The Beginning

11 year old Isadora Carrow sat perched at the window of the drawing room of Sanctus Manor, her home in Northumberland, England. The excitement building up inside her was nearly impossible to contain. She wanted to run around the manor screaming at the top of her lungs but the fear of missing the scheduled owl kept her rooted to the spot. So she sat, hands gripping each other, waiting for her very important letter.

"'Dora?" she heard from the entry way.

She turned and saw her father standing in the doorway, head cocked and his hands tucked inside his trousers. Amycus was a tall man with dark onyx hair and a stern face, though his normal scowl always turned upwards when he saw her.

"Still waiting on that owl, darling?" he asked her as he stepped inside the room, nearing her.

"Yes, father. All day." She said with a frown. All she wanted more than anything was the letter she was waiting on. The boredom was slowly setting in and she just couldn't stand it any longer. "Tell me about the day you got yours again." She asked him.

Her father smiled as he reached her and settled on the window seat next to her. "That old story? You want to hear THAT? Very well," he began, "Your aunt Alecto and I spent much of that day waiting, just like you are. Our mother dedicated the whole day to celebrating us. It was my favorite birthday. She made us a feast for breakfast and bought us gifts. She fussed so much over us and we loved every minute of it. " Isadora laughed at her father's story. She watched him as he spoke- saw the way the muscles in his face danced with each word, how his hands assisted in telling the story.

He was a handsome man.

He was a strong man.

Why did he look tired? What was troubling him? Her eyebrows knit together as she focused on his story again.

"Once our letters DID come, though, it was hands-down the best moment of my kid life. Alecto tried packing her things that very day. She pitched a fit when she was told it wasn't time to leave yet. Your letter will come, 'Dora. Sitting here won't make it come any faster."

"When it does come, can we go tell Aunt Narcissa and Draco?" She asked him hopefully. Her mother's sister, and Isadora's favorite aunt, was sure to celebrate her acceptance into one of the best wizarding schools in existence.

"Absolutely." He agreed. "Then bright and early tomorrow morning we can set out for Diagon Alley." A smile made its way to his face and for a moment, he didn't look so troubled. He looked happy.

"For now though, why don't we head outside? You can pick some flowers from your garden for your room, alright?"

Isadora agreed and Amycus kissed her forehead.

After half an hour in the garden with her father, a house elf appeared before them.

"Miss," Isadora's elf, Oxy, began. "A letter has arrived for miss. Oxy brings it for her." She held out in front of her a thick envelope that had Isadora's name on it.

She stared at it. Her eyes were wide and her mouth dropped. This was it. Her time had come. She had waited for this moment for years and now the moment was here. So why couldn't she move? What was she so afraid of? Of course, she already knew that answer. Change.

Once she opened that letter, nothing would be the same again. She would have to leave her home, her father. Everything would be different. SHE would be different.

She swallowed the fear creeping inside her about her undetermined future and stepped forward to take the letter from Oxy. She offered her elf a quiet "Thank you, Oxy. Will you put these flowers in my room?"

"Of course, miss." Oxy replied before apparating. Isadora took a deep breath as she undid its seal and pulled out the stack of folded papers. She turned to her father and read aloud "'Dear Ms. Carrow, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'"

"That's my girl!" Her father exclaimed. "See? Today is your perfect birthday."

"Aunt Cissy, Aunt Cissy!" Isadora called through Malfoy Manor as soon as they stepped through the fireplace. A house elf popped in front of them.

"Master Carrow! Young Miss Carrow! The mistress is in the drawing room. Dobby will tell her of your presence." Dobby was about to apparate again but Izzy ran right past him.

"That's ok, Dobby, I'll find her." Isadora called to him as she bounded out of the dining room doors and up the stairs.

Her father called after her but she was already too far away, rounding the doors to the drawing room. As she burst in she met the shocked face of her aunt and uncle and tried catching her breath as she waved her letter in the air.

"Look!... Hogwarts!" She rushed forward and thrust the letter to Narcissa as Amycus Carrow finally made it into the room.

"Your letter!" Narcissa exclaimed. "How wonderful, my darling." She wrapped Isadora in a hug and kissed the top of her head before releasing her to show the letter to her uncle Lucius.

"Very nice, Isadora. You're officially going to school with Draco then. Unless, of course, Durmstrang is still on the table." Lucius said. He was met with a firm "No" from his wife and a "We'll discuss it later" From his brother-in-law. Narcissa turned her pointed gaze to Amycus.

"Darling," she said to Isadora while glaring at Amycus, "I'm sure Draco would love to give you the present he got for your birthday now. Why don't you go find him."

At the word 'gift' Isadora got excited. "Ok!" she exclaimed as she raced out of the room to find her cousin. Up another flight of stairs and around a corner into Draco's hallway and she was at his door.

"Draco!" She yelled as she opened his door and barged in. She waved her letter in the air as she smiled at him. He jumped slightly from her abrupt entrance but he quickly recovered with a smile.

"Hogwarts, then?" He asked her.

Isadora nodded and placed the letter down on the desk he was sitting in front of. Draco had been accepted to the same school just 12 days prior.

"That's actually a relief because then that means that this won't be stupid." Draco picked up a small black box from off his desk and passed it to her. It had a silver ribbon wrapped around it in a bow. She pulled a piece of the bow until it unraveled and she opened the lid of the box. Inside was a platinum bracelet with a mini Hogwarts crest dangling from it.

"Stupid?" She asked Draco softly. "Draco, this is perfect! I love it! Thank you." She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"Happy Birthday, Iz."