WARNING: this chapter treats of a very very sensitive subject (child molestation) that is not for all audiences. Readers please be advised!
Chapter 11 – The Return
The first thing Genna saw when she arrived in the teachers' lounge was the smiling faces of her father, Audrey and Mathiew. The second thing she noticed was the sober appearance of Marcus' parents. As much as her father and friends looked overwhelmed with joy at seeing her, Marcus parents looked like they had just been told someone had died. Through the ring, she could feel Marcus resignation, which almost felt like despair, at the idea of going home. She was glad they had made plans for him to come to her father's store the next day because the pull of her family did not give her the chance to talk to him before he left.
"Dad, can I talk to you about something?" she asked her father later that night, after dinner.
They were in the living room of Genna's childhood home, reading.
"Sure, sweetheart, what's on your mind?"
"Dad, would you be angry if... if I was engaged?" she asked shyly, hiding her ring with her other hand.
"Do you love him, Genna?" asked her dad seriously.
"Yes, Dad, I do."
"Does he love you?"
"More than I ever imagined," she answered him.
"I saw your ring, you know," said her father with a smile. "And I see how miserable you are right now."
"I'm not miserable!" she protested.
"Of course you are!" said her dad with a chuckle. "You haven't turned a page in the last half hour.
"If you both love each other," he continued, becoming serious, "I can only be happy for you even if all the bones in my body want to lock you in your bedroom and throw away the key so nobody would ever touch you. Of course, that would be futile and childish, and your mum would not approve. I have to admit, when I saw the ring, I was a little afraid you had eloped. I'm happy to see you'll allow your old father to walk you to the altar."
"Of course, Dad," said Genna with a smile. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
"So, tell me, how did it happen?"
Genna told him and also the properties of the ring.
"Wow! These are nice magical items," said her dad.
"Yes. The Weasleys are masters in the art of enchanting objects," said Genna. "The flip side is that I know how miserable Marcus is right now and I wish he could be here with us instead of there with them."
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Marcus knew something was wrong when his sister wouldn't look at him or come near him. He found her later in the afternoon, in her bedroom. It smelled awful in there, as if somebody had spilled a bottle of very cheap perfume in the room. His sister was on her bed, looking vacantly in front of her.
Marcus could not believe the changes in her. She was wearing so much makeup that she looked like a fifteen-year-old, and not the twelve-year-old she was. Her hair was set in an elaborate coiffure as if she was going to a dinner reception.
"Hey," he said to her, walking into the room and fighting the urge to gag at the stench. "How are you?" he asked, sitting at the foot of her bed.
"You should not have gone to England!" she spat angrily. "You should have stayed here with me!"
"I had to go, Amanda," he said sadly, not looking at her.
He had expected her anger. Living with his parents was bad on the best of days and, looking at her now, Marcus was pretty sure his parents had requested her to look that way so she could be used as a bargaining chip for an arranged marriage which would only benefit them.
"I'm back now and in a few days, we'll leave for St. Leandre."
Amanda sighed in visible relief at the idea.
"That bad?" he asked.
She only nodded however Marcus could have sworn she wanted to tell him something more.
"By the way," she said. "You're engaged."
"I know," said Marcus with a small smile, looking at his ring.
"No, Marcus, not to your girl. Father and mother promised you to a girl in your absence," explained his sister. "She'll be at dinner."
Marcus inhaled and counted to ten before exhaling.
"Well, since I am of age, they cannot enter into a contract on my behalf," he said with a smile to reassure his sister.
"Do you really think they waited for you to be of age before doing that contract?" she said with a humourless chuckle. "Poor Marcus, they did it the day before you turned seventeen. I just found out a week ago when I overheard them talk."
Marcus grew cold all over.
"You're to be married this coming Friday."
Shaking with rage, Marcus stood up.
"Amanda, if you would excuse me, I've got to go."
"Will you be back for dinner?" she asked.
Marcus saw in her eyes that she understood a lot more than any twelve-year-old had the right to.
"No," he said. "I will not."
"Marcus," she said as he was walking to the door. "There are worse things, you know," she added, looking away.
"Yes, I know," he said a little puzzled by her cryptic remark.
When she didn't volunteer anything else, he left the room.
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Half an hour later, he rang at Mathiew's door, a backpack on his shoulder.
"Marcus, what are you doing here?" asked his friend surprised by his sudden visit.
"Mathiew, can I stay the night?"
"That bad?"
"Yes, that bad," he answered. "And I need to send a message to the Headmaster."
