This is Mksfroogle, thank you for waiting and reading my update on this story. Please Review whenever you get the chance. Remember, only six more chapters after this one!

'Marie's Thoughts'

Voldemort's thoughts

"Parseltongue"

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It was weeks later when a Hogsmeade trip was that weekend. Marie could hardly wait! Hermione and Ginny no longer glared at her but instead tried to make peace with her.

Of course, Marie declined all of their attempts. She was not going to have friends that would turn their back on her so easily. Ron on the other hand, tried to bully her every chance that he got. Not that he had many chances. The Slytherins and Voldemort would always come to her rescue.

Speaking of Voldemort, Marie was slowly getting more used to his new appearance. She had been so used to his snake-like visage that it just seemed so normal to her. But now he was like a stranger. He even began to act a little differently.

In class, he would always stare at her and smile handsomely but flirt horribly with her around everyone. It was almost embarrassing.

He got to touching her one day in class when he was teaching them to cast a particular spell. He had went up behind her to try and 'help' her but instead it just angered her when he tried to feel her up, causing him to receive a nice black bruise on his chest.

He stopped touching her after that and instead, went back to flirting in class.

Outside of class, Voldemort found it necessary to escort her around like he was staking a claim on her or something so no one else would try and talk to her. But that didn't stop Draco!

Draco seemed not to mind Voldemort's change of appearance. In fact, it made him more confident in himself when he talked to Marie. At least he knew he wasn't really talking to a monster now.

Neville and the rest of Marie's 'group' would still meet in the chamber of secrets under Voldemort's watch and get ready for a possible uprising.

Marie still hasn't told Voldemort about her little duel with her ex-friends.

In fact, she thought that she could very well handle it herself. She didn't need Voldemort's help!

Obviously, he cared more about his appearance and getting Marie's attention that anything else.

And above else in a man, that is what she disliked the most. A man should care about more than that. Being in a relationship means to make the other happy and to keep them safe. Sure Voldemort was keeping Marie safe, but not very happy. She wanted Voldemort to give up his conquest for a permanent handsome look, but of course that would never happen. He was just too stubborn and self-conscious to do anything to please her in the way that she wanted. She didn't care if he looked handsome or not. It was the inside that mattered. It was the heart that beat for her that mattered the most and as long as he cared for and loved her, she would accept him.

But of course, Voldemort is too stubborn to even listen to a word she said about his appearance.

It seemed that Professor Lupin was having a great time teaching again, too. Although he wasn't a master at Transfiguration, he was rather good at it enough to teach it. Everyone seemed not to mind anyway. They trusted Lupin. After all, they thought that he was still a member of the order.

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Finally it was Hogsmeade weekend and Draco had asked Marie to go with him alone. She was very thrilled to be spending the day with him and to get away from Voldemort's insistent courting.

"So where do you want to go today Marie?" Draco asked her as they reached Hogsmeade.

"Oh, I don't know. You pick!"

So Draco grabbed her hand and led her to multiple stores to look around.

In truth, he was trying to figure out a present that he could get for her for Christmas. After all, Christmas was only two weeks away now.

Finally they reached the book shop and Draco let Marie walk around when secretly he was keeping an eye out for which books she liked best.

"Oh! Look at this Draco!" Marie awed at the book in her hands.

Draco glanced over to see that it was a book on how to become an animagus.

"Marie, you don't want that book," he laughed at her, "You could easily look for a book like that in the library!"

"Oh. Well I guess you're right." She looked a little crestfallen and it broke Draco's heart to see her that way.

"Do you want to go to Honeyduke's?" he squeaked, losing his comfort.

But when Marie's eyes suddenly widened with excitement, he couldn't contain a smile, "Sure, Draco! I'll race you there!"

Marie dashed out of the store, not even realizing that Draco had quickly bought that animagus book that she wanted.

Marie stood out by the store waiting for him, "Finally! What took you so long?"

"Oh, nothing. I had to take a leak" he improvised quickly. Marie wrinkled her nose in partial disgust.

"Ew, Draco. Ew."

Draco shrugged his shoulders but said nothing, smirking slightly in triumph.

They went into Honeyduke's together and got a variety of gourmet chocolates of all kinds.

Marie's favorite was dark chocolate frogs but Draco made yet another snide comment that brought Marie down. It was really killing Draco to say such a thing to her but he wanted to surprise her with his presents. He tried to bring her spirits back up again but it didn't seem to be working.

"Do you want to go and get a butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks?" he finally asked.

She nodded her head a little and Draco took that as a good sign, leading her to the Tavern.

When they finally reached their destination, they were surprised to see the place was almost flooded with students.

They ordered their butterbeers and sat down at a table together. Marie slowly sipped on hers, refusing to even to look at Draco.

'Gee, if I knew he thought I was a pig without any taste in books, I wouldn't have come with him to Hogsmeade.' Marie thought bitterly.

On the other hand, Draco was trying to find a way to brighten her up.

