Chapter Nine: Change of Tides

Marcus rolled over in his sleep. Yesterday was his twenty-first birthday. Natalia had taken him out to dinner and then they went back to her place to "talk", as she put it.

Natalia was twenty-three, two years older than Marcus was. She wasn't his girlfriend; she was more of a partner. He never seemed to be with anyone who was his own age; they were either younger or older. Mostly they were older.

Marcus pulled on his Death Eater robes and took his broom from Haley.

"This is weird," he commented.

"What is?" Haley asked.

"Going on a raid with this." He pointed to his broom.

She looked down at it. "Yeah, it is. That's okay; you're weird."

"That's because I'm around you too much."

Haley slapped Marcus on the arm. "It should be the other way around."

"No, it shouldn't." He dodged another slap.

"Whatever, loser." She pulled him close. "Try not to get killed."

"I'll do my best."

2 Hours Later

Marcus flew through the sky. He had a Death Eater on either side of him. They were going after Harry Potter. The Dark Lord wanted him dead. Marcus was beginning to get tired of this.

But he did as he was told.

Natalia flipped through some paperwork that she had stolen from the Ministry. Most of it was boring. She was studying the wanted list. Some of the names she knew, but didn't care about them. One name managed to catch her eye.

"Oh, great," she said under her breath.

Within a second, she was out the door.

Natalia appeared outside of Marcus's mansion. She stormed into the entryway as Haley came out of the living parlour.

"Where's Marcus?" she demanded.

"Upstairs, at least that's where I last, saw him," Haley informed her.

Natalia stormed up the stairs and stormed into his room. He was lying on his bed reading a thick book. He looked up as she entered.

She seized the book from him. "You need to watch your back."

He eyed her. "Why?"

"Because your name is on the wanted list!"

He just looked at her. "I already knew that."

Natalia sat down next to him. "You already knew?" When he nodded, she slapped him across the face.

"What was that for?" Marcus asked as he rubbed the side of his face.

"FOR NOT TELLING ME THAT YOU KNEW!" Natalia was now on a full blown rampage. "FOR LETTING ME WORRY ABOUT YOU!"

She kissed him. "The only person I worry about is you. I care too much about you." She kissed him again. "Don't make me worry."

Marcus smiled. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

Natalia gave him the evil eye. "Don't joke about this." She stood up. "Try to be good."

"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Shut up."

Posters screamed the words. Harry Potter was wanted. There was a large reward for his capture. There was a problem. Harry Potter had disappeared off the face of the earth. Bands of people had gone is search of the boy, but no one could find him.

Harry Potter was gone.

Marcus stared out at the empty streets of Hogsmeade. Behind him, he could hear the laughter and load music coming from the pubs. He longed to be a part of it.

But, no, he had guard duty.

Marcus didn't really think that Harry Potter would show up in Hogsmeade. However, the Dark Lord believed differently.

He banged his head against the side of the building. His guard partners were useless. They couldn't tell the difference between a pixie and dragon.

"Hey, I think I saw something," Bole whispered for the third time that night.

"Well, go see what it is," Marcus told him. He knew that it was just a cat, but he wanted to be alone for a few minutes.

He was beginning to regret becoming a Death Eater. He didn't even remember why he took the Dark Mark in the first place.

Was it for glory or fame?

He didn't remember. He was pretty sure that it wasn't for either of them. The only way out was death. He didn't want to die. At twenty-one, he was still young. He wanted to get married and have a family. He wanted to live a long and happy life, not a short and miserable one.

But no one ever asked him what he wanted.

"Hey, Flint. Marcus. Marcus Flint," Draco Malfoy called interrupting his thoughts. "Some of us are going done south on a raid. Are you game?"

Marcus stared out at the horizon. It was twilight, the end of the day. It was also a start of a new day, a new beginning.

"I'm game," Marcus told Malfoy.

And they disappeared into the twilight.