*DISCLAIMER* For Christmas we'd like to have Viggo and Billy love slaves,
but not to be sued. So remember, we don't own Harry Potter characters!
They had finished eating their lunch, with few problems. Katie was still a bit on edge, and Marcus found it hard to completely abandon the Slytherin attitude he had so finely tuned during his years at Hogwarts. His polite acts seemed to be greatly outnumbered by the smirks and quick and ready snide remarks. He mentally berated himself every time a snide comment slipped his lips, but it was getting easier to keep his tongue in check.
"Thank you for coming to lunch, Katie," he said, leading her to the couch while the house-elves cleaned up the lunch dishes. Katie sat down, a bit more relaxed than she had been earlier. Marcus sat next to her, a little closer than she would have liked, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, Marcus, it was impossible to refuse your invitation. The wording of 'Come to my manor, now,' was just so eloquent wild dogs couldn't have kept me away," Katie joked. She smiled at him and Marcus felt his heart quicken. Just a bit anyway, he was still Marcus Flint after all.
Marcus laughed and returned her smile. "Well, I am very charming and good looking," he laughed. Katie nodded in agreement and then blushed when she realized she had inadvertently told him that she, too, found him good looking. Her blush made Marcus laugh again and he offered her a drink. She took it and kept her eyes down.
After a few moments of sipping their drinks, Katie sighed. The liquor was starting to relax her even more.
"So, you don't want any new information?" She asked. Marcus shook his head no.
"Not today, Miss Bell. But I do expect a good deal of information in a few days time," he poured more scotch into her half-empty glass.
"Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Flint?" She joked. She had never been drunk before, but she didn't know if it was an experience she wished to share with Marcus Flint. He did not seem the type of man who was above taking advantage of a drunken girl.
Marcus smiled roguishly and shrugged his shoulders. He liked the effect the liquor was having on her. She was less ridged and seemed to be enjoying herself more. This was the Katie Bell that he had always thought was cute at Hogwarts. A girl who always had a smile on her face and whose laughter filled the Great Hall during meals. Not that he really paid attention, of course.
Katie continued to drink the scotch in her glass, each drink making it easier for her to drink more. Each drink also made her more talkative with Marcus.
"So, tell me more about yourself, Katie," he said, completely delighted by her company.
"What's to know that you haven't found in the Records Office?" She said, with just a hint of bitterness in her voice. Marcus did not like that smidgen of bitterness, so he decided to try another angle.
"I mean, what do you like to do? Not to do?" He offered, hoping that the previous comment could be forgotten. Probably with the aid of more scotch.
Katie leaned her head back onto the couch and pursed her lips in thought. "Well, I love quidditch. I just got a Firebolt X, it's just came out last month," she said proudly.
"Wow," Marcus said, admiration clear in his voice. She was a woman with great taste in brooms, a trait he found terribly sexy.
"Yeah, I thought it was pretty fabulous myself. The handling is just excellent, and it goes from 0-70 in less than a second. It's mind-blowing, really," she gushed. They talked more about quidditch and brooms for a long while and Katie finally yawned. She looked out the window and saw that it was dark, probably just after sunset.
"Marcus," she said, trying to stand up, "I think it's time for me to go." She wobbled once she was on her feet, the liquor clearly taking its toll on her. She fell back onto the couch and looked at Marcus.
Marcus raised an eyebrow at her and laughed. "It looks like you're a bit inebriated, Bell."
Katie laughed and tried to stand up again, but didn't get much further than she had on her first attempt. Once she landed back on the couch she frowned. She looked at Marcus again. He looked so calm sitting there, with one eyebrow still arched at her. They were still sitting awfully close and Katie felt her heart beat quicken a bit. She decided to throw caution to the wind, and she leaned forward towards him.
Marcus looked down at her, her face so close to his own. It would be so easy to do what he'd tried before and kiss her. She scooted a bit closer to him, so he could now feel her breath on his lips.
"Katie," he started, not sure what to do. Adventurous Marcus told him to go for it, because how often was Katie Bell, Miss Goody-Goody of Gryffindor, going to let him kiss her. But Good Marcus, who usually rarely made an appearance because Adventurous Marcus would beat him into submission, reminded him that Katie was under the influence of scotch and was not thinking clearly.
She was leaning still closer and Marcus leaned back, the Good Marcus finally winning a battle over Adventurous.
"Katie, you've had too much to drink. I'll go have the house-elves make up a room for you," he got up and left the room to give the order to the house- elf waiting outside. Katie frowned after him, clearly put out.
"You can leave in the morning, once you're sobered up," Marcus explained, not trusting himself to get nearer to her. Katie sighed and slowly stood up, still a bit wobbly. A house-elf came in to lead her to her room for the night. She stumbled out of the room, hitting a few tables and chairs on the way out.
