Chapter Nineteen: Ashes and Dreams

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

Katie blinked as her world returned to normal. What the hell had they just seen? She wasn't saying that it was anything bad, but she didn't fully understand why Natalia would take the time or the energy to show them someone like that.

She brushed the ashes off her skin and clothes as she climbed to feet. Jasmine, Brad, and Marcus were slowly getting to their own feet.

Why would Natalia off them dreams of better days? She knew that it was very easy to get down during darks times like these.

Marcus bent down and picked up the box. "A box of dreams."

Katie frowned. "So, it's a box that shows what we all dream of."

Jasmine took the box from her son. "It looks like, but I don't understand why we all saw the same thing."

Katie looked at the box. "Unless, we all really long for the end of the war and a chance to live."

Marcus smiled at her. "That was pretty deep."

Katie smiled. She found it strange that they all did dream of the same thing. She did want to go back to a normal life and be loved. She already knew that she was loved, but she wanted to be loved without hurting those closest to her. She wanted to love without fear.

"What do we do with it?" Marcus asked.

Jasmine looked at the box. "Even though it shows hope, it could be very dangerous. Too much of a good thing can do just as much harm as a bad thing."

Katie nodded. Jasmine did have a good point.

"So, do we just ignore it?" Marcus asked.

Jasmine shook her head. "No, we lock it up so no one can use it." She put it in her pocket. "Let's go check out the apartment.

Katie followed outside and up to the apartment. Just from her brief encounter with Natalia, Katie knew that Natalia had some strange ways, but a box of hope was something that was just way to out there.

Marcus eyed Katie was they entered the apartment. Katie could tell that he wanted to ask her something, but she hoped the look she gave him would keep his mouth shut.

Katie went to the other end of the apartment into a small closet, hoping that Marcus would keep his distance.

"Why are you being so quiet?" Marcus asked as he walked up behind her.

Mentally, Katie cursed. "No reason."

Marcus reached over top of her and pulled a box down. "There is always a reason."

Katie pushed aside some clothes. "I don't any idea what you are talking about."

Marcus gently grabbed her arm. "I think you know what I am."
Katie pulled away from him. "Well, earlier we were talking about two different things." She looked over at Brad and Jasmine. "I told you about the dreams and that is all there is."

Marcus eyed her. "There is probably more that you're not telling me."

Katie rolled her eyes. Why didn't he just drop it? "You don't always tell me what you are thinking."

"Do you want to know what I am always thinking?"
Katie snorted. "No, your mind is probably a very scary place."
"I am the most sane person you know," Marcus shot back.

Katie just gave him a smile and patted his arm. "You just keep telling yourself that one."

"You know there's something more to that box than what we saw."

Katie sighed. Why did he have to keep coming back to this? "I know, but I just don't know what it is."

Marcus nodded. "How long have you been getting strange feelings about stuff?"

Without answering, Katie placed a cardboard box in his arms. Everyone deserved to have secrets. Plus, she really didn't know how to describe it either.

Marcus grunted slightly over the weight. "Katie?"
Katie rounded him. "That is for me to know. I'm allowed to keep secrets," she hissed as she walked away from him.

She really didn't know why she was being so short with him. He hadn't done anything wrong and she knew he was just concerned about her. However, there was just something about the questions and information that he wanted that just kind of set her off.

Katie went into the small bathroom and sunk down onto the floor. Why did everything have to be so difficult? She didn't understand what was happening to her. One minute she was fine and the next she was flipping out on everyone.

She looked down at her hands. If this kept up, was she going to end up hurting the ones she loved instead of helping them? The way things were going that was a high possibility. She didn't want to hurt them; she needed them and she hoped they needed her.

Katie got to her feet and went back out to where the others were. They had all gathered in the living room.

"She seemed to be something like a pack rat," Brad was saying as he took some papers out of a box.

Marcus nodded. "I had no idea that she kept so much stuff."

Katie sat down next to Jasmine. "What do you mean?"

"There's something here for everything," Jasmine said. "It's just too much for us to go through."

"What do we do now, then?" Katie asked.

"We have to destroy it." Brad shook his head. "A lot of this can't help us, but it can help the Death Eaters. We simply cannot let it happen."

"How do you do that without making it look strange?" Katie inquired.

