𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 ✍︎︎ 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧

|𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲|

It wasn't until Mariana Rosewood passed Cassius Kane in the corridors that she realized she had completely forgotten about him. His hair was disheveled, his tie undone, and the first few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. He looked amazing. Even after everything, Mariana's heart still skipped a beat as their eyes locked.

Much to her surprise, Cassius grabbed Mariana's arm in the middle of the hallway, interrupting the ebb and flow of the crowd. Cassius didn't care. He was a Kane. The mere mention of his name was enough to make anyone bend their neck to accommodate his needs.

Once the crowd had cleared out, Cassius opened his mouth to begin speaking. Before he could, though, Mariana interrupted him. "What are you doing? I have class."

"Oh, please. You're a Rosewood. People like us practically make the rules and then...we break them." Cassius released his hold on her arm. She was already late, so there was absolutely nowhere she needed to be other than right there with him. "I wanted to...apologize. For that night in the library a few months ago."

"Yeah. You were a jerk. We barely even spoke and you tried to kiss me and got mad at me when I didn't want that. What the hell is your problem?" Mariana didn't realize how distraught she really was over that night, but letting out all of her steam helped her notice that she wasn't over it. Not a bit.

"Well, it was obvious you liked me. And I thought you were pretty...I still think you're pretty. I was just helping you out." Cassius explained, putting his hands on his hips in frustration.

"Yes, Cassius. I liked you. A lot. But that didn't mean I wanted to make out with you in the middle of the library past curfew! I'm not like that. What I wanted was for you to take me out on a picnic date or something sappy like that." Mariana couldn't believe the Kane boy's twisted idea on the mechanisms of love.

"Okay, then. Meet me by the Black Lake tomorrow after classes."

"Too late. I don't like you anymore."

"Yes, you do. Black Lake. Tomorrow. After classes." Cassius declared as he began his classic strut down the corridor. Mariana never answered him... but they both knew what her answer was.

She'd be at the Black Lake tomorrow after classes.
-
"What color were her eyes?" Mariana was propped on top of a desk in her DADA classroom, while Lupin reminisced on his old friend.

"Black. A dangerous ebony. Her eyes were the scariest thing about her. She had this glare that frightened everyone half to death." Lupin explained.

Mariana laughed. "She sounds like a bitch."

Lupin cackled at that. "No, not quite. Your Aunt was badass."

A fit of uncontrollable laughter was shared between the two at the statement. Of course Clementine Rosewood would be an absolute badass. It made perfect sense to Mariana.

Lupin and Mariana chatted, cackled, and shared idle conversation for some time. The Ravenclaw glanced at the clock and realized the time. "I actually have to be somewhere. But, this time tomorrow?"

"Of course." Lupin said.

Mariana began making her way towards the door before Lupin called out. "You have her eyes. It's like I'm looking at Clementine when I look into your eyes. I suppose it's helping me get the closure I've always needed."

Mariana beamed at that. "Happy I could help, Professor Lupin."

"Please, call me Remus."
-
Mariana trudged down to the Black Lake with a nasty scowl on her face. She still had her robes on and her hair was a mess after a long day of lessons. However, Cassius wanted to take her out right after classes.

The brunette didn't want to go. She wanted nothing less than to go on a date with Cassius Kane. The cocky, arrogant Slytherin that did nothing but waste her precious time.

So, she convinced herself that the only reason she bothered showing up was to tell him off, spit in his picnic basket, and give him a pleasant punch in the face. Well, Mariana felt he didn't really deserve a punch but she had already been so worked up.

The plan was solid until she caught sight of him. The sun was hitting his face perfectly, glinting off of that dazzling hair and those gorgeous, one-of-a-kind eyes. However, amongst all of his beauty, there was no picnic. That only made her want to punch him even more.

"Pull it together, Mariana." A few more steps and she was standing over him, casting a shadow with her figure. "I'm not going out with you, Kane."

Cassius wasn't phased. His gaze was glued to the shining waters in awe, his eyes not even tearing away to look at her. "Cassius, I'm being serious. I don't have all day."

Cassius tilted his head as if in scrutiny of the lake. Still, he paid no attention to her presence. Finally, he drawled. "I like it up here."

"It's funny you say that, because I didn't ask." Mariana retorted, crossing her arms.

"In the Slytherin Dungeons, there's a window that overlooks the deepest, darkest depths of the Black Lake. And I think it's hilarious that no one has caught on to the metaphor yet." Cassius said, leaning back on his hands.

Mariana was annoyed with the casual manner in which he ignored her, but also intrigued with the direction his philosophy was leading to. "What metaphor?"

"Down there, in the dungeons, you see the Black Lake as what it appears to be. Cold, horrifying, and filled with monsters. But, for those who travel the extra mile to come view it from above, you see it for what it really is. Magnificently beautiful and tragically misunderstood." With that, Cassius stood up and turned to face her.

After a few moments in deep thought, Mariana understood. "It represents Slytherin's. You appear to be cruel, nasty beings but really..."

"I'm a good person, Mariana Rosewood. It hurts me that you can't see past some silly stereotype. I thought you were different. Maybe after all this time, I was wrong. Maybe you're just like the rest of them." Cassius spat before beginning his walk up the hill that led back to Hogwarts.

"No." Mariana sternly said.

Cassius froze. Without turning around, he asked, "What?"

"No, Cassius, you don't get to do that. You've given me no reason to believe you're anything more than an arrogant dickhead. So I won't let you walk away as the victim. I won't be manipulated by the likes of you."

At this, he spun around. "By the likes of me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're an asshole who carries around his family name like a badge when in reality, no one gives a damn!" Mariana shouted.

"It's not my fault your head is too filled with ditzy fantasies to realize that some people are better than others! Your father said you'd be stubborn!" Cassius yelled, his hands knotted in his hair in frustration. When he realized the last sentence that left his mouth, his eyes went wide.

Mariana's eyes filled with unspeakable fury. She didn't have to ask to know what had happened. Her father had planned everything. Cassius hadn't liked her. It was all a scheme to get Mariana to focus more on Pureblood Supremacy. Cassius fled back to Hogwarts, ashamed of his actions and misdeeds against the Ravenclaw.

Mariana, though, remained at the Black Lake. Her fists clenched, an anger so deep that she felt it was boiling over. In the pit of her stomach, she felt something building up. It was rising, rising, rising.A gust of wind answered the anger and a large oak tree instantly toppled over and fell into the Black Lake.

The brunette watched as it sunk into the lake. She was deeply confused with the spin of events. As she went to bury her head in her hands out of frustration, her necklace caught her eye. There, inside of it, a dangerous green glow shined through.

Mariana knew then that the Rosewood family business ran deeper then just blood.