A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you are enjoying this, even the awkward situation that they find themselves in. Again, things are going to keep progressing with their relationship. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen soon!
Hermione had been flying on cloud nine with having Marcus as her boyfriend. She wondered frequently how he could possibly be so suited to her, on account of them being so different. They had almost nothing in common, but they still managed to find endless things to talk about while they were together, and not just school work either. She was sure that was why their relationship had worked so well too - because they were such good friends first and only started to take things more physical when they had a proper foundation laid.
Still, thinking about what might happened when they were done with school, with Marcus going off to some professional squad made Hermione feel a bit down. Hermione was positive that he would be able to make a Quidditch squad, though he was always rather nervous that it wouldn't actually come true. Would he still remember his girlfriend, holed up in a boarding school is Scotland? Or perhaps he would suggest that they take a break. After all, she was positive he would have loads of girls after him if he was a professional player. That's what it was like with footballers, after all.
Trying to push those negative thoughts from her mind, Hermione wanted to focus on the here and now, and enjoying herself. She had been learning so much with Marcus, not only about how to be intimate with a boy, but just the well...pleasure that her body could feel. They made very good use of their little hidden room on the seventh floor, though Hermione did try to keep them on a proper studying schedule.
She was positive that she could kiss Marcus for the rest of her life, even at the risk of sounding like a rather silly girl. She loved the way that he looked on her. She'd been so embarrassed the first time that she'd taken off her shirt and bra completely, hoping that he still found her attractive now that he knew exactly what was under her robes. To her joy, he'd gone a bit silent, before breathing out an oath to Salazar Slytherin. "Fuck, if you aren't beautiful."
It was mesmerizing to watch his large hands cup her breasts, alternating between his rough touch and tender care. There had even been a time that he'd pressed his lips to the nipple, the tip of his tongue flicking at the pink flesh again and again, until Hermione thought that she just might go mad if he didn't touch her down there.
His other hand, which had been resting on the bare flesh of her leg, would creep up under the fabric of her school skirt. Hermione parted her legs then, only to have him snatch back his hand as though she'd burned him. "Please Marcus." Hermione said, looking into his eyes. "You can touch me. I want you to touch me." And she was positive that she wanted him to touch her, more than anything she'd ever experienced. She ached between her legs, always feeling a bit wet, and knowing that if he just touched her there she would feel so much better.
Marcus waffled for a moment, before returning his hand to her center, the tip of his finger sliding up the seam of her lips, before settling on a spot at the top of her sex that had her seeing stars. That felt better than anything she'd felt so far, and even though she longed for her to touch her sodden flesh directly, he never slipped under her knickers. Her hips rocked against his hand of their own accord, almost as if she were looking for something, until she felt a coil of pleasure growing tighter and tighter in her lower belly. She pushed herself to the very edge, and almost by accident, tipped straight over it.
With a gasp and a low wail, Hermione had rode out the oscillations of pleasure, feeling it seep into her body, from the tips of her toes to the end of her nose. It was like floating, falling, and flying all at once.
When she'd opened her eyes, she'd found Marcus studying her, with a very pensive look on his face, almost as though he wanted to memorize that moment forever. She'd wanted to return the favor to him right then and there, and she let her fingers graze his crotch, only to have him pulling back. His face was pained as though it was really difficult to turn down, but he shook his head no. She was a bit disappointed, but also knew that they would get there when he was ready. She thought that perhaps, after the Yule Ball, they could go up to their secret room and spend a bit of alone time together.
Hermione was unreasonably excited for the Yule Ball. As soon as it had been announced, it was really all that the girls could talk about. Normally, Hermione would have scoffed at it, but now that she actually had a boyfriend who she would be going with, she let herself get swept up with some of the silly talk. She couldn't wait to see how handsome Marcus was going to look in formal dress robes, and she rather hoped that he thought she looked nice in her robes. Lavender and Parvati seemed to think that he would be blown away.
She was just wondering who Harry and Ron were going to ask, and wondering if Marcus might want to join their table, or if he'd rather sit with Adrian and his other friends, when she was bumped into by Neville Longbottom on her way to Gryffindor Tower after dinner. He was looking unusually pale, and even a bit sweaty, so she was naturally concerned for him. "Neville, is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said wringing his hands together before finally taking a deep breath and looking at her squarely. "Um, Hermione, I was wondering...if you might like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Hermione's breath left her in surprise. She never in a million years expected that Neville would ask her to the ball. He was a great friend, and she was sure that she would have a good time with him, except...well, she was going to go with Marcus, wasn't she? She thought that the whole school knew that she and Marcus were dating, so she was a little bit surprised that Neville would even ask her in the first place.
