Marik
"I think it may be for the best if we stop breaking the riddle up line by line. I think we need to take a step back and analyze the whole picture before we keep trying to solve the smaller parts," Hermione said to the three of them from her hospital bed, which since yesterday had become more of a desk and bookshelf than an actual bed.
"Yeah, I am starting to agree with that, I'm getting nowhere analyzing single words of the riddle at a time," Harry replied, looking exhausted from all the research he had been doing.
It had only been one full day since the first task of the tournament, but to an outside observer looking in, it would have appeared as if the four of them were still currently participating in a Triwizards' Tournament task. Ever since Hermione had been told the clue for the second task she had been working like a mad woman to solve it, even from inside the hospital wing. And of course since Hermione was stuck inside the hospital wing that meant Harry was also basically in the hospital wing at all times helping her do research, only leaving for classes and to go retrieve a new book at Hermione's request.
Alina had also been assisting them in solving the clue, although, she did not seem to be enjoying it too much. After randomly blowing up on him in the dining hall yesterday, Alina had disappeared for the rest of night, leaving just the three of them around Hermione's bed to do research. However, just a little while after he and Harry had arrived at the hospital wing this morning Alina had shown up, still quite grumpy, but had again started helping them research the clue.
"I think we should go by rhymes. I may be dumb for this but I would assume that each rhyme is part of a pair, and that the pair as a whole would be a clue," he pointed out as they all stretched and took a break.
"Yeah, I agree Marik. Let's all start with the first two lines instead of splitting up this time. We might have better luck if we concentrate our efforts," Hermione added and started to pick up a new a book.
"Leave it to the Headmasters to give you a riddle as a clue, as if the tasks themselves weren't hard enough," Alina said, earning nods of agreement from all of them.
"Yeah, this clue better be worth it that's for sure. I was hoping for a break between tasks but guess that is out of the question with solving this and now the Yule Ball too," Harry replied, rubbing the bags under his eyes.
"Yule Ball? What is the Yule Ball?" Hermione asked him. Marik immediately laughed when he learned that Hermione didn't know about the Yule Ball yet.
Guess that means you didn't ask her yet Harry.
"You didn't ask her Harry?" Alina shouted at their friend, having come to the same conclusion as he had.
"Uhh. . ." was all Harry said, looking nervous and starting to sweat.
"Ask me what? Tell me already!" Hermione asked, obviously annoyed that they all knew something that she didn't.
"Durmstrang's Headmaster announced that on Christmas evening that there is going to be a ball held to celebrate the tournament. I was going to tell you last night, but I forgot once we started talking and reading," Harry answered her. Marik laughed again to himself as he saw uncomfortable his friend looked.
"And-everyone is required to go, and everyone needs a date to dance with!" Alina added playfully, causing both of their friends to blush.
"Hermione speaking of the ball, will you uhm. . . be my date to the ball?" Harry asked, mumbling out the last few words nervously.
"Speak up Harry, I don't think she heard you," he said, teasing his friend.
"Will you please be my date Hermione and accompany me to the ball!" Harry almost shouted the words out this time, causing the few people in the hospital wing to stare at him. Hermione was blushing like a Weasley down on her bed.
"Of course I will Harry! I couldn't ask for a better date," Hermione replied, sounding excited at the prospect. He and Alina watched on with a smile as the two of them hugged each other. "Guess that means I have to go get a dress soon then, I didn't bring one with me."
"I will go with you when we are able to. I need to get one too," Alina said to Hermione.
"Oh, did Dedrick ask you already then?" Hermione asked Alina, a large smile plastered on her face.
"Kind of. I told him about the ball last night and he assumed we were already going together. He is still being bitter about the task though at the moment, so we didn't talk that much about it," Alina answered Hermione. Maybe that was the reason why Alina was so grumpy.
"Well did you ask Luna yet Marik? Oh wait! I'm so sorry Marik! I forgot!" Hermione asked him and then immediately sprouted a face full of regret at her slip up. He just smiled and laughed it off though.
The whole Luna situation had not really fully hit him yet. Luna had only broken up with him yesterday, so he imagined it would take some more time before the onslaught of emotions set in. He was sad of course, and felt bad that he had hurt Luna. He had truly grown to like her since they had first started dating and it was a little hard to believe that he was actually losing her. She had become one of his closest friends and his biggest peice of support over the summer and it would be hard to imagine not having her around. There was just so much going on this year though and he had just become too distracted by the tournament and things since they had arrived at Durmstrang that it all was just hard to comprehend.