Marcus sighed and mentally kicked himself for having acted that way. She had been so kissable at that moment, aside from being drunk. This had been the third time he had been tempted to kiss her, and the third time he hadn't. It was a habit he hoped to break, and pretty damn soon, too.
***************
Katie woke the next morning with a start. She sat bolt upright in bed and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. The bedroom was tastefully decorated, not like her dorm room which had posters of hunky quidditch players and Alicia's Wizard Boy Band pictures. This bedroom was decorated in light blues and whites. The bed and dresser were made out of dark ebony wood, also nothing like her dorm.
Where the hell am I? She thought with a panic. She tried to remember what had happened the night before. She remembered lunch with Marcus, and then drinks.
Drinks... she winced, not only from the memory, but from the ache in her head.
The door opened slowly, and a house-elf walked in holding a breakfast tray. The smell of eggs and fresh bread filled Katie's nostrils and she was anxious to eat.
"What time is it?" She politely asked the elf.
"It's twelve thirty, Miss Bell," the elf squeaked.
"Twelve thirty!" Katie shrieked. "My classes!"
Katie jumped out of bed and took off the nightgown that she had been dressed in by, she hoped, a house-elf.
"Your breakfast, Miss Bell?" The elf looked at the tray, not sure what to do.
"I'm sorry, I don't have time for breakfast. I have to get back to Hogwarts, I've missed half of my classes already!" Katie pulled on her uniform skirt and started to put on her shirt when the door opened again and this time Marcus walked in. "Flint! Would it kill you to knock? I'm getting dressed here!" Katie covered herself up and tried to put her shirt on quickly at the same time, making for very awkward movements.
Marcus chuckled, but politely stepped back out of the room. He waited a moment before coming back inside, where Katie was now fully dressed. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
"I have to get back to Hogwarts right now, Marcus," she explained, pulling her socks and shoes on as she talked.
"Yes, I understand," he smiled. Katie smiled back, thinking how much she loved his new teeth. She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"I'm just here to remind you about our next meeting on Saturday," Marcus said following Katie to the next room with the fireplace. Katie froze momentarily.
That's right, I still have to give him a report, she thought. Even though they could smile, joke and get drunk together, it didn't change the fact that he was still using her as a means to get inside Hogwarts.
Katie nodded, "Yes, I'll see you on Saturday, Marcus." She had done well keeping her voice nice and even. She even managed a smile as she stepped into the fireplace. He offered his hand in assistance as she stepped into the grate.
Damn him for being a gentleman, she thought, scowling inwardly. She was finding it harder and harder to hate him. Yes, he wanted to kill her friends and family, she couldn't deny that. But at the same time, he was still fairly decent to her. And the physical attraction was undeniable on both sides.
Marcus took Katie's hand a kissed it lightly before putting a handful of floo powder in it. Katie blushed and threw the floo powder into the fire.
"Gryffindor Tower!" And she was gone. Marcus smiled to himself, pleased for having at least kissed on the hand. He wanted to a lot more than that, but he planned on taking things a bit slower with Katie. He figured she'd be the type that would be scared off easily.
Now I just have to wait till Saturday, he thought. Then I get to see her again, and get her report for Lord Voldemort. He smiled again, pleased with the way things were going.
************** Once Katie arrived in the Gryffindor Tower fireplace, she raced up the stairs to get her books. If she hurried, she could still make the last few minutes of Charms. She breathed a sigh of relief that no one was in the Common Room during their break. She ran down the corridors to Professor Flitwick's classroom was.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor," she said as she entered the class. She took her seat between Alicia and Angelina.
"Where were you?" Angelina whispered.
Katie thought quickly, "Hospital Wing, I wasn't feeling too great yesterday. Pomfrey made me stay the night."
Alicia patted her on the arm, "You alright now, mate?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now. Just a bit tired, really," Katie lied.
"Ladies, please pay attention!" Professor Flitwick said in his high, squeaky voice.
"Sorry professor," the three girls said together. They continued taking notes while Flitwick explained charms Katie figured they'd never need later in life. Her attention kept drifting away from the lesson. She found herself thinking about Marcus more and more and she chastised herself each time she caught herself doing it.
Good Katie would reason that she should not have such thoughts about him. But her only strong argument was that he was evil and wanted to kill her friends and family. A good argument, to be sure, but only one. Adventurous Katie, Katie's personal favorite, wanted to throw caution to the wind and take a chance. Katie was all about taking chances in life, because she didn't want to grow old and wonder "What if?".
"Katie, come on!" Angelina was saying. Off in her own world, Katie hadn't noticed that it was time to go.
"What were you thinking about, Kat?" Alicia asked. "You were grinning like a cheshire cat."
"Oh, just thinking about taking my new Firebolt out for a fly later today," Katie lied, again. She would never tell Alicia and Angelina that she was really thinking about Marcus Flint.
