𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 ✍︎︎ 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧

|𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀|

Summer was unbearable.

Mariana spent her days staring out the window of her room, day dreaming about being reunited with her best friends again. For entertainment, she wrote about how she was not entertained.

And, when she wasn't doing that, she was ransacking bookshelf after bookshelf in the manor, searching for answers to the necklace she kept tightly looped around her neck. She pondered asking her father about the necklace, but she knew that he knew nothing. If he knew that the necklace had some sort of power, he'd want it for himself, not for anyone else.

On some days, Draco would visit her, but Mariana noticed that his visits weren't as frequent as usual. It had to be due to the fact that Lucius had been drilling into him recently. Merlin, Draco didn't deserve that. Mariana knew he was better than his father would ever be, she just wished he would realize that before it was too late.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione wrote her letters twice a week. Every Tuesday and Friday, Mariana ripped open their letters and eagerly scanned for updates on the well-being of her friends. They were doing well, to say the least. Blimey, even Harry said his summer wasn't going as terrible as usual. Mariana was beyond happy for him.

Genevieve was awful. Octavius, their father, despised her. She was an abomination to the Rosewood line, he would say. First, she was sorted into Gryffindor, the second Rosewood to commit that crime—Clementine had been the first. Then, she found friends in mud-bloods and half-bloods. Really, Octavius found it hard to look at her.

He was just glad he had Mariana. At least she wasn't such a disappointment. He must say, he was quite proud of her for getting sorted into Ravenclaw—the first Rosewood to ever achieve such a feat. Another thing that made her a successful young lady was her remarkable skills on the violin. Sometimes, he'd pass by her room, hear the graceful lull of the instrument, sit by her door and simply listen.

Although, it was a rare thing to hear her play now. Truthfully, Mariana hadn't had much time to focus on that. Well, technically, she did. But she knew it pleased her father so she certainly loathed playing the instrument.

Mariana sighed as she put her head against the window. Talon, her owl, was out collecting the day's mail since it happened to be a Friday. The swift owl was expected to return soon, seeing as she had left that morning.

Right on time, Talon swooped in and dropped the letters on Mariana's bed. Mariana smiled in delight and threw Talon a treat before rushing over to her bed and shuffling through the three letters. Wait, no.

Four letters.

Mariana quirked an eyebrow as she picked up the mysterious letter and scanned the unfamiliar address. She didn't know who it could possibly be.

Without hesitation, she ripped open the letter and scanned it's contents. And, Merlin, she was not disappointed. It was Dean Thomas.

Dear Mariana,

I have been wanting to write to you since that day in the hallway. Well, no, I'll be honest. I've been wanting to write to you since that day you sat by me in the Great Hall, just at the end of October. Since then, I have sort of held a strange infatuation towards you. However, I was too scared up until this point to admit it. I think this sudden burst of boldness is only due to the effects of summer break. Sorry, let me just jump straight to the point. I like you, Mariana Rosewood. That's it. It's in the air. I don't expect anything from you, of course. This is more for my sake than it is for you. I've been dying to say it. Okay, well, nice talk. I hope your summer holidays are well.

Sincerely,
Dean Thomas <3

Mariana read the letter three times in a row, absorbing all the information before she finally squealed and did a happy little jig around her room. Dean, a boy that had been lingering in her thoughts since that day in the hallway, had feelings for her.