Alina
"Ugh I love the snow so much! Why can't it always be like this outside?" she said, leaving the protection of the overhead awning to let the small white flakes of snow fall down onto her face. She stuck out her tongue to let a large one land on the tip of her tongue. The snow even tasted more magical at Hogwarts than it did anywhere else.
"You always say that you want it to be cold like this forever. Then you don't stop eating all of the snow, get sick, and then start wishing for summer," Marik said rolling his eyes. She could see him shivering even though he was wearing multiple layers of clothing.
"Oh don't ruin her fun Marik," Hermione said in her defense. Marik's only response was to stick his tongue out at her. He seemed to regret that decision when a large snowflake landed on the tip of his tongue and he had frantically tried to brush it off with his gloves.
"Yeah, Mary, don't ruin her fun," Harry added sarcastically. He too was shivering even with the multiple layers on.
"Please tell me we are not making that an actual thing. I would jinx you for calling me that again, but I am too damn cold," Marik said to Harry.
"Would you all stop your complaining. Your wizards for Peeve's sake put a heating enchantment on your clothes already! And Harry if you call Marik, Mary again I will hex you!" she said to the two boys, trying to sound as threatening as possible. Both boys groaned but proceeded to take out their wands and enchant their robes.
"Well done," Hermione whispered to her looking proud. She smiled back at Hermione proudly.
"I always forget how many students are actually at Hogwarts until a Hogsmeade weekend. I feel like I never see half of these people during the year," she said whilst looking around in amazement.
The grounds in every direction you looked were covered with students, all waiting for the carriages that would take them to the small village of Hogsmeade to arrive. She was excited for this years trip to Hogsmeade. Even though she was in her second year at Hogwarts this would actually be the first time she ever went on the trip to the village. Last year she had been a little too busy being possessed by a dark lord to make the journey. Thankfully this year she seemed to be 'possesion-free' though and would be able to make the popular school trip.
"That's because we spend eighty percent of our school year inside the same dark potions lab." Harry responded. She noticed he was still looking grouchy about all of the snow but at least he had stopped shivering.
"The price you pay to be number one," Marik added.
"Number two," Hermione corrected Marik with her usual large grin that she got whenever she had the chance to brag about beating Marik for the number one rank.
"You're dead to me," Marik responded, giving Hermione a death glare in the process.
"You all better get all of the bickering out of the way now! I will not have you three ruin my first trip to Hogsmeade! Especially you!" she said glaring at her three friends and pointing at Marik.
"Gulp. Hey it's my birthday, you can't threaten a guy on his birthday!" Marik argued, trying to look innocent. She only glared harder at him.
"Your birthday isn't until tomorrow. We are just celebrating it today since we have classes tomorrow. That doesn't mean you get to actually use the birthday excuse today," she argued.
"You guys are the worst," Marik said, pouting.
"Guess I won't buy you anything today then. . ." she said with a smile directed towards Marik.
"I take it back!" Marik shouted, sounding like a kid trying to behave well enough to get a piece of candy from his parents.
"I swear sometimes I feel like I'm hanging out with five year olds," Hermione said as she shook her head.
"Hey don't talk about Alina like that Hermione!" Harry joked. Hermione didn't find it funny. Harry cowered and began shivering again when she gave him her best glare.
"Look," Hermione said, pointing at the carriages that had just arrived "it's time to go," she announced to their group and they all left the cover of the pavilion to find an empty carriage.
The end of November trip to Hogsmeade was one of the last breaks everyone got before the Holidays. As a result almost every student in the school took part in the trip, which meant finding an empty carriage was almost impossible. After failing to find a free carriage they settled on one that seemed to only have two people inside. She could tell instantly from the bright red hair that it was the older Weasley twins.
"Do you two mind if we join? Everywhere else is full," Harry asked the twins.
"Of course young Harry!" one twin started.
"The more the merrier!" the other one finished. The four of them climbed into the carriage and the carriage immediately began moving off towards Hogsmeade.
"What is that?" Hermione asked the twins. She followed Hermione's eyes to see her looking at something the twins were working on.
"Ahh well I'm afraid this is a secret project," one of the twins said.
"We can't have any of our competitors hearing about this can we," the other twin added.
