𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 ✍︎︎ 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧

|𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆|

After the students had returned from their visit to Hogsmeade, it had been made known that Sirius Black had shown his face at Hogwarts. Well, at least according to the Fat Lady.

The students were made to sleep in the Great Hall that night for their own protection. Not many things frightened Mariana, but she could admit that knowing a murderer was roaming around their school made her feel uneasy.

The girl tossed and turned restlessly for hours until the blissful valley of sleep finally greeted her.
-
The following morning, Mariana woke feeling drowsy and not nearly prepared enough for the days classes. But, nevertheless, she knew she had to endure the aching pain in her back-an unfortunate result of sleeping on the cold, cement floor of the Great Hall.

Breakfast, as always, did the trick to perk her up a bit. At least physically. Mentally, not so much. In the back of Mariana's mind, the fear for the fate of her school grew rapidly knowing a madman was on the loose.

"Are you alright, Mariana? You a look a bit ill." Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw Mariana had barely ever spoken too, asked in concern.

Despite how she was truly feeling, Mariana smiled and nodded profusely. She didn't need anyone worrying about her. She was sure the rest of her peers were suffering the same mental stress.

A bonus, Mariana was never upset. It was just a blatant fact. Now more than ever, everyone desperately needed to be reassured that everything was going to be fine. And, who else was more of a beam of sunlight than Mariana Rosewood herself? No other deserved the honorable title.

At that thought, Mariana was feeling a bit better.
-
Once the Ravenclaw girl had adapted a more optimistic attitude, her days seemed to do the same. The tenseness of the air had dissolved and all the students of Hogwarts were back into their original flow.

And Mariana couldn't help but to mentally pat herself on the back. As vain as it sounded, she knew it was all her doing.

The days following the harsh news, Mariana had given out succulents with sticky notes scrawled with her favorite inspirational quotes for the Hufflepuffs. For the Gryffindors, she volunteered to shine their brooms for the upcoming Quidditch match. Although the Slytherin's weren't too forthcoming at receiving help from her, a few of them did allow her to write their essays for Snape. She had no problem doing that. And, for her fellow Ravenclaws, she snuck them books from the Restricted Section of the library.

Now, the easy-going smiles had returned to the students of Hogwarts faces as they paraded down the hallways whooping and hollering. At least that's what the Gryffindor's did. Either way, everyone had different ways of expressing their joy.

Another thing the brunette took note of was how all of her peers had began being exceptionally nicer to her. Of course, Mariana had been extremely well-liked before but now, she would even dare call herself popular. It definitely didn't dim the smile on her angelic face. She wasn't one to shy away from attention.

It was a bright, sunny Saturday when Hermione Granger decided to approach Mariana spontaneously for the second time. Except, both of her best friends were in tow now.

The Ravenclaw heard the hushed voices before she saw them. Only a snippet of their conversation was heard before they finally fell into step beside her.

It had sounded like:

"Hermione, no!"

"Hush, Ron. Harry must face his fears and-"

"Harry doesn't even know her! Right, Harry? He'll scare her away with his-"

That was all she had caught.

"Mariana! I've been looking for you." Hermione said, pretending as if they hadn't just been speaking about her mere seconds ago.

Mariana wasn't one to embarrass people so she decided to keep her mouth shut about her knowledge of the conversation.

"Really? And these two were too or are they always glued to your side?" Mariana asked, beaming over at Harry and Ron.

Since Ron and Mariana were well acquainted from the day spent together at Hogsmeade, he sent her an easy-going smile. Though, there was still a light shade of pink coating his cheeks. He wasn't used to interacting with any girls other than Hermione and his sister, Ginny.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't know Mariana at all. Of course, he spent all of his time in the Great Hall gawking at her from across the room, but he had never properly spoken with her since they bumped heads in the corridor. Even then, it was very brief. He smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck in anxiousness.

"Anyways, why were you looking for me?" The Ravenclaw asked, suddenly remembering what Hermione had said.

"I was wondering, since I clearly don't have any brooms for you to shine, if you could possibly sneak me a book from the Restricted Section?" Hermione felt as if she was violating by asking. Mariana had already done so much for the students and asking something else of her felt wrong. Especially since the bushy-haired girl wasn't even a Ravenclaw.

But, fortunately, Mariana smiled and Harry swore a halo was hovering over her head and casting a brilliant light onto her face. Ron looked dazed too.

"Of course! I visit the library every Wednesday after hours. You guys could tag along if you wanted to." Mariana suggested. While she enjoyed collecting the books on her own, she also supposed it wouldn't be too bad to have some company.

Hermione hesitated, looking troubled. "Oh, no, I don't know. I don't exactly have a taste for rebellion."

Mariana almost laughed, but she restrained herself in fear of offending her new friend. "And this is coming from the girl who contributed into killing a baskilisk last year?"

Hermione cheeks flushed. Sometimes, she forgot about that. "Alright, we'll go. But if I chicken out at the last minute, don't be too surprised."

"I'm never surprised." Mariana said, and it was true. She had a certain way of calculating people's next move. Like, as in that instance, Harry's shoe was untied. Mariana figured he would trip any second.

He did.
-
yes, it's been way too long since i've updated this story. i literally suck at algebra and my grades were dropping so i sort of had to focus on school. but i'll try to be more consistent with posting now.

let's not talk about how i didn't even proofread this...i'm just gonna publish this and go on with life. okay enjoy this fanfic trash bye :)