Author's Note: I've always wanted to write a rare pair, so here's mine! Just for reference, Marcus' first year at Hogwarts was 1986, while Susan's was 1991. The story is split by year, with markings to indicate changes in time within the year.
Prompt: Flitterbloom - write about someone/something who acts dangerous but is actually harmless
This story is AU.
1991
"Ouch!" Susan's elbow was beginning to bleed where it had scraped across the stone floor. Her belongings had spilled out of her bag when she fell and were littered around her on the floor.
"Watch where you're going next time," a gruff voice said. The owner of the voice was a tall boy with broad shoulders and dark hair. He sported a Slytherin tie and crest. She nodded meekly and began to gather her things.
The boy looked around and then quickly bent down, picking up her transfiguration book. He silently held it out to her, and shook it in her face with impatience when she didn't grab it. Susan hastily took it from him and stuffed it in her bag.
"Thanks," she told him, giving him a shy smile. He nodded stiffly and continued down the hall without a word.
/|/|/|/|
Marcus Flint. His name was Marcus Flint. She knew that now after the first Hufflepuff-Slytherin Quidditch Match. He was both Captain and a Chaser for their team. She listened silently as some of the older students grumbled about his underhanded tactics and dirty sportsmanship, but admired the way he flew quickly, and surprisingly gracefully, around the pitch.
/|/|/|/|
When Marcus Flint walked down the hallway, he was automatically given a wide berth. The whispers that followed in his wake were silenced, if only for a moment, with a single dark glare.
"He'd curse you without a second thought," someone whispered. Not true.
"I heard a second-year bumped into him once and he was hospitalized for a month!" That one was true but it wasn't his fault. The kid had caught dragonpox and been quarantined.
"Well, I heard he's hospitalized almost everyone on the Gryffindor quidditch team!" Well, that one was completely true, but almost every quidditch player landed up in the Hospital Wing at some point or another.
He didn't really mind the whispers. If they kept people away from him, that was all for the better. And if he occasionally growled at a younger student or glared at them in order to reinforce his reputation, that was all for the better too. Marcus noticed a short, blonde girl walking towards him that didn't seem afraid of him at all despite the reactions of her peers. In fact, as she passed she positively beamed at him. He vaguely recognized her as the girl he had bumped into a while ago. He remembered because she had managed to speak to him without stuttering, and had even had the gall to smile at him. Rather a mean feat for a Hufflepuff - and a first year at that.
1992
Susan gasped when she saw the carriages. "What are those things?" she asked.
"You mean the carriages," Hannah asked, looking at her strangely.
"No, those skeleton horse things," she said, pointing at the creatures hooked up to the carriages.
"I don't see anything, Susan. Are you sure you're alright?" Hannah questioned worriedly. Susan frowned.
"Yeah. Go ahead and get a carriage. I want to get a bit of... air before we go back." Hannah got into a nearby carriage, keeping a careful watch on her friend. Susan reached her hand up to stroke what seemed to her to be thin air.
"They're called thestrals," a familiar, gruff voice informed her. Susan was unsurprised to see Marcus Flint standing behind her. His hands were in his pockets and he was staring resolutely at the thestral. "You can only see them if you've seen someone die. Most people think they're rather scary because of that, but they're actually quite gentle creatures."
"Is there a problem?" a pompous voice interrupted. The owner of the voice was a red-headed boy with a Gryffindor tie and a shiny badge that proudly labelled him as a prefect. "You're not causing any trouble are you, Marcus Flint?" the boy asked suspiciously. Marcus scowled at the boy and his dark brows furrowed, but he didn't say a word. The two seemed to be engaged in some sort of staring contest. Susan mused to herself that if the boy thought he could take Marcus on, he was definitely living up to the Gryffindor stereotypes of bravery and stupidity. She slightly stepped between them with a sigh.
"He's not causing trouble," she told him firmly. "He was just telling me about the thestrals. I didn't know what they were, you see." The boy was at first suspicious and then surprised. His red eyebrows disappeared up into his even redder hair.
