Hi all! So as you can tell, I'm kind of on an Ariana Dumbledore kick right now! I just seriously love this character!

Written for Houses Comp as Slytherin HOH! It's round 5, which is crazy. I'm going to be using the prompts (last line) "There are some things even you/I/name can't fix," and (object) handmade quilt. I hope you enjoy this!

Word Count: 1268

Beta: Ash Juillet, Dhrish

Ariana remembered all the minute details that made up the day she met Joseph Greengrass. She had gone over to the nearby park to play and a few local Muggle boys had come over and started harassing her. They had seen her doing accidental magic and were either going to make her show them again or prevent her from doing magic ever again. They were smacking her, pinching her, and she was crying because no one had ever taught her how to fight back. For a six-year-old, this was the worst thing to ever happen to her.

One of the blows nearly knocked her out. She fell to the ground, hitting her head. Stars danced in her vision, and she began to go unconscious.

"Stop!" a voice exclaimed. Ariana heard it through her fear and pain, and the voice was like hearing angels. "You know better than to harass a little girl."

Ariana's attackers seemed to be afraid of the boy who spoke, at least enough so that they were instantly backing away, muttering things like, "Freak—weird—tomorrow…"

Once the others had left, the boy who had saved her came over and touched her arm. "Ow," she whimpered. It was the arm the boys had been pinching. "Why'd you help me?" Her voice was soft but hoarse, and she could barely even speak due to the shock.

"Looked like you needed some help," he answered. "I'm Joseph. Joseph Greengrass." He seemed to be a few years older than her, maybe nine or ten.

"Ariana," she replied hoarsely. "Thank you for helping me." "Don't worry about it," Joseph answered, helping her to stand. "They are only local bullies. They must have noticed you doing accidental magic, correct?" "Well, yes," Ariana replied. "But… how did you know?" "I'm a wizard, too, you know," he told her. "We live in the big house up on the hill. Greengrass Manor."

Ariana was shocked and pleased to hear this. It meant she didn't have to hide from this boy, that maybe she could make a friend. She knew the house, of course. Everyone in the village had known that the Greengrasses were extremely rich and also that they very rarely stepped foot in town. "Did you sneak away? I know your family doesn't come into the village very often."

"Yeah." Joseph grinned. " I'd better get back, but first, I'll walk you home, make sure you get there safely." He placed a hand on Ariana's shoulder but quickly pulled it back as he felt her arm. "You're freezing!"

Ariana hadn't even noticed that she'd begun to shiver. "I'll be fine."

Joseph shook his head adamantly. "I'll just run to my house and get a quilt or something for you. I'll be just a minute."

He left Ariana on a nearby park bench, and true to his word, he returned quickly with a comfortable handmade quilt.

"You're extremely kind," Ariana thanked him as he wrapped it around her shoulders. "More so than I expected."

Joseph smirked wryly at this. "My family's reputation precedes me, doesn't it?" Ariana shrugged. "I suppose so. I'm sorry." "It's not your fault," he excused. "But we should probably get you home before you get caught in any more excitement."

Ariana nodded earnestly, and they set off. It was about twenty minutes to Ariana's house. When they arrived at the door, they said goodbye, and that they would try to see each other again soon.

"Your quilt!" Ariana remembered just before she went inside. She shrugged it off and handed it back to Joseph. As soon as it was off, she started shivering again. "Here you are, thank you for letting me use it."

Joseph pushed the quilt back into her hands. "Keep it, all right? If we don't get to see each other for a while, remember me?"

And as Joseph had unintentionally predicted, their friendship did not last long. After Ariana had explained what happened, her mother, Kendra, took Ariana to St. Mungo's. They told her that with such brain damage Ariana had been given, at such a young age, she would never be able to perform magic properly again. They did not, however, understand its true extent.

Once this was found out, Percival went after the boys who attacked her, ending up in Azkaban for his actions. He died there after a year.

Kendra, fearing that they would lock Ariana up if they discovered the true extent of Ariana's mental state, moved the family to a new town not very far away, which was called Godric's Hollow. They kept Ariana's presence a secret, and only a few neighbors even knew of her existence.

She only saw Joseph a few times, because although Kendra knew the boy had saved her from the attackers, she did not want them to get too close. Her brother Albus kept this after their mother's death.

It was because of this separation that Ariana began to fall for Joseph. They began with slow friendship, born of pain and stars the day he had rescued her. As their visits grew fewer and fewer, by the time Ariana was fourteen, they had fallen in love.

During one of their visits, Ariana told him so. By this time, he was almost seventeen, and quite handsome.

"Ari…" he murmured, their hands intertwined. "I—we can't be together."

"Why not?" she asked. "I'm nearly old enough to wed. We can be betrothed on my fifteenth birthday in a few months."

"Ariana, I'mdying."

Ariana definitely heard him but could not fully process it. Dying? She had already lost her mother and father. Was she now to lose Joseph? "What?" Ariana asked, her voice trembling. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sick," he answered. "I have a Muggle disease called cancer. I am going to die before I'm seventeen. I was diagnosed a couple of months ago."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ariana questioned him. Now she was upset. "You're too important to just… die!"

"After your mother died, I didn't want to worry you even more. But my parents don't care. They just want an heir. That's the only reason they're trying treatments, but they aren't working. Everyone will do just fine without me."

Ariana was getting angry now. "Who cares about everyone? What about me?"

"We don't belong with each other," Joseph reminded her. "My parents would never allow me to marry a common girl, and both of us are messed up. Don't think I don't know about your magic problems. You can't control your magic, and I'm going to die in a few months."

"Perhaps it's our imperfections that make us perfect for each other," Ariana argued, still upset. How could he not understand?

"I'm sorry, Ari," he whispered, emotion filling his voice. "But I won't be coming back. I don't want you to see me once I start getting really sick."

Joseph left the house quickly, and that was the last time Ariana saw him. She saw the obituary in the local paper three months later. The picture it displayed was an older one from childhood. Joseph was standing in front of the gigantic Greengrass Manor on the hill in her old town.

Many times over the months between when she'd last seen Joseph, Ariana had worried and cried over him, and wondered if her outbursts of magic might be able to help him. She knew that they had so far only caused harm to people in her life, but what if…?

There's no use in pondering about what-ifs, Ari, she told herself as she clutched Joseph's quilt in her hands. There are some things even you can't fix.