Marcus Fawley

Christmas holidays passed relatively quickly, with Marcus spending them mostly socializing with his family and relaxing, taking a break from Brown's lunacy and the school-wide panic caused by the monster attacks. The two weeks of rest eventually came to an end, however, and it was time for him to return to Hogwarts.

To be honest, he almost didn't go back to school because of the attacks, as his mother had been worried that he would end up petrified like Draco and his friends. He actually had to spend a considerable amount of time convincing her, arguing that the monster was only attacking Slytherin blood purists so far, therefore he wouldn't be in danger. It didn't entirely convince his mother, but she eventually allowed him to attend Hogwarts, albeit somewhat reluctantly. His father also seemed to have some reservations, but he also knew it would be unbecoming of Fawley to cower in fear, so he didn't try to stop Marcus.

That's why Marcus found himself in one of the compartments of the Hogwarts Express, patiently waiting for the train to finally leave the station and take him to Hogwarts. Although he was certainly a little afraid of being petrified, he was overall happy to return to Hogwarts and reunite with his friends. He smiled, looking forward to it.

His good mood immediately evaporated, however, when the door to his compartment opened, revealing Michael Brown and Luna Lovegood standing in the train corridor with luggage in their hands. As Marcus' smile slowly faded, a happy smile blossomed on Brown's face.

"Ah, Fawley. It's good to see you. Are these seats taken?" Brown asked, looking at Marcus with a friendly smile on his face. Luna did the same, watching him with her typical innocent eyes and serene smile.

Marcus looked at them for a few seconds, not saying a word. Then he sighed heavily, suddenly exhausted.

"...No, come in," he replied weakly, already knowing that he would soon have a massive headache. He could have of course said he was waiting for someone, sparing him from having to spend the next hour in Brown's company, but that would have been a dishonest action, unbefitting of Fawley... also, Michael Brown was unstable and dangerous lunatic, Marcus he didn't want to antagonize him without good reason. Not after the Seven Days of Terror.

"Thank you," Brown said, entering the compartment with Lovegood and placing their luggage above their seats. When they were finished and had taken their seats, Brown looked at Marcus again, apparently interested in chatting with him for some reason "How was your Christmas holidays, Fawley? Did you have a good time?"

"...I guess so?" Marcus replied, not trusting Brown's seeming interest. He knew this would soon turn into something really annoying. Like a sermon on the virtues of rampant paranoia. "I spent it with my family, nothing noteworthy happened"

"Same. I spent most of the break just catching up on the comics and TV series I missed because of Hogwarts." Brown said. Comic books? TV series? What were those? Brown then turned to Lovegood "And you Luna?"

"My dad brought me along to search for the golden mooncalf. Sadly, we couldn't find it, but we were able to hear the serenade of the mooncalves, which was very interesting" the girl said with a smile.

"Sounds like fun," Brown replied. Marcus drifted off for a moment, content to let the two lunatics talk to each other without his involvement, but after a few minutes Brown brought him back to the present with the question, "Fawley, do you know why there are fewer people on the train than there were two weeks ago?"

"Well, some parents didn't want to send their children back to Hogwarts after what happened," Marcus said, thinking he didn't need to provide any further explanation. However, seeing Brown's confused look, he continued, frankly amazed at the boy's ignorance/ stupidity "You know, recent petrifications? For Merlin's sake, have you seriously forgotten about that?"

There was a spark of understanding in Brown's eyes.

"Ah, right. Pureblood parents probably don't like the fact that their children are being attacked by a monster," Brown said cheerfully, giving him a smile completely at odds with the topic of conversation. Did he really forget about the monster?! Or maybe he didn't think it was a problem?!

"And why, pray tell, are you smiling right now?!" asked Marcus, already dreading the answer. Why would anyone grin when talking about children being petrified?! Brown looked at him quizzically before seemingly understanding something.

"You don't have to look alarmed. I don't think they 'deserved it' or anything like that," Brown replied, most likely trying to reassure him "I just think it's funny how purebloods freak out when it comes to them, but they were unfazed or even gleeful when they thought Muggle students would be the victims"

This... wasn't necessarily wrong, as some nobles could be quite insensitive when it came to muggle-born, but that didn't mean it was okay to make fun of the recent victims.

" Still, it's not a joking matter," Marcus stated, causing Brown to look at him with doubt, "It's already worse than it was fifty years ago, and the perpetrator hasn't been caught yet. We should not treat this situation lightly"

"How is it worse than fifty years ago? No one died so far" Brown said dismissively, making Marcus bristle "You just think it's worse because the nobles are being targeted. Are you saying the death of a muggle-born girl is less tragic than four purebloods being petrified?"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about! The point is that attacking nobles is more likely to cause panic, so technically it's worse!" Marcus defended himself, not wanting to be called a blood purist. He simply believed that attacking nobles would cause more chaos!

"Ah, so you're saying that the current heir is worse not because of the morality of his actions, but because of the effects his actions have on the wizarding world?" Brown asked, an amused smile growing on his face. Lovegood looked at him with a slight frown, though he didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, but..." began Marcus, trying to somehow explain himself under Brown's onslaught, but the boy wouldn't let him. That's exactly why he didn't want to sit with them!

"So you're saying it would be better if a muggle-born student was..." began Brown, most likely wanting to throw another wild insinuation, but suddenly Lovegood's hand gently slapped the back of his head.

"Michael, you're being mean," the girl said, wrinkling her eyebrows slightly. The surprised boy blinked and looked at her and Marcus for a few seconds, seemingly deep in thought. He then bowed his head slightly, apparently somewhat regretting his earlier words.

"Sorry, I may have gone a little overboard," Brown said, sounding a bit embarrassed "Please forget what I said earlier."

"Sure..." Marcus agreed weakly, though only because he wanted to end the uncomfortable conversation. Fortunately, Brown didn't bother him afterwards, preferring to talk to Lovegood about bizarre things Marcus wasn't interested in. He was beginning to relax, undisturbed by the lunatic duo, when someone violently swung the door to their compartment open.

"Brown, I've had enough of your mind games!" shouted the newcomer, causing Marcus to jump up in surprise. Looking at the source of the noise, he saw an unfamiliar brown-haired girl standing at the entrance to their compartment, looking at Brown with a furious look. For some reason she was flanked by Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, who both looked a bit sheepish. Marcus didn't have time to be surprised by the development, as the girl continued, her voice tense "It's been two weeks and you haven't done anything, keeping us anxious through the entire Christmas break! Tell me why you haven't revealed..."

Only then did the girl notice Marcus and Lovegood, apparently too focused on Brown to notice them beforehand. Lovegood waved her hand, apparently knowing the girl, while Marcus just stared, not really knowing how to react to this bizarre development. Soon the girl began to blush, most likely embarrassed by her display.

It…seems you are a little… busy at the moment, so…" The girl said, blushing and not looking any of them in the eye. Before any of them was able to react, she quickly closed the door, leaving Marcus stunned and confused.

He glanced at Brown, hoping to get some explanation for this unexpected development, only to see the boy casually returning to his conversation with Lovegood, apparently unconcerned about the unknown girl's outburst and sudden disappearance. Was this something ... normal for him?

Marcus sighed. He was already beginning to regret his decision to return to Hogwarts.

Information about this chapter:

1. Michael wasn't trying to prove that Marcus was an evil blood purist or anything like that. He was just being an unwitting asshole.
2. Hermione has spent the last two weeks agonizing over Michael's plans, so she's REALLY on edge. More in the next chapter.