[Summary] — Katie/Marcus [Dystopian!AU] Katie pulled the faded material which served as a curtain aside, peering into the dimness of the village before sunrise. It was too early to go outside — no one wanted to be out alone without the protection of the sun — but soon …

A/N — Thanks to Jordi, FF Rose, and Carmen for the beta'ing and help with this :)

Prompts are at the end

Katie pulled the faded material which served as a curtain aside, peering into the dimness of the village before sunrise. It was too early to go outside — no one wanted to be out alone without the protection of the sun — but soon …

She waited just long enough for the first rays of sun to filter through the holes worn into the curtains. The door creaked on its hinges as she slowly pulled it open, and she paused for a moment though she knew it hadn't been enough to wake anyone. When she'd decided enough time had passed, she stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her. The unfinished wood fit loosely in the frame, but it still served to keep out the worst of the frigid winter air.

Stuffing her hands into her pockets and keeping her eyes on her ill-fitting shoes, Katie trudged through the snow. She didn't need to pay attention to where she was going; this was a route she'd taken many times before.

She only looked up when she stepped foot into the clearing, a little out of breath from the upwards slope of the hill, and froze, heart racing. She'd never seen anyone else here.

He stood up slowly — he must have heard her approach, but she hadn't known she might need to be quiet — and turned to face her. Even from across the clearing, she could see the wary set to his features and the stiff way he held himself.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his brows furrowing in a glare. She opened and closed her mouth uselessly for a moment; she'd never seen anyone like him before. He wasn't attractive by anyone's standard, but his clothes … they were unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and here she was with her tattered shoes and second-hand jacket. His clothes looked … new. "You shouldn't be here," he said, breaking the silence once more. "Sometimes the … soldiers pass through."

"Really?" she asked, finally managing to pull her thoughts together. "I've never seen anyone else here before today."

"So?" he snapped. "That doesn't mean they don't."

"But why would they? There's nothing here." She went to wipe the snow off a large rock — one she'd come to think of as her rock — but she froze mid-gesture when she realised that someone had beaten her to it. With an irritated sigh, she sat heavily on the stone, wincing slightly at the impact.

"What are you doing?" She could hear his footsteps crunching in the snow but didn't turn to look. "Don't sit down! You're supposed to be leaving."

"I'm just looking at the castle," she said, indicating the gap between the trees. He took another step forward, stopping beside her, and squinting in the direction she was pointing. A forest took up most of the horizon, its depths looking dark and unwelcoming, but it was the castle which held both of their attention.

"You mean the … ruins?" he asked slowly, not turning to look at her.

"… Yeah," she said, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands.

"You're not going anywhere, are you?" He dropped down on the rock next to her. She didn't reply; it was all she could do to mask her irritation. "What's so special about that castle, anyway?" he asked when it became obvious she wasn't going to speak.

"Oh, nothing," she said. "My mum used to tell me stories, is all. About magic and witches, all make-believe really, but … sometimes it's nice to pretend, y'know?" She felt his shoulder lift, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "No?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, but she could see the look of distaste that briefly crossed his features. She shrugged it off — it wasn't any of her business — and turned her full attention back to the castle. He still clearly wanted her to leave, but what she did wasn't any of his business.

Sometimes, she could imagine people there, having adventures in the castle halls and exploring the grounds. She didn't think anyone would be out today, it was too cold for that — the snow had stopped falling, leaving a thick covering over everything, but her breath still formed fog in the air and her fingers and toes were numb from the cold.

But still, if she could go down there and have even a fraction of the adventures her mum had described, nothing would stop her.

.oOo.

"Katie, it's time for bed," her mum whispered, nudging the sleepy child until she lifted her head.

"Wha— No, I'm not tired," she mumbled through a yawn.

"Of course not," her mum said, amusement clear in her voice. She pulled Katie to her feet and said: "Why don't I tell you a story then?"

"About Hogwash?" Katie asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "And magic and —"

"Yes, about Hogwarts," her mum pronounced the word slowly.

"Did you go to Hog-warts?"

"For a little while," she said softly.

"Will I get to go?"

Her mum didn't answer for a while but then she said, so quiet Katie probably wouldn't have heard had she not been listening so intently: "I don't think so." And then, louder: "it's not the same as it used to be. It's not like how I remember."

"What's it like now?"

"It's … different," she said, frowning at the last word. "Not quite … safe."

"But, Mum, you said there were dragons," Katie whined. "Dragons aren't safe."

Her mum laughed, all tension seemingly forgotten. "No, dragons aren't safe at all. But there weren't always dragons."

.oOo.

"It's dark," he said, abruptly pulling her from her thoughts. "Shouldn't be out after dark."

"Yeah, I know that, thanks," she snapped. She didn't want to admit it, but she hadn't noticed the sun setting; if she had, she would have left hours ago.

Standing up, she made her way over to the edge of the clearing.

"What are you doing now?"

"What does it look like?" She turned to glare at him. "I'm going home."

"By yourself?" he asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"What do you care?"

"I — I don't," he said. "It's just — No, just do what you want. I need to get home, too, anyway."

"Alright."

"Alright."

"Well," she said, when it didn't look like he was going anywhere. "I'm off."

"Okay," he said. Neither of them moved for a few more minutes. "Fine," he snapped, and turned, leaving from the opposite side of the clearing that she had entered through.

She listened to his heavy footfalls for a moment, before turning and leaving with a muttered: "fine."

The walk home was usually a lot faster, but after dark she knew she needed to be quiet. There was no way to know who or what was lurking in the shadows, and it was better to err on the side of caution.

A rustle behind her had her stopping instantly, her heart beating faster and breathing short. She didn't have anything on her that could be used as a weapon, and it was too far back to the village to run. Her best bet was to stay low and silent and hope …

"Hey?" a familiar voice called. "You here?"