Mathiew let him in and closed the door.
"What happened?" asked Mathiew very seriously, preceding Marcus down the hallway to his bedroom.
Mathiew, as much as he enjoyed being funny, knew that Marcus parents were never a laughing matter.
"They entered into a contract when I was underage to marry me to some girl. Mathiew, I proposed to Genna yesterday and the British Minister of Magic sealed our union. Does the contract my parents entered into void my engagement to Genna?" he asked as Mathiew closed to door to his bedroom.
"I don't know but I can see why you would want to talk to the Headmaster," said Mathiew, looking for parchment and quill. "He would definitely know what to do about this."
He gave the quill and parchment he found to Marcus and went to the open window. He gave a sharp whistle and a few minutes later, a brown barn owl flew into his room. Marcus recognized it as Gerta, Mathiew's family owl.
A few minutes later, she was out of the window again with a letter to the Headmaster, on her way to St. Leandre.
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"You're... What exactly?" asked Genna the next morning when he met her at her father's store.
Genna's father had greeted Marcus warmly, which had really taken Marcus by surprise. The only thing he had told Marcus was to take good care of his daughter and Marcus had every intention to do so.
"I'm honestly not sure," said Marcus sadly. "Headmaster Flynn is helping me sort it all out. I'm meeting with him at the Ministry at two this afternoon."
Genna could tell Marcus was so miserable, he was on the verge of tears. His weariness ran so deep she doubted he had a lot of sleep the previous night.
"Genna, I've – I've got to ask you something. You don't need to say yes but I'd like it if you would come with me to my parents' house so I can go get the rest of my things..."
"Of course, I'll go," said Genna. "You didn't need to ask."
"Genna, it's going to be very ugly. You know that, right?"
"Marcus, do you love me?"
"Why? Yes!" he answered surprised by the change of subject.
"Then whatever they throw at me, I'll be fine," she said. "However, you better get Mathiew too. I rather we don't go just the two of us."
It was shortly before noon when they arrived at Marcus parents' house.
"Marcus! Where have you been?" asked his mother severely when she opened the door before he even had time to unlock it.
She scrolled when she saw he was not alone and was holding Genna's hand.
"Hello to you, mother," he said derisively.
A tall very pretty blonde girl came into the entry way with a gorgeous smile on her face.
"Oh! Marcus!" she said, walking to him and trying to kiss him on the mouth.
Marcus rapidly took a step back and put his hand in front of him to stop her.
"Marianne," he said shortly, remembering her from the previous summer.
"Your mother has prepared such a wonderful reception for Friday. We'll have such a beautiful wedding. She told me all about your internship at the British Ministry this past summer," she ploughed on, not giving the time for Marcus to say anything. "Your father has already spoken to the Ministry and they are looking to get you a position in the Deputy Minister's office. Such a prestigious appointment! They also arrange for you to have an apartment in Leandry. Merlin knows I would not want to spend a night away from my husband."
Genna, feeling his anger, squeezed his hand and brought her other hand to his elbow, effectively plastering her body against his and showing her engagement ring.
"And who might you be?" asked Marianne with a sneer, as if noticing Genna for the first time.
Genna saw her eyes take in her cane, which was dangling from her arm.
"Hi," said Genna with a huge smile. "I'm Genna Hudon, Marcus fiancée. And you are?"
"Filthy Frenchie!" his mother shrieked at Marcus. "You've been seeing a filthy Frenchie and you proposed to... it?!"
"Yes, mother," said Marcus calmly. "I proposed to her and our engagement was formalized by the Britain Minister of Magic.
"And for your information, I did not intern at the Ministry of Magic but at St. Mungo's Hospital as a Healer."
"A Healer?" shrieked Marianne. "There is no power in being a Healer!"
"Yes, there is but you're obviously too conceited to see it," retorted Marcus.
"Marcus Tyler, a contract was signed with the Trevor family for you to marry Marianne. You will renounce the engagement with that thing and you will present yourself this Friday to be married to a proper girl from a proper family. Furthermore, you will give up this Healing non-sense right away!"
"Absolutely not," said Marcus between clenched teeth. "I am going to marry Genna, and I am going to be a Healer, like it or not."
"Marcus Tyler, you are no longer welcome in this house," hissed his mother. "And do not dare to come back before you see reason. And you can forget about your Gringott's account!"
"Fine, I'll go get my stuff and I'll be out of here," said Marcus, taking a step towards the doorway.
