Camouflage and Christmas Lights
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. This story was inspired by the song "Camouflage and Christmas Lights." I do not own anything.
Author's Note: I can't believe the holidays are here already! I was actually starting to think that I would not get to have this story done, but I did it. It's kind of long; one of my longer one shots. This short story takes place during The Heart of Everything: The End of It All.
Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Date Finished: December 1, 2015
Bold: Flashback
Marcus stared at the warm Christmas lights as they danced off the tree and onto the large window that covered the front of the house. It was so strange to think that it was December, let alone Christmas.
He felt slender hands wrap themselves around his waist and a warmth instantly filled him. "What are you thinking about?" Katie whispered.
Marcus turned slowly and faced her. "Just watching the snow."
Katie peered out the window. "It's really coming down now. Was it snowing last Christmas?"
He nodded slowly, remembering how he had spent the last Christmas at St. Mungo's, waiting for her to come out of the coma. "Yeah, it wasn't snowing nearly as hard though."
Katie gently pulled him closer to her, her eyes dancing. "It's cold out. You'll have to warm me up."
Marcus pressed his lips against hers. "Hum...As much as I like the offer, I'm sure our parents wouldn't want to walk in on that."
"We can make it quick. Besides, it's a part of marriage." She ran her hands over his toned Quidditch chest. "Besides, it's never stopped you before."
"Yeah, but they weren't even close to us." He ran his tongue over the top of his mouth. What the hell was he even thinking? She was beautiful and, yes, he really did want too.
Her hand slowly crept up his hand, her fingers running over his muscles. "Besides, there is a war going on out there and we could be dead tomorrow. We'll be off fighting one day and one of us may never come back. Don't you at least want to have what could be our last chance?"
"You know...You sure know how to suck the joy out of the holidays."
"Let me bring some of that joy back."
She took her hand out from underneath his shirt. "You know where to find me."
Marcus sighed and followed her. Whatever happened to shy Katie? Whenever they had first started going out, she had never been like this, but, now, he did have to admit that he did like this.
Katie smiled as he entered the bedroom. "I just knew that you would be coming." She lowered him onto the bed and started to kiss him.
"Now, you have to make me stay," he whispered, his voice soft.
"And I will do just that." She deepened her kiss and started to run her hands all over his body. "I will make this your favourite Christmas present."
Marcus blinked several times as he opened his brown eyes. There was a certain nip in the air that sent him pulling the blankets up closer around himself. Katie laid beside him, her blond hair spread out on the pillow like an angel.
The frosty December sun flickered in through a small opening in the curtains. Outside, he could hear the faint songs of the few remaining birds.
He guessed it probably was a beautiful morning out, but he just could not make himself move to go see. Plus, it did not help that the house elves had probably let the fires go out during the night.
He would just have to deal with that later.
"Morning," Katie muttered, turning over to look at him.
"Morning." Marcus bent down and kissed Katie's sweet lips.
"It's cold." She pulled the blankets up closer around her. "I thought we had heat all the time."
"The stupid house elves."
Katie's arm darted out so fast that Marcus didn't even have time to block her blow. "They are not stupid. They are living, breathing creatures and you need to treat them like that."
"I do, but they need to their jobs."
"You know, there are some people in the world who have to keep their own fires going. You should just be thankful that you have someone to do that for you."
"I know how to keep a fire going," Marcus muttered, tracing Katie's hairline. "I did most of the heavy labour for them anyway."
Katie sighed. "I know." She paused. "So, what are you going to do? No practice or games!"
Marcus nodded. Sure, he did miss Quidditch, but he was glad that they did get most of December and January off. The thought of flying a broom in this weather sent shivers down his back.
Katie slid out of bed and started to pull on her clothes. "Come on, let's make a breakfast so big that you forget about being cold."
Wincing, Marcus pulled himself out of bed and quickly pulled on his clothes. Even though he may be off for Quidditch, it didn't mean that the Dark Forces were going to slow down. He hadn't wanted to admit to Katie that she was right about their days being numbered.
The Christmas lights did not mask the horrors that they were truly facing. Death could come knocking on their door looking like a Christmas Angel. Sure, the holidays were a chance for them to return to a normal life, but they just could not let their guard down.