He knew, though, that ever since they had arrived at Durmstrang he had put Luna onto the back burner so to say. He had been so focused on the tournament and what not that he had neglected to take care of Luna and be a good boyfriend at all. She had been there for him in the times he needed someone the most and had been the biggest reason he had been able to keep on moving forwards and he had not. He had failed to be there for her at all this school year. He knew Luna leaving him was his fault and he wasn't trying to make any excuses. It honestly was no real surprise when Luna pointed this out and ended things with him. After all, he had been a pretty shitty boyfriend to Luna and a girl as good as her deserved much better than that. The pain of losing her still sucked and he was sure it would sink in soon enough.
Each time he felt the bracelet they had bought together on his wrist it was a reminder of how important Luna was to him. This was all probably for the best though, Luna deserved good things in life and he had failed to give her that. He would still always cherish the short few months that they had been together and would be eternally grateful for the wounds that Luna had helped to close.
"It's okay Hermione," he told her, still laughing a little at her guilty reaction.
"What are you going to do about the ball then?" Hermione asked curiously.
"No clue, I will figure something out though. Maybe McGonagall will go with me," he joked, earning a laugh from Harry and a roll of the eyes from Hermione.
"You could always ask flirty-freaking-Fleur during your date today with her!" Alina said sarcastically. Marik noted Alina's large scowl at the mention of the French girl.
"You have a date with Fleur Delacour? Didn't you just literally get out of a relationship? Ugh I miss everything being stuck in here! When did this happen? I knew she liked you but I didn't know you liked her!" Hermione asked him, leaning forward on her bed as if she needed to get closer to get her answers.
"You knew she liked him?" Alina started to ask, but he cut her off.
"First off, for the last time it is not a date."
"It is a date, Marik is just dumb," Harry interrupted him.
"Whatever! And second off, you don't know that she likes me, and I haven't even thought about liking her! I just became single one freaking day ago! Fleur just offered to show me where I can watch a replay of the first task, so of course I said yes. That is all! It is not a date" he answered Hermione. As much as Alina and Harry said it was a date he still didn't believe them. Fleur was. . . Well Fleur was freaking hot! She was an extremly gorgeous women who could literally have any guy in the world that she wanted. There was no way she would have asked him out on a date.
"I do know! And it certainly sounds like a date to me," Hermione said, agreeing with the other two at the table.
"You guys are the worst. But speaking of Fleur I am supposed to be meeting her soon so I'm going to leave you three here and go on my date!" he told them, making it a point to say the last part sarcastically.
"He admits it!" Harry joked as Marik stood up and placed the book on his lap back on the pile at the edge of Hermione's bed.
"Shut up! Hermione if you don't want to go with this ugly git you are always welcome to go to the ball with me," he joked, causing Harry to glare at him.
"Thanks for the offer Marik, but I think I am content with the ugly git," she answered him, smiling and taking in one of Harry's hands in hers in the process.
"Alrighty, well I will come back here afterwards and give you all the rundown of everything I saw in the replay," he started to walk away but turned around. "Alina can you be here later this afternoon too? Since you were the only other person who saw all the perspectives in the task I figured we could collaborate on everything. Might help us out moving forwards you know?" he asked Alina, who he noted looked even more pissed off than she had earlier.
"Maybe," Alina answered, short and to the point.
"Alright then. I'm out," he waved goodbye to his friends and headed out of the hall.
The walk to the dining hall was a short one from the library. Almost everything important in Durmstrang was located on the first floor of the castle, leaving all the upper levels for dorms and practice rooms.
Whether this really was a date or not, he really did not care. He was just excited to get to watch the replay of the first task. Outside of getting to beat Dedrick's ass he had seen almost no action during the first task. He was looking forward to seeing what Hermione and Harry had actually gone up against, as well as check out the strategies used by the other teams. When he arrived at the dining hall he saw Fleur, looking amazing as ever, sitting on one of the benches outside the large doors in all of her splendor, her nose buried deep in a book.
"Hey Fleur," he said greeting the French witch. Fleur smiled at him as she stood up and closed the book she had been reading.
"Hello Marik, right on time," Fleur replied as she looked down at her watch.
"Were you waiting long?" he asked her, hoping he had not made her wait.
"Not at all, I actually just arrived a few minutes ago. Shall we go?"
"Lead the way," he replied and followed by her side as she began to lead him through the castle. "Do you mind if I ask what you were reading?" he asked her as they walked.
