Chapter 9

Marcus practically ran back to the Slytherin common room. He did not care about the confused looks he was getting nor did he care about the fact that his shirt was buttoned up wrongly.

When he got to his dormitory Adrian was sitting on his bed reading. He took one look at Marcus. "What did you do now?" His best friend asked and put his book down.

"Really messed up." Marcus said but couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Oh you fucking idiot." Pucey put his head in his hands. "You slept with her."

Flint went to sit down on his bed and sorted out his buttons. Not that it mattered. But it gave his hands something to do. "Yeah." He quickly filled Adrian in on what had happened.

"Azkaban." Was all that Adrian said, his head still buried in his hands.

"She's sixteen." Marcus replied defiantly. That was not that bad. Not bad at all.

"What about Wood?" Adrian finally looked up at him. "I thought you quite liked him. And I mean, yeah, kissing his girlfriend was wrong. But this is just on a whole other level."

Flint stopped sorting out his shirt. Guilt settled over him like a heavy blanket. Adrian was right. He did like Wood, he thought that maybe they'd be able to become friends after Hogwarts. But not if he'd ever find out about him and Bell.

"He's not going to find out." Marcus mumbled.

"Okay. What about Bell? There must be a reason why she's slept with you." Adrian crossed his arms in front of him.

Marcus thought about that for a moment. Did she like him? Was that why she'd been kissing him and now had even slept with him?

"I have no idea." Marcus mumbled and let himself fall back onto his bed.

"Bell." Flint said quietly and she flinched. She finished attaching a letter to the owl's leg and then turned around to face him.

Marcus took a deep breath in, trying his hardest not to imagine kissing her again. That wouldn't do at all. This was meant to be a conversation. Bell didn't say anything, just regarded him with a strange expression on her face.

"We need to talk." Marcus said and looked around. The Owlery was pretty much deserted, there were only a few second year Hufflepuff students feeding the owlets.

"It was a mistake." Bell hissed, her eyes on the other students. "I don't know why all of this has happened. I really like Oliver."

Flint sighed. He had thought as much. It still hurt. "Sure." Bell eventually looked at him. "I get it. It's because I'm the safer option."

"What do you mean? Why would you be safer?" Bell now looked downright confused.

"Because there's no feelings involved. You don't have to worry about getting hurt. It's easy with me." Marcus regarded her intensely. He'd given her a way out. He wasn't sure whether she did like him but now was the time for her to either agree with him and move on or disagree. Disagree and say that she liked him and not Wood. Marcus wasn't completely certain what he'd prefer.

"Yeah." Bell slowly nodded. "That's it. There's no feelings involved." She said.

"Right. Good we've got that cleared up. Let's forget this ever happened." He studied her face for a moment, but there was no hint in it whether she'd been telling the truth or not. "See you around, Bell." Marcus said and left the Owlery.

Marcus hated Valentine's day. There were way too many cheery students about. And the constant flutter of descending owls bringing presents was disrupting his breakfast.

"That's for you." Adrian sat down next to him and handed him a box of little chocolate brooms. "Happy Valentine's day."

Marcus just growled. Adrian always gave him a gift for Valentine's day and although Marcus pretended not to care, he'd secretly miss it if Adrian would stop.

Flint risked a glance over to the Gryffindor table. Wood and Bell were sitting next to each other, holding hands. It'd been almost three weeks now since he had spoken to Bell in the Owlery.

"It's better this way." Adrian said quietly next to him. "Easier." He added some eggs to his plate. "Fewer chances of you ending up in Azkaban."

Marcus took his eyes off the happy Gryffindor couple. He knew that Adrian was right. Even if Bell would have said that she preferred him, what did he expect to happen? Them to date? That was just preposterous. McGonagall would hex him the first chance she'd get. The Gryffindor Quidditch team would have his head on a stake. And Wood would hate him.

After breakfast Marcus and Adrian made their way to the Charms classroom. And to his surprise, well dread really, Wood sat down next to him.

"We've slept with each other." Wood said quietly, not looking at Marcus but at the textbook in front of him.

Marcus felt his insides turn to ice. Adrian just looked at the both of them, his mouth wide open. Flint elbowed his best friend in the side and Pucey quickly shut his mouth.

"Good for you." Marcus finally managed to say between clenched teeth. Wood didn't seem to notice. "You don't sound happy though?"

Wood sighed. "I can't shake the feeling that she only did it because she felt guilty about something."

Marcus exchanged a quick look with Adrian. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know. Well, do you remember when I told you about her behaving weirdly over Christmas?" Wood nervously fondled the pages of his textbook.

"Yeah." Marcus said, his mouth dry as sand.

"I thought maybe it had something to do with her family. But then I overheard her talking with Alicia a couple of weeks ago in the changing rooms. Alicia sounded really agitated." Wood sighed heavily. "She said something about Katie having made a big mistake and that she should tell me about it."

Flint could feel how perfectly still Adrian had become next to him. "That could be anything." Marcus forced his voice to sound level.

"Could be." Wood finally looked at him. "But I think that she's kissed someone else."

Marcus' hand slowly went to the pocket of his robe. "That doesn't sound like something Bell would do." His voice was a little hoarse. Marcus put his fingers around his wand. He'd be ready.

"I know it doesn't." Wood hadn't noticed him going for his wand. "But I think I've got pretty good instincts."

"Have you spoken to her about it?" Adrian suddenly chimed in. Wood shook his head. "Maybe you should do that before making assumptions." Adrian looked at Marcus imploringly and he let go of his wand.

"And say what." Wood grumbled and started playing with the pages in his book again.

"Just ask her outright." Adrian shook his head at Marcus, warning him to not make a move. "I'm sure it's all in your head though."

