Chapter 1:

Isabelle set her wand down on her bed, her dark brown hair in a messy, high bun, her face covered in dirt. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead exhaustedly and stared blankly at the blood that came off. Her blood? Someone else's? She didn't know. She couldn't feel any pain.

She stared at the wand on the bed. It had scratches and was chipped at the end, a sign of wear. Aunt Elise always said that a worn wand is a winning wand; a phrase that had only been proven true for Isabelle earlier that night when she and her fellow wizards had finally won the Great Battle. Voldemort was gone for good, thanks to Harry Potter.

Harry. The boy who lived. The prophecy boy she had been taught about her whole life by her aunt. It seemed unreal that she had even had the chance to attend the same school as him, let alone fight alongside him. They had never spoken, but Isabelle had always felt a strange connection to the boy with the lightning scar.

Maybe it was because one of his best friends – and Isabelle's roommate – Hermione Granger, was like her. Both Isabelle and Hermione had muggle parents, and had bonded over their shared characteristic many times throughout the years. Hermione had spoken about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley so often that although she had not officially met them, she felt like she knew them through all of the stories of their adventures together.

Isabelle tilted her head to the side, still staring at the wand. How had she managed to gather up the courage to face and defeat Death Eaters, but could not manage to make more than two friends at a school that she had been attending for seven years? How had she attended the same school as Harry Potter, in the same Hogwarts house, and not even introduced herself once? Weren't Gryffindors supposed to have courage?

She sighed and tore her gaze away from the bed, turning her gaze toward the small mirror on her dresser. You-Know-Who was gone, his army of Death Eaters defeated. But something was still missing.

Isabelle took a deep breath. "Stop it," she whispered. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You are supposed to be celebrating!" She bit her lip. You are going to leave this room and celebrate with everyone, Iz. You are.

"Hey, Iz!" A voice came from the open door of the dorm room. Hermione. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"M-me?" Isabelle blinked.

"Yes! Why aren't you in the great hall with all of the other students?"

"Oh, you know, I just had to change and wash up…" Isabelle trailed off. Hermione rolled her eyes and marched closer to Isabelle, towering over her slightly. She crossed her arms.

"Isabelle Rose, you need to stop being so afraid to be out in the world! You just helped defeat the Dark Lord. I think you can come downstairs and celebrate with us for a few minutes."

"But –"

"I'm not taking no for an answer!" Hermione gently grabbed Isabelle's arm, tugging it slightly. "Come on, we can start off light. Let me introduce you to Ron."

Hermione started walking, Isabelle in tow. Her hair was a mess and she had cuts and dirt all over her face and arms. She had bags under her eyes from exhaustion, but she was still beautiful. Isabelle suddenly felt self-conscious. She swiftly undid her hair and felt it cascade over her shoulders. She caught up with Hermione's tired march and the two girls walked side-by-side.

"How's Ron doing?" Isabelle asked.

Hermione sighed sadly, "He's still in shock. It's nothing compared to George, though. He's completely lost without Fred and it's only been a few hours." She sniffled.

Isabelle nodded gloomily. She couldn't even bear the thought of losing her brother. Louis was three years younger than her, and a muggle. Thinking about him just made her miss him terribly. The whole battle made Isabelle extremely grateful for her family – even her mother, whom she never really got along with. While her father was extremely supportive of Isabelle studying at Hogwarts, her mother never truly understood. She figured it was because her father's sister, Aunt Elise, was a wizard, so he knew how to handle it better than her mother did.

They had finally arrived at the Great Hall and Hermione spotted Ron sitting alone on the floor. Seeing his tear-stained face made Isabelle's heart ache.

Hermione left Isabelle's side and set herself on the floor across from Ron. She reached out gently with her hand and stroked his cheek. Isabelle stood awkwardly. She felt as if she were intruding on a very private moment.

As if she could read her mind, Hermione tore her gaze away from Ron to shoot Isabelle an apologetic look. She gestured for her to sit on the ground next to her, and Isabelle obliged cautiously.

"Ron, this is Isabelle," Hermione started. "Isabelle, this is Ron."

Ron looked up at Isabelle and smiled halfheartedly. "Well, it's about time we finally met. Hermione talks about you all the time."

Isabelle blushed. "Likewise."

Ron smiled a bit wider. "A bit shy are we?"

Isabelle's lower lip jutted out slightly and Ron gave a low chuckle. "Don't listen to him, Iz. He's just being a jerk, as always." Hermione teased, nudging him slightly.

The way Ron looked at Hermione put a lump in Isabelle's throat. He looked at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world, as if he was trying to drink her in before she disappeared forever. She wondered if she would ever feel that way about someone. She wondered if she even wanted to.

Ever since she was a little girl and her aunt first recognized that she was a wizard, Isabelle had had never-ending ambition and drive. She did nothing but study and practice magic, hence the reason why she had no friends. Her goal was to one day be a professor and, eventually, the headmaster at Hogwarts. While ambitious for some, Isabelle was always striving for greater.