"Of course not, you can ask me anything you want to know," Fleur started to say, flashing him another one of her pretty white smiles. "It is a book on defensive runes. I only just started taking the subject this year and already feel like I can't get enough of it," Fleur answered him, he sensed some excitement in her voice as she talked about the subject.
"I said the same exact thing when I decided to take runes in my third year. It's one of my favorite classes now for sure," he replied, happy to know someone outside of himself enjoyed the class as much as he did.
"Really? I would never have taken you for a runes person," Fleur answered playfully.
"Yeah, I actually probably put more time into rune's class than any other class last year. And what type of person did you take me for?"
"Hmm. . . Well I already knew you were certainly a dueling type of person from the dueling tournament and the first task. But you look like a charms type of person to me," Fleur answered him as they turned another corner in the castle.
"What does a charms type of person look like?" he asked curiously.
"Bright, full of thought eyes that always seem to appear as if they are looking off in the distance, probably thinking of some sort of spell. And the really good charms people are also extremely handsome of course," Fleur's eyes met his as she answered him, he couldn't help but smile and grin a little at her obvious compliment and flattery.
"Is that so? Who knew?" he laughed. "Aren't you just the sweetest. I thought for sure you were going to say charms people are charming," he joked, thankfully earning a giggle from Fleur from his lame joke.
"Oh, well the charming part was assumed, it is in the name after all," Fleur added, still giggling. Marik thought as he listened to her giggle that Fleur had a cute laugh.
"So if you were able to narrow me down as a charms person, lemme try and guess what type of person you are then," he said to Fleur, trying to think outside of runes what the girl looked like she would be good at. He obviously knew she was good at charms and dueling from past experiences with her but he looked the girl over to see if anymore ideas came to head. He could of sworn Fleur blushed a little as his eyes scanned her over and he was surprised that he didn't as he realised he had just very obviously been caught looking her up.
Fleur had a very obvious beauty to her, one that you had to be blind to miss. Her blonde hair that hung long down her back looked almost silver in the light of the castle. She was tall, nearly as tall as he was and was supported by two of the longest legs Marik had ever seen. Her tight jeans and tee-shirt did not hide her obvious features at all either.
"Okay, go ahead," Fleur replied, looking interested to hear his answer.
"Well I too also know that you are a dueling and charms type of person from the dueling tournaments, but to me you also look like you would be a spell creations person," he told her, and tried to gauge her reaction to see if he was right. Fleur's smile just grew a little.
"And what brought you to that conclusion?" she asked him, her voice sounding playful again.
"Spell creation is one of the most difficult subjects out there. To be good at the course you have to be the best of the best, and be able to see the world of magic in a different light. You have to be able to look at magic as art, and not just incantations and wand movements. I for a fact know you are the best of the best, and I have seen your magic first hand. It certainly gives off the auror of creativity that only a spell creationist could have. Plus, spell creation is a thing of beauty, and so are you," he said the last part with a wink, surprised a little by his flirting with the girl. He couldn't help but smile in return as Fleur's smile grew even larger.
"Oh you are trouble Mr. Marik. You may have earned a few brownie points with that comment," Fleur said to him, sounding a little flirtatious to him.
Maybe this was a date. He couldn't help but think to himself.
"Ooh brownie points already? Good job me. So was I right?" he asked her as Fleur stopped and led him into a small classroom.
"Yes you were actually. Charms is my favorite subject, but it is a close tie for second between spell creations and runes at the moment. If you want to grab a seat over there on that couch I will get everything set up," Fleur told him as she moved around the room. He walked over and plopped himself down on the sofa, which seemed to have a cushioning enchantment in it.
"So have you got into carving any cool runes yet?" he asked her, curious to know if she had started working on anything he had not.
"Yeah, I have. I actually just got my new diamond drill and enchanted rune stave at the start of the school year. I haven't spread my wings too much in the subject yet, but I have been carving a lot of boosting runes at the moment while I try to get the handle of things," Fleur answered him as she took out what looked like a muggle projector from one of the cabinets and set it up on a nearby table.
"I will have to let you try out my unicorn stave sometime, it is beyond better than your normal enchanted chisels. And boosting runes are where I started too. You should look into combination runes too, that is what I practiced the most on early on," he told her as she continued to set things up.
"You have a unicorn stave? How did you manage to get one?" She seemed to have finished setting up whatever the device was and came down and sat next to him. Marik was surprised and a little caught off guard at just how close she had sat to him; both of their legs were brushing against one another.