"Oooh good one Fred," the other twin said laughing.
"Hey I'm George!" Alina was so confused listening to them.
"Oh come on tell us. We won't tell anyone," Harry said after the twins finished laughing.
"How about this," one of the twins, Alina thought was Fred, started to say.
"We will make you a deal," the other continued.
"You lot place an order for say. . ." The first twin started scratching his chin to think. She noted long red whiskers seemed to grow from his chin the more he scratched it.
"Five of them as soon as we release stage one and. . ." the second twin added.
"We will tell you what they are," the first twin finished. They both put on huge grins when they finished their proposal.
Merlin these two were so weird. She couldn't help but think to herself.
"How much for each?" Hermione asked the twins.
"For you friendly lot, I would say a small number like," the first twin started.
"Two galleons each!" the second twin finished. Their large grins returned.
"Okay it's a deal then," Hermione said, and took out her purse. They all followed her lead and took out ten galleons each, she noted Marik groaning throughout the process. The twins high-fived each other and were practically bouncing in their seats as they were handed the galleons. "Now spill it!" Hermione said with a sharp glare. Even if it was a prank the twins were working on Hermione had to know everything.
"Right!" the second twin said as he rubbed one of the galleons on his face.
"This here is the next new product brought to you by none other than," the first twin enthusiastically began saying.
"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" the second twin shouted.
"This device is the next biggest thing on the market," the first twin started again. Her head was starting to hurt worse from all of this.
"It is sure to leave you grinning from ear to ear with all of its possibilities," the second twin added.
"Oooh good one George!" the first twin said laughing.
"Wait a minute! I'm Fred! Not that ugly git George," the second twin said looking offended!
"Just tell us already!" Hermione shouted impatiently at the two redheads. Even with all of their joking with a glare like the one Hermione had just given them they seemed to get a little more serious; just a little though.
"Right then!" the second twin started again.
"This h-ear is what we like to call an," the first twin continued explaining.
"Extendable Ear!" the second finished. He held up the small product for them all to see.
"Patent pending," the first twin added quickly as they all stared at what the twins were holding out for them. In their hands was a small human looking ear that looked like it had a piece of string attached to it.
"I don't get it," Marik said after a few moments of silence. The twins looked taken aback by his words, with looks as if he had stunned their family's dog or something.
"What does it do?" she asked the twins.
"Well my dearest Miss Black," the first twin straightened his tie as he spoke.
"With this Extendable ear," the second one began explaining.
"Patent pending," the first twin added again.
"You will be able to insert this string into your ear," the second twin continued explaining and demonstrated by putting the string into his ear.
"Then shove the other end under a door for example," the first twin added.
"And you will be able to hear the entire conversation or noise as clear as it was mere feet away!" the second twin finished explaining. Both the twins held the ear back up in front of them, again with huge grins on their faces.
"That's so cool!" Harry announced, breaking the silence in the carriage and causing the twins' grins to grow larger.
"How does it work?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking interested.
"I'm afraid Miss Granger that," the first twin started.
"Is something we cannot disclose even to buying customers!" the second finished. Hermione pouted.
"Have you tested them yet?" she asked the twins.
"Many times yes!" the second twin answered.
"From these we learned that a fourth year Slytherin boy named," the first twin continued.
"Thomas Higgs has a crush on another Slytherin girl named Ciara Mosop," the second twin finished.
"As well that Professor Sprout likes to sing," the first twin again started to talk.
"Weird opera songs to her plants when no one is around," the second twin finished.
"That's an invasion of privacy!" Hermione shouted. The twins merely shrugged her comment off.
"It is cool though," Alina added. The twins' smiles grew again.
"You could use them for all sorts of useful things, when is stage one coming out?" Harry asked the twins. Harry seemed excited to get his hands on some.
"You can expect your shipments during the holiday!" the second twin answered.
"It's our way of wishing you a very m-ear-y Christmas!" the first twin joked, earning groans from everyone in the carriage, including his twin.
"Really George?" the second twin said, looking disappointed.
"I'm Fred you git!" the first twin shouted. Her head was killing her now.