Before he could take another step, his mother raised her wand on him. Faster than she could blink, Genna's wand was in her hand and she threw a non-verbal full body binding curse at the older woman. Marianne, who had also grabbed for her wand, was also bonded by Genna.
"Thanks, my love," said Marcus, looking at Genna with a smile.
"Anytime," she said, putting her wand away.
"Oh, and mother," added Marcus, leaning over his mother who looked at him with panic in her eyes. "My Gringott's account was transferred the minute I came of age and you can no longer access it. See, I knew one day you would threaten me that way so I didn't take any chances."
As they walked to his bedroom, Genna saw, half hidden by a wall, Amanda who was crying in despair.
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"Contracts like these, Marcus, are very nasty things," said Headmaster Flynn later that afternoon while meeting with them in the Atrium of the Ministry. "The good thing is that your parents did not think of all the contingencies, thank Merlin!"
"Can it be rescinded?" asked Marcus, holding on tightly to Genna's hand.
"Yes, it can. But it will be difficult," answered the Headmaster. "Come, let's find a more private place to talk."
A few minutes later, they were sitting in a corner of the small café which served as the Muggle Underground City entrance to Hidden Alley. After their coffee was served, the Headmaster cast privacy charms on their area and turned to them.
"First of all, nothing in the contract sets a date for this wedding, only that it has to happen within a year of you graduating at the latest," began the Headmaster. "So, if you were not to graduate, you would not have to marry her. But this is definitely not the best option.
"Second, the contract stipulates that the girl needs to be a virgin," continued the Headmaster with a smile. "And that the groom's family has a right to a medical and magical examination."
"I cannot believe she would still be a virgin," said Marcus, looking at Genna with hope in his eyes. "I mean, eighteen-year-old virgins are relatively rare nowadays, aren't they? Headmaster, how do we find out?"
"You leave that to me," said the Headmaster with a twinkle in his eyes. "I have talked with a Healer friend of mine and we will see to it later this afternoon.
"Now, if it turns out she is not pure, the groom's family may request a rescission. That's the tricky part. You're the groom, not the family, and your father is very influential within the Ministry," explained the Headmaster. "Since, like you, I believe Miss Trevor is in fact not a virgin, I have contacted some of my friends within the Ministry to see if, since you're of age, you can petition for annulment on your own behalf.
"So far, this avenue seems promising."
"Headmaster, why would you do this for me?" asked Marcus humbly. "I mean, I was hoping you could give me advices but this is so much more."
"Because, dear child, you and Miss Hudon are our only hope," answered the Headmaster soberly. "By the time you are done with what you need to do, I will owe you so much more than this. And help will always be found for those who know to ask."
"Thank you, Headmaster. I really appreciate your help."
"So do I," said Genna. "While you're helping us, is there any way for us to help you? You must have been busy with school about to start and all."
"No, my children," he answered with a warm smile. "This is more important than what I was doing, and much more important than you'll ever know."
Genna frowned but did not pursue the issue. The Headmaster was nice enough to help Marcus as it was, she did not want to alienate him.
"Never fear," said the Headmaster, standing up once his coffee was done. "We'll find a way to get you out of this mess, Marcus. I will be in touch later tonight."
And he left.
"Where are you going now?" asked Genna, standing up also.
"I... I don't really have anywhere to go," said Marcus.
"Well why don't you come to my father's store with me? Maybe I can convince him to let you stay in the loft over the shop until we leave for St. Leandre. You did, after all, leave all of your stuff in the back of the store."
Marcus looked at her with gratitude in his eyes.
"I'd like that very much."
"Come on then."
The store was very busy when they arrived. With less than a week to go before school, parents were dropping by to get last minute pieces of uniforms for their children. When he saw her, her father smiled and waved before returning to his customer.
"Come, let's put your things upstairs and head to my house. It'll be dinner soon and I'm sure my Dad would appreciate dinner to be ready when he arrives."
Two hours later, Genna's father was drinking his tea, fully satisfied. He was looking at Genna magicking the dishes into the sink so they could wash themselves.
"You know, I know what you're going to ask me and my answer is yes," said her father.
"And what was I about to ask you, Dad?" she asked, still concentrating on the dishes.
"If Marcus can stay in the loft, of course," said her father with a chuckle.
That broke Genna's concentration and the dishes would have crashed to the floor if Marcus hadn't caught them with is wand.
"How did you know?" asked Genna.
"Well, he doesn't have anywhere to go, does he?" answered her father amused. "And we have a place for him to stay, don't we? Logic dictates that you would ask."
