Katie paced anxiously before the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room,
checking the time every other second. She was anxious to get this out of
the way was what she was telling herself. The life of a betrayer to her
loved ones was not the ideal life for her. And the sooner she was through
with this whole ordeal, the better. She actually had something to report
this time. And she felt so guilty for it. But what could she do? She
couldn't bear the thought of Marcus being punished again.
She suddenly stopped pacing; her face went pale. Had she honestly just put
Marcus Flint, Slytherin Snake and all around evil man before her friends
and family? She dropped down into one of the armchairs before the fire, her
face a mask of confusion. Marcus Flint? It couldn't be possible. She
couldn't possibly ... could she? Could she, Katie Bell, have feelings for
Marcus Flint?
Yes was the word she saw in her mind. She had feelings for Marcus Flint.
She buried her face in her hands. This was not good. You weren't supposed
to fall for your blackmailer. At that thought, she smiled. Her life was
beginning to remind her of the romance novel she had found under Natalie's
pillows last summer. Girl found herself being blackmailed by a jerk; the
two fell in love and lived happily ever after. She checked the time once
more and sighed. Her tale would hardly end so happily, this she knew.
Standing before the fire, she threw the handful of floo powder in and
stepped in after it, disappearing to her meeting with Marcus.
Marcus was waiting on the couch for Katie's arrival, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped. He would really pay this time if Katie had nothing to offer. But right now that was the farthest worry from his mind. So far he had checked the mirror five times to make sure his hair looked ok and that there was nothing in his teeth. He was acting like he was waiting for a date. And this thing with Katie Bell was as far from a date as anything could get. It was at that moment that Katie stepped from the fire and stood before him, her hands clenched nervously, her teeth chewing on her lower lip. He couldn't help but smile at her; she looked adorable when she was nervous.
"Have a seat Katie," he said, gesturing towards the couch. She sat and he followed suit, sitting opposite her.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, arching a brow. Katie shook her head, knitting her fingers in her lap.
"Well?" he asked, eyeing her. He hated that they had to work this way, but if he didn't get information his ass was grass.
Katie lifted her eyes and met his. "Marcus," she started, taking a deep breath. Before she could say anything however, Marcus took one of her hands in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"Relax Katie, everything's going to be alright," he said gently. Katie looked at their entwined fingers and jerked her hand away. "Everything is NOT ok Marcus, if everything were, I wouldn't BE here right now!" she said, raking her fingers through her hair as she stood. She paced the length of the rug before the fire, hands behind her back. "If everything was ok, my family would not be in danger, my friends would not be in danger, Natalie's secret would still be safe, and you wouldn't have those horrible bruises on your body because of me!"
Marcus got up and stepped in front of her, catching her by her shoulders and stopping her in mid step. "Katie, look at me."
Katie stared at the floor, her jaw tight. He put his fingers under her chin and brought her gaze to his. "Katie," he said softly, his eyes for once showing open emotion instead of an icy shield. His fingers skimmed over her jaw line, his eyes focused on her.
"Katie ... I don't know what you've done to me ... but I hate seeing such sadness in your eyes."
Katie's lips parted and her brow furrowed, confused. She wanted to say something to him, but she didn't have the words to say it.
"I've always known you were pretty ... but you're so much more than that," he traced her lips with his index finger, eyes darting from her eyes to her lips.
Katie moved closer to him, tilting her head up. She knew he would kiss her, and she wanted him to. She wanted to see what it would be like to kiss Marcus Flint, to see if it would be what she had been making it to be in her dreams, to know ...
"Master?" a squeaky voice called from the doorway. The spell had been broken. With a low growl, Marcus looked over Katie's head to the elf. "WHAT?!" he barked, anger burning in his eyes. The elf flinched and bowed down low, skirting into the room.
"Th-this note arrived for you sir," the elf answered shakily. Marcus ripped the note from its hands and opened it, his face going as white as the paper before him. Katie frowned, peeking over his shoulder to see the note.
"Marcus?" she asked, concerned. He balled the note up in his fist and turned to her, his eyes pained.
"Katie...get back to Hogwarts...now. McGonagall will be looking for you."
Katie's brow furrowed. "But Marcus, I haven't told you anything about..."
"There's no time for that now, Katie," Marcus said, grabbing her arm and ushering her to the fireplace. "The hell there's not time, Flint!" Katie said, shaking her arm free from his grasp. "You want information and for the first time I actually have some! You have to listen to me! I won't see you bruised up again." She met his steely gaze and for a brief moment thought she had actually won this argument. Marcus pushed her back into the fireplace, threw a handful of floo powder into the flames and yelled "Gryffindor Tower!" Katie was gone before she could protest.
