I closed my eyes, barely refraining from pounding him to a pulp, my whole body shaking from the effort. She was giggling, laughing freely at whatever the useless Weasel had told her this time. His large, meaty hand was trapping itself in one of her curls as she brought it to his nose, sniffing slightly. I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting display and turned away, huffing.
"Marcus. Hey, Marcus. Flint."
That was her voice. Her sweet, beautiful voice. Yes, she was two years younger than me (a fifth year to my seventh) but that didn't stop the way I felt about her, the way my heart stuttered uncontrollably whenever she was near, the way I couldn't stop the foolish grin from breaking out on my face whenever I saw her. It also didn't stop her from dating the pathetic Weasel.
"Marcus, wait."
I could see her in the corner of my eyes, rushing towards me, dark curls flying around her flushed cheeks. Her gold-tinted, chocolate eyes were burning into the side of my head as I made my way closer to the edge of the Black Lake, smiling sadly at my reflection. She may have been a Gryffindor to my Slytherin, or a Muggleborn to my Pureblood, or even a know-it-all to my relaxed, but I still loved her with my whole heart. If my parents knew it would most likely give them a heart-attack. If my friends knew they would accuse her of slipping me a love potion. If she knew...
"What's wrong?"
She had reached me now, her small, dainty hand clutching my sleeve, pulling me to a stop and turning me to face her. Her wide, brown eyes were hurt and I hated seeing that expression on her face, and her red lips were pouting.
"Were you avoiding me?"
"Of course not," I told her, my voice gruff and annoyed. I turned once more to face the lake.
"I think you are, and besides, Ron said..."
"I DON'T CARE WHAT THE DAMN WEASEL SAID," I suddenly roared at her. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU WANT TO DATE HIM, BECAUSE YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ME. YOU'RE ONLY A FILTHY, KNOW-IT-ALL, MUDBLOOD."
Before I could even realise the implication of my words, she was running away from me, back towards the castle, her shoulders shaking with the tale-tell signs of sobs. I tried to call out to her but my throat was blocked and I could only watch helplessly as she ran away from me for what I was sure was the final time.
Just before she disappeared into the school, she turned back to me, her loud voice racing across the almost-bare grounds. "I came down here to tell you that I love you, but I guess the sentiment is not returned."
And then she was gone, making me feel even more empty and confused than before I had met her. I turned back to the lake, staring unseeingly across the glass-like expanse. The chilling wind didn't even faze me any more, the grassy smell didn't affect me, and the cheerful chatter coming from the Great Hall no longer made me long to enter there with her on my arm. Because she was gone. And she wasn't coming back.
XxX
"Marcus."
The snake-like voice made me turn. I faced the Forbidden Forest for a moment in silence before making my solitary way inside. The trees seemed to whisper to each other, laughing at me, the stupid Slytherin who lost the one he loved in much the same way as Severus Snape did so long ago. I could hear them ahead of me, laughing and chattering excitedly to each other, baying for blood and death and destruction. And I found that I didn't care. Without her I just didn't care.
He was standing at their centre, his bony arms crossed, his robes hanging off his seemingly-frail frame. His snake-like nostrils flared, testing the air, as I approached, but he made no other indication that he knew I was there. A moment later a skeletal finger beckoned me forward, and I moved, breathing heavily, scared, as his fingers closed around my wrist, pinching harshly. A wand - Lucius Malfoy's wand - was pressed into his hand and a moment later was pressed onto my arm, green light blaring from the tip.
White, agonising, blinding pain.
Then darkness.
Then...nothing.
I sat up blearily, blinking slightly, banishing the stars from my vision. He was still standing in front of me, a sadistic half-smirk curling the corners of his thin lips. Still, he didn't speak, but raised his wand high above his head, more emerald light spilling from it, creating his mark in the sky above us.
The Dark Mark.
"And now we attack."
His voice was soft, melodious, but cold and unforgiving. He didn't stare at any of us as he left, allowing us to follow behind him, ready to bring destruction onto the Castle before us. And I could see her. She was standing there as if waiting for me, her cocoa hair flying wildly behind her as it did the moment she left, her chocolate eyes bright, ready.
She cast the first spell, and chaos reigned.
"Avada Kedavra."
I ducked the apple-green light, racing from the safety of the trees in order to find her. I needed to find her. As if she knew I was looking she dissapeared back into the Castle, and I followed. We ran further into the partly-destroyed school until the only sounds were our pounding footsteps; the screams and shouts, the thuds and bumps, the yells and howls, were all but forgotten, a mere distant memory.
And then she stopped.
She wasn't moving, her back to me, as if she knew I wouldn't hurt her. And I wouldn't. I never could.
"You promised me you wouldn't become one of them."
Her voice broke, a sob ripping out, her shoulders shaking, but still she didn't turn.
"And you promised you would never leave me."
"You promised never to call me a Mudblood," she screamed, finally turning, "But you did."
"I know," I replied, and there was nothing else to say, because what could I say? Oh, I'm sorry I called you the most degradatory name I could think of? I was only jealous, don't take it personally. I was jealous of you and Weasley. I couldn't say any of that, and so I stayed silent, waiting for her to leave me for what would definitely be the final time. But she didn't.
"Will you forgive me?"
She walked forward.
"Do you love me?"
"Unconditionally."
She let out a sadistic laugh.
"Will you promise to never called me that again?"
"Definitely."
She was walking closer still.
"Do you promise never to be embarrassed about falling for me?"
"Of course."
Her face was right in front of mine, and she smiled.
"Then I guess there's nothing to forgive."
And she kissed me.
We shared one kiss, the first of many, before finally moving out to fight, wands at the ready.
Together.
