Entry for the Last Ship Sailing Competition II

Round Six

Prompts:

(event) a wedding

(emotion) lonely

(dialogue) "You look lost."/"Lost in your eyes."

Entry for The Ultimate Doctor Who Challenge/Competition

Agellae - Write about a Gryffindor

This is connected to my previous Katie/Marcus story, "New Dawn, New Day, New Chances".

I hope you all enjoy it, I'm looking forward to your feedback!

It Starts With A Dance

Sometimes even the purest kind of joy carried by a crowd could fail to infect you, even though it should have. That was a phenomenon Katie had experienced repeatedly lately; it had started shortly after the war, as she was trying to cope with all the horrors she'd witnessed, and even now, as she was truly happy for her best friend, she still felt a little empty on the inside and as if she was trapped in a bubble.

Earlier today, when she'd stood right next to Alicia and Adrian when they'd exchanged their vows, smiling as they were named husband and wife, when they'd kissed, when they'd laughed with their friends and family about the short speeches of close friends and their witnesses… She'd been present, and yet, as she was sitting at a table in the corner, watching everyone celebrate, dancing and joking carefreely, she felt weirdly lonely. It was as if she didn't belong belong with them, a foreigner in their midst, unable to absorb the joy of the people around her.

Attending the wedding without an official date might be intensifying this feeling, even though she tried to ignore that thought. George was there with Angelina and Oliver had declined to come with her as friends, as he had a date, and to everyone's surprise it was Percy Weasley he was currently dancing with. Katie thought that while she hadn't seen that coming, they did make an interesting couple and the way they looked at each other told her that they had a connection on a deeper level.

And so she had nobody to keep her company and keep her from pondering while she watched the other guests sweating on the dancefloor and ate a big slice of the wedding cake, almost losing her mind about how delicious it was. She was too caught up in her thoughts to notice someone coming closer and so she jumped slightly when Marcus Flint was suddenly standing in front of her chair, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, Bell. It's been some time."

It had been, indeed, and she realised that he'd changed physically, surprisingly looking less like a troll, something she'd already noticed during the ceremony earlier today.

Of course she'd heard that he was on his way up the career ladder in the team of the Wigtown Wanderers, as his name appeared in the Daily Prophet quite often, but still she was mildly taken aback by the expensive dress robes, the stylish haircut and his corrected teeth that made his grin a lot more pleasant. The bully from school seemed to be wiped away on the outside.

But that wasn't an explanation to why the hell he'd approached her, and so Katie raised an eyebrow at him and stated: "You look lost."

"Lost in your eyes, Bell. You look stunning."

Maybe she'd been thrown into a parallel universe, because it just felt completely surreal to have Marcus Flint, the man who'd knocked her off her broom more than once, be friendly towards her and even compliment her… Seriously disturbing.

"You're drunk, Flint," she shot back, placing her plate of cake on the table while shooting him a stare that made it clear that his polite behaviour was absolutely weird.

"Maybe I am, a little bit. But I can't watch you sit here all by yourself, Bell. Come on. Let's dance."

A surprised, high-pitched noise left her as he suddenly took her hand and pulled her to her feet, somehow managing to keep his grip on her hand gentle while it was strong enough to lift her. He gave her a boyish smirk as he led her over to the dance floor – the band was starting to play a slower song now – and she knew that she must have looked ridiculous as she stared at him with wide eyes, tempted to pinch herself to ensure that she wasn't dreaming. There was none of the slight clumsiness she would have expected from him – she still remembered how uncoordinated he'd sometimes looked while walking – and his smirk only widened as he gently wrapped his arm around her waist and playfully twirled her over the dance floor once. Then he settled them in a slow rhythm, his hand closing warmly around her fingers, and Katie felt like her body betrayed her when a light and pleasant shiver ran down her spine.

"So… what's this all about?" she asked with hidden tentativeness after clearing her throat, looking up at him as he guided her over the dance floor skillfully. "I mean, you can't tell me you really want to dance with me."

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, his eyes calmly observing her face. "Why do you think someone wouldn't want to dance with you?"

"Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about, Flint!"

"I asked you to dance with me because I actually want to dance with you, Bell, believe it or not," Marcus replied patiently and Katie frowned, finding it hard to believe that he really didn't have an ulterior motive. "I thought tonight could be symbolic for a new beginning. Remember how you promised you would give me a chance? Until today I didn't have to ask for it, but now I would like to do just that. Give me a chance to prove that I took the opportunity I was offered and did something good with it."

If she was honest with herself, she was surprised that he still remembered that night and even cared what she thought about what he'd made out of his life. But then she also still remembered the way she'd felt back then when she'd looked at him, and how she hadn't hesitated to believe him, to give him a chance. Maybe it was time to trust her gut-feeling again.

"Okay, Flint, I'll give you your chance," she said after hesitating for a second, and he smiled softly. "What do you want to do?"

"For now I'm content with dancing."

His voice was smooth and made her feel pleasantly warm as she let him pull her a little closer while still giving her enough room; another slow song started and she took a deep breath, inhaling his scent while they danced.

When he smiled down at her she returned it genuinely, not even realising that the loneliness she'd felt earlier was gone now. It was as if he was the cure she'd been looking for, taking all the darkness inside her away because he knew how it felt.

And as they turned to the music she had the feeling that this would be the start of different times, and two sides would continue to grow together.