Even when Katie was standing across from Marcus, their hands interlocked and tied with a ribbon, Dumbledore presiding over it all, she couldn't believe it was actually happening. For over a year she'd dreamed of marrying Marcus, and she'd dreamt of her wedding day for even longer. She'd never quite imagined it would turn out like this, with Fred and George and Dumbledore the only other people in the room, but she didn't mind too much; she was marrying the man she loved and that was enough.
As Dumbledore performed the ceremony, the ribbons glowed with a light, and yet Marcus and Katie's eyes didn't leave each other. Even when she heard a loud sniff coming from one of the twins she didn't move, his hands in hers and their connected eyes being the only things keeping her still on her feet.
When the ribbons stopped glowing and softly floated to the ground, and Dumbledore announced they were married in the eyes of the law and magic, Katie nearly sagged to the ground in relief. Marcus wrapped Katie into a hug and held her tight, held her so close her breathing was a little tight. Katie found she didn't mind at all.
Fred, George, Katie, and Marcus went to the hogshead after the ceremony, Aberforth giving them a free meal and a private room to celebrate. After dinner the twins went back to the castle, while Katie and Marcus went back to their new home.
It didn't have much in it; a week wasn't long enough to completely move in everything they owned, but when they walked in they got a huge surprise - the entire place had been furnished.
The young couple had been unsure how they would fill the place up with furniture. They had a bit of money, of course, but hadn't wanted to spend an undue amount when they didn't know when Katie would finish her healers training and start getting paid. But coming in to see someone - they weren't sure who - had filled it up with furniture (and not cheap furniture, either) was a bit of a load off their minds. It was one less thing to worry about.
"This is a bit of a surprise," Marcus said dryly, collapsing into the sofa. He looked up at Katie with a grin. "Come here, Mrs Flint."
With a laugh, she sank down next to him, letting his arms wrap around her again and hold her close. "I've wanted this for so long," she whispered. She felt his chuckle.
"As have I, Kate. As have I."
The beginning of their marriage was, to say the least, rough. With Marcus working all hours and going to various meetings - death eater and Order of the Phoenix ones - and Katie working hard to complete her healer's certification before the pair went to France for the summer - they barely saw each other, let alone spent quality time together. What time they did get to spend together was happy, even if Katie was stuck in her books most of the time.
You-Know-Who hadn't yet found out about their marriage, and nor had the Bells or Lux Flint - but that changed in early April, when Katie came home from the school and found her father sitting in their living room, a very nervous Marcus in the kitchen making tea. She took a few steps in, slowly sitting in a chair across from her father and folded her hands in her lap, silent, waiting for her father to speak.
"So." His voice came out rough, angry, and Katie resisted flinching back as she'd done so often as a child. "You married. Without my permission."
"With respect, Father, I am of age," Katie said simply, clenching her hands together to keep them from shaking. He looked down at her, his own hands tapping hard on the armrest of the couch. "I am happy, father. Why can't that be enough?"
"How can you be happy with the Flint boy?" He hissed at her, as the man in question came out of the kitchen, carrying three mugs. He said nothing, setting them in front of both his wife and father in law, before sitting himself down in the only other spare chair. "He will coerce you into joining them, and you'll be killed before your next birthday. Your mother will go spare if that happens to you."
"And she isn't here because she is utterly distraught, am I right?" Katie snapped at her father, rising partially from her chair. "Mother has been displeased with me since I joined the Gryffindor quidditch team, in fact she's barely spoken to me. I can't see her caring now, can you?"
Ambrose Bell looked taken aback at his daughter speaking to him like that, and he stood up from his own chair. "Well." He looked from his daughter to son in law, hatred clear on his face. "If this is what you choose - potential death and a sure early widowhood - then you chose it on your own. Your mother and I will have nothing more to do with you."
"Then you can get the hell out of my house," Katie said, straining to keep her voice steady as the man who raised her stormed out, slamming the front door behind him. Shaking, she sank back into the chair, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her abdomen. A hand touched her back, and she looked over to see Marcus standing behind her, a sad look on his face. "I'd hoped," Katie said, after a while, "that once we were married and he saw there was nothing he could do about it, he'd accept it." Marcus said nothing, he only smiled at her sadly as she went on. "And mother - I'm sure this is really her doing. She hasn't been pleased with me in years."
"Really over quidditch?"
Katie took a minute, then shook her head. "No. Over me being in Gryffindor, I think. Mum's brother was in Gryffindor, and he died young, joining the aurors. She acted okay with it, but as time went on-"
"I see," Marcus stated, sitting on the armrest next to her. "They aren't your only family anymore, and if you want nothing more to do with them, that's okay. You and I can be the only family we need."
Katie could barely force a smile.
Her days were spent with Madame Pomfrey, going over the things she'd need to know to help Marcus immediately - the cruciatus aftermath protocol, healing bruises and cuts and broken bones - the simple things, the things she hoped she wouldn't have to do. And as the weeks wore on, she hadn't - yet.
But when the dark lord found out his new spy had married - and was living in a Dumbledore's home - he was understandably displeased. Marcus came home that night shaking, and all Katie could do was fix him a cup of tea and send him to bed, finding herself awake long after he'd fallen asleep, just watching his chest rise up and down in his peacefulness.
Soon after that night, the nightmares began. Marcus would toss and turn in his sleep, and when Katie would wake him up he'd simply cling to her, not saying a word about what his dreams were - only saying he needed her.
