The hospital wing of Hogwarts was notorious, and not for good reason. Students only visited there for one of two things: They were hurt. Or, someone they cared about was hurt.

Either way, it wasn't a place one would like to frequently visit. Better yet, it wasn't a place one would like to visit ever.

Despite that fact, no one found themselves in the depths of the treacherous wing more than the Golden Trio themselves. Except this time, their fourth member was hurt.

It had been a week since the accident. The nurses had come to the conclusion that Mariana's injuries wouldn't have been so severe if she hadn't fallen off the cliff.

They had also decided that her injuries weren't as bad as they seemed. After a quick examination and short surgery, Madam Pomfrey declared Mariana, "Barely scratched."

Truly, the shock had been the factor that caused Mariana so much pain. The nurses said that if everything hadn't happened so suddenly, she wouldn't have even felt half the pain she did that night. Apparently if Mariana had been really knocking on deaths door, she wouldn't have been able to accomplish the lengthy trek back to Hogwarts.

Even amongst all those facts, Harry Potter still wasn't convinced. He knew what he saw that night. There was far too much blood for her injuries to be considered minor. The way she fell to her knees, the way her eyes were sealed shut, the way...Harry shivered at his spot beside Mariana's bed. It pained him to think about it.

She was sleeping peacefully, her breath light and airy, her hair falling gracefully over her face. He tried his best to lodge the image of the hurt Mariana out of his mind but every once and a while, it found a way to creep in. Harry sighed and shook his head fervently. He needed to get a grip.

He cared too much about her. And he knew, he just knew, she thought of him as nothing more than a friend.
-
After two long (and terribly boring) weeks spent in the hospital wing, Mariana Rosewood
finally returned to classes. She was particularly overjoyed to know that many people were excited to have her back.

However, the end of the year was rapidly approaching and exams upon exams hit Mariana like a train. Not only that, but the endless stream of work that she had missed in those past two weeks was thrown in her face with no mercy.

One day, as Mariana was scurrying along the hallways, a three foot high stack of papers in hand, she ran head first into Dean Thomas. And, of course, her papers went absolutely everywhere. "Oh, sorry about that, Dean!"

Dean, luckily, just smiled at her and began shoveling her papers off ground. Mariana glanced up at him gratefully as she reached for the last paper. The Thomas boy, though, seemed to have the exact same idea.

Their hands touched, just for a moment, until they both jerked away. The two murmured apologies as they stood up from their crouching positions.

"Thanks, Dean." Mariana said, beaming at him.

Dean scratched the back of his neck and shot a goofy little grin her way. "Of course. I'll pick up your papers any time, as long as it means I get to touch your hand."

At that sentence, Mariana was pleasantly surprised. Merlin, he was flirting with her. And, the Ravenclaw quickly realized, she liked it.

A lot.
-
"You can't be serious." Mariana declared, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it's true. It seems parents aren't too comfortable with a werewolf teaching their children, rightfully so." Remus explained.

He seemed disappointed, but not at all surprised with how things turned out. Mariana couldn't help but feel bad for him. After the accident, some students were scared to even make eye contact with Remus. Terry Boot said one day during a DADA lesson, obviously loud enough for him to hear, "You know what he did to Mariana? Imagine how long it would take him to rip the rest of us to pieces."

Mariana wasn't going to pretend like she wasn't still shaken up from the spin of events. Truthfully, she knew she would never be able look at Remus the same again. However, that certainly didn't mean that she wanted him to leave. He was still her friend. And there were still so many questions she needed to ask Remus regarding her Aunt Clementine.

"But...you can't leave! I mean, honestly, you're the best Dark Arts Professor we've ever had!" Mariana exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

Remus sighed and leaned back against his desk. "I wish I could stay, Mari. But, as much as it hurts me to admit, the people are right. I am a danger to the school. You almost died-"

"No, I didn't. My injuries weren't-"

"That's no matter. I care about you and I put you in danger. You must understand that I can't risk something like that. I'm leaving. And that's final." Remus's sharp tone caught Mariana off guard. He'd never raised his voice at her before.

Mariana sighed and looked down at her shoes. It was time to ask the question. She'd wanted to wait for a better time, for tensions to fizzle
out. However, she never expected Remus's hasty resignation. Her time was out and if she didn't find out then, she may never know the truth.

"My father told me how Aunt Clementine died. Actually, he told me before me and you even had these sessions. I've just been to afraid to ask for the truth." Mariana mumbled, picking at her fingernails nervously.

