17.

The noise of breakfast was filled with cheer as the students spoke over one another. Katie managed a smile when asked by Hermione if she was going to Hogsmead after breakfast, and nodded at the younger girl's innocent question. Torn between her feelings, Katie lifted her tea and took a sip of the hot liquid to hide the tremble of her lower lip. Having Marcus finally give in to his feelings and admit that he wanted her was shadowed over by the fact that Lee was yet to even speak to her. After his confrontation with Marcus the previous night, Lee had stormed away from her, after telling her that he didn't know who she was anymore. His words had cut her to the bone, and Katie had fled to Gryffindor Tower. More afraid of Lee being hurt if Marcus chose to return to check on her, Katie had hidden her tears within the darkness of her bed hangings, rather than seeking her surly Slytherin out for comfort as she would have once done. Setting her tea down Katie slowly pushed back from the table, only to pause when Fred's voice rang out.

"Where are you off to, Katie-kid?"

Looking towards Fred, Katie only just managed to hide her flinch when she met Lee's blank gaze.

"I'm going to Hogsmead," she said finally, and when Lee's face creased into a scowl, Katie lifted her chin in refusal to feel ashamed. A look of surprise crossed Fred's face, and he slowly looked between Lee and Katie as she turned around and walked away.

"What in Godric's good name was that about?" Fred asked softly, and Lee shrugged, a bitter jerk of his shoulder as he watched Katie walk towards the double doors of the great hall with her chin held high. But as she neared them, Lee's eyes narrowed when he saw Adrian Pucey cross paths with Katie and murmur something that had Katie's face clearly showing her shock before her eyes warmed and she flashed him a quick smile. Adrian laughed softly with his tongue caught between his teeth as Katie continued on her way, even as he called out something quietly that had Katie shaking her head and grinning at him over her shoulder. While Katie continued to walk straight ahead, Lee watched in confusion as Adrian glanced after her again and shook his head slightly, before he continued on his way towards the Slytherin table with amusement showing openly on his face.

"Open your eyes, Jordan! I've been gone from here for more than six months!"

Lee cringed as Marcus' voice echoed in his mind, and as his eyes darted between Katie's shrinking form and Adrian, the look he had seen pass between them continued to play over in his mind. He didn't know all that much about Flint or Pucey other than the fact that they seemed to be friends. Close friends who would share secrets. Friends like Fred and George were to him. Like Katie was. For the remainder of breakfast, the look between Adrian and Katie continued to play over in his mind, along with what he had seen the night before. The gentleness with which Marcus had bade Katie good-bye. The way she had been able to diffuse his anger with nothing more than a softly spoken plea. The fact that it hadn't been Flint and Bell with scorn ringing in their voices, but rather Marcus and Katie with feeling and warmth, and in Flint's case, the slightest hint of reverence that had echoed in his voice when he had spoken about Katie wanting to be held and kissed by him.

"Lee… Do you think that…maybe…we don't really know much about those in Slytherin House? Other than what we've been told? For all we know, they might think about the possibility of uniting the Houses the same way Professor Dumbledore does…"

"Don't be daft, Katie! They're a bunch of twats, who love nothing more than putting the rest of us down!"

Lee closed his eyes and groaned softly under his breath as the past conversation echoed in his mind. The look on Katie's face at the time had been shuttered, and she had mumbled something about homework before walking away with her shoulders hunched. Looking back on it now though, Lee began to wonder if Katie had been trying to tell him about Marcus and whatever it was that was going on between them. But his reaction, both then and now, had resulted in silence and a look on her face that he never wanted to see again. Sighing heavily, Lee pressed his fingers against his eyes. Katie had never lied to him before. And while she hadn't exactly lied to him, the fact that she had kept a secret of this magnitude showed him that maybe his reaction had been why she had never told him of Marcus' presence in her life. With a muttered goodbye to Fred, Lee stood up and hurried out of the Great Hall. While he couldn't change the past, maybe it wasn't too late to change the future.

XxXxXxXxX

The walk to Hogsmead was a chilly one, and Katie hunched lower into her coat as she crunched through the snow. She had a little bit of shopping left to do for Christmas; more than anything though, she wanted to see Marcus. Tucking her arms around herself, Katie lowered her head against the icy breeze as her teeth chattered; she walked down High Street, and glanced over her shoulder before heading towards the Hog's Head. It had surprised her when Adrian had freely given her the information that morning when they had crossed paths; his voice had been playful when he told her that her Christmas gift was waiting for her at the Hog's Head if she felt like taking a walk. Room four. Stepping inside the dimly lit establishment, Katie glanced around herself quickly. The Hog's Head was mostly empty, and those inside simply ignored her as Katie held her breath and slipped up the stairs. For a long minute, however, she hovered outside room four with her fists clenched and her heart in her throat before she finally gathered up the courage to knock on the door. When it swung open, Katie felt her breath hitch when she caught sight of Marcus. He was in the middle of rubbing a towel over his head; a black silk shirt stretched across his shoulders, but Marcus had yet to button it. It showed her the smooth width of his bare chest and the few stray drops of water that clung to his skin. Fine black woollen pants sat low on his slender hips, and Marcus draped the towel over his shoulder as he pulled the door open a little further.