Later that night, Marcus had been gone for a few hours when Genna and her father were sitting in the living room, reading, or at least trying to read, in Genna's case. She could feel through the ring that Marcus was excited about something and she would have loved to go to him, but she didn't want to offend her father who had always been there for her. And, when she remembered how Marcus' mother had threatened him, she considered herself lucky. Her father had never thought any less of her, or of Marcus, because he was English, and he had never told her she couldn't be with Marcus because of it.
"You know, if you keep on rolling that ring even more, you'll give yourself a blister," said her father, breaking into her daydreaming.
"Oh! Sorry, Dad. I was just thinking about him. He's very excited right now."
"Sweetheart, why don't you go to him?" asked her father gently.
"Wh-what?"
"I may be old now, Genna, but I remember when your mother and I were newly engaged," said her Dad with a smile. "I would have spent all my waking hours with her, and my sleeping ones if it had not been so frowned upon back then," he added with a chuckle.
"But, Dad, you really wouldn't mind?" asked Genna.
"Well, not really, no," he answered. "Besides, you've stayed at the same place all summer and I am fairly confident your sleeping arrangements were on the rather liberal side."
Genna blushed furiously.
"No, Genna. You're of age now and old enough to make your own decisions. Go to him. I'm fairly sure he'll be happy to have you with him."
Genna stood and gave her father a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Dad," she said with a small smile, walking towards the fireplace.
"Oh! Genna?" called her father before she threw the Floo powder in the fireplace.
"Yes?"
"Maybe it would be a good idea for you to bring a change of clothes," he said, looking at her pyjamas. "Unless you want to come back tomorrow morning."
"Oh, right!" she said, putting the powder back in the pot.
"Genna, one last thing."
"Yes?"
"Would you mind helping your old Dad at the store tomorrow? I could really use your help."
"Not at all, Dad," she said with a smile. "Both Marcus and I will be there."
Ten minutes later, Genna arrived at the loft. She found Marcus sitting at the little kitchen table, writing a letter.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Startled, Marcus looked up and smiled.
"I was writing to you," he said.
"You've got news," said Genna.
"Yes," he said, walking to her and taking her in his arms. "I just received an owl from Headmaster Flynn. Not only is Marianne not a virgin, she's also pregnant."
"She's pregnant?" said Genna numbly.
"Yes," said Marcus. "Apparently, she has used a spell to try and conceal it but the Headmaster saw right through it. Of course, my parents still want me to marry her since it would make the Trevors more in debt to them, but the Headmaster thinks I now have a better chance to have the contract annulled. I'm going tomorrow morning to the Ministry to file the paperwork."
"Marcus, that's great!"
"Oh, Genna! I'm so happy right now," he said, hugging her, his cheek against her head. "And the fact that you're here with me makes it even better."
"About that... my Dad said I could stay tonight if you want to..."
For answer, he looked at her, grinning happily.
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"Have you two ever heard of the phrase 'having a quiet moment'?" asked Mathiew, taking a seat for breakfast at the Fire table, next to Marcus.
"What do you mean?" asked Marcus with a wink at his little sister who was sitting next to him.
It was the second day of school. On the first night, Marcus' little sister had been sorted into Fire, to his immense surprise and joy. He knew Fire House students as a cheery group and he was sure it would be good to his sister who was mostly sad and brooding. The morning after, he had found out that he had five classes with Genna, which made his beginning of the year even better.
Mathiew thrust the English newspaper in Marcus hands. On the front page was a picture of him and Genna taken a few days earlier in Hidden Alley.
'Betrothed and... bewitched? English high ranking Ministry employee's son engaged to a French' read the headline.
"What is it, Marcus?" asked Genna, feeling his shock through the ring.
Marcus showed her the paper. As shocked as Marcus, she passed it on to Audrey who began to read it out loud.
Speculations abound as to the reason why Marcus Tyler, Jr, son of Marcus Tyler, Head of the International Affairs Department, is engaged to Geneviève Hudon, daughter of the owner of a used clothing store in the French quarter. This is the first engagement between an English and a French in written history.
It is rumoured that Tyler Jr was in fact slipped a love potion by Miss Hudon during the last school year, effectively making him lose his mental capacity. 'Our son would never have done such a thing otherwise. There is no other possible explanation,' said Tyler Sr in an interview earlier this week. We also learned that Tyler Jr has been promised to Marianne Trevor, daughter of the Ambassador to the US Ministry of Magic. 'Marcus is just not the same,' sobbed the damsel in distress, 'and this witch is going as far as accusing me of being pregnant.'
