Chapter 12
Marcus was angry.

The news of her relationship with Draco hadn't come from Hermione, but from Blaise. He had seen the pair as they strolled through Diagon Alley, hand in hand, after exiting a small bistro. Blaise relayed how they smiled at one another, how close Draco kept her to his side, how he kissed her every time they stopped walking. And they did that often.

Marcus paced outside of Hermione's building, attempting to rein in his temper before he went up to her flat. He needed to be calm when he spoke with her, for he wasn't sure what he might do otherwise. There was no denying that he first considered a trip to Draco's penthouse, perhaps to break his legs and bloody up his pretty face. But the rational part of his brain told him to speak to Hermione first, to get the story from her. Maybe then he would still have a chance.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he climbed the steps and entered the building with only a little bit of magic to get past the lock. His feet made no noise as he took the stairs to the third floor and made a right. Hers was the last door at the end of the long hallway. The nearer he got, the harder his heart beat. The door opened before he reached it, and he saw Hermione step out in only her bathrobe to retrieve the newspaper.

Their eyes met when she stood up straight, and she gasped. "Marcus!" she said a bit louder than necessary. "What are you doing here?"

He approached her. "Let's go inside. I'd hate to wake your neighbors," he replied. She glanced back at her flat nervously, and he knew why. "Malfoy's here, isn't he?"

"No," she said softly, pushing the door open wider to allow him to see the living room. "He stepped out for a bit. To get breakfast."

Marcus nodded. "What's going on between the two of you?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound less demanding and more inquisitive. It didn't have the desired affect as Hermione flinched. When she didn't reply, he continued. "Are we done?"

"I don't know," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you with Malfoy?"

"Yes."

Marcus shook his head and reopened the front door. "Then we're done."

Hermione was behind him, desperately holding onto his arm to keep him from leaving. "Please, just let me explain," she urged, and he was sure her voice sounded like it was beginning to break.

He stopped, one hand on the doorknob, and turned to face her. He waited for her explanation, the one she needed him to hear. "Well?" he asked when she gave no indication she would continue.

She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly, shakily. "You knew about Draco and me," was her excuse. "You knew we were...something, I don't know what, when you and I first got together."

"And I thought that ended because we were dating," he interjected angrily.

"It didn't," she replied. "He just wasn't here for it to continue. But, no, we never broke things off. The whole point of our arrangement was that we could still see other people."

Marcus pried her fingers from his arm and made a move to open the door again. "You would have made a great Slytherin, Granger," he remarked. "Got what you wanted, didn't you? Draco couldn't honestly have been stupid enough to believe you wouldn't get attached. And when you did, you needed to find a way to get him to feel the same way. I thought maybe you felt the same way for me that I did for you. Guess I'm not as smart as you gave me credit for."

The front door opened before Marcus could turn the knob. He stepped back as Draco entered with a small brown, paper bag in hand. He glanced nervously at Marcus before casting a worried look Hermione's way. "You okay?" he mouthed to her.

Marcus caught the silent question and the hesitant nod of Hermione's head. "The two of you deserve each other," he muttered. "I expected this of you, Malfoy. You've never given a damn about anyone else. But you, Hermione, I never would have thought you capable of hurting someone."

"Oh, come off it," Draco replied, fed up with his friend. "It was a couple of weeks. You barely even know her. You knew what we were doing before you asked her out. You honestly weren't naive enough to think that she'd fallen in love with you in a matter of days."

"Stop," Hermione said, placing a hand on Draco's arm. He moved closer to her side and placed his hand on her lower back. She glared at him briefly. "Give us a minute."

Though wary to leave, Draco nodded and left for her bedroom. Now alone, Hermione wrapped her arms around her waist and put space between Marcus and herself. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I thought you knew. I thought you understood what Draco and I were doing. I honestly never meant to hurt you, Marcus. You know how much I care about you."

"Do I?" he scoffed. "I know the two of you are dating now. I had to find out from someone else. Not from my friend or the girl I was dating, though. No, that would have been the right thing to do. So, what was your plan, Hermione? Date him and me at the same time? Did you figure we'd both go for that? Can you honestly tell me that you want to be with him, not me?"

She looked at the man in front of her before glancing back at her closed bedroom door. Not sure that she could answer his question, Hermione turned her gaze to the floor. "I like him, Marcus," she admitted. "I don't know why, but I do."

"And me?" he wondered.

"I like you too."

Leaning against the door, Marcus sighed. "So, where does that put us?" he wondered, following her eyes to the floor.

"I don't know."