HEY GUYS! In case you were confused, I'm not actually JK Rowling! HA! Crazy, right? But no, I'm just an INSANE fan, so I wrote a story. Most of it belongs to JKR, mkay?

I was living for a dream, loving for a moment

Taking on the world, that was just my style

Now I look into your eyes I can see forever, the search is over You were with me all the while

Can we last forever, will we fall apart?

At times it's so confusing, these questions of the heart

You followed me through changes and patiently you'd wait

Till I came to my senses through some miracle of fate

-The Search is Over by Survivor

Al's POV:

No. No. No no no no. This wasn't happening. This was wrong. Izzy…she couldn't leave me. But here she was, in a crisp white bed in a clean white room, and I didn't know if I would ever talk to her again.

I was sitting alone by her bedside. Her parents had just left to tell Trent about all of this before they brought him up.

I thought back on everything. The day we met at Hogwarts, when she was so shy a quiet…

"Oof!" Al's scrawny body collided into a short, blonde girl that was about his age.

"Oh, I'm sorry…sorry," the girl muttered at the floor.

Albus was slightly taken aback by the girl's strange behavior. "Oh. It's fine. I wasn't looking. I guess I just didn't see you…" he trailed off.

"Oh…"

"I'm Albus Potter," he introduced himself.

"Erm…Isabelle…but I usually go by Izzy," the girl said, finally tearing her gaze from the ground to look at the raven-haired boy.

Suddenly, Albus was pushed to the floor by his brother.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?" he hissed.

"That…that it would…be funny…" Al gasped out.

"JAMES!"

When James saw Celeste Marten, he jumped off his brother and walked down the corridor with her.

"What was that?" Izzy asked cautiously.

"Oh, er, that? That' s my brother." A wicked grin found its way onto Al's face. "I sent a crazy love letter to that girl and addressed it from dear Jamie."

Izzy giggled.

"Hey, do you wanna find a compartment? I bet my cousin is somewhere around here."

"Sure." Izzy offered Albus her hand, her bright blue eyes sparkling. Albus grabbed it and they started off down the corridor together

"Al?"

I jerked around to see my older brother standing next to me.

"Oh. Hey, Jamie."

"You all right?" he asked softly.

I scoffed. "Yeah. Just peachy. My best friend is barely alive on the hospital bed, but I've never felt better," I spat out sarcastically.

James wasn't fazed. "Al, please listen. Izzy is tough. She's quiet and small, but she's a strong girl. I'm sure she'll pull through."

I looked away. "What if she doesn't, James? You heard the Healers. She was hit by some rough spells. I of all people know how strong she is. I'm just not sure if she's that strong," I finished softly.

"You miss her."

I looked up. "What?"

"Well, you really care about her. You miss her," he explained patiently.

"Miss her? She hasn't gone anywhere," I said harshly.

"Her presence," James told me. "You have to be around her. You have to be able to talk to her, to be with her. You couldn't live without this girl."

"Of course not," I lashed out. "She's my best friend."

"I know, Al. But is she more than that?"

I sat in stunned silence, staring at my hands. James stood up quietly and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Izzy's parents were at home, talking with Trent about all of this before they brought him up.

What was James talking about? Well, I knew what he meant. Usually, I would have dismissed the thought as absurd, but was he right?

A memory from second year sprung into my mind. Izzy, Rose, Scorp and I playing truth or dare on a weekend as we sat by the lake. I chuckled as I recalled our antics as younger students. So innocent, so young, so free.

"Izzy, it's your turn." Rose pointed at the small girl with blonde pigtails.

"Okay…I choose dare," twelve-year-old Izzy declared courageously.

"Mmmkay…Oh! I've got it." An evil smile covered the energetic redhead's face. "You have to kiss Al!"

Izzy shrieked in disgust "EEEW! No way!"

"If you don't, then you'll have to jump in the lake. Those are the rules!" Scorpius jeered.

"But…the squid…" Rose glared at Izzy as she stammered. "I don't wanna!" she whined, crossing her arms.

"That's gross, guys!" Al piped up, trying to help his friend's case.

"Too bad!" Rose cried stubbornly. "Izzy chose dare, so she has to!"

"Fine," Izzy grumbled, finally giving in. "Not on the lips, right?"

Rose pondered for a moment, then nodded her head. "On the lips. And…it has to be at least three seconds," she stated maliciously.

"WHAT?" Izzy looked grudgingly at Albus, who was blushing profusely. "Fine…"

The blonde took a deep breath, then she leaned in slowly, resting her hands on his shoulders. Al closed his eyes, then Izzy moved swiftly towards him, putting her lips against his. Something churned deep in Al's stomach, then butterflies seemed to explode within him. A pleasant tingling flew through his body as Rose counted out.

"Oooonnnnne…twwwooooo…" She pulled out the numbers as long as she could. "Thhhrreeeeee…Ok!"

Izzy jerked back, and Al saw that her cheeks were flaming red now, too. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve, muttered "gross," then turned to the platinum blonde boy beside her. "Okay, Scorp. You're next. Let's see, you should…"

I jerked back into reality. I remembered the feeling perfectly. How Izzy had affected me when our lips met. Such a simple kiss, yet it felt better than any girl I had ever snogged in the broom closets. Was James right?

I thought back to all of the times I had held Izzy to me, the way her arms wrapped around my waist when she hugged me. The more I thought about it, I realized that holding her close to me gave me the same feeling as that kiss had when we were twelve. Was it possible to like someone as more than a friend and not even know it?

I looked down at her sleeping figure, which was as beautiful as ever. Her wavy blonde hair framed her face as her chest and stomach rose and fell slowly with her breathing. Very slow breathing, but it was breath nonetheless. My hand slid up to her face and my fingers touched her cheek ever so softly. A long, jagged scar was on the side of her forehead, and her cheeks and one of her eyes were bruised and turning a nasty purple color. As I gazed at her, I realized just how gorgeous she was. Despite all of the bruises and scars, she was wonderful.

"Mr. Potter."

I started, jerking my hand back. I saw a tall, slender man enter the room, his Healer's robes flowing behind him.

I wasn't used to being addressed as such, so it took me a moment to realize that I was the only Potter in the room.

"Erm…yes?"

"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are ending soon. I'm afraid you'll have to go now, but you can of course see your friend again tomorrow."

"Right…" I started to head out, but paused and turned around. "Erm…"

"Yes?" the man said good-naturedly.

"She'll…she'll be okay, won't she?"

"Chances are that she'll be fine. Sore, of course, and it might be a slow recovery. But she'll make it," he assured me.

My spirits lifted. "Thanks. Thank you so much," I said enthusiastically, then left Izzy with the Healer, confident that she'd make it. That I'd make it.

I sat by Izzy's bed every day, waiting for her to wake up. She'd been asleep for three days now, but three days had turned into an eternity for me. Break ended in two days, so I only hoped she'd awake before then. I just needed to talk to her, to find out if I really did feel differently about her.

I'd spent most of the time basking in my memories of Izzy, which I had plenty of. I loved thinking about her and the trouble we'd gotten into, but I only wanted my real Izzy back. James was right: I needed her.

I held her hand delicately in my own, almost afraid that I would break it. I sat in silence, the only sound being her slow breathing.

Sometimes she would shift slightly in her bed, causing me to jolt towards her. These times, I only found her still sleeping.

I gazed at her heart shaped face, studying her every detail. Then, I saw a flicker of movement; her eyelids fluttered, but didn't open. I watched expectantly.

I waited for a minute. I heard the clock slowly ticking away the seconds, before I realized that she wasn't awake and she wouldn't wake up soon. Just a false alarm.

But, no. Her long eyelashes flickered, the corners of her mouth tugged slightly upwards into a peaceful smile.

Then, slowly, excruciatingly slowly, her eyelids slid open, her head tilted towards mine, and she stared at me with her sparkling blue eyes.

"Hey," she whispered.

So this is the third chapter I'd written in one night. I typed from 8 pm to nearly 1 am. I was really tempted to start another one 'cause I've been having these crazy spontaneous inspirations, but Dad was going home in fifteen minutes and I don't think that he'd have been pleased to find me awake and typing…

So, what do you think? Is it good? 'Cause I'm starting to think it's a little bit too…unoriginal. Sorry this was so short, too. But what do you think? If you have any good plot twists or whatnot, send me a message! I'd love to hear and I might even use it. If I do, you'll be mentioned at the end of the story! And I might give you a character, too… Maybe. Trent was seeming a little bit lonely to me… *wink, wink*

Oh! And has anyone got an opinion on my next story? Either a James/Celeste parallel to this one, or a Albus/Izzy sequel. I guess the Al/Izzy depends on how this one ends, though…which I haven't really decided…so, whatever. Thoughts please?

Oh, yeah. By the way…over 600hits and 150 visitors, just in this month! And it's only the 19th! But somehow, we just recently broke 20 reviews. What's going on, people? This is NONSENSE! So REVIEW!

…Please.

As usual, please review! It makes me happy!