Disclaimer Neither Cee nor Zee own Harry Potter or any characters. Yadda
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Three weeks had passed since Katie left Marcus' house. He had resisted the urge to storm into Hogwarts and throw her over his shoulder to bring her back. He figured this wouldn't work for two reasons. Firstly, as soon as he showed up in the Gryffindor fireplace all those goody-goodies would run for Dumbledore and then he'd be in serious trouble. Secondly, Katie would fight him tooth and nail and he guessed that she wouldn't see it as the romantic gesture it really was.
He had sent her an owl, however, but had received no response. This drove him crazy. If she would just respond and tell him that she was doing ok. The not knowing was just too much for him. All he could do, though, was carry on with his day-to-day life hoping that she'd appear in his fire grate. But she had better damn well do it soon or Hogwarts was in serious danger of being invaded by at least one Death Eater.
Katie was having just as hard a time as Marcus was. She fought the urge to floo over to Flint Manor whenever she had a bad day, or something odd happened in class. Or when she was bored. The quidditch season was over, Gryffindor had won again. No one was really surprised as the Slytherin team had not been as much as a rival as it had been in the past. Probably because a good half of the team were under a lot of pressure to take the Dark Mark after graduation. With so much on their minds, quidditch didn't seem to be as high up on their priority list. So with no quidditch to occupy her time, Katie was increasingly bored. Angelina and Alicia had done little to entertain her. They were concentrating on their upcoming NEWTS. Katie figured she should be studying as well, but it wasn't really concerned just yet. She was a very bright girl, so she figured she'd have no trouble passing her final tests.
Angelina and Alicia were planning on becoming Aurors after they left Hogwarts, a profession they tried to talk Katie into as well. She briefly considered it, but now it was the furthest thing from her mind. She had lost all respect for Aurors after her parents death. She knew it was not their fault, but she still couldn't bring herself to think of them as the greatest wizards to grace the earth as so many people thought they were.
Katie was laying on her bed, bored out of her mind, when Alicia and Angelina came in. They had been at the library.
"Hey Kat," Alicia greeted. She threw her books down on her bed and sighed. "These NEWTS are going to be the death of me."
Angelina nodded in agreement. "How come you haven't been studying, Katie?"
Katie shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know, I just haven't. I'm not really worried about them." "You lucky thing," Angelina said. "I wish I had that attitude about it. As it is, though, I am going to stress out until I have a break down and Madame Pomfrey has to send me off to St. Mungos."
Alicia laughed, "Oh, don't be silly, Angie."
"No, no, that's ok. It's my fate and I accept it."
"Well, we'll come visit you every day. Won't we Kat?"
They turned towards Katie, who was only half listening and still looking up at the ceiling.
"Kaaatie," Alicia said. "Oiy, earth to Katie!"
Katie snapped out of her stupor and looked at her friends. "You'll be fine, ladies. NEWTS can't be that much harder than OWLS, can they?"
"No, the 'Nastily Exhausting' part of the title is just to boost moral." Alicia laughed. "Seriously, though, Kat. Are you feeling ok? You've been a bit out of it for the last few weeks."
Angelina nodded in agreement and sat down on Katie's bed. "You have been awfully quiet, mate."
Katie sighed and turned onto her side, facing them. "I know and I feel awful for it. I don't know what the problem is."
"Are you still down about your parents?" Alicia tried to ask it as tactfully as possible, but felt as if she still sounded like an ass.
Katie shrugged. "I'm still sad about it, but I don't think that's it. It's a bit hard to put my finger on, you know?"
Katie knew exactly what the problem was, though. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Marcus. He was a bad guy, this she knew. But he was her bad guy, so she could overlook his more evil characteristics. She couldn't talk about this to her friends, though, because they would be outraged that she had feelings for a Death Eater. Outrage would lead to lecturing, lecturing would lead to pleading, and the pleading would just be downright annoying.
Her friends were more clever than she thought, however. "Is it a bloke?" Angelina asked. Katie's lip began to quiver and she nodded.
"Well, we will ask for no details unless you want to tell us," Alicia said firmly. She had had her share of secret romances and they were secret for a reason. If Katie didn't want to talk about him, she had her reasons. "But, if you do want to tell us, we will be all ears," Angelina said, hoping that Katie did want to divulge her secrets. Katie smiled weakly at them, but then the tears started to flow. Alicia joined them on the bed and the three of them hugged while Katie cried out all her frustrations over Marcus.
