AN: Not a conscious choice to make it a Beauty and Beast-based story, but you did catch something! It is my favorite fairytale and most of my work tends to have those themes. Phantom of the Opera, Hephaestus and Aphrodite, Inu Yasha are some of my favorite Beauty and the Beast-esque tropes. Thank you for the review!
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She was surprised she'd managed to budge him at all, seeing that the man was built like a brick wall. Still, the thought of him dying in such a horrible manner it both hurt and made her angry that he had even suggested it happening in such a gruesome way.
He didn't deserve her concern of course. But she felt that way about him just the same. Always had, and now she knew she always would. She'd tried pretending otherwise, but it had all been for nothing. Still, she was loathe to admit it.
"You know midge," she almost snarled at that. It had grown on her. But right now she hated the fact that she was so much shorter than him. "Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
Her breath stuttered as he moved up closer to her. Why did she find him so beautiful with his crooked teeth and off-kilter nose?
The teeth she knew she found adorable especially because she knew how self-conscious he used to be about it. Not that he ever let that weakness slip willingly. Who could have thought the big bad Slytherin with his shy smiles to hide his teeth would be her type?
Not that she'd tried to explore any other attractive options, unlike him, she thought acidly.
She stopped breathing for a few seconds, as his hands settled on her hips. She ignored the way her skin felt hot through her ugly robes.
He'd never touched her like this before. Something she had wanted for so long.
It was intimate. It was exciting. It felt so right. And she hated him a little for keeping this from her for so long.
And when his thumbs started running circles over her clothes, it brought her back to reality.
Why was he being like this? Why now? What did it mean? Did she want it to mean anything?
Her pride told her not. Her adoring heart said otherwise. Her scared side asked her if what she wanted even mattered, he may not abuse her. But he still had the legal power to. Should the fact that he didn't intend to harm her be enough?
"I'll hit you if you try anything funny." Not that she had any hope of winning against him, with magic she might have had a slight chance, maybe. But not physically. Still, she'd give it her all to cause some damage. Just so she could gloat at him.
The desire to impress hadn't left her entirely. It was so easy for him to turn her into that young girl she used to be. But she could not be that carefree anymore. She didn't have any time to waste on something that had never been.
"If I touched you in any meaningful way Bell, it'd hardly be a laughing matter." The oaf was being deliberately obtuse.
"You are touching me." It was part accusation, but she wondered if even knew what she was accusing him of.
Why now!? Why when she wasn't his equal anymore?
"You touched me first Bell." His fingers had slightly moved near the small of her back. Still tracing, gently. And she almost wished the ugly robes weren't in the way.
To finally be able to feel what she had so longed for. Even for a moment. She deserved something good after everything she had been through.
"That was because you were being ridiculous." Angelina was self-righteous when she yelled at people for being idiots. Alicia was quiet but smooth when she gave a dressing down. But her, Katie Bell, whined like a child. It was embarrassing and the fact that he had reduced her to it made her even more annoyed at him.
"Just the truth Bell. Vol…" She put her fingers against his lips. She was annoyed at him, but not enough, not to stop him from talking about his death or saying that cursed name.
"Marcus, please just don't. I hate to even think about it."
"Does that mean you don't want me to die, midge?" The prat grinned at her. How could he be so cavalier when speaking of his death?
"Of course not!" She almost yelled at him, she was distracted enough not to dwell too much on the glint in his dark eyes.
Hadn't the war made most of them realize that they could easily be dead at any given second?
Perhaps she had been naive to assume that Marcus Flint, pureblood Quidditch star would be safe from a gruesome fate. How could she have forgotten that autocratic dictators no matter Muggle or not, were psychotic enough to kill their supporters without reason?
And Voldemort was the craziest human she knew. If he found out his precious Slytherin had smuggled out a half-blood fighter from the light side to America, Marcus was truly done for.
It was a sobering thought. It wasn't just a mere possibility but a certainty. He'd said it as if it were a foregone conclusion.
"Did you tell anyone about what you did Marcus?" He stilled and it was then she realized he had been moving the both of them to the love seat in front of the huge window.
She regretted the question as soon as it left her. Because that heated look in his eyes that she failed to notice was replaced with complete blankness.
Fool! She should have saved the important issues for later. Just a bit later. She wanted that look back on her.
"And what did I exactly do Bell?" She felt the trap for what it was. She wasn't sure what he was even testing her on. But it was a test nonetheless.
Her Slytherin had finally come out to play. The question was if she could outplay her snake.
There was the real answer, and her heart was already settled on it.
Thank you for saving Marcus. She thought quietly. She had already thanked him, but that had been in the heat of the moment.
To do so now when he had deliberately set out a test would not bode well. And she instinctually knew that was an answer he would not want to hear. Not because she understood how a Slytherin's mind worked.
Only that she had always seen him, and she understood quite a bit about him specifically.
She had seen and heard enough to know Marcus hated being considered a hero.
Maybe one day he would tell her why. In the meantime, she wondered which answer would please him.