Author's Note: Thank you all for reading! I enjoy reading your comments! I must confess, I waiver back and forth with Marcus taking the dark mark. Either way it goes will be heavy.

Ever since Hermione returned from the Valentine's date with Marcus, most of her free moments have been spent in the hospital for her mind- the library. The desire to know more about the deep magic supersedes everything. So researching has taken up the majority of free time that's been carved out due to completed assignments.

And research is like second nature. In fact, to her, researching is like having a blind date with knowledge. You don't know what's going to come of it. The intelligent witch loves looking at what everyone else has seen and finding new things no one has thought of before. To a girl who loves learning, that's one of the best things in the world.

But as the weeks rolled on, the discovery Hermione hoped to find amounted to nothing. As her boyfriend stated that the Rosemont witches are unspeakable, so too is the deep magic. There is absolutely nothing to be found on it, anywhere. She knows this because she's searched high and low all over the library. Getting no results is seriously bothersome.

However, even if rocks are turned over and nothing is found, that's still progress. So the search continues. It only means Hermione will have to wait until she can arrange a visit with Ms. Cecilia. Which is the exact path her mind began strolling down, allowing her to breathe until that visit could happen. But then, one day, walking through a corridor with Harry and Ron, the trio came upon Dumbledore. He spoke to all three but had a special twinkle in his eye just for the Gryffindor witch. The astute man said, "Courage, Hermione. Some investigations may take us far from home, but others lead us to our destiny. Things never happen as we expect them to. Now, are the Gryffindors ready to play Hufflepuff at quidditch?"

While the boys spoke about the quidditch team, Dumbledore's words made the brunette witch nervous. How can her investigation of the deep magic lead her to her destiny? What does that have to do with anything? Deciding to put the words away for a later time, the witch chose to focus on other tasks at hand. It was mainly keeping Harry out of the path of the horrid pink lady and helping him stay awake in classes. His occlumency lessons are wearing him out.

And while Harry's mind was fraying due to being tired, Hermione kept afloat by teaching her Slytherins. She taught them everything Harry had made the DA learn. Graham and Adrian were quick and adept pupils. One night during a lesson in late March, she thought to ask them, "Have either of you ever heard of the deep magic before?"

Adrian wore a thoughtful expression. Then he said, "I would make jokes about the sea, but they're too deep. Get it? Sea, deep?"

He laughed at his own pun, which made Graham elbow him. Montague told her, "Yeah, we've heard a lot about dark magic growing up. Why do you ask?"

Hermione's head shook as she restated, "Not dark magic, deep magic. Were you ever taught anything about deep magic?"

Both boys looked bewildered. Adrian had calmed down enough to say, "We've never heard of deep magic. Is that something we should know about? It's probably too deep for us, anyway. Get it, too deep?" He began laughing again.

The witch wondered why no one outside of the Rosemont family had ever heard of that kind of magic. She casually remarked that it's nothing, only something she's exploring, and quickly changed the subject to the Easter holidays.

That's when the boys began sharing their plans. Pucey is going to be vacationing in the Cayman Islands. Graham asked if he could tag along to avoid his mother's spring cleaning and attic rummaging. After Pucey told him to ask his parents, they asked Hermione how she was going to spend her break.

Their friend declared, "Spend time with Marcus, research a few things, and reread The Notebook."

That led to a terrible discussion of why Hermione wanted to read a stupid notebook again. "Is a notebook like those bound parchment books in the stationary store?" Pucey asked.

Which Montague followed with, "Put the notebooks down and have a little fun over break. I'm going to tell Marcus to make sure you do something more entertaining than reading parchment books the whole time."

But Adrian added, "Oh, I get it now. You're going to read a diary. Parkinson was in the common room with one of those books. Did you know Malfoy has one too? He does. Slytherin's honor. I wonder what his diary says."

That led to them ridiculing Malfoy. "Dear Diary, Today a person tried to talk to me. My father will hear about this," Montague mocked.