They had finished eating their lunch, with few problems. Katie was still a bit on edge, and Marcus found it hard to completely abandon the Slytherin attitude he had so finely tuned during his years at Hogwarts. His polite acts seemed to be greatly outnumbered by the smirks and quick and ready snide remarks. He mentally berated himself every time a snide comment slipped his lips, but it was getting easier to keep his tongue in check.
"Thank you for coming to lunch, Katie," he said, leading her to the couch while the house-elves cleaned up the lunch dishes. Katie sat down, a bit more relaxed than she had been earlier. Marcus sat next to her, a little closer than she would have liked, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, Marcus, it was impossible to refuse your invitation. The wording of 'Come to my manor, now,' was just so eloquent wild dogs couldn't have kept me away," Katie joked. She smiled at him and Marcus felt his heart quicken. Just a bit anyway, he was still Marcus Flint after all.
Marcus laughed and returned her smile. "Well, I am very charming and good looking," he laughed. Katie nodded in agreement and then blushed when she realized she had inadvertently told him that she, too, found him good looking. Her blush made Marcus laugh again and he offered her a drink. She took it and kept her eyes down.
After a few moments of sipping their drinks, Katie sighed. The liquor was starting to relax her even more.
"So, you don't want any new information?" She asked. Marcus shook his head no.
"Not today, Miss Bell. But I do expect a good deal of information in a few days time," he poured more scotch into her half-empty glass.
"Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Flint?" She joked. She had never been drunk before, but she didn't know if it was an experience she wished to share with Marcus Flint. He did not seem the type of man who was above taking advantage of a drunken girl.
Marcus smiled roguishly and shrugged his shoulders. He liked the effect the liquor was having on her. She was less ridged and seemed to be enjoying herself more. This was the Katie Bell that he had always thought was cute at Hogwarts. A girl who always had a smile on her face and whose laughter filled the Great Hall during meals. Not that he really paid attention, of course.
Katie continued to drink the scotch in her glass, each drink making it easier for her to drink more. Each drink also made her more talkative with Marcus.
"So, tell me more about yourself, Katie," he said, completely delighted by her company.
"What's to know that you haven't found in the Records Office?" She said, with just a hint of bitterness in her voice. Marcus did not like that smidgen of bitterness, so he decided to try another angle.
"I mean, what do you like to do? Not to do?" He offered, hoping that the previous comment could be forgotten. Probably with the aid of more scotch.
Katie leaned her head back onto the couch and pursed her lips in thought. "Well, I love quidditch. I just got a Firebolt X, it's just came out last month," she said proudly.
"Wow," Marcus said, admiration clear in his voice. She was a woman with great taste in brooms, a trait he found terribly sexy.
"Yeah, I thought it was pretty fabulous myself. The handling is just excellent, and it goes from 0-70 in less than a second. It's mind-blowing, really," she gushed. They talked more about quidditch and brooms for a long while and Katie finally yawned. She looked out the window and saw that it was dark, probably just after sunset.
"Marcus," she said, trying to stand up, "I think it's time for me to go." She wobbled once she was on her feet, the liquor clearly taking its toll on her. She fell back onto the couch and looked at Marcus.
Marcus raised an eyebrow at her and laughed. "It looks like you're a bit inebriated, Bell."
Katie laughed and tried to stand up again, but didn't get much further than she had on her first attempt. Once she landed back on the couch she frowned. She looked at Marcus again. He looked so calm sitting there, with one eyebrow still arched at her. They were still sitting awfully close and Katie felt her heart beat quicken a bit. She decided to throw caution to the wind, and she leaned forward towards him.
Marcus looked down at her, her face so close to his own. It would be so easy to do what he'd tried before and kiss her. She scooted a bit closer to him, so he could now feel her breath on his lips.
"Katie," he started, not sure what to do. Adventurous Marcus told him to go for it, because how often was Katie Bell, Miss Goody-Goody of Gryffindor, going to let him kiss her. But Good Marcus, who usually rarely made an appearance because Adventurous Marcus would beat him into submission, reminded him that Katie was under the influence of scotch and was not thinking clearly.
She was leaning still closer and Marcus leaned back, the Good Marcus finally winning a battle over Adventurous.
"Katie, you've had too much to drink. I'll go have the house-elves make up a room for you," he got up and left the room to give the order to the house- elf waiting outside. Katie frowned after him, clearly put out.
"You can leave in the morning, once you're sobered up," Marcus explained, not trusting himself to get nearer to her. Katie sighed and slowly stood up, still a bit wobbly. A house-elf came in to lead her to her room for the night. She stumbled out of the room, hitting a few tables and chairs on the way out.
