21 – Uneasy feeling
Katia wasn't alone and Marcus took a good look at her companion. It was a short, fat woman with a large bosom and dull blond hair pinned up in an old lady fashion; he had seen something like this on his grandma's hair. She had a grey dress which was also out of fashion, and the picture was completed by her bitten nails and blonde eyelashes which made her look ugly. She also had really plump lips. Typical for people who like to eat a lot, he thought. Was it her mother? He looked at the details trying to see if there was any resemblance, but there was none.
The blonde looked him directly in the eye, and her face twisted into an ugly sneer. His gaze quickly darted away from her and he shuddered.
What a nasty hag.
Marcus walked away casually looking here and there, and finally hid behind a column. He looked at Katia from time to time and finally that horrible woman left. He breathed with relief and approached Katia.
"I would say hello earlier," said Marcus, extending his arms."But I wasn't sure if your mother approves..."
Katia smiled shyly and took a step back shaking her head a little. "My mother is dead. It was my...ah servant, Irina."
"I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and..." he didn't have a chance to finish as she spoke.
"It's all right. I was four, I've gotten used to that."
Marcus decided that she would be more herself if he took her somewhere more private before the train arrived. He started to lead her to a dark nook, where boys usually smoke Ashy Cigarettes. At this time it should be empty, as the station wasn't crowded yet.
She looked somewhere to the left. Marcus looked there too, but there was no sign of that bloody Irina anywhere. He looked back at Katia, but she was avoiding his gaze. Katia looked at the cigarette butts like they were the most interesting thing in the world. He didn't know what to say, and the silence was getting more and more awkward.
Katia licked her lips nervously. She shouldn't walk with him to a cozy niche like where she was now. She should have told him that it was over the moment he greeted her. But she couldn't. There was longing and joy on his face, and she couldn't look him in the eye, knowing what will happen now. He didn't deserve to be treated like that. He was kind, caring, and funny. She gathered her courage, but still it wasn't enough. Maybe as a Gryffindor she would blurt it out and walk away with no explanations, but for some reason, the hat put her into Slytherin. She wasn't a coward really, but courage wasn't her major quality.
Marcus grew impatient. He grabbed her hand, cupped her chin, and forced her to look him in the eyes. He heard Katia's sharp intake of breath.
"Why are you acting like this? Are you finally ashamed of being with me? Of us being together in front of people?" He was really angry now, and deep inside, he was desperate to not see or hear any confirmation to what he had just said.
Katia furrowed her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. Surely she won't be crying here?
"Marcus I-I..."
She couldn't finish, as something in her changed. She stopped being tense, and her eyes became glassy. He had some strange feeling that something dark was in her eyes, lying in wake. Waiting.
Suddenly she took his hands off her and caught his neck, drawing him close to her. He bent down, surprised and she pressed her lips to his hard. Her other hand encircled his waist and she pressed herself against him.
Katia felt her curse strike fully, when Marcus acted harshly towards her. Whatever she wanted to say was long forgotten.
Sure, she missed him, and she didn't want to dump him, but now the curse sang the words in her head. The exact word he wanted to hear from her.
"I missed you so much Marcus. I've been thinking of you every day, craving for your touch," she whispered breathlessly between kisses.
Marcus didn't care anymore if there was something dark in her or not. Her actions fueled his desire, and he was mature enough to know himself well in this matter.
They were both oblivious to Bole and Montague who came to smoke, but now stood and watched them.
The gong of the arriving train seemed to sober them up for long enough to board it, and seal curtains of the compartment. Her small breasts were just the right size for his hands and he cupped them while he continued to kiss her passionately. He took off her tank top, and she unbuttoned his shirt, while she touched and kissed his chest. His hands caressed her belly, and then they went higher and higher until they found her breasts. He had no experience, but seemed to enjoy playing with her nipples. He touched them, rubbed them and pulled her towards himself to suck them. Katia held his head tightly, urging him to suck harder. He lifted his head up to see her expression, and he liked what he saw. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were partially opened.
