Chapter Six: Lost Innocence

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

This chapter jumps back a couple of days and then comes back to The Battle of the Seven Potters.

Two Days Earlier

Marcus sat down across from Katie. "Mum and Dad think they will be sent to the front lines."

"Do you think they'll get sent to the front lines?" Katie asked him.

"Don't know," Marcus replied.

"What about you?"

"Kind of already am."

Katie looked fearfully at him. One year ago, Marcus joined the Order of the Phoenix. They needed someone who could get inside the Dark Lord's inner circle and Marcus had volunteered. He never openly voiced what side he was one. Therefore, this made him the prefect man for the job. If he was caught, the punishment would be death and he knew this.

"Be careful."

Marcus took Katie's hand in his. It was cold. He rubbed it in between his to help warm it up. She did not pull away from him.

So many were going to die in this storm...

So many good, strong people were going to die...

And some would leave others asking why...

Marcus touched her. "I will, okay?"

Katie looked at him. She did not want to ask him the questions that were burning on her lips. What if something bad happened? What if you get caught? What if you get killed? She had a lot of what ifs. She kept her mouth shut. "Promise?"

He kissed her forehead. "Promise."

Katie let him kiss her, but it still did not settle her mind. She did not want to think about the ending. She was tense and could not relax.

Marcus scented it too and stopped kissing her. "What's wrong?"

Katie touches his hair. "Must you do this?"

Marcus bit his lip. "I have too."

Katie understood. She knew that if he did not lives would be lost. If he did not, they could be on the losing side. She knew that so much relied on him. If he failed, then all would fail.

But, he would not fail.

This war was designed to test people. It was made to show the Dark Side how denseless that other side was. The Dark Lord was toying with them. All he was doing was seeing how far the Order would let him bully them. They were not going to up with it.

They were going to fight. This time the Dark Lord was not going to last as long.

Let us try this Dark War again. This time things are going to be different.

Now

Katie crossed her arms as she stared up at the night sky. It was rather calm given what was going on somewhere over England.

"You should come in," Jasmine said.

Katie turned to her future mother-in-law. "I suppose you're right."

Jasmine gave Katie a small smile. "You know I'm right."

Katie followed the older witch back into the manor. She rather liked the manor. It wasn't as dark and dreary as most manors were. It had a rather modern look to it.

Brad and Haley were sitting in the main door. Brad had his feet resting on the coffee table, which he removed after getting a look from his wife. Haley made room for Katie on the small sofa.

"It's still calm out," Jasmine said as she sat down in a large, overstuffed chair.

Brad nodded. "They should've have been here by now."
Jasmine sighed. "I know and it's not like them to skip over a safe house."

"Maybe something is wrong."
"Let's not think like that."
Haley looked over at Katie and got to her feet. Brad, Jasmine, and Katie watched as Haley left the room. Haley had been kind of down since hers and Blaise's relationship ended. Katie knew that it had been bad, but she knew that there was more to the story than what Haley was telling them.

Brad pulled out his mobile and looked at it. "Nothing new from Marcus either. It's been over two hours since I've even heard from him."
"Do you think he's okay?" Jasmine asked. She had a brief look of fear in her eyes. Katie knew that really the only thing Jasmine feared was something awful happening to her family.

"I'll give him another hour," Brad muttered, putting his mobile away. "He could still be in the air."

Jasmine nodded.

Katie stared down at the floor. What if something really did go wrong tonight? Where would their future really be then? Innocence really was lost now. There was probably only going to be a few rare occasions in the coming days where they really could live without fear. They would have to enjoy those few precious times whenever they did manage to get them.

Brad stared up at the clock on the wall. Time seemed to be moving slower with each passing second. Katie wished that time would just hurry up.

The group sat in silence for the next thirty minutes. None of them took their eyes off the clock or let their ears drop. The Order members just had to make it. They just had too.

Jasmine got up and went over the window. She pulled back the curtain and peered out. "Something's coming," she said.

Brad got up and joined his wife. "I see it."

Katie went over and joined them. She could faintly make out two dark figures coming closer to the house.

Brad and Jasmine looked at each other before taking out their wands.

"You stay here with Haley," Jasmine told Katie as she and her husband left the room.

Katie sat down on a chair and stared straight ahead. She knew why Jasmine didn't want Katie outside. It was for protection. Had Marcus been here, Jasmine would have ordered him to stay inside as well.

Katie waited for a few moments. During that time, Haley came back downstairs.

"So, you're going to be my sister-in-law?" Haley asked slowly.

