The Luckiest Man on Earth

The Luckiest Man on Earth



Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no trademark infringement is intended or implied - not to say that I would not like to but please do not sue.



Chapter 18: M.I.A



Hogwarts: The Great Hall:



When Katie walked into the Great Hall that evening, she wasn’t surprised to hear the conversational buzz in the hall dip then increase. She raised her chin and walked over to the Gryffindor table without letting on that she noticed a thing. Katie was getting used to being the center of the Hogwarts gossip mill. She idly wondered what the latest rumour about herself and Marcus was about.



“Katie,” whispered Alicia as she sat down at the table. “Have you read the Daily Prophet yet?”



“That rag is going downhill fast,” said Angie dismissively as a sense of unease came over Katie as she took the paper from Ally without a word.



Katie read the front page with a confused look.



“It’s in the middle,” said Ally as she turned the pages and stopped at a picture of Marcus playing Quidditch.



Katie froze in surprise and then read the article. She blinked and reread it then she jerked up her head and looked for Marcus.



“He’s not here,” said Alicia.



Katie got up and without an explanation went straight for the Slytherin table. She could feel everyone in the Hall watching her with avid eyes.



“Have you seen Marcus, Alec?” said Katie to Alec MacIntyre calmly as she casually stood in front of the senior Slytherin prefect.



“No,” said Alec just as calmly back. His cool grey eyes flickered as he said softly, “The Daily Prophet was kind enough to send him a copy a few hours ago. He went to read it privately…. somewhere. You know that we do not get the Friday paper until the evening here at Hogwarts.”



“How kind of them,” said Katie with admirable control.



Alec gave a small smile of approval at Katie Bell’s calm demeanor. “I do believe that the some of the seventh year Slytherins are looking into the matter as we speak,” said Alec with a raised eyebrow at a Hufflepuff girl that was leaning towards them from her table. The girl flushed and looked away.



Katie looked at the table and realized that all of Marcus’s mates were absent but the rest of the Slytherins were covering up the empty spots. Her heart sank as she realized that Marcus must have taken the article very badly. She wanted to run screaming from the Hall and mount an immediate search party. But she knew that Marcus would not like her to make such a Gryffindor fuss. Besides, Alec had things under control. He was here to make it seem that things were normal. No one besides the Slytherins knew that Marcus was missing. Marcus would be expelled if he left Hogwarts grounds during the term without permission.



Katie smiled and nodded to the two Slytherin girls sitting at the table beside Alec. They gravely nodded back. It sometimes perplexed Katie but this was the Slytherin way of doing things. And the girls had just shown her that Slytherin House was closing ranks and protecting one of their own. She realized with a tinge of surprise that they considered her one of their own.



“Ahh,” said Katie with a calm smile as her heart was beating a mile a minute. “Please tell him that I need to speak to him about a matter of importance.”



“Of course,” said Alec as they exchanged speaking looks.



Katie walked back to her table and sat down. She hid her trembling hands under the table. Marcus was missing. That is why Slytherin House was still and silent as the grave. They were looking for him.



“Slytherins are so strange,” said Lee Jordan as he watched Slytherin House coolly and without looking at the rest of the student body, ate their evening meal.



“Maybe they don’t read the paper,” said Fred with a snicker. “Too lowbrow for those snobs.”



Katie struggled to keep from crying as she frantically thought of where Marcus could have gone. She wondered if they checked the broom sheds or the Quidditch pitch. But surely Tarquin and Adrian were not that thick. Besides Terry was with them. He would check the pitch.



“Ally,” said Katie casually as she gave up the pretense of eating. “I need your help.”



“About what?” asked George curiously. “Ally and I have a date later. Can’t it wait?”



“It will only take a moment,” said Katie with a slight smile that was more of a grimace. “Angie, you can come too.”



“What’s it about?” asked Fred with a curious look.



“Oh,” said Katie airily. “Wedding stuff. Did you want to tag along?”



“Merlin no,” said Fred and George quickly.



After they had left the hall at a sedate pace. Katie broke out into a run for Gryffindor Tower as her friends struggled to catch up. She tore into the deserted common room just as Angie and Ally caught up. Katie tried to calm her beating heart as she sat down on one of the couches. She was feeling dizzy.



“Are you all right Kates,” asked Angie with concern as she took in Katie’s white face.