They sat down and she straddled him then, and traced his jaw line with kisses. Marcus tried to sink further into the seat, but in truth he had no way to escape her and hide his arousal; he didn't want her to feel it and be frightened. She was young and may think that he wanted nothing more than to bed her, which wasn't entirely true. He couldn't help that she aroused him, but what he felt for her ran deeply in his mind and heart. Not that he would admit it, though; it wasn't exactly his nature to be so open. And it was still new for him to feel this way.
Katia seemed to read his mind. She looked him in the eyes, cupped his chin, and smiled mischievously. "I can see that you like me a lot," she said as she buckled her hips. There was no way that she hadn't noticed. He turned his head to the side, and felt the embarrassment color his cheeks.
"Oh no, don't hide from me," she said as she turned his head towards her and placed feather like kiss on his mouth. "It's not something you should be ashamed of. I can see that you're attracted to me, that your body is," she whispered.
She closed her eyes, and felt the heat rise between her legs as she rubbed against his hardness. There was a small voice of reason in her mind that told her that she's dangerously close to cross the line, but she choose to ignore it.
"I don't want you to think that I feel nothing but this in your presence," he said so quietly that she needed to strain her ears to hear him.
She caressed his cheek gently and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She pressed herself to him and whispered to his ear. "I know that you have other feelings, but what your body feels is a natural thing. I feel flattered that you react so strongly in my presence."
She felt shivers of excitement as she thought that she, of all people, could make him so aroused and so ashamed at the same time. "What made you feel this?" she asked, marking her question by rubbing against him again. "My kisses?" she asked as she kissed him fully on the lips and let his tongue inside her mouth. "Or me sitting like that," she asked as she pressed against him more.
"Both," he answered in a husky voice.
She felt his hand at the waistband of her knickers and she arched her back to give him better access. The air chilled noticeably. Marcus straightened his back and let go of Katia.
"Something's wrong," he said, his voice husky after their closeness.
"It's cold in here," said Katia quietly.
"You've noticed?" asked Marcus. It was unusually quiet. They quickly dressed themselves. "I need to look around," said Marcus and Katia stood up to let him pass.
He unsealed the curtains and looked out to the corridor.
"There's a Dementor coming this way," whispered Marcus as he turned back to Katia. He shut the door, sat back down again, and took Katia in a protective embrace.
"How do you know it's Dementor?" asked Katia as she snuggled into his chest.
"My father worked as a guard in Azkaban, he told me about them. I am fairly certain it's one of them. They're vicious creatures. They feed on good memories, and leaving people like empty shells."
The compartment chilled more and the creature became visible through the glass. Katia unfolded Marcus' arms and stood up.
"What are you doing?" he asked, somewhat terrified.
The Dementor opened the door and was standing opposite Katia now. He towered over her and she did nothing to protect herself. He had a feeling that she tried to shield them against the creature, but depression filled him and he remained seated. The Dementor extended its bony arm and put his hand at Katia's forehead.
She put her arms against its chest, as if to push it away, and they stood like this for a while, as if they were frozen. Then, the Dementor retreated and Katia fell backwards. She looked even more strange, as her eyes had a haunted look in them.
"Katia?" he asked quietly, not sure if the Dementor wouldn't come back. It was still really quiet, but the chill eased a bit. "Katia, can you hear me?" he asked a little impatiently.
"There is a connection between tube worms and a Basilisk. It is all in the Pensieve," she said in absent kind of voice.
Marcus slapped her across the face. "Stop it!" he said loudly.
She blinked a few times and looked at him. "What?" she asked in a small voice.
Marcus didn't know why he reacted so violently. He shouldn't have used physical force on her, but it seemed to have a good effect, anyway. He hugged her, and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry that I hit you, but something really wrong was happening."
Katia rested her cheek against his chest. "I'm fine, it's okay. What was it really? Tell me," she whispered.
"There was a Dementor and I...couldn't do anything as it touched you and then...I don't know what the bloody hell happened to you."