"Are you coming?" Katie asked, standing in the doorway fully dressed.
Marcus pulled his shirt over his head. "Yeah, I'll be there in a few. You can go on down and get started."
With a nod, Katie disappeared from sight.
Marcus padded slowly over to the window and pulled back the curtains. The hairs on the back of neck stood tall as he scanned the grounds at the back of the house. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but he could have sworn that he could feel someone watching them.
Letting the curtains drop, he turned and went down to the kitchens. He just knew that Katie was working by herself instead of waking the house elves.
They were going to have to do their best to make it feel like Christmas. He was going to have to do that for Katie. With her dad missing and possibly be taken by the Dark Side, she deserved to have a nice Christmas.
Even if it meant him giving into letting the house elves sleep in.
Katie gives him a big smile as he steps into the kitchen. Her blue eyes are clearer than they have been for days.
Marcus slide onto one of the bar stools that lined the long island. "So, what are you up to?"
Katie handed him a large mixing bowl. "Stir and I'll tell you."
He stared at the green mixture, dreading having to eat it.
"I thought that we could make some cookies," Katie said, her voice small. "You know for all of your nieces and nephews whenever they come over Christmas Eve."
"Mum..." Marcus muttered still staring into the bowl. He had completely forgotten about hosting the Christmas Eve dinner. What a way to ruin the holiday. It wasn't that he didn't like his family, but the little ones' screaming did give him a head ache.
Katie sat a bowl on steaming oatmeal next to him. "Here, eat."
Marcus shoved the cookie batter away. "Thanks." He took a bite of it, letting the warmth rush through his body. "So, where are the elves?"
"I thought that we could do something for ourselves." Katie rummaged through one of the cabinets. "You know, stand on our own two feet. You've gotten to be spoiled by house elves. What would happen if you didn't have them?"
"I can take care of myself," Marcus muttered.
"I know that, but with the way things are, you never know what could happen." She looked away.
Marcus got to his feet and put his arms around her, pulling her close. Her body was shaking beneath him. This wasn't like her. She was the strong one of the couple, but the loss of her father just seemed to have put her over the edge. He supposed that anyone, even the strongest of people, could lose.
"We'll figure something out," Marcus muttered, staring at the wall. "We will not leave him out there."
Katie looked up into his brown eyes. "I know, but it's just so hard not to worry." She touched his unshaven cheek. "Then, there's you."
Marcus looked away. He had been spying for the Order for a little over a year now and nothing had happened. Still, he did feel a pit in his gut every time he was with the Death Eaters. If he got caught, they would kill him on the spot.
"I don't see how your parents are okay with this," she whispered. "They didn't even try and stop the Order from bullying you into it."
Marcus ran his hands through his hair. "It's not like that."
Katie frowned. "Then, how did it go down? Can you at least tell me that much?"
He ran his hand along the island. Of course, she didn't know what last Christmas was like for him and he really didn't want her to know about the hell that he had gone through.
Marcus Flint walked down the empty London street with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed to the ground. Everyone else was making merry and whatever else they did on Christmas Eve. Marcus himself was supposed to be at the Flint Estate with his own family.
But not this year.
He paused outside Saint Mungo's. He stared up at the daunting building. His girlfriend was here. He didn't like to think about what had happened to her. He didn't like to think of her laying up there when she should be out here enjoying life.
He shook some newly fallen snow out of his dark hair. He wanted to kill whoever had put her in here. Who would want to harm her?
He entered the hospital and went past the main desk. Between coming here for Katie and himself for Quidditch accidents, he pretty much had the place memorized. He walked slowly into the ward where she was.
The place was empty. There was an odd stillness. It was odd, but, yet ever so peaceful. Marcus swallowed when he saw her. Katie was the only one in a bed. She looked so young and peaceful that it was heart breaking. He wished that her bed was empty too.
Marcus pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down. He reached under the covers and took her pale hand into his. He held her hand up to his lips and kissed it. He stayed like that for several minutes just holding her hand and watching her chest raise and fall.
He knew that he should be relieved that she had come this far, but it wasn't good enough. It never would be good enough until she was back with him.