The rest of the carriage ride only made her head hurt worse. Harry had been interested to find out about some of the other projects the twins had been working on, so for the entirety of the trip the two twins had not stopped talking. By the end of their carriage ride Harry had ended up placing orders for over fifty galleons worth of products and had told the twins he wanted to discuss making more investments in the future. Harry may have said he didn't have a lot of his father's genes outside of his hair, but Harry's interest in what the twins were working on seemed like something his father would have been very interested in.
The rest of them had settled on being content with their preorder of Extendable Ears, patent pending. Although Marik did buy one of their fake, self-enchanting-mustaches for some odd reason. At last after spending what was much too long in the carriage with the twins they arrived at the small village of Hogsmeade.
"It's so pretty!" she announced as she set foot onto the large white blanket of snow that seemed to cover the entire village. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. The shop windows along the street all seemed to glow with an extra brightness as they illuminated the snowy village.
All around them students were running from shop to shop, pressing their faces against the glass to try and see what was for sale at each one. She could see a large number of students already headed straight for Three Broomsticks, which she had heard countless stories about from her father. On the other side of the street there was already students leaving Tomes and Scrolls bookshop with bags in each hand. The snowy town of Hogsmeade was really quite a magical sight to behold.
"Alright well how about we meet up at the Three Broomsticks around five? That way we can grab a bite to eat before we have to head back to the castle," Hermione asked them all.
"What do you mean meetup? I thought we were all going together," she asked Hermione, upset that she might have to explore the town by herself.
"Well me and Harry have to go get Marik a birthday present, and I still need to get you a Christmas present and this may be my last chance to get something in person. We can't have you two seeing your gifts yet so us two will be leaving you here," Hermione said with a smile as she left her and Marik standing there in the snow and dragged Harry down the street by his arm. Alina looked over to Marik and made eye contact with the wizard who didn't look nearly as bewildered as she did at the turn of events.
"Well where do you want to go first?" Marik asked her after a few moments of silence.
"Uhh. . ." she replied, trying to think of where she wanted to explore first. She let her eyes wander around the street trying to get an idea. However she quickly found herself sweating. All around them walking were couples! In every direction that she frantically turned her head all she could see was students hand in hand.
She counted at least ten pairs of couples holding hands as they walked romantically down the snowy street. Another couple was kissing under the mistletoe hanging near the door of the Three Broomsticks. She turned her head again in nervousness towards the shop window nearest to them hoping she might be able to find an escape from all the romanticness there. It was no hope though. Even in Honeydukes sweet shop she saw an older wizard with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend as she popped a sweet into his mouth. Suddenly it felt a lot warmer out here.
"Are you okay, Alina?" Marik asked her looking worried. She did her best to shake her worries away and nod.
Everything is okay Alina. Just because their are couples. . . everywhere. . . doesn't mean anything! You and Marik are not a couple. You are just friends! You don't have to be nervous. She mentally told herself, trying to console her worries. She made eye contact with Marik again, who was still looking at her concerned. She found herself blushing again and immediately removed her gaze from his eyes.
"Okay. . . Well how about we just start walking and if you see something stop me," Marik said and started leading the way. She collected herself and quickly made her way to his side, trying to use the falling snowflakes to cool her cheeks off.
The further they walked into the village the more magical the scenery seemed to get. Each store seemed to standout more than the next and the falling snow only made everything so much more beautiful. Some people hated the winter, she was definitely not one of those people.
"How about Gladrags Wizardwear? I need to get another winter coat and I could pick you out something cute!" she asked Marik. Out of all the shops a clothing shop seemed like the one they would be less likely to run into more couples. She desperately needed to escape from all the kissing, hand holding, and hugs if her cheeks were going to survive the day.
"Okay, lead the way," Marik responded and she led them into the shop. The store's owner greeted them and pointed her towards the coat section of the store.
"You have to help me pick something out okay," she told Marik, wanting his help finding something that he liked on her.
"Okay, although I don't really know what is in style. You see I normally wear men's clothes so," Marik said sarcastically as he started looking through the racks.
"How about this one?" she asked grabbing a simple black wool hoody from one of the racks and put it on. She blushed as Marik eyes scanned her up and down.
Maybe a clothing store was a bad idea. . .
"Hmm I don't like it, it's too simple for you," Marik told her after he had finished scanning her with his eyes.
