Chapter 17: Two Great Gifts and One Big Crossed Line

Marcus had sort of promised Oliver to be Poppy's friend, nothing more. So, over Christmas break when Poppy started spending all her nights in his bed, he feared he might have broken that promise. It was innocent enough, Marcus thought, as they were just sleeping. In each others arms. Half-naked. It turned out Poppy hated wearing pyjama bottoms almost as much as Marcus hated wearing a shirt to bed.

It had started on the first day of break. Poppy had said she was scared to sleep all alone in her dormitory and Marcus had joked that since her roommates were gone, she should probably have felt safer than ever. He let her into his dormitory thinking they'd sleep on separate beds but instead Poppy just casually slipped into his bed.

"You're such a great friend," she had said before drifting off to sleep and at that moment Marcus had forgotten all about how wrong it seemed. She was happy and he didn't want to destroy that. He knew there would probably be consequences, but he didn't want to think that far ahead. He didn't have to, it was Christmas break after all. Logical thought was on holiday.

With almost everyone else gone, it seemed their problems had disappeared. All the other Slytherins had gone home for the holidays, so they had free reign of the dormitory. They stayed up late toasting marshmallows, reading and talking by the fire and slept however long they wanted. Marcus carefully avoided the subject of what he and Oliver had talked about at the Christmas party even though Poppy asked about it a lot. He didn't know if he wanted to share that much of himself to her as they had never really discussed their families before. He was afraid it would scare her off.

For Christmas, Poppy had knitted Marcus a scarf. It was the first handmade gift he had ever received and it made him happier than he knew how to say. The scarf was long, warm and black. It was also the best gift he'd ever gotten.

"It's for when you leave Hogwarts and can't wear your Slytherin scarf anymore," she explained. He beamed with pride as he wrapped it around his neck before reaching for Poppy's present.

Marcus was actually nervous to present his gift to Poppy. He had never bought gifts for anyone before, unless the chocolate he got for Poppy's birthday counted as such, and was terrified of messing up, scared she wouldn't like it. He had wrapped a small box with bright-colored Christmas paper and placed a sparkly bow on it. He handed it to Poppy. She began carefully unwrapping it, revealing a small, red suede jewellery box underneath the paper.

"What is this?" Poppy asked with excitement in her voice. Or disbelief, Marcus wasn't sure. She removed the lid of the box. "This is too much, Marcus!"

Inside was a pair of earrings, small teardrop shaped emeralds surrounded by clear crystals on a white gold base. Marcus could tell from Poppy's huge smile that he had succeeded with the gift.

"Thank you, I love them!" she said and swooped her arms around his neck. "They're so beautiful."

"I guess I managed to surprise you," Marcus said as Poppy broke free from the hug. She smiled and nodded frantically.

"I'm going to go put them on and wear them for supper!" she said excitedly and left the room to find a mirror.

Buying a gift for Poppy had been a terribly difficult task but finally Marcus had found a small antiques store in Hogsmeade where he had picked out the earrings all by himself.

"A gift for a special lady, I see," the shopkeeper had said and suddenly Marcus wasn't sure if they were sending the right message.

"No, just for a friend," he had replied. The shopkeeper had flashed a knowing smile and made Marcus unsure about his gift. He was relieved when Poppy didn't seem to read too much into the meaning behind the earrings. When he bought them, he didn't want to cross any lines but after sleeping in the same bed for nearly a week, he was sure many lines had already been crossed.

The Christmas Feast wasn't a large one as wasn't the number of students enjoying it. Instead of eating for hours straight, as was customary on Christmas, Poppy and Marcus both finished their meals quickly and then headed back to the dungeons. Poppy settled on to the couch to continue reading 'Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland' and Marcus revised some Quidditch plays on the floor.

"Can I ask you a question?" Poppy said, looking up from her book. Marcus stopped what he was doing and turned to face her.

"Sure. If it doesn't involve that bloody Christmas party again."

"Why did you come back this year? To school."

"I'm surprised you haven't asked me earlier. It's a boring story, really."

He got up from the floor and sat down on the couch opposite Poppy.

"I failed my Transfiguration N.E.W.T," Marcus said. "And I did badly on the others,"

"But you could have just left," Poppy said. "You don't have to pass them."

"I know," he answered. "Dumbledore offered me the opportunity to come back and take them again. And I accepted."

"Why?"

"Because the manager of the Montrose Magpies told me that if I can wait a year, they'll have a spot for me on the team."

"What? Marcus, that's amazing!"

"Yeah, I mean, as much as I love The Falcons, they're always at the bottom of the league and..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence before Poppy already rushed to hug him. And he squeezed her tightly, accidentally smelling her hair. It smelled like cinnamon.

"So... You'll move to Scotland, then?" Poppy asked, still hugging him.

"Looks like it," Marcus said.

"You should have told me earlier, that is such great news."

Poppy gave Marcus a small peck on the cheek as she broke free from the hug. Marcus was taken aback by this and Poppy seemed to be surprised as well. Marcus thought maybe the kiss was accidental. For a few seconds, neither of them knew what to do and they awkwardly looked around, as if they were looking for something or someone to change the subject. Suddenly, Poppy kissed Marcus. This time, on the lips and definitely not by accident. The kiss was very quick and she pulled away almost immediately.

"I'm sorry," she quickly said.

"It's fine," he replied. "I should go."

He got up to leave, not even knowing where he was going, but she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up with it. Poppy leaned in really close to Marcus, stood on her tiptoes to reach his lips, closed her eyes and placed one, slow kiss on his lips before he could even realise what was happening. And that was it for Marcus, rational thought went completely out the window. He grabbed Poppy by her waist, pulling her even closer and ran his hand over her back, finally reaching her cinnamon scented hair. He kissed her intensely while gently pulling her hair. She tasted like caramel and didn't pull away, so he kept kissing her. His heart was beating fast and it only seemed to get faster as Poppy ran her hands through his hair. He grabbed her waist again, this time guiding her towards the wall before pushing her against it. Poppy's hands were exploring his chest over his shirt and as Marcus caressed Poppy's neck with his lips, she breathed lifted Poppy by the waist and she wrapped her legs around him. He knew they had completely destroyed the line between friendship and romance by now, but thinking about that wasn't high on his list of priorities right now. It wasn't until Poppy pulled away from his lips that he completely comprehended what had just happened. She unwrapped his legs and he let go of her, stepping back in case she wanted to make a quick exit. Instead, she just stood there, looking up at him with her green eyes. Her hair was a mess and her cheeks were flushed.

"I'm so sorry," she said. Her eyes began welling up.

"You've done nothing wrong," he replied.

"I shouldn't have done that," she said quietly.

She looked distraught, so he pulled her in for a hug. She cried a little against his chest before he swooped her up and carried her to bed. He tucked her in and returned to the common room to ponder what exactly had just happened. He didn't go to sleep that night. He made a decision he knew would hurt them both, but it seemed the only logical option. Tonight had been great, he would've loved to have more nights like this, but he feared if things kept going the way they were going, he was going to have a broken mess of a girl on his hands.

He was kicking himself for all the things he did wrong. He never should have let her sleep in his bed. He should have bought her writing supplies as a gift. He should have kept his shirt on. He should have never told her of his feelings. He was never a man who thought ahead much, but he was thinking now. He was going to end it. He could only hope it would, eventually, lead to her happiness.