Marcus looked out the window and watched the snow fall. Katie always loved the snow and she always loved Christmas. Tonight would've been the prefect night for her. Tonight they would've gone out and done something together.
He held her hand on his heart, hoping she could feel its strong, heavy beating letting her now that he was here. He felt her heat through his shirt and coat. It warmed the winter chill right out of him.
"Katie," he whispered. "It's Christmas Eve and it's snowing pretty hard right now. The lake below my house is frozen. You would probably like to ice skating on it." He paused. "No, you probably make fun of my lack of ice skating skills. You did the last time we went. Do you remember that?"
Marcus smiled down at her angel-like figure. She looked so pretty there. He knew that if would be so much better if she was up and leaving this place. He put her hand back under the covers.
"Do you remember two years ago when we went to the Yule Ball?" Marcus muttered. "You were so worried that I wouldn't show up." He paused and smiled down at her. "You probably do. You seem to remember everything about our relationship."
Marcus stared out the window and watched the snow fall. Memories came back to him about a happier Christmas.
He held Katie's hand closer to him. "Do you remember that?" he whispered. "you would probably remember everything about that."
He stared back out the window. The snow was falling heavier now. He could barely make out the Christmas lights that lined the street below. The lights didn't make him happy. This was a very blue Christmas.
He closed his eyes. His family had put up their tree last week. His mother had pushed him to come. The only reason he went to his parents house to put up the tree was shut his mother up. His was mother was worried about him getting depressed.
Marcus was not depressed. He still did all his normal activities. He just really didn't get out and see his friends anymore. There was nothing wrong with him.
He looked back down at Katie. She was still laying there in the trance state that had haunted her for the last few months. When was she going to wake up? He would not allow himself to think that she was never going to wake up.
He sighed. His family was probably wondering what was taking them so long. He knew that he should go back to them, but he couldn't make himself. He didn't want Katie to spend Christmas alone. She didn't deserve that. He knew that her family had been here earlier and would be here sometime tomorrow.
Marcus watched Katie. She was barely eighteen; she didn't deserve to go through this. No one did, but certainly not someone this young.
Marcus stood up. Katie wouldn't want him spending his Christmas Eve here. She would tell him to go home and be with his family. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Katie," he whispered.
Katie gently elbowed Marcus. "You were daydreaming again."
Marcus shook his head. "Not daydreaming, just remembering."
She reached up and ran her hands through his short, dark hair. "All you need to remember is right now." She kissed his lips.
He leaned into the kiss. "What about last night?"
"There are some thing that shouldn't be talked about on Christmas Eve," she whispered back. "Especially in front of parents."
"Good point."
She moved away from him. "Now, keep mixing. We don't want to ruin the biscuits."
Sighing, he stared down at the bowl. How had his life come to this? Well, it was better than sneaking around with the Death Eaters or having to sit in on Order meetings.
"You're still not stirring. Put those Quidditch arms to use for something other than chasing Quaffles!"
Shaking his head, Marcus went back to stirring. There were some things that just were not worth fighting over.
Which is how he found himself standing on the roof a few hours later inspecting Christmas lights. Okay, he wasn't against Christmas lights or anything, but whenever one of them blew out, it did drive him mental.
Plus, it really didn't help that the roof was really icy.
He carefully made his way across the top of the roof, keeping one hand on the peaks. He really did not feel like falling to his death today.
Below, Katie stared up at him, he eyes narrowed as he bent down to inspect a string of lights. "I just know I saw a string last night whenever I was coming back from the stables!"
Marcus rolled his eyes. If only he had just stirred the cookies like she asked, then he probably would not be in this mess.
"It was closer to the chimney."
He glared over at the chimney, which was spitting out clouds of smoke. Oh yeah, how amazing that she finds one next to the blazing wall of fire.
He can feel her smirk on his back as he slowly makes his way across the roof to the chimney. Oh yeah, she was going to pay for this whenever he got back down onto the ground.
Sometimes payback was a bitch, especially whenever it involved the pain of others.
Marcus slid into the empty seat next to Katie. "This doesn't seem to be your scene."
Katie slowly turned to him. "Well, you don't know me."
