Mariana Potter's cheeks flooded with embarrassment as her sneakers squeaked horribly against St Mungo's smooth and glossy flooring.
"Sorry," The sixteen year old quietly apologised to the hospital's visitors who looked at her with annoyance.
Mariana did her best to ignore them as she shuffled towards the reception desk, a nervous look on her face as she wasn't sure how to go about telling someone she had woken up to a stranger's initials being magically seared into her flesh.
"E- excuse me?" she stuttered to the thin blonde-haired woman who was busy sorting out some paperwork behind the wooden desk.
Several pieces of paper were levitated towards Mariana, who was astonished to hear the woman tell her to sit down in the waiting room and fill the paperwork out.
What if she had been dying?
"Um, actually, I just wanted to ask a question." said Mariana as she gently shoved the papers back towards the woman. She didn't think this was serious enough to have to see a doctor for.
The blonde receptionist sighed, disregarded her current task and looked up to see who desperately wanted her attention, only for her eyes to narrow at the sight of The Girl Who Lived.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Potter, but St. Mungo's is very busy. You'll have to wait like every other witch and wizard, we don't have the time to cater for spoiled celebrities."
"Wh- what?" Mariana's eyes widened in shock, her mind utterly appalled to hear such words from an adult whereas her heart ached because nobody cared to truly understand her.
She hated her fame, which only seemed to have grown worse once she had begun studying at Hogwarts. Everyone either used her, or perceived her as someone who got everything their heart desires, her wants given to her on a silver platter.
Their opinions and assumptions were far from the truth.
"Please, I only need a minute!" Mariana begged, tugging nervously on the sleeve of her grey hoodie which used to belong to her cousin.
She was scared; she needed someone to explain what was happening to her. Despite attending Hogwarts for five years now, she still wasn't familiar with everything the wizarding world had to offer.
The blonde woman scoffed, ready to turn the attention-seeking brat away, when a ministry official who had been waiting to be seen by a healer herself quickly interfered.
"Mariana, how nice to see you again!" Madam Bones chimed, bringing the distressed girl in for a hug.
Mariana hadn't ever seen this woman before in her life, but quickly returned the hug when the woman whispered in her ear to play along.
"I'm so sorry that I didn't notice you earlier, I was lost in thought. You know what appointments do, always inviting worry to feed on our souls." Madam Bones smiled, cupping the girl's pale cheeks before turning to look at the receptionist behind her. A cold look quickly replaced the warmth she had given the Potter girl.
"I- I'll get someone to see you right away, Miss Potter." The receptionist uttered before stumbling out of her seat and rushing down the hall, no doubt searching for the first doctor she could find.
"Thank you, ma'am." Mariana breathed out to the woman who had been graceful enough to help her.
"It's no problem, my dear. Please, call me Amelia."
"Are you related to Susan Bones, perhaps?" Mariana smiled kindly, fiddling with the sleeves of her hoodie as she could quickly see the resemblance between the head-strong woman and the kind Hufflepuff student she often spoke to at Hogwarts.
"That's right, are you good friends with her?" Amelia asked, a small smile on her ruby-painted lips.
"Yes, I believe she enjoyed the sweets I sent her for Yule last year?"
"Oh, that was you! I wondered who sent her all those chocolate frogs. Well, thank you Mariana. She was very happy."
"I'm pleased she liked them; I didn't get the chance to ask her once the holidays were over. Studying for OWLS took up much of our time, you know?" Anxiety began to creep into Mariana's wide smile as the teenager began to wonder when the receptionist would come back with a healer.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy talking to one of her friend's relatives, it's just that she couldn't stop thinking about the initials on her wrist and the tender pain which had accompanied it.
"Do you want to sit down, dear? You're looking quite sickly." Amelia frowned, concern swimming in her ocean coloured eyes as she observed the thin girl before her.
"I haven't slept very well in a few days," Mariana admitted before Amelia practically hauled the girl to sit in the vacant seat beside her own in the waiting room.
"Sleep is very important, especially for a young witch." The woman tutted before pulling her wand out of the pocket in her suit jacket and waved it over Mariana. A silver box of Turkish delight quickly landed on her lap. Mariana looked at it with a hint of brightness returning to her luminous green eyes.
"I've heard sugar can be quite the helper. Susan told me it's your favourite, I hope this makes you feel better after what that awful employee said."
"Thank you, Amelia." Mariana whispered, her face full of shock as tears accompanied the new brightness in her eyes.
She hardly knew the woman, and yet she didn't hesitate to help and comfort her.
'It makes a nice change,' Mariana mused before she gingerly took the lid off of the box and plucked one of the square sweets from the velvet lining.
She was just about to take a bite out when the blonde receptionist had returned with a pale-skinned, chocolate-haired healer in tow.
Sighing, Mariana placed the Turkish Delight back inside the box, sealed it with the lid and then stood up to follow the Healer who beckoned her to his office.
"Thank you again for the sweets and all of your help, Madam Bones. I hope to see you again soon." Mariana gave the woman one last smile, who kindly returned it, before she cradled the Turkish delight against her chest and followed the Healer to his office.
"So Miss Potter, what seems to be the problem?" Healer Diaz smiled kindly as he sat in the red leather seat opposite her.
"I'm really sorry if I'm wasting your time, sir."
"Nonsense, I'm here to help in all ways, even if it's just to put the worries to rest."
Mariana took a deep breath as she placed the gift she had received from Madam Bones on the floor next to her chair and then quickly pulled her sleeve up to show him the initials seared into her inner wrist.
"I woke up to a burning sensation and now I have the initials of someone practically scarred into me." Mariana explained and Healer Diaz carefully took a hold of her wrist to get a closer look, a surprised look replacing the usually relaxed expression on his face.
"Mariana, do you know what this is?" He asked, looking at the red-head with a small smile on his face.
"No, that's why I came here."
"This, my dear girl, is a soulmate mark. You're one of the few lucky witches to receive one."
Mariana reeled back in shock, her wrist freeing itself from the chocolate-haired man's gentle grip.
'I have a soulmate?' Mariana chewed on her lower lip, unsure what to do with the information she just received.
Healer Diaz's kind smile quickly twisted into a scowl. "Oh, I do wish Hogwarts would teach this to you kids more often! It's not terribly uncommon for a selective number of children to have been born with a soulmate each year."
Mariana sat quietly, trying to wrap her head around the answer she had been given. Glancing down at the letters etched into her skin, she couldn't help but wonder who they belonged to.
She wracked her brain for every person she knew whose name began with a T at school, when one student in particular stuck out to her.
How was she going to tell Theodore Nott that he was her soulmate?
Frustration quickly made itself known on the brunette's face and Healer Diaz sent her an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry about telling them straight away, it's good to think these things through before jumping into anything rash."
Mariana looked at the man and nodded her head in thanks before retrieving the box of Turkish delight by her feet. Holding it close to her chest again, Mariana rose from her seat and told the healer how much she appreciated his time.
"It's no problem, Miss Potter. I hope everything works out well with your soulmate."
"Thank you, Healer Diaz. I hope the rest of your day is rewarding for you." Mariana sent him a small smile before exiting the office, her mind in complete disarray as she tried to work out what to do next.