Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters.

I do not do this for reviews, just for the love of writing.

I looked around at the rubble and ruins of the Great Hall in the great castle I had once called home. Walking through this door once nearly 8 years ago, I remember feeling excited, and like I had come home. Now, all I felt was sorrow, and exhaustion.

I had been sitting in the same position for what felt like hours, but in reality it had only been a matter of minutes. In front of me was the worst thing I could possibly imagine. My father was dead. As was my stepmother. All I could think of was my poor baby brother at home, who would never know his parents, and that, in all truth was the greatest tragedy.

Going into this war, I was like all other young people. I put up a front of confidence, and positivity, but deep down inside I was a scared little girl. And now at the end of it all, all that was left was the scared little girl. A girl who had just lost her father.

A great many other people had been lost also. Fred Weasley, my best friend. Colin Creevy, the weird kid who wouldn't stop following Harry around in second year. He was still underage, and he had bravely given his life for the rest of us.

My thoughts move swiftly to the one person that I needed with me right now, but he wasn't. We were on opposite sides of a war, and to be together would be dangerous. We've always known that, yet somehow, we couldn't stay away.

My name is Leah Lupin, and I have just fought in a great battle that ended the Second Wizarding War. I have lost my best friend, my father and in some ways, my love. To understand how it got to this point, I'm going to take you back to the beginning, back to the simpler time. Oh how I wish we could have stayed there.

When I had just turned 11, an owl delivered a letter through my bedroom window. Now, owl's delivering the post was a normal sight in our home. But this was no normal letter It was my acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We had known this day would come for a long time. I was a very excited child, so all I could do was run down to my father.

'Daddy! Daddy! Look what came with the owl!' I cried as I ran into the kitchen. The scene was a normal one, my father sitting at our table, sipping his coffee with the Daily Prophet open in his hands.

'What's the sweetheart?' He asked putting the paper down.

'My Hogwarts letter!' I said happily as I climbed on his lap.

He quietly read it over my shoulder and when he was done he wrapped his arms around me and said 'We had better get going to Diagon Alley then!'

It was the most exciting morning of my life. The dream of every child growing up in the wizarding world was to receive their Hogwarts letter and I had finally gotten mine!

Our trip to Diagon Alley was also quite exciting to me. This was the day I would meet my two future best friends, Fred and George Weasley.

My father had let me go off on my own for a while when we reached Flourish and Blotts, him knowing my love of reading. As I was perusing the shelves, I heard a voice pipe up behind me.

'You don't want to waste your time reading. Causing mischief however, is a much better use of time'

I turned and found a tall, freckled, ginger lad behind me.

'I suppose that's what you do with your time then' I asked.

'Of course. Nothing better to do.' He grinned at me. At that point, another boy popped his head round the corner of the bookshelf.

'I happen to agree you know'

'Merlin! There's two of you!' I exclaimed before thinking.

They just grinned and ran off. I never learned their names.

Finally the day came that I would be going to Hogwarts. And I hadn't slept a wink. And not from excitement. I was suddenly nervous. At the station when I hugged my father goodbye, I almost didn't let go. He just laughed and pushed me onto the train. And that's where I saw my ginger friends again.

'Hey look! Its the girl who would rather read' One of them said.

'And it's the boys who would rather be in detention' I said back.

'Oh I like this one' The other one said. 'The name's George. And this idiot over here is Fred'

'I'm Leah'

The rest of the train journey was uneventful. Except for a bushy haired girl asking if we'd seen a toad.

At the end of the train journey, I had to say goodbye to Fred and George and meet up with the rest of the first years. I shared a boat with the bushy haired girl from before who I learned was called Hermione, Fred and George's little brother Ron and a nervous looking boy called Harry.

As we were waiting to go in, Harry was accosted by a rather sharp looking, pale, blonde boy who introduced himself as Draco Malfoy. I decided in that moment that I would avoid him.

Finally we were let in and the sorting began. Draco went to Slytherin-typical- while Hermione, Ron and Harry got sorted into Gryffindor.

'Leah Lupin' Finally my turn.

'Hmmm. Just like your father it seems. It can only be...GRYFFINDOR'

And that's where the real adventures start.