Marcus sat his mostly filled bottle down next to him. "Well, that may be true, but the way you are acting does hint otherwise."
She sighed. "I suppose you're not going anywhere nor are you going to remember anything that I say to you."
Marcus sat back in his seat. "No, I'll remember everything. I'm not drunk."
"Oh." She looked over at him. "Do you want to go for a walk?"
Marcus looked around, before answering. He didn't feel like getting his head ducked off by Wood tonight, but the Gryffindor Captain wasn't in sight. "Okay."
Katie got to her feet and looked back at Marcus. "Come on."
Marcus got to his feet and followed.
They walked along the edge of the lake, neither one of them saying a word for several minutes. Marcus found that he really did enjoy the silence. It wasn't one bit awkward, like it would be with so many girls.
Okay, maybe, just the ones he usually was interested in.
Katie stared up at the few waves that lapped up at the shore. "So, how are you feeling?"
"I'm still pretty sore, but it's better than it was," Marcus said, watching as the giant squid popped its head briefly out of the lake. "What about you?"
Katie shrugged. "Better, but not great." A small laugh escaped from her lips. "We make some pair, don't we?"
"Um, I guess." He really wasn't sure where this was going.
"I have the Mumblemumps and you're own team member knocks you out of the air."
"I guess." That did remind him that he did have to deal with Malfoy.
Katie turned to him. "Can you tell me something? You don't have to answer anything, since we really don't each other, but you are a male and you know how the mind of a boy works."
Frowning, Marcus stared at her. Where was thing going to go?
"Why do boys lead girls on and just leave them?" Katie asked. "Why do you insist on playing games with us?"
"Huh?" Why kind of problems could she have? She was, what, thirteen, fourteen?
"Boys play games just get something that they want, why?" Katie stared at Marcus, her blue eyes shining in the moonlight.
"Because love bites," Marcus muttered, unsure of what else to say. "You just have to be able to bite back."
"Is that what your girlfriend thinks?" Katie asked.
"Huh?"
"That girl you were kissing earlier."
"Oh, she's not my girlfriend."
Katie looked at him. "Does she know that?"
That was the million dollar question. He really had no idea what Allison thought they were. They really weren't dating nor where they friends.
"See, you do it too," Katie went on.
Marcus shook his head. "No, I'm not messing with her. She's actually messing with me."
"But you've slept with you," Katie pointed out.
Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Where the hell did you hear that and how do you know about that? You're only thirteen."
Her eyebrows narrowed. "I'm fourteen. There's not that big of an age gap between fourteen and sixteen."
"You're probably barely fourteen," Marcus muttered.
"Well?" Katie put her hand on her hip.
Marcus looked at her. "Well, what?"
"Have you slept with her?"
"That is really none of your concern."
Katie smiled. "That means you have."
Marcus didn't answer, mostly because it was true.
Katie shook her head. "I really don't know what I am even talking you. We really don't know each other and will probably never will."
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Slytherins and Gryffindors just aren't supposed to be together."
"Yeah, that will be a sad day whenever that happens. The world has to be ending before that happens." Katie looked back up at the bonfire. "Well, we had probably get back before everyone starts to miss us."
Marcus nodded.
Katie turned to go, but, then, slowly turned back to Marcus, biting her lip."I'm probably going to regret this."
"Regret what?"
She stood tall and brought her lips down on his. Marcus's eyes widened in shock, but before he could react, it was over.
She gave him a small smile, before leaving.
He stood there, dumbfounded, rubbing his lips. What the hell had just happened?
He slowly made his way back up the hill. He would play his role for now, go back to Allison, and do whatever she wanted. Even when he was with Allison, he still couldn't get that little blonde Chaser out of his head.
He wasn't sure if he would call it love, but it was something. Every time they passed in the hall, they would exchange brief looks, but never said a word.
Even though people said that love bit, it was important to make sure that he bit back too.
Marcus slowly got down from the roof. He hated that Katie had been right-there had been a tiny blub burned out right next to the chimney. He had just been lucky that fires hadn't been freshly built.
Katie smiled at him. "See."
