Chapter Two: Wings of Madness

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" and "The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Italics: Katie's vision

Katie pulled open the front door of her family's modest home. She could not get the big smile off her face. She was getting married to the guy of her dreams. She was almost skipping as she stepped into the kitchen.

Her father, Jim, looked up from the morning paper as she slid into her normal seat at the breakfast table. "And where were you off to this morning?"

Katie pulled herself a cup of orange juice. "I have something to tell you!" She had planned to play it cool, but she couldn't contain herself. Zoey, Sierra, Jenna, and Jim all gave her strange looks. Katie didn't do anything. She was in too good of a mood to have anything ruin it.

Jenna placed a mountain of pancakes on her plate. "Well, let's have it then."

Katie held up her head so that everyone could see the ring. "Marcus asked me to marry him and I said yes!"
Jim turned the page of his newspaper. "I'm glad to see that the boy finally got up the courage to ask."

Katie frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It's the middle of July. You've been of age for well over a year."

"And?"

"I thought he would've asked you a lot sooner."

Katie looked at her sisters for help.

"What?" Zoey asked.

"Are you going to help me?"

Zoey smiled at Katie. "Nope, this is your battle."
Sierra stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth.

"That's real mature," Katie pointed out.

Sierra just shrugged.

Jenna put her arm around Katie. "Well, I for one happen to think that this is very exciting news. You two need to pick a date so we can get everything in order." She smiled at Katie. "I probably should speak to Jasmine and see if she has any ideas."
"Great! You can break the news to her," Katie said.

A confused look appeared on Jenna's face. "Why?"

"Because we all know Marcus hasn't told them yet." Katie took a bit of pancakes.

Everyone in the room laughed.

"That's not joke," Jim spoke up. "There really is a very good possibility that he hasn't told them."

"Let's hope not," Jenna said worried.

Katie nodded as she dug into her breakfast. Would Marcus really put their wedding as second? He did seem kind of distant recently and she hoped that would not affect their marriage.

After finishing breakfast, Katie made her way up to her room. She felt a sense of longing go over her. She did not have a lot of time left in this house she had called home for eighteen and a half years. What would it be like when she left for good? She assumed that she would move into Marcus's, but she wasn't sure about that.

Sighing, she laid down on her bed and stared at the ring on her finger. What would it really be like to be married?

She closed her eyes. Life would be good, wouldn't it?

Her world began to spin. Katie tried to open her eyes, but something was controlling her, making her focus on what was happening in front of her. She thrashed around, but could not get herself out of the world in front of her.

Bellatrix kicked Marcus again. She drew her knife up again.

Marcus looked at her. His side was killing him. "Don't," he whispered.

"Are you begging for mercy?"

Marcus didn't answer.

"Well, I don't give anyone mercy."

Marcus braced himself.

"Time to die." She situated the knife inside his stomach.

This time, he let out a cry in angst and let darkness come over him like a runaway train.

"Leave him," Bellatrix said as she turned to leave. "He'll be dead within a few hours."

Katie woke up on the fall, her entire body shaking. Marcus was okay. She had just seen him less than an hour ago. He was not lying somewhere on the ground dying. She took several calming breathes. Everything was going to be fine.

She climbed slowly back onto her bed. She had had one of these dreams earlier, but it had been years ago and nothing had happened. She had been asleep when she had the last one, but this time it had come out of nowhere.

She pulled out her mobile. Could she save Marcus from a dreadful fate? She went down to his number. She hovered over it for several minutes. Was she really going to call him and tell him that she had a something about him dying? Could she really do that?
She supposed that she could always text him. At least that way she wouldn't have to really talk to him. Texting would just have to work. She quickly typed, "Um, quick question. You're not dying and Bellatrix Lestrange didn't put a knife into you?"

She laid her mobile down. Now all she had to do was wait.

She still felt dizzy. She wondered what had caused her to go into such a state. Was these visions going to be a regular thing or was she just feeling a little woozy from all the excitement this morning?

Katie closed her eyes. She probably just needed to sleep more, but she was afraid too. What if she had more dreams like that about Marcus? What if? There seemed to be a lot of questions with no answers.

Katie chanced a glance at her mobile. So far, he hadn't answered. It could be hours before he thought to check his mobile.

Katie pulled out her calendar. She could at least be thinking about possible dates for the wedding. She flipped through the different months. How soon did they want to have it? Did they want to wait a year or have it now?

