Chapter 14: Truth in your lies/Doubt in your faith

Oliver sat at his desk, the light from the candle casting a yellow glow across the room. Stacks of paper sat next to him on the floor- work he still had to file away, but just couldn't find the time to do. The only file that mattered for the moment was the lone manila folder lying on his desk.

It's not like he could just go to the Aurors with this information. He would risk exposing the entire Order. Everything he and the generation before him had worked for could crumble. Lives could be at stake here. No, this was best kept to himself for the moment until he could piece everything together. Gingerly he thumbed at the tag where the words Flint, Marcus A. were handwritten in black ink. The corners of the folder were worn and tattered indicating frequent handling which puzzled Oliver. By comparison Oliver's personal folder was crisp and clean. He knew this because he had requested to see it when quidditch was disbarred. He wanted to make sure all of his achievements were actuality noted for when the season was allowed to start back up again. Who knew how long that would take and good documentation of your capabilities was, Oliver was quite certain, a reliable way to make sure nothing would be skipped over.

But here was Flint's folder, warn and tattered. Ink spots smudged at the bent over corners almost as if someone had been carrying it around with them. Oliver ran his finger gently over the edge almost as if hoping to coax all of the secrets inside out without ever having to flip it open. With a deep breath and his eyes squeezed shut his flipped the file open. He sat like that for a minute almost afraid to look at what might be laying in front of him. Taking another deep breath to steady his nerves he opened his eyes.

Looking up at him from the tattered folders was layers of photos, parchment and official looking documents. This looked nothing like the clean and well organized folder Oliver had seen about himself. No, this was a jumbled mess of facts, notes, papers with dog-eared edges and notes written in the margins. He really didn't know where to start. One photo caught his attention and Oliver immediately recognized it from the grey and white uniform- Marcus' team photo from the Falmouth Falcons. Oliver pulled the photo out from the pile and was surprised to find it was clipped to other pieces of paper. He took the small stack and placed it in front of him, pushing the rest of the file out of the way.

He unclipped the photo and held it up. It was obviously a promotional shot; Oliver had taken one almost exactly like it for Puddlemear. There was Flint standing in his robes, quaffle in one hand broom in the other smirking directly at the camera with the goals standing proud in the background. The figure in the photo tossed the ball up and down in one hand periodically shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Oliver had to smile. Things seemed so much simpler on the pitch. Shaking his head he put the photo down and reached for the paper that was clipped to it. Definitely a player's profile he noted. There were information fields and notes all filled out by someone with horrible hand writing. Oliver squinted at the file trying to decipher the writing.

Name: Marcus A. Flint

Height: 183 cm

Throws: Left

Previous Team: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry house team- Slytherin

Position: Chaser

Known medical conditions: Prone to server migraines

Notes: Player seems overly confident- doesn't easily fess up to his mistakes. Likes to be in control. Has had a hard time adjusting from caption to just another player. The kid has talent he just needs to learn how to calm down and play with his head in the game more.

Oliver turned the page over, but it was empty. Same went for the page behind it.

"That's strange."

He couldn't understand it. Oliver made sure his files were up to date with everything he could think of documented. He couldn't figure out why Flint's was so lacking. Apparently Falmouth didn't do things they way Puddlemear United did. He should have figured after all of the shit he heard about that team. What could you really expect out of a team whose motto was: Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads."? Oliver shook his head before reaching for the file and pulling it back in front of him.

There were tons of photos of Flint. Some of him sitting alone at the pitch, others of him entering a bar, one of him talking to someone who had their back turned to the camera.

"What is the point of all of these?" Oliver wondered out loud.

He rummaged through a few other photos until one caught his attention. Oliver grabbed it and pulled it out from the stack dropping it almost immediately. Staring back up at him from the photo was a pair of dark eyes hidden behind a dingy mask. Oliver slammed his eyes shut. He had expected something like this. Hell part of him was even prepaid to find it. It was the half of him that wanted Marcus to be something else that was shocked. He opened his eyes again and stared at the photo. He slowly picked it up before flicking it over with his fingers. Oliver was shocked to find writing on the back. Unlike the writing in Flint's quidditch notes this writing was bold and clear- the words easily readable on the back of the photo.

Anthony G. Flint- known Death Eater- in custody

Anthony Flint? Oliver's mind raced. This guy was obviously related to Marcus in some way, but who the hell was he? A quick thought popped into his head and he reached back over to the quidditch file.

Name: Marcus A. Flint

A… bet that stood for Anthony. Seemed likely the man in this photo was Flint's father. Oliver couldn't recall every hearing anything about someone in Marcus' family being thrown into Azkaban, but then again he hadn't really paid that close attention to what happened to Flint off the pitch until recently.

Oliver shuffled around a few more papers digging for anything that might be of use. There were blank pages with only ink smudges on them, papers with hand written notes so illegible he wondered who ever found them helpful and pages with more photos stuck to them.

He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. This was going to take him all night and there was no way he could bring this back to headquarters- too risky. That's when he noticed once piece of parchment with the corner sticking out above the others. Oliver immediately recognized the Ministry's crest watermarked into the paper. He grabbed it and pulled it out from under the small stack. The words Ministry Surveillance File were stamped out in bold black type across the type of the page.

Now this was definitely a page Oliver had not seen in his own file. He pulled the candle sitting on the desk closer to him as he leaned over the parchment, quickly engrossing himself in the writing.

Suspect Name: Marcus A. Flint

Birthday: November 7, 1975

Marital Status: Single

Father: Anthony G. Flint- convicted Death Eater currently serving time in Azkaban Prison

Mother: Mariah A. Flint- deceased

Siblings: N/A

Status: Currently under surveillance. FILE UPDATED: Suspect removed from high threat alert, surveillance detail canceled.

