,” Ron reasoned, trying not to entertain the obvious conclusion.

“Yeah, and if he had been taken they would not have allowed him to keep his wand and cloak,” Neville added.

“Wait a moment; I don’t see the Chamber of Secrets or the Room of Requirement on the map,” Ginny, who had been studying the map again, exclaimed.

“Ok, let’s split up. Ginny and Neville, you check the Room of Requirement. Ron and I will take the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.” Hermione once again took command. “We’ll meet back here in the entrance hall. If you find Harry, Ginny, you stay nearby but don’t lecture him. Neville can come find us.”

Ron and Hermione made their way to Moaning MyrtleÂ’s bathroom, where they found Myrtle reading on the high window sill at the end of the room.

“Finally come to thank me for helping Harry have you. Well I am not interested,” she pouted at them.

“Myrtle, I am sure Harry has thanked you for helping him. Talking of Harry, have you seen him today?” Hermione replied curtly.

“No, I haven’t seen him since he used the Prefect’s bathroom.” At this point if it had been possible for a ghost to blush, Myrtle would have been; still, there was a wicked grin on her face. “I can’t wait to see that boy all grown up,” she declared wistfully.

It was Ron and Hermione’s turn to blush, before Ron managed to get out. “If you see him, don’t tell him we were looking for him, just suggest he gets along to the leaving feast. If he does show up could you send Nearly Headless Nick to let us know?” The ghost nodded before returning to her book. “Um, thanks Myrtle,” Ron added.

As the two were leaving the bathroom, Ron had another idea. “Dobby, can you come here, please.” An excited house elf appeared in front of him.

“Youse sent for Dobby, Harry Potter’s Weasey? Do you wish a snack before the feast?”

Ron hesitated a moment before remembering why he had summoned the little being in front of him. “Dobby can you get into the Chamber of Secrets and see if Harry Potter is there?”

Without another word Dobby disappeared with a pop and returned in an instant, “Nobody down there, Sir. Are you sure I canÂ’t get Harry Potter’s Weasey anything else?”

At this point Hermione decided to save time and answered for Ron. “No, thanks Dobby, you have been a great help already.” With a sigh she put her hand on Ron’s shoulder and pushed him towards the door.

Neville and Ginny were waiting in the entrance and both shook their heads in defeat as the other two approached. However, before they reached him, Neville made his way to the doors of the Great Hall and stuck his head in. He noticed that Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster were not there although the hall was almost full, so they probably would arrive shortly.

He returned to his companions in time to hear Ginny ask, “What do you think, should we go to Dumbledore’s office or wait for him to come down to the feast?”

“Well, my young students, I believe that point is somewhat moot since I am now here.” Professor Albus Dumbledore looked at each young person with his twinkling blue eyes.

“Sir, we can’t find Harry. I don’t think his bed was slept in and he took his cloak and wand, but left everything else, including Hedwig, in the dorm. We checked the map and he is nowhere in the school,” Ron blurted out at great speed.

“Slow down there, young Weasley. Are you saying he could have been missing for nearly twenty-four hours? Why has he not been with you, his friends?” The Headmaster tried to remain calm for the sake of his students.

“Er… well you see he has become a bit withdrawn since the Department of Magic. He’s hardly hung around us or talked to us. He seemed preoccupied while Ron and I were in the hospital wing. He’s only been to see Hagrid once, but apparently couldn’t wait to get out of there,” Hermione explained sadly.

Ginny continued thoughtfully, “I don’t know where he has been going, but he seems to prefer his own company. Every time he looks at us, his face clouds over and his eyes become veiled. It’s almost as though he can’t stand the sight of us, as though being in the same room hurts him.”

“Very well, there is nothing more you can do for now, why don’t you join the rest of your classmates at the feast. It will be easier to search the castle while everyone is at the feast.” Dumbledore went ahead of them to open the doors to the Great Hall.

“Sir, we have checked the castle and even if Harry was wearing his father’s invisibility cloak the map would have been able to see him. The only places it doesn’t show are not in the grounds. We haven’t checked the Shrieking Shack although I don’t know why he’d want to go there,” Ron continued.

“I do, it has a strong connection to Sirius for him, and it would be the perfect place to grieve,” Hermione suddenly interjected.

“I will arrange for someone to check it while you are at the feast. As soon as I know something, I’ll give you a nod or shake of the head. Will that put your minds at rest?” Dumbledore said gently, well aware how much Harry’s friends cared about him and that he owed them that much.

The headmaster returned to his office and pulled out a piece of parchment and quill from his desk and quickly scribbled a note, before folding it and calling his faithful phoenix Fawkes to him. “Take this message to Order Headquarters and go with them.”

As he tied the note to the magnificent birdÂ’s foot, he kept hoping that this would be the answer to HarryÂ’s disappearance. But as the phoenix disappeared in a flash of fire, he knew in his heart that there was more to it than that. He was now very concerned for HarryÂ’s state of mind, if he couldnÂ’t even face his friends anymore. It occurred to him that he really hadnÂ’t stopped to think that Harry could need help to come to terms with the prophecy and SiriusÂ’ death. He assumed that Harry would go to his friends for comfort.

Turning his thoughts back to the problem at hand he decided he had better put in an appearance at the Leaving Feast; otherwise the rest of the student body would become suspicious.

So he headed back downstairs and went through his prepared speech about Voldemort and awarded the House Cup. It was nearing the end of the feast when Fawkes appeared behind the staff table. Dumbledore moved back from the table to take the note from his avian companion. He glanced at it quickly, before looking sadly at the Gryffindor table where four sets of eyes were watching him. He slowly shook his head and those four sets of eyes now stared glumly at the lavish table lost in their own thoughts.

As soon as the feast was over, Dumbledore quickly made his way to his office, where he pulled down an ancient looking instrument. It looked slightly like a crystal ball but etched on the outside was a series of numbers and letters which upon closer inspection turned out to be a clear crystal globe of the world.

The old wizard tapped it gently with his wand while muttering an incantation. He peered at the globe when he had finished and was shocked to find absolutely nothing had happened. Hoping that he had got the incantation wrong he went over to the bookshelf where the globe was kept and pulled down a tome that seemed as ancient as the instrument. Leafing through he found the page he was looking for as it had been marked years ago. This time he tapped the instrument and read the incantation direct from the book.

When again nothing happened, he sat down heavily in the armchair near the fire. Reluctantly he had to accept the truth. It seemed that Harry Potter was nowhere on this earth.