"What does too simple mean?" she asked him, not sure if she should be offended or not.
"As in you always stand out wherever you go. That hoodie doesn't stand out," Marik scratched his head as he tried to answer.
"Maybe I don't always want to stand out! Whats wrong with blending in sometimes?" she asked him. Still not sure if Marik thought standing out was a good thing or not.
"Because you are too pretty to blend in," Marik who was now pulling a coat off a nearby rack said. Her cheeks immediately turned Weasley red again at his words. He had called her pretty! The little girl in her was screaming, or maybe all of her was.
"T-t-thanks. . ." she mumbled out, struggling to find the word. Her cheeks were on fire!
"Here, try this one on," Marik told her. He handed her a white wool peacoat that extended into a skirt towards the bottom. She took off the black hoodie and put the coat on. She turned to look at herself in the mirror.
"Wow. . . That's definitely the winner!" Marik said from behind her. She raised her gaze in the mirror to see his bleached silvery-grey eyes looking at her's in the mirror.
"You like this?" she asked as she turned around. The skirt part of the peacoat danced around her as she spun.
"I love it. This one stands out," Marik said. His eyes were still roaming all over her. Her cheeks were starting to ache again from all the blushing.
Is he checking me out?
"I still don't know what that means Marik," she told him.
"Well, I don't know! It brings out your best features and makes them standout even more than they normally do I guess. The white color makes your eyes look even bluer and harder to look away from. And the skirt will show off your legs which are. . . nice. . ." Marik tried to explain. She noticed his eyes go up towards the ceiling as he tried to answer her. She smiled at his words, even though he had struggled to get them out.
"Well I will take that as a compliment I guess," she said and looked down at the price tag on the coat. Her eyes immediately went wide and she was sure the redness in her cheeks had turned to a pale white. "Well too bad I can't afford this," she said and placed the coat back on the rack. Marik walked over and took the coat back off the rack.
"We will call it an early Christmas present then," Marik said to her with a smile.
"What? No way Marik! You told me you already got me a Christmas present! And this is way too much money," she tried to pull the coat away from him but Marik didn't budge.
"I did already get you a Christmas present, but that doesn't mean I can't get you two presents. Plus I like the way you look in this coat. So think of it as me buying the coat for myself and you just have to wear it occasionally," Marik answered her. She immediately felt the pain return to her cheeks.
Yup clothing store was definitely a bad idea.
"Thank you Marik. You are too sweet," She smiled at him after she regained her composure. "But even so it is too expensive, I can't let you buy this for me. I would feel guilty," she explained to him. Even if she did like the idea of Marik liking the way she looked in the coat and checking her out more whenever she wore it, the coat was too much money.
"No it isn't. I still have two year's worth of research money from the ministry. You know that I already decided I wasn't going to use it to research stuff that the ministry would get credit for once I heard what Fudge said. So I might as well put it to some good use. Now drop it! Im buying you this coat and that's that!" Marik crossed his arms signalling that he would not be swayed.
"Fine! But I get to buy you a coat too then!" she told him and headed off towards the men's coat section before he could argue. It only took her a few seconds before she found the perfect one. "Here, put this on," she handed him the coat. Marik took it and put it on. The coat she had picked out for him was a grey peacoat that, besides the skirt, looked very similar to hers.
"Well?" Marik asked her as he buttoned it up.
"Absolutely yes! You look freaking hot!" she told him. She again blushed as she spoke before she actually realised what she had said. It was true though. The grey coat made the tan skin on his face look even tanner. It brought out his dark hair a lot more too. Best of all though the grey color and black buttons matched the grey and black in his eyes, which were by far his best feature.
"Uhh thanks," Marik replied, for a second she thought she saw him blush too. An awkward silence arrived between them for a few moments."Although, I always feel like black is more of my color," Marik said breaking the silence.
"Grey is definitely your color. It brings out your eyes even more, makes them glow like silver," she said, complimenting him.
"Well aren't you just the sweetest," Marik said and gave her a warm hug. A small whimper escaped her lips as he hugged her.
With the cold snow outside she could have stayed in his warm embrace for an eternity. Unfortunately, before she could get used to it though Marik broke off the hug and carried their jackets to the checkout counter. After pouting for a second that the hug was over to soon she made her way over to the counter and paid for Marik's coat. The both of them put on their new coats and shrank their old ones into their pockets. He really did look freaking hot in that coat.
