For a few days after that potion class, Alice couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Oliver. She really wanted to be able to spend as much time as she'd like with Oliver, but she also liked the company of her Slytherin friends. Those two things can not go together, even though Alice was trying hard to find a way.
She hadn't told anyone about her what happened with Oliver, not even Cara. Just telling Cara about her history with Oliver was hard enough, as Cara seemed to be completely against the idea of Alice and Oliver being friends. It was not because of blood though, Cara said that Oliver does not match Alice's "fire", whatever that means.
Not much has changed, other than the fact Alice would smile at Oliver when she passed him, not while she was with Marcus of course, as that would end badly. But she doubted Marcus would even notice, he'd probably be too busy glaring daggers at Oliver.
Unknown to Alice though, Marcus was keeping an eye out to see if Wood would try to interact with Alice in any way. He was informed by Adrian and Graham that Snape had paired Alice and Wood together in class, and according to Graham "they looked to be getting along well, too well." Marcus's was skeptical of course, as Graham did have the tendency to exaggerate for dramatic effect as he seemed to enjoy that, but he was still bothered by it. Especially since Alice hadn't even mentioned it to him. She surely would have told him that she was paired up with his arch-nemesis, and how he had a hard time dealing with feisty little Alice, right? But she didn't.

The days had passed quickly without much change. They had quidditch practice early in the morning, then ate breakfast together, and headed off to classes. Adrian and Graham were still idiots, Cara was still a smart ass, Terrance was still a gentle soul, and Marcus and Alice were still teasing each other, with a lot of underlying sexual tension that everyone was aware of but no one ever addressed.

It was a Saturday morning, which meant it was the day they headed off to Hogsmeade. It also happened to be the 31st of October, and Alice was excited for the day as it meant she'll be having lot of candy. As she was feeling particularly prideful that day, she had put on a vintage green dress her brother had gotten her for her last birthday, and tied her hair into a side braid.

Alice met up with Cara by the great hall, she was wearing a flowing mustard skirt that reached a bit under her knees, along with a black shirt. She had her blonde mane tied up, which made her look lot more approachable. Being a Yaxley and a Burke meant that they always had to be dressed up properly, as they were ever since coming into the world. It was as if wearing a pair of jeans would stain their families' names, much to Alice's dismay.

"You're looking good, as always." Adrian slid in to stand next to Cara, who seemed to be trying hard not to break into a smile.

"Can't you go one day without trying to flirt with me?" Cara asked. Marcus, Graham, and Terrance showed up.

"I don't think that's possible." Adrian replied with a smirk. As Cara continued to try and counter every line with a snarky comment, Alice had turned to Marcus and Terrance. All of the boys were dressed in black suits, as most Slytherins usually do.

"Morning, boys." Alice greeted.

"Good morning Ali." Smiled Terrance. Alice had been getting closer to Terrance, he's quickly becoming one of her best friends.

"Morning, love." Marcus was being his usual self. Alice had gotten so used to him by now that she just flashed him a smirk.

They all started making their way out of hogwarts and to hogsmeade along with the other students.

As they reached the little village, Alice grinned brightly at the sight of halloween decorations set up. There were floating carved pumpkins and Candy growing on trees, fake dementors set up and spider webs with glowing spiders, it was everything she'd hoped for.

"We have to go to honeydukes, right now!" Alice squealed.

The boys were looking at her oddly, but Cara was used to this.

"She's always like this on halloween, she's got a huge sweet-tooth." Cara explained.

"I was planning to go to Spintwitches for some new quidditch equipment." Terrance said.

"Yeah, me too, I need new gloves." Marcus agreed.

"What? No, we can't waste time, I want to spend quite some time at Honeydukes." Alice interjected.

"You'll come with me, right Cara?" She added with the sweetest smile she could muster.

It didn't seem to work on the cold blonde.

"Actually, I'm going to Tomes and Scrolls." Cara stated simply.

"What, no, why would you Cara, It's Halloween!" Alice said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Yes it is, but unlike you lot, I study Ancient Runes and it's alot of work. I need to get some tomes for a project." Cara said, her tone had a finality to it.

"Cara you traitor." Alice whispered dramatically.

Cara smirked at Alice, knowing that she won't bother annoying her.

"You know what, I just remembered I actually need something fromTomes and Scrolls too." Adrian suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at him like 'Yeah right.', except Graham who looked proud of his friend.

"Oh really? and what is that you need?" Cara asked, fully-knowing that Adrian was just saying that to go with her.

"Uh, I need a scroll." Adrian replied

"A scroll? For what?" Cara pushed on.

"Divination!" Adrian answered a little too quickly.

Cara scrutinized Adrian, but then smirked and said, "Alright then, Adrian and I are going to Tomes and Scrolls."

"Fine, be that way, I'm going to Honeydukes." Alice decided.

"Terrance, Graham, you two go get us the quidditch equipment we need." Marcus commanded, "I'll be joining Alice at Honeydukes."

Alice smiled brightly at him, which he enjoyed. She really didn't want to go alone, since it seemed to be a bummer to go buy candy alone on halloween.

"Really Marcus, YOU going to Honeydukes?" Graham grinned teasingly. He couldn't imagine their burly captain at such a place.

"Yes, I'd fancy a few pumpkin pasties about now." Marcus retorted, his eyes clearly telling Graham to shut up.

"Alright then, we'll meet up at the Three Broomsticks after?" Alice interjected.

They all nodded, and everyone went on their way.

Alice walked happily to Honeydukes, with only the list of all the candy she's going to make Marcus buy for her. She had the money of course, she would just enjoy herself more if he took care of her, not that she would admit it out loud. Marcus on the other hand was stealing glances of Alice as her dark brown hair fluttered with the breeze of autumn. Her blue eyes sparkled with anticipation, and for a second Marcus was amused at how innocent she seemed today, he almost forgot how much of a pain she is usually. Yet, he enjoyed her ferocity.