"Yeah, I do. Me and my friends stumbled across a dead unicorn during our first year of school, so we harvested as much as we could from it back then. I used the horn to carve out two staves. Next time we hang out I will be sure to bring it and let you test it out."
"Wow that is a lucky find and I would love to try it out!" Fleur replied in excitement. "So we are hanging out a next time then huh?" Fleur asked him with a playful grin.
"Of course, I owe you for bringing me here and showing me the task replay, plus I guess I would maybe like to see you again." He replied almost instinctively. He was a little surprised at how natural flirting with Fleur came.
"Just maybe?" Fleur asked, making large puppy dog eyes in the process.
"Well it depends on how you behave today I guess."
"Guess I will have to be on my best behavior then won't I? You mentioned combination runes, I haven't read about them before. What are they used for?"
"Yes you will! And they can be used in a lot of ways actually. But let's say for example that since you are carving a lot of boosting runes right now that you come across two runes that you feel like would be useful if used together. A combination rune allows you to combine two rune effects into a single rune. So for example, when I practice dueling a lot I will use a quick drain rune and limiter rune while I train. Instead of having to carry around both runes or use two rune stones, I can carve a combination rune to put both runes into one rune stone. That make any sense?" he asked her, unsure if he had just rambled too much or not.
"That does sound useful, I will have to grab a book on it later tonight then," she replied, looking genuinely interested in the subject.
"I actually own a really good book on it that I can let you borrow when we get done here, we will just have to go get it from my room."
"We haven't even finished here and you are already trying to get me into your room huh? I told you that you were bad," Fleur said playfully again. If Marik was the type of person who blushed he for sure would have then at the thought.
"Ya ya ya, I'm the worst!"
"So do you mind if I ask you why you use quick drain and limiter runes when you practice dueling?" Fleur asked him curiously.
"I actually train with my charms professor Filius Flitwick, who I assume you have heard of before as a fellow duelist right?" he asked her before he continued.
"Yes I have, and that explains why you are as good as you are."
"Yeah, he has helped me out with dueling more than anything else. But anyways, it is actually a training method he uses when training for his tournaments. The limiter rune is kind of like working out physically with ankle and wrist weights on. It takes more power and magic to cast the spells you normally would cast so it helps train your power and magic levels. When you duel without the limiter your body feels like it can cast the spells at any level, so that's why I use that one.
"The quick drain I use, to one, get my body used to having my magic drained and casting spells with lower magic levels, and two, to try and beat my opponent quickly before my magic runs out." Fleur listened on intently, seeming extremely interested in what he was saying.
"I'm impressed. I never would have thought of anything like that. I get why you beat me so many times now."
"To be honest Fleur I think I only really beat you one time. The first time was a fluke."
"What? Why do you say that?" Fleur asked him with a confused look.
"You had me beat with your strategy in the first year tournament. I was stuck inside the sandstorm you sent at me and would have for sure been knocked out by your combination of lightning and water. If it wasn't for me accidently using a spell I didn't even know how to do then I would have lost for sure," he answered her truthfully. His accidental burst of shadow magic was the only reason he had won the tournament that year. He knew now how to do what he had done then, but back then it had all been luck.
"I wouldn't call that a fluke. After all, luck is the most useful quality a duelist could ask for," Fleur responded with another smile.
"Yeah, I guess that is true. Speaking of the tournament are you upset that it is cancelled this year because of the Triwizards' Tournament?" he asked her, assuming that she was still looking for revenge.
"No, I am actually thankful it was cancelled. I think the Triwizards' Tournament will be more than enough action for me this year. Plus, I was actually thinking about skipping the tournament in the future. I truly do love dueling, but I think I could spend the time better elsewhere. Plus, you kicked my ass over this summer and I don't know if I could ever actually beat you one on one to be honest."
"I think we are closer in skill level than you think, I may give off the vibe that winning is easy, but you have always been one of my toughest opponent in the tournaments." Outside of maybe Hermione, Fleur had put his magic to the test more than anyone else he had dueled during his three EMSDCs.
"Well thank you. Maybe I will have to enter it again then, I did always enjoy dueling you. Although, your magic that first year did terrify me if I am honest," Fleur said laughing at the last part.
"Yeah, you aren't the first person to tell me that." It had even taken him sometime to get used to the somewhat intimidating appearance of the shadow figures he could summon.
"Well are you ready to get started watching this?" Fleur asked him. He had been so caught up in talking to her that he had almost forgotten the reason they were here.
