A/N – Here is Chapter 3!I actually had a different Chapter 3 written originally, but got a wild hair and the next thing I knew I had this and a new Chapter 4 as well!I hope you enjoy seeing a bit more background on Marcus and Hermione in my little dream world that is this story.I can't explain how much it encourages me to continue writing this story reading the reviews and seeing all of the new Favorites and Follows.Thank you so much to StephanopolisO9 for being my wonderful Beta!
Once again, I own nothing from the HP universe.I'm just using JKR's world to give myself a creative outlet for my own mental well-being.The only thing I get from my writing is the happiness at seeing people's reactions here.
Lost and Found
Chapter 3
Marcus finished showering after a long and trying practice. His new team was a good group of guys, but they were no Vrasta Vultures. He missed his Bulgarian teammates and the easy comradery they had. He never had to prove he was as a person, just as a player, having earned the title of Best Chaser in the International Quidditch League. When Falmouth had offered him a position, he had to think about it long and hard, whether he was ready to return to England. Ultimately, he missed his friends and since the war was over, he decided to give it a go and make the move. He figured if it didn't work out, he could always find another international team to play for.
Now here he was, his first practice as a Falcon in the books. He had received some nervous looks initially, but he let them roll off his back and did what he did best, play Quidditch. By the end of practice, the team thankfully seemed to have forgotten that his father was a death eater and accepted him as a part of the team.
"Hey Flint," called his new teammate Daniel Lloyd, one of the Beaters who was an American. "Did you get out of the Leaky yet?"
"Yeah," he replied as he pulled on his dark blue muggle jeans. "I moved in with some friends since they had a spare room."
"I'm betting you won't be spending much time there with all the witches throwing themselves at you," Lloyd chuckled, elbowing Marcus in the side with a wink.
"Not interested in sleeping around," Marcus stated, not looking at his teammate.
"What? You have a witch lined up already? Some pretty pureblood tart Mommy and Daddy lined up?" Lloyd teased, oblivious to Marcus' feelings towards his parents.
Marcus spun, grabbing Lloyd and slamming him against the lockers. "I wouldn't marry, let alone bed any witch my parents lined up," Marcus snarled at him.
"Whoa man, sorry!" Lloyd held his hands up in submission. "I didn't realize that subject was off limits! I'll never bring up witches or your parents again!"
The action caught the attention of the rest of the team in the locker room and they rushed over to the two men. The movement around him brought Marcus back to the present as he slowly released Lloyd. Glaring at Lloyd, Marcus said, "I don't have anything to do with my parents and if you know what's good for you, you won't ever mention them again."
Lloyd quickly scurried away, only glancing back at the menacing Chaser briefly. Marcus collapsed onto the bench in front of his locker and put his head in his hands, trying to calm himself.
"Hey, you okay Marc?" asked Graham Montague, his old Slytherin teammate. They had lost touch after Marcus left Hogwarts, but now they were once again teammates. "What did that idiot say to you? I swear, he's said something stupid to everyone on the team."
Marcus looked up at Montague slowly before he replied. "He thought my parents had some witch lined up for me when I told him I wasn't interested in bedding every witch that comes along."
"Oh damn! He really stepped in it this time. He's said some pretty stupid stuff regarding the war because he's an American and has no idea what we all lived through. To him, Death Eaters are just something he's read about in the papers. He doesn't realize in a lot of cases they are family members we have nothing to do with anymore. He doesn't get it. Coach will not be happy about this," Montague told him.
"Great, my first day and I'm already in trouble," Marcus said exasperatedly.
"No, not you Marc," Montague said. "Lloyd. He's been talked to several times already about making comments like that, especially with the war. Coach has had it with him and will probably suspend him this time." Montague sat down beside Marcus before looking at him mischievously. "So, is there a witch that's caught your eye?"
Marcus rolled his eyes at his teammate's question. "Not that it's any of your business, but no, there's no witch. I just got moved back and I'm still dealing with the move and finally being out of my father's shadow."
"Where are you staying at? Want to go grab a pint?"
"I'm staying with Pucey, Zabini, and Granger. Actually, I have to get going. I told Granger I'd help her with dinner tonight since Pucey and Zabini are worthless in the kitchen," Marcus said standing up and pulling a clean black t-shirt over his head.
"Whoa whoa whoa…I know Pucey and Zabini, but who is Granger and did you say 'she'?" Montague asked, staring at his old captain.
"You know, Granger. The Gryffindor Princess," he said nonchalantly.
