Finally! Sorry for the wait but I had to get that other fic out of my system before I went mad. 'Together Forever?' should follow in the not to distant future, again, sorry for the delay.

Hope you all like this one, I know he's an original character but I love writing Marcus, if only he were real (sighs) lol

Let me know what you think. Cheers, Step ;)

Chapter 14

'Ron, I am going out tonight regardless of what you and Harry think. Ginny thinks I should go out so I have no idea why you two have a problem with it all of a sudden!'

Hermione was talking into their wardrobe as she tried to decide what she wanted to wear that night. Ron was stood behind her, adamant that he would win this disagreement.

'I have a problem with it because you were unbelievably upset this morning, you're tired from the work you've been doing and you're mentally exhausted. What you need is a good nights sleep, not drinking stupidly and getting drunk!'

'Ron, look, I've been looking forward to this night out all weekend. I understand why you're worried but I need to go out and have a good time. I don't have to be in work tomorrow so I'll get a long lie-in in the morning, and I can relax all day.'

Ron stepped forward and spun Hermione round so she was facing him.

'Hermione, I've not seen you like that in a long time. It scared me seeing you like that again. I just want to make sure you're all right. Why won't you let me do that?'

'I did let you do that. You were there for me when I needed you and I'm grateful, extremely grateful, but I'm fine now. You calmed me down and brought me out of that…horrible place in my head that I don't often visit. But I'm out of it now and I need to go and have fun with you and all my friends. Please understand that.'

Ron frowned and looked at the wooden floor. Hermione looked at him and smiled.

'I love it when you pout,' she said quietly, trying to make him smile.

'And here's me trying to look all serious!' he said with a half smile. 'I'm just trying to look out for you Hermione, I just want to make you to be safe and happy.'

'I know you do, and with you next to me I'll be both.'

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ron on the nose.

'Now, the most important decision of the day…' she turned back towards the wardrobe and took out two tops, one a black corset and the other a lilac, longer length strappy top with sequins along the straps.

'Which top should I wear?

Ron looked at them both and frowned. 'Is this one of those trick questions where it doesn't matter what I say, because you'll just choose the other one anyway?'

'No, not at all!' she answered.

She moved the hand that was holding the black corset to Ron and the other one nearer to her and then she started staring at the corset.

Ron laughed. 'Why did you even ask me if you've already decided which one you want to wear?'

'I haven't already decided…well…I hadn't.'

'Hermione do you want me to tell you to wear the black one?'

'Only if you want me to wear the black one.'

'Fine, I want you to wear the black one!'

'Excellent choice! Now all I have to decide is which shoes to wear.'

'Surely you're not just wearing a top and shoes! What about your bottom half?'

Hermione look exasperated at Ron's comment.

'Ha ha!' she replied. 'I've already decided I'm wearing my jeans. Now, do I put my crippling knee length boots on or…no, there is no other option really. I'll wear my knee length boots!'

'The ones that make it easier to kiss you?'

Hermione giggled. 'Yes, those ones. Now what are you wearing?'

Ron sighed and flopped down on the bed. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed his eyes.

'What do you want me to wear?' he asked.

'Don't answer my question with another question just to avoid making a decision!'

'I'm not avoiding making a decision, it's easier if you tell me what you want me to wear now so I don't end up changing when you give me that look later on that asks, 'are you really going to wear that shirt?'

Hermione scowled. 'I don't ever wear looks like that, you're confusing me with your sister when she's looking upon Harry's taste in clothes.'

'Fine, I'll wear that blue crushed…shirt…thing you bought me the other week, my smart jeans and my black loafers. How's that?'

'Sounds fine! See, told you I wouldn't object to what you decided.'

She turned back around to the wardrobe and began fishing for her boots.

'That's a first!'

...oooOOOooo...

'The Flying Lion?' Ron asked as they looked upon the muggle club. 'What kind of stupid name is that?'

'Ron, ssshhhh!' Hermione scolded as two muggle students made their way into the club with pissed off expressions on their faces. Apparently they'd taken offence at Ron's ridicule of their favourite club's name. He waited until they had gone inside before talking again.

'Well come on! Even-' he checked over his shoulder to make sure there were no muggles walking past them. 'Even wizard pubs have normal, names. They're not weird!'

'I think there's a few people in there who'd say 'The Three Broomsticks' is weird Ron!'