"Maybe you need to talk to him," Alicia offered after a while. Katie shook her head, though. That was out of the question. She couldn't go see Marcus, no matter how much she wanted to.
Angelina looked at the clock. "We should go down to dinner. You want us to bring you something Katie?"
"No, I'll come with you. I'm starving." She got up and wiped her cheeks to get rid of any tears that were still there. "Do I look awful?"
"Nah, you look fine, mate," Alica answered, helping her to her feet.
They walked down to the Great Hall together. It was full of laughing students enjoying their evening meal. Katie and her friends took a seat at the Gryffindor table. As they started helping themselves to the plethora of food in front of them, Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"I'm afraid I have some disturbing news," his voice rang in the large hall. The laughing voices quickly died down and all attention was on the Headmaster. "In our constant fight against Voldemort," a few students flinched at the name, "we have required the aid of spies. These brave people put their lives on the line to help us in this war. However, one of our spies is in great danger. Possibly because of someone among us today. I can mention no names, but if you know of anyone who may be connected to Voldemort or the Death Eaters, please notify myself or the Head of your house."
Alicia snorted silently and whispered to Katie, "So, all of Slytherin house then?" Katie stole a glance over at the Slytherin table. They were all looking a bit apprehensive and a few were shooting evil glances and anyone who looked their way.
"They're all full of Death Eaters," Angelina said, once conversation had started back up in the Great Hall. "I wouldn't be surprised if every single one of them were hiding the Dark Mark under their robes."
"You can't become a Death Eater till you're eighteen and that's when you get the Dark Mark," Katie said absentmindedly. She had learned this from Marcus.
"And how do you know this?" Alicia asked, truly interested in where her friend would have picked up Death Eater trivia.
Katie shrugged and continued with her meal, unable to trust herself not to give away any information about Marcus. "Plus, they can't all be bad. I doubt that Dumbledore would allow an entirely evil house to be at Hogwarts. They're probably no more evil than any other house, they just aren't scared about showing it."
Katie had thought this to herself, but was surprised that she actually had said it out loud. Alicia and Angelina looked at her doubtfully but said nothing. They were, however, concerned with her odd knowledge of Death Eaters and her standing up for the Slytherin House. They would talk about it with her later, though. She was just upset about her mystery guy, once she cooled down she'd be more reasonable.
Katie was a bit worried, though. If they were looking for someone who was in contact with Death Eaters, could they some how find out it was her? Had something happened to Professor Snape? She had to find out, which meant a trip to Flint Manor.
Marcus was still brooding and concocting ways to kidnap Katie without her getting mad at him. He was just about at his wits end when the Katie arrived in the fire grate.
"Katie!" He stood up and offered her his hand to assist her in getting out of the grate. She dusted the ash off her and smiled. It was all Marcus could do not to spirit her away to his room. He satisfied himself with merely kissing her. Merely was understatement. Katie was afraid for a brief second that she would pass out from lack of oxygen but smiled all the same.
"I'm so glad you decided to come back, Katie. I missed you," Marcus said, kissing her hands.
"I have a concern, Marcus," Katie said, her eyes wide. "Dumbledore has a suspicion that someone at school maybe in league with Death Eaters."
"Meaning you?" Marcus smiled, holding her close.
"Yes, me. I do not want to get in trouble with Aurors, Marcus," she said seriously. "Has anything happened to Snape?"
"I gave your information to The Dark Lord. I don't know what he's going to do, though."
Katie still looked worried and Marcus rubbed her arms. "You won't get in trouble, Katie."
"I'm as good as a Death Eater, Marcus. I may be the reason why Snape is missing."
"There's nothing wrong with being a Death Eater," Marcus smiled. "And you would make a good one, I won't lie."
Katie scowled, but was happy to be back with Marcus. She sighed contently and placed her head on his chest. "I'm worried, Marcus," she said. "What will happen to me if they find out I was passing along information?"
"I'm not sure, "he said seriously. "But if Dumbledore is worried, then there may be some Aurors wandering around. Maybe you should sleep here tonight in case they start asking questions around Hogwarts."
Katie looked up at him. "Are you sure?"
"That guest room is as good as yours," he said, kissing her forehead.