She landed back in the fireplace at Hogwarts very miffed at her treatment from Marcus. She grabbed a handful of floo powder with every intention of telling Mr. Flint exactly what she thought of him at that very moment when the Hermione came through the portrait hole.
"Oh, Katie, there you are! Professor McGonagall's been looking for you," she said, placing her armload of books on the table.
"Thank you, Hermione," Katie said, stepping out of the fireplace and brushing the soot off her robes. She left the common room still very upset with Marcus but decided he'd get an earful later.
She reached Professor McGonagall's office and knocked timidly on the door. It opened and she heard McGonagall say, "Come in" from inside. She pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Katie asked, sitting down in front of the desk. McGonagall looked very solemn and seemed to be having trouble speaking.
"Miss Bell," she said, her voice catching, "last night there was a Death Eater attack."
Katie didn't move. This couldn't affect her in anyway at all. Her family was safe because she was spying for Marcus. That was the deal. That's what he promised her.
"I'm sorry to tell you, Katie, that your father and step-mother were targeted in that attack."
"Excuse me?" Katie asked. She had obviously misheard her professor. Her family was safe. Marcus promised. He promised.
"Your parents have been killed by Death Eaters, Katie. I'm so very sorry. Your grandparents have owled us and said that you can go stay with them for a few days. It's understandable if you don't wish to stay at Hogwarts for a while."
Professor McGonagall looked at her with tears in her eyes. "If there's anything I can do, Katie, don't hesitate to ask."
Katie shook her head numbly and walked out the door back to the Common Room.
***************
As soon as Katie left, Marcus stepped into the fireplace and flooed himself to Death Eater Headquarters. The house elf that was in the drawing room that he arrived in squeaked in surprise and hurried out of the room when she saw how angry Marcus was. He made his way through the main hall and into the living room. Bellatrix looked up when he stormed in.
"Hello, Marcus," she said, laying down the book she had been reading. "So kind of you to drop by. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I want to see him, now!" He raged. Bellatrix's smile fell and was replaced by a cruel smirk.
"Not in that temper, young man. I do not know why you're angry, but you will not go in there at yell at the Dark Lord. Calm down right now or you'll be at the receiving end of another curse. And we both know that you bruise like a peach."
Marcus took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. That seemed enough to please Bellatrix who lead him into the next room. Voldemort sat in a lush chair in front of a fireplace. He turned his head to Marcus as he walked in.
"Young Mr. Flint, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You killed the Bells." Marcus said, as if that explained everything.
"Oh no, my dear boy. I only had them killed. I did no killing," he said, as if explaining to a small child.
"You had your Death Eaters kill them," Marcus said slowing, trying to contain his anger.
"My Death Eaters? You forget, dear boy, that you're a Death Eater as well? You're a part of their killing as much as the next Death Eater. This is what you joined my ranks for, isn't it?" Voldemort now stood up and Marcus was surprised to see that he was taller than the Dark Lord.
"Yes, my Lord, but we needed the Bells," Marcus said, letting a bit of his anger slip through. "She was a filthy muggle born, Marcus," Voldemort said calmly. "She tainted a pure blooded family. Didn't she deserve what she got?"
"Yes," Marcus said shortly.
"And didn't Mr. Bell deserve what he got for marrying such a filthy creature?"
"Yes," Marcus said, looking into the fire.
"So I don't understand, Marcus, what the problem is," Voldemort said, sitting down again.
"The Bells were our leverage. Katie Bell was spying to keep them safe from harm. Now what do we do?" Marcus asked. He could not believe this was happening. He wanted to tell Voldemort how stupid it was to have killed the Bells. He felt the anger welling up inside him, not for any real concern about the Bells, but for Katie and all the work he'd been through to make her spy.
"She has friends, or a boyfriend maybe? Threaten them," Voldemort said, stroking Nagini, who lay at his feet.
Marcus felt another wave of anger as he thought of some little Gryffindor jerk dating Katie. He quickly pushed the thought of killing all the Gryffindor males out of his head.
"If anything, Marcus, this has helped to insure her loyalty. She now understands what we will do. Tell her that we will kill each and everyone of her friends, pureblooded included, if she doesn't do exactly what he tell her," Voldemort smiled.
"Yes, my Lord," Marcus mumbled and turned to leave.
"And Marcus," Voldemort said as he reached the door.
"Yes?" Marcus turned to face the Dark Lord again.
"Never again question what I decide to do. I will make you pay dearly for it next time. Do you understand?"
"Completely, my Lord."
"And I also expect some Hogwarts information fairly soon. Shall we say tomorrow?" Voldemort smiled slightly and tilted his head.
