A Chance You Only Get Once

In this growing haze, there was a castle that everyone regarded as a safe haven and a beacon of light. It was controlled by a man that struck fear in the heart (such that it was) of the wizard who was fear itself. Albus Dumbledore and Hogwarts Castle. It was the last safe place left, but the blows could fall there as well.

In this world of gathering darkness, there were once six friends who lived in this bright castle. They ruled it as they ruled each other's hearts. They fit together perfectly. They were right. They worked. They loved and hated and failed each other, but they were always friends, even when they themselves couldn't see it. Four of them fell in love with each other and decided to get married. They all thought of each other as family.

This was a very long time ago, and it would be very hard to tell this if you visited the castle now. Those who live there now are constantly trying to forget the War itself. The only traces that you would find of some of its heroes were a boy in the image of one with another's eyes, a map signed with their nicknames that few can read, an enemy who refuses to speak of them, teachers who remember but rarely think of them, records of four in old Prefects Meeting minutes, brief biographies of five of them in the Memorabilia section, a few Quidditch trophies with one's name emblazoned on them, a talkative Gamekeeper who knew five of them in their seventh year, and a snow-woman in a hidden clearing.

Besides the boy and the Gamekeeper, to whom all eyes are drawn, these are traces that almost no one would detect. It would be nearly impossible to tell the effect that these students had on the lives of those who walked the halls now. It was true, however, that many of them owed their lives to them and others owed many of their smaller happy moments. It is easy to see how nearly every student in Hogwarts castle has absolutely no idea the effect of these six people's lives on their own. But it was present nonetheless. These were no ordinary people. Individually, they were unique and rare. Together, they were remarkable and perfect.

They were, simply put: a werewolf, a hero, a goddess, a defender, a traitor, and an angel. They were much more than that even when they were young, however. They were much more whenever they were together.

This was the story not of the ones who left Hogwarts Castle to go on and do great things. It is the story of the girl who never graduated from the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. She remained as nothing more than a fleeting memory in their hearts throughout their lives.

Her story will never be told in the history books. Future generations will not know her name. She will not even make the footnotes. Her name and stats have not even be recorded in her seventh year Hogwarts yearbook. She was not pictured in the seventh year class portraits. Once all of her friends have died young, no one will remember her on her birthday. Only a year or two after her death, the rest of the students at Hogwarts had Christmas back.

But a person’s influence on the future cannot be measured by the how they are remembered by it. What comes of someone’s life and death is not always as easy to see as the pages of a history book. The events that they set into motion multiply and spread like ripples from a tiny drop in a vast pool. Even an event that history will not find significant, even the death of a person who will be forgotten quickly, can be the tool that destiny needed to bring about her designs. Good things can come of something terrible, and terrible deeds can occur because of a kind act. No one can see all the causes of even a single event. No one, even if they knew about her, would guess all of the influence that Marissa Olivia Jane Fletcher was to have even from beyond the grave. Even those who lived them would never guess all the lives that she had touched.

From neither of these remnants would you guess the character of Marissa Fletcher. You would never suspect her vast importance both to the individual lives of those who knew her and, indirectly, the struggle against evil.

But now you do know that there was a girl who thought that dancing under the stars was for the poor people who thought that they didn't have time to do it during the day as well. Who, once, in her second year, twirled around in a circle so fast that her entire Herbology class fell over. Who raised her little brother and hid him in the Astronomy Tower to protect him. Who was nearly raped by Lucius Malfoy but rescued by the Marauders. Who believed in James and Lily when neither of them did. Who painted James Potter's face in the sky. Who helped Sirius Black the day that he ran away from home. Who, once, saved Severus Snape from the whims of James Potter when even the indomitable Lily Evans could not. Who dived in between a duel between these two enemies. Who, several months later, even more unbelievably, received Severus Snape’s thanks for her help. Who fell in love with Remus Lupin and did not care that he was a werewolf. Who was nearly attacked by him but agreed to marry him anyway. Who took the secret that she was dying with her to her grave. Who realized that Peter Pettigrew was being coerced by Voldemort but didn't have time to help him before her death. Who was killed by Death Eaters but gave them quite a chase before they managed it. Who saved her little brother by hiding him in a closet with so many enchantments protecting it that not even the Aurors could break through them. Who sent one of her attackers barreling head first into a roasting turkey. Who held together a group that would have splintered in that crucial fourth and fifth year without her. Who bonded the people who, together, could paved the way for the one who could defeat Voldemort forever. Who was Lily Evans's best friend and James Potter's biggest fan. Who was Remus Lupin's fiancée and Severus Snape's only friend. Who was Peter Pettigrew's last hope and Sirius Black's comforter after Azkaban.

This story was told only once. For most, she is too painful a memory or too deep a part of their hearts to lightly uncover it for others. For many, she is both. Perhaps it will be told again for Harry Potter, but it will not be about the crazy prefect who was his mother's best friend. It will be about the two warriors who were shattered by her death, but who from her learned to love life and dance in the autumn leaves.

Recited, her deeds look like that of an angel. She was not nearly so perfect close up. She was not nearly so infallible if you saw her every day. She deceived. She hid her feelings from Remus and broke his heart to pieces many times. She lied to Lily and nearly destroyed their friendship in the process. She rejected Severus Snape and agreed to flaunt her relationship with Remus immediately afterwards despite how it would hurt him. She did not turn in two Death Eaters whom only she knew about, both of whom would go on to do terrible things that no one else could have done. She humiliated James Potter repeatedly and spoiled the sanctity of the Quidditch Pitch. She blatantly abused her prefect status. She never really helped Sirius Black combat his inner demons, merely let him hide from them for awhile in her company. She twice had the opportunity to talk to Peter Pettigrew and perhaps save him, but she twice failed to press the issue hard enough. She kidnapped her younger brother and panicked her father. She sent her brother back to live with a man that she feared and he hated. She set up Lizzie Walker with Gideon Prewett and indirectly caused her death.

She was an annoying morning person. She played ridiculous and involved pranks. She lied out of the corners of her mouth. She told some truths that would have been better left untouched. She blackmailed the Marauders who were her friends. She forced her best friend repeatedly into painful contact with a boy she could not forgive or trust yet.

But she put on magic shows in the Common Room. She kept the fan mania under control. She helped Lily trust James again. She loved Remus Lupin with all of her heart. She went among first years drying eyes and pulling Sickles out of ears and noses. She knew secrets, and she didn't judge for them. She understood, sometimes without being told. She made people laugh on the worst days of their lives.

Ultimately, she did more good in her life than harm. Perhaps that is the best that anyone can hope for in life. It is the simple truth about the girl that Peter Pettigrew considered the angel of Hogwarts. That is who you would see if you ever stumbled into that clearing. An imperfect angel who walked on earth for far too brief a time.