She remained crouching, heart beating loudly in her ears, but she knew enough to keep her breathing quiet and even. Until: "It's you!" she said, a lot louder than she should have.

"Er …—" he scratched the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable even in the dim lighting "— yeah?"

Katie stood slowly, watching him warily. "What're you doing here?"

"Can't leave you on your own, can I?" he muttered, a scowl tugging down the corners of his mouth. "Probably get yourself killed."

"What do you care?" she snapped, standing to her full height and glaring back at him. He didn't reply — she supposed he couldn't, since he didn't in fact care — so she shrugged and said: "Fine. Do what you want."

They made the rest of the journey in uncomfortable silence, but she couldn't quite work out a way to get him to leave. She didn't think outright telling him to do so would work.

Thankfully, they were pretty close to the edge of the village.

"Here's fine," she said. "You need to get home, too."

"No one'll notice if I'm a little late," he said. She had to wonder at that: where could he possibly live that no one would care that he wasn't home before dark?

"Katie!" she heard, hissed from somewhere to her left. "Where have you been?"

She could see him smirk, and jabbed a quick elbow to his ribs. "Mum? What're you doing?"

"It's dark, Katie, do you have any idea how worried we've been?" Her mum appeared directly in front of her, approaching without a sound. "Who's this?" she asked, tone instantly losing all traces of anger.

"Sorry, Mum," Katie muttered. "Err … this is …"

"Marcus," he said. Katie didn't like the look he was giving her mum, but she couldn't say why for sure. Maybe it was a little too predatory? A little too calculating? Almost as if there was some sort of familiarity there. She pushed the thought aside; she was probably just imagining things.

"You're not from the village," Katie's mum said, watching Marcus warily. Katie was once again drawn to his clothes; how they contrasted so starkly with everything around them. She sighed and said: "Well, you can't go wandering by yourself in the dark." Katie wanted to disagree, but her mum didn't look too happy about it either. "You'd best stay with us for the night."

"You'd just let a stranger sleep in your house?" Marcus asked incredulously, but followed when she ushered him towards their home. With a huff, Katie followed, letting her thoughts drift elsewhere to mask her annoyance.

.oOo.

"Tell me about the dragons," Katie begged, looking up at her mum with wide eyes.

"You know I didn't see a lot of dragons," her mum said, but then, she always said that. "But … I suppose I could tell you the stories my mum told me."

Katie grinned widely. "Did Grandma see dragons?"

"Grandma used to work with dragons," she said, tucking Katie into bed. "In the Welsh reserve."

"Can we go see the dragons?" Katie asked around a yawn. "I've never seen one."

"I'm sorry, Katie," she said sadly. "It's not there anymore."

"Did the dragons go with Grandma?" Katie asked. "To be war heroes in heaven?"

"Some of them did," she said softly, pressing a kiss to her daughter's head. "But most didn't."

"Where'd they go?"

Katie's eyes slipped closed, and she only just caught her mum's faint response: "They were taken."

.oOo.

"What're you doing?" Katie asked, watching Marcus quickly step back from the window.

"Nothing," he snapped. "Why're you lurking?"

"I'm not! And it's my house, anyway," she said. "I can do what I want." She pushed him aside to take a look out the window. "What's that?"

"What's what?" he asked, not turning to look where she was pointing.

"That light thing. It's moving."

He looked where she was pointing then, a frown on his face, and said: "No it isn't."

"I'm not insane," she snapped, about thirty seconds from punching the ever-present scowl off his face. "I know what I —"

"Look, you're tired," he reasoned, tone of voice unusually soft. "And it's probably nothing."

Katie was about to argue, but he looked so calm for once that she found herself exhaling loudly and nodding in agreement. She saw him take one last glance out the window, and she followed his line of sight with her eyes.

The light was gone.

.oOo.

"Why'd they take the dragons, Mum?" she asked, older now but still unwilling to let go of their nightly traditions.

"Because dragons are — the dragons were powerful," she said. "And they wanted the dragons on their side."

"Who did? The people Grandma was fighting?" Katie asked, sitting cross-legged on her narrow mattress. "How'd they make the dragons fight for them if they're so strong?"

"Dragons aren't a match for that many wizards who know what they're doing," she said. "And they certainly did."

"Who …" Katie hesitated; this was one question her mum had never answered properly. "Who were they? The people who took the dragons?"

"Bad wizards," her mum said — the usual response, which didn't really answer much — but then, she continued, much quieter, in a tone she might have thought Katie couldn't hear, and whispered: "They called themselves Death Eaters."

.oOo.

Smoke permeates the room, filling her lungs and making her hack painful coughs. She can't see much, but the crackle of fire is enough to get her moving, stumbling towards the door.

Outside, the entire village is chaos; people running, screaming, crying. Everything is on fire.

She looks up, eyes stinging and tears leaving trails in the ash sticking to her skin. Squinting, she can just make out something above their heads, right where she thinks the centre of the village would be. A faint greenish glow, twisting above them, though she can't quite make out what it is.

And there's no time to stay and try to work it out.

She doesn't know where her mum is — can only hope she got out of the house — but she runs, heading for the side of the village opposite the forest.

She hits something with force … or … nothing? There's nothing there, but she's flung backwards as though she'd just run into a brick wall, and the smoke stops abruptly, curling upwards as though following a curve.

Tears course freely down her cheeks now, not just from the fire; her hands are shaking and sobs wrack her frame.

She looks up, wanting to catch one last look of freedom, and meets newly-familiar eyes across the invisible barrier.

A/N — Written for the first round of QL finals — use a juxtaposition and foreshadowing, and the pairing Marcus/Katie — with the optional prompts tradition and dawn.