Chapter Seven: Paranoid Circus

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

Natalia stared down the hall. If it hadn't been for Marcus, she probably wouldn't be here. She had to get this to him. It was something that she had to do. She wasn't even supposed to be in the shop at this hour and she wasn't if he would even show up. It had been weeks since he had come around. She looked at the clock.

Why was she here again?

Why, she was doing this she really didn't know the answer. It was just something you do when you cared about someone.

But he was in love with someone else. No matter what Natalia wasn't going to let him fall.

She flipped through the post that had just arrived. Some bills needed to be paid. They could wait.

She reached into the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. She grinned as she enjoyed one that tasted like cotton candy. A few weeks ago, Marcus had gotten one that tasted like rotten eggs. She smiled as she remembered how he had sworn and ran out of the kitchen gagging.

She flipped to another letter. This letter wasn't sealed. In fact, it wasn't even rolled up. It was just a letter. She looked at the messy handwriting. Did she dare read it?

Oh, yes she dared. And read.

Friend,

Beware. Your life is in danger.

That was nice. It's wasn't everyday someone threatened their lives.

Natalia looked around. Where the hell had this come from?

Marcus rolled onto his back. He was so tried, but he could not sleep. His brown eyes stared at the wall. This was his room; he should feel at ease here. He had stayed in this room for much of his teen years, but it didn't feel like it was.

He shut his eyes. The images of the past few days kept coming back to him. The battle...the break in at Hogwarts. He knew that he was going to have to talk at the Order meeting on Friday. He really did not want to do that.

Plus, training started up in a few weeks. He was not looking forward to that. He had not being keeping up on his workout schedule and knew the first days of training were going to be hell.

He pulled his blankets up further over his bare chest. Outside, thunder clouds were rolling in and he could hear a rumble of thunder every once in awhile.

Marcus opened his eyes again. Why did sleep have to be so difficult to come? Why couldn't he just enjoy a simple night's sleep?
It was because his mind was a circus, a paranoid circus for that matter. He blamed it on the war. There was nothing else to explain it all.

Outside the storm was getting stronger. It was only until thunder cracked over him that he was able to finally drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Marcus woke up to voices outside his door. He looked at his watch on the nightstand. It was just a little after seven. He had always known that his parents were morning people, but did they had to do right outside his door?

He pulled his blankets over his head and tried to go back to sleep. He was almost asleep when his door opened.

"Marcus, wake up," Brad called to his son in Italian. "We need to talk to you."

Marcus sat up and watched as his dad approached his bed. "About what?" he asked back in Italian.

Brad handed Marcus a shirt off the floor. "About what you found at Hogwarts."

Marcus pulled his shirt over his head. "What about it?"
"You and the twins uncovered something important and we need to talk about it."
Marcus looked at his dad. "I don't know anything about what we found."

"I know, but I'll think you'll find it very interesting." Brad put his hand on Marcus's knee. "You can find all of this out if you get up."

Marcus kicked his blankets away. "Since you woke me up anyway."

Brad looked at Marcus. "Let's do this."

The pair walked down the hall to the library. Brad pushed open the grand door and motioned for Marcus to step in ahead of him. Once they were in, Brad let the door close softly behind him.

Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, and Jasmine were all sitting in chairs around Brad's desk. Marcus briefly wondered why the Weasley's weren't here, but, then, the thought quickly left him.

Kingsley laid out the papers on the test. "This is very interesting indeed. I have never seen magic like this."
Jasmine nodded. "I don't understand how anyone could manage to do this, let alone seven times."
Marcus sat down next to Tonks. "Doing what seven times?"

Brad settled himself behind his desk. "You have heard about Horcruxes, haven't you?" he asked Marcus.

Marcus nodded. He had heard about then, but really didn't know that much about them.

Brad handed the papers over to Marcus. "You and the twins provided the proof we need of this."

Marcus looked at the papers. "What do you mean?"

"You-Know-Who divided his soul and is next to impossible to kill," Kingsely said slowly. He got to his feet and looked at everyone in the room. "This doesn't leave the this room. The less people know about this, the better off everyone will be."

Marcus nodded slowly. He also wondered why Kingsley was calling Voldemort You-Know-Who instead of by his proper name.

Everyone else in the room nodded slowly.

"Where does this leave us now?" Marcus asked slowly.

"It leaves us with an even bigger problem than what we woke up with," Remus said.

Tonks sighed. "As if this war wasn't going any better for us."
Jasmine stated over at Marcus. Marcus caught her eye and she gave him a small smile.