Remus glanced over at her. A frown took over his face and his eyes sunk. Mariana knew how much Clementine meant to him. She hated bringing up such a sensitive topic. "Well, what did he say?"

"He said...that James Potter...murdered her." Mariana said. Her eyes met Remus's and the detached, faraway look told her everything she needed to know. For once, her father hadn't lied.

"They were best friends, her and James. Partners in crime, you could even say. It's true. It happened right in front of me. I-I didn't understand, I still don't understand. It all feels like a dream. No, a nightmare." Remus's eyes were glued to the floor, tear-filled and red.

Mariana sucked in a breath. She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled her professor into a deep embrace. His body shook with the sobs of a man who didn't get the chance to grieve a lost friend.

There, standing wrapped in one another's arm, just like a father hugs his daughter, Remus Lupin and Mariana Rosewood grieved the woman who was taken too soon.
-
Exams were finished. In three days, the students of Hogwarts would be hopping on the coveted train ride home.

Just like every year, Mariana was completely dreading it. She knew the only thing awaiting her when she got back to the Manor was empty hallways and an even emptier father. She knew the days of Genevieve locking herself in her room for hours on end to avoid her father were going to begin again soon. The only entertainment she would have was the house elves.

And, Draco, of course. He lived just a few miles away and usually floos to her house every day of summer break. Mariana smiled. Her heart finally felt light again when she thought about Draco.

She had apologized for her horrible words that day on the hill. No matter what he did, Mariana knew what she said was wrong. And she couldn't scold herself enough for it. Fortunately, Draco valued their friendship as much as she did because he was beyond eager to accept her apology, along with some apologies on his part.

In all honesty, Mariana's third year at Hogwarts had been fantastic. She had finally found people that made her feel like she belonged somewhere, along with discovering some new truths about her family. Speaking of new truths...Mariana glanced down at the necklace that lay perfectly on her chest. She groaned. She'd have to spend the summer cracking open dusty textbooks looking for information on the mysterious power that lived within it. 

All in all, there was little for Mariana to worry about. Her life was almost care-free. Her worst problem was the nasty scar that crossed right through her eyebrow. Isobel had to help her shave a slit. According to her, it made her look, "Badass."

However, Mariana felt awkward and out of place. She almost cried when she walked into Charms class and everyone stared at her like she had two heads. Although, Pansy Parkinson managed to make her feel slightly better when she told her she looked hot. Mariana smiled at the thought. Pansy, of all people.

Mariana shook off her thoughts as she stepped outside of Hogwarts, preparing to make the walk down the hill to Hagrid's Hut. Hermione thought it would be a good idea to spend one of their last days at school together.

However, the Ravenclaw didn't always get lucky. On the third step down the hill, she heard an all too familiar voice calling out her name.

Cassius.

Mariana told herself to just pretend like she didn't hear him and keep walking but that plan greatly failed when he shouted, "I know you can hear me!"

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks and without turning around, spat out, "What do you want, Cassius?"

"You." He said and Mariana could just hear the smirk in his voice. She scoffed and resumed her walk.

"Is that your fancy way of saying my father's respect?" She asked, speeding up her pace. However, her attempts to get away from the Kane boy were in vain because his footsteps were close behind her.

"Why do you have to be like that all the time?" Cassius groaned as he reached out and grabbed Mariana by the shoulder.

That was not the right move.

Mariana whipped around and slapped him plain in the face, causing him to grab his cheek and stagger back a few steps. "For starters, don't touch me. Understand?"

Cassius nodded, still holding his red (surely to be bruised) cheek in the palm of his hand.

"Second of all, you have no right to make me the bad guy. You were the one that tried to
kiss me in the library and blatantly ignored me for months after that, leaving me to wonder what I did wrong. And, you were the one who snuck around with my father to try and manipulate me into agreeing with his twisted, horrible beliefs. So, you, don't get to play the victim. Got it?" Mariana's face was red with anger and her breaths were coming hard and fast, clearly exasperated. 

Cassius just stood, dumbfounded. "Can't speak?"

Finally, drawing in a sharp breath, Cassius mumbles, "Got it."

Mariana put on a sarcastic smile and ruffled his hair. "Great!"

With that, she turned around and continued her trek down to Hagrid's Hut.
-
"You're cheating! No one can play Wizards Chess that well!" Ron exclaimed, hovering over the table and throwing his arms about in big, frustrated motions.