Katie nodded as she stared down at the ring on her finger. "Looks that way."
Haley nodded. "Good. At least I can stand to be around you."

Katie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Haley plopped down on the sofa. "Where's Mum and Dad?"

"Someone was coming and they went outside to see who it was."
"Oh," was all Haley said.

A few minutes later, Brad and Jasmine came in. They were followed by Hermione and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who nodded at Haley and Katie.

"We were attacked," Kingsley said to Brad and Jasmine. "We hurt two for certain and maybe killed another."

"Did you see anything of Marcus?" Jasmine asked, her voice filled with worry.

Kingsley shook his head. "He wasn't in that bunch. Haven't heard anything from him?"
Brad shook his head.

"I'm sure he's alright," Kingsley reassured them.

Hermione sunk down between Katie and Haley.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked Hermione.

Hermione gave Haley a smile. "Never better."
"That's good to hear."
Jasmine was now holding an old pan. "You guys made it just in time."

Kingsley took the pan from Jasmine. "We'll just be on our way."

Hermione stood up and went over Kingsley. She and Kingsley touched the pan and disappeared.

Jasmine and Brad stood for several more minutes and stared at the empty space where Hermione and Kingsley had just been.

"Well, that's over with without too much trouble," Jasmine said as she sat back down.

Brad pulled out his mobile. "Now, for a more difficult task." He began to punch a few things into the device. "Finding out where our son is."
"I keep telling you that you should put a tracker on him," Haley said. "You kept threatening to do it to him when he was younger."
Brad just shrugged. "I've always been kind of afraid to know what he does all time."
"True," Haley added.

Katie looked at her own mobile. There was nothing from Marcus.

She sighed. She figured he was okay. After all, wasn't no news supposed to be good news?

Brad looked down at his mobile for the fifth time. "Still nothing."
Jasmine went over to sit next to her husband. "He'll get in toward."
Brad nodded, but his face was not convincing.

Katie could hear something outside. She stretched her ears and heard it again. "There's something out there."

Brad and Jasmine looked at her.

"Where?" Brad asked.

"It sounds like it's out in the yard."

Brad and Jasmine pulled their wands out and left the room. Katie followed.

The trio walked out into the courtyard. Someone dressed in dark clothes was walking toward them. Katie felt her guard go up.

Brad and Jasmine stared toward the figure.

"Stop or we will curse you!" Brad called.

The figure stopped. "Why?"
Katie recognized Marcus's voice.

Jasmine walked over to Marcus and pointed her wand at his chest. "What story did I always read to you when you were little? I read it to you also every day."

Marcus looked down at the wand over his heart. "Are you serious?"

"Just answer me."

"Curious George," Marcus muttered. "You got me a stuff George for my fourth birthday."

Katie tried not to laugh. She really couldn't image Marcus as a child or reading a Muggle children's book for that matter.

Jasmine lowered her wand. "Are you okay?"
Brad and Katie went over to them.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah."
Brad looked at Marcus and Katie. "I think it would be wise if you two spent the night here in case the Death Eaters are still out there."

"I think they are all in, but Bellatrix seemed like she wanted to go back out."

Brad nodded. "Which is why I think you two should stay here."
They started back toward the house.

Katie put her arm around Marcus's waist. "Curious George?"

"Shut up," Marcus muttered.

"I never took you as a Curious George fan."

"I was four."

"I know." Katie paused. "Do you still have this stuffed George?"

They had now reached the porch. Haley was standing on it.
"It's either in the attic or in his old room," Haley informed Katie.

"Thanks a lot," Marcus said to his sister.

Haley smiled. "Anytime, big brother."

Later that night, Katie stared up at the ceiling in one of the many guest bedrooms the Flints had. She had borrowed a pair of shorts and a tank top from Haley. They really didn't fit, but did the job.

She rolled over onto her side. For some reason, she just couldn't sleep. She was tired, but sleep just would not come.

Maybe she feared the nightmares would come back. Maybe she was just afraid that she would not wake up the next day. There was just too many maybes.

Katie wished that she could tell someone was going on, but they would think was either crazy or dangerous. It was just probably in her best interest to keep her month shut about it.

Through the curtains, she could see the gentle hills on the east side of the manor. They just stood there, so calm and proud, unaffected by what was going on around them. Why couldn't the world just be like that? Why did everything have to cause so much damage, so much suffering? Why did they have to live in fear?
Katie closed her eyes. The world was just complicated and, as result, so many people lost their innocence.