He didn't respond as he wiped ice from his gloves. That was one thing he hated about England. Whenever it snowed, there always seemed to be a layer of ice beneath it. It was like there was a hell beneath the sweetest of things.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Now, what are you doing do for me?"
She smiled as she pushed him so quickly that it caught him off guard. He fell backwards to the ground, wincing as a little bit of snow and ice went up his bare back. She smiled down at him.
"Oh, you are going to pay for that!" He gently grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him, stuffing a small amount of snow down the back of her coat.
A small squeal escaped from her lips as she through snow back at him. "This means war!" She pushed herself to her feet and took over the hill.
Scooping up snow, Marcus took off running after her. Though he was a professional Quidditch player, Katie was still smaller and, therefore, a little bit faster than he was. By the time, he rounded the hillside, she was out of sight.
Knowing her, she probably had take off to the grove of trees...The very same grove of trees that Marcus had a hard time wiggling his body around. Sometimes he really did hate the way his body was built. It was perfect for Quidditch, but not perfect for much else.
As he bent down to add more snow to his ball, he felt something wet hit him in the back. He quickly jerked up, his arm drawn back ready to fire, but he saw nothing expect the cool December landscape.
"I know you're here!" he called.
There was nothing.
His eyes scanned the land, but he saw nothing that didn't belong. He could see her footsteps, but, again, he couldn't get to her.
Okay, this did call for a little cheating. He pulled his wand out of his back pocket and held the snow in the other hand.
"This is your last chance!" His baritone voice rang out into the trees, sounding a little bit like Father Christmas. "Don't make me do this!"
Still nothing.
"Okay, you had your warning, now it's time for war!" He watched as the snow soared out of his hand and into the trees.
He heard a splat, but didn't hear any other sounds. There was just simply no sign that Katie had been hit.
Just as he bent down to pick up another hand full of snow, a ball of wet snow hit him squarely in the stomach. He briefly grunted as he wiped the snow away from his front. Okay, this was starting to get downright dirty. Any lower and should would have caused some major damage.
"Come out and face me! You don't need to hide!" Marcus called as he sent another snowball flying into the trees, followed by about a dozen more. He didn't care that he probably wasn't hitting her, but it was probably getting her worried.
Another snow ball came flying back at him; this time hitting him on the head. He reached up and wiped the cool snow from his hat, thankful that he was actually wearing one for once.
"Can you at least come out and make it a fair fight?"
Still nothing.
He stared at the trees. Maybe there was a way that he could wiggle his way through the thick trees and maybe find her. It was a small chance, but it was the only chance he had. He was not about to stand out here and get pounded with snowballs. Plus, the wetness was slowly making its way through his clothes and onto his skin.
Yeah, he was getting cold.
Gripping his wand in his left hand, he slowly twisted and turned his body through the dense trees, his clothes catching now and then one branches. It was a tight squeeze and hard for him to move, but he did think that he was finally making progress-not much, but something was better than nothing.
SPLAT!
He winced as a ball of snow hit him on the nose. Now, this was getting to get dirty. Plus, he was in a place where he couldn't reach up and wipe it off. The cold snow was running off the edge of his nose and down to his mouth, chapping his lips and numbing his skin.
What had ever happened to his sweet Katie-you know the one who would never hurt anyone off the Quidditch pitch?
He attempted to raise his arm to send snow into the trees, but he could not move. To add more trouble to it, he could not move. Great, this friendly battle was starting to get worse than sneaking around the Death Eaters.
Behind him, he heard laughter. Jerking his head over, he saw Katie standing there with a big smile on her face.
"I suppose you are quiet happy with yourself?" Marcus asked, as he freed one of his arms.
Dropping the snow in her hand, she walked over to him and wiped the snow off his face. "Maybe."
"Your lips are starting to turn a little blue."
"That's because someone hit me in the face with snow."
She smiled. "I was aiming for your chest, not your face." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Besides, I think I'm pretty good about getting your mind off of things."
"Maybe I can do it too." She did have a little bit of light back into her eyes; maybe for once she wasn't thinking about her missing father.
"I think I'm better at it."