"Believe what you want." Mariana said, smiling playfully. Ron's shoulders slumped over in defeat. He had lost five matches against her in the span of just an hour. He'd never met someone that was better at chess than him.

"Fine. You're not cheating." Ron admitted.

Mariana chuckled. "Well, I could've told you that."

Mariana and Ron carry on with light banter, smart remarks, and witty comments while Hermione and Harry busy themselves with idle conversation before they are sent back off to the Muggle world.

Hermione, of course, didn't mind going home. She loved her parents more than anything. Sometimes, though, she wished her parents-at least one of them-could be a witch like her. Though, unfortunately, that wasn't her reality. She'd forever have to endure the slurs and discrimination of pure blood supremacists.

At the thought, Hermione glanced over at Mariana, giggling at something Ron had said. She wondered what it was like to come from one of the most prestigious pure blood families there was. She'd never be called a Mudblood. She'd never have to go home to a house with parents that don't understand the half of what really happens in the Wizarding World.

Mariana laughed again, her voice light and airy. Hermione internally groaned. And why, of all people, did her best friend have to be so gorgeous? Mariana had no bad angles, no ugly faces, there was nothing wrong with her. She was the definition of flawless. And, for Hermione, finding something she liked about herself was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Of course, she loved Mariana. She loved her more than life itself. But, how was she ever supposed to compete against that? Truthfully, the only thing Hermione was better than Mariana at was school and even then, the Ravenclaw was right on her tail with grades.

Hermione could've cried in that moment of self-evaluation. That moment of realizing that she wasn't enough and never would be. Without her noticing, Hermione's eyes began to water.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned for the sudden mood change of his friend.

Hermione's gaze jerked back to him as reality came back to her. She feigned a smile. "Oh, yeah, of course! I'm just...gonna miss you guys is all." It was true. She would miss them.

If only she could cry about things like that.
-
A few hours passed and Mariana found herself alone in Hagrid's garden with Harry. Their friendship was, for the most part, back
to normal, but a light, unspoken tension still floated around in the air.

And Harry still didn't know why. Mariana assumed there was no better time than the present.

"Harry?" Mariana called out, getting his attention. He had been chucking sticks into the woods in an attempt to clear up the mess in Hagrid's garden. Mariana found it sweet.

"Hm?" He asked, focusing his attention on her. He certainly never minded having an excuse to look at her.

"I'm sorry about my strange behavior after Christmas break towards you." Mariana didn't look up at him, instead focusing her attention on the ground.

Harry's brows furrowed in anger. Finally, she addressed it. But, did she really think he was going to sweep it under the rug that easily? No way in hell.

"Yeah, you were a real bitch." Harry muttered, looking at her in distaste.

Mariana's eyes flew up to his face in shock. "What did you just say?"

Harry sighed in annoyance. "You heard me, Mariana. And, no, I'm not taking it back. You meant a lot to me—you still mean a lot to me—and you just suddenly avoid me like I'm the plague. It didn't exactly make me feel good."

Mariana put her head in her hands in shame. She wanted to scream at him, to throw something at him for being such a jerk. But, amongst her anger, she knew he was right. Every feeling he has towards her was valid because she was the one who turned on him. And she felt terrible for it.

Mariana stood up from her sitting position and walked over to Harry. Without hesitating, she pulled him into a warm embrace. Harry's eyes went wide and a light blush coated his cheeks.

The girl he was desperately in love with was hugging him. In one breath, all of his anger towards her was gone. He didn't need to know the reason behind what she did because she was Mariana Rosewood. She was beauty, she was grace, she was absolutely divine.

Mariana's eyes were shut, but suddenly, her brows furrowed as she realized something. Harry's hug felt like cozying up beside a fireplace, like reading a book on a rainy day, like running through a meadow with the sun's rays beaming down on you.

Mariana pulled away abruptly. No. Harry was her friend. She didn't—she couldn't—feel things like that about him. To cover her discomfort, she feigned a smile and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry shot her a goofy grin and waved her off dismissively.

Hermione and Ron decided to join them outside shortly after. Hermione sat down beside Harry and Mariana sidled up beside Ron, ruffling his orange hair playfully.

The four students reminisced on their year, their best memories and their worst memories. All in all, they agreed that they wouldn't have it any other way. Because, in the end, they were family. And family wasn't always perfect.

Mariana looked around at her best friends and smiled in content. Suddenly, she puts her hand in the middle of the circle they had formed and said, "Family?"

The three smiled at her and put their hands over hers as they replied, "Always."

-