A genuine smile crossed his face, causing his eyes to light up as he stepped back to let Katie through the door. Holding her chin up and silently hoping that he'd think her pink cheeks were due to the cold and not his state of undress, Katie brushed passed him. The crisp scent of soap teased her as Marcus closed the door behind her. Unable to help herself, Katie slowly tracked her eyes over him as she took in the numerous changes she had been content to ignore the night before. His hair was a little longer and curled slightly around his ears and across his neck as he crossed the room to drop his towel on the bed. The stubble that covered his jaw was something she had only seen on him once at school, and showed her that he had yet to cast a shaving charm. His eyes, those stormy grey mirrors to his soul were the same though, as was the wry twist of his lips when he glanced at her as he set about fastening the shirt he wore. It hugged the muscle of his chest, shoulders and back, and showed her that his arms were now more defined that they had been in school. Crossing back towards her, Marcus brushed his knuckles over her cheek gently before he reached past her towards the door. The soft snick of the lock turning caused Katie to look up at him silently as she turned to face him, and she watched as he leaned back against the door with his arms crossed. The look on his face stopped her question being voiced, and she took a step away from him as she shrugged out of her coat.

"Have you eaten?" he asked finally by way of greeting, and Katie nodded with a jerk of her head as she laid her coat across a chair and removed her gloves.

"How'd it go at school with Jordan?" he asked gruffly, and Katie's brow creased when she heard the concern in his voice.

"It was… he's very angry with me, Marcus… we didn't speak, but that doesn't mean we won't. What's the matter?" she asked softly, and Marcus gave a dry bark of laughter.

"Just pissed off that he thought what he did," he said with a shrug, and Katie sighed as she took back the step she had taken and laid her hand on his arm.

"Are you all right?" she asked, and he shrugged once more in answer as he reached for her scarf.

But rather than draw it away from her throat, he slowly wrapped the ends around his hands and then used it to pull her a step closer toward him. Katie lifted her hand in surprise and pressed against his chest to stop the movement; Marcus licked the corner of his lips slowly as he looked down at her before tugging her closer. He flashed a quick grin when Katie ran her hand up across his upper arm, and with a quiet hum of contentment he bent his head and kissed her. A chaste kiss, that was warm breath and the tickle of the stubble on his jaw as he brushed his mouth across hers lightly.

"Much better now," he mumbled against her lips, and Katie smiled as he brushed another chaste kiss over her mouth, followed by another that lingered.

Chaste and maddening, he lightly dragged the pads of his fingers down her arms, and across her hands as he laced their fingers together. Katie huffed out a breath when he continued to kiss her lightly, and rising up onto tiptoe, she wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips firmly against his. Marcus hummed in approval, and turned them slightly as he began to slowly back his way across the room with Katie following him as she wound her fingers through his hair. Her eyes popped open in surprise when Marcus suddenly pulled away from her, and she watched in startled silence as he lowered himself into an armchair by the fire. A wicked smile crossed his mouth, and when he beckoned her closer, Katie couldn't contain the squeak that left her lips when he tugged her down onto his lap. His soft laughter died away when he stretched up to kiss her again, and Katie curled into him with a soft sigh as Marcus' fingers danced lightly across her hip. All too soon, however, he broke the kiss and settled further into the chair as he rubbed his palm up and down the length of Katie's thigh.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked quietly as he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her ear with his nose as he breathed her in.

"What do you want to do?" she asked with a small smile, and Marcus gave a sharp bark of laughter as he pulled back to look at her.

"What? You want to hear how she makes my blood burn? How I dream about her? How I walk behind her and imagine biting the back of her neck while I fuck her?"

Katie turned bright red as her eyes darted towards the bed he had slept in the night before. It had yet to be made, and the bedding was tumbled; Marcus snorted knowingly when he saw the look on her face, and she wondered if he had remembered what he had said to her the night he had gotten her drunk.

"I wish," he said finally, showing her that he had indeed remembered. "But no matter how much I want that with you, it isn't something we're doing. What we're doing here is dangerous enough. You add sex to the mix, and I'm looking at a long stint in Azkaban if we get caught."

"What is it we are doing, Marcus?" Katie asked softly. "What is this?

Marcus sighed when he heard what Katie was really asking him. Was she a dirty secret, or was this something more? When he finally spoke, it was quietly as he continued to watch the flickering flames.

"I swore to myself that I'd leave you alone, Katie," he said finally. "But then you asked me to write to you. And instead of being able to distance myself from you and this hold you have over me, I found myself doing as you asked. And we've come to know each other in a whole new way. I know more about you, I think, than any of your friends do. You certainly know more about me than those in my house do. Instead of being a pretty puzzle that I wanted to solve, you became… something more. I received an education at Hogwarts – I believe if there was a NEWT to sit regarding you, I'd receive an O for Outstanding like I did in DADA and Advanced Potions," he said with a small smile, and Katie laughed softly as she curled into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So what are you saying?" she asked finally when he seemed content to let the silence linger, and Marcus groaned.