"Certainly, my Lord," Marcus bowed slightly and left the room. Bellatrix was reading her book and looked up when he entered. "It was a pleasure to see you, Marcus," she said, smiling coldly. Marcus nodded curtly and walked into the drawing room where the fireplace was. He stepped in and was flooed back to his manor. Marcus sighed as he stepped out of the fireplace. He sat down heavily on the love seat and rubbed his eyes. He knew he'd have to see Katie tonight to get her information for tomorrow. He'd have to do it with no regard for her feelings and do it quickly. He stood and walked to his desk and scribbled out a note, which he attached to the leg of his owl. He watched it fly off into the night sky and he regretted what he had to do when she got there.
Marcus was waiting on the couch for Katie's arrival, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped. He would really pay this time if Katie had nothing to offer. But right now that was the farthest worry from his mind. So far he had checked the mirror five times to make sure his hair looked ok and that there was nothing in his teeth. He was acting like he was waiting for a date. And this thing with Katie Bell was as far from a date as anything could get. It was at that moment that Katie stepped from the fire and stood before him, her hands clenched nervously, her teeth chewing on her lower lip. He couldn't help but smile at her; she looked adorable when she was nervous.
"Have a seat Katie," he said, gesturing towards the couch. She sat and he followed suit, sitting opposite her.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, arching a brow. Katie shook her head, knitting her fingers in her lap.
"Well?" he asked, eyeing her. He hated that they had to work this way, but if he didn't get information his ass was grass.
Katie lifted her eyes and met his. "Marcus," she started, taking a deep breath. Before she could say anything however, Marcus took one of her hands in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles.
"Relax Katie, everything's going to be alright," he said gently. Katie looked at their entwined fingers and jerked her hand away. "Everything is NOT ok Marcus, if everything were, I wouldn't BE here right now!" she said, raking her fingers through her hair as she stood. She paced the length of the rug before the fire, hands behind her back. "If everything was ok, my family would not be in danger, my friends would not be in danger, Natalie's secret would still be safe, and you wouldn't have those horrible bruises on your body because of me!"
Marcus got up and stepped in front of her, catching her by her shoulders and stopping her in mid step. "Katie, look at me."
Katie stared at the floor, her jaw tight. He put his fingers under her chin and brought her gaze to his. "Katie," he said softly, his eyes for once showing open emotion instead of an icy shield. His fingers skimmed over her jaw line, his eyes focused on her.
"Katie ... I don't know what you've done to me ... but I hate seeing such sadness in your eyes."
Katie's lips parted and her brow furrowed, confused. She wanted to say something to him, but she didn't have the words to say it.
"I've always known you were pretty ... but you're so much more than that," he traced her lips with his index finger, eyes darting from her eyes to her lips.
Katie moved closer to him, tilting her head up. She knew he would kiss her, and she wanted him to. She wanted to see what it would be like to kiss Marcus Flint, to see if it would be what she had been making it to be in her dreams, to know ...
"Master?" a squeaky voice called from the doorway. The spell had been broken. With a low growl, Marcus looked over Katie's head to the elf. "WHAT?!" he barked, anger burning in his eyes. The elf flinched and bowed down low, skirting into the room.
"Th-this note arrived for you sir," the elf answered shakily. Marcus ripped the note from its hands and opened it, his face going as white as the paper before him. Katie frowned, peeking over his shoulder to see the note.
"Marcus?" she asked, concerned. He balled the note up in his fist and turned to her, his eyes pained.
"Katie...get back to Hogwarts...now. McGonagall will be looking for you."
Katie's brow furrowed. "But Marcus, I haven't told you anything about..."
"There's no time for that now, Katie," Marcus said, grabbing her arm and ushering her to the fireplace. "The hell there's not time, Flint!" Katie said, shaking her arm free from his grasp. "You want information and for the first time I actually have some! You have to listen to me! I won't see you bruised up again." She met his steely gaze and for a brief moment thought she had actually won this argument. Marcus pushed her back into the fireplace, threw a handful of floo powder into the flames and yelled "Gryffindor Tower!" Katie was gone before she could protest.
She landed back in the fireplace at Hogwarts very miffed at her treatment from Marcus. She grabbed a handful of floo powder with every intention of telling Mr. Flint exactly what she thought of him at that very moment when the Hermione came through the portrait hole.
"Oh, Katie, there you are! Professor McGonagall's been looking for you," she said, placing her armload of books on the table.
"Thank you, Hermione," Katie said, stepping out of the fireplace and brushing the soot off her robes. She left the common room still very upset with Marcus but decided he'd get an earful later.
She reached Professor McGonagall's office and knocked timidly on the door. It opened and she heard McGonagall say, "Come in" from inside. She pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Katie asked, sitting down in front of the desk. McGonagall looked very solemn and seemed to be having trouble speaking.
