Marcus hopped in the carriage with all of his friends and looked at the large gate that led to the school grounds. He cracked his neck which was still a bit stiff from the train incident but other than that he felt perfectly fine. A new weight hit the carriage and Remus Lupin climbed on and sat across from Marcus. He gave them all a warm smile as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Thank you." Marcus said to the man who cracked an eye open, he gave him a simple nod before going back to sleep. Something about the man unnerved Marcus, those scars on his face seemed distinct as if they all came from one thing. The aura he gave off while warm and inviting had something dark underneath, like an Obscurus inside an innocent child.
When they reached the grounds Remus quickly ducked inside before anyone could say anything. After that everyone got in their robes and made their way to the Great Hall. Marcus gave Dan a quick kiss before joining his friends at his table. He sat down in between Sam and Anna with Cedric right across from him, they all looked at the teachers as Dumbledore started speaking.
"I'd like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin." he announced and the very man who saved Marcus stood up and waved. He clapped excitedly for the new teacher before Dumbledore continued "Until Sirius Black is captured the Dementors will be patrolling the grounds. I urge you to give them no reason to harm you, it is not in the nature of a Dementor to be forgiving." he said and Marcus shuddered again.
After that the feast began and everyone dug in like they usually did. Marcus and Cedric decided to have a chugging contest, Anna dove into some ham, and Sam took the entire turkey off the platter and plopped it on his plate before digging in. Marcus was sure he was winning until he felt something hit the back of his head, he looked behind him and caught sight of Draco Malfoy and his cronies all glaring at him. He smirked no doubt Draco figured out Marcus was responsible for his father being removed from the Board of Governors.
Marcus finished early and decided to head back to his common room and get some sleep early. As he was walking he overheard a bit of conversation, he recognized one of the voices as Snape. He quickly hid behind the corner and listened in on the hushed whispers.
"Don't try to hide it Remus. I know what you are, how can I forget the thing that nearly killed me. You should have been locked up along with Black." Snape said.
"Now Severus we are both adults, that was a long time ago. I hope you will be discrete?" Remus asked sounding incredibly nervous. What did he have to be nervous about? How did he and Snape know each other? They also knew Sirius Black?
"The only reason I will remain quiet is because Dumbledore has asked me to say nothing. If it were up to me you would have been put down like the dog you are." Snape shot back before Marcus heard footsteps heading in his direction. He quickly ran down the hall and then started back as if he was just arriving and almost ran into Snape. He just glared at him before continuing down the hall and back into the Great Hall.
Marcus turned the corner and found Lupin taking a few deep breaths as he leaned against the wall. Marcus felt bad for the man "You alright Professor?" he asked and the man jumped in surprise. Marcus held his hands up "Sorry didn't mean to scare you sir. You just seemed a little worried." he defended.
Lupin calmed down and stood up straight "Yes I'm fine, just a little bit sick from the ride up. If you'll excuse me I'm going to go rest." he said before walking down the hall and out of sight. He just shrugged and then made his way down to the dormitories. A bunch of the upper years were already down there talking, including Sam and Cedric who had left the Great Hall while Marcus was talking to Lupin. He quickly changed into his pajamas and joined his friends.
"Hey we are playing Truth or Dare! You want in?" Cedric said and Marcus nodded as he sat down on the windowsill. They all started sitting around him and then Cedric looked around "Marcus, Truth or Dare?" he asked.
"Truth I'm no idiot!" he said with a laugh, he wasn't falling for any tricks. Then Cedric asked the question.
"Are you in love with Dan?" he asked curiously.
Marcus dropped his grin as the words rang in his head. Did he love Dan? He was one of the best things in his life and they did nearly everything together, but did he love him?
"I...Honestly don't know." he answered and Cedric seemed satisfied. He looked around "Sam? Truth or..."
"DARE!" he shouted before Marcus could finish. He just rolled his eyes at his friends impatient attitude.
"I dare you to go into the girls dormitory and stay in there, staring at the hottest girl in there. No matter how much they yell at you to leave you cannot leave." Marcus said with a wolfish grin. Sam paled but got up out of the bed and walked out.
It didn't take more than five minutes before all the boys heard shouting coming from down the hall. They all busted up laughing as Anna walked in holding Sam by the ear "Someone care to explain?!" she asked annoyed. Marcus tried to explain but it just came out as gasps of laughter "He just walked in and stared at me! He just wouldn't stop staring at me! Why?!" Anna shouted.
Marcus finally stopped laughing as he looked at Sam, he was beet red and wouldn't look anyone in the eye. Marcus finally put the pieces together, why Sam always bothered them, why Sam always interrupted him and Anna when they were together, he could see it in his eyes as he looked at Anna.
Sam was in love with her.
Anna rolled her eyes and grumbled something about boys being idiots and then left. Marcus saw Sam sitting on his bed still not looking at anyone "Hey guys, lets end the game there. How about a Kitchen raid?" he said and all of the guys shouted in agreement and rushed out of the room. Leaving Marcus and Cedric to do damage control, they walked over and sat next to Sam "You okay Sam?" he asked softly,
Sam sniffled and then shook his head "She doesn't like me. I know she doesn't." he said sadly. Marcus looked at Cedric and an understanding passed between them.
"You're gonna get her Sam." Cedric said with a smile.
Sam looked up at the two guys and saw the sincerity in their eyes. He finally gave his signature cheeky grin, Marcus put a hand on his shoulder.
"And we're gonna help you!"
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