Marcus Flint had his dark head ducked over a thick Transfiguration book in a small corner in the library. He normally didn't spend all that much time here, but his fellow classmates were just being downright stupid in the common room. Yes, he was awful that Christmas break was just a mere few days away, but he had to get his Transfiguration grade up if he had any hopes of passing the class. He was doing fine in all of his other classes, but Transfiguration was his worst subject. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not get his grade up.
"I'm surprised to find you here."
Marcus jerked his head and found himself staring into the blue eyes of his girlfriend, Katie Bell. "I have a quiz on Wednesday and I actually need to pass this one."
"Marcus, it's a Saturday and you've been at this all week." She gently pulled his book away from him. "You need to take a break. Besides, Christmas is coming and there's new snow out there."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Marcus asked. He knew that he wasn't going to like where this was going. He hated the cold and it was just downright cold out there.
Katie leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Do wanna build a snowman?"
No, not really...Building a snowman did not sound like his idea of fun, but she was giving him that puppy dog face and she did look really cute when she did that. No, he had to be strong. He had to focus on passing the quiz. However, she did look really cute and they really didn't get all that much time to themselves. Maybe, he could squeeze one little snowman in.
"With magic?" he asked, his brown eyes hopeful.
"No."
Some much for that.
"We do it the Muggle way. It's more fun that way."
Marcus didn't see how doing things the Muggle way could be fun. It was always so much slower.
Katie tugged on his arm. "Come on!"
"I'm not dressed for this."
Katie took in his jeans, sweatshirt, and boots. "Yes, you are."
"I don't have a coat."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Then, what that's looped over your bag."
Marcus opened his mouth.
"Don't say that you don't have gloves, because they'll next to wand."
"What did you do, study me before you came over?"
Katie flashed him a brilliant smile. "Maybe, now come on!"
Marcus gathered up his things. What in the world had he gotten into?
Katie was waiting outside the library, tapping her foot. "You are so slow."
Marcus just grunted. "So, where are we going to do this?"
"Um...Down by the lake sounds like a good place to me, what about you?"
Marcus thought about it. The air down there was cooler, but the wind didn't whip through there like it did in the courtyard or other places on the grounds. Considering that, plus the wind chill, plus the actual temperature, the lake didn't seem like all that bad of an arrangement. "That sounds good."
"Great." Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the main entrance. "I just hate that the dementors are here. They suck the joy out of everything."
Marcus paused as he pulled on his coat and gloves. "They surely won't be down that far, will they?"
"I don't know. They are not supposed to come onto the grounds, but that didn't stop during the Quidditch game. If they'll down there, we leave."
"Sounds like a plan."
The couple walked down to the lake and much to Marcus's disappointment there was not a dementor in sight.
Katie bent down and scooped up snow in her gloves. "This is just prefect." She held it up to Marcus. "See, it's not too dry or wet. It's just right for building a snowman."
Marcus looked at the snow. It looked like snow to him, nothing special.
"Okay, you start making the bottom. Make sure it's huge, I want to try to make this snowman as big as possible."
Marcus looked around at the unmarked snow, thinking that maybe this had all been a big mistake. There was an awful lot of snow on the ground. "How big are we talking?"
"Maybe as tall as me. You're too tall to be a model."
He looked at Katie's frame. Sure, she wasn't anything all that tall, but she wasn't exactly short either. This was going to take awhile.
"Hop to it!" Katie exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
Marcus knelt down in the snow, soaking his jeans, and started to roll snow up. He had never seen her so happy, she was almost giddy. He had never seen something as simple as making a snowman make someone so happy. If she was happy, then he was too.
"No, you have to pack it tighter. I know you have more muscle that than."
Or not. Marcus sat back on his heels and looked at the snowball. He didn't see anything wrong with it.
Katie knelt down next to him and started packing the snow. "If you don't, then the entire thing will just fall down."
Marcus watched her. She really wasn't anything different from what he been doing, but, then, who was he to say something.
Katie moved back. "Now, you try."
Marcus started packing snow, this time a little harder than what he had been doing before. "Better?"
Katie nodded. "Much, now just make sure that you keep it up."
"How many of these things are we going to need?"
"Three." Katie looked over at him. "Have you ever built a snowman before?"
"Yeah, but we always used magic and made it different colours and different shapes."
"But you've never done one by hand?"