Three weeks had passed since Katie left Marcus' house. He had resisted the urge to storm into Hogwarts and throw her over his shoulder to bring her back. He figured this wouldn't work for two reasons. Firstly, as soon as he showed up in the Gryffindor fireplace all those goody-goodies would run for Dumbledore and then he'd be in serious trouble. Secondly, Katie would fight him tooth and nail and he guessed that she wouldn't see it as the romantic gesture it really was.
He had sent her an owl, however, but had received no response. This drove him crazy. If she would just respond and tell him that she was doing ok. The not knowing was just too much for him. All he could do, though, was carry on with his day-to-day life hoping that she'd appear in his fire grate. But she had better damn well do it soon or Hogwarts was in serious danger of being invaded by at least one Death Eater.
Katie was having just as hard a time as Marcus was. She fought the urge to floo over to Flint Manor whenever she had a bad day, or something odd happened in class. Or when she was bored. The quidditch season was over, Gryffindor had won again. No one was really surprised as the Slytherin team had not been as much as a rival as it had been in the past. Probably because a good half of the team were under a lot of pressure to take the Dark Mark after graduation. With so much on their minds, quidditch didn't seem to be as high up on their priority list. So with no quidditch to occupy her time, Katie was increasingly bored. Angelina and Alicia had done little to entertain her. They were concentrating on their upcoming NEWTS. Katie figured she should be studying as well, but it wasn't really concerned just yet. She was a very bright girl, so she figured she'd have no trouble passing her final tests.
Angelina and Alicia were planning on becoming Aurors after they left Hogwarts, a profession they tried to talk Katie into as well. She briefly considered it, but now it was the furthest thing from her mind. She had lost all respect for Aurors after her parents death. She knew it was not their fault, but she still couldn't bring herself to think of them as the greatest wizards to grace the earth as so many people thought they were.
Katie was laying on her bed, bored out of her mind, when Alicia and Angelina came in. They had been at the library.
"Hey Kat," Alicia greeted. She threw her books down on her bed and sighed. "These NEWTS are going to be the death of me."
Angelina nodded in agreement. "How come you haven't been studying, Katie?"
Katie shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know, I just haven't. I'm not really worried about them." "You lucky thing," Angelina said. "I wish I had that attitude about it. As it is, though, I am going to stress out until I have a break down and Madame Pomfrey has to send me off to St. Mungos."
Alicia laughed, "Oh, don't be silly, Angie."
"No, no, that's ok. It's my fate and I accept it."
"Well, we'll come visit you every day. Won't we Kat?"
They turned towards Katie, who was only half listening and still looking up at the ceiling.
"Kaaatie," Alicia said. "Oiy, earth to Katie!"
Katie snapped out of her stupor and looked at her friends. "You'll be fine, ladies. NEWTS can't be that much harder than OWLS, can they?"
"No, the 'Nastily Exhausting' part of the title is just to boost moral." Alicia laughed. "Seriously, though, Kat. Are you feeling ok? You've been a bit out of it for the last few weeks."
Angelina nodded in agreement and sat down on Katie's bed. "You have been awfully quiet, mate."
Katie sighed and turned onto her side, facing them. "I know and I feel awful for it. I don't know what the problem is."
"Are you still down about your parents?" Alicia tried to ask it as tactfully as possible, but felt as if she still sounded like an ass.
Katie shrugged. "I'm still sad about it, but I don't think that's it. It's a bit hard to put my finger on, you know?"
Katie knew exactly what the problem was, though. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Marcus. He was a bad guy, this she knew. But he was her bad guy, so she could overlook his more evil characteristics. She couldn't talk about this to her friends, though, because they would be outraged that she had feelings for a Death Eater. Outrage would lead to lecturing, lecturing would lead to pleading, and the pleading would just be downright annoying.
Her friends were more clever than she thought, however. "Is it a bloke?" Angelina asked. Katie's lip began to quiver and she nodded.
"Well, we will ask for no details unless you want to tell us," Alicia said firmly. She had had her share of secret romances and they were secret for a reason. If Katie didn't want to talk about him, she had her reasons. "But, if you do want to tell us, we will be all ears," Angelina said, hoping that Katie did want to divulge her secrets. Katie smiled weakly at them, but then the tears started to flow. Alicia joined them on the bed and the three of them hugged while Katie cried out all her frustrations over Marcus.
