*Disclaimer- Neither Cee nor Zee own any Harry Potter characters, that
happy privilege goes to JKR.*
Katie awoke the next morning with a feeling of dread in her stomach.
Today I have to start betraying my friends, she thought sadly. She sat up and opened her bed hangings. Angelina was still asleep in the next bed and Alicia was still in the hospital wing. She would make sure that they were spared, if Marcus had been serious about saving some of her friends from the Death Eaters. If he hadn't been serious, well too bad. She'd find a way to make sure that at least Angelina and Alicia got out.
They had been her best friends since she stepped onto Platform 9 3/4. She could still remember seeing them for the first time. Alicia and Angelina had been standing near the barrier entrance when Katie, afraid to be late for the train, had ran full speed through it. Her trolley had rammed into Angelina, which had sent her flying. Alicia had tried to muffle her laughter, but to no avail. Katie apologized over and over again, but to her surprise, Angelina just laughed and introduced herself. Katie helped her up and Angelina had put her arm around Katie's shoulders.
"You're a bit clumsy, mate," she had said, "But stick with us and we'll see that you don't get into too much trouble."
Angelina had always been the most outgoing of the three. Katie found it almost impossible to say no to her, not that she usually wanted to. They had been thick as thieves since that day. The thought of them being tortured and killed by Death Eaters made her want to vomit. Alicia came from a pure blood family, but they were notorious muggle-lovers, while Angelina's father was a wizard and her mother was a muggle.
Katie didn't have anything against muggles or muggle-borns. She didn't actually care that Natalie was muggle-born, what made her the most upset was her fathers lies. Katie thought it was absurd that some of her family members, mostly her mother's relations, would be so upset about the type of blood Natalie had. Blood was blood, in Katie's opinion.
Yes, her family was proud of the pureblooded heritage. But it was more out of tradition than any sense of supremacy that her family married other purebloods. At least Katie had always thought so. They had elaborate tapestries outlining their family tree hanging in their home. Katie's family was fairly well-off, economically wise. The only reason she could see for keeping the family pureblooded was for monetary reasons and the family tradition.
After getting ready for the day, she made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She didn't wake up Angelina, since it was Sunday and Angelina loved to sleep as late as possible on the weekends. There were few Gryffindors at the table. Hermione was there, with a book propped open on a jug. Katie took a seat next to her.
"Good morning, Hermione," she said in what she hoped was a normal sounding voice.
"Hello, Katie," Hermione replied happily. "I've just been reading the most fascinating book on The History of Potions. Did you know that during the Crusades, Arab wizards would mix boomslang skin with camel milk, daisy roots, and yeti brains to create the first, although not always effective, Polyjuice Potion?"
Katie smiled at Hermione's enthusiasm and shook her head. She was glad that Hermione was in a chatty mood, though she wished she was being chatty about something more interesting. Listening to Hermione talk made it harder to think about the task ahead of her. Katie did not want to think about spying, Voldemort or Marcus "Evilly Sexy Smile" Flint.
Hermione was still rattling on about Ancient Potions when Angelina walked in. She took a place by Katie and took some toast from the plate in front of her.
"You're up early, mate," Katie said, trying to sound lighthearted.
"I wanted to go check on Alicia, want to come with?" Angelina buttered her toast and Katie nodded, grateful for a reason to stop hearing about what Egyptian wizards used in a potion to make their feet stop smelling. That Hermione Granger was fascinated by the oddest things, in Katie's mind.
Katie and Angelina finished up their breakfast and made their way to the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was bustling about her patients with a concerned look on her face, as if they were all going to die if she didn't give them all the foul-tasting medicines they could stomach.
Alicia was sleeping and Angelina and Katie silently argued about waking her up. Their forceful whispers, though, succeeded in waking her up and she smiled at them groggily. Angelina and Katie made themselves comfortable on either side of their sick friend and passed a few hours with talk and laughter. The laughter, in Katie's case, was usually forced as she still had the feeling of a dead weight in her stomach.
"Well, mate, you look terrible. We'll let you get some more rest, alright?" Angelina patted Alicia's hand and smiled. Alicia returned the smile weakly, as though glad to get some sleep. Angelina and Katie left the Hospital Wing to return to Gryffindor Tower.
