A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates, and answer questions. Huge thank you to SynnDagger for beta reading this chapter!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six on Monday!
After the engagement party, there were whispers that Hermione Granger had a new wizard. The fact that it appeared to be Marcus Flint only made the gossip even juicier.
In the week after she and Marcus were first seen together, Hermione could barely walk into her department without the weight of dozens of stares on her back. She took to immediately ducking into her sad, windowless office as soon as she arrived in the morning, leaving only to use the bathroom.
She'd forgotten how much she absolutely detested being the center of baseless rumors, as she was having flashbacks to when she briefly dated Viktor Krum.
Belatedly, she remembered Marcus's warning about getting her life tangled up with his, before she pushed away the intrusive thought. This would have happened no matter who she was dating, though she supposed that Marcus had the added intrigue of what an odd couple they made.
Hermione did not have a reason to see Marcus until Harry's engagement party, which was scheduled about a month after Ron's. She hated to admit it, but she was a little bit grateful to put some distance between them.
When she had approached him, Hermione hadn't thought about what kind of a boyfriend Flint would be. She had never imagined that he would make her heart flutter with just one kiss. It had been a terrible decision to let him kiss her to get her used to his touch because now she knew exactly what it felt like. And it haunted her dreams.
Having a crush on her secret boyfriend was definitely not part of her plan.
She couldn't pretend that thinking about the burly Chaser didn't make a blush spring to her cheeks now.
Even though they had ostensibly been schoolmates for a couple of years, Hermione really didn't know much about Marcus other than that he was a Quidditch player. That, and the rumor that he had Troll blood.
But they hadn't really been schoolmates, seeing as they were four years apart in school, not to mention House division. It was not surprising that she didn't know much about the wizard, but she really should have thought about that before she talked him into agreeing to be her secret boyfriend.
It necessitated that they would simply have to spend time together outside of the four parties she'd initially quoted to him, or else it wouldn't be believable. Outside of their quick brunch the morning after Ron's engagement, they had seen each other two times.
Once, Marcus met her out for lunch on a rainy Thursday afternoon, picking her up from the front entrance of the Ministry. That had gotten tongues wagging and heads turning. They didn't linger around for very long and hid away in a Chinese buffet not from Diagon Alley.
He had made her laugh over uninspired sesame chicken and fried rice, regaling her with stories of light hazing Slytherin participated in. She did not approve of hazing in the slightest, but the thought of Graham Montague getting caught out on the Quidditch pitch naked by Madam Hooch had her giggling like a schoolgirl.
It was nice to talk about something other than the hideous laws she read about all day or about wedding planning.
The next time that they met up was a bit more of a public appearance. She supposed that it could be considered a proper date, but it wasn't over the top: she met Marcus at a posh new rooftop bar for cocktails after work one day.
Hermione was pleased to learn that Marcus was very punctual. When she complimented him on his excellent time-keeping skills, he assured her it was a habit he'd picked up from Quidditch. She'd barely been able to stop from snorting into her gin and tonic because Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all terrible at showing up anywhere on time.
"Come to think of it, I should start a betting pool on who will be more late to their own wedding - Harry or Gin," she said with a smirk, thinking that she might make a fair few Galleons from that.
Their night spent cuddling up together on a couch to stave off the evening chill was enough to confirm the rumors that were swirling around. The Daily Prophet had taken notice and the following Monday, there was a small blurb about them in the society section of the paper. Nothing flattering about her, of course, but then, Hermione never expected more from them.
Marcus had sent a note to her after reading it that informed her that she would have to meet his friends now, because they were starting to ask about her.
With a sigh, Hermione had written back agreeing to go once he picked a place and time, but in exchange, he would have to get a Muggle suit for Harry's upcoming engagement party.
It wasn't going to be that different from the dress robes that Marcus favored, but she wanted to see him in the different cut of jacket and trousers. She thought he might look quite attractive in a grey suit and it would telegraph that he was fully accepting of the Muggle-born side of her.
Hermione had been surprised to learn that it was true.
She hadn't known what to think about his thoughts on blood purity. Of course, she wouldn't have been surprised if he did think that purebloods were better than Muggle-borns, if only because that was the way he was raised. Marcus was very outspoken, though, that he did not agree with his father or what his father had done to support Voldemort.