"Maybe you need to talk to him," Alicia offered after a while. Katie shook her head, though. That was out of the question. She couldn't go see Marcus, no matter how much she wanted to.
Angelina looked at the clock. "We should go down to dinner. You want us to bring you something Katie?"
"No, I'll come with you. I'm starving." She got up and wiped her cheeks to get rid of any tears that were still there. "Do I look awful?"
"Nah, you look fine, mate," Alica answered, helping her to her feet.
They walked down to the Great Hall together. It was full of laughing students enjoying their evening meal. Katie and her friends took a seat at the Gryffindor table. As they started helping themselves to the plethora of food in front of them, Dumbledore stood up to speak.
"I'm afraid I have some disturbing news," his voice rang in the large hall. The laughing voices quickly died down and all attention was on the Headmaster. "In our constant fight against Voldemort," a few students flinched at the name, "we have required the aid of spies. These brave people put their lives on the line to help us in this war. However, one of our spies is in great danger. Possibly because of someone among us today. I can mention no names, but if you know of anyone who may be connected to Voldemort or the Death Eaters, please notify myself or the Head of your house."
Alicia snorted silently and whispered to Katie, "So, all of Slytherin house then?" Katie stole a glance over at the Slytherin table. They were all looking a bit apprehensive and a few were shooting evil glances and anyone who looked their way.
"They're all full of Death Eaters," Angelina said, once conversation had started back up in the Great Hall. "I wouldn't be surprised if every single one of them were hiding the Dark Mark under their robes."
"You can't become a Death Eater till you're eighteen and that's when you get the Dark Mark," Katie said absentmindedly. She had learned this from Marcus.
"And how do you know this?" Alicia asked, truly interested in where her friend would have picked up Death Eater trivia.
Katie shrugged and continued with her meal, unable to trust herself not to give away any information about Marcus. "Plus, they can't all be bad. I doubt that Dumbledore would allow an entirely evil house to be at Hogwarts. They're probably no more evil than any other house, they just aren't scared about showing it."
Katie had thought this to herself, but was surprised that she actually had said it out loud. Alicia and Angelina looked at her doubtfully but said nothing. They were, however, concerned with her odd knowledge of Death Eaters and her standing up for the Slytherin House. They would talk about it with her later, though. She was just upset about her mystery guy, once she cooled down she'd be more reasonable.
Katie was a bit worried, though. If they were looking for someone who was in contact with Death Eaters, could they some how find out it was her? Had something happened to Professor Snape? She had to find out, which meant a trip to Flint Manor.
Marcus was still brooding and concocting ways to kidnap Katie without her getting mad at him. He was just about at his wits end when the Katie arrived in the fire grate.
"Katie!" He stood up and offered her his hand to assist her in getting out of the grate. She dusted the ash off her and smiled. It was all Marcus could do not to spirit her away to his room. He satisfied himself with merely kissing her. Merely was understatement. Katie was afraid for a brief second that she would pass out from lack of oxygen but smiled all the same.
"I'm so glad you decided to come back, Katie. I missed you," Marcus said, kissing her hands.
"I have a concern, Marcus," Katie said, her eyes wide. "Dumbledore has a suspicion that someone at school maybe in league with Death Eaters."
"Meaning you?" Marcus smiled, holding her close.
"Yes, me. I do not want to get in trouble with Aurors, Marcus," she said seriously. "Has anything happened to Snape?"
"I gave your information to The Dark Lord. I don't know what he's going to do, though."
Katie still looked worried and Marcus rubbed her arms. "You won't get in trouble, Katie."
"I'm as good as a Death Eater, Marcus. I may be the reason why Snape is missing."
"There's nothing wrong with being a Death Eater," Marcus smiled. "And you would make a good one, I won't lie."
Katie scowled, but was happy to be back with Marcus. She sighed contently and placed her head on his chest. "I'm worried, Marcus," she said. "What will happen to me if they find out I was passing along information?"
"I'm not sure, "he said seriously. "But if Dumbledore is worried, then there may be some Aurors wandering around. Maybe you should sleep here tonight in case they start asking questions around Hogwarts."
Katie looked up at him. "Are you sure?"
"That guest room is as good as yours," he said, kissing her forehead.