She had to think about bride's mates as well. Did she want a lot or just a couple? Who would they be? Who would be her maid of honour?
She sighed and slammed her calendar shut. There was just too many questions to really do anything right now. Plus, she wanted Marcus to be a part of this. It was his wedding too. She did not want to be one of those control freaks brides who never let anyone else do anything.

Katie walked out of her room. Jenna had been through this before; she probably had some ideas.

Katie stopped at the top of the steps and looked down. The steps seemed to stretch for kilometres. She stepped back against the wall. She needed to get her act together. She could not let one little spell control her life.

She marched back toward the stairs and eyed them. Right before her eyes, the stairs returned to their normal state. She walked down them with her head held high. Whatever was going on with her was not going to stop her.

Katie stepped into the living room. She could hear the radio reading off the list of the missing. The monotone voice filled the room. Jenna was sitting fully focused in front of the radio. Katie found that she was better off not listening to it; she hated the long lists and not knowing if someone you loved name would be read.

"Jenna," Katie said as she stepped into the room.

Jenna's head darted up and she quickly turned the radio off. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Katie sat across in the chair across from her stepmother. "Did you hear anything?"
Jenna shook her head. "There was a long list, but I didn't know any of them."

Katie nodded. "It's getting worse."

"I know, but it's not nearly as bad as last time."

Katie didn't respond. She didn't remember what it had been like last time. She couldn't think of anything worse than this. Hundreds were dying each day and thousands were leaving the country. Life was really flying on the wings of madness. How could anything be worse?

Jenna smiled over at Katie. "Enough about that. We have some great times coming our way."

Katie nodded. "Indeed we do. I came to ask you what all needs to be done."

"I always find it best to make a list. Now, you need to get on Marcus about his guest list like tomorrow. You know how men like to wait until the last minute to do things."

Katie nodded. "Tell me about it."

With shaking hands, Jenna pulled out a piece of paper and pen. "I always find it helpful to write these things down."

Katie nodded slowly. She could not take her eyes of her stepmother's shaking hands. What was going on with her? "Jenna-" Katie started in.

"Now, you need to be thinking of what colours you want to use," Jenna went on without acknowledging Katie.

Katie gently grabbed Jenna's hands. "What's going on?"

Jenna just sighed and looked away. "You know how our life is."

Katie frowned as she thought about her family's past. She was from a middle-class half-blood family. Both of her parents attended Hogwarts. Her mum was a pureblood witch and her dad a Muggle. Her mum's family didn't approve of the relationship. They had two children: Katie's older brother, Anthony and Katie. When she was five, her parents got a divorce. Shortly after the divorce, her mum remarried. She had one son, Seth. Three years after it, her dad remarried. He had two daughters: Sierra and Zoey. Katie lived with her stepmom, Jenna, and her dad. She didn't get along with her stepdad, Mike.

"You can't think that," she muttered.

Jenna stared ahead. "Last time, they rounded up Muggle-borns by the hundreds and killed them."

"But, you don't know that it's going to happen to us," Katie said gently. Her heart was racing. She couldn't allow herself to think that something awful would happen to them.

Jenna stood up. "But we don't know that it's not." She walked across the room and looked out the window. "It's getting more dangerous with each passing day."

Katie went over to the window to join Jenna. "I know, but can't let fear control us."

Jenna stared out at the sunny day. "I know."

Katie wondered how that could have gone from talking about a wedding to this. In other times, they would just be focusing on the wedding and not worrying about dying. These were not other times. Each day was a blessing.

Jenna shook her head. "I don't want to say anything about it to the girls. They will just panic."

Katie nodded. "They don't need to know about this yet, but the time will come."

"I know. I don't know if we are going to send them back to Hogwarts." Jenna paused. "With Dumbledore gone, your dad and I don't know if it's worth it. Plus, we have to think about what happened to you last year."

Katie didn't respond. What was she supposed to say to that?

Jenna sighed and turned away from the window.

"I think it's safe to say that the odds are not in our favour," Katie muttered.

Jenna let a small laugh escape her lips. "I guess you are right. Enough about this, we have a wedding to plan."
"Yes, we do."

"Have you talked to Marcus since this morning?" Jenna asked.

"I tried to text him, but he hasn't answered," Katie said.

Jenna shook her head. "There's another typical man move. They are never around when you need them the most."

Katie laughed, but she just hoped that was a joke.