Papers filed late last week to annul Miss Trevor and Mr Tyler Jr's engagement cited this very reason for justifying the request. Ministry officials commented that a hearing will be announced later this week to evaluate the request. However, it is doubtful it will be granted.
We will keep you posted of the development in this sordid affair.
Audrey threw the newspaper to the ground angrily.
"That's not all," said Mathiew, putting another newspaper in Audrey's hands.
It was the French newspaper. Audrey read the headline and sadly looked at her two friends.
"Do you really want to know?" she asked.
"No," said Genna. "But it may be better if we do."
Audrey cleared her throat.
'French student held hostage'
It has been reported that the daughter of hard working Joseph Hudon is now engaged to English Marcus Tyler Junior, son of the Head of International Affairs, Marcus Tyler Senior, in a plot developed and implemented by father, son and other high ranking government officials. The father of the soon-to-be-pawned bride was not available for comment at this time.
The couple was reportedly engaged in England over the summer while away on an internship. A wedding date has yet to be announced and our compatriots would be well advised to protect one of our own from this horrible plot.
We will keep you posted of any developments in this sordid affair.
Audrey threw the newspaper to the ground with the other one.
"This is so disgusting," she said. "And of course, both of them contradict the other."
Even Mathiew wasn't able to make a joke out of the articles.
"And what is all that plot they are talking about anyway?" asked Audrey exasperated.
"Marcus, are you really bewitched?" asked Amanda in the growing silence that followed Audrey's outburst.
"No, Amanda, I am not," he said, smiling at his sister.
He took a strand of her hair and put it behind her ear.
"I love Genna very, very much," he added quietly. "She is the best thing that ever happened to me and I hope one day, you meet someone who will love you and who you will love as much as I love her and she loves me."
Amanda looked at him a moment with sadness in her eyes before going back to her breakfast.
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"How did it go, Marcus? How did it go?" asked Genna, coming to him as fast as her club foot would allow her.
Earlier that day, Marcus' request to annul the engagement was heard by the Wizard Council. He had made the request four weeks earlier and had finally got a hearing date. The Headmaster strongly suspected the delay had been caused by Marcus's father who was petitioning to keep the contract in place.
Marcus had just returned with the Headmaster and found Genna in the Great Hall, studying. Genna already suspected the results were positive just by the way Marcus had felt through the ring in the last hour.
"First of, she tried to pin the pregnancy on me," began Marcus. "The Headmaster suggested to the Council that she submit to a magical test to determine if it was true and the Council said no.
"Then the Headmaster told them I was in Britain at the time and couldn't have possibly done it. And then my father talked and lied! He said I had come back for a few days and could have very well done it.
"Then the Council began to question if my engagement to you was legitimate and they wouldn't believe us when we told them it was. Since most of the Council is English, they thought the newspaper was right and I was bewitched. The French also believed the papers and thought I was playing you.
"I really thought we had lost when they asked for a witness to testify that I really was in England all summer and that our engagement was real. Then the most incredible thing happened."
"What?" asked Genna when he kept silent.
"Harry Potter!" exclaimed Marcus.
"Harry Potter?" asked Genna, shaking her head not understanding what he was getting at.
"Yes! Harry came to testify on our behalf! And Harry's reputation really preceded him. As soon as he walked in, they all recognized him and neither side could really question his word after all he has done for the wizarding world.
"As soon as he told them I stayed in England all that time and that Minister Shacklebolt performed our engagement ceremony, there was nothing they could do. They just had no choice and ruled in our favour.
"You should have seen my father. It was his word against world renowned Harry Potter and he really lost face by lying like he did. I think he took a real blow to his credibility today."
"I'm so glad it's finally over," said Genna. "We have so much more to do; we really did not need that."
The next morning, while all the papers wrote about the hearing, curiously none mentioned Harry had testified on their behalf.
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"Marcus! Marcus! Come quick!" called Audrey, out of breath from running.
Marcus and Mathiew were sitting in the Great Hall with classmates, working on a particularly difficult potions essay, when Audrey barged in. It was brutally cold outside on this December night and the fires could not keep the cold at bay. Frozen and tired, Genna and Audrey had left them ten minutes earlier to seek the warmth and comfort of their Common Room for the rest of the night.