"So where too now?" she asked him as they made their way out of the store.
"Over there," Marik said, pointing at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. She immediately became terrified.
In the nearby store window she could see at least fifteen different couples sitting across from each other inside the store. Each table seemed to only have two seats, and all of them were right next to a lit fireplace. Every girl at Hogwarts new Madam Puddifoot's was the most romantic date spot in Hogsmeade. Even she did, and she had never even been on date! Why did Marik want to go with her there?
"W-w-why t-there?" she stuttered out. Even with all the warming charms on her clothes she was again shaking. This time from the nervousness instead of the cold.
"Because I want too. I hear it's got some of the best tea in Britain. Plus that fireplace in there looks like heaven. Come on!" Marik said and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the shop. A shot of emotions exploded through her as he held her hand. Sure he was just pulling her towards the shop but still, Marik had held her hand!
Eeek! The little girl in her was again screaming. God her cheeks hurt.
They made their way into Madame Puddifoot's shop where Mrs. Puddifoot herself proceeded to sit them in the far corner of the shop right next to the fireplace. Of course they had been given the isolated table that was farthest away from everyone.
"So what can I get for the lovely couple?" Mrs. Puddifoot asked them as they sat down. Her cheeks turned redder than they had the entire day so far.
"WE AREN'T A C-C-COUPLE!" she shouted out, stammering all of the words and drawing the attention of everyone in the store. Both Marik and Mrs. Puddifoot stared at her like she was crazy. Which at this point she was sure she was.
"Do you have any Sencha?" Marik asked Mrs. Puddifoot after an awkward few seconds.
"Of course we do dear, two Sencha's coming up!" Mrs. Puddifoot declared as she made her way back to the kitchen.
"What is Sencha?" she asked Marik, only just now returning to reality and realising he had ordered for her.
"It's a common Japanese green tea. I used to wake up to the smell of my mom brewing it every morning when we lived in Japan. I would say it is probably my favorite drink. If you don't like it you can order something else, I just wanted you to try it," Marik answered her.
"I still can't believe you lived in so many places. It's hard for me to imagine anywhere outside of Britain. What was Japan like?" she asked him, curious to know more about his life before Hogwarts.
"It is still probably one of the prettiest places I ever lived. My dad was helping to install military equipment there at the base in the Hachimantai highlands. While we were there we lived in a small village outside of the base. Our house was up on a plateau so we had an incredible view of the ocean and highlands. I used to sit out there with mom all day after school and just drink tea and read," Marik explained to her. She loved listening to him talk about himself.
"Sounds like something out of a book. Would you ever want to go back there?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I would. Japan, New York, and Lithuania are the few places I actually enjoyed moving to."
"Two Sencha's for the lovebirds. You guys enjoy!" Mrs. Puddifoot said to them as she delivered their tea.
"WE ARE NOT L. . ." she started to defend herself but Mrs. Puddifoot just winked at her and headed towards another table. She tried to calm herself down. This was slowly becoming torture, at any point her cheeks were bound to explode.
"Anyways! I understand Japan, but why New York and Lithuania? Those two sound random in comparison to everywhere you lived," she asked him and took a sip of the tea he had ordered for her. "Mmmm this is so good!" She told him, taking another sip. It really was delicious.
"I'm glad you like it," Marik said as he took a sip from his own cup. "And because those places have some of the strongest good memories for me I guess. New York is where I was adopted by my parents. It's the first place I remember living. So it's kinda like the origin part of my story and without New York who knows where I would be today. I want to go back there one day and see if it is like I remember. Lithuania was simply just the most beautiful place we stayed at. Out of everywhere I lived it by far had the prettiest landscapes and sights to see. I just liked to walk around the town we lived at and gawk at everything."
"I'm so jealous of you. The coolest place I ever visited was Ireland with my dad when I was young, and that was mainly just to go see a Quidditch match," she took another sip of her tea.
"Moving around as much as I did sucked, trust me. Plus Hogwarts is by far the best place I have lived at," Marik added.
"I agree," she responded. "Speaking of great places and sights you still haven't taken me to your special spot at Hogwarts like you promised you would in my first year!"