Marcus sighed and mentally kicked himself for having acted that way. She had been so kissable at that moment, aside from being drunk. This had been the third time he had been tempted to kiss her, and the third time he hadn't. It was a habit he hoped to break, and pretty damn soon, too.
***************
Katie woke the next morning with a start. She sat bolt upright in bed and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. The bedroom was tastefully decorated, not like her dorm room which had posters of hunky quidditch players and Alicia's Wizard Boy Band pictures. This bedroom was decorated in light blues and whites. The bed and dresser were made out of dark ebony wood, also nothing like her dorm.
Where the hell am I? She thought with a panic. She tried to remember what had happened the night before. She remembered lunch with Marcus, and then drinks.
Drinks... she winced, not only from the memory, but from the ache in her head.
The door opened slowly, and a house-elf walked in holding a breakfast tray. The smell of eggs and fresh bread filled Katie's nostrils and she was anxious to eat.
"What time is it?" She politely asked the elf.
"It's twelve thirty, Miss Bell," the elf squeaked.
"Twelve thirty!" Katie shrieked. "My classes!"
Katie jumped out of bed and took off the nightgown that she had been dressed in by, she hoped, a house-elf.
"Your breakfast, Miss Bell?" The elf looked at the tray, not sure what to do.
"I'm sorry, I don't have time for breakfast. I have to get back to Hogwarts, I've missed half of my classes already!" Katie pulled on her uniform skirt and started to put on her shirt when the door opened again and this time Marcus walked in. "Flint! Would it kill you to knock? I'm getting dressed here!" Katie covered herself up and tried to put her shirt on quickly at the same time, making for very awkward movements.
Marcus chuckled, but politely stepped back out of the room. He waited a moment before coming back inside, where Katie was now fully dressed. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
"I have to get back to Hogwarts right now, Marcus," she explained, pulling her socks and shoes on as she talked.
"Yes, I understand," he smiled. Katie smiled back, thinking how much she loved his new teeth. She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"I'm just here to remind you about our next meeting on Saturday," Marcus said following Katie to the next room with the fireplace. Katie froze momentarily.
That's right, I still have to give him a report, she thought. Even though they could smile, joke and get drunk together, it didn't change the fact that he was still using her as a means to get inside Hogwarts.
Katie nodded, "Yes, I'll see you on Saturday, Marcus." She had done well keeping her voice nice and even. She even managed a smile as she stepped into the fireplace. He offered his hand in assistance as she stepped into the grate.
Damn him for being a gentleman, she thought, scowling inwardly. She was finding it harder and harder to hate him. Yes, he wanted to kill her friends and family, she couldn't deny that. But at the same time, he was still fairly decent to her. And the physical attraction was undeniable on both sides.
Marcus took Katie's hand a kissed it lightly before putting a handful of floo powder in it. Katie blushed and threw the floo powder into the fire.
"Gryffindor Tower!" And she was gone. Marcus smiled to himself, pleased for having at least kissed on the hand. He wanted to a lot more than that, but he planned on taking things a bit slower with Katie. He figured she'd be the type that would be scared off easily.
Now I just have to wait till Saturday, he thought. Then I get to see her again, and get her report for Lord Voldemort. He smiled again, pleased with the way things were going.
************** Once Katie arrived in the Gryffindor Tower fireplace, she raced up the stairs to get her books. If she hurried, she could still make the last few minutes of Charms. She breathed a sigh of relief that no one was in the Common Room during their break. She ran down the corridors to Professor Flitwick's classroom was.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor," she said as she entered the class. She took her seat between Alicia and Angelina.
"Where were you?" Angelina whispered.
Katie thought quickly, "Hospital Wing, I wasn't feeling too great yesterday. Pomfrey made me stay the night."
Alicia patted her on the arm, "You alright now, mate?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now. Just a bit tired, really," Katie lied.
"Ladies, please pay attention!" Professor Flitwick said in his high, squeaky voice.
"Sorry professor," the three girls said together. They continued taking notes while Flitwick explained charms Katie figured they'd never need later in life. Her attention kept drifting away from the lesson. She found herself thinking about Marcus more and more and she chastised herself each time she caught herself doing it.
Good Katie would reason that she should not have such thoughts about him. But her only strong argument was that he was evil and wanted to kill her friends and family. A good argument, to be sure, but only one. Adventurous Katie, Katie's personal favorite, wanted to throw caution to the wind and take a chance. Katie was all about taking chances in life, because she didn't want to grow old and wonder "What if?".
"Katie, come on!" Angelina was saying. Off in her own world, Katie hadn't noticed that it was time to go.
"What were you thinking about, Kat?" Alicia asked. "You were grinning like a cheshire cat."
"Oh, just thinking about taking my new Firebolt out for a fly later today," Katie lied, again. She would never tell Alicia and Angelina that she was really thinking about Marcus Flint.