Authors Note: I don't own any of the characters from Harry Potter. This story started out as me rambling, but I've got some ideas. Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think!

Chapter One *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shannon sat on the bench and watched. She always watched. She never actually joined in. They had stopped asking her. She didn't know why she couldn't join them. It was like some sort of wall between her and the rest. She was with them and yet separate, so separate. She felt so alone. She wished they'd see her. Really see her. But they never did. She was invisible.

She didn't know he stood behind her. She didn't know he was the real watcher. He understood her. He knew her every habit. He loved her habits. He loved everything about her. But she didn't know. He wished she would pick up on it. He wished she sensed him, the way he could always sense her. He could walk into a room and sense her on the other side before he even saw her. No, he was the invisible one.

It made her sad to be invisible, to be so incredibly alone. She wanted so bad to be with them. She wished that just one person could see her. Then maybe joining them wouldn't seem so terrible. She was sick of it all. So sick of being depressed. So sick of being lonely. It had to stop. It just had to. Then the wall began to crumble…

Something was happening. He could see it. It was like something snapped. He watched as her head picked up. His heart began to race.

Her eyes darted back and forth. She could feel something. Something near her. What was it? She looked at the rest of them. Still invisible to them. So what was it? The feeling became more intense. It began to scare her. She stood up and turned. For the first time, they looked each other square in the eye.

His eyes were green and he had long hair. He was skinny and wore round glasses. She noticed the tail end of a scar on his forehead, peeking out from under a lock of hair.

He looked into those beautiful brown eyes. He saw her long silky brown hair wave in the wind. She raised her eyebrow slightly. He could feel her searching his face. She was actually seeing him.

"Who-" she began, quietly.

"Harry," he almost whispered. She squinted, trying to place him. She didn't recognize him, but she knew he was special. She knew he was the one. He really saw her. She turned toward the group again. She felt the same wall. She turned back to him, but he was gone. There was nothing but wind. She sat back down on the bench. The gray cloud crept back over her. There was nothing but wind.

Harry sat up straight. He'd fallen asleep again, and she'd been there. It wasn't the first time. He'd seen her so many times before. It was like she was real. She felt real. Whenever he slept, she was there. Her whole life. He felt the cold gray cloud creep over him again. It only left when she was there. But it was back now. There was nothing but another day to face.

Harry walked with Ron to their next class. He was silent. He hardly spoke at all anymore. When he did, it was always about her. It made Ron nervous. He thought Harry was losing it. Harry suddenly got the feeling. He stopped dead in his tracks. Ron didn't notice at first. He just kept walking, chattering to himself. Harry saw her, in a shadow, leaning against the wall, watching everyone pass by.

"Ron," he breathed. She began to turn her head toward him.

"What Harry?" Ron's voice startled him, and he quickly glanced at his friend's worried expression.

"She-" he started, but when he turned back she was gone. His heart sank, and he hung his head. Ron looked around, but he saw nothing unusual. He just shook his head and led Harry to the next class.

She had been standing in the shadow, watching her so called friends walk by, giggling about something. It was just part of her invisibility. But all of a sudden, she started to get a feeling. It was the same one she got when she was sitting on the bench. But the bench…that boy…it wasn't real. It couldn't be. She thought she saw him, in the corner of her eye. No, it was just another shadow. Nothing but a shadow.

When Harry and Ron arrived at Divination, Professor Trelawny met them at the door. The Professor gave Harry a knowing smile. Harry didn't notice; he kept his eyes on the floor. As he passed however, she caught him by the arm, whispering "She's waiting for you," in his ear. Harry quickly lifted his eyes to meet hers. Her expression had changed, become unreadable. She had already released his arm and was making a sweeping gesture, indicating that he was to take a seat. And once again the haze closed in. He slumped down in a near by chair, the sweet scent of the fire lulling him to sleep.

When he woke the room was empty. The sky outside looked dark. There was complete silence, one Harry was almost afraid to break. How long had he been sleeping? He supposed it didn't matter. She hadn't come to him this time. He remembered nothing at all of his dreams.

Slowly he rose, making his way back to the halls. It was strangely quiet here as well. Absolutely nothing but silence.

Shannon had excused herself from the room, that class they called music. Music! She laughed at the thought. Wasn't music supposed to pleasant? That wasn't music, that chaos in that room. It was one loud brash noise, beating into her brain. She escaped to the serene silence of the hall.

It was strange how quiet the halls were when class was in session. Almost no one ventured out during this sacred time. And those who did? They were like her; they sought the silence. She smiled to herself. As if there were other hall dwellers! Perhaps there were, but they were just like her-invisible, even to each other. And even as she thought this, she turned the corner, meeting a pair of familiar green eyes.

Harry had been wandering the halls, not knowing where he was going, only that he was going. He suddenly felt the urge, the need, to turn this next corner. And when he did, he found what he didn't know he'd been looking for. He found her.