"I know I know. I keep meaning too but then something comes up. Plus after stunning me the last time we hung out at your special spot I'm still kinda scared to haha."
She would have fired back quickly with a comeback of her own at his words, but was distracted when he got up and pulled his chair over to her side of the table and stopped it right next to hers. She was about to ask what he was doing when he sat down and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer into him.
It felt like she had been hit in the gut by a ton of bricks when he did. Immediately she found it hard to breath and like the temperature of the fire next to them had increased tenfold. Her mind was rushing, moving at a thousand thoughts a minute at what was going on.
What did this mean? Why did he do this? Was she supposed to say something? Or do something? Why is it so damn hot in this place!
After internally having World War III in her head she finally calmed herself down. Instinctively she found her head leaning itself against Marik's shoulder as he pulled her in. She became nervous again as she felt the warmth of his shoulder pressing against her temple. She hopped he did not freak out or remove her from it, it was so comfy, warm, and felt so. . . right.
Over the next few minutes the two of them just sat in silence like that. Neither one of them moving an inch. Her eyes eventually closed as the moment of bliss she was having took its effect on her. This was perfection. This was one of if not the best moments of her time at Hogwarts so far. She loved the way her head seemed to fit perfectly against his shoulder, and the small rocking her head did as he breathed felt like a boat, drifting peacefully on calm waters.
Please let this moment never end.
"Hey Marik?" she found herself breaking the silence after another few minutes.
"Yeah?" he asked her. She was thankful he didn't move or remove her head from his shoulder when he spoke.
"Thank you," she answered in a whisper.
"For what?" he replied in the tone she could recognize as confusion without even opening her eyes.
"Everything. . . Being you. . . and this," she answered him. He didn't say anything back in return but even from her spot on his shoulder with her eyes closed she could feel the warmth of his smile.
Instead of answering, Marik chose to rest his head on top of hers. If it had been possible her smile would have grown even larger in reaction to this, but she was already in much too bliss. The two of them continued to sit like that for awhile. She eventually opened her eyes and watched the snow fall outside the windows. It was mesmerizing to watch each flake fall onto the windowsill and melt away in the candlelight.
"Alina?" Marik asked her after a while, waking her from her daze.
"Yeah Marik?" she asked him, watching another snowflake melt.
"It's almost five. We have to go meet Harry and Hermione," he answered her. Immediately a frown formed on her face.
Nooooooooooo she internally screamed. Why did this moment have to end?
"Come on, let's go," Marik said, lifting his head off of hers. She pouted in reaction to this and wanted to drag him back down to his chair as he stood up. Reluctantly she followed his lead out of her chair and towards the door of the shop. She had never noticed as they sat there how empty the store had become.
Outside of the shop the town was still just as magical as ever. The coat of white covering the town had thickened and the flurry of flakes falling from above had begun to fall heavier. She could see that many of the students were either still in shops or had already taken a carriage back to Hogwarts by this point.
How long had they been in there?
"Alina look," Marik said pointing above them. As she turned her head upwards she immediately became more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Hanging above them only a few feet away was a mistletoe. The girl inside her was screaming as she entered full panic mode.
A mistletoe! A freaking mistletoe! They were standing under a mistletoe! That meant. . . Surely he didn't mean to. . . Were they about to. . . Thousands of thoughts were flying through her mind as she panicked.
Marik seemed to be about to answer her question as she felt his warm hands grab both of hers. As her hands, which were now shaking uncontrollably, were encompassed by his, her eyes drifted from the mistletoe above them towards his.
His bright, beautiful, perfect silvery eyes were staring right into hers. It felt like he was staring into her instead of just at her. She stood like stone, unable to move, and in too much panic to act. She closed her eyes in anticipation as she felt his warm breath against her face.
He was getting closer.
She felt the tug on both of her hands as he pulled her closer into him. His warm body was pressed right against hers. She could feel the movement of his chest and the beat of his heart as he was inched closer to her. Even with her eyes closed she could feel his eyes still staring at her.
She felt a rush of warmth travel through her as his hands tightened their grip on hers and another one of his warm breaths hit her face. She felt his face getting closer to hers. He was moving in. She was about to have her first kiss. Marik was about to be her first kiss. . . Just as she could feel his lips only centimeters away from hers she felt him pull away.
