I do not own any Harry Potter Characters. I used a lot of lines from my favorite shows, if you spot one, I didn't credit let me know. So, I can add it to the list. Do not own Vampire Diaries quotes, the 100 Quotes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer quotes, or Once Upon A Time quotes. If you notice any mistakes let me know. Thank you.

Chapter 8:

The following day Katie had decided to confront Angelina and Alicia about the previous night. They told their side of the events, all the way up to when they were following Katie at the first event for the Tri Wizard tournament. How they suspected her uncle was wiping her memory and had put an Imperius curse on her. They even told her about going to Marcus and getting information about Theodore Bell. Telling her about how they didn't think she was related to him, and how they suspected she had a brother that had passed away. Katie felt betrayed, her friends had been lying to her for over a month now. Not only that but Marcus had gone behind her back and helped them.

Months flew by, and still Katie hadn't spoken with Angelina or Alicia. Going to the lengths of grabbing her lunch and eating outside. Katie spent most of her time alone now, having heard from another student that Marcus had dropped out for the year. Was it because of her? Why hadn't he at least said goodbye to her? When Katie's O.W.L.s came she had studied hard and hoped that she would be able to start taking Advanced Potion-Making.

Getting off the train she spotted her dad and cried. Running up to him she threw her arms around him and squeezed with all her might. He swung her in a circle "I missed you baby" and it was the best day she had in a long time. She had always enjoyed her life in the past and knew it was only a matter of time before she did again. Just needing to make her way through some bad patches to get there.

She wondered if her dad would ever meet Marcus, and if he did would he approve? It was an odd moment, a random thought. She realized she had thought of Marcus because she wanted to share her happiness with the person, she cared for most.

Over the summer break she spent a lot of time with her father. Katie could still tell that her father was heartbroken from losing his wife, but he put on a brave face for Katie. Smiling doesn't always mean you're happy. Sometimes it simply means that you are a strong person.

She felt so alone, having no one to confide in. Angelina and Alicia had written to her several times, but she refused to reply. Real friends don't lie to your face, or sneak behind your back.

On one Friday morning Katie was sitting with her dad eating breakfast at the kitchen table, watching No-Maj tv. Hearing a hooting sound Katie and her father looked up to see her uncle's owl perched at the window. Standing up she went to open the window when her father said "No, don't open it. I don't want to hear what he has to say, he's dead to me." her father went to the window and shooed the owl away. It took a bit of time as the owl was incredibly determined, after a while it flew off leaving the letter on the windowsill.

She headed up to her room after excusing herself from the table. When Katie got to her room, she grabbed her bag and sat at her desk. Wanting to look at her Advanced Potions book again. Katie was curious about the spell and wanted to test it out, but she had a feeling it wasn't a spell to mess around with. Along with knowing that she couldn't test it out while she was away from school.

Sighing she pulled out the ruby red journal that had been given to her, she was disappointed that it remained sealed. Katie opened her desk drawer and placed the book inside, hearing a distinct clicking sound. Surprised she turned the book over and it had opened, the simple heart charm necklace in her drawer glowed a soft white before dimming out.

The necklace had been the key this entire time? Not wasting anytime, she stated flipping through the pages, the handwriting was neat and written mostly in black ink. There were doodles, and random things taped to pages. A few flowers were pressed between the pages keeping them preserved. Repeatedly was written CB+CG. Her mother's maiden name before the marriage to her father had been Gaut. She found it sweet that she wrote their initials together.

There was one magical picture inside, it was of a younger couple at a Christmas party. The man looked slightly uncomfortable as the blonde woman next to him clutched to his side. The woman wore the silver necklace that Katie's father had given her, she wondered if her mom had hated that necklace because it was her courting gift from her father. It had been an arranged marriage and from reading the first couple pages of the book, Katie's mother had not wanted to marry her father.

It was a long and boring summer. It wasn't until a week before she was to leave for school did anything interesting even happen. Her uncle had shown up late at night and her father refused to let him inside. She watched from her upstairs window as her father had hushed heated words, while her uncle just stood there not speaking. When her dad went inside he turned to leave but not before looking up at Katie and waving to her. Katie had debated on talking to her dad about her uncle, but she had decided against it. Not wanting him to figure out that she had visited him.

Finally, it was time for Katie to go back to school and she found herself on the train walking past the different compartments. She was hoping to find Marcus and speak with him. Towards the end of her search, she found him in a compartment with a few other Slytherin students. Making eye contact with him she nodded her head to the side, hoping he'd get the silent message.