Adrian laughed, then said, "Dear Diary, Today I sneered at people. Also, my wand is not working right. My father will hear about this."

Their "Dear Diary" quotes made Hermione laugh so hard. They had Malfoy's voice down to a "t." It's hilarious, making her wish she had a video camera to record them.

It ended with Graham saying, "Dear Diary, Today the girls said I look fine, but they never ask if I'm doing fine. I wonder why that is. Perhaps it's my personality. My father will hear about this."

Over the Easter holidays, Hermione wanted to meet up with Ms. Cecilia. However, Marcus informed her, "This is the time of year when Gram travels to Hawaii. She claims it's rejuvenating, but really it's her, Lady Smallflower, and Lady Fiddlefinch. The old ladies out for fresh air." Hermione poked him in the side at his old lady comment.

So instead of learning about the anticipated Rosemont witches and deep magic, she reread The Notebook, got a head start on a runes paper, and reorganized her closet. To her, that is fun, but in light of what Graham suggested... When Marcus was not at practice for the quidditch playoffs, they spent time together doing nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. They've been snogging like crazy and been taken away with tango and salsa dancing. Hermione had wanted to do something fun and out of the ordinary. So the couple signed up for lessons at a dance studio on Muggle London. Marcus initially thought it was too girlish, but when Mulvaney told him dance helps with coordination, Hermione's wizard changed his attitude.

When break concluded, and the students returned to finish the school year, the DA took things up a notch. Harry began teaching the Patronus charm. "Oh my gosh! I cannot wait! I've wanted to learn this since last summer when I studied it," Hermione declared to her two friends.

Ron rolled his eyes and remarked, "Of course you have. When have you not wanted to learn something? And where were you over break? I sent Pig several times to your house, and you weren't there."

Oh, good lord. Now is not the time to explain she has a boyfriend, and it's especially not the time to blurt out, "And his name is Marcus Flint." That would not go over well at all. So, Hermione casually communicated, "After I read and researched, I went out and had fun." There that should work.

Except it didn't because Ron could not believe what he was hearing. "Fun! Your idea of fun is reading and researching. If you had fun, alert the Daily Prophet."

She chose to ignore that statement and focused on Harry, who had begun the meeting. "Make it a powerful memory. The happiest you can remember. Allow it to fill you up. Just remember your Patronus can only protect you for as long as you focus. So focus," he encouraged in his authoritative voice. Calls of Expecto Patronum rang out around the room.

As Harry taught, Hermione concentrated. First, she thought of her favorite birthday, the one when she was seven. It had been a sunny September day, and her parents had loaded her up in the family car. They made her wear a blindfold.

The car drove out of town, and the closer they got to the destination, the more anticipation built. When it finally stopped, she eagerly got out and removed the blindfold. She could not believe her eyes! It was Alton Towers theme park! That had been a wonderful day but not enough to produce a corporeal Patronus. Only a few whisps flew out of the wand.

Harry saw and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't give up, Hermione. You can do it. You just need a more powerful memory," he told her.

With a nod, Hermione began thinking of other memories. Many passed through her brain until she landed on one. Well, it's several. But each one revolves around the same subject- Marcus. Their first date, first kiss, his first sweet words to her, his I love you, the time they spent together, and every gift he's given her. Touching the locket, she concentrated on Marcus, then confidently said, "Expecto Patronum."

A gasp left her mouth as she had produced a real Patronus. A cute little otter danced and skipped around her. She had thought that making a Patronus would fill her up with some unknown joy, and while it was joyous, it wasn't the thing that made her fully joyful. No. The person attached to the memory was the bringer of the joy, not the Patronus itself. Her little otter is all because of Marcus, and that's humbling and lovely. She cast it again and again, and the little otter remained.

Before retiring for the night, Hermione sent a note to her boyfriend. She had written it, shrunk it with her wand, and sent it through the locket. Lying in bed reading Two Hundred Ways to Transfigure a Rock, the locket warmed her chest. With a burst of energy and a pounding heart, Hermione opened it up, took out the note, enlarged it, and read.

