We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony in summer air
Eleven year old Katie Bell did not get lost on her first day at Hogwarts. She got lost on her second day. She walked for so long, it felt like class should already be over. Then she saw him. He was quite tall, with straight black hair and dark green eyes. His face was different from other boys. He was also, she noted, in Slytherin. Oh well, she thought, I best pluck up the courage to ask him where divination is. But as she approached him, someone grabbed her elbow.
"Hey Katie! Our class is this way!" Alicia Spinnet said excitedly. She pulled Katie away from the boy, but not before she waved at him. He looked a bit startled, but waved back with a grin.
That's when she saw his teeth. Strangely, she was not repulsed, but intrigued. Well, as intrigued as an eleven year old girl can get.
Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
Heaven's gates won't open up for me
With these broken wings I'm fallin'
And all I see is you
Quidditch is a dangerous sport. All players know that. They are prepared for accidents, mishaps, mistakes. Marcus was prepared for all of this. Quidditch was not just a sport to him. It was his life, his everything. It was the one thing that could always be counted on in his life, the one thing that would never change.
Then Katie Bell had to go and, literally, fall out of the sky. And he, for some reason, had to go and fall after her, trying to catch her.
"For Merlin's sake, you're only twelve! How can you be able to play, especially when you're so small?! I'm going to-" his voice faded in and out of Katie's ears, but he did pause for breath when they reached the hospital wing. She took that moment to kiss his cheek, then lay her head back on his shoulder.
"Thanks for saving me, Marcus."
I don't want a lot for Christmas More than you could ever know
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
Make my wish come true oh
All I want for Christmas is you
During the Christmas of her third year, Katie stayed at school for the holiday's, and was one of the only ones who did. Even though all the attacks were on muggle-borns, half-bloods, like Katie, courtesy of her father were also at risk, and should not be wandering around the castle all hours of the night. Which doesn't explain why the half blood in question was doing exactly that.
This was pointed out to her by the fearsome foursome; Adrian Pucey, Caleb Warrington, Alec Montague and Marcus Flint. The infamous wanna-be boy band.
"Well, if it isn't little Katie Bell." Adrian drawled. "A bit far from your tower, aren't you princess? Do you need the big bad troll to show you the way back?"
"Shut it, Pucey." Marcus growled. He turned back to Katie. "Go on, Katie. Monsters ain't gonna stop just 'cause you say please with that pretty little face of yours." Then he smiled.
She loved to see him smile, even with his crooked teeth, because it was a genuine, from-the-heart Marcus smile. The real Marcus who was kind, and sweet and wonderful. The Marcus he was afraid to let the world see, he showed only to her.
At the end of that year, on the day before summer break, Katie Bell cried herself to sleep when she remembered that Marcus wouldn't be at school the following year.
Just a day,
Just an ordinary trying to get by.
Just a boy,
Just an ordinary he was looking to the sky.
And as he asked if I would come along
I started to realize
That everyday he findsJust what he's looking for,
Like a shooting star he shines.
He said take my hand,
Live while you can
Don't you see your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand
However, at the beginning of Katie's fourth year, it became apparent that there had been no reason to cry. He was there, on the train September first, for his second seventh year. She ran into him, literally, going to find her friends.
He looked angry at first, but when he saw it was her, he gave another one of those heart stopping smiles. Katie was so glad to see him that she didn't think, and threw her arms around his waist in a fierce hug. He was still for a moment, probably in shock, then he returned he hug, tightly wrapping his arms around her. When it was over she backed away nervously, stuttering something about her friends, and was gone.
That entire year, Katie was determined to make Marcus her friend, at least. She made an effort to wave and say hello whenever she saw him. He seemed unsure at first, but he would always wave back. As time went on, Marcus found himself "accidentally" bumping into Katie just so he had a reason to talk to her. They gradually became more comfortable with each other, and would even hold hands, but there wasn't any sort of 'understanding' between them. They just…were.
When it came time for him to finally leave, she was terrified that he'd forget all about her, but one sit down between them cleared that up quickly. As silly as it seemed, they promised to owl each other, not every day, but whenever they could. There was no talk of waiting for each other, because sometimes it's better off not hoping for something so uncertain as a school crush. There were four years between them, and sometimes no matter how much you want something to be true, there's always one small thing that can get in your way. Time passes, and waiting really isn't that hard, because you never know what the future's gonna throw at you, right?
Scars heal, glory fades
And all we're left with are the memories made
Pain hurts, but only for a minute
Yeah life is short so go on and live it'
Cause the chicks dig it
He wasn't quite sure why he was showing off as much as he was.
Scratch that, he knew exactly why. That 'why' stood at five feet, four inches, had blonde hair, blue eyes, was fifteen years old, and currently sitting in the stadium cheering him on. Well, she was cheering him and Oliver Wood on, much to his resentment. At least, that's what she said. However, he couldn't help but notice the jersey she was wearing wasn't Puddlemore United's 'Wood 4'. It was the Falmouth Falcons' "Flint 6'.
Cry me a river Wood.
But everything changes
If I could turn back the years
If you could learn to forgive me then
I could learn to feel.
Kissing Marcus was like flying as fast as you could towards the ground, then pulling up at the last possible second. It was the ultimate adrenaline rush; what true Quidditch player could resist it? Katie certainly couldn't. It was fast and hot, making her head spin and her heart jump in her chest, even as he moved away.
He looked at her, flushed face, swollen lips, and couldn't help think, mine. Why had he waited all this time to kiss her? All reasoning had been shot straight to hell. Every reason he'd had to keep away from her had disappeared with one kiss. I t no longer mattered that she was only sixteen, and he was twenty. It didn't matter that she was to good for him, and he would never be good enough for her. They only thing that mattered was Marcus' heart falling right at Katie's feet.