“No,” choked out Katie hoarsely. “Marcus is missing.”



“Why aren’t the professors looking for him?” asked Angie with shock.



“They don’t know he’s gone,” said Katie bleakly as she wrung her hands. “Marcus will get expelled if he left the grounds without permission.”



“I think that they would make an exception in this case Katie,” said Alicia with a frown. “Look at this scandal. His parent’s private life is splashed on the pages on the paper for all to see. A trifle traumatic, don’t you think? They would understand. You have to go to the Headmaster.”



“I’ll wait for his mates to come back,” said Katie frantically. “Or better yet, I’ll floo his mother or grandmother to see if he has gonesee see either of them. Or maybe his father? Or I could go to Hogsmeade by broom and use their floos.”



“Katie,” said Angie with concern. “Calm down love.”



“I can’t,” said Katie tearfully as she sprang to her feet unsteadily. “Maybe he’s hurt or something terrible has happened to him.” Her voice rose as she spoke getting more and more hysterical.



“Katie,” said Ally as she stood and held Katie’s cold and trembling hands.



“I have to find him,” said Katie as she pulled away from Alicia and made her way unsteadily towards her dorm room. “I’m going to Hogsmeade.”



Angie and Ally exchanged horrified looks then they bounded after her on the staircase.



“Merlin,” said Katie frantically. “Why did that Gryffindor meeting take so long? I swear Percy gets more long winded the closer it gets to him having to turn in his badge. I wonder if Marcus looked for me then couldn’t find me so he went and did something completely mental.”



Ally and Angelina froze in shock when Katie opened the door to their room and promptly burst into noisy tears.



“What is it?” said Ally as she ran up the stairs and burst into their room. She skidded to a halt when she saw Katie sprawled over a pale Marcus Flint. He was lying on Katie’s bed. Katie was sobbing and trying to talk. But she was incoherent. Marcus looked at her worriedl she she cried against his chest. He looked up at Alicia warily.



“Katie thought something terrible had happened to you,” said Ally softly as Angie joined her in the doorway.



“Something did,” said Marcus morosely as he held Katie tightly.



Marcus smoothed her hair as Katie once again tried to speak. But she still could not. Marcus held her hand and felt at her pulse with concern. He reached over to her bedside table and took out a vial of potion. He coaxed it down Katie’s throat as Angie came closer to the bed in concern. In a few moments, Katie’s wild sobbing stopped and her harsh breathing evened out.



“What is it?” asked Ally with worry.



“Katie’s blood pressure needs to stay even or else she will have problems,” said Marcus evenly. He didn’t look at either Alicia or Angelina.



“The baby?” asked Angie softly.



“Yes,” said Marcus as he smoothed Katie’s hair.



“Marcus,” said Ally bravely as she glanced at Angie. Angie knew what she was going to say. “We are awfully sorry about the paper and everything.”



“Thank-you,” said Marcus quietly. He finally looked at them. They could see that Marcus face was pale and he looked unhappy. His eyes were dark with misery. His grip on Katie had not relaxed.



“Your mates are out looking for you,” said Angie as she tugged Alicia towards the door. “Look, we’ll go head off our roommates and tell Alec that you are found. Right now, they are covering for you like mad in Slytherin House - just in case you ran off to London or other unforeseen parts.”



“Thank-you,” said Marcus as he gave a tiny smile. He watched them leave as he pulled Katie closer to him. He felt like he never wanted to let her go.



Katie looked up into his shuttered eyes after her friends left. “Marcus,” said Katie quietly. “Are you all right, my love.”



“No,” said Marcus as his voice broke. He buried his face in Katieair air and clung to her. Katie raised up and held him to her heart as he shuddered in her arms. She smoothed his hair soothingly.



“I knew that they didn’t have the best marriage,” said Marcus muffled against her breasts. “I knew he had countless mistresses but this whole thing makes it all so embasingsingly real. She lays bare my parents’ marriage to ridicule and scorn. She says she feels sorry for my mother and me. She makes me so fucking angry. Not only does she humiliate my mother in public; she has the nerve to say she felt sorry for her. How could my father do this to my mother? I’m sure he was just concerned with her shagging abilities but couldn’t he at least find a whore who could keep her mouth shut?”