"Yeah, I am excited!" he told her and with a flick of her wand the projector on the table near them sent nine different images onto the wall, one video for each champion. "Wow this is so cool!" he said as the footage started to roll.
"So I understand if you can't or do not want to answer any questions I have, but I am going to ask anyways okay?"
"Yeah, of course, and same to you," he responded, his eyes switching between the many different viewpoints.
"Do you mind telling me what runes those are that you are carving?" she asked him as one of the images on the wall showed him carving the three runes for Harry and Hermione. He thought about whether or not to tell her. After a few seconds he decided there was no harm in it, after all if she looked hard enough she would be able to tell what they were anyways.
"No I don't. One is a spell power booster, another is an emergency shield, and the last one is a slow drain rune."
"That is a smart combination. I was the only one in our group who has ever taken runes before so I was in charge of carving ours. All I could think of under the pressure though was a simple shield rune, and it only ended up working against two spells," Fleur told him.
"Yeah, I was only able to carve those three since I was practically doing nothing the whole task."
"Why didn't you make any combination runes?"
"Too be honest, I just didn't want to take any risks. I thought about doing a combination rune for the boost and slow-drain runes and making another shield rune, but I figured it would be better to play things safe. I'm so used to using a higher-grade stave too ya know?"
"That makes sense."
"What spell did you just cast there against that cerberus?" he asked her as he watched her cast a brightly colored spell that seemed to really bother the large three-headed beast. It was hard to believe that while had been sitting there yawning at base, Fleur and Weiss were fighting a freaking cerberus.
"It is actually a spell I designed. I call it drain-magic. It acts like a virus in the target and slowly drains its magic and pulls it into you. Our spells were practically bouncing off its thick skin so I used it to make it weaker over time so that we would have a chance to beat it," Fleur answered him.
"Wow that sounds awesome. Using that, you could practically never have to worry about running low on juice," he responded, impressed with the spell she had created. He really wanted to learn how to do it, but didn't want to push his luck in asking her.
"Yeah, It comes in handy a lot. Although, as you can see with the cerberus, right now the spell I have designed is a pretty slow drain. I actually tried to use it on you over the summer in our duel, but your shadow figure thingy took the blow instead of you," Fleur confessed to him.
"Sounds like I got lucky again then. I don't think I would have been able to counter that." Marik watched in awe as Hermione's perspective showed her fighting the minotaur on her own. He was beyond impressed with the magic and ability Hermione showed throughout the fight. Her time-magic was beyond terrifying, and Marik made the mental note to make sure that he never pissed off Hermione again.
"What spell is that your teammate is casting?" Fleur asked him at the sight of Hermione using one of her time-based magic spells.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell you even if I tried. Hermione tried to explain it to me once and I gave up trying to understand after the first few seconds," he admitted honestly.
Hermione's parallel worlds time-magic spell was incredible to behold. Watching her perform the spell in practice rooms was nothing like watching it in action against a full grown minotaur. Watching her obliterate the minotaur with the spell was only making him more jealous of all of the action his friends had gotten in the first task.
"You made him look like a muggle," Fleur broke the silence with a laugh as they watched his duel with Dedrick.
"Yeah. . ." he replied, not able to help the smile that came to his face as he watched her reaction.
"That was probably the most badass and dominant duel I have ever seen," Fleur told him, shaking her head as they watched his final spell send the bastard into the forest again.
"Yeah right!"
"Seriously. You didn't even have a wand and you kicked his ass, literally. That kid is annoying as hell so I am happy." The fact that Fleur didn't like Dedrick too only made him like her even more.
"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of him either. What were you thinking when you saw that dragon?" he asked as Fleur and Weiss entered into their door. The enormous Hungarian Horntail immediately began spewing out fire intensely as the two girls started firing off spells.
"Holy shit," Fleur replied and they both laughed. "Thank god Weiss's parents are dragon breeders or we both would have probably ended up fried." Marik had not known that about Weiss. That would explain how the older blonde girl looked so calm in the face of a Hungarian Horntail.
"Nice usage of the rensa maho spell," he said as he watched Fleur wrap the dragon's feet up in a long black chain.
"I actually owe you credit for that one. I learned that spell the day after I watched you use it in the finals of the EMSDC before our third years."
"Really?" he asked, a little surprised that Fleur remembered what spells he had used back then.
"Yeah, your friend Hermione used that geminio spell on me in our duel and it gave me a lot of trouble. You used the chain magic spell to handle all of her thought projections in one swoop. I had to go out in learn it after seeing it used like that."