Maybe I shouldn't have said things like that so she wouldn't buy them? Draco thought hopelessly.

Five minutes went by in silence when astonishingly, a finger taps Marie's shoulder lightly. She whips her head around in shock to see Voldemort wearing his glamours at the Three Broomsticks!

"Oh, hey Tom. What do you want?" she asked casually.

Draco looked as if he would die the way she just spoke to the minister like that.

Instead of getting angry though, Voldemort just smirked and ruffled her hair playfully, "Aren't you adorable? I just saw you from across the bar and thought I'd come to say hello."

"Oh. Well, hello." Marie smirked back at him.

"Hello, my sweetheart." He repeated to her, flipping his black hair out if his eyes, making him look stunning.

Obviously Draco had had enough, "Alright, well Marie I just remembered that I have a little bit of homework that I forgot to get done for Transfiguration. I'll see you back at the commons tonight, alright?"

"Oh. Okay, see you then Draco!"

Without another word, Draco left the tavern hastily leaving Marie and Voldemort alone at the table.

"So . . ." he drawled on, sitting in Draco's abandoned seat, " How have you been this fine weekend morning, Marie?"

"Absolutely dreadful." She replied without an explanation.

"Ah." Voldemort nodded his head, "Young teenage boys can be a bother."

"Yeah, you'd know, wouldn't you?"

Voldemort laughed and smirked at her toothily, "Well of course I mean look at me! I am a teenage boy again!"

Marie suddenly stopped smiling and frowned again, looking at the table, "You know I wish we could just have one conversation without it being about you bloody appearance, Voldemort." She sighed.

Voldemort wrinkled his nose in disgust and growled but said nothing.

Minutes rolled by when Marie finally spoke again, "Could you teach me how to become an animagus?"

Voldemort looked at her in surprise, shocked that she would ask him this question above all others and replied, "Sure, of course. But you'd have to be especially attentive. No daydreaming."

"Of course" she smiled slightly.

Voldemort suddenly stood up and took her hand, "Come on, let's go and look around Hogsmeade, shall we?"

Without replying, Marie let him drag her around.

Voldemort actually had the same idea as Draco but at a different approach entirely. He walked her up to a jewelry store and they looked around aimlessly at the trinkets. It was just all too clear that Marie loved the jewels but made no move to buy one of them.

"Don't you like them?" Voldemort asked her.

"Well of course I do! I just can't afford these ones! They are just way too expensive."

"Which one do you like the most?" he asked her.

Se blushed but pointed to the silver jewel necklace. The necklace was sliver chained with pure silver snake figures intertwined together with each other. One snake's eyes were made of rubies and the others were made of emeralds.

"Perfect" Voldemort hissed softly.

"Beautiful" Marie hissed back, "But it's too expensive. It's 5,000 galleons! I don't have that much money even with my inheritance money from my parents and Sirius!"

"I could help you buy it?" Voldemort offered but Marie shook her head in anger.

"Oh no you won't! I will not allow anyone to pay for me. Not now, not ever! Let's just leave and go back to the castle, alright?"

The employee of the business just stared at them both stunned and Marie blushed when she realized they were speaking in Parseltongue.

Marie left the store without waiting for Voldemort but that was the perfect chance.

"Excuse me?" he asked the manager of the store, "I would like to buy this necklace right away, Sir."

By the time Marie was walking down the street she realized that Voldemort wasn't following her so she turned to see him way behind her trying to catch up. When he was finally caught up she asked, "What took you so long?"

"I had to take a leak!"

Marie rolled her eyes, "I swear! Boys and their excuses!"

Voldemort just stared at her in confusion and tried not to say anything. He wanted it keep it a secret after all.

Voldemort just shrugged his shoulders, "Ready to leave back to the castle?"

Marie rolled her eyes, "Sure, whatever."

So when they finally reached the castle, Marie marched back to the commons after telling Voldemort good-bye.

"So did you have a fun time with the dark lord?" Draco popped out from his dormitory to come and see her.

"Ha ha, you're so bloody funny, you know that?" she faked a smile, "He would not stop flirting with me but I managed to piss him off a little."

"What did you do?" Pansy came out to listen to the latest gossip that she couldn't tell anyone.

"I mentioned how he just always talks about his knew appearance and nothing else. He got a little offended at that." She giggled.

"Oh and by the way." Marie said directing he voice to Draco, "To all teenage boys have the same excuses?!"

"What do you mean? What excuses?"

Marie whispered into Pansy's ear and the two girls busted out laughing, leaving to their dormitory. They left behind one confused Draco Malfoy.

"What excuse? I really did have to take a leak." He whispered to himself as he went to his own dorms to wrap Marie's presents.

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I know this one was short but there wasn't much that I could do about it what with the limits I have on each chapter. The next two chapters will be about their Christmas and no, there will not be another Yule ball. Lol Thank you for reading and please review on your thoughts.

Six more chapters to go!