Harry hastily gathered their things before chasing after her. Maria ran and ran, she threw the front doors open with all the strength that she had. Something about the way that everything happened caused her to snap, and she couldn't explain it. Harry chased after her as much as he could but Maria had too much of a head start, and she soon lost him after two flights of stairs. She didn't even care where she was going, she simply ran, her tears blinding her. Her path was suddenly obstructed by a large redheaded man. She slammed into him, hard. Ron caught her by the waist, shocked that a small human had just tried to tackle him to the ground outside of the library. It only took him a second before realizing who it was and what she was doing. He began asking her what it was that had triggered such a reaction, brushing her hair out of her face. She couldn't say anything due to her sobbing. She simply kept shaking her head 'no' as if she wasn't willing to speak about it. He saw the blood on her face, but he didn't know what else to do but to hold her close.
Eventually, Ron picked her up and walked her to the Gryffindor Common Room where Ginny, and Hermione came rushing over. "She ran into me! I don't know what's going on but she won't stop crying!" Exclaimed Ron as he slowly set her down on the couch. Ginny and Hermione sat on either side of her, not really sure of what to do. Eventually Maria settled down, hiccuping softly every now and then. The girls escorted Maria up the stairs where she showered and without a single word, crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep.
Harry searched several floors before realizing that he could simply use the Marauder's Map! He ran back to the Gryffindor common room as quickly as he could. Upon entering, Ron came running up to him, his ears red as could be. "I need your help!" Ron practically yelled in Harry's face.
"What?" asked a confused Harry.
"Someone's hurt Maria! She ran into me outside the library... In tears. I don't know for sure who did it, but I bet it's Malfoy and Zambini! They've been eyeing her up since she's arrived! I'm going to hex them untill they explain what they did! And then, I'm going to kill them!" Yelled Ron.
"Ron-Ron!...RON! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" Harry yelled, desperate to catch his best mate's attention before he blew a gasket. Ron's face was one of shock as Harry grabbed his arm, and pulled him up the stairs.
The boys sat on Ron's bed and closed the curtain around them. "Ron... Maria and I... we were just having breakfast on the bleachers of the Quidditch Pitch when some of the Slytherin team came... They were trying to take Maria into the showers.."
"Why didn't you stop them?!" Yelled Ron.
Harry shushed Ron before continuing. "Ron.. you're never going to believe this. Flint had his wand to my throat! The Beaters were leading her to the showers when... Maria snapped! She.. She-She punched one in the face and kicked the other guy in the back of the head! It was amazing Ron! But then Flint grabbed her, and so she threw him over her shoulder!" Ron's face began to change, he was starting to smirk as he listened to the story. "But after she flipped him onto his back... Ron... I don't know what got into her, but she pounced on him. S-she pinned him down with her knees on his arms and began to punch him in the face... Ron... She didn't stop until we ALL heard a bone crack..." Ron stopped smiling. "She broke something in his face. There was blood EVERYWHERE!"
"Yeah.. I saw." said Ron, now much calmer. "She's told me before that she had to take self-defense classes because of her dad's position. But I thought that meant with a wand... Not her fists. She's had a rough past Harry, but I've never seen her like that." Ron shook his head, now extremely worried about his friend. The boys sat in silence for a moment.
Eventually, the boys decided to check up on the girls, so they went down to the common room. Several girls sat in the couches by the fire, one of them being Ginny. She stood as soon as she saw her brother and friend. "She's asleep at the moment." Ginny said as she walked towards them. "Did either of you find out what happened?"But both boys insisted on getting Hermione before retelling the story of the day's events.
Hermione and Ginny both looked at each other at the end of the story. None of the 4 friends spoke, none of them really knew what to say. After a long silence, Ginny spoke up. "She once told me that she would have horrible nightmares about before she was adopted. She doesn't remember much... but she says she remembers having to feel like she had to fight to save her own life... Maybe.. that's what happened? She felt like her life was really in danger?" They all shrugged. After a few more moments of silence, there was a creak by the staircase. Maria stood at the foot of the staircase, looking sleepy and disheveled. In a quick few steps, she was in Harry's Lap. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck before mumbling for him to head upstairs and hold her while she slept. A confused Harry looked at his equally confused friends before agreeing. He carried her bridal style up the stairs and into his bed.
Maria slept well in Harry's arms that night, but Harry did not sleep well at all. Maria would whimper every now and again, which worried Harry and pulled at his heart strings at the same time. He watched over her as she clenched tightly onto his body, her face contorted in one of fear. He watched over her as a few tears slid down her face before he decided that enough was a enough. Tomorrow, he was going to confront Ron about her Past.