“Your father hurt you as well,” said Katie wisely as she heard the hurt underlining his anger. “He humiliated you too.”



“I don’t care about that,” said Marcus stubbornly. Katie only stroked his hair and said nothing.



“What if,” said Marcus hoarsely as he looked into her eyes. “This is the way all marriages go? What if we end up this way? My dad said he didn’t think his life would end up the way it did. What if I hurt you like this?”



“It won’t,” said Katie softly and a little desperately. “We won’t let it get that way. I love you and you love me. As long as weembeember that we will get through anything.”



“You are such a Gryffindor sometimes,” said Marcus seriously as he traced her mouth with his finger. “You always look at the bright side of things.”



“One of us has to,” rejoined Katie.



“What if?” asked Marcus seriously.



“Marcus,” said Katie just as seriously. “Life has no guarantees. It took time and a serious lack of communication to get your parents’ marriage to where it is now. We are not them. More importantly, you are not your father.”



“Katie,” said Marcus as he buried his face back into her chest. “They talked about our marriage in that paper. Are you prepared for the whispers?”



“No,” said Katie with a small voice. “But you still love me right?”



“Yes,” said Marcus as he raised his head. Katie reached down and framed his face in her hands. She gave him a soft sweet lingering kiss then slapped him.



“”What the hell was that for?” asked Marcus as he held his stinging cheek.



“Never let me think that something tere hae has happened to you again,” said Katie with a hard edge to her voice. “I thought you had died.” Her voice cracked.



“I’m sorry,” said Marcus sincerely. “I was waiting for you here. I thought you would come here before going to the Great Hall. You really didn’t think that something like that happened?”



“I didn’t know what to think,” said Katie as she soothed his cheek. “I was scared and frantic. I don’t know how I could live without you.”



Marcus shifted her so she was lying on her back and really looked at her. She was still in her Hogwarts uniform. Her hair was messy. Her eyes were red rimmed and her face was blotchy from crying but Marcus had never seen a more beautiful woman in his entire life.



“I couldn’t live without you,” said Marcus simply as he smoothed a hand over her face.



“We should go and tell your mates that you are okay,” said Katie as she reached up and touched his arm. Her fingers curled around his bicep.



“Everything is going to get messier in the coming days if I know my father,” said Marcus heavily. He ran a finger down her creamy throat.



“Then it gets messier,” said Katie as she shifted to lie further under his big comforting frame.



Marcus smiled then cupped her breast through her blouse. His thumb found and brought her nipple to a hard peak.



“We should go,” said Marcus as he feathered light kisses over her face.



“No,” said Katie softly. “We’ll go later after we make love.”



Katie kissed the place she hit him apologetically then ran an exploratory hand down his tight abdomen. Marcus undid his belt as Katie silently slipped a hand into his trousers and caressed his silky cock. She smiled as she brought him to life under her petting fingers.



“Sounds like a wonderful idea,” purred Marcus as he slid a knee between her hips and parted her legs as he pulled up her school skirt. He ran a hand slowly down her thigh and over her knee to rest on her lower leg. “You still have your kneesocks on.”



“You want me to take them off,” asked e ase as she wriggled enticingly underneath him. Her hand was stroking him up and down his shaft slowly in his trousers. She lightly traced the veins with a finger as he bit his lip and moaned.



“Hell no,” growled Marcus. “It’s just so hot.”



“You have a crazy leg fetish,” said Katie with a sighing moan.



“You have a crazy stomach fetish,” said Marcus as he took her other hand to touch his flat hard stomach. Katie moaned and touched the hard ridges.



“I’ve got a crazy Katie fetish,” confessed Marcus against her mouth. His fingers were creeping up her thighs. He slipped his fingers underneath her paand and gave a slight smirk as Katie gave a hitching moan. He gave a tug on her underwear and threw them aside and he moved his hand to cover her throbbing cleft. His fingers dipped into her wetness.



“Did you just rip my underwear off,” said Katie as her eyes snapped open. “AGAIN.”



“I’ll buy you a new pair,” said Marcus coaxingly as his finger ran up her cleft to lightly caress her sensitive nub.



“That is what you say all the time,” said Katie as she squirmed under his clever fingers. “Stop that.”



“Stop this,” asked Marcus with a smirk. His fingers shifted. “Or stop that?”