He followed her as she made her way down the train looking for an empty compartment. Finding one, they both sat down across from each other. Keeping her gaze on her hands, she debated on where to begin. Risking a peek, she looked up and sure enough he was looking at her expectantly. She broke the silence and asked, "Why did you leave school last year?"

"Family stuff" He was short with his response. Katie could tell that he wasn't telling her the full story.

"Is everything okay?" she asked concerned.

He leaned forward in his seat, placing his arms on his legs. "Nothing to worry about princess" giving her a charming smile.

"I need to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me" Katie searched his eyes.

"Shoot"

"Why did you help Alicia and Angelina sneak behind my back?" She had thought about it all summer. Wanting to know his reasoning if he loved her why would he go behind her back? "Friends don't manipulate each other."

"I only did it because I thought you were in danger. I don't always make the right choices, so I trusted your friends to make the right one about telling you or not." He seemed sincere. "You have every right to hate me. I understand. But you hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that were gone forever." Grabbing her right hand, he held it with both of his own.

Katie smiled up at him "Of course I'm your friend Marcus."

A week later Katie was getting used to her new schedule for classes, she was taking all the same classes except for herbology. She had considered dropping Care of Magical Creatures but decided against it when she heard about all the other kids dropping it.

It was awkward, avoiding Angelina and Alicia so eventually she gave in and began speaking with them. It was hard to avoid them when they shared the same room and classes.

Katie was in the library doing some studying after dinner, deciding it was best to get ahead in her schoolwork. Quidditch try outs would start in a week and then 5 practices a week at the crack of dawn. She was almost finished with her work when Marcus sat at the table with her. "Hey princess"

"Hey Marcus, how are you?" She asked smiling at him. They had been meeting in the library the last couple days after dinner and it was nice. Their conversation was usually casual and lighthearted. They sat there for a while, Katie going back and forth between studying and talking with Marcus.

Breaking the silence "Do you see a future with me?" he asked as his had slid across the table to hold hers. She could feel apprehension twisting her up in a knot.

At that moment she knew she wasn't ready. But then again when was anybody ever ready? She stared at their hands for a while before she replied. "Marcus, I need you in my life, but as a…"

He cut her off before she could finish "as friends, right? Do you realize how hard it is to just be your friend?" he began rubbing small circles on the inside of her palm, sending shivers up her body. "I can't just be your friend."

"Marcus" Her voice cracked, and he pulled his hand away, giving her a fiery look. Did she only want to be friends with him? Or did she want more? She knew she had feelings for him, but was it just feelings of friendship?

"If you won't even give me a chance, then I can't do this." He said in a resolved voice, searching her face for any clue.

"Marc…" before she could finish, he cut her off, voice raising with his emotion.

"I'm serious I can't see you anymore. I don't want to hear your voice, I don't want to talk to you, I don't even want to even look at you. And I sure as hell don't want to be your friend." It hurt that he was willing to drop their friendship that easily. Katie had made a lot of mistakes in her life, and she couldn't help but feel like this was one of them.

"If that's what you want Marcus." She whispered, but even to her own ears she didn't sound happy about it. Katie held back the tears she knew would form in her eyes, but she held on.

"It is." Marcus and she stared at one another, both suffering and so in love.

That night, Katie felt disappointed that she didn't know what to do. She was currently in her dorm room with Alicia and Angelina. Angelina had convinced her to go out to a party that night. It was in the Gryffindor common room and that was the only reason Katie had agreed to go. After they got ready, they all headed downstairs, mingling with the rest of the students.

Katie had opted not to drink, while Angelina had gotten completely drunk. Stumbling all over the place and when George had tried to get her to go to bed, she had yelled at them. Starting a huge fight with him in the middle of the common room, all eyes in the room on them. "George Weasley find yourself a new girlfriend" She had screamed in front of the rather large crowd.

Alicia eventually convinced Angelina to go upstairs not wanting the situation to get out of hand, Katie helping steady her up the stairs. When the got to the room Angelina began venting "Who does he think he is, telling me to stop drinking. It's a party, that's the point to get wasted."

"He was worried about you" Katie reasoned with her. Angelina was too drunk to understand that though.

"Well, I'm done with him" she said angrily throwing things around the room.

Katie had never seen her get this upset before, and the alcohol wasn't helping Angelina in the least bit. "Give him another chance."

Angelina spun in Katie's direction fury in her eyes "What like you did with Oliver." Katie was shocked, that had been a low blow. Even Alicia seemed surprised by what she said.