Marcus shook his head as he added more snow to the snowman. It was getting to be about a metre round now. How much more did she need in order to have the so called prefect snowman? They didn't have to be huge to be prefect or even look like an actual snowman. It really wasn't about what it looked like, but who you made it with.
Katie smiled over at him as she started to make the middle. "That's enough for that. Just roll it over there."
Marcus followed her finger and rolled to his right. He did have to admit that this was a rather good spot for a snowman. It was a small hill that overlooked the ice covered lake. It looked like something off of one of those cheesy Christmas cards that all the shops were selling this time of the year.
He rubbed his hands together as he made his way over to Katie. She had a ball that was about one fourth the size of the bottom. He knelt down next to her as she added some more snow to it and watched as she kept rolling it.
"How big are you going to make it?" Marcus asked, as she added some more snow.
"Just a little bit more and it should be done. You don't want it to be too big or too little, otherwise he'll just look wrong."
"How do you it's a he?"
"It's called a snowman, not a snow woman."
She did have a point with that one.
She finished adding the snow next to where the bottom of the snowman was and started smoothing down the sides until it was a perfect round ball. She looked back over at Marcus. "Um, some help would be appreciated."
Marcus sighed, he had to at least pretend to be annoyed by this. He walked over to her, picked the snowball up, and put it on top of the other. Katie stepped back and looked at what they had done. Marcus only hoped that she liked what they had done so far because he did not want to start over.
"Now, for the top." She knelt down in a snow bank and started to pack snow together.
Marcus put his hands in his pockets and watched. She did look really beautiful with her cheeks red from the cold and snow littered throughout her hair. She looked like an angel sent down from heaven.
A few minutes later, Katie looked back at him. "Now, put this on top."
Marcus knelt down next to her and added the final snowball to the snowman. He did have to admit, it didn't look all that bad. In fact, it was one of the better snowman he had seen for awhile.
Katie looked at the snowman. "I still think it's missing like."
"Please, don't tell you're one of those people who thinks that a snowman is not complete without a carrot nose, coal for eyes and ears, sticks for arms, a hat, and a scarf."
She rounded on him. "What's wrong with that?"
Really, Marcus was one of those people too. A snowman just did not look like a snowman without those things. It just looked like a pile of snow, but he wasn't about to let in on that.
Katie pointed her wand at the snowman and soon it looked like something off of one of those lame Muggle holiday specials. Since Marcus had been dating Katie, he had watched some pretty bad Muggle telly. He didn't know if she actually liked that crap or was just wanted to make him suffer. Besides looking like something off a bad show, it did actually look pretty nice. Its arms were wide open, waiting to pull you into it's warm embrace, the eyes and the smile actually made the him look like he longed to be your best friend, and the scarf and hat made him look almost human. Marcus really wasn't a fan of the carrot nose, however. There was just something to off about it for his liking. He couldn't decide if it was too short of too big for the snowman's face.
Katie looked up at his frowning face. "You shouldn't look like that. It makes you look funny."
"I don't like that nose."
She studied the snowman. "Yeah, you're right. There is something off about it, but I don't know what."
"I don't know either."
They both studied it for several minutes.
"I think it is too small," Katie said, walking over to it. She started wiggling the nose. "Maybe it's just buried in here too far." A few seconds later, a longer nose appeared, not much longer, but just enough to make the snowman look normal.
Marcus and Katie walked hand in hand into the warm house. The elves now had the fires burning full force. As he pulled off his boots, he was once again thankful that he had not given into Katie's desires for a central heating system. There was not any kind of warmth better than wood.
Katie watched him. "We really do need to get some more work done for the party."
He sighed as he lowered his socked feet down on the floor. Sometimes he really did hate being a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, especially whenever it came to the holidays. "Are you sure it's not too late to back out?"
She shook her head. "We are going to do this."
"True, but it is necessary to have the family crest on everything? " He knew that there was history in the crest, which dated back to the Saxons, but still.
"We can leave that part out."
"Good." He stared up at the holly that lined the long hall. What had ever happened to a simple Christmas?
Christmas Eve
Marcus lowered himself down into one of the few reminding empty seats, holding a plate of food. Around him, his family talked, mostly bragging about all of the things that they or their children had done over the year.