'But they're muggles!' Ron shouted far too loudly.

Hermione's head whipped from side to side, her eyes searching for said muggles.

'Ron will you keep your voice down! If you carry on like that I'll disown you and let the Ministry deal with you!'

'Oh relax Hermione, there's no one here!'

Suddenly two loud cracks made them jump.

'Er…oops!' A guilty looking Harry said.

'Are you two MAD?' Hermione screeched at Harry and Ginny who had just appeared out of thin air in the middle of a muggle street.

'Not as mad as you are, apparently!' Harry mumbled. Ginny fell about laughing. He held up his hands in apology. 'We er…seemed to have missed the alley by a few feet,' he said trying to keep a straight face and failing, due in no small part to Ginny's hysterics.

'A few feet! Harry if you'd been a few more feet off target you'd have apparated inside the place on top the bar!'

Ginny stopped laughing immediately and looked thoughtfully at Harry. 'Now that's an idea,' she said before starting to giggle again.

Ron started to laugh. 'Harry have you been letting my little sister drink before you came out tonight?'

'Let her!' Ginny shrieked.

Harry took the few paces separating him and Ron and leaned into his friend.

'Mate, I think I'm more drunk than she is, and that's embarrassing! My girlfriend can handle her alcohol better than I can!'

Ron laughed louder. 'Yeah, that is pretty pathetic mate. I wouldn't tell too many people about that!'

'Don't worry,' Harry said as he tapped his nose with his finger, 'Lightweight's the word!'

'I thought you lot were supposed to stay hidden from us muggles!'

The four of them spun around, Harry wobbled slightly then regained his balance. Ron sniggered at him. Hermione sighed in relief as she recognised the person who was walking towards them.

'Rachel! Thank God it's you!' she turned towards Harry and Ginny and glared at them. 'I told you!' she hissed at them.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, and were very confused.

'What did she tell us?' Harry mumbled at Ginny.

'I have no idea!'

They looked at each other and burst out laughing, holding onto the other for support.

Hermione, Ron and Rachel gave them a strange look before carrying on their conversation.

'So you found the place alright then?' Rachel asked with a smile.

'Yeah we did.'

'How many more are we waiting for?' Rachel asked, this time with a twinkle in her eye.

Hermione noticed it and the sly smile that followed it. 'You mean how many single wizards are coming?'

Rachel blushed slightly but held her head high. 'Yes, that's exactly what I mean!'

There was a series of loud cracks from the alley down the side of the club, and then suddenly there was a delayed one. Rachel jumped at the sounds but Ron and Hermione simply looked interested as to who had arrived and was about to walk out of the alley.

'I think we're about to find out!'

Out from the alleyway first was Marcus.

'Hermione!' he called as he strode over to her and gave her a double kiss on the cheek. 'Ginny!' he then exclaimed and did the same to her. Ginny started giggling. 'Harry!' he stepped towards Harry but Harry was pretty sharp to move out of the way.

'Hey! You can stop that! You can kiss my girlfriend, I'm not the jealous type, but I fear for my own safety if she sees you kissing me! Yours too for that matter,' he leaned towards Marcus and comically 'whispered', 'She's got a bit of a temper that one, I wouldn't aggravate it!'

Marcus winked at him and gave him a thumbs up.

'I'll see you later then, when she's not around!'

The group fell about laughing.

'Rachel this is Marcus, Marcus this is my cousin Rachel.'

'Ahh! A member of the child prodigy's family! This could be interesting!'

'I apologise in advance for any inappropriate behaviour that Marcus might perform during the night!' Hermione said whilst looking resolutely at Rachel.

'Steady on Hermione! I've only just met the girl and you're talking about 'performance' already!'

Ginny and Harry roared with laughter, even Ron managed to smile. He seemed to make up his mind about something and when Hermione had started introducing the rest of the people who had arrived to her cousin, he stepped closer to Marcus and guided him away from the group with a friendly hand on his arm.

'Marcus, can I have a word please?'

'Yeah, of course.'

Ron smiled. 'Nothing, I just wanted to say thanks for looking after Hermione this morning. She needed someone to get her home and you did that. So…thanks.'

Marcus smiled at Ron. 'That's alright mate, as you said, she needed someone and I just happened to be there.'

'Yeah, well, thanks.'

They both looked on as the group chatted and Hermione introduced Cai to Rachel.