Alice suddenly felt Marcus's arm going around her waist, pulling her closer to his side. The sudden act had her let out a low yelp, as she turned to look at him. He grinned at her and offered her no explanation.

"What's come into you?" Alice questioned, she wasn't sure if she should be suspicious of him, or brush it off as typical Marcus behavior.

"Nothing, thought you might be needing some warmth. You're not wearing a cloak and it's getting breezy." He stated innocently.

She scrutinized him, knowing he had something up his sleeve, but decided to go with it for now.

"How thoughtful." She sneered jokingly.

Alice quickly grabbed Marcus's arm as it started to wander a bit lower than she liked, she lifted it back up to her waist.

"Marcus, my arse doesn't need any warmth." She glared at him, trying hard to hide her smirk.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a similar smirk.

"Yes I'm sure." She answered.

"Alright, let me know if you change your mind." He said with a chuckle.

Little did Alice know, this whole show was put on because Marcus caught a glimpse of Oliver looking their way. Alice had failed to notice him, but Marcus was making sure Oliver got his point. His grey eyes immediately met Oliver's hazel ones, his glare gave off a clear feral warning.

Right as they were about to walk into Honeydukes, Marcus noticed as Alice's eyes lingered on a beautiful pale blue cloak in the shop across the street. Right as he was about to offer they visit the shop, Alice tore her gaze away and practically pulled Marcus into the candy shop.

After buying about half of the shop, Marcus managed to convince Alice that she had enough candy to last her a lifetime and they headed to meet up with their friends. They had just entered the Three Broomsticks when Terrance called out to them from the table at the corner of the pub.

"Over here!" He waved.

It seemed that they were the last to arrive, thanks to Alice. Adrian and Graham were sitting next to each other on the east of the table, their backs to the wall. Terrance was seated with his back to the wall, facing Cara. Alice plopped down next to her blonde friend, and Marcus sat next to Terrance.

"Did you have fun?" Cara asked, Alice had a feeling that her smirk meant something else, but she chose to ignore it.

"Yes, especially since you weren't there." Alice said pompously.

Cara snickered at her dramatic friend, and Alice couldn't help but smile.

"Just so you all know, I'm not sharing my candy with any of you. Except for you Marcus, because you came with me." She stated.

"Mhm, share all your candy with me." Marcus said suggestively.

Graham and Adrian grinned, and Graham decided to tease Alice as always.

"What about me Alice?"

"You're not getting any, as always." She retorted.

Graham's face fell as Marcus snorted.

"Oh, Terrance, you can't share my candy because I got some for you to have on your own!" Alice smiled at Terrance.

"Seriously? You made me pay for his candy?" Marcus asked in disbelief at the brunette.

Alice slid some Acid pops, Jelly slugs, and Pixie puffs over the table for Terrance, who thanked her. She then gave Marcus some pumpkin pasties, which Graham snickered at.

As the conversation topic changed to quidditch, and how they heard that Snape would referee the upcoming Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match, Alice ended up sharing some chocolate wands with Cara, despite wanting her to regret not coming with her. Cara immediately bit into the wands, which horrified Alice as if Cara had just committed a sin. The screech she let out had grabbed the attention of the boys who were just immersed in talk about winning the house cup.

"Cara! you don't just crunch it up like that!" Alice squeaked.

Cara smirked at her friend, "I just did Ali."

"Don't you have any appreciation for this holy creation?!" Alice said dramatically.

Cara's eyes glistened with mischief as she noticed Marcus staring at Alice, her smirk got wider as she decided to make things more interesting for him.

"How should I consume it then Ali?" She asked sweetly.

"You have to savor it." Alice stated simply.

"What do you mean?" Cara asked.

Alice now too immersed into her argument that she didn't think twice about what she did next. She licked the top of the chocolate wands, and then inserted it into her mouth. She started sucking on it, savoring the sweet taste of chocolate, and then slowly took more of it into her mouth. She sighed in pleasure at the delicious sweet, and she licked the melted chocolate off her lips after she pulled it out.

Cara's eyes drifted to Marcus, who's jaw had dropped at the scene he was witnessing. He seemed to be entranced. She held back a chuckle.

"Well, that was interesting, don't you agree Marcus?" Cara asked innocently.

Terrance hid a smile behind his hands as he rested his chin onto his palms. Graham had no shame in the grin on his face.

Marcus blinked a few times, as if just coming into consciousness.

"Um,uh," He gulped "I-"

"What?" Alice asked, puzzled at Marcus's reaction.

He cleared his throat, and started to correct his posture and shift in his seat.

"Say, Ali, why don't you come with me to order some drinks?" Terrance suddenly offered.

"Hm, sure." She stood up and went to the counter with Terrance.

Marcus made a mental note to thank Terrance later for saving him.

"What the hell was that?" Marcus whispered to Cara.

"What was what?" She asked innocently.

"You did that on purpose." Marcus accused.

"Oh, rubbish. How could I have known she would give a chocolate wand a blowjob?" Cara worded it to be the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"I don't know, you're a Ravenclaw." Marcus stated.

"Yea and you have proved to be kind of a devil." Graham added.

"Come on, you enjoyed it, you should be thanking me." Cara brushed off their accusations.

After a few seconds of silence, Marcus spoke up right before Alice and Terrance came back.

"You're right, I did. A little too much to be honest." Marcus whispered.

"You're welcome." Cara smirked.

After regaining his composure, Marcus was back to his usual self. He smirked back at Cara. They seemed to be on some sort of mutual agreement for now.