Well, Marcus hadn't asked her yet, technically, but she knew that it was just a matter of time. Or maybe he just expected that they would go together, kind of the same way that they had fallen into dating with one another. "Oh, Neville, I am sorry, but I can't go to the Yule Ball with you." She said, biting her lower lip. "It's nothing to do with you, just...I am already going with someone else."
Neville did deflate at hearing her rejection, only to perk up when she mentioned that it was because she was going with someone else. "Oh, of course, I understand Hermione. I didn't realize that you already had a date."
Before they could talk on it much more, Neville shuffled off in embarrassment, likely. Hermione shook her head with a little smile on her face. Of course Neville would be so clueless to be the only person who didn't realize she and Marcus were together!
Marcus knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but when he heard Hermione talking about the Yule Ball, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks. For the longest time, he thought that there couldn't be anything other than friendship (well, with some benefits) between them, but recently, he'd begun to get his hopes up that maybe he could convince her that they might be good together.
Every time that he kissed her, he could feel a little spark building between them, and he'd developed some pretty strong feelings for her. He was hoping that if he just asked her to the Ball, and showed her a great time, maybe she would open her eyes and see what was standing right in front of her.
He was disappointed to hear that Neville bloody Longbottom was asking her to the dance, but Marcus supposed that the bumbling boy was much less competition than Viktor Krum. Maybe he could still get a few dances with her while he was there.
But then...he strained to hear her response. Was she really rejecting him? "It's nothing to do with you, just...I am already going with someone else." He could hear Hermione saying quietly, but it was as if there was a riot in Marcus's head. He could feel all of his anger and sadness welling up inside of him. Of course that fucking tosser Krum would have already asked her to the Ball! He'd been sniffing around her enough in the library, always making her laugh.
And why wouldn't she want to go to the Ball with Krum? Krum was bigger, better, smarter than him and here he was just showing her exactly how to kiss Krum the whole time. Fuck, that Bulgarian had snuck in and stolen Hermione right from under his nose, not realizing what he really wanted until he was too late. He needed to get out of there, before he did something fucking stupid.
By the time he made it back to his dorm, he was seething with loathing, and he punched the stone wall, groaning at the feel of his knuckle breaking. Well that was stupid, he thought to himself, not only do you have a broken heart, but you have a broken hand too.
Before he could do anything else, Adrian was rushing over to him, grabbing his wrist. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Marcus, what is going on?" He asked, before lifting his wand to repair the broken bones. They'd both been through enough Quidditch injuries to know how to patch themselves up well enough.
Marcus looked around the room, trying to decide if he should open up to Adrian. He'd been holding everything in regarding Hermione for so long that maybe it was a good idea to open up. Maybe Adrian could talk him out of continuing on with her. Once he was sure that no one else was in the room, he slumped down on his bed. "Hermione is going to the ball with Krum." He said, his voice sounding as miserable as he felt.
Adrian sat down next to him. "Huh. Why would she do that?" He asked. "You guys are dating, right? Did you do something to piss her off? Because I could have given you loads of advice on how to get back together with a witch."
Marcus was genuinely confused. "What? No, Hermione and I aren't dating." Only now, he was just realizing how much he wished that was true.
"Are you sure? Because pretty much the whole school thinks that you are." Adrian said, truly curious about just what was going on. He rounded on his friend. "Hold on, Montague told me that you guys were caught kissing in an alcove just the other month! What's that all about, if you aren't dating?"
"Well, yes, we have kissed." Marcus revealed to his friend, a bright blush on his cheeks at the admission. Salazar, if he wasn't bad at talking about this kind of stuff, though. "She asked me to show her how to kiss her. I figured that she was just using me, using our friendship as kind of...well, practice really. Once she figured Krum was interested in her."
"She wanted you to help her practice kissing?" Adrian asked, sounding a bit dumbfounded. "I can't tell if that sounds exactly like Granger, or not like her at all." He rubbed his chin for a moment before making up his mind. "I don't think that's something that Granger would do. Hear me out, I know that I don't know her very well, but Granger is pretty emotionally invested."
Marcus ran his hand down the front of his face, feeling his anger subside, but just leaving him feeling pretty low. "I dunno, Ade, I can't imagine that she'd...I'm pretty sure that she is just using me for practice. After all, she's going to the Ball with Krum. If she thought we were dating, why would she do that?"
Honestly, Marcus felt like shite. But, he was determined not to let this affect their friendship. Hermione was his best friend and he would just have to pretend like her going with Krum didn't bother him, and then, maybe one day he wouldn't have to pretend anymore. "I guess I will just have to find someone else to go with." He said with a shrug.
Adrian patted him on the shoulder, before standing up to give Marcus some space. "Whatever you think is best." He offered, a bit weakly.
Marcus hoped he was making the right decision.