"I had no idea you were paying that much attention," he replied honestly.
"Of course I was paying attention to you. I have another question."
"Okay, shoot."
"I know that you have created a whole bunch of crazy spells and that they all deal with shadows or the dark or something. But right there," Fleur pointed at the screen where he had just disappeared into a shadow, "are you actually going into the shadow of that pillar?" He thought about how much he was willing or should be willing to share.
"I don't wanna say too much, but I guess I can answer that. Yeah, I'm going into the shadow."
"What is it like in a shadow?" Fleur asked, turning from the projection screen to face him.
"Cold and hazy. Like you are swimming in a fog. You can't see anything of yourself but you can feel it there, like reaching out in your room when the lights are all off. You get used to it after a while though." He tried his best to explain it. Hermione and Harry had asked him the same question a few times, but it was one of those things that was hard to explain.
"I'm jealous you came up with something so badass."
"I'm sure you could do the same. Your drain-magic already sounds pretty badass to me." He replied honestly.
The two of them watched the rest of the the first task together, both of them firing one question off right after another. He had already known that Fleur definitely knew her magic from their past dueling experiences, but after watching her perspective in the task and hearing all of her observations and questions he became that much more impressed with her. Fleur was really an incredible witch.
Fleur seemed to have the same awe of magic that he and his friends all had. Whenever an impressive spell was cast she would get just as excited to see it as he would, and whenever she saw a spell that she did not know how to cast yet, she wanted to immediately learn it just like him. She pointed things out that he had never thought to notice and the way she performed her magic during the task was so artistic. Fleur would find ways throughout the task to chain together a spell combo that he would have never imagined putting together. He enjoyed himself quite a bit as he sat there with her, and found himself disappointed when they footage of the task finally ended.
"Thanks again for showing me that, it helped out alot."
"Of course, I had fun."
"I did too. I mean you were kind of boring, but the film made up for that," he joked playfully.
"Oh so it's like that huh?" Fleur asked him with a grin that Marik found quite sexy as she finished putting everything up and proceeded to sit on one of the nearby desks.
"Oh, you know I didn't find you boring. If anything I was boring with all my ramblings."
"I like your ramblings, you are cute when you ramble," Fleur responded, causing him to grin.
"Oh yeah? So you think I am cute?"
"I mean I already called you handsome, so of course I think you are cute," Fleur answered him, smiling more as she did. He liked the way she looked when she got that type of smile on her face.
"And why do you think I am cute?" he asked her, curious to know her answer.
"Well your personality is cute, I like how passionate you are about things when you talk. Plus that cocky little grin you get whenever you try to flirt is like chocolate."
"You may have just earned some brownie points too Miss Delacour," he told her playfully, not able to stop his growing grin at her words.
"Ooh can I try and earn some more?" Fleur asked him with a wink.
"You can try."
"Well then in that case I also think you are handsome, and sexy," Fleur told him a tone that felt seductive.
"Oh really?" he asked her, perking up a little more at her words.
"Mhmm. Your tan skin, dark hair, and face are very handsome. And your eyes, well your silver eyes are very sexy to me," Fleur told him flirtatiously in an almost purr like voice. Marik made his way over to the girl on the desk and stopped a few feet in front of them.
"I think you are just as bad as I am Miss Delacour."
"Me bad? No! I just am being honest, and in the process earning some brownie points that hopefully I will get to cash in soon," She argued, trying to sound innocent.
"Mhmm. Well maybe I will be a little honest too then and try to earn some more brownie points of my own then," he replied, closing the gap between them as he spoke.
"You aren't allowed to earn any brownie points though until I cash all of mine in," Fleur argued in a teasing tone.
"Oh is that the rule?" He asked her, raising one of his eyebrows.
"Mhmm, everyone knows that."
"Okay then. I guess I will play by the rules this time, what do you want to cash in your points for?" he asked her curiously.
"Hmmm. . . So many good options. How about. . . this!" she said seductively as she grabbed the front of his robes around his chest and pulled him closer to her, removing the small gap between them.
As he was quickly pulled up against the desk where Fleur was sitting, and between her legs he immediately felt the warmth of her body pressed up right against his. Before he could even react, his eyes were closed and Fleur's warm, soft, and wet lips were pressed firmly against his. A soft moan escaped him as her body pressed harder against his and her lips attempted to part his. The feeling of her body and features pressing into him was driving him mental.