Audrey's sudden appearance worried Marcus but, through his ring, he felt Genna was okay but very worried. Followed by Mathiew, Marcus stood and ran after Audrey through the corridors leading to the Fire House. After a few minutes of running, he turned a corner and came upon a scene of total mayhem. Everything that was not nailed in place, all the paintings, armours, weapons and other paraphernalia, was floating in the air in a whirlwind. In the middle of it all, Genna was holding a visibly very distressed Amanda who was crying and clutching Genna as if her life depended on it.
"Amanda," called Marcus, knowing full well her magic was creating the phenomenon.
At the beginning of the school year, Amanda had displayed a very impressive amount of uncontrolled magic, enough to require some tutoring and shielding when she was not in class as any type of stress would trigger these outbursts of wild magic. But this was the most severe outburst yet. And Genna and Amanda were right in the middle of it.
Genna was protecting Amanda with her own body and Marcus could see a deep gash on her cheek.
"Mathiew, Audrey, I'm going to shield Amanda's magic," said Marcus, taking his wand. "Catch that stuff so it doesn't fall on them."
As soon as Marcus put the shield over Amanda, everything stopped moving and would have crashed to the floor if not for Audrey and Mathiew. When everything was out of the way, Marcus ran to his sister and girlfriend. His sister was crying so hard, she was nearly hysterical.
"Marcus, she won't tell me what's wrong," said Genna worried.
"Okay, I've got her," said Marcus, taking his little sister in his arms. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes," answered Genna. "Take care of her. I'll go see Nurse Feelgood."
Marcus nodded and brought his attention back to his sister.
"Will you tell me what's wrong?" he asked her gently.
She looked towards Audrey and Mathiew and remained quiet.
"Guys, I think I need you both to check on Genna, okay?" said Marcus to his friends.
"If you need us, send a patronus, okay?" said Mathiew before leaving.
Marcus nodded and his friends left in the direction Genna took.
"What's wrong, sweetheart. You haven't lost control of your magic in months."
"Marcus, I... I don't want to go home for Christmas," she said, clinging to his shirt and crying loudly.
"Who said you had to?" he asked
She gave him a crippled piece of parchment.
Dear daughter,
Your father and I will be expecting you home for Christmas. We will be picking you up at the train station on December 19. We are very anxious to see you.
Your mother
"Amanda, you don't have to go if you don't want to," said Marcus, puzzled as to why such a short note triggered such a drastic reaction in his sister. "I'll write to mother letting her know you won't be there for Christmas, okay?"
"Marcus, please don't let them come and get me, please," she begged.
"Amanda, is there something you are not telling me?" he asked gently.
"Just promise me," she said, ignoring his question.
"I promise. And I'll ask the Headmaster to make sure they don't come here to get you, okay?"
She nodded, visibly relaxing against him.
"Sweetheart is there something I should know?" he asked again.
But she only shook her head.
"Do you want to go back to your Common Room now?" he asked her a few minutes later once she was calmer.
She nodded.
He put her on her feet and escorted her to the Fire House Common Room entrance.
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"Headmaster, something is definitely wrong," said Marcus, pacing in front of the Headmaster's desk. "Just that simple note sent her off so bad she lost all the control she had gained since September."
"I have to admit, it is quite unusual, Mr Tyler," said the Headmaster. "And rest assured, your request is granted. If they come here, I will not let them leave with her," he added. "No offence Mr Tyler, but your parents did not impress me much when they were students, and they do not impress me much now."
"Thank you, Headmaster. In the meantime, I'll try to find out what's going on."
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"Marcus, why are you so worried?" asked Genna squeezing his hand. "You've been worried all night. Amanda said she was fine with us going to dinner with my dad and spending the night at the loft."
It was the day after Christmas and they were on their way to the loft after a rowdy dinner with Genna's family at the pub owned by one of her cousins in Hidden Alley. It was late and the street was mostly deserted.
"Genna, I cannot shake the feeling that she is not telling me something, something very important and very bad," said Marcus. "And I cannot shake the feeling that I am not going to like what it is one bit."
"She'll tell you, Marcus," said Genna, looking up at him. "She'll tell you when she's ready."
Genna heard some running footsteps all around her and looked to see what was going on.
"In the name of the Ministry," yelled a Law Enforcement Office, who was holding them at wand point. "You are under arrest for molesting Amanda Tyler. Drop your wands!"
"We are what?" asked Marcus dumbfounded.
"Drop. Your. Wands!"
They both dropped their wands to the ground and no sooner found themselves bound and taken to the Ministry.