"Pumpkin juice," Angelina told the portrait of the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and Katie and Angelina walked through into the Common Room. Harry and Ron were playing a game of chess, while Hermione and Seamus were studying Transfiguration.
"Oh, Katie, an owl came for you after you left," Hermione said, handing her an envelope with Katie's name on it. Katie opened the letter and saw Marcus' neat handwriting. His penmanship was disturbingly good for a man.
Katie, I hope all is well. I will be sending you a package of floo powder tomorrow so that you can come to my house with your reports. I expect the first one in one week. If you're having any troubles, feel free to owl me. I know that we both want this mission of yours to be a success, but for different reasons obviously. I will see you in a week. Till then, Marcus.
Katie stared at the letter as tears welled up in her eyes. It was different seeing the directions in writing, it was more real somehow. She could have passed of yesterday's events as a bad dream, but now here was physical proof of her betrayal of her friends and fellow students.
"Bad news, Katie?" Harry asked, looking concerned. Katie only nodded and made her way up the stairs to her room. Things were looking very bleak for Ms. Katie Bell.
********
Marcus had gotten home late the previous night and gone straight to bed. He had gone on his first assignment. It was a bunch of muggle-borns in Yorkshire. Marcus couldn't have been happier when Voldemort told him he got to go. It was as if Christmas had come early for him. Marcus killed two wizards without so much as a wince, which had been surprising at first. Marcus expected to have felt a bit of remorse or guilt. But he hadn't, it came easy to him.
He figured at first that maybe he had no emotions. People had told him that from time to time. He was fairly sure that Katie had yelled something like that a few times during their discussion. Their discussion, it seemed, had been sprinkled with outbursts from Miss Bell. The more Marcus thought about it, though, the more he disagreed. He did have emotions, they just weren't wide-ranging. He been mad when he wasn't being asked to serve the Dark Lord, and he was even fairly sure he'd been sad before. He had probably been sad when his parents had died, he couldn't really remember.
But right now, Marcus Flint was happy. He finally got to do his service to Lord Voldemort. He had gotten a spy at Hogwarts and was slowly breaking her spirit. Things were looking up for Mr. Marcus Flint.
Katie awoke the next morning with a feeling of dread in her stomach.
Today I have to start betraying my friends, she thought sadly. She sat up and opened her bed hangings. Angelina was still asleep in the next bed and Alicia was still in the hospital wing. She would make sure that they were spared, if Marcus had been serious about saving some of her friends from the Death Eaters. If he hadn't been serious, well too bad. She'd find a way to make sure that at least Angelina and Alicia got out.
They had been her best friends since she stepped onto Platform 9 3/4. She could still remember seeing them for the first time. Alicia and Angelina had been standing near the barrier entrance when Katie, afraid to be late for the train, had ran full speed through it. Her trolley had rammed into Angelina, which had sent her flying. Alicia had tried to muffle her laughter, but to no avail. Katie apologized over and over again, but to her surprise, Angelina just laughed and introduced herself. Katie helped her up and Angelina had put her arm around Katie's shoulders.
"You're a bit clumsy, mate," she had said, "But stick with us and we'll see that you don't get into too much trouble."
Angelina had always been the most outgoing of the three. Katie found it almost impossible to say no to her, not that she usually wanted to. They had been thick as thieves since that day. The thought of them being tortured and killed by Death Eaters made her want to vomit. Alicia came from a pure blood family, but they were notorious muggle-lovers, while Angelina's father was a wizard and her mother was a muggle.
Katie didn't have anything against muggles or muggle-borns. She didn't actually care that Natalie was muggle-born, what made her the most upset was her fathers lies. Katie thought it was absurd that some of her family members, mostly her mother's relations, would be so upset about the type of blood Natalie had. Blood was blood, in Katie's opinion.
Yes, her family was proud of the pureblooded heritage. But it was more out of tradition than any sense of supremacy that her family married other purebloods. At least Katie had always thought so. They had elaborate tapestries outlining their family tree hanging in their home. Katie's family was fairly well-off, economically wise. The only reason she could see for keeping the family pureblooded was for monetary reasons and the family tradition.
