Say You Won't Let Go || Bill Weasley

Eight: Graduation

Isabelle's final few months at Hogwarts went by in a blur of textbooks, intense Quidditch practices, and enough gossip to last her a lifetime. To put it simply, Isabelle was exhausted.

She spent most of her free time after classes were finished each day in the Gryffindor common room or the library, or sometimes empty classrooms when she couldn't find peace in either, cramming in as much knowledge in each of her subjects as she could. She read and reread her textbooks, always finding new things to take notes on to review.

Hermione Granger had actually offered to let Isabelle use her time turner a few times to help ease her stress, as she was one of the few Hermione told about it, but she politely declined. Hermione had always looked up to Isabelle ever since the beginning of Hermione's first year when she at first had a hard time making friends pre-troll incident.

Celebrations passed by as well, but Isabelle hardly had the time or energy to enjoy them. Gryffindors loved every reason to throw a small party in their common room, and birthdays are no exception. Both Ron's fourteenth and Fred and George's sixteenth birthdays came and went, as did Easter.

Most weekends and nights leading up to mid-April when she wasn't hunched over a book, Isabelle was out on the Quidditch pitch running drills and mock games in preparation for their game against Slytherin. Oliver had worked them ten times harder than usual, and it really showed in the team's exhaustion the following day. The cheerful and relaxed Oliver Wood that Isabelle spent her last Hogsmeade trip with was gone. Thankfully, the mentally and physically drained Gryffindor team and their star Chaser managed to score several times before Harry caught the Snitch, bringing the house a final victory over Slytherin with a score of 230 to 20. The house partied hard that night, and it was the first time in months Isabelle had let herself truly relax, if only temporarily.

Gossip that year spread like wildfire. Many were upset to find out that Buckbeak, Hagrid's beloved Hippogriff, was sentenced to be executed after supposedly attacking the young Draco Malfoy. Of course, karma turned around to bite the blonde boy in the ass, because a little more than a month later, news spread that Hermione Granger had punched him square in the nose.

Now Isabelle was just finishing her final exam of the year, Charms. This was the most important to her as a good N.E.W.T in Charms would be required in many careers that she would be interested in. Her decision still wasn't final, but she had a few ideas. She just knew that she wanted to take the summer off before diving headfirst into work. She studied every possible charm and spell she could find in her notes and textbooks until moments before the exam. She practiced spells on her own and attended every study session with Professor Flitwick to make sure she could do anything that could be part of the practical portion of her exam.

She finished her exam and finally left the room, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. Between the endless studying and the constant words of affirmation from Bill's letters, Isabelle was confident that she at least passed all of her exams and was grateful to never have to take a test again. She made her way back to the Gryffindor common room, making sure to take in as much of Hogwarts as she could before she would go home and possibly never return the next week.

When she finally reached her dorm, Isabelle pulled out one of her last bits of parchment and one of those enchanted quills that didn't run out of ink. Fred and George had gifted it to her as an apology for the trick candies they gave her for Christmas. She returned to the common room as she began to write a letter.

Dear Bill,

I just finished my last exam ever. How crazy is that! I think I did well, especially in Charms. Thank you so much for the advice, it really did help me a lot. I'm so glad to not have to study anymore, I feel like if I read another textbook my brain is going to explode. Now I just have to find a good career to put it all to use.