He'd revealed to her that his favorite Quidditch player growing up had actually been a Muggle-born. Marcus had long thought that if Duncan Lorimer could be that quick on a broom and that good with the Quaffle, that there was no discernible truth to blood purity. Hermione thought it was a bit sweet in a way, but she knew that sports had always been a good way to bridge differences.
Even if he wasn't a pureblood supremacist, Hermione still didn't know how Marcus would take to Muggle London. Her tiny village was one thing, but the big city was an entirely different ballgame, with tons of people milling about. Even though she found it overwhelming herself sometimes.
They met on the appointed day and time at the Leaky Cauldron, barely lingering long enough for any of the other patrons to recognize them. Hermione led the way, slipping out the back door and into the alleyway where they could make the transition into the Muggle world. After tapping a few bricks, they were making their way onto the busy pavement.
Hermione took a glance at Marcus's face and saw his eyes go wide at the new sights. Reaching over, she grabbed his hand protectively. "It's alright, I'll handle everything," she told him.
Walking with purpose to their destination, the crowd thinned out as the shops grew more expensive.
"I've barely even said hello to you," Hermione said regretfully, once Marcus had a chance to adjust. "How are you doing?"
"This is definitely the most interesting afternoon I've had in a while," he said with a chuckle.
"More interesting than being propositioned by me in the Hag's Head?" Hermione asked, giving his hand a playful squeeze. She realized that she didn't need to hold his hand anymore now that they were out of the crush of people, but she found that she wasn't quite ready to let go yet.
Besides, she was meant to be getting used to acts of affection with him.
"Definitely," Marcus answered. "I never realized just how many Muggles there really are. Is today some sort of busy Muggle day they never taught us about at Hogwarts?"
Hermione laughed. "No, just regular rush hour traffic. The Leaky entrance is in an area that is frequented by tourists as well, so that certainly doesn't help anything. You did great, though," she complimented, glad that he had acted naturally.
Ron still tended to go a bit stiff and wide-eyed when he made his way into London, especially if he was made to interact with a Muggle by himself.
Marcus's shoulders seemed to relax then, releasing a tension that she hadn't noticed before. She wondered if he'd worried about impressing her, before dismissing the idea as silly.
"This shop won't be much different than Madam Malkins," Hermione reassured him, realizing that it was a bit cruel that she hadn't prepared him better for their excursion. Seemed that she was not actually the brilliant fake girlfriend she imagined she would be. "Except the tailor doesn't have a magic measuring tape. He'll have to do it himself."
"I think I can handle it," Marcus said gruffly, somewhat concerned that he was being babied.
Having reached the shop, they stepped inside and Hermione chatted with the owner to ask Marcus to be fitted for a grey suit. The older Muggle went in back to pull some samples, muttering under his breath about the difficulty of fitting someone with Marcus's unusual proportions.
While they waited, they made small talk. "So, what should I expect for Potter's party? A gilded statue of himself rescuing Weasley from a dragon?" he teased.
Hermione laughed at the image. "I think Harry would rather face You-Know-Who again rather than have a monstrosity like that created," she told him honestly. "It will be more intimate, more low-key. He's invited some of his mum's family, so it will be somewhere easily accessible by both Muggles and wizards."
"Didn't his Muggle family keep him in a cupboard?" Marcus asked, incredulous. "I can't imagine why he'd want them there."
"He's reconciled with them," Hermione did her best to explain. If she was honest, she completely agreed with Marcus, thinking that was a hurt that was too big to forgive.
But Harry was more forgiving than she was, it seemed. Maintaining a relationship with Dudley in particular had become important to Harry, once he realized that he had a life after defeating Voldemort. Perhaps it was because Dudley was the last bit of family he had.
"How long do we have to stay at this one?" he asked.
"Hey! I thought that you secretly enjoyed going to Ron's," she argued, acting affronted. "I thought that Luna had you quite enthralled with her magizoological research."
"She definitely had a lot to say," Marcus agreed. He'd accidentally gotten caught in a discussion with Luna Lovegood about the mating habits of Nargles, which had been very involved and detailed. No amount of polite agreement could get her to stop. "And she was just about the only one there who treated me like a normal person, so there was that, too."
Hermione didn't realize how odd that must have been for Marcus, to be a huge outlier at the party. He very clearly was not a friend of the groom, based on the glares and looks that Hermione and he had been getting from Molly Weasley all night.
Before they could talk more about it, the tailor was back, looking concerned. "I hope you know that he is going to need a custom suit," he said, bushy eyebrows rising from behind wire-rimmed glasses. "His height and proportions...well, we don't carry anything that would fit him."