"Stubborn girl… This won't be easy, Katie. During the next year or two when we have to keep it a secret? It won't be easy. We will no doubt fight something awful, and there will be fear and misunderstanding on both sides. And if you think Jordan's reaction to finding out was bad, wait until both of our Houses know…there will be open warfare in the halls. But I won't give you up. I can't. Not now. Not when I know just how you feel when we're like this," he said with a sigh as he dragged his hand down over his face tiredly. "I've waited for a year to have you already, Katie. I can wait one more."

Hope and excitement exploded in her chest, and Katie smiled slightly as Marcus' words told her far more than he had said out loud. Katie glanced down at her hands as she twisted them together, and when Marcus tilted her chin up with his finger, Katie finally spoke.

"And the other wit….?" She broke off and shook her head as Marcus brushed his fingers down across the frantic beat of her pulse.

"There are no other. Not anymore," he said finally. "I won't share, Katie, so I don't expect you to. Look, there will no doubt be times where I'm as wound up as anything and I'll probably bite your head off over it. All I can do is apologize in advance. But I won't cheat on you. You won't read about me in the Daily Profit, and wonder if I went home with another witch. I waited too long for this… I'm not about to throw it away on five minutes of peace."

Katie nodded as Marcus shifted her on his lap and stared up at her lazily.

"Besides," he said as he shifted his weight on the chair before he stretched up to kiss her, "fooling around with you will be half the fun."

"So…I'm your… you're my…" Katie probed teasingly as she dodged the warmth of his lips.

Marcus just grinned and pulled her face down towards his. He hummed softly when her lips parted for him, and Katie wound her arms around him as he kissed her slowly. When he finally deepened the kiss and flicked his tongue across her lips, she heard the soft groan he let out as she shifted on his lap. It was only when his kiss turned hungry, that he fisted his hand in her hair and tugged her head back, his lips dropping teasing kisses over her jaw and along the length of her throat as she shifted restlessly. When he pulled back slightly and stared up at her, Katie parted her lips to speak again. Marcus shook his head and pulled her mouth back to his, the kiss deep and blinding from the onset. Lips that were clinging and warm, and his arms holding her tightly against him as he set out to drown them both. The press of his erection against her hip had Katie clutching his shoulders a little harder, and Marcus groaned as he pulled her more firmly across the thick swelling in his pants. Katie squirmed again, causing a moan to bubble up from his throat and echo into her mouth, before Marcus pulled away and gently pushed Katie off his lap and onto her feet.

She swayed there momentarily, and then sighed as he rose to his feet and caught her face in the palms of his hands. Marcus dipped his head to kiss her as he slowly began to back her across the room. He hushed her faint protest when her legs hit the edge of the bed a moment later and she found herself sinking into the softness of the mattress. Katie opened her eyes as Marcus pushed her a little further towards the centre of the bed, and broke away from the danger that kissing him seemed to have over her senses. Her dream from a few days ago played out rapidly in her mind as Marcus gently pressed against her shoulder causing her to slowly sink down onto her back amongst the tumbled bedding; he followed her down, covering her slender frame with his own and pressing her down into a mattress that smelled like he did. Threading his fingers through her hair, Marcus sighed as his lips met hers again, and he sank back into kissing her with a groan.

"All mine… always mine…fucking finally…"

Katie felt the lingering fear from her dream recede as his mumbled words echoed against her lips and when he made no move to push her any further, she wrapped her arms around him, and let him take her under. Let him kiss her breathless, and shuddered when his teeth left light marks across her throat and shoulders after he'd tugged the neck of her jumper down off her shoulder with a whisper that this jumper had been his favourite of hers since the start of her fourth year. She lost herself in the hints of danger he presented her with. In the forbidden heat he held her with, and the sensual web he wrapped around her. In the knowledge that he couldn't help himself when it came to her, that she was a weakness that he couldn't deny himself. She learned that as he kissed her and lightly rocked his hips against hers, his voice a rough whisper against her skin as he simultaneously cursed her and held her in reverence as his hand slid down her thigh and pulled it up over his hip.

The knock on the door came as a rude intrusion that had Marcus lifting his head with a soft snarl as his eyes flew to the locked door and then back down to Katie. He withdrew from the haven her arms promised, and stretched out to pick his wand up from the bedside table as Katie scramble from the bed with wide eyes. Gesturing towards the chair beside the fire, Marcus moved towards the door as Katie quickly moved to sit where he had pointed too. Looking back towards Marcus as he opened the door slightly, Katie winced when she saw the anger darken Marcus' face. His fingers tightened on the wood of the door, and when he spoke the snarl in his voice was more than obvious, as was the distain and arrogance that Katie had heard back before they had become friends.

"What do you want?"

For a long moment there was silence, but then Katie heard the last voice she had ever expected to hear.

"Is Katie here with you, Flint?"

For a long minute Katie wondered if Marcus would simply slam the door in Lee's face, but then he smirked and pulled the door open a little more. It took Lee a few more seconds but then he walked into the room, and when he caught sight of Katie, his shoulders slumped in resignation and he simply nodded as Marcus shut the door behind him and crossed his arms.