Without realising, Ron frowned. Marcus noticed and decided to test the boundaries of this very new friendship.

'I know he tries to hide it, but, it's blatantly obvious he…likes her, isn't it?'

Ron looked at Marcus wide eyed, concerned that he had just said the exact thing Ron had been thinking.

'Er…yeah it is.'

'He's a good guy though, he is. He knows he crossed a line and he isn't going to again. He values her friendship too much to jeopardise it with something inappropriate.'

'Yeah, but he still crossed it, he knew he shouldn't have but he did,' Ron said

Marcus looked sideways at Ron's profile. 'Ron, I know we don't know each other very well, but I think it's fair to say that every single person in the world steps across lines we shouldn't now and again. If we didn't, we couldn't make mistakes and learn from them.'

Ron looked uncomfortably at the floor. Marcus continued.

'I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound patronising, after everything you've been through I shouldn't be the one giving you advice about life, but I'm just trying to defend my best mate. He's a good one, he has his faults, but he's a good one.'

Ron narrowed his eyes as he looked at the group in front of him.

'He's your best mate?' he asked Marcus without looking at him.

'Yeah, he is.'

'You weren't in Gryffindor though, were you? I think I'd have remembered your sense of humour in the common room!'

Marcus laughed. 'No, I was in Ravenclaw; we used to smuggle Cai in when we needed to. Whether we actually needed to smuggle him in depended on our portrait; it was this old toothless wizard who was an alcoholic. If he'd been drinking he'd let almost anyone in, regardless of house.'

'How often was he drunk?' Ron asked with a smirk on his face.

'About twenty-three hours of the day!'

'Wow! That's quite impressive!'

'I thought so!'

Marcus looked at the group ahead of them. 'Looks like we're moving,' he said, gesturing to the group who had started walking towards the entrance of the club.

'And so starts the experience I will probably never forget!' Ron said with a slightly apprehensive look on his face.

'Yep, I'm sure you will.'

'Do you think there's any chance Cairo will fall madly in love with Rachel and forget about Hermione?'

Marcus laughed. 'It's a possibility. But there's one thing that might prevent that from happening.'

'What's that?'

'Her falling madly in love with me instead! To put it bluntly, she's gorgeous, and until she states an interest in him she's fair game!'

'But you're best-'

'Best mates?' Marcus said, finishing Ron's sentence for him. 'Yeah we are, but all's fair in love and war mate, all's fair in love and war!'

Ron smiled at Marcus, who jogged to catch up with Rachel and Hermione as they entered the club.

Ron followed. He shuddered slightly, the word 'war' did that to him sometimes, especially when he remembered how Hermione had been that morning, and he hated that saying; there was definitely nothing fair about war, or love for that matter.

He was about to walk into the club when something moved towards him from his right.

'Oi! Weasley! Thought you'd go in there without me, did ya?'

Ron smiled as Seamus came into view from the shadows.

'You know Seamus, you shouldn't lurk around in shadows, people'll think you're up to no good!'

Seamus managed a half-smile, but his heart wasn't in it.

'You decided to come then?' Ron asked.

'Yeah, thought I might as well. I was planning on drowning me sorrows tonight anyway, so I thought I'd do it with me mate to get a better conversation! Might make meself feel better too, although I doubt it.'

'Are you feeling any better?'

Seamus looked at Ron with eyebrows raised.

'You're as bad as me mam, and as I told her, I'm far too sober to answer a question like that, buy me a pint of whatever crap they're sellin' in there and I might go into it. No promises though.'

'Deal.'

Ron stepped over the threshold of the club and was surprised to see people digging around in pockets for money.

'Surely there's not a bar this close to the door!'

Seamus stifled a laugh at his friend's comment.

'Nah, they're paying to get in.'

Ron's eyes widened. 'You have to pay to get in?'

Ron thought he heard Hermione sigh in front of him before she mumbled something to whoever was next to her.

'Ron I'm paying for you!' she called over her shoulder. She knew what his next sentence would be and pre-empted it. 'Don't worry, you're buying the first few rounds,' she said with a grin on her face.

He winked at her and smiled. He had no idea why but she always seemed to blush when he winked at her, and tonight was no different.

'She's a good one that one,' Seamus said with a regretful tone. 'Don't fuck things up with her, will you?'

Ron looked at Seamus. 'I won't mate.'

'Good, now lets go drown my sorrows!'