Chapter Four: Minor Heaven

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Bold: Flashback

Two hours later, Katie arrived back at Hogwarts. She had hated to leave Marcus, but knew that she had to return to school or face Umbridge. It was not a big secret that Katie was dating Marcus Flint and did not get to see him much, but it proved to be a breach in Umbridge's reign.

She slipped into the nearly empty common room. Angelina was reading by a low light. Katie swallowed hard. She had asked Marcus about the Quidditch thing and, as expected, he had told her no. He claimed that it was nothing against her or the rest of the team; he simply just did not have time for it. However, he had wished them good luck with evil sarcasm. The talk about the rejection was one that Katie did not really want to have tonight.

Angelina saw her friend enter and slammed her book shut. "Well, did you ask him?" Angelina was one of the few people that knew that Katie went to see Marcus.

Katie sat across from her long time friend and looked at her hands.

Angelina snapped her fingers in front of Katie's face. "Well?"
Katie snapped her head up. "Yeah, I asked him."
"And?" Angelina was pressing. She tended to do that a lot whenever she was under pressure or nervous.

"He said no," Katie said slowly.

She watched her friend's face fall. Katie knew how much Angelina had been relying on Marcus's help. Maybe if he had a Time Turner or something like that, then he would be able to help. The time of year did not help matters either. The Falmouth Falcons had a gurgling training schedule.

"Oh," Angelina said slowly.

"He told me that he just does not have the time right now." Katie paused. "If if makes you feel any better, he is not helping Slytherin."

Angelina threw Katie a forced smile. "That is good to know." She buried her face into her hands. "I do not know what we are going to do now."

Katie reached over and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "How about having fun with the game," she suggested. "It is your last year and why not enjoy it."
Angelina took her hands out of her face and looked at her friend. "Because having fun does not make a winning team."

Katie sighed. Why did everything have to be about winning? "But the teams who do not make it look like work are the champions of every Cup."

Angelina cracked a real smile. "That is very true. That is why Wood always had such a tough time figuring out Slytherin's moves. He played to impress; Slytherin played to kill people."

Katie laughed. The Slytherin and Gryffindor game had always been the most brutal game. "I guess." She bit the inside of her mouth. This conversation was getting boring. She wanted to talk with Angelina about other things beside Quidditch.

Angelina had also fallen silent and was pretending to be highly interested by the word work on the table.

Katie decided that it was now or never. "Angelina, what happened to us?"

Angelina's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

"Every time we talk it is always about Quidditch. Why can't we talk like we used to?" Katie was not looking at the ground as she normally would, but was looking at her friend straight in the face.

"Because we agreed to listen to what the other had to say whenever something was wrong," Angelina replied slowly.

Katie sighed. She remembered the pact that she and Angelina had made when they were young girls. They vowed to be there whenever they needed each other and vowed not to bring up other issues during that time. She knew that it was kind of stupid and kiddish, but it still stood in their friendship. Of course, she thought that Angelina's problems were not all that major. She was not going to be the one to say that though.

"I know, but I think we need to have an intervention," Katie said.

Angelina got a confused look on her face. "An intervention?" she asked slowly.

Katie nodded. "I think that we just need to talk."

Angelina nodded. "Like now?"
"Oh-I do not know." Katie was not sure of what to say. She had not expected Angelina to jump on the idea so quickly.

"There is no time better than the present," Angelina pushed.

"I know."

"Then what is the problem?"
"There is no problem."
Angelina crossed her arms over her chest. "There is so."

Katie glared at her friend. "There is no problem."
Angelina put her hands in surrender. "Okay, there is no problem." She paused. "So, let us talk then."

Katie nodded. She knew that since she brought it up, that she would have to be the first one to talk. She was not sure how to start this. Besides the Quidditch thing, there was one other thing brothering her. She decided that the other thing would be harder to deal with than the Quidditch. "Can we please not talk about Quidditch every time we get together?"

Angelina nodded. "Done." She raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"
Katie bit her lip. She was not sure how to address this. One scene of it came to mind.

