Harry's pain didn't come from his scar, no, his pain came from his inside and it almost felt like someone was crushing his heart.
He just lay there, staring at the ceiling of the dormitory.
Tomorrow he would return to the Dursleys, and just the thought of it made Harry feel nauseous.
He didn't want to go back. After everything that had happened, he just couldn't go back.
After his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had thought that maybe something had changed, but he had been wrong. It was almost even worse than before. All that had served as comfort was the fact that there was another world. A world in which people didn't hurt him or hate him. A world where people loved him.
But that was the problem.
Last summer, he hadn't received any letters from his friends. Of course they had written to him and of course Harry knew that Dobby had hidden the letters to help, but that didn't help him get rid of his fear.
Lost in thought, he slipped out of his bed and crept down to the common room. He pulled his dressing gown tighter around him to at least get some comfort.
The fire was still crackling, bathing the room in a faint red glow.
Harry never wanted to feel as lonely as he had the summer before. He never wanted to be-
"Harry?"
He whirled around in surprise and saw Ron coming down the stairs.
He yawned loudly and looked worried. "Trouble sleeping?"
Harry nodded.
"Nightmares? Because of the chamber? I have them too. " Ron admitted. "Because of Ginny. But the nightmares about the giant spiders are even worse." Ron shuddered and Harry couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from shooting up slightly.
He sighed. "I wish it was the chamber," he said, rubbing his forehead in thought. It wasn't that his scar was hurting, but touching his forehead had become such a normal motion when he felt pain, that he did it out of habit.
Ron raised his eye brows in surprise. "Then it must be something really bad, right?"
"It's nearly the summer holidays," Harry decided to say and he could practically see understanding spread across Ron's face.
"You have to go back to the muggles." he said, nodding. "Right."
"And last time there- " Harry paused. "I don't think it'll happen again, but it was so bad last time. Without your letters, without any reassurance that everything about this world was truely real. I never want to be alone like that again Ron."
Ron stepped forward and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You're not alone Harry. You've got me and Hermione and my brothers and Dad and especially Mum. If I don't hear from you this time, I'll get you out of there right away."
"Although-" he grimaced a little. "Then I guess I'll have to find out how these train things work, the ones that are in those tunnels."
"You mean underground trains?" Harry asked, smiling slightly.
"Exactly. Dad told me about them once and that he'd love to drive to work with them, but Mum always tells him it's too much trouble and he should apparate instead," Ron said. "But it's not that important now, I promise never to wait that long again, Harry."
And Harry felt somehow lighter now, as if an extremely heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There was still something there, but now it felt as if he didn't have to carry it alone.
And then he realised: this was what it felt like to have a family!
Ron pulled Harry into a huge hug. "Don't worry Harry, we're all here."
And in that moment, Harry had no doubt that that was the truth. He was never going to be alone again, not as long as he had his friends. And he was sure they would stand by his side until the end.