"What are you doing with her? She may have been one of the heroes of the war, but even Boy Wonder has nothing to do with her anymore. I've heard she ended up no better than a whore from Knockturn Alley."
Marcus closed his eyes, clenching his fists tightly at his sides. Without opening his eyes Marcus hissed "Montague, you really want to watch your next words."
Montague looked nervously at the fuming man in front of him. "Uh, well, that is to say, umm. I have no proof, I'm just telling you what I've heard. It's just a rumor mind you. I heard that the Weasel said she cheated on him and got herself knocked up. He said that she tried to get him to marry her but he didn't want her back. Again, don't kill the messenger!"
Slowly Marcus looked at his fellow Chaser. "I will say this once and only once. Mina was never with the Weasel. She was engaged to Viktor Krum and she is pregnant with his baby. Not once has she ever tried to get the Weasel to marry her. I don't think she realizes what is going to happen to her because she's a pregnant, unmarried witch. But if anyone hurts her, I swear to you, I will hurt them! Viktor was my best friend and I will take care of her for him." Marcus knew that since she was a Gryffindor and a Muggleborn, she wouldn't have a way to escape the way the Wizarding world shunned witches in her position.
"She was engaged to Krum? What happened?"
"He was killed in the final battle protecting her!" Marcus bellowed.
"Merlin. I had no idea. She just disappeared and the only one who's said anything about her is the Weasel. He was quite vocal about it a couple weeks ago at the pub. Potter was there and just kept silent the whole time. Wow. I can tell you this much, if she were a Slytherin witch, I can guarantee no Slytherin would be saying such things about her. They would be doing all they could to convince her to marry one of them."
"Well, she has Slytherin bodyguards now," Marcus snarled as he pulled on his dragon hide boots. Standing up, he pulled on a leather jacket and grabbed his equipment bag. He looked one last time at Montague and said, "Remember, she's living with three snakes now and we protect our own." With that, he stalked out of the locker room, oblivious to the rest of his teammates eyeing him warily.
As the door shut, the coach walked over to Montague, having listened in on the conversation. "So, how long do you think it'll be before he convinces her to marry him?"
Montague snorted and smirked at the coach. "First he has to realize that he's going to marry her, then he's got to figure out how to convince her to marry him. One thing everyone's said about Granger is that she is fiercely independent. She won't marry him just to save her own name. I honestly think she'll only marry for real love, especially if she was engaged to Krum. He'll have his work cut out for him, but I think we should help him out as much as we can without being obvious."
"True. We have the Season Home Opener Party coming up. I'll make sure he knows he has to bring a date, no exceptions." With that, the coach went back to his office calling "LLOYD! GET YOUR ARSE IN HERE!"
Hermione was working at the desk in her study. It was a small, cramped office across from her room and next to Marcus' new room. She was busy studying to sit in for her NEWTS. Professor McGonagall had let Hermione know that she might not want to return for her final year given the Wizarding world's view on witches in her situation. McGonagall had offered to set her up with any study materials she might need to study for her NEWTS, and access to speak with the Professors if she needed. Since that conversation, whenever Hermione tried to contact her old mentor, she was always unavailable. Hermione wasn't naïve enough to think that the wizarding world would accept her choice to have Viktor's baby even though she was unmarried. However, it still hurt to be basically rejected by her favorite professor, someone who she had looked up to most in the wizarding world.
She sighed deeply as she looked over her notes from the first six years at Hogwarts. Putting them away, she looked to the large stack of files that remained on her desk. They were full of notes she had taken while on the run the prior year. She had packed the seventh year texts she knew she would need and read them every chance she got. The information in them had come in handy more than once, often allowing them to identify edible plants (Herbology), new defensive spells (DADA), and Charms. The material she read about assisted them in hiding from Snatchers.
In all honesty, she knew she was more than prepared to sit for her NEWTS. However, since she was now pregnant, many of the practical parts of the exams would have to wait until after the baby came. She would have to wait until the birth of the baby.
Hermione had just put the files in her desk drawer when she heard the floo downstairs. She was about to stand up when she heard a growl and heavy footsteps on the stairs. Glancing at the clock on her wall, she realized that Marcus must be home from practice.
Smiling, she called out to him as he passed the doorway. "How was practice?"
Marcus spun around, wand at the ready. As soon as he saw her seated behind the desk, eyebrows raised in surprise, he let out a deep sigh and pocketed his wand quickly, before mumbling, "Sorry about that."