“Never stop that,” said Katie with a purr and she ran her thumb over the wet head of his erection. Marcus jerked and moaned. “I mean stop ripping my under things. My mother will get suspicious.”



“Of white cotton pants,” asked Marcus with a snicker.



“You had them put your name on them,” said Katie with mock outrage. “In green embroidery on the front. Ally and Angie laugh at me. They think I put your name there.”



“Just staking my claim,” said Marcus as he slid a finger deep inside her. Katie arched her back and said his name softly. She ran a hand over his tight ass.



“Can I tattoo Property of Katie Bell across your arse,” said Katie as she squeezed.



“If you want,” said Marcus as he took his finger out of her clinging sheath.



“Really?” said Katie with a g in in her fine eyes. She let his penis go and grabbed his arms as he shifted over her body. He slid a hand down to guide himself inside her. They both moaned as he entered her.



“Although,” said Marcus as he panted. “It would be a moot point to put Katie Bell when you are going to be Katie Flint in a few months.”



Katie tightened her inner muscles around his throbbing erection. Marcus gave a heartfelt groan.



“Why don’t I just get a tattoo with your name,” said Marcus as he framed her face in his hands and dipped down for a light lingering taste of her lips.



“Yes,” said Katie dreamily as they began to move against each other. “A magnificent, strong, fiery green dragon.”



“You are a demanding wench,” said Marcus throatily as he thrust into her with long slow strokes. Katie wrapped her legs around his waist. Marcus gave a straggled moan. They stopped talking as their bodies heated up and they strained against each other’s young strong bodies.



Katie closed her eyes and she heard them together. The sound of their bodies moving and the earthy smell of their love making permeated the air. Katie moaned as Marcus pulled her legs from his waist and pulled her knees up to her chest. His hips began to move faster and faster still. Katie could hear the bed creak as stabs of pleasure went down her spine.



Marcus couldn’t help himself as he plunged into her depths faster and harder. He gave a low moan as he felt her stiffen underneath his driving body but he was soon lost in the intense pleasure of his own release. Katie bucked underneath his driving penis as she bit back a scream of passion. Her pussy tightened and rippled as her orgasm pulsed through her body.



She came to her senses much later. Marcus was still inside her and collapsed on top of her. They were wrapped up in a mixture of her hair, their uniforms and the duvet cover. Katie shivered and pulled him closer.



“No one can make me feel the way you do Marcus Flint. You can get me angry, make me cry my heart out, make me laugh and make my body sing with pleasure all within an hour,” said Katie in the silence of her dorm room. Marcus’s arms tightened around her. “You come to me for comfort, sex, love and understanding. I know we still have things to find out about each other but please remember that I will always be here for you. I love you so much.”



“I know,” said Marcus softly. “After I read that article, the first thing I thought was I had to find you. I knew you would be at that meeting so I came here on my broomstick. To sit here, where I could smell your scent and know that soon you would come and hold me. When I am with you, I know that I am safe. When we touch and when we make love I can feel how much you love me. It makes my heart soar because I love you more than those three little words can ever adequately say.”



“Marcus,” said Katie in a choking sob.



“Katie Bell soon-to-be Flint,” said Marcus seriously as he lifted his head from her neck and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you.”



Katie wrapped her arms around him and gave a teary smile. Marcus rarely expressed his emotions so eloquently. He was a gruff, cynical, fiery tempered man. She always knew he loved her but to hear him state it so clearly made her heart sing with happiness.



“We will get through everything together,” said Katie firmly. “No matter what happens. Scandal or no scandal.”



“Yes,” said Marcus as he smiled into her eyes.



“Let’s go see your mates,” said Katie. “They are worried about you.”



“Bunch of old maids,” said Marcus with gruff affection. He shifted up to put his trousers back on.



“Yes,” said Katie tartly as she got out of bed. “If your idea of old maids are sneaky, manipulative, superb actors. They are so good at hiding things. And they are so cool and collected when they are pulling a fast one.”



“Yes,” said Marcus with pride. “They are.”



“Slytherins,” said Katie with affection she handed her Slytherin his broomstick.



“I’ll meet you in the entrance hall in five minutes,” said Marcus as he leaned in and gave her a hard kiss.



“I’ll be there,” promised Katie as she watched him fly through her window.