Katie sat in the Great Hall next to Angelina and Alicia. A few seats down from them, Fred and George were whispering quietly. This was very strange. Normally, the twins never shut up. This was very puzzling indeed. She never really did understand how their minds worked.

Not that she wanted to either...

"So, are you still with him?" Angelina inquired. She did not like the fact that Katie was dating Marcus, even though they had been together for almost two years.

Katie watched the new first years walk in. Her blue eyes followed the long line. Just five years ago today, she had been one of them. "Why would not I be?"

Angelina shrugged. "I would had thought that one of those groupies would have ate him up."

"Why?"

"He is a professional Quidditch player, Katie. Think about it."

Katie did not respond right away.

Alicia stepped in. "You do not know that, Angelina. He has not cheated in two years."

"But he cheated on Avril Lestrange," Angelina objected.

"And do you blame him?" Alicia exclaimed.

Angelina had a thoughtful look on her face. "Now that I think about it, I do not blame him."

Katie watched as the Sorting Hat was place onto a first year's head. "Finally, you are coming to your senses."

Angelina tapped Katie's arm. "No, I never said that I like him."

Katie watched as another first year was sorted. "Would you be complaining about him this much if he was Oliver?"

That stopped Angelina in her tracks. "Um...I would say something."

"Something is better than nothing," Alicia added.

Katie gave her a dirty look. "Why would you say something?"

"Because he is too old for you, Katie!" Angelina exclaimed. "You are fifteen."

"Almost sixteen," Katie objected.

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Flint is what nineteen."

"He just turned eighteen."

That made Angelina stop. "Oh. When did that happen?"

"Mid-July."

Angelina turned her attention to the sorting. Katie could not help but to smirk. She knew that she had hit a nerve with Angelina. She did not understand what the big deal was. After all, why did it matter to them who she dated? Whatever, they did not know Marcus nor would they ever. They only saw him as a jerk and as a rotten Slytherin. She did not see that side of him. All she saw was his gentle and good ways. She was not going to let them cause the end of her and Marcus. Nope, they was just going to have to live with the fact that she was dating Marcus Flint, centre Chaser for the Falmouth Falcons and former Slytherin Quidditch captain, with emphasises on the former part.

Angelina waved her hand in front of Katie's face. "Hello? Earth to Katie!"
Katie snapped out of her daze. "Huh?"

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Katie took a deep breath. "I want you guys to quit making fun of Marcus and quit telling me not to date him." It all came out really fast and she was not sure it Angelina understood it.

Angelina nodded slowly. "Does he treat you okay?"

Katie wondered where this was going to go. "Yes."

"He does not pressure you?"

"No."

"Do you care about him?"

"Yes."

"Does he care about you?"

"Yes."

Angelina bent over the table toward Katie. "Is he hygiene good?"

"Is his what good?" Katie asked. She wanted to make sure that she had heard right. She thought that Angelina was asking about his hygiene.

Angelina gave her a knowing look. "You know what I said."

"I suppose. He leaves his wet towels on the floor next to the hamper." Katie smiled.

"I suppose that is a plus." Angelina pause. "Fine, I will not insult him in public places nor will I not encourage you two to stop dating." She looked up at Katie. "Is that good?"

Katie sighed. She supposed that this was the best that she was going to get. "I suppose."

Angelina hugged Katie. "Good because this is going to be torture."

Katie smiled again. Smiling seemed to be something that she could not stop doing. This talk with Angelina had not been a serious as she thought it would had been. It was a minor heaven.

"Your boyfriend does have good taste in gloves though." Angelina pulled a pair of Chaser's gloves out of her bag. They were identical to the ones that Marcus wore. "These are the best ones that I have ever worn."

"How did you know what he wore?" Katie slowly inquired.

"It is all over the Quidditch magazines. Do not you read about him?" Angelina shook her head. "If my boyfriend was an international Quidditch player, I would be stalking him like crazy."

Katie could see that happening. She pitied whoever Angelina dated.