But even as he leaned in for another kiss, a flash of doubt flickered in his mind.
Things couldn't always be this good, could they?
He's been looking down at me
It seems like forever
He takes the top on and off his pen
It's like he can't decide
What he wants to say
If he'd just tell the truth I'd be on my way
But he just stares at me
And I just stare at him
He don't know where to start
To say he doesn't want it to end
Now its one hour later
And I'm still a blank sheet of paper
In all of his twenty one years, at least until that day, one image had always stuck with Marcus. When his brother, Magnus died, his fiancée, Madelyn, had this look on her face that he couldn't exactly put a name to. It was almost…dead, blank, as if she'd just lost the only thing she had to live for. He knew that if it hadn't been for Charlie Weasley, Maddy might have let herself fade away into nothing. At the time, he'd thought that was the worst day of his life. He thought he'd never see anything more heartbreaking, or more gut wrenching than Maddy's blank face.
He was wrong.
The worst day of his life was when he broke Katie Bell's heart.
He'd never been good with words, and even though he tried his hardest for her, he knew it wasn't enough. It would never be enough, because Katie, good, sweet, romantic Katie deserved someone who could say 'I love you' like they said it every day. Someone who wasn't afraid of those words. Not that he was afraid. Of course you aren't, his conscious whispered to him. You just can't accept it, can't say it. That wasn't true. He just didn't want to love her, so therefore, he didn't. And that's exactly what he told her.
However tough he thought he was, he knew one thing was for sure. It wouldn't be Maddy's face he saw when dementors came around.
The one good thing he'd had in his life, he'd thrown it away. All for nothing, it seemed, because with Katie, everything had been easier. Talking, smiling, laughing, loving. His own friends had seen a change in him. There was only one reason he could think of, but he would never accept it.
Katie believed that Marcus wasn't scared of anything, and he'd do anything to make that true, for her.
He had always prided himself in not being a coward, so he went to visit her when he'd learned she was at St. Mungo's. If she was always asleep when he did, well, that was just coincidence. He was brave enough to face her in the daylight. He just didn't want to.
Hold your head high
don't ever let 'em define
The light in your yourself,
give them hell
you can take on thisworld
just stand and be strong
And then fight
Like a girl.
Two months before, Katie would have thought having her heart broken would be the end of the world. She was so sure, then, that she'd never be able to get over it. Nothing worse could happen. Isn't it funny, every time you say that, something worse will always happen? Eighteen years is a long time to believe something, and God does it hurt when you realize that nothing is the way you wanted it to be. Even worse when something wonderful, something that should have been forever, is over because of fear.
If there's one thing she's learned, it's been that nothing can break you unless you let it. No one can break you unless you let them. No matter how much it hurts in the long run, you have to take it, because it makes you strong enough to fight the same things happening over and over again.
But I miss screamin' and fightin'And kissin' in the rain
And it's two a.m. and I'm cursin' your name
You're so in love that you act insane
And that's the way I loved you
Breakin' down and comin' undone
It's a roller-coaster kinda rush
And I never knew I could feel that much
And that's the way I loved you
He's not Marcus.
She's not Katie.
These were the words that would pass through their minds whenever they went out with other people. Always.
He's not Marcus.
She's not Katie.
When darkness turns to light
It ends tonight, it ends tonight
Just a little insight won't make this right
It's too late to fight, it ends tonight, it ends tonight
There is something to be said for Hogwarts students however. In times of need, they will band together, regard less of previous houses, for the sake of what is right. At least, that's what Angelina Johnson said to her fellow Gryffindors, Fred and George, Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood, Annabelle (Oliver's girlfriend), and Alicia Spinnet as they prepared to meet the Slytherins. Alicia was the only one putting up a fuss, excluding Oliver, because he was always fussing. Something about not wanting to see Warrington, or some such nonsense. Adrian Pucey, Caleb Warrington, Alec Montague, Owen and Elizabeth Flint (Marcus' siblings), and Tarquin Bole, were waiting for them.
Two hours, and a dozen petty arguments later, most of which between Alicia and Caleb, they all came out of it alive, barely, with a plan.
Marcus hated balls. Parties in general were not his favorite thing, but the balls, with there formal wear, and formal dancing, aggravated him to no end. However, he'd promised his sister, Elizabeth, that he would go, because her engagement to his friend, Adrian Pucey, was being announced that night. All of heir friends were coming, which included the rest of his own friends. More than likely, Caleb would have somehow blackmailed Spinnet into coming, while Montague would probably have Johnson in tow.
By default, the Weasley Twins would be there, with Lee Jordan, and Wood. He didn't let himself hope that Katie would be there.
What if I told you it was all meant to be
Would you believe me, would you agree?
It's almost that feeling we met before
So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy
When I tell you love has come here and now
A moment like this
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this
Some people search forever for that one special kiss
Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this
She saw him a moment before he saw her. After all the hurt, the pain and tears, just seeing him made her happy. Because no matter what, he would always be the love of her life. He was wearing black dress robes that mage his green eyes even darker. He was tall and dignified.
He saw her, and it was like breathing for the first time after almost drowning. She wore a pretty light blue dress, her long hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. She was slim and graceful.
She was looking at him and he was looking at her. It must have been gravity that pulled them towards each other. Some invisible rope that tethered them to one another. It was natural for Katie to slip her arms around his neck, for Marcus to hold her waist tightly. Their lips met in a kiss that said everything they couldn't.
I love you
I love you
I love you.
And how can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?
Would You tell me, how could it be any better than this?
'Cause You're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything
"Through all the trials we have faced, all the times we've both screwed up, in the end, I've always had you, always loved you."-Marcus
"Everything we've said, everything we've done to hurt each other, it doesn't matter now, because I have you, and you have me."-Katie