"I think we just need a few days to regroup and get everything figured out," Kingsley said slowly. "Since we don't have Mad Eye anymore, it sure puts us in a bad spot."
Marcus looked around at everyone. What did Kingsley mean by not having Mad Eye anymore? Did Mad Eye leave the Order? Was Marcus missing something?

"Mad Eye was killed last night," Brad said slowly to Marcus.

Marcus nodded. He really hated being in the dark.
"George also had an ear hexed off," Remus added.

"I also had a some problems on my end and got wet because of it," Tonks added, giving Marcus a look.

Marcus eyed her. "You were the one who went through the clouds."

"Yeah, because I couldn't have you following me, now could I?" Tonks fired back at him.

Marcus didn't respond. She did have a point.

Kingsley looked at Marcus. "Is Fairyland ready for battle?"
Marcus looked at his feet. He really wasn't sure about that one. The weapon was pretty moody sometimes. "Um..."
"Does it work?" Kingsley inquired.

"Not always," Marcus muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kingsley slowly asked.

"I mean sometimes it fires when you want it to and other times it doesn't do a thing."
Kingsley rolled his eyes.

Marcus shrugged. "I'm not a mechanic."

"We're not mad at you," Remus said. "Your grandfather said you did the best you could on it. There has always been problems with it."

"Oh," was all Marcus said.

"Do you think it could do one thing for us?" Kingsley asked Marcus.

"That depends on what that thing is," Marcus stated.

"We want to use it on the Riddle House."
"What?" Marcus asked.

"We want to use it on the Riddle House," Kingsley said again.

"Why?" Marcus asked.

"Because it means something to the Dark Lord."
"I thought he didn't like his father," Tonks pointed out.

"But it will get his attention," Remus countered.

"True," Tonks said. "That is very true."

"Do you think it could do it, Marcus?" Brad asked.

"I really don't know," Marcus said slowly.

"Well, try to find out," Kingsley said.

Marcus nodded slowly. He was not sure what he had just gotten himself into.

Jasmine stood up. "Well, let's get on a brighter note. How about some breakfast?"
"That is a great idea," Tonks said. She got to her feet. "I can you!"
Jasmine gave Tonks a nervous look. "Um..."
Tonks looked around the room. "Oh, come on, I'm not that bad in the kitchen."
Everyone in the room stared at the floor.

"You guys suck," Tonks said.

Later that afternoon, Marcus found himself standing outside of Natalia's shop. Frowning, he stared at the closed sign on the front door. This was very usual. Natalia's shop was always open. He wiggled the door knob, but it was locked.

Frowning, Marcus walked around the side of the building and climbed the steps that lead to her small flat. He raised his fist and knocked on the door.

The door opened slowly and Natalia's face appeared in the crack. "Oh, it's just you," she said flatly.

"Don't sound so happy to see me," Marcus muttered.

Natalia pushed the door open and beckoned for him to come in. "I looked for you a few days ago, but you didn't show up."

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?"

"I suppose you already know about the whole Potter date move thing," she muttered as she padded into the kitchen.

Marcus followed her. "Yeah, that happened last night."
Natalia nodded. "I figured that much." She rinsed her hands off in the sink.

"Why didn't you call for me?" Marcus asked slowly.

Natalia gave him a look. "Because I'm leaving the country and I can't possibly call you all the time. You need to come around a little bit more," she snapped as she pushed past him.

"Okay, then," Marcus muttered.

Natalia went into her bedroom.

Marcus followed her. He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He looked around at the half packed room. "Natalia what's going on?"
Natalia threw a couple shirts into a bag. "I have to leave. I can't stay here anymore."

"Why?" Marcus asked slowly.

Natalia went over to her closet and threw a couple things on the floor. "It's not safe for me anymore here."

"It's not safe for any of us," Marcus countered.

Natalia sighed. "I don't know why I need to be explaining any of this to you. You will be fine on your own without me."

Marcus's eyes narrowed. What was going on with her?
Natalia threw a few more things on the ground.

"Natalia," Marcus said slowly.

Natalia turned to him. "Marcus, just go! I don't have time to talk to you today!"
Marcus stepped back. "Okay, I'll come back tomorrow."
Natalia threw a high heel at him that barely missed his head. "I don't want you to come back!"
"Okay, then," Marcus said as he left the room and the apartment.

Marcus walked slowly down the steps, thinking she would call him back, but she didn't. He wondered why chicks had to be so damn moody.

Once on the ground level, he turned back and looked at the shop. It looked dead and dark. It wasn't the normal kind of darkness and death, it was one brought on by being paranoid.

Pulling up his hood, Marcus walked slowly down Knockturn Alley wondering what this world had come too.

The rain began to fall adding to the darkness of not only the alley, but the world.