"That's not fair."

"I mean we all know you dumped him for Marcus Flint. Of all people. This isn't going to be some epic love story between the two of you." Angelina was beyond angry "He's just going to use you, and you're too thick to see it." The things she was saying hurt. Katie knew it was the alcohol talking, but she couldn't help the feeling of shame.

"Marcus and I are friends. He cares about me" Katie argued. If she was getting colder, it was in reaction to the world around her.

"You know what you sound like? One of those stupid bitches in the movies, that let their men cheat and beat on them, because they are so in love. Well guess what Katie, those bitches always die in the end." Katie ran from the room not knowing what else to do. Not wanting to stay in the same room as her.

Katie was unsure of who to go to, she didn't have many friends. She had isolated herself from most of the other students and didn't really know anyone. Eventually finding Hermione's room she asked the girl if she could sleep on the floor next to her. So that's where Katie slept.

The following morning Katie made her way to The Great Hall, back hurting from her sleeping arrangements. Sighing she sat at the table, choosing to sit with Hermione instead of her normal group. That's when she noticed Marcus at his table with Daphne Greengrass holding onto him for dear life. He had an arm loosely wrapped around her and she was pressed up to his side. Kate couldn't help but feel upset, she was jealous.

Katie was currently reading her mother's journal. She hadn't been able to read more than a couple pages at a time before stopping. It was heartbreaking to read the tale of a woman, who wanted so badly to have the man she was with, in love with her. Katie couldn't help but feel horrible. Here she was denying two different people who claimed to love her, and her own mother hadn't even had one. She felt awful that she had ever misjudged her, after reading her inner most thoughts. She realized her mom had been kind before the disease.

Then she stopped in her tracks, rereading the same page repeatedly, not fully believing what she read. "Today I had a home birth, a baby girl, Katie Bell 04/19/1977. She's the most beautiful baby in the world. I'm so glad to finally be able to hold her. It's been a while since I've written in here. To fill you in a week ago I gave him an ultimatum. Either leave her, or I would tell everyone about the affair. I guess it was more of a threat but what else was I supposed to do! We have a kid together. He told me he was going to end things with her, and that his new priority was his daughter. I'll let you know what happens. Love, Clarisse Greengrass."

Katie didn't understand, her mothers name was Caroline Gaut before the marriage, not Clarisse Greengrass. Then she noticed a letter folded up in the second to last page, it was a letter written from her father. The thing that stood out to her was the signature, Cassius Theodore Bell II. Then it hit her, she got up grabbing her things as she went. When she got to her bedroom, she ran to her broom and noticed the same print etched into the wood. She was so confused. Her uncle was her father? So, that meant that her parents were her grandparents? Had they adopted Katie after her father had killed her mother? Or had they stolen her as a baby? She assumed her grandparents had wanted to give her a normal life, not wanting to be raised by a murder.

It was a month later when she finally spoke to Marcus again. She saw him leaning against a tree observing her, walking up to him. "Hey Princess"

"Hey Marcus" She stood in front of him awkwardly, not sure if this was a good idea. "Are you still mad at me?" Timidly she asked looking up into his eyes. This last month had really shown her how much she missed spending time with him. She always felt better when she was around him.

"Of course, I'm still mat at you." His hands thrust into his pockets, and he looked more serious than she'd ever seen him, giving her a cold expression. It had been a while since he had looked at her like that. She felt like she was drowning.

"You seem to have moved on pretty quick." She knew it was petty to make a comment like that. He deserved to be with someone, Katie had told him she only wanted to be his friend. He had every right to move on, even if it hurt her. Wondering if maybe it stung a little bit more, to know it was with her long-lost cousin.

"Touched a nerve, did I? Yeah, I'm talking to her." His voice was stern and calm, softening up as he continued "Only because I can't talk to you." The look he gave her crushed her heart, he seemed so hurt. She had done that. Why though? Was she afraid what everyone else would think? A Gryffindor and a Slytherin an unlikely pair.

"Marcus, you don't have to…" Katie whispered regretting bringing it up.

"Yeah, I'm passing time with someone else. But that's all it is time." He shrugged his shoulders as he continued "It's always going to be you." Her heart constricted. He still cared about her.

"Well, she's a lovely attempt at making me jealous" Giving him a small smile, inside she felt like she was dying.

"Is it working?" He questioned sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, it hurts, but it doesn't change anything." Shouldn't it though? Why was it so hard just to give him a chance?

"You know, some people can't see a good thing when they've got it." Ouch.

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it." — Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire