Chapter Forty-Seven: Call You Out

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 tightened her grip around her father. "Where? How? Who?"

Jim touched his daughter's blond hair. "All must wait to a time when we are not the middle of a battle."

Katie nodded. "I'm just glad to see. Jenna stayed behind with the little kids. Emily, is growing like crazy. You remember her, right?"

"Of course, how could I have forgotten her."

"You just never know."
"LOOK OUT!" Alicia screamed, pointing to the window behind them.

Katie looked over Jim's shoulder. A large hairy hand was coming toward them, the fingers grabbing everyone it could reach. Grabbing her dad, she shoved them both out of reach. The cries of the victims filled her eyes, she could hear them as the giant released them, sending them falling to their deaths.

The hand appeared back in the window. Katie pointed her wand at the fingers. "Reducto!"

Yelping, the hand disappeared out the window, but not for long. The wall started to crack with the brutal force of the giant's fist. Those nearby exchanged looks before darting back down to the seventh floor.

Katie kept looking over her shoulders for any sign of the Death Eaters, but there was none. Those on the other end of the hall must have been keeping them busy. She also scanned the running masses for Marcus, but didn't see him. Most of the towers were now nothing more than a crumpled mess and she prayed that Marcus was not one of the dead.

The seventh floor was littered with bodies. Katie kept looking at her feet. NO! She looked down at the familiar red hair, tears threatening to form. Fred, Fred was dead.

Jim grabbed her and forced her to stay upright. "We have to keep moving. Just don't look down."

Katie allowed him to guide her around the corner. Her friend was dead. Fred, who was so full of life, was nothing more than an empty body. Fred, who made everyone laugh, was being walked over while people tried to save their own lives.

Glass littered the hallway, Katie didn't even have the strength to wonder where it came from. She had to get it together, she just had to.

Leanne ran over to them. "What happened?" She was cut in several places, but for the most part seemed unharmed.

"Fred's dead," Katie whispered.

Leanne's face fell and she blinked quickly. "What?"
"I saw his body back there."

"That's impossible. I just talked to him a few minutes ago." Leanne closed her eyes for a moment. "Why did it have to be Fred? He was a good guy."

Katie really didn't have an answer for that. Why did the good have to die while the evil could just keep on living?

The world was slowly falling apart, that was all there was too it. At the rate they were going, everyone was going to die and the Death Eaters were going to take over the world. The screams of both sides sent chills down her back as did the green and red spells. It was over, it was truly over and it was time to face the facts.

A voice reverberated from the floors, the walls, and the ceilings, causing everyone to pause in mid-curse. Katie and Leanne exchanged looks. The voice was the same as earlier in the day, the voice that Katie really did not want to hear again.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery.

"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately.

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then the battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour." (Rowling 659-660)

The Death Eaters and Dark creatures around them slowly started disappearing from the masses. Many like, Katie, were too stunned to even think about firing on them. What had just happened? Was there really going to be a break in the Battle?

Katie looked at Leanne as the last of the Death Eaters pushed past them. "Well, that was unexpected change of events."

Leanne nodded. "Yeah, but do you think he'll do it?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter."

Really, Katie had no idea what Harry would do. She hadn't seen him since the start of the battle and wasn't even sure if he even heard the message. She wanted to believe that Harry would not turn himself in, but, at the same time, she didn't want to see any more people die. She had seen far too much death for her liking over the past few hours.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Leanne asked. "I don't want to just stand here."

Katie looked around at everyone else, who were standing there just equally stunned. No one was talking, no one was moving for that matter.

"To the Great Hall!"

It seemed like everyone in the corridor turned to the sound of the voice, but no one could be seem. Then, people started moving out of the speaker's way, giving Katie the chance to see who it was.

"To the Great Hall!" Professor Flitwick cried. "We'll count our numbers and, then, go look for the dead and wounded."

Katie and Leanne followed the masses to the Great Hall. The stunned expressions were slowly leaving everyone's faces. The battle was over, at least until the hour was up. Katie kept looking back over her shoulder for Marcus, but he was nowhere in sight. Surely, he wasn't amongst the dead. He just had to be alive.

Inside the Great Hall, everyone was in state of panic as the scanned the faces for their loved ones.

"Katie!" Arms pulled Katie close, which quickly let go of her. "Jim!"
Katie smiled at Brad and Jasmine. "It's good to see you."

Jasmine let go of Jim. "There's Demi and Nathanial," she said as the couple approached them. She pulled them into a tight embrace. "Where's Marcus? Has anyone seen him?" She didn't bother to mask the panic in her voice.

Katie joined Jasmine in their hunt for Marcus. Several of the faces looked like him, but as they closer, they were only a huge disappointment.

Kingsley walked over to them. "Everyone okay here?"

They all have small cuts and bruises, but nothing major.

"Have you seen Marcus?" Jasmine asked.

"He was on the eighth floor, the last time I saw him," Kingsley said, his voice calm. "Yes, he was alright."
"Thank you," Jasmine said.

Professor McGonagall climbed onto the teacher's platform and everyone quickly fell into silence. Many were still looking for their loved ones to come through the main doors.
"We have about fifty minutes to gather the dead, treat the wounded, and reorganize our numbers. Professors Flitwick and Sprout will divide you up, if you wish to go and look for loved ones," Professor McGonagall said. "If you are wounded, you will need to remain here for treatment and we are asking anyone who is trained in Healing to stay behind, because, I hate to say it, but your services are going to be required."
Katie didn't pay attention to what was being said after that as more people filled into the Great Hall, she recognised some of them, such as Cho Chang, being in Marcus's group.

She got to her feet and rushed over to Cho. "Have you seen him?"
Cho looked at Katie. "Um...Yeah, but we got separated. That was right toward the end though, so he should be coming."
Katie nodded. "Thanks."

Cho smiled. "No problem."
Katie watched as Cho went over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down with their small numbers. Katie kept watching each face. Come on Marcus! He just had to be there!

Damon and Chris were in the next wave of people. Katie had no idea when they arrived, but it didn't stop her from racing over to them. "Marcus?"
Damon scanned the Hall. "He's not here, yet?"

"No." Katie's heart was pounding. "I haven' seen him since we were divided up."
Damon put his hand on Katie's shoulder. "He'll be here. Just try to stay calm."

Chris had a confused look on his face. He didn't know, he didn't know that Marcus was still alive. Katie had forgotten that he wasn't in the group that was in the know.

"Um, about that..." Katie bit her lip. How was she supposed to tell someone that his friend wasn't dead, had instead faked his death, and not told one of his best friends?

"Marcus is alive," Chris said slowly, not phrasing it like a question.

"Yeah and he's doing fine." Katie looked as a few more people came in, still no Marcus. She didn't want to admit that something was wrong.

Behind them, people were being divided up to gather the dead and tend to the wounded. Katie couldn't make herself move to offer up her services. Chris and Damon both gave her looks of pity as they went to offer their services. Katie stayed glued to her spot. He had to come, she just knew it.

Two more people walked into the Hall, one holding up the other. Katie's heart skipped a beat as she rushed over to them. "Marcus, are you okay?"
Marcus sat the blond down on a bench. "Yeah." He had a cut on his forehead, but otherwise looked untouched. "It's a long story."
The blond coughed. He was covered in ashes and reeked of smoke. "Crabbe." He hunched over.

Marcus looked down at Draco Malfoy. "Er...He may have hit is head pretty hard. He seems to have me confused for Crabbe."

"I know who you are, Marcus." Malfoy looked at Marcus. "Crabbe, he's dead. He set the bloody place on fire."

Marcus and Katie exchanged looks.

"MARCUS!" Jasmine ran over to them and threw her arms around him. "Where have you been?" She broke away from him and studied him. "Never mind that, thank God you're okay."

Brad approached them. "I'm going out to the grounds..." He trailed off as he looked over at Malfoy's hunched form. "What is he doing here?"

"What else was I supposed to do with? He was carrying on and it was giving me a headache," Marcus huffed.

Brad studied Malfoy's slow movements. "Did you put a Sedative Jinx on him?"

"It was better than knocking him out."

Brad just rolled his eyes as he followed Kingsley out of the Great Hall.

Marcus sat down next to Malfoy. "How many is still missing?"
"We don't know," Katie said, joining him as Jasmine rushed off to help a wounded boy.

Marcus ran his fingers of his wand. "How much time do we have left."

"Not enough."
Only a few more chapters left! Thanks for coming this far with me!