"Miss Bell," she said, her voice catching, "last night there was a Death Eater attack."
Katie didn't move. This couldn't affect her in anyway at all. Her family was safe because she was spying for Marcus. That was the deal. That's what he promised her.
"I'm sorry to tell you, Katie, that your father and step-mother were targeted in that attack."
"Excuse me?" Katie asked. She had obviously misheard her professor. Her family was safe. Marcus promised. He promised.
"Your parents have been killed by Death Eaters, Katie. I'm so very sorry. Your grandparents have owled us and said that you can go stay with them for a few days. It's understandable if you don't wish to stay at Hogwarts for a while."
Professor McGonagall looked at her with tears in her eyes. "If there's anything I can do, Katie, don't hesitate to ask."
Katie shook her head numbly and walked out the door back to the Common Room.
***************
As soon as Katie left, Marcus stepped into the fireplace and flooed himself to Death Eater Headquarters. The house elf that was in the drawing room that he arrived in squeaked in surprise and hurried out of the room when she saw how angry Marcus was. He made his way through the main hall and into the living room. Bellatrix looked up when he stormed in.
"Hello, Marcus," she said, laying down the book she had been reading. "So kind of you to drop by. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I want to see him, now!" He raged. Bellatrix's smile fell and was replaced by a cruel smirk.
"Not in that temper, young man. I do not know why you're angry, but you will not go in there at yell at the Dark Lord. Calm down right now or you'll be at the receiving end of another curse. And we both know that you bruise like a peach."
Marcus took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. That seemed enough to please Bellatrix who lead him into the next room. Voldemort sat in a lush chair in front of a fireplace. He turned his head to Marcus as he walked in.
"Young Mr. Flint, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You killed the Bells." Marcus said, as if that explained everything.
"Oh no, my dear boy. I only had them killed. I did no killing," he said, as if explaining to a small child.
"You had your Death Eaters kill them," Marcus said slowing, trying to contain his anger.
"My Death Eaters? You forget, dear boy, that you're a Death Eater as well? You're a part of their killing as much as the next Death Eater. This is what you joined my ranks for, isn't it?" Voldemort now stood up and Marcus was surprised to see that he was taller than the Dark Lord.
"Yes, my Lord, but we needed the Bells," Marcus said, letting a bit of his anger slip through. "She was a filthy muggle born, Marcus," Voldemort said calmly. "She tainted a pure blooded family. Didn't she deserve what she got?"
"Yes," Marcus said shortly.
"And didn't Mr. Bell deserve what he got for marrying such a filthy creature?"
"Yes," Marcus said, looking into the fire.
"So I don't understand, Marcus, what the problem is," Voldemort said, sitting down again.
"The Bells were our leverage. Katie Bell was spying to keep them safe from harm. Now what do we do?" Marcus asked. He could not believe this was happening. He wanted to tell Voldemort how stupid it was to have killed the Bells. He felt the anger welling up inside him, not for any real concern about the Bells, but for Katie and all the work he'd been through to make her spy.
"She has friends, or a boyfriend maybe? Threaten them," Voldemort said, stroking Nagini, who lay at his feet.
Marcus felt another wave of anger as he thought of some little Gryffindor jerk dating Katie. He quickly pushed the thought of killing all the Gryffindor males out of his head.
"If anything, Marcus, this has helped to insure her loyalty. She now understands what we will do. Tell her that we will kill each and everyone of her friends, pureblooded included, if she doesn't do exactly what he tell her," Voldemort smiled.
"Yes, my Lord," Marcus mumbled and turned to leave.
"And Marcus," Voldemort said as he reached the door.
"Yes?" Marcus turned to face the Dark Lord again.
"Never again question what I decide to do. I will make you pay dearly for it next time. Do you understand?"
"Completely, my Lord."
"And I also expect some Hogwarts information fairly soon. Shall we say tomorrow?" Voldemort smiled slightly and tilted his head.
"Certainly, my Lord," Marcus bowed slightly and left the room. Bellatrix was reading her book and looked up when he entered. "It was a pleasure to see you, Marcus," she said, smiling coldly. Marcus nodded curtly and walked into the drawing room where the fireplace was. He stepped in and was flooed back to his manor. Marcus sighed as he stepped out of the fireplace. He sat down heavily on the love seat and rubbed his eyes. He knew he'd have to see Katie tonight to get her information for tomorrow. He'd have to do it with no regard for her feelings and do it quickly. He stood and walked to his desk and scribbled out a note, which he attached to the leg of his owl. He watched it fly off into the night sky and he regretted what he had to do when she got there.