Marcus congratulated her on conjuring a Patronus, saying It's a challenging piece of spellwork. Many have tried, but only a few, with truly happy memories, succeed. I tried to conjure one before but couldn't produce it. If you think it's worth your time, I'd love for you to help me try creating one again.

That made her snort. Of course, her boyfriend is worth her time. Naturally, Marcus is the one person she wants to help cast a Patronus. Helping him form one is at the top of her summer priority list, along with speaking to his grandmother. That night, the Gryffindor went to sleep more satisfied than she'd been in weeks.

If only she had stayed asleep, or so Hermione thought in the coming weeks. Things went from bad to worse at Hogwarts, it seemed. It started when Dumbledore got sacked, and the awful pink lady took his place, making the place hell. Umbridge pushed and pushed and pushed her stupid rules on the students. It forced Fred and George to quit school, causing Hermione to want to turn the woman into a toad. Harry had to restrain her wand hand.

After OWL season began, fifth years spent all their free time studying for them. Hermione made timetables after timetables for reviewing. She thought it would encourage her friends to make them want to reevaluate bits and pieces from classes, but did Ronald care?

No. The redhead kept busy with other things like hating Malfoy, playing exploding snap with Seamus, playing wizards chess with Dean, and talking smack about Marcus helping his team make it to the quidditch playoffs in February. It seemed like he did everything he could to get on the brunette witch's nerves. If he fails, it's his personal problem.

Harry, on the other hand, at least tried to study. He even quizzed her on charms, though he regretted it. And finally, the time came to sit for the OWL exams. Though she could not eat a thing for breakfast each day, Hermione knew she had aced them at the end of everything. It's that feeling you get when you just know you've done excellently. She just knew it.

As a reward, Hermione thought spending a night curled up on the common room sofa reading Wuthering Heights would be a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the exams. It's one of her most beloved stories. The quote "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" resonates with her heart. It's how she feels about Marcus. Almost like he's her soulmate, which is a powerful word- soulmate. There are a lot of heavy connotations derived from that one short phrase. Implications that are best left to think about another time. So, she put that off too.

Nimble fingers flipped page after page until the Tower door opened, and an anxious Harry came in. He sat down beside her and held his head in his hands. Thinking he was having a migraine, Hermione summoned a potion. She placed her hand on his back as worry kicked in. When he looked at her with his face troubled, Harry uttered, "Sirius. It's just like with Mr. Weasley. It's the same door I've been dreaming about for months. Sirius said Voldemort is after something. Something he didn't have the last time, and it's in the Department of Mysteries."

He got up quickly and walked to the door he had just entered. Hermione followed. Her nerves ratcheted up, and her stomach knotted. What does he think he will accomplish, and where is he going? Plus, "Harry," she called out.

In the castle hallway, the messy-haired boy stopped to listen. "What if Voldemort meant for you to see this? What if he's only hunting Sirius because he's trying to get to you? Whatever you're thinking, it's dangerous."

Harry started walking again. They picked up Ron on the way, who was coming back from who knows where. Although, judging by his messy shirt, he was probably kissing some girl. Harry paused on the stairs, and Hermione saw the trouble mounting in him. "So, what am I supposed to do, Hermione? Sirius is the only family I've got left," he told her. His voice was strained.

Ron jumped in, asking, "What do we do?"

His question bothered Hermione. He basically volunteered them for anything without knowing what they were doing. Oh, how she hates rushing into things without a plan. "We have to use the floo network," Harry called out as he led them to Umbridge's office.

That only made Hermione's stomach do backflips. They're going to get caught. She knows it the same way she knew she'd aced the OWLS. And, of course, right on time, the pink lady intercepted the trio. Hermione's heart raced as her brain worked overtime, trying to think of anything to save them from what was sure to be a horrible punishment. Then something came to mind.

