Aionios

Chapter 14

The door creaks open and everyone lifts their heads up in anticipation. Ace shrugs his coat off his shoulder and hangs it on the rack behind the wall.

"Well?", Kingsley grills, "Did you find her?".

"No", he sighs, "There were no sightings of her either... It looks like she doesn't want to be found this time".

When Kingsley, Thomas, and Ace went home to find Isabelle missing, they let it slide, thinking she needed to go somewhere else to calm her mind. But when Isabelle hadn't come back for three days, that's when they started to get worried.

"Should we send a bigger search party?", Atheina suggests, brows furrowed with utmost concern for her friend.

"If we can't even find a single trace, what hope do the other Aurors have of finding her?", Thomas shakes his head, "It's like she vanished into thin air".

"She must've gone somewhere! A place we don't know?", Thalia urges, not wanting to give up the search just yet. After all, Isabelle was there for them when they needed her. It was their turn to be there for her!

"Maybe she left the country?", Elizabeth suggests, leaning against the wall for support with her injuries still fresh.

"That's unlikely", Kingsley shakes his head, "She wouldn't want to be that far away from Harry, especially after the recent events".

Ace runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots with hate and guilt as he slumps down beside Triton and Cordon on the bottom step of the stairs. His heart was aching with worry, and his eyes were closed tight to stop the tears of aggravation. Where was she?!

"This is my fault", he croaks with trembling hands, burying his face in his arms, "I could've stopped her from killing those guys".

"Oh, Ace", Thalia sighs, rushing to kneel before him, "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for it", she embraces him and traces soothing patterns on his back as he sighs into his skin.

Kingsley rubs his temples, seeing the current state of his Elite Eight. He knew as well as anyone that Isabelle was the pillar that held the Elite Eight together. She was the source of strength for all of her teammates, and she knew it too. Maybe that's the very reason why she gave herself the burden of never showing any weakness. Until now, she never shows anyone the fragile side of her - no matter how many times they told her and reassured her that they would love her weaknesses just as much - if not more- than her strength.

"There is no one to blame in this situation", Kingsley announces, "We won't be able to find Isabelle if she chooses not to be found.... The best we can do is wait for her return, and-"

The door opens.

Everyone snaps their heads towards he doorstep, mouth agape and eyes wide as they see a familiar redhead entering the threshold. But upon seeing her current condition, they couldn't help the sorrow that suddenly fell upon them like a ton of bricks.

"Isabelle", Atheina cries, tears glistening her eyes as she covers her mouth, "Oh my god...".

Ace stands from his seat, rushing towards her with tears glistening in his eyes. He holds her by her shoulders, biting his bottom lip in despair and looking down at her with all the regret in the world.

"What did you do to yourself?", he cries, burying himself deep into her neck as he embraces her, feeling the tiniest bit of relief that she was alright and in his arms again, "What did you do to yourself, huh?".

"I deserve it", is all she says, and the way she said it made him want to cry so much more, because fuck she did not deserve it and she never will, and he wanted to tell her that she deserves so much more.