After getting ready for the day, she made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She didn't wake up Angelina, since it was Sunday and Angelina loved to sleep as late as possible on the weekends. There were few Gryffindors at the table. Hermione was there, with a book propped open on a jug. Katie took a seat next to her.
"Good morning, Hermione," she said in what she hoped was a normal sounding voice.
"Hello, Katie," Hermione replied happily. "I've just been reading the most fascinating book on The History of Potions. Did you know that during the Crusades, Arab wizards would mix boomslang skin with camel milk, daisy roots, and yeti brains to create the first, although not always effective, Polyjuice Potion?"
Katie smiled at Hermione's enthusiasm and shook her head. She was glad that Hermione was in a chatty mood, though she wished she was being chatty about something more interesting. Listening to Hermione talk made it harder to think about the task ahead of her. Katie did not want to think about spying, Voldemort or Marcus "Evilly Sexy Smile" Flint.
Hermione was still rattling on about Ancient Potions when Angelina walked in. She took a place by Katie and took some toast from the plate in front of her.
"You're up early, mate," Katie said, trying to sound lighthearted.
"I wanted to go check on Alicia, want to come with?" Angelina buttered her toast and Katie nodded, grateful for a reason to stop hearing about what Egyptian wizards used in a potion to make their feet stop smelling. That Hermione Granger was fascinated by the oddest things, in Katie's mind.
Katie and Angelina finished up their breakfast and made their way to the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was bustling about her patients with a concerned look on her face, as if they were all going to die if she didn't give them all the foul-tasting medicines they could stomach.
Alicia was sleeping and Angelina and Katie silently argued about waking her up. Their forceful whispers, though, succeeded in waking her up and she smiled at them groggily. Angelina and Katie made themselves comfortable on either side of their sick friend and passed a few hours with talk and laughter. The laughter, in Katie's case, was usually forced as she still had the feeling of a dead weight in her stomach.
"Well, mate, you look terrible. We'll let you get some more rest, alright?" Angelina patted Alicia's hand and smiled. Alicia returned the smile weakly, as though glad to get some sleep. Angelina and Katie left the Hospital Wing to return to Gryffindor Tower.
"Pumpkin juice," Angelina told the portrait of the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and Katie and Angelina walked through into the Common Room. Harry and Ron were playing a game of chess, while Hermione and Seamus were studying Transfiguration.
"Oh, Katie, an owl came for you after you left," Hermione said, handing her an envelope with Katie's name on it. Katie opened the letter and saw Marcus' neat handwriting. His penmanship was disturbingly good for a man.
Katie, I hope all is well. I will be sending you a package of floo powder tomorrow so that you can come to my house with your reports. I expect the first one in one week. If you're having any troubles, feel free to owl me. I know that we both want this mission of yours to be a success, but for different reasons obviously. I will see you in a week. Till then, Marcus.
Katie stared at the letter as tears welled up in her eyes. It was different seeing the directions in writing, it was more real somehow. She could have passed of yesterday's events as a bad dream, but now here was physical proof of her betrayal of her friends and fellow students.
"Bad news, Katie?" Harry asked, looking concerned. Katie only nodded and made her way up the stairs to her room. Things were looking very bleak for Ms. Katie Bell.
********
Marcus had gotten home late the previous night and gone straight to bed. He had gone on his first assignment. It was a bunch of muggle-borns in Yorkshire. Marcus couldn't have been happier when Voldemort told him he got to go. It was as if Christmas had come early for him. Marcus killed two wizards without so much as a wince, which had been surprising at first. Marcus expected to have felt a bit of remorse or guilt. But he hadn't, it came easy to him.
He figured at first that maybe he had no emotions. People had told him that from time to time. He was fairly sure that Katie had yelled something like that a few times during their discussion. Their discussion, it seemed, had been sprinkled with outbursts from Miss Bell. The more Marcus thought about it, though, the more he disagreed. He did have emotions, they just weren't wide-ranging. He been mad when he wasn't being asked to serve the Dark Lord, and he was even fairly sure he'd been sad before. He had probably been sad when his parents had died, he couldn't really remember.
But right now, Marcus Flint was happy. He finally got to do his service to Lord Voldemort. He had gotten a spy at Hogwarts and was slowly breaking her spirit. Things were looking up for Mr. Marcus Flint.