Just as the woman threatened to expel Harry, the young witch shouted out, "Wait!" All eyes turned to her. "There's something you should know, Madam Umbridge. You see, Professor Dumbledore was working on a project. It's a secret weapon, and it's only found in the Forbidden Forest. He told us about it, but only Harry and I know where it is. Ron doesn't. We can show you."

Harry gave her a look that said are you nuts. Luckily Umbridge bought it, and she followed them out. The pink lady pointed her wand at the duo the whole time, but Hermione didn't care. Well, that's a lie. It did concern her a little because harming others is terrible, even if it's a fitting penalty. The punishment would fit the crime for Umbridge. However, the closer they got to the forest, the more Hermione thought about the pain the woman inflicted on her, Harry, and countless other students. Then her concern flew away, as the bats and birds did out of the forest.

The minute the herd of centaurs carried the rotten woman away, Hermione and Harry rushed back to the castle. "We have to save Sirius," he declared in a panic.

While trying to calm him down, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and Ron met them out front. Together the group flew to the ministry of magic, which Hermione hated the whole ride. She tried thinking of Marcus, Wuthering Heights (which did not help because the name alone freaked her out at the moment), the ocean, and anything other than flying. Once they landed, the group ran into the building straight to the Department of Mysteries.

And oh, Merlin. The inside was as twisted as one of those absurd funhouses she loathed as a child. The unspeakables had collected row upon row of objects and spheres of prophecies on the neverending shelves. How are they supposed to find the right thing? But Harry knew they would find it because it would call to him somehow. They searched everywhere, and then the orb came to him at the perfect time, in the middle of millions of other spheres. Harry took it, and together the group shifted to leave.

Every minute spent in this maze of mysteries, Hermione hated. It's creepy, and not for the second time; she feels like it's a setup. And her gnawing intuition had been correct because clouds of black smoke appeared out of nowhere. Gripping her wand, the brunette witch's fear began to grip her.

All of a sudden, the hands of someone, someone not named Marcus, grabbed her. The death eater pulled roughly at her wavy hair and dug his hands into her arms. It hurt, and the man stank. The putrid smell of dirt, grime, and grossness wafted off him in waves. The stench made her stomach churn more than it had in the past hours of the day. If Marcus knew what his girlfriend was up to, he'd be as mad as a hornet trapped in a soda can.

Just when Hermione began to feel sweaty and the bile rose in her innards, the Order of the Pheonix members showed up. Fighting started. The last thing Hermione remembers is Sirius dying and falling into the veil. After that, the adrenaline started pumping, carrying her feet away as fast as they could. The death eater who had held her captive had her in his sights.

With quick thinking, she cast a silencing spell on him, but slashing with his wand; he threw a curse at her. Timing is everything because that curse hit her right in the chest. It burned! Oh, how it burned! Her face screwed up in pain. And Hermione thought this was what death must feel like. She saw Marcus in her mind, and tears escaped her eyes. There's SO much left unsaid to him. It's more painful than the burning in her chest. That's when the world turned black, and everything (the shouting, the spells, the maniacal laughter, the pain) grew quiet.

A soothing voice sounded in her heavy ears. It beckoned her to listen, despite the protest in her head. The voice spoke the sweetest words. As Hermione's brain fired up, she realized those words were from a book. Not just any book, her book- Wuthering Heights. It read, "If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn't love you as much as I do in a single day."

Then the voice stopped, breathed, and took her hand. A tender kiss was placed on it, and her fingers became intertwined. That gentle voice told her, "We fell in love despite our differences. We created something incredible because of it. Our love awakened my soul and produced a blazing fire in me, Hermione. You've given me something that no one's ever given me before- a place where I belong. I belong with you. I wandered around sad, bitter, and lonely. Until I met you, really met you, I was miserable. And now all I know is my heart, and my love belongs to you. That's what I hope to give you- a place where you belong. So, I need you to wake up because I love you."