"Fire is a very common thing and no one would suspect a thing." Jasmine paused. "We'll just have to be smart about how we go about lighting this place up."
Katie did have to admit that setting something on fire did sound like a lot of fun, but she would never say a thing like that aloud.

"I don't want to set it on fire, but it's our only option," Brad said.

Katie crossed her arms over her chest. "When?"

"I think that now is the perfect time," Jasmine said as she got to her feet. "The sooner we get this place to go up in ashes, the sooner we end the Death Eaters' dreams of taking over the world."

Katie nodded. She really didn't know how important this place actually was, but when Jasmine put it that way, it did make what they were doing sound good.

Marcus and Brad got to their feet. Katie could feel Marcus's eyes on her, but she didn't pay any attention to him. She thought that he just needed to chill.

"How do we do this?" Marcus asked.

"This is an old, wooden building," Jasmine said as she stuffed papers into the fireplace. "No one would suspect a thing if a spark from the wood stove sent the place up in a matter of seconds."
Katie noticed some wood next to the fireplace. She went over to it and started to hand the wood to Jasmine.

Together the women built the fire. It didn't take much to get the flames going. Once it was blazing, Jasmine used the fire pokers to reach in and somehow got a small flame on each poker. Without saying a word, she handed everyone a poker.

"Be quick about setting them and getting out," Jasmine told everyone. "This place is going to go up quick."
Everyone nodded and went their way.

Katie went into the bathroom and set her poker down inside the wooden cabinet, which quickly caught fire and smoke filled the room. Trying not to cough, she backed out into the hallway. Marcus was stepping out of the bedroom.

"Is is done?" Katie asked him.

Marcus nodded and pulled her toward the exit. "What about you?"

"The bathroom is on fire," Katie informed him as they followed Brad and Jasmine downstairs and out into the street.

Katie turned back to look at the building. She could see that smoke was starting to pour out of the windows. Flames had not yet reached the outside.

Marcus pulled on Katie's arm. "We can't stay here."
Katie took his hand and pulled him toward Diagon Alley. "Well, let's not mess around then."

Once they reached Diagon Alley, Katie couldn't help but wonder if they were actually any safer here. The place was a ghost town; plus, the Death Eaters had taken over a lot of the businesses or burned them to the ground. The few people on the streets weren't looking anyone in the eye and were quickly walking, trying to get off the streets.

Brad and Jasmine were making their way toward the Leaky Cauldron. Marcus and Katie followed them in silence. Tom was the only person in the bar. He briefly looked up at them and looked back down. Katie thought that it was a sad day whenever Tom did not greet you.

They pushed out into Muggle London, where they got a few strange looks. It took Katie a couple minutes to realize that she was the only person not wearing robes. "Take those off," she whispered.

Marcus, Brad, and Jasmine all looked down at their clothes.

Katie grabbed Marcus's hand and pulled him into an alley. Brad and Jasmine followed. "Take them off."
Marcus smiled at her. Katie knew what he was thinking, but he didn't say a word as he shrugged his robes off. Katie put her hand on her hip as she looked at their jeans and long sleeves. "Much better."
"Facile per te dirlo. Hai un cappotto invernale su," Marcus muttered.

"What?" Katie asked as she lead them out back out onto the street.

"He said that it was easy for you to say because you have a winter coat out," Brad said.

Marcus shot his dad a look. "Thanks for that one."

Brad clapped Marcus on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I have your back."

"You never miss the chance to mess with your children," Jasmine mused. "Never, no matter how old they get, you can always embarrass them."

Katie smiled at them. No matter how bad Marcus's family fought with one another, they always seemed to have each other's back and would do anything to protect one another. Katie's family was also like that. When the smoke cleared and there was nothing but ashes, you could always dream of returning back home to your family.

As they walked through Muggle London, Katie put her hand into Marcus's. Even though they fought, they would always be there for each other. They were each other's family and they needed to be there for one another. No matter what happened, they could always depend on each other. Whenever one needed to be picked up, the other would do so.

Better days would come, but for now all they had was each other and Katie was better than okay with that. At least she hoped that better days were going to come. She didn't know if she could live forever in a dark world. Hopefully, light would come, but, for now, she would be happy with those she loved. They would be her light in this dark, dark world.

Katie gave Marcus's hand a squeeze. He looked at her and squeezed back with a smile. It was then that she knew that no matter happened that they were going to be okay and no Dark Lord was ever going to change that.