A/N: This is dedicated to the lovely Danie because she got me to ship Marcus/Katie. And I had this sitting in a file for forever and am just now posting it...two years later. Sorry. And this isn't really just a drabble collection anymore, I guess. Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter.
They didn't stop walking until they were at the Shrieking Shack. "Really? We're going to talk about this here?" she asked as she looked at the building. At least they didn't really have much of a chance of being overheard.
"Yes," Oliver said as he turned around to face her. He held up the note and then crossed his arms. "Can you tell me why on earth Marcus Flint is writing to you? I'm not, dumb, I know his handwriting. Why on earth would you turn down George Weasley for him?"
"I-" Katie sighed as she sat down. "We should sit down….we need to talk."
Oliver gave Katie a wary look, but he sat down in the snow and gave her an intense look. He brought his knees to his chin, and she crossed her legs. She did miss having Oliver in her life like this. He was one of her good friends, and was very much like a brother to her.
"How'd you know Marcus was writing back to me?" She asked quietly.
He rolled his eyes at her. "Marcus sat next to me in Potions. I recognized it right away after sitting next to him for several years. Now answer me this…are you two dating?" He asked the question sharply, and that caused Katie to wince at first.
"No," she answered quietly. She really didn't want to have this talk, but she supposed it was better to have it with Oliver than Angelina or anybody else first.
Oliver regarded her with an appraising look on his face. "But you like him," he clarified in the same sharp tone.
"Stop using that tone!" Katie cried, standing up. "You're making this more difficult than it is and it's already hard enough."
He sighed and looked up at her. "All right…I'm sorry. I'll stop using that tone. Can you still talk to me like before though?"
"I'll try," she said as she sat back down. "Marcus and I haven't been dating. He's just been a good friend since my second year. He always helped me out of rough paths with the other Slytherins, and we just started talking. I guess he was just always protective of me." Katie shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her hands awkwardly.
"We kept our friendship a secret. I'm not really sure why. He stopped being ashamed of me a long time ago…but he always seemed like he had a secret that he was trying to hide from me. I didn't pick up on it until the past year."
Oliver opened his mouth to say something furiously, but thought better of it and closed it again. He looked away and cleared his throat before saying, "How often did you see each other?"
Katie shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't count how many encounters she had had with Marcus Flint. "We'd see each other whenever we could. Sometimes it wasn't planned. We'd see each other before quidditch practice, or afterwards. Sometimes we'd stay behind from Hogsmeade trips to see each other when our friends wouldn't be around. We'd just go to the library and study sometimes. He has stuck up for me a lot in the past," she murmured quietly.
"And it never occurred to you why he was doing that?"
She shook her head. "I just thought he wanted to be my friend."
"You never thought he was using you to get to me?"
Katie scowled. "If he was using me, he would've hurt me a long time ago! Our friendship was never about trying to get to you, or anybody else."
"But Katie, he's a Slytherin. Slytherins generally don't think of anybody but themselves."
"Marcus is different," she said fiercely.
Oliver stared at her for several moments before speaking again. "You like him," he murmured quietly.
"We're just friends," Katie said, though her heart raced at the possibility of them being more.
"Oh, merlin. I like him. What am I going to do?" Katie buried her head into her knees.
She felt Oliver kneel down beside her and he lifted her chin. "You're going to write him back. And invite him to the ball."
"I'm scared," she protested.
"There's always going to be things in life that scare you. You shouldn't be afraid of falling in love though. I'll be with you while you write to him if you want."
Katie hesitated for a moment and nodded. "Please…stay." She felt like a child asking her crush to the ball, but she really didn't think she could take the first step by herself. She took a deep breath and reread Marcus's last words he wrote to her.
Well….maybe that someone else would like to go with you too. He thinks you'd look pretty in a dress. He'd be honored to be your date.
You're charming, Katie wrote with a smile. It was nice how easy this flow came back to her.
You're back! I was hoping I didn't scare you off.
Her eyes met Oliver's and he nudged her. Go on, he seemed to be saying.
No, you didn't. Marcus….will you be my date to the Yule Ball?
She held her breath, and Oliver wrapped his hand around hers while they waited for his response.
I thought you'd never ask.
"He likes you," Oliver sang uncharacteristically.
"Stop," Katie said, laughing lightly.
"He likes you. But if he hurts you, I'll have to hurt him. In fact-" He stole the piece of paper and began writing.
"Oliver!"
Flint. This is Wood here. You have my permission to date Katie, but if you hurt her you'll have me to answer to. Understood?
Wood. I didn't realize I had to have your permission to ask her, but I have no intentions of hurting her. I'll kick any of my friends who try to hurt her instead.
Katie almost didn't care about the exchange between Oliver and Marcus, her heart felt like it was flying. She actually had a date with Marcus Flint!
Marcus Flint actually liked her!