Wanting more, he allowed Fleur's tongue entrance into his mouth, where it began to explore and dance around with his. After a few moments of that he pushed his tongue into Fleur's mouth and began to explore it on his own. For minutes or hours the two of them stayed like this, both of them kissing the other, their tongues both fighting for dominance. The kissing was leaving him feeling like he was in a state of bliss, as his entire body was reacting to the passion and temptation the French girl, that he was literally French kissing, was provoking. He was sure as their bodies were pressed up against each others that she could tell just how good the kissing felt and just how much he was enjoying it. He could haved stayed like this forever. Unfortunately though, the ringing of the warning curfew bell ended that possibility.
"I guess you will have to cash in your brownie points the next time then," Fleur told him as their lips separated and she stood up from the desk and fixed herself. Marik tried to shake his head of all the tingles his body currently had and forced himself to look away from the girl as he tried to calm down.
"I guess I will," he replied, a little upset that the bell had interrupted them.
"So I guess it's probably a little late to ask this, but you aren't seeing anyone right now are you? I thought you were with someone at the beginning of the year, which is why I never said anything to you." Fleur asked.
"I was then yeah. I'm single as of yesterday though," he answered, thinking about Luna for a few seconds..
"I'm sorry to hear that, but good." Fleur pulled him into another quick kiss, this one harder than the last.
"Good?" he asked her as she pulled away from him again.
"Yup, good. Now I don't have to worry about having to fight anyone to get you," Fleur said with a devilish grin.
"What about you?" he asked her, curious himself.
"What about me?"
"I find it hard to believe that someone as breathtaking as you is single. Do I have to fight any boyfriends off?"
"Hmm, well there are these four guys. . ." Fleur started to say. "I'm kidding! I'm single, have been for a long time too."
"You must snore when you sleep or have some pretty gross habits then. I still think it's impossible for someone like you to be on the market."
"I do not snore! And it's not so hard to believe. I just have been waiting for the right guy you know? Plus, I'm a quarter veela, so a lot of guys tend to only be interested in me because of that. So I tend to stay away from most guys." Fleur mumbled out the last part, sounding embarrassed at her words.
"Veela? I've heard of that before, but I can't quite put a pin in it." He tried to wrack his brain and come up with an answer.
"Veela are a race of semi-humans. A Veela's magic is beauty based, and causes Veela to be born more beautiful than most. Their magic is almost toxic to males, and most all male beings find it near impossible to resist the charms, seductions, or aura of a Veela. Full blooded Veelas can transform into powerful, magical creatures when angry too. My grandmother was a full-blooded Veela and my mother a half-Veela," Fleur explained, still sounding embarrassed.
"I never knew most of that, interesting. Why do you sound like all that is a bad thing though?" he asked, curious to know why Fleur was acting like being a Veela was a negative thing.
"Because it is a bad thing. Veela are often outcasts in society because of their magic. No wizards want them there because they can't think straight when around a Veela, and no witches want them around because they tend to get jealous. I have been in countless fights with other witches at Beauxbatons because they think I'm trying to steal their boyfriends if I even look at them. My first year I even had to walk with a professor to each class because guys kept trying to lure me into empty classrooms or broom closets." Fleur, looked down to her feet as she spoke.
Marik felt a jolt of pity wash over him as he listened to Fleur. Never in a million years would he have imagined she had gone through things like that, or that someone like her had a rough time at school.
"Well I don't think you should feel bad about being a quarter Veela. It makes you unique and I think it's awesome. I would kill for cool magical gifts like that. Two of my friends are animagi, you are part veela, I'm jealous that when everyone around me has these cool gifts that I'm just your average joe! And if anyone picks on you or tries to fight you because of it lemme know, I'll kick some ass! Plus, I liked hanging out with you and thought you were beautiful before I even knew what a Veela was." He did his best to try and wipe the frown of the girl's face. Apparently he said something right as he was again pulled back into Fleur's lips.
"Thank you Marik," Fleur said, the smile returned to her face.
"Mhmm, now let's get out of here and get to my room quick so I can give you that book before curfew," he told her as his nerves seemed to calm down a little.
"Still trying to get me into your room huh? Someone doesn't want to wait to cash in their brownie points," Fleur teased him, which only made his nerves flair up again.
"Don't act like you don't want me to cash in those points," he said, and almost as if on instincts pulled the now standing Fleur into his body again, and into another deep kiss. For another few moments they kissed again before he pulled away. Fleur pouted for a few seconds before her smile returned.