"It's very rare for someone as young as you to be able to see them," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry for your loss." Susan nodded, in acknowledgement. "Well, if that's all, you should both get into the carriages. We'll be leaving soon." Susan suddenly realized that most of the students that had been milling about had disappeared into carriages. Hannah was waving wildly from the window of her carriage, trying to get her attention.
"Right, thank you," she replied faintly. The boy gave her a firm nod and walked away. She glanced at Marcus and gave him a slight smile. He seemed unsure on how to respond and gave her a slight nod before leaving as well.
/|/|/|/|
She heard the things people said about Slytherin, his heir, and his house. Dark, evil, Death Eaters, they whispered. She watched the way the other students parted around the Slytherins when they walked down the corridor, their green and silver ties marking them as social pariahs.
/|/|/|/|
"Surely they can't all be dangerous," Susan argued. Hannah shrugged.
"Maybe not, but it never hurts to be careful."
"It's the older students you need to watch out for," fifth-year Heidi Macavoy interjected, interrupting their not-so-quiet conversation. "The people who are around my year or older. That's when they start being dangerous."
"Surely you can't just assume that," Susan protested. "What about the Hufflepuff values of acceptance and friendship? How can you just push them away because of what they might be?" Heidi gave a sad smile at Susan's display of typical Hufflepuff naivety. Most of them didn't lose their rose-colored lenses until they saw one of their friends cursed, or became victims themselves. That was the sad reality that most Hufflepuffs faced before they graduated.
"Just be careful," Heidi warned quietly.
/|/|/|/|
"You'll be next mudblood," Draco Malfoy spat. Susan gasped, as did many of the wizard-raised students around her. It wasn't a word you heard very often in public, even from members of the old pureblood families. The muggle-borns simply appeared confused at the slur. Susan saw the way Hermione Granger stiffened at the insult though, and she suspected that she knew what it meant. Draco gave Hermione a vindictive smile as if he knew how hurtful the word was to her, and that he relished it. For the first time, Susan began to have her doubts about Slytherins as she remembered Heidi's words.
/|/|/|/|
Susan looked around for Dracaris Specie. She needed it for her Care of Magical Creatures report, and according to Madam Pince, it was somewhere on this shelf. There. Susan sighed. Of course it was right on the top shelf. She reached up for it, huffing impatiently when her fingertips didn't come close to the book, even when she balanced precariously on the tips of her toes. She gingerly grabbed one of the shelves to pull herself up slightly, praying that the shelf wouldn't just fall over on her.
"Accio book," a voice called behind her. Susan spun as her desired book flew off the shelf to the person behind her.
"Hey! That's mine," her protest died on her lips when she saw that Marcus had the book and was holding it out to her. Susan flushed in embarrassment whilst mentally beating herself up for not thinking to use such a simple spell. It was something she'd learned over the summer from her aunt Amelia. "Thanks," she said shyly, hugging the book to her chest. Marcus shrugged.
His eyes trailed after her as she made her way back to her table. He glanced around noting that no one was sitting nearby, and slowly made his way over. Susan didn't notice him, engrossed as she was in her essay. Marcus cleared his throat loudly, flushing when Susan glanced up to stare at him.
"Can I sit with you?" he asked, fidgeting with his sleeve in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness.
"Of course," Susan replied, beaming. She hurriedly cleared off some of her books to make space for him as he sat in front of her. The two worked quietly until Susan broke the silence.
"One of the older students warned me about you," she said matter-of-factly.
"Did they?" Marcus responded, raising an eyebrow. He wondered who it could've been. There were more than a few students who could have been the culprit. "So why are you still talking to me?" he asked curiously. Susan bit her lip.
"I don't think you're dangerous," she decided.
"I'm a Slytherin. That means I'm inherently dangerous. It's basically written in our house motto," he told her wryly. Susan scoffed.
"There are plenty of wizards who have gone bad that aren't in Slytherin. I would know, my aunt Amelia's an auror," she informed him haughtily. Marcus smiled slightly. She was just like a little owl with ruffled feathers.
"Perhaps," he allowed, "but my position, and my family means I may have to make certain choices in the future. Dangerous ones." His dark eyes were piercing and she suddenly realized what he was alluding to.
"But- but he's gone isn't he?" Marcus shrugged.