Noooooo! She screamed internally.
"Alina is that. . ." she opened her eyes as he spoke. She was unable to shake the disappointment that overtook her at seeing his face so far away from hers now.
So close. . .
"What is it Marik?" she asked him, still in a state of shock.
"That person over there. . . It looks like that escaped prisoner from Azkaban you said you were related to," Marik answered her.
She noticed a change in his voice as he did. She followed to were his eyes were fixed, still too much in a state of bliss from moments earlier to fully take in what he was saying. After a few seconds what he had said finally sunk in when her eyes arrived at where he was looking. Sure enough a good twenty feet away from them was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, and she was walking towards a group of students standing outside a nearby shop.
"Marik, we need to leave!" she said panicked, finally taking in the situation. Marik stayed where he was though ignoring her request to leave. Her eyes darted from Marik to Bellatrix in worry. Bellatrix had made her way to the group of students she was walking towards and immediately Alina's level of panic increased. Bellatrix had her wand out and aimed at one of the girls in the group. The girl at the end of the wand fell to the snow and began thrashing about as a piercing scream filled the snowy air. She felt Marik's hands leave hers. She turned to look back at him as the warmth left her fingers to see him running towards Bellatrix and the thrashing girl in the snow.
"MARIK NO!" she screamed out in panic as he left her side. Cold tears had already began to make their way out of her eyes. She tried to run towards him and drag him back to her but found herself unable to move. Her legs were stuck.
Did he cast a spell on her? Or was she just she just too terrified to make them move? She thought to herself as Marik closed in on Bellatrix.
"Stupefy!" she heard Marik cast the spell at the witch. Bellatrix, even with her back facing Marik, rolled out of the way of the spell and now had her wand raised and pointed at Marik. More tears came to Alina's eyes.
She is going to kill him. . .
"Stupid little boy. Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted the spell she had never heard of at Marik. Marik's body just vanished into the snow though as Bellatrix finished the incantation. She saw Bellatrix staring in wonder as Marik vanished. The street they were on got very bright all the sudden as a flash of black energy collided with Bellatrix from somewhere behind the witch. After gathering herself from the snow where the spell had thrown her Bellatrix turned to see Marik standing in a new spot with his wand raised.
"I'm impressed, little, wittle, boy. Crucio!" Bellatrix again shouted the spell, this time with an evil grin. Alina again tried to run out to Marik, but again found herself unable to move. Marik's body again vanished into the darkness following Bealltrix's spell. A tall shadowy figure jumped out from Bellatrix's shadow and grabbed the witch. In one swift motion the shadow figure threw the witch into the wall of the nearby shop.
"Yamipulso!" Marik again appeared out of the shadows a few feet away from where Bellatrix was trying to get up from. A powerful stream of black magical energy flew out of Marik's wand and collided with Bellatrix, again sending her back into the wall of the store.
"MARIK OSE WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!" she heard a voice shout from nearby. Alina shifted her eyes, still unable to move to see professor McGonagall walking down the street.
"Crucio!" she saw Marik's body immediately fall to the snow where it began to thrash about.
"MARIKKKK!" she screamed. More cold tears came flowing out of her eyes as she watched him thrash about the snow, obviously looking like he was in excruciating pain. She looked at Bellatrix with eyes, begging for her to stop. The wicked smile only grew on the witch's face. She watched hopelessly as Bellatrix continued to torture Marik.
"Incarcerous!" she heard another voice cast the spell. She turned her head again to see McGonagall had been the one to cast the spell. From the look on McGonagall's face it seemed she realised now who it was Marik had been fighting. Bellatrix waved off the professor's ropes and stood over Marik's body on the ground.
"I had fun. I look forward to seeing you again, Marik," Bellatrix said to Marik on the ground, her evil smile still on her face. The witch, with a laugh that sent chills through her spine followed by a loud pop, vanished from the street.
**Please favorite, follow, or leave a quick review if you enjoyed the chapter!**
**Please go to the series forum and join a conversation or start a topic of your own! Link for forum can be found on profile page!**
**Please Check out the Open Polls on my Profile Page!**