He watched as he own mother and father talked to some great-uncle who he really didn't know and knew who his father was not overly fond of. His older brothers all sat proudly with their families, like they didn't have a problem in the world.
"You're supposed to give up your seat for a lady."
Marcus looked up at his younger sister, Haley, as he bit into his mashed potatoes. "My house, my rules. Plus, you're not a lady."
Haley lowered herself down onto the floor. "You really do need to get some more chairs."
"Kick the old ones out of theirs."
She gave him a long look. "That would be liking signing my death warrant." She looked at her baked chicken. "Besides, you probably should go save your wife from them. I think they are bound and determined to track her family line down to ours."
Marcus snorted into his firewhiskey. "Good luck with that one. She's half-blood."
Haley took a big bite of chicken. "Great-Uncle Alfred seems to be in denial about that. He wants to know how his nephew let this happened. Great-Aunt Ruth told him to shut up and mind his own damn business."
"I see."
"Katie just walked away. It's going to be a miracle if you two are still together after this."
Marcus just nodded as he started to mix his noodles, corn, and mashed potatoes together.
Haley frowned as Katie slid onto the floor next to her.
"Hey," Katie said, looking around at the packed parlour. "I don't remember half of these people from the wedding."
Marcus looked up from his mixing. "That's because they were accidently left off the guest list."
Katie gave him a long look before looking down at his plate. "Does your mum know you still play with your food?"
"What's wrong with it?" Marcus took a bit of it. "It's good."
Katie just shook her head before looking at Haley. "Are they all like this?"
Haley nodded. "Yep, that's why Mum was pleased whenever I turned out to be a girl."
"Can't say that I blame her."
"You picked me," Marcus pointed out.
Katie frowned at the mess on his plate. "Yes, but it doesn't mean you have to act like a pig."
"I'm not. I just don't really care for this stuff plain."
"I see. Why do you eat it if you don't really like it?" Katie bit into her own food.
"I like it mixed up."
Haley stared at the tall Christmas tree. "So, did Marcus hang the tree topper?"
Katie nodded. "Yeah."
"That's what I thought because it's not one bit straight."
Marcus frowned at his sister.
Haley smiled and stared back out at her family.
"Your uncle was also very concerned about an heir," Katie said. "He wanted to know why our first child wasn't on the way."
Marcus snorted. "We've only been married for a month, what does the git expect?"
"He also wanted to know if there was something wrong with you, because he didn't think I had any problems. He said that you should go get that checked out."
Haley gagged into her pumpkin juice. "Little sister here."
Marcus ignored Haley. "Why doesn't he just come and talk me about this?"
Katie looked up from the bun that she was buttering. "Oh, he said that he would track you down later and that he also wants season tickets."
And Marcus would put another restraining order on Alfred again, just like he did last year. Marcus simply did not like having his uncle follow him into the locker room.
"How much longer?" Marcus asked, changing the subject.
Katie gave him a stern look. "You just can't kick out family."
"Watch me."
A few hours later, the last of the Flints had cleared out. Marcus slumped down on the sofa, gripping a firewhiskey tightly in his hand. Sure, he had managed to avoid Alfred, but he hadn't been saved from everyone.
Katie lowered herself down next to him, grabbing his firewhiskey, and drowning it. She handed the empty goblet back to him with a smile. "Thanks, I really needed that."
Marcus stared at the empty goblet. "Now, what I am supposed to do?"
She leaned against him. "You'll figure something out."
The cool Christmas lights danced off her blond hair, making it look as if her hair was many colours. The whiteness of her sweater shorn out from underneath the soft pink dress robes she was wearing.
Marcus slowly bent down and kissed the top of her head. He didn't know what the future would hold, but it was Christmas Eve and the snow was falling. He was with the woman of his dreams.
Even all of the Christmas lights could not camouflage the evil. The Dark Forces were still out there and they could be dead tomorrow. There was still so much that could go wrong.
However, tonight felt right.
Merry Christmas! The Heart of Everything: The End of It All is currently posted in and on Inkhitt (AlysonSerenaStone). Hope you have an amazing holiday season!