A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Never fear - this isn't just going to be an easy slide back into the relationship. Hermione and Marcus had a lot of things to work through first. But, they are both more mature now, and hopefully they won't make the same mistakes...right? 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 twenty-one and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-two soon!
Hermione had gone the next few days in a confused daze, after she'd run into Marcus Flint again out at the bar. She had never imagined what it would be like to come face to face with him again, especially after he left the country to play Quidditch in Luxembourg. When she was a student, she had tried to tell herself that it was good riddence, but the moment she laid eyes on him again, all sorts of emotions and feelings that she'd pushed down a long time ago came rushing back.
He looked better than he did in her memories, appearing wholy larger, broader, taller than she remembered him as. Clearly, Quidditch workouts had only continued to wonders for his figure, and her traitorous mind wondered if she would ever get the chance to compare the differences of his physique up close and personal. His hair was dark as ever, and it really suited him. He was still not a classically handsome man, she doubted he ever would be without fixing his teeth, but there was a ruggedness that appealed to her.
It had been terribly painful to sit and talk to him, his blue eyes filled with some unknown emotion halfway between guilt and hope, as though they hadn't left each other on completely terrible terms. She still couldn't believe that her first real friend hadn't even said goodbye to her before he left Hogwarts for good, seeing as he was mad at her for...well, she wasn't really sure what. She just remembered that he'd thought she was using him all year for practice in order to get with Viktor, whilst she'd thought they'd been dating. It hurt most that he could ever think so little of her that he would imagine she would use him in such a way.
Viktor was obviously still on his brain, seeing as he immediately asked if she and Viktor were together. It made her want to snort a bit at his obvious jealousy, when really he had nothing to be jealous about and no right to be jealous either, after the way he'd treated her.
Still, looking into those puppy dog eyes of his, shining with...well, what she wasn't entirely sure, when he asked if he could see her again to hash things out and to catch up, she hadn't been able to say no to him. There was a traitorous part of her that did want to see him again, and learn everything that he'd been up to since leaving England. They'd been such good friends once, before there was any romance involved.
But, in the light of the day, Hermione found herself wondering just why she'd agreed to it. She was positive that it was just going to end with her being hurt again.
When she'd showed up at work the following Monday, Hermione had scolded Daphne for the role in their chance encounter. "I know what you did, and I don't appreciate it." She'd told the blonde. "You know that I am still a bit upset about the way Marcus and I left things at school."
"I promise I didn't know, Hermione. Adrian invited him." Daphne said, giving her a doleful look, plaiting her long hair pulled over her shoulder. "But I thought things went well between the two of you. I thought that you were going to see each other again. Maybe now's a good time to discuss the way you left things, and move past it."
Hermione had slumped into her desk. "Yeah, we will see. I can't believe I said I would owl him...I'm regretting it now." She stared at the paperwork in front of her, willing it to give her some sign about how she should handle the Marcus situationt that she'd gotten herself into.
"Well, just think about it at least." Daphne told her, before picking up a stack of folders to take away with her to her meeting, smoothing out her impeccable looking grey wool dress. "I mean, you don't have to owl him right away. Let him sweat over it for a few days, and then see if you still don't want to go. You aren't obligated to see him." She reminded the Gryffindor girl, who was too quick to offer her assistance to people, out of some kind of feeling like she had to help everyone. It was an admirable trait, but Daphne occassionally worried about her being taken advantage of.
But that had been five days ago, and now it was the weekend again, and Hermione was nowhere nearer than she'd been before on deciding what she wanted to do. She had reluctantly decided to ask Harry and Ron what they thought of her predicament, though she was positive that they would be against the idea entirely. Neither of the boys appreciated the way that Marcus had treated her, and as her (very brief) ex-boyfriend, Ron generally had a lot of negative things to say about the men she dated, even though he was now happily married to Susan Bones, and they had a child of their own on the way.
She met the boys at a fashionable jeweler not far from Diagon Alley, where she and Ron had agreed to help Harry select an engagement ring for Ginny. Her best friend was finally ready to propose to Ginny Weasley after dating for the past two years. Hermione knew that the pair were quite good for one another, but it was hilarious to see Harry in a perpetual state of nerves from the thought of asking the redhead to spend the rest of her life with him.
The trio poured over tray after tray of all sorts of precious stones, trying to find the perfect ring, though Harry was incredibly particular about what he wanted. Eventually, he began to get frustrated and nervous that he wasn't going to be abe to find anything, sending him into a full on panic. Grabbing her friend by the cheeks, Hermione forced him to focus on her. "Harry, calm down. We will find it. Why don't you go to the bathroom and splash some water on your face...cool off a bit. Then we can talk." She instructed.
