Chapter Eight: Acid

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

As he walked across the green lawn, Katie Bell grinned at her partner of many years. Every time she saw him, she never got over the feeling of possession. He was hers and she was his. It was the way that it was met to be.

He was humming a song that she didn't recognize. It didn't matter as long as he was hers. Humming made him cuter than he was. It made her want him even more.

Just a few more days and they would be together forever.

Just a little longer...

He strolled over to her and embraced her. She stood on her tiptoes so she could look him in his attractive, green eyes. He gazed back into her ocean-like eyes.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

"What about me?" he inquired.

"I'll kiss you." She teased his hair. "That way we'll both win."

His soft lips met her gentle ones. Magic erupted around them. It was their moment. She could see it now. All of the moments that they would spend together. All of the moments they would love each other and hate.

Mine, mine was the unspoken words on each of their lips.

When he was finally hers, she would believe in love. Her parents never showed love to each other. They divorced when she was a young girl and never spoke to each other since that awful day. Both were kind of careless, so she always had to be the careful one and not the rebel.

Katie looked up at Marcus. Even though, he appeared happy, she knew that there was something off.

Marcus broke the kiss and stared up at the sky.

Katie reached out and touched him. "Marcus, are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," Marcus said quickly.

Katie frowned. "You can tell me anything."
"I'm just tried."
"Okay," Katie said.

She really hated whenever he didn't tell her what was going on. She still hadn't told him about the dreams and how with every dream she could feel herself drifting away. The dreams were like acid and with each little drop, a little piece of herself melted away.

"So, have you made any plans for the wedding yet?" Marcus asked as he sat down on the edge of the deck.

Katie shook her head as she sat down. "We need to think about when we want to have it."

Marcus kicked his legs against the deck. "Do you have any ideas?"
Katie put her hand on Marcus's thigh. His kicking was really bothering her. "Do you want to do it sooner or later?"

Marcus eyed her hand. "I don't know."
"That's not an answer."

Marcus stared down at his boots. "When do you want to do it?"
Katie closed her eyes. What did she really want? She wanted to be with him all the time, but what about the wedding? She sighed. A brilliant idea had just popped into her head. "What about November?"

"November," Marcus said slowly. "Do people even get married in November?"

Katie laughed at him. "Yes, people do get married in November!"
"Why November?"

Katie gave him a look. She really hadn't expected him to know the answer to that question. HE was a guy. "What happens in November?"

"Your birthday," Marcus answered slowly.

Katie smiled. She supposed that she should feel special for him at least remembering that much. "What else?"
Marcus frowned. "Should I know something else?"

"What month did we met in?" Katie asked.

Marcus shrugged. "You expect me to remember that?"
Katie shook her head. "Of course not."

"Good-Hey, why did that sound like an insult?" Marcus objected.

Katie smiled at him. "You said it, not me."

"I feel like that was on purpose," Marcus muttered.

"Again, you said it not me!"
Marcus eyed Katie. "So, what did happen in November?" he whispered.

Katie put her forehead against him. "This," she muttered as she leaned in and kissed him.

Marcus returned the kiss.

Katie felt herself lifting up. She was high and he was her drug. She felt herself drifting away into dreamland, where he was the prince and she was the princess. Her world was spinning; the colours of the other world were coming back. No, not here! She didn't want to do this right now!

She was so prefect. He was so angelic. They belonged together in an eternal unity of light. No darkness surrounded them; blackness never entered their souls. Both souls were pure.

Tests have proven that they were meant to be together. The stars all line up for them. There was no death star in the sky. Therefore, nothing can rip them apart.

They unite against the forces of darkness. Light outshines darkness. It is through lightness that causes the forces to disappear. It is the power of the angels that cause the devils to run.

Never get jealous or mad at others. They are so good, so gentle. No matter how the ones close hurt them, they forgive and forget. This includes those who don't deserve it.

They stare into each other's eyes. They don't look at anyone else expect for each other.

"My kind, gentle Lady," he whispers, "may I have this dance?"

The Light Princess smiles. "Good sir, there's no music."

The Light Prince placed his forehead against hers. "You are the music. I can feel it in my soul."

The Light Princess and Light Prince joined hand.

As they joined hands, the forces of good united.

As they joined hands, all the darkness was gone from their circle.

As they danced, the fire shone on the faces of the other lords and ladies. All the evil was gone from their souls. Goodness was all that existed.

Together, their hearts beat as one.

Together, everything was all right, even if they were no longer in charge of the circle. It was still theirs, it always would be.