"Something like a dream and not," she said and Marcus glanced at her to see if she looked normal.
Not counting a large, red mark on her cheek, she seemed like her usual self.
"I just told you some bullshit to stop you from asking anymore dumb questions," said Katia, mocking him.
The door to the compartment opened wider and the worried face of Graham Montague appeared in the doorway.
"You guys are ok? There were some noises from here when Dementor left our compartment."
Katia pressed her red cheek against Marcus chest.
"We're ok. But it was kinda spooky for a while," joked Marcus; he tried to sound casual.
"You've heard that Potter fainted?"
"Did he?" asked Katia as she covered the right side of her face with hair. "What a pussy. I guess he just beat Longbottom in pusiness today."
Montague laughed at that. He noticed how possessively Flint held his girlfriend. "I won't steal her, don't worry. Malfoy is running around, spreading news all over the train."
Katia smirked. "I can see that you're not far behind him. Be quicker, and show Malfoy how to gossip properly."
Graham got some red colour on his cheeks at her snide remark. "I've just came to check on you guys. See you later!"
As Montague left, Katia and Marcus sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence and both of them were recovering from the meeting with the Dementor. Each student was shaken in some way, but the Slytherins did their best to appear unmoved.
As they left the train, Hogsmeade turned out to be very crowded, despite the icy rain. Katia pulled a high collar jacket over her school uniform but still she was shaking badly. Marcus put an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead.
"Your summer is probably warmer, isn't it?"
"Yeah," answered Katia through clattering teeth.
They passed Ginny Weasley, who was in such a bad predicament last year, and Katia looked at her. She was just curious how the girl looked after the holidays in Egypt. In response, Ginny's expression changed from nervous to completely horrified. Maybe she didn't like Katia? It was weird and ridiculous. Katia gave a quick nod to Hermione and quickened her pace.
The pair was oblivious to Anastasia Morrigan, a seventh year Slytherin who was burning holes in Katia's back.
Finally, they were in carriage, and sat with Greengrass, Warrington and Bole. They all started talking about Quidditch, but Katia wasn't really into the topic. She caressed Marcus' hand, and thought about what had happened. It went all towards a catastrophe.
If not for the Dementor, she would not be pure anymore for her initiation. The curse grew with her, and now when it took control, there was really very little that Katia could do.
On the other hand, who would be touching her like this? Who would have held her to make her warm and comfortable? In one year time, she would sell herself to people who were connected to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. What a coward she was; she couldn't even say his name in her thoughts.
In a year she will be a tool in Dumbledore's and Wulfrick Ivanov's hands, taking information, giving her life on the stake. She was always convinced that this was a right thing to do. Always...up to the point where she sat with a man she cared for and she would have to break with him before the curse makes her do something foolish. She felt her chest tighten at these thoughts, and she blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears that formed in her eyes. She tightened her grip on Marcus hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Is everything all right?' asked Marcus.
Katia looked in his eyes for a moment, and again those emotions she saw there were too much. She looked at their joined hands. "Fine. I think that the Dementor affected me more than I thought."
Marcus kissed her, much to Daphne's embarrassment, and they reached gates of Hogwarts. Katia saw a glimpse of dark silhouette, and swallowed nervously. Soon, she will be seeing more of them.
As they entered the castle, Katia gave a barely noticeable nod to Filch, who was eyeing her curiously.
"I've heard that he likes to torture people for his entertainment," said a voice to her right.
Katia chuckled softly. "I believe your imagination is bigger than this castle. He's just doing his job, Bole."
Marcus sat by the table, almost not taking his eyes off Katia. He felt that this train ride changed something with them considerably. He now felt more confident with their relationship; he felt needed and wanted. Nobody has ever made him feel like that before. Some Slytherins were whispering about Malfoy bullying Potter again, but he let it pass. Potter was just a rival in the game, nothing more.
Katia wasn't particularly happy that Hagrid was a new teacher. There was just one reason: she could barely understand a word he was saying.