She brought home dreamless sleep potions, but even that didn't help, not after awhile. His body became used to them, and eventually the potions would leave him trapped in the dreams, and so he stopped taking them.
By the time summer rolled around and Katie finished the first portion of her training - and was given three months off - Marcus was almost a different man entirely. He was thinner, dark circles permanent under his eyes and exhaustion plain on his face. Katie tried everything she could to help him, but it felt like her husband was slipping away.
The one thing she never feared was him turning to the dark lord's side for real - that wasn't Marcus. She knew he'd been forced to do things, things he wouldn't speak of, but none of that was his decision. On the days he'd come home after such meetings, Katie would curse the headmaster silently, blaming him for all of this. He would have been able to get Marcus away from all of this if he'd tried - but instead the old man had chosen to use him, to use them and their love - and destroy Marcus completely.
July fled by, with limited death eater meetings as Marcus and Katie planned their Paris trip. There was a dark wizard headquarters there that Marcus had to ingrain himself in, to bring them over to you-know-who's side, and their leader - a man named Dorian Bernard - was his main goal.
But that would be his days - the nights were theirs. So they planned visits to see the sites - Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, several restaurants that were muggle run but claimed to have the best food.
The night before they were to leave for Paris proved to be a bad one.
Marcus didn't get home until nearly three am - and when he flooed in, he was covered in blood. He collapsed into Katie's arms, who'd been waiting for his arrival - and somehow, the thin girl managed to get her husband into their bed, somehow managed to support his weight.
Several spells later he was cleaned, in dry clothes, and tucked into bed - but still shaking from the pain. She laid down next to him, having given him a pain potion and they laid there, waiting for it to kick in.
"I can't take this," Marcus groaned, as a spasm wracked through his body. "I want it to stop."
Katie rested her head on his shoulder. "I know, love," she murmured. "I wish I could help." He groaned again, and Katie felt tears well up in her eyes. This - this was the worst part of the healer training. If it weren't for that, she could call for Madame Pomfrey and not have to be here for this - but she'd made a promise, not only to Marcus but to herself, and if Marcus could be strong enough to bear the pain - then she could be strong enough to witness it and get him through it.
Neither of them slept much that night. Marcus was in and out of consciousness, the pain potion not working properly due to the fact he'd been using them too much lately - and even after he'd fallen asleep, Katie was wide awake, dreading falling asleep and being jerked awake.
By the time eight am rolled around and it was time for them to get up for the trip to Paris, Katie's entire body was heavy, her brain sluggish as she gathered their things and put them in the charmed trunk. Marcus stayed in bed while she got everything ready, including breakfast, and then they were finally on their way.
Marcus leaned heavy on her throughout the day, and by the time they got to the inn they were to stay at, both of them were exhausted to the point they collapsed into bed immediately and went to sleep, their plans for the evening be damned.
They didn't wake up until nearly midnight, and Katie fixed a quick meal for them both before they went back to sleep.
The next morning Marcus headed out to Bernard's home, leaving Katie in their room by herself. So she took the day to organize their things - they'd be here a month, after all, so she didn't want to live out of the trunk the entire time. By the time Marcus got back later that day, the trunk was completely unpacked and everything was put away in drawers and on the shelves - Katie had made sure to bring enough books to last her the long days. While she wasn't an avid reader like other people were, she did enjoy a book every now and then, and there was really nothing else for her to do. Marcus spoke french but she didn't, so if she were to go out on her own and get lost, she had no way to ask for directions, and no guarantee there would be a safe apparation point.
They went out for dinner, and explored a bit before going back to the inn. It wasn't until they were laying in bed that Marcus told her about his day.
It turned out Dorian Bernard was a hard man to contact. He'd spent the day being passed around from assistant to assistant, only actually getting to talk to Bernard for half an hour before the man sent him home. He'd promised to meet up with Marcus the next day, but only if his "lovely young wife" joined them.
"I'm not sure I want you around him," Marcus confessed. "The man has an air about him that is - certainly unpleasant. I don't want him to hurt you."
Katie smiled at her husband. "I'll be okay. If he will only meet with you if I join, then why shouldn't I? If you don't get him on you-know-who's side you'll be punished. I think I can handle one dinner for your sake, don't you?"
Bernard wasn't what Katie expected. He was an older man with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes that seemed to look straight into your soul. He sat at the head of the table and had arranged for Katie and Marcus to be seated on either side of him as dinner was served. Silence filled the dining room as they finished the first course, before Bernard turned to Katie.
"You are Ambrose and Kalia Bell's daughter?" His voice was gruff as he reached for his wine glass, raising his eyebrows at her.
Katie reached for her own, taking a sip before speaking. "Yes sir."
Bernard laughed. "No need to call me sir, my dear. I knew your father - we were at Hogwarts together, in fact, both Slytherins." He finished his glass and tapped on the table, a house elf apparating in and refilling it before disappearing again. "We'd had an agreement back then, if I were to have a son and he a daughter, or vice versa, they would wed." Katie's stomach twisted with nerves. "Unfortunately, I was never granted a wife nor a child, but I feel as if I should honor our agreement in any case."
"I'm not sure I understand," Katie said nervously, looking over at Marcus.
"Well, it is quite simple." Bernard finished his second glass of wine, but simply set it down this time. "I understand, Marcus, your father passed in Azkaban, and your mother passed fairly recently." Marcus only nodded. "I find myself in need of an heir, and as you have married my old friend's daughter, I believe I shall name you both my heirs in case of my demise. How does that sound?"
Marcus and Katie only stared at him, open mouthed.