Together, the possibilities were endless.

Katie pulled away from him. She was dizzy. "Can I stay with you?"
Marcus looked at her. "Um, sure." He was giving her a strange look.

Katie smiled at him. "Great! That will give us some more time to figure all of this out!"
Marcus frowned. "Figure what out?"
Katie stuck her hand under his shirt and felt his hard stomach. "All of this."
She pulled him to his feet and pulled him into the house.

"Haven't we been here before?" Marcus asked as Katie shoved him down on the couch.

Katie kissed him lips. "Maybe," she whispered.

Later that night as she lay beside him, she couldn't help but wonder what their together would be like. She really didn't spend that many nights with him, but tonight was different for some reason. Her parents didn't know about this and if they found out it may lead to them speaking to each other for the first time in years. That would be a good thing, she thought. They would probably agree that she shouldn't be staying with him.

Even if they weren't doing anything.

Expect her parents were the type of people who would base Marcus on his past and reputation.

He rolled over and opened his eyes. "What?"

She touched his hair. "Nothing."

"It's never nothing with you."

She grinned. "Do you know what my so called mum and dad would do if they knew where I was?"

"Don't they think you're at your friends' house?"

Katie nodded. "It might make them speak for the first time in years."

"I would be more afraid of Jenna," Marcus muttered.

"That is a good point," Katie answered.

"What about you marrying me?" Marcus asked.

Katie sighed. "I didn't give them a chance."

He rolled over so he could lie on his back. His gray shirt pulling at his muscles. "My parents are okay with this."

"Your parents are just happy that you're not out partying and actually going to university."

"I wasn't that bad."

"You were too."

"Wasn't."

"Were."

"Nope," he said as he climbed on top of her.

"Marcus, you used to fight all the time."

"Not all the time."

"Fine, once every twenty-four hours."

"What has happened in the past, stays in the past."

Katie smacked his arm. "You stole that from a Disney movie."

"What's Disney?"

"Never mind."

Marcus was silent for a few minutes. "So, what about how you used to cheat on Wood with me?"

"Shut up!" Katie yelled.

"I'm just saying. Besides you were sick and it didn't count."

"So, that night in the library was our first kiss?"

"Yes and no. It's the one I want people to know about."

"Sweet."

Katie watched as Marcus rolled back onto his side. She loved how innocent and young he looked lying there next to her. It remained her that people could really look young, even if they had been through so much.

"What?" Marcus asked.

Katie just shook her head. "Nothing."

Katie sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "We need to talk."
Marcus sat up and looked at her. "About what?"

Katie looked back at him. "About the weapon."

Marcus eyed her. "What about it?" he asked slowly.

"Did you get it working? Have you tried to use it?" Katie asked.

Marcus groaned. "Now, you just sound like everyone else."
Katie eyed him. "Well, did you?"

Marcus nodded. "It works, sometimes. No, we haven't tried to use in on something."

Katie nodded. She knew that Marcus had been hoping she would forget about Fairyland, but she wasn't going to let that happen. The weapon would probably be their only chance to win this war. A lot of people believed that Harry Potter would save them all, but she knew that Harry was going to need help.

Plus, with You-Know-Who gone her dreams would go away.

Marcus was frowning at her now. "What brought his up?"
Katie put her hand on his knee. "Because we need it to work."

"I know that," Marcus muttered. "Everything that could be done has been done."

Katie frowned. "What is wrong with it?"
Marcus sighed. "It doesn't always fire when it's supposed to."

"But it does fire?"

"Yeah, but it might be delayed, which is not a good thing when we are up against a group of Death Eaters."
Katie nodded. "So, like any other artillery it is going to need support?"
"Basically," Marcus answered.

"Is there any support?" Katie asked slowly, even though she already knew the answer.

Marcus sucked in air. "I don't think there is. Our numbers are low right now, with most of the people either in hiding or fleeing the country."

Katie nodded. She wanted this to work for herself. She didn't want to fade away. She wanted to be herself and she didn't care who judged her for it. She wanted to feel like herself again.

Marcus closed his brown eyes. "I don't know how more than a few people could be spared from other places."
"What about getting new people?" Katie inquired.

"How?"
Katie patted Marcus's arm. "I'm sure you can figure something out."

Marcus just snorted.

Katie stared at the wall. There had to be a way to overcome this. She was going to be released from the hellish dream. She did not want to close her eyes and see those she loved dying every night. No, she did not want to dream that and have to watch it in real life.