She knows that voice. It's the one that means the world to her. The one that makes her heart race and her stomach fill with butterflies. The one that she loves. Her eyes felt glued shut, but she carefully willed them to open. Slowly the light dawned, and her head turned to the sound of the voice. Dark eyes stared into dark eyes.

Marcus released tears, and he peppered Hermione's face with sweet kisses. After calling for his Gram, the older woman sent for the healer, who came immediately and administered several potions. One was for pain, and the other did something internally that Hermione could care less about at the moment. Her eyes had locked with Marcus's, and they weren't leaving even as the healer spoke about how she must "Stay off your feet and take it easy for at least two weeks. You'll make a full recovery. It's a miracle, though."

Once Ms. Cecilia kissed Hermione's forehead and she and the healer left, Marcus asked, "How do you feel?"

"Like a bludger hit me, I think," her gravelly voice told him.

They were quiet for the longest time, content to be with each other. But then Marcus grew solemn. "I'm not sure I want to know what you were doing in the Department of Mysteries, but I do know it had to do with the death eaters and Voldemort. There's an article in the Daily Prophet about it. Anything you have to say will only make me more upset."

The muscles in his body grew taught. His voice became strained. "Do you realize you could have died? You came to me with this wound on your chest. It's healed, but you have a purplish scar now. I know you protect Potter, but does it have to be at the cost of your life? Do you realize how dangerous Voldemort and his followers are? Do you, because I don't think you fully grasp it. If you did, you all wouldn't have rushed in there with no plan and acted like you're the auror task force."

Then the tears came. His witch cried and cried and cried at the admonishment because he's right. The bed moved, and Marcus climbed in. He held his girlfriend through the sobbing. Once the tears calmed, she explained the whole thing making her boyfriend cringe more than once. That's when she realized, "My tears must have activated the portkey. How did you find me?"

With a sigh, Marcus told her, "Kandy found you lying on the floor of the great room. She was in such an uproar because I wasn't at home. So, the elf sent Topsy to my grandmother, who came immediately. Gram said you were unconscious before she had you moved into the guest room close to mine. After running her wand over you, it found minor internal injuries. When Kandy and Bopsy (grandmother's personal elf) removed your clothing, they saw the purple slash on your chest. It reeked of dark magic. The elves stopped the spread of the curse and sent for me."

Marcus shook his head and swiped a hand through his hair. "I had been playing cards with Warrington. When Topsy arrived for me, he was so upset and kept saying nasty curse, nasty curse over and over again. I had no clue what was happening until I followed him home. That's when I saw you unmoving, lying perfectly still in bed with a scar that gave off dark magic effects. I cast my wand over you to see what curse had been used. It's one I'd never heard of before but was able to heal your wounds. We sent for Gram's healer, who took one look at you and said with the way the curse was set up, you shouldn't be here among the living. That's how I knew the locket and the earrings did what they were intended to do. They protected you and sent you to me."

His words made Hermione cry more. But he wasn't finished speaking yet. "You say you silenced the death eater before he cast his deadly curse. It's a good thing because had the curse been uttered out loud, it would have sliced your major arteries and collapsed your lungs. Even with healing magic, those are difficult things to repair. As it stands, you only have to take potions for ten days and rest for two weeks."

With a shuddering breath, Marcus weakly stated, "I could have lost you, Hermione. And now I'm begging you, please don't do something so foolish again. I know Potter is like your brother and that red-headed idiot you're friends with is family too, but Hermione, you're the love of my life. Doesn't that count for something?"

It does. It counts for everything. There's nothing Hermione could say that would calm them both. Amid her tears, she rolled over to hold onto Marcus, who embraced her back. The couple cried on each other, and she vowed never to be so foolish again. This chateau, this man, is her home. It's where she belongs, and it would be stupid not to honor that. However, if Voldemort and his followers aren't stopped, she may never truly get to be here. And that knowledge puts Hermione at odds with her heart and her promise to Marcus.