"Are you crazy?" Marcus snarled at Adrian later, when they were sitting in the Slytherin common room.

"No." Adrian grinned. "Well maybe. Anyway, she won't tell him the truth. But there's no point us trying to reassure Wood. He needs to hear it from her."

"What makes you so sure that she won't confess?" Marcus stared into the flames of the fireplace.

A tiny part of him wanted her to tell Wood the truth. But then what? Bell would only admit to sleeping with him and it wasn't like she'd then come running to him, begging to be his girlfriend. And he'd lose his friendship with Wood. Or well. His almost-friendship.

"Because she doesn't want to. Or she already would have." Adrian looked at his watch. "And even if she does, she'd never admit that it's you."

"If you say so." Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Who are you meeting tonight then?"

Pucey bit his lip. "No one. I'm here for you."

Marcus laughed. "Sure." He stood up. "Don't make your Valentine wait. I've got somewhere else to be anyway."

Flint slowly made his way over to the greenhouses. When he entered greenhouse 3 he let out a sigh of relief. Hanna was there, repotting a plant that kept trying to bite her. Her hair was up in a bun and there was a bit of dirt on her face.

"Alright, Marcus." She said when she spotted him. "Give me a hand, would you?"

Marcus walked up to the Hufflepuff girl and held down the pot whilst she carefully lifted the plant from it. Hanna nodded at an another pot and Marcus grabbed it. She placed the plant in the new, bigger pot and added some more soil.

Hanna put the plant back to the others and then wiped her hands on her jeans. She looked at Marcus expectantly. "Long time no see." Hanna said and smiled.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Marcus said and played with a little shovel to give his hands something to do.

"Nothing to be sorry for." Hanna watched his hands. "What can I do for you?"

Flint sighed, not quite sure how to start. "Do you remember that time when you said that there's something that both Wood and I want?"

Hanna nodded. "Katie Bell." She said matter-of-factly and Marcus flinched.

"How did you know?" He asked the tall girl.

Hanna laughed. "Nobody gives us Hufflepuffs enough credit. Well, it's pretty obvious. You've been staring daggers at Oliver since before Christmas. Just about the time when he started going out with Katie."

Marcus sighed. "Have lots of people noticed?"

Hanna shook her head. "Not really. I only know because I was there when Oliver told you about asking Katie out." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So what did you do?"

He thought about that for a moment. Should he tell Hanna the truth? Marcus cleared his throat. He did come to see her to get her view on things. And she wouldn't be able to help him if he didn't come clean. So he told her everything.

When he finished Hanna didn't say anything for a long while. Marcus cleared his throat again. "And now I'm a bit at a loose end."

"Well you'll have to decide what you want." She looked at him, her head leaning to one side. "And whether what you want is also what you can get. Realistically speaking."

"You don't think I can, do you?" He asked, but he already knew her answer.

As expected, Hanna shook her head. "Look, Marcus. I think you're a lovely boy." Hanna smiled at him. "But I've not been subject to endless abuse from you."

"Why did she kiss me then? If I've been nothing but mean to her, why did she sleep with me?" Marcus really wanted to punch something. He cursed the night he decided to go out for some fresh air. If he'd never spoken to Wood he wouldn't be in this mess now.

"I can't be certain. But there is an attraction to you. You're broody and mysterious." Hanna winked at him. "Girls like that."

"But she likes Wood." Marcus growled.

"Maybe she likes you both. Maybe she was just horny." Hanna gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe she's confused."

"But you think that if she wanted to be with me she'd have said something that time in the Owlery?" Marcus let go of the little shovel.

"I don't know whether you left her much of a choice but to agree with what you said." Hanna stepped closer to him, her hand still on his shoulder. "But the question is, Marcus, what do you want? Do you really want Katie? Do you really want to hurt your friendship with Oliver?"

Marcus sighed. He had no idea. This was all just confusing. He knew that he wanted nothing more than to kiss Bell, to feel her close again. But he also wanted to be friends with Oliver. And those two things just completely contradicted each other.

"I don't know." Marcus regarded Hanna. Although she was tall, she still had to look up at him. "I just want to play Quidditch."

Marcus and Hanna entered the great hall together for dinner.

"Just don't break your pretty head over it." Hanna said before leaving for the Hufflepuff table.

Marcus sighed and went to sit next to Adrian in their usual spot at the Slytherin table.

"Things back on with Hanna then?" Adrian grinned at him.

"What do you mean?" Marcus filled his plate with potatoes and vegetables. "There are no things that could be back on."

"You sure? She's always liked you." Adrian said and sipped on his pumpkin juice.

"She's always liked snogging me." Marcus shook his head. What was his best friend on about?

"Course she did. Because she likes you."

"She doesn't. She's made that perfectly clear. A number of times actually." Marcus speared a carrot with his fork.

"To protect herself, yes." Pucey give him a poignant look.

"Whatever. I spoke to her about Bell. While you were busy shagging whoever it is your shagging at the moment." Marcus chewed on a potato. Hanna didn't like him like that. Hanna was his friend.

"Timothy Green." Adrian said grinning.

"What about him?"

"That's who I've been shagging." His best friend helped himself to some chicken.

"Good for you." Marcus tried not to imagine what Adrian had been doing with the Hufflepuff beater. He told Adrian what he and Hanna had been talking about in the greenhouse.

"Sound advice." Adrian pensively chewed on a potato. "You've got to figure it out, Marcus. What is it that you want?"

Marcus looked over at the Gryffindor table. Bell was talking with the person opposite her and Wood was sitting next to her, his eyes firmly set on the petite chaser. Marcus sighed. What did he want?