She saw loathing in Snape's eyes towards the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, a man looking around his forties, dressed very poorly. She could understand the emotion itself, but she started wondering: why? On the other side, the new professor saw this look, but wasn't moved by it. Like he had seen it before. She started to think about possibilities that made Snape hate this new teacher so much. What he had done in the past? There was little doubt that they were strangers. Filch! Surely he should know something. She couldn't wait until she meet him after two months and new revelations.
The Sorting started, but she wasn't paying attention until she heard Slytherins sniggering.
She heard a childish voice behind her. It came from Hufflepuff table "I'm Bella Swan," it said.
"Fatty Bella Anabella!" shouted Malfoy and laugher exploded. Katia turned to see brown haired, pale, really overweight first year.
"What a disaster to Hufflepuffs," said Marcus and Katia elbowed him.
"Don't make fun of fat people," she said, but she had problems staying serious. The hell with that. It was Fattybella's appetite fault she looked like that.
"It's only a beginning, and yet so much entertainment," said Adele as she caressed Argus' cheek.
"You have a twisted sense of fun, then," he slurred and waved off her hand.
"Oh come on. Black will try to get Potter for some reason; the Bulgarian girl made a discovery today, and it will bring so much revelations. Soon you will learn a lot more about yourself. You just need to wait a little longer."
"What? That I'm a Squib who drinks so much that he has a hallucination who talks to him every time he's pissed?" he snorted, and put a blanket over himself. He decided that it was not a good idea. He felt too dizzy to lie down.
"I've always told you that you're different. And being different is not always a bad thing. Especially when you share it with a friend," she cooed.
Filch sat on the bed, and poured himself a glass of water. "You must be really out of your wits if you think that I'll ever go to Dumbledore and tell him your crazy ideas about me and my life."
Adele lowered herself down, and touched his face with her cheek. "Sh shhhh. You don't have to get angry over such a trivial thing as who to tell. This year will bring you more serious problems to worry about."
Adele kneeled between his legs, and looked him straight in the eye. "I can't wait to see the grumpy Argus Filch questioning himself."
Anastasia Morrigan should be too old to make fun of Potter, but she laughed out loud when Draco Malfoy slid down against the wall with hand against his forehead. However, she would have had more fun if it was the infernal girl from Bulgaria.
Anastasia was plainly jealous, because she had pinned for Marcus all last year. Sure, she wasn't good at Quidditch; wasn't good enough to be accepted to the team. She didn't like playing cards or silly things like truth and dare. But she was ambitious and worked very hard to get good marks.
But, no matter what she did, she remained invisible.
People rarely remembered that she was a part of their study group or a member of the house. She hadhelped Marcus with his homework multiple times, and yet he wouldn'teven greet her. Instead he got nauseatingly close to this boyish girl; to this no-one, who had barely passed her year. To the poor victim of a cruel prank. Poor, poor Ivanov. He had to hold her all the time to wipe off the bad memories she had.
It was good that teachers appreciated her hard work, and she had becomea Prefect; at least someone noticed her. Another prefect, whom she often had patrols with, Percy Weasley was too much of a buffoon and a Gryffindor. Otherwise, she would have left her hopes for Flint long time ago. Her only friend now was Pansy Parkinson; she had similar problems with Draco Malfoy.
Couldn't he see that Pansy was a loyal, nice girl who would make a wonderful girlfriend?
Pansy exchanged a look with Anastasia. They could understand each other without useless words. She had fun with Draco, and laughed louder than she should, so that he would notice her. Especially, when she encountered Potter and made fun of him.
The Divination class was a source of fun for the Slytherins. Most of them pretended to not give a damn, but inside were scared about things that Trelawney told them. Katia was paired with Goyle. Theodore Nott, with Millicent Bulltstrode, were biting their nails while reading Unfogging the future. They were desperately trying to make out something from the shape of their tea leaves.
Blaise Zabini said something funny obviously, as Daphne Greengrass giggled.
Professor Trelawney looked into Millicent's cup and shook her head.