"I told you that you are trouble!" Fleur accused him as he pulled further away from her, but left his arm around her shoulder.
"You started it."
"Yeah I did," Fleur said with a mischievous smile. "Now come on, I want that book!" Fleur said to him and they started out of the room towards his dorm. The two of them started a new conversation on runes as they made their way to his dorm. He promised again to let Fleur practice a few runes with his unicorn stave, and they both agreed on meeting up in the library the next day after classes to see each other again.
"Hey Marik," a voice called out his name from down the hall close to his dorm entrance. Marik squinted his eyes to see that it was Harry.
"Hey Harry," he responded as he and Fleur made their way closer. "I know you two have already met, but Fleur this is my good friend Harry. Harry this is Fleur," he said, introducing the two of them again.
"Pleasure to meet you again Fleur," Harry said as the two of them shook hands.
"You too Harry," Fleur returned his greeting with a smile.
"What are you both up to?" Harry asked them.
"We were about to head to our room real quick, I promised to let Fleur borrow a book," he answered as he made his way to the dorm entrance and opened it, letting the two of them in.
"Thank you again for letting me borrow it Marik," Fleur thanked him again as they made their way down the hall towards his room.
"No thanks required," he replied as they arrived at he and Harry's dorm and opened the door. "Welcome to casa de Marik and Harry," he announced as they all made their way in.
"I don't think the two of you have enough books in here," Fleur said sarcastically as she looked at the towering stacks of books on their desks.
"Yeah, we got a little carried away with our packing," Harry confessed as he tried to tidy up a little.
"Barty's Basic Booster Runes!" he shouted the name of the book out as he focused some magic into the accio rune tattoo on his arm. A book from the bottom of a large pile came shooting out towards him, causing the rest of the books in the stack to fall loudly to the floor. "Oops," he said as grabbed the book out of the air. He handed the book to Fleur after the last few books landed on the ground.
"Well done mate," Harry said, shaking his head.
"Yeah. . ." He watched the pile of books continue to fall down onto the ground.
"I'm gonna let you get that," Harry said as he ignored the pile of books on the ground and plopped down onto his bed.
"I will, I will. I'll be right back Harry," he announced as he led Fleur back into the boy's dorm hallway.
"I'm probably going to end up staying up all night reading this thing now," Fleur told him as they made their way down the hall.
"That's pretty much what I did the night my friend bought it for me," he replied as they arrived at the exit of the hallway and walked back out into the castle. 'Thanks again for everything today, I had a lot of fun," he said as he pulled Fleur into another hug and for the fourth time that day started to kiss her again.
"Wow you are the biggest tool ever," someone shouted, drawing his attention away from Fleur to look for the source of the voice. He and Fleur turned to see the backside of Alina entering the girl's dorm, before slamming the door loudly behind her.
"What was that all about?" Fleur asked him.
"Who knows what it is about today. Alina is always yelling at me for something."
"Well she is right you know," Fleur told him playfully.
"And what is she right about?"
"You are a tool," Fleur said with a devilish grin.
"And just like that you are in negative brownie points!" he told her, and pretended to look upset.
"Oh no! Not that! I was kidding of course! Here!" Fleur said and before he knew it pulled him into another kiss, which lasted for a good minute before Fleur pulled away from him with a soft moan that drove him crazy. "Am I back to positive now?" Fleur asked him.
"Yeah, I guess that makes up for it," He answered her with another grin.
"Good! And you are welcome for tonight. I also had a lot of fun and look forward to tomorrow," She said and gave him another peak on the cheek before she started to walk backwards away from him. "Goodnight Marik," she said, turning around to leave him. A thought came to his head as he watched her walk away.
"Hey Fleur!" he shouted at her before she got too far away.
"Yes Marik?" Fleur asked him, turning around again to face him with a curious look on her face.
"Will you uhmm. . ." he started to say, but seemed to have lost all of the confidence he had had earlier in the day.
"Will I what?" Fleur asked him, her eyebrow raised.
"Will you be my date to the Yule Ball?" he asked quickly, trying to rip the bandaid off as quick as possible.
"Nothing would make me happier than to be your date to the ball," Fleur replied, causing him to immediately smile. Fleur seemed to be excited and ran back towards him and wrapped him in another warm hug, before giving him one more kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight my date," she told him as she pulled away one more time.
"Goodnight Fleur," He replied as he watched her gracefully walk out of his sight down the hallway. Guess his friends were right, that had definitely been a date; and a pretty damn good one at that.
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