Looking a bit pale, Harry nodded, before turning on his heel, leaving Hermione and Ron to their own devices. Deciding that it might be a good idea to bring up the Marcus issue, she cleared her throat. "So, you will never guess who I ran into when I was out with Luna and Ginny the other day." She said, cautiously. Ron grunted, not looking up from the sapphire earrings he was currently pouring over. "Marcus Flint."
That certainly got his attention, and Ron's head shot up in surprise. "What?" He asked, his voice even, though his cheeks were already flushed red. "I swear, Hermione, if he did anything to bother you -" His words were cut off by the ringing of the bell to indicate someone else had walked into the shop. "Speak of the devil." Ron muttered.
Hermione spun around on her heel, surprised to come face to face with the broad chest of Marcus Flint. "Marcus! What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised, and embarrassed that she'd been avoiding owling him to set up a time to meet.
"Um, I came to pick up some of my mother's jewelry that I had repaired." He said with a shrug. "I figured, since I am in charge of the estate now, I might as well take care of it properly." His blue eyes swept over her, and to the tall redhead standing next to her, after Ron took another step closer to her. "What are you doing here?"
Ron smirked at the bigger man, pressing his left hand against Hermione's lower back. "Oh, just, picking out an engagement ring." Ron announced, entirely too happy for his own good, his eyes boring holes into Marcus's, daring him to say something about it.
Marcus's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he didn't say anything about it. "Oh, wow." Still, he kept his shoulders proud, unwilling to let any ounce of disappointment sweep into his posture, not wanting to reveal his hurt. He still hadn't even apologized to Hermione properly, so he couldn't be upset if she'd moved on with someone else. It wasn't as if she was going to become a spinster, just because he'd ended their relationship, or whatever it was.
"I've been meaning to owl you." Hermione said, biting her lower lip. "It's been busy for work, lots of transfers this time of year...well, you know that." She said, a blush on her cheeks. "But, um, how would you like to brunch next weekend? I would really like to catch up with you, Marcus." She told him, wanting to at least get some closure on that part of her life, and maybe, rekindle her friendship if they were lucky.
He rubbed the back of his neck, acting as though he were really considering the question, and Hermione could feel her cheeks grow hotter the longer the silence went on. Was he really just going to embarrass her like that in public, again? He'd seemed so sincere when they'd talked at the pub a week ago. Finally, though, he nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice, find out what all has happened since I felt England and all. You'll owl me the details then?"
Hermione couldn't stop the broad smile that stretched across her face when he agreed. "Excellent! Yes, I will see you next week, Marcus." She said, waving her hand his way, before watching him pick up his parcel and leave the shop. Her breath left her.
Ron snorted beside her. "I can't believe you are giving that troll a second chance." He said, shaking his head.
"What troll?" Harry asked, finally back from the bathroom, and looking a little bit better than he did before. He was obviously much more interested in learning about whatever Hermione was going to be doing and less concerned about finding the perfect ring.
"Marcus is not a troll!" Hermione scolded her friend. "And no one said that I was going to give him a second chance...just a chance to clear the air. You know, he and I were both so emotional when we parted ways. We said really hurtful things to one another, and well, it will be good to get some closure on that part of my life."
"Well, I for one think it's a terrible idea." Ron said, crossing his arms over his chest, looking down at her. "I remember how broken up you were, especially with all that terrible stuff that the newspapers wrote about you." He reminded her. It was a particularly dark time in her life, considering that Rita Skeeter's gossip column seemed devoted to learning what was going on in a teenage girl's love life.
"Ron, I know that, and now I will get a chance to explain to Marcus, rationally, about how much it hurt me, and how horrible it was not to have his support." Hermione said, her hands on her hips now. She could feel her voice going a bit thick, a tell that she was on the verge of crying and she hoped that neither of the boys would notice, but she was out of luck.
Harry pulled her into a sideways hug. "I think that's a good idea, Hermione. If it's what you want, Ron and I will support you." He said, making Hermione feel a lot better to know that her two friends cared about her so much. Well, after spending a year on the run, how could they not all care about each other deeply. "And, if Flint tries to get fresh with you, just let me know, and Ron and I can take care of that too."
That made Hermione laugh. "Okay, Mr. Auror, I don't need you to intimidate any potential boyfriends." She said with a grin.
"Oh, so you do admit that he's a potential boyfriend?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing at her slip up.
"Anyways, Harry, while you were in the bathroom," Hermione started, desperate to get the topic of conversation off of her and Marcus, "I had the most brilliant idea for your ring dilemma. What if we go check your family vault for an heirloom ring? Classic, beautiful and meaningful. I am sure that we could find something that Ginny will love." She suggested, wanting the nightmare that was engagement ring shopping to end.
Harry's face lit up. "That's brilliant, Hermione!" Harry said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to lead them out of the shop. "To Gringotts!"