Never the Twain Shall Meet
Marcus' POV
This can't be happening. He thought miserably; out of Hogwarts for almost four years, out of University for just short of one, and still nothing… all because his name is Marcus FLINT.
Marcus surprised most of his friends by deciding to attend University after Hogwarts instead of pursuing a pro Quidditch career.
Many of his former house mates didn't think he had the mental capacity to do anything else but play sports much less attend an institution for higher learning especially since he had to repeat his seventh year, but he did it anyway and graduated with honors.
He shook his head in memory of his second seventh year.
What a crock that was… he thought taking another long draw from his tumbler.
The flames in front of him were dancing merrily in the fireplace; he briefly entertained the idea of tossing his degree in the middle of it to watch it burn for all the good it's doing him now.
He thought back to his first seventh year…
He was the Slytherin Quidditch team captain; his team had new brooms and uniforms as well as a decent seeker, even if he was a spoiled brat.
The first semester was great, life was good, but then all hell broke loose after Christmas break – the escape from Azkaban.
Most of the wizarding world didn't find out until the following fall that someone escaped. None other than the notorious Sirius Black; however Black didn't do it alone. Barty Crouch Jr. and Malcolm Flint assisted in the greatest and only escape in Azkaban history.
The three unlikely partners vowed to help each other out of hell, stay together, unseen, for a short time afterwards (Flint Manor) and then part ways, never to speak of their collusion to anyone.
That was the plan.
They broke out just after the beginning of February.
How they made it out, surviving the freezing water, torrential weather and the dementors was a mystery, but survive it they did.
They stole three wands and apparated to Flint Manor.
The calm and peace of the home was shattered when the dirty and almost skeletal convicts took up residence.
Marcus didn't mind Sirius – he was quiet and … lost; Barty Crouch Jr. was nutters – always muttering to himself and waving his wand around; but his father, well he was an entirely different animal.
Marcus remembered the reign of terror he commanded, torturing his mother with the Cruciatus curse and beating Marcus when he was a child.
The elder Flint was sent to Azkaban when Marcus was ten, the year before he received his letter from Hogwarts.
Malcolm Flint was tried and convicted for the brutal murder of a young muggleborn witch working at Flourish and Blotts for the summer. Authorities had found her abused remains on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley.
She was 20 years old.
Malcolm was careless leaving his magical signature all over her. The Aurors came the next day – Marcus remembered that it was Alistair Moody who restrained his father with ease; taking him away.
When Malcolm returned post Azkaban, he sent for Marcus every weekend and even though Marcus was now larger than Malcolm (though not by much) he still invoked an ounce of fear in Marcus.
Marcus didn't fight back when his father beat him or taunted him; it wasn't until after he had watched his mother be tortured for the first time since Malcolm's return that Marcus had had enough.
With the help of Sirius Black, Marcus effectively ended Malcolm's stay at the Manor and severed ties with the man he had known as his father.
By the time school was over, his grades had suffered so drastically that after a conference with both his Head of House and the Headmaster, he was allowed to compensate for his lack of focus and retake the latter part of his seventh year; though he wasn't allowed to play Quidditch much to his dismay.
Marcus sighed and skulled the remainder of his drink; this last year had been disappointment after disappointment. No jobs forthcoming and the death of his mother had capped the year off with sadness. He loved her, but he also resented her for not protecting him as a child. He would miss her though.
His father had gone on to help the dark lord come back to power and was such a devoted follower (rivaling Bellatrix Le'Strange) that the mere mention of Malcolm Flint struck fear into the hearts of witches and wizards everywhere.
Malcolm had effectively tarnished the reputation of the once respected Flint name for generations to come by his ruthless actions and brutal manner.
Marcus hadn't participated in the war, he knew what was going on, he and Adrian Pucey had kept in contact with Draco and Blaise; offering them solace from time to time from the stresses of bearing the names of death eaters.
Marcus sighed again; it was his father's name that currently prevented him from obtaining gainful employment anywhere in the wizarding world. He had naively thought that after the war; after he came back with an education he would be able to move on with his life, start repairing the damage to his family name caused by the senior Flint.
No such luck.
More times than not, he had been sneered at or snubbed when applying for a position; even still, he kept trying, but they all said the same thing, 'thanks, but no thanks Mr. Flint.' They would either whisper his last name or spit it out like sour milk.
After months of this he decided to try a different approach, he would look for muggle employment.
Adrian found a job this way and was now happily employed as some Corporate Financial Analyst in muggle London; they shared a large flat right near Diagon Alley as both were still insanely rich, but didn't feel the need to sit around and waste their lives doing nothing.
It didn't take long for Pucey to get a position; most muggles don't come in contact with anyone as sinfully handsome as Adrian Pucey… Marcus snorted; he had heard Adrian refer to himself as sinfully handsome so often that now Marcus was thinking it!