Love had never been a part of her plan. However, like every teenage girl, she did dream. She had a vision of a tall, dark-haired man holding her, trailing kisses down her forehead to her cheeks and then, finally, her lips. She had never even kissed a boy. The idea of love seemed impossible for her busy life.

But watching Ron and Hermione gave her a pang in her heart. It wasn't until Hermione talked about him that she realized what she was truly missing out on.

She was pulled out of her trance by Ron asking her a question, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I was just asking if you wanted some Butterbeer." He replied.

"Oh, no thanks! I can't stay for long, I should head to bed soon."

Ron laughed. "Wow, you're even more of a buzzkill than Hermione." Hermione swatted his arm lightly and Isabelle laughed nervously.

"Trust me, if you think I'm bad with my studies, you should see Izzy when she has a potions test. I've never seen anyone go without blinking for so long." Hermione teased. She wasn't wrong. Isabelle dedicated her entire life to her studies at Hogwarts, and she wasn't ashamed of it.

"Well at least wait for Harry to get back. He's doing an interview for The Daily Prophet, he would love to meet you." Ron tried to convince her.

"I'm sure with all of this excitement meeting me would be the last thing on his mind." Isabelle said quietly, but she stayed nonetheless.

She looked around, taking in the scene. She saw people crying – tears of relief and loss, of happiness and heartache. She thought of all of the brave wizards they had lost in the war and tried not to imagine how their loved ones had felt in that moment. She reckoned it felt like losing, even though they had supposedly won.

Ron looked as if he hadn't genuinely smiled in months. Hermione's eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks tearstained. Isabelle thought of the amount of time they had spent out in the woods together. She did not know what had happened to them, but whatever happened had changed them. This was not the Hermione she had known all these years. This Hermione was tired and lost. She was haunted by whatever she had encountered the past few months, what she had had to do.

A shiver ran down Isabelle's spine. It was over now, that is what mattered. Except, for a lot of people it wasn't over. The losses would haunt them forever, especially the loss of innocence. She had heard that Hermione erased herself from her parents' lives completely and couldn't even imagine having to do the same. She truly was the strongest person Isabelle knew.

"Here he comes." She heard Hermione say.

He?

Then she saw him. His hair messy and brushed across his forehead, his glasses worn and his green eyes tired. His clothes were dirty and he looked as if he had not showered in days.

Isabelle couldn't stop staring.

Harry Potter. She was looking at Harry Potter and he was looking at her, for the first time.

Yet, oddly, she felt calm. When she had pictured this moment in her head, her heart was beating so quickly and her palms were sweaty. But now here she was, watching Harry Potter walk towards her and feeling confident. He was beautiful, but he was human. At that moment, he wasn't "The Boy Who Lived," he was just a boy.

"Harry." Hermione embraced him, probably not for the first time on that emotional day. Harry glanced over at Ron and nodded affectionately and Ron smiled back.

Then he looked at Isabelle. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Harry." He held out his hand.

"Isabelle Rose." She replied, shaking his hand.

"Ah yes, so you're the mysterious Isabelle Hermione's always going on about." He joked lightly. She laughed.

"That's me."

He looked at her and the corners of his mouth shot up slightly. Isabelle smiled back. Someone cleared their throat, and she realized they had just been staring at each other for the past few seconds.

"Where's Ginny, Harry?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowed slightly. Isabelle looked down.

"She's just sitting with George on the steps." Ron nodded.

"I should go join them. I'll see you later." He shot Hermione a lingering, parting glance, and then nodded to Harry and Isabelle quickly before setting off in search of his family.

"I should really be off too; this might've just been the longest day ever." Isabelle blushed slightly when Harry chuckled.

"I'll go with you, Iz. You alright Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. It was nice to meet you Isabelle." Harry replied, smiling slightly.

Isabelle smiled back. "Nice to meet you." She and Hermione began to walk back to the girls' dorms.

They walked in uncomfortable silence for a little while. Isabelle felt the slight tension and started, "So…"

"Be careful, Izzy." Hermione warned bluntly. Isabelle stopped in shock and Hermione stopped to face her.

"W-what?"

"We were both there. There is obviously chemistry between you and Harry."

"What?" Isabelle scoffed. "I barely even know him! We literally just met, Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Fine, deny it all you want. But we could all feel that tension! I'm just saying to be careful, he is with Ron's sister after all." And with that, Hermione was marching. Isabelle exhaled, and then ran to try and keep up with her best friend.

She inwardly sighed. Did she feel a "tension" with Harry? She felt something, but had originally pinned it on being star-struck.

Although, she did say she was perfectly calm when she met him, didn't she?

They had finally reached the dorms and Isabelle exhaustedly made her way over to her bed. She stared at the unmoved wand resting on her comforter and thought of the green-eyed boy's weary, kind smile met with her own timid one. She suddenly felt an urgent need to see it again, but quickly snapped herself out of it.

Be careful, Izzy.