"Just because he's gone doesn't mean that those who followed him are." There was a moment of silence.
"My aunt is an auror. The Bones family has always been on the side of the Light," she said quietly. Marcus looked troubled, but he simply nodded.
"I know."
"My entire family was killed by Death Eaters. My mom, my dad, my aunts, uncles, cousins. My aunt Amelia was the only one who survived aside from me."
"I know," he whispered. It was always a tragedy when a pureblood family fell. Since the only surviving members of the Bones family were both females, the name would most likely die with them. "I don't have a choice," he moaned. "I have to stand with my family." Susan nodded, but pursed her lips. She may be only twelve, but she had been wizard-raised, and she knew how important family was.
1993
"I thought you graduated last year?" Susan asked, astonished. Marcus flushed an interesting shade or reddish-purple.
"I have to repeat a year," he muttered, looking anywhere other than at her.
"Oh," she replied quietly. "Well, that's one more year we'll get to see each other then, isn't it?" she asked shyly. Marcus flushed even more and grunted, which she took as affirmation. He looked around the empty cabin.
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the seat in front of her. Susan nodded eagerly, and he sat down, closing the cabin door behind him. They were silent for a moment, simply observing the passing fields, and listening to the groans and creaks of the Hogwarts Express. "I'm surprised you're not sitting with your friends," he remarked suddenly. Susan shrugged.
"I didn't feel like it. Why aren't you sitting with yours?" she asked curiously.
"Slytherins don't have friends," he stated simply. Susan couldn't imagine what that must be like. Hufflepuff was built on the idea of friendship.
"That must be difficult," she said hesitantly. He shrugged.
"It is how it is." They both jolted as the train suddenly came to a stop and the lights went out. Luckily, the outer window allowed sunlight in, keeping the cabin relatively lit.
Susan shivered as the cabin suddenly turned icy cold. The two watched fearfully as the outer window slowly frosted over with ice, blocking out the sunlight, and throwing the cabin into near darkness. Marcus swore, pulled out his wand, and cast a quick lumos. Susan fumbled to follow his example.
"What's going on?" she whispered, the words seeming even louder than usual in the pitch black cabin.
"I'm not sure," Marcus whispered back. They listened anxiously, and froze when they heard screaming. "Get behind me," he ordered. Susan reached out her hand until she felt her fingers close around his cloak. Marcus grabbed her wrist, pulling her fully behind him, and angling himself to face the door. Susan gripped the back of his robe tightly in both hands, to stop them from shaking.
Both of them gasped when the cabin door slowly slid open. Susan felt despair overwhelm her as she saw the silhouette of a thin hooded figure standing in the doorway. She shivered violently as the cold grew even worse and all the happiness seemed to drain out of her.
Marcus swayed slightly, realizing that the figure that stood not two feet in front of him was a dementor. Hopelessness threatened to overwhelm him, but he felt Susan tighten her grip on his robes. Marcus gritted his teeth and raised his wand.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM," he bellowed, and a silver bear burst out from his wand tip. The dementor shrieked, and immediately back away, his bear lumbering towards it with a growl. It stayed guard in front of them until the dementor left.
Marcus closed the door with a sigh of relief. He slowly turned to face Susan who stood wide-eyed and pale behind him.
"Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.
"Oh, Marcus," she sobbed, throwing herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she buried her face into his chest. Marcus awkwardly wrapped his arms around her tiny figure, and slowly patted her back.
"It's alright," he murmured.
"What was that thing?" she asked, pulling away slightly so she could see him.
"A dementor," he replied gruffly. "Nasty things. I don't know what they're doing on the train though. They're supposed to be the guards of Azkaban." Susan sniffed.
"I don't know what I would've done if I had been on my own. I felt like all the good in me had been drained. Like I'd never be happy again." She shivered, remembering the cold hopelessness that had overwhelmed her. "Thank you," she told him earnestly, looking up towards him. She blushed as she realized his face was much closer to hers than she'd expected. They locked eyes, something unspoken passed between them, and suddenly his lips lowered to meet hers. The kiss was brief and sweet.
"Er, I'll go see if I can find out what's going on," he stuttered, awkwardly. He waved and quickly made his way over to the cabin door, tripping on his way out. His face was bright red as he left.