"I'd imagined," Hermione said in agreement. "I will pay whatever it costs."
The Muggle seemed skeptical, taking in her own appearance. While she was well put together, she wasn't wearing designer clothes and her outfit did not signal wealth.
"I'm happy to pay whatever deposit you'd like," she said, willing to do whatever to convince the man. She had more than enough Muggle money to cover something like this.
"Hermione," Marcus said, suddenly worried about the expense. "You don't have to-"
She cut him off. "Nonsense. I want you to look perfect for the party. I invited you, so of course I'll cover it," she insisted, knowing that it wasn't likely to be the end of the discussion.
"How do you come by these proportions anyway?" the tailor asked conversationally. He pulled out his pin cushion and directed Marcus to go change behind the curtain.
"He plays rugby," Hermione answered for him, knowing he wouldn't be able to think up an answer to the odd question. "But not professionally or anything. Just for fun. You haven't heard of him."
The tailor looked a little disappointed. When Marcus returned, he got to work pinning the over large pants and jacket to fit.
"I don't think that we have any set amount of time that we need to stay at the party, so we can just leave when we're ready," Hermione answered, before giving him a look. "I actually booked a room at the hotel so we can just retire whenever we want. And you can indulge as much as you want."
"Granger," Marcus growled, looking her up and down. "That's a bit presumptuous of you, isn't it?"
She laughed. "I just want us to enjoy the evening," she explained, although she could recognize that it was a bit bold. Marcus could always Apparate home if he was uncomfortable, but somehow, she didn't think he'd complain. She hadn't thought about the fact that she'd be sharing a room with Marcus until that minute.
She'd only been thinking about how annoyed Ron would be when he found out.
"Will Longbottom be there?" Marcus asked.
He'd probably had the best time talking to Neville. The Gryffindor had gone stiff and nervous and began spouting off any Herbology fact that he could think of, but apparently Herbology was one of the very few subjects at Hogwarts that Marcus had been halfway decent at. Hermione had been amused to hear them talk about planting saplings and the like.
"Yes," Hermione told him, pleased that he was warming a bit to the idea of spending time with her friends.
The tailor, finished with his pinning, had Marcus spin around so he could review every angle. Hermione was pleased with his handiwork, thinking that the final product was going to be very attractive.
Her breath caught in her throat. "The grey looks good on you," she told him when he caught her staring. "It really makes your eyes stand out."
The Muggle agreed with the assessment and sent Marcus to change back into his clothes, while Hermione went to talk about the bill and pick up. When he was finished, Marcus joined them at the counter, trying to get a peek at the cost, even though she was certain the Muggle money would be nonsense to him.
They left the shop, this time not holding hands. "See, that wasn't so bad," she told him, hoping that he wasn't totally irritated with the excursion.
"Better than Madam Malkins, I'd say," he said. "You hardly realize the man is working. Now, witch, you've sorted out my clothing for the party, does this mean that I get to pick out your dress?"
Hermione gave him an incredulous look at the idea that he'd be able to pick something suitable for her. Based on what she knew about him so far, he'd probably pick something that was too short or too tight. "If you want to come review my closet, you are more than welcome to," Hermione said, thinking that was a fair compromise. There wasn't anything in there that was too risque for him to choose.
"That takes all the fun out of it," he said with a frown.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, what if you give me direction on what sort of outfit to wear when I inevitably meet your friends," she suggested. She was beginning to dread the idea of spending any amount of time with former Slytherin jocks, but the idea of wearing something inappropriate for such a meeting only made her more worried. She knew that whatever she did would reflect on Marcus. It wouldn't be a good idea to do something out of character and alert Marcus's friends that there was something off about their relationship.
"Deal," he said with a smirk that made her nervous.
Before Hermione knew it, they were standing at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron - the place that they would part ways for the day.
"Well, I guess that I won't see you until next weekend for the party?" she asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She was surprised by how much she was going to miss his burgeoning presence in her social life.
"Works for me," Marcus agreed. "Should I just meet you at yours again?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll owl you the time," she said.
With that decided, she watched as Marcus left through the little pub before she returned to her own cottage for the evening. She was struck by the idea that after the party, Marcus would have fulfilled half of his agreement to her and only the weddings would be left before they parted ways.
At least that meant that there were many more months before their fake relationship needed to come to an end. Hermione was enjoying having a boyfriend for a change.
Even if it was all pretend.