"Is it bad, Professor?" asked Millicent seriously.
"Child, you need to watch yourself, especially during Winter break." She turned around and looked over Goyle's shoulder, where Katia's cup was resting. "What do we've have here?"
"For me, it looks like a torn carpet." said Katia.
Trelawney looked closer and gasped. "Oooh! A Dementor! You won't be happy this year child. You will be very, very upset." Trelawney turned the cup clockwise. "There is the veil. Some mystery will be unsolved, but there will be a price for it."
Pansy Parkinson sniggered. "The Quidditch Captain will dump her for someone else."
Professors huge, bug-like eyes turned to Pansy. "The thing you are dreading will happen on the second of December."
Pansy sank into her chair and bit her lip. The Slytherins laughed a little at that.
Crabbe was practicing Transfiguration by transfiguring piece of papers into spoons. By the end of the class there was a huge pile of them under his table. Some them looked more like spoons, some looked like a combination between a spoon and a crumbled piece of paper.
Draco got himself busy by drawing pictures of Harry Potter fainting. He had to draw at least fifty to make a short animation. For now, he had three.
Pansy left the Care of Magical Creatures very shaken. She was really concerned about Draco. After he was escorted to Madam Pomfrey, she quickly explained the events to all of the Slytherins.
"Bloody hell," said Bole too seriously, and Pansy failed to notice his sarcasm.
"Not like I care, but the little shit had it coming," said Marcus quietly, so that only Katia could hear him.
She had just had her first lesson of Muggle Studies, so she didn't see the accident. She didn't like animals and had chosen not to take Care of Magical Creatures. The only animal she had ever liked was Filch's cat, but this cat was really weird.
"Shhh," Katia silenced him. "It doesn't matter if you liked him or not; he can make some serious trouble. Pansy had just said that the animal will be executed, and Professor Hagrid will be fired. He can really mess with your Quidditch plans for the future."
Surprisingly, there was some truth to what she said, when Marcus thought about it. It never ceased to amaze him that Katia wasn't childish despite being younger. Something told him that she was somewhat equal to him, and it was strange. She had a strong character, and it drew him to her for some undefined reason.
"And he'll stay in the Hospital Wing till Thursday!" cried Pansy.
Marcus just rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go for a little run. We can make a round and be free of her rant," suggested Marcus; he waggled his eyebrows in hilarious way.
Katia grabbed her sports bag and they left. They circled the castle in less than half an hour, which was a really good time.
Marcus grabbed a bottle of water from the bag which was hidden in the bushes and drank, while he waited for Katia to catch the breath.
"What now?" breathed Katia as she wiped sweat off her forehead.
"I bet I'll kick your ass," said Marcus as he took boxing gloves out of the bag. He enjoyed Muggle boxing, and Katia was a good sparring partner with her energy and speed. He cast Engorgio on the training sack and hung it on a branch.
Marcus hit the sack few times and made room for Katia. He noticed, that she would look nervously behind her from time to time.
She spun around fast and kicked the sack hard. Marcus, who was holding it, almost lost his balance.
"I can see that I have no chance today," joked Marcus.
Katia looked behind her again and then at him, her brows creased. "Do you have a feeling that someone or something is watching us?"
Marcus looked around, but there was nothing suspicious. "Probably a lot of people, yes. It's early afternoon and we're clearly visible from the windows, so yeah. But it's not much of a feeling."
Katia punched the sack few times. The muscles on her arms were appealing to him. She trained more than he did, but being a girl she wasn't as athletically built as he was. Thank Merlin for that.
"I have an uneasy feeling right now, and I had it yesterday when we were running. It's like someone is stalking me, I know it's ridiculous, but I can't shake it off."
"There is a thin line between being cautious and paranoid, and you're dancing on it." Marcus let go of the sack and pulled Katia into a hug. "If there is anything threatening you, I believe there wouldn't be much I could do after you took care of it."
Katia laughed and rested her head in the crook of his neck, and pressed her gloved hands to his back.