Marcus had an appointment with a human resources consultant tomorrow morning. He hoped it went well, he wasn't handsome like Adrian, but he was smart and resourceful; he would take anything.
***~*** I'll take anything
The next morning found Marcus nervous; he couldn't eat breakfast and his stomach was in knots.
He made his way to the address listed in the memo and sat in the waiting room. He looked around the room at the people sitting there, much like he was. He could hear gum smacking and sighs of irritation. One lady huffed as she stood and walked over to the magazine rack to his left and took one.
He scowled a bit at the casual, almost careless nature of these non-magical beings; they were wearing jeans with t-shirts and didn't bother to comb their hair; Marcus was wearing a suit.
"Marcus Flint." The secretary called.
Marcus stood and watched the woman's eyes widen slightly at his stature as he approached her desk (in fact most of the patrons were watching him).
He was a large wizard, standing approximately 6'3" and weighing close to 210lbs. He was muscular, solidly built with large hands and prominent features. However, his magical aura enhanced his size and presence around muggles, so to them he appeared larger.
Her nonverbal cues were telling him that she was intimidated, so he stepped back and bowed his head, "Hello, I'm Marcus Flint." He said in a deep velvet voice that made most women melt.
She relaxed and smiled at him, "Mr. Renquist will see you now."
He bowed his head again, "Thank you." and walked through the door she pointed to a moment earlier.
Mr. Renquist was a short squatty man with thick, round black framed glasses. He was wearing a suit a size too small and his oily hair was thinning on the crown of his head encouraging him to comb the longest pieces that fell to the sides, over the top.
Marcus thought that maybe the man should think about shaving it or just accept that he was losing his hair – the comb over was hideous.
The consultant looked up and registered a small amount of surprise at the size of the dark haired man who had just entered his office; the man stood to greet Marcus.
"Mr. Flint, I presume." The little man said in a nasally tone.
"Yes sir."
"Sit. Sit. I have your resume, proof of education and the survey you filled out. We don't have any positions available in the corporate environment right now, but we do have an internship, as an apprentice, for a small Dentists' office." He said looking at Marcus for a reaction.
"Doing what exactly?" Marcus asked skeptical, but open.
"Oral Surgery."
Silence.
Marcus quickly mulled over the pros and cons; he had heard that muggle dentistry was barbaric, but it was all hearsay, he had no firsthand knowledge.
He would learn a new trade and if he disliked it, he would leave. He really didn't see a negative aspect to this, besides; he needed to get away from the pressures of being a Flint.
He looked at the sweaty little man, "When do I start?" Marcus asked.
The man smiled and handed Marcus the sheet, "You can meet them today. The address is on the left. I'll call them and let them know you're coming. Good luck Mr. Flint."
"Thank you."
***~*** meet & greet
The chime went off signaling someone entering the office.
Jaclyn Granger walked out with a wide smile that didn't falter when she encountered the large man in her reception room, "Well hello." She said.
Marcus looked down at the small woman and felt instantly at ease; she had warm brown eyes unruly chestnut hair and a pretty smile that didn't waiver when she saw him, "Hello, I'm Marcus Flint." He said holding his hand out to her.
She took it and shook it enthusiastically, which made him smile, "Such a pleasure to meet you Marcus, I'm Jaclyn Granger – you can call me Janey, everyone does."
Marcus had a niggling sensation in the back of his mind when she said Granger. Didn't he know a Granger – this woman looked vaguely familiar too – the pretty brown eyes, light sprinkling of freckles over her cheeks and nose, her hair… what was it about her hair? It was up in a pony tail, but stray hairs were popping out of position around her face. He just wasn't sure why she seemed familiar.
"David! David?" she yelled to the back of the building, though she hadn't let go of his hand yet.
A wiry man, slightly taller than Jaclyn Granger, came out from the back room.
He had piercing dark eyes and dirty blonde hair. His eyes bounced from his wife's hand holding Marcus' to Marcus' eyes and finally to his wife's sparkling ones, "David this is Marcus Flint! Marcus this is my husband David Granger." she said.
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief when David Granger broke out into a smile and moved forward to take his hand, "Well Marcus Glad to meet you." he said pumping his hand looking up into the tall wizards face, "You're a big boy too!" he commented making Marcus chuckle.
"Well, let's get started, we have a lot to do in a short time." David Granger said.
"Why is that Mr. Granger?" Marcus asked.
The man huffed, "David please, Mr. Granger sounds like my father and I'd rather not go there right now, if you know what I mean?" he said
Marcus nodded, "Strangely, I know exactly what you mean."
As understanding passed between the two men David got back to the question, "Because we are expanding our practice and we need a fully trained and licensed oral surgeon in order to offer complete dentistry services. We'd like to announce right after the holidays, so you have about six months to get up to speed. You think you can do that, son?"
Marcus nodded, "Yes, sir."
The couple smiled, "Well let's get started."