"I guess practice didn't go very well," she stated baldly. She watched the man before her. There was so much about him that was similar to Viktor, but at the same time so very much different. He had almost an identical build with the short, spiky black hair, and an ingrained love for Quidditch. That was where the obvious similarities ended though. Marcus had grey eyes that had a hint of blue in them. They had obviously seen a great deal of pain. His face was more square-shaped with a defined jawline and a firm nose that had seen a few too many Bludgers, but it fit his face. His hands were large and his fingers thick. They didn't have the finesse of Viktor's Seeker hands, but they could obviously protect the Quaffle and maneuver it through the hoops. Hermione could just make out a hint of the lost boy he had been upon leaving Hogwarts, but it wasn't obvious. To anyone who looked at him, he radiated strength and confidence. Smiling to herself, she knew she wanted to get to know this intimidating man before her.
"Practice was fine. We should do pretty well this season. I met the American on the team and he just didn't know when to shut his mouth. He forgets the war was only four and a half months ago and while he only read about it in papers, some of us had to live through it." Looking up at Hermione he rushed on, "I know I didn't fight in the war, but if I had stayed I would have been killed because there was no way I was taking that mark."
"I know it wasn't easy on you Slytherins who didn't agree with Voldemort. It was one of the things that I argued with the boys about the most. They thought that all you Slytherins were evil and had the dark mark. Even if you didn't, they figured you still agreed with the teachings. They refused to listen to me when I tried to explain how many of you had to leave the country because of those ignorant thoughts," she calmly told him. "The Light would never trust you and accept your help in the war, and the Dark wanted you dead. You had no choice. I certainly don't blame you."
Marcus sat in the chair across the desk from Hermione. "How long did it take you to trust Adrian and Blaise?"
"Honestly? I didn't at first. There were still many Death Eaters on the run and I didn't know their opinions on blood status. By the time we parted ways though, I knew I wanted them brought onto my team with Arthur. We've been inseparable since. I don't know what I would do without them," she told him.
"Why did you trust me so easily? You had very little experience with me while you were in school," he asked her.
"Oh that's easy! You were Viktor's best friend. He wouldn't have let you get that close to him or his family if you weren't a decent person. I trusted Viktor implicitly, therefore, I can trust you."
The way she said it so simply as if there was no way to even begin to argue with the opinion, baffled Marcus. Then he realized that it was the same way he regarded his opinion of her. She was Viktor's Mina and if Viktor trusted her, then he could trust her. No questions asked.
"What were you working on in here?" Marcus asked her, taking note of the empty desk between them.
"Oh, I was studying for my NEWTS. I'm not allowed to complete my seventh year because of the baby, but I will be allowed to sit in on my NEWTS. I just have to wait until after the baby arrives so I can complete the practical parts of the exams," she told him.
"Well, I have a lot of experience studying for the exams if you ever want someone to quiz you," he offered.
"I remember hearing something about that. Why did you retake your seventh year?" she asked him hesitantly.
"I got to Christmas break of my first seventh year and realized that it would be expected of me to join my father as a Death Eater as soon as I graduated. That was not an option for me, so I purposefully failed them so that I could take another year to figure out a plan of how to escape. It worked out well for me. When the last day of school arrived, instead of getting on the train back to London, I was able to get a Portkey out of the UK and ended up in Bulgaria. Best decision I ever made."
Hermione smirked at the dark man in front of her. "I figured it had to have been something like that. Viktor had a very low tolerance for stupidity, so I knew you had to be intelligent."
The clock on the wall chimed the hour and Hermione stood up. Marcus took note of the Muggle yoga cropped pants Hermione was wearing and the tiny t-shirt she wore that barely contained her stomach. Everything about her was perfect to him. While she was petite and fragile looking, she oozed strength and determination. She had plenty of curves in all the right places, while maintaining a muscular and toned body. Her hair which had once been frizzy and chaotic, was now long, silky, chocolate brown curls that looked like they would bounce back up if pulled. Her eyes were his favorite feature on her though. Whiskey colored, yet full of life and intelligence. He could easily lose himself in her eyes. Now that he thought of it, if he were to hand pick his ideal witch, he would pick every feature she had. With that last thought, Marcus shook his head back to reality. He couldn't be thinking of his best friend's girl like that. Or could he?
Marcus was quickly brought back to reality when Hermione's melodic voice drifted over him. "I better start dinner. You still plan on helping me out?"
A smirk crossed Marcus' face. "Well, it's not like you can get Blaise or Adrian to help you out there. Besides, I need to earn my keep here somehow. Lead the way my Lady."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Marcus' words and chuckled as she headed out of the room. "Better drop your bag off in your room first. See you downstairs. Let's see how those Quidditch toughened hands can handle slicing vegetables."