"Susan," Hannah called in relief as she spotted her friend getting off the train. "Where were you? You weren't sitting by yourself were you?"
"No. I was with Marcus Flint," Susan responded shyly.
"Marcus Flint!" Hannah repeated, shocked. "He's a Slytherin!"
"He's not bad," Susan defended. "He's always been nice to me."
"You like him!" Hannah accused, loudly. Several students nearby stared at her outburst.
"Hannah!" Susan cried, mortified.
"Sorry," she whispered. "Well? Do you?"
"I- I- maybe? He kissed me. In the cabin. It was my first kiss," she confessed with a small smile. Hannah gasped.
"What! How was it?" she asked, her protests about Marcus Flint forgotten.
"It was... sweet," Susan decided. Hannah raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, noticing Hannah's doubtful expression.
"Well, he just doesn't seem the kind to be... sweet, you know?" Susan shrugged.
"He's not as scary as everyone thinks he is. I just wish more people could see that," she informed her dolefully.
/|/|/|/|
"Er." Susan looked up from her parchment, beaming when she saw Marcus.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Well, you're a third-year now," he said slowly.
"Yes."
"That means you can go to Hogsmeade this weekend."
"Yes," she answered slowly.
"Well, I was wondering, if you want, if you would like to go with me? I mean of course you might not. You might want to go with your friends. And I might be too old for you-"
"I'd love to go with you, Marcus," Susan interrupted. "And you're not too old for me," she added.
"You're thirteen," he said helplessly.
"So?" she asked indignantly. "I'm not a child." She couldn't help but wonder if he didn't see it that way.
"That's not what I meant," he replied hurriedly. "It's just that I'm eighteen already. I- I shouldn't have kissed you. I took advantage of you. I should have graduated already. It's not a significant gap I suppose, but not everyone will see it that way. I don't want people to be making the wrong assumptions about you."
"Oh," Susan breathed. He was worried about her. Worried about what others would say about her. "I don't care about what anyone else thinks," she told him. "It's stupid that anyone would care about that anyway." Marcus gave her a small smile.
"So I'll see you on Saturday then?"
"Yes you will."
/|/|/|/|
Whispers followed them around Hogsmeade.
"Did you see? Susan Bones and Marcus Flint?"
"But isn't her aunt an auror?"
"Aren't his family all death eaters?"
"But she's a Hufflepuff!"
"And he's a Slytherin!"
The pair did their best to ignore their astonished peers. Marcus bought her favorite sweets for her at Honeydukes despite her protests. In return, she insisted upon paying for both their butterbeers at The Three Broomsticks. The two sat in a booth in the back that afforded more privacy than the more popular front tables.
"Marcus, what are you doing with her? Why don't you come sit with us," a voice drawled. Marcus snarled at the blond figure.
"Malfoy, I suggest you mind your own business and sit somewhere far away from us," he warned. Draco raised an eyebrow at the threat, but he was no fool. He quickly walked away, casting a backwards glance at the odd couple.
"Sorry about that," Marcus muttered. "Malfoy's an arrogant prick." Susan giggled nervously.
"It's fine, really," she assured him. They exchanged shy glances over their steaming butterbeers.
After finishing their drinks, the pair made their way to Tomes and Scrolls to browse the selection. Susan was delighted to find that Marcus shared her love of old books. He confided that many people just saw him as a quidditch player and not much else, but he'd always loved the smell and feel of a nice leather-bound book. Between the two of them, their arms were soon full of wonderfully weathered and worn books.
Susan turned the corner around the shelf and bumped straight into him, causing all their books to spill onto the floor. Marcus carefully piled them up, handing her her half.
"Watch where you're going next time," he said gruffly, but this time she saw the way his mouth twitched ever so slightly in the corner, and she accepted them, giving him a grin and a quick peck on the cheek.
End note: I realize that Susan may have come off as a bit too helpless in regards to the dementor situation, but you have to remember that Harry, Ron, and Hermione reacted in the exact same way. The only reason why Marcus knew what to do was because he was older and thus had learned about them, as well as the proper spell to use against them. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think!