Reason(s): Suspicious activity, in communication with suspected Death Eaters. FILE UPDATED: Surveillance yielded no tangible leads.

Notes: Suspect Flint was seen having numerous meetings with suspected Death Eaters- friends of his father. We have reason to believe suspect Flint is working towards joining the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Oliver's stomach instantly turned.

Anthony G. Flint- convicted Death Eater currently serving time in Azkaban Prison.

He read the words over and over again. Marcus knew his dad was a Death Eater and he didn't say anything?

Currently under surveillance. Suspicious activity, in communication with suspected Death Eaters

Oliver had his suspicions sure, but he never expected them to be backed up by any facts. Now with cold hard evidence looking him straight in the eye his panic level rose. The temperature in the room felt as if it had just jumped up, sweet pricking his forehead as he pulled at his tie. The words on the page started swimming before his eyes as he thought back to everything that had happened between the two of them. The fights, the lies, Flint's body against his own- lips pressed desperately against his own.

Suspect Flint was seen having numerous meetings with suspected Death Eaters.

"Oh god," the words barely chocked out as his breath came in short gasps.

We have reason to believe suspect Flint is working towards joining the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Oliver's hands shook as he pulled them over his face, panicked breath after panicked breath taking hold of him.

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Katie sat in her room, pieces of parchment scattered around her on the bed. She had never been quiet per say, she just held a lot of things in. She was more of a private person- choosing to keep the things most important to herself. Ever since she was cursed by that locket in Hogsmeade she had turned to writing as an outlet. Being laid up in a hospital bed for months had proven to be fairly boring so she took up the hobby to keep her hands and mind occupied. It was simple little stories at first mostly about quidditch and flying, but recently her thoughts had turned. Everything she wrote was tainted with fear and death, something that scarred even her. She couldn't help it. Being stuck in this place day in and day out seeing what the world was slowly becoming. How could you not lose hope?

There was a faint knock at her bedroom door and Katie quickly shuffled up the papers into a neat stack at the foot of the bed.

"Ya, come in."

The door creaked open and Marcus poked his head around the corner.

"Hey."

Katie's face instantly lit up. "Hey you. Come on in."

Marcus took a quick glance down the hallway before walking in and shutting the door behind him.

"You… working on something?" He asked eyeing the stack of papers.

"Oh, no." She smiled sweetly up at him. "Just trying to keep busy."

"Too busy for me?" He walked over and leaned against the dresser that sat by the foot of her bed.

He had never been one for flirting. Not to say he wasn't good at it. In fact quiet the opposite. A quick wit would do that for a bloke, well… that and being a professional quidditch player didn't hurt either. But flirting- it all just seemed like a useless game. If two people liked each other then they should just get together and get on with it. Why waste time dancing around the issue when you both know where it is going to end up. Women could be so bloody complicated sometimes.

Katie looked down at the bed, almost afraid to meet his eyes. "Never for you."

There it was. That faint red stain that let him know he was in.

"Good." He moved and sat down on the bed next to her. "Because I think I owe you something… from the other night."

"Really?" She was slightly confused as she shifted and angled her shoulders towards him. "You do?

"Ya." Marcus grabbed her chin with his fingers and tilted her head towards him. "I do."

Slowly he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. Letting his hand drop he placed it next to her on the bed, his other hand moving into the same position next to her other side. He lightly ran his tongue over her bottom lip and smiled when she automatically opened her mouth to him. Marcus leaned in more resting weight on both hands and forcing Katie to lean her body back in response. She giggled slightly as she almost fell backwards onto the mattress, his shear mass pushing her over. Instinctively he reached behind her wrapping his left arm around her and gliding her down until she lay flat underneath him. He shifted his legs placing one knee between her thighs. The slight crinkle of parchment beneath them made them both pause and laughed.

Marcus grabbed the stack of papers Katie had piled up.

"Where do you want these?"

"Um… just put them over there on the chair would ya?"

Marcus got up and walked them to the other side of the room where a large dingy red chair sat. He looked over his shoulder and saw Katie staring idly out the window. He carefully sat the stack down and walked back over to her.

"Now- where were we?" He smiled down wildly at her.

"Here I believe." She smiled back before leaning up and wrapping her arms around his neck. Kissing him hard she pulled him down on top of her. Marcus bent his left elbow and leaned weight on it, not wanting to crush her. He gently nudged his hips forward eliciting a small moan from the blond.

A rap at the door caught them both off guard and Katie quickly sat up pushing Marcus away as she did so.

"Y- ya?" Her voice was shaky and breathless as she spoke.

"Dinner. Molly says we are starting with or without you." Tonks' voice emanated from the other side of the door.

Katie glanced over at the clock hanging lopsided on the wall. 6:30 p.m.

"Shit." She wisped so only her and Marcus could hear. "Alright, be right there."

"Alright. Same goes for you Flint."

Marcus and Katie both went wide-eyed at each other.

"How in the fuck did she know that?" Marcus rubbed at the short hair on the back of his head.

"She's an Auror Flint." Katie shot him a look as she stood up and righted her clothing. "Now come on before we get ourselves into any more trouble."

"Alright, fine." He kissed her quickly again before walking out of the room.

Instead of following Katie downstairs Marcus made a quick stop back in his room. Once inside he made sure the door was firmly locked before he walked over to the side of his bed. Marcus made one last glace back at the door before he checked his pant's pocket- a few pieces of folded parchment hidden inside.