Sparks

Sparks 30

Chapter Thirty:

The Hogsmeade Brasserie:

A shocked silence fell across the table.

"Aurelius," said Marcus's grandmother in disappointment. "Are you telling me Marcus had no idea who would be at this dinner?"

"If the boy read his owls," said Aurelius with a hard note in his voice, "he would know."

"As if the boy had any say in the matter anyway," said Marcus bitterly. "Nobody bothered to tell me about the announcement in the paper either."

"Aurelius," said Lydia Flint, Marcus's grandmother. She gave her husband Claudius a pleading look.

"Aurelius," said Claudius in a deep baritone voice. "You did not tell the boy about the match?"

"Why bother," said Marcus bitterly. "I wasn't going to be given a choice so why pretend."

"I think we should discuss this later," said Natalya Flint nervously. "We are in public and the Romanovs are going to be here soon."

"Why not," said Marcus coolly. "We aren't going to discuss this at all anyway. Can I order an appetizer? I'm hungry."

Marcus could feel all the eyes at the table on him as he coolly perused the menu. "When should I drop my bombshell," thought Marcus with an inner smile.

The Slytherin Dungeons:

Tarquin lounged against the couch cushions with a large tumbler of Ogden's Blue Label cradled in his hands. He was thinking about Circe. For some strange reason, he always did the wrong thing when it came to that girl. He jumped when Chris barreled into the room.

"Is that scotch?" asked a breathless and white-faced Chris. Without waiting for an answer, Warrington took a large gulp out of Tarquin's glass. He grimaced then took another long pull from the glass.

Tarquin got up and poured himself another drink as he watched Chris finish off his old one.

"What is it mate," asked Tarquin.

"We lost," said Chris with an absent minded frown as he poured another tumbler of scotch.

"I remember," said Tarquin dryly. "Are we not going to wait for Marcus?"

"I'll keep drinking," said Chris as he wiped his brow. "Don't you worry."

"Okay," said Tarquin. "I'm not thick. What is it?"

"Did you know that Io is one of the moons of Jupiter?" asked Chris with a raised brow.

"Yes," said Tarquin with a confused look at Warrington. Chris's color was high and he looked upset, to say the least.

"Did you know that pepper up potion interferes with contraceptive potions?" asked Chris conversationally.

"No," said Tarquin with a frown. "Wait, does it interfere with charms?"

"No, just potions," said Chris casually. His voice started to rise as he paced about the room like a caged tiger. "The pepper up potion has something in it that causes some sort of reaction that nullifies the contraceptive potion for a period of one week. Don't you think that instead of prattling on about the moons of Jupiter that this freaking school would teach about practical matters?"

Tarquin watched his friend as he paced the room with a sense of unease.

"Sarah is pregnant, isn't she?" asked Tarquin quietly.

Chris stopped in his tracks and nodded.

"Merlin," said Chris as he sat down. "She is a month pregnant. She went to a witch in Hogsmeade to make sure. Pomfrey doesn't know. She wanted to wait until after the game to tell me."

"Was she upset?"

"She has no idea what she'll tell her parents," said Chris. "I didn't let her see how completely freaked out I was, though. I'm not that thick. She was crying as it was."

"Are you completely freaked out," asked Tarquin carefully.

"Tarquin," said Chris in a sarcastic tone, " let's tally up. We lost the Cup to the Gryffindorks today. I'm seventeen years old and I'm going to be a father in eight months time. My girlfriend told me to go out with my mates tonight because, in her words, she'll be all right alone because she needs to figure out how she is going to tell her parents."

"Since you put it that way," said Tarquin as he refilled both their glasses.

"The worst part is, Sarah thinks she's in this alone," said Chris with a tired sigh as he rubbed his eyes. " but she is not. I'll be there for her."

"What are you going to do?" asked Tarquin sympathetically.

"I'm going to marry her," said Chris, "if she will have me."

"Why wouldn't she have you?" asked Tarquin quizzically. "She's mad for you."

"Well," said Chris. "I did leave her alone in Hufflepuff tower just now. I'm a thick bastard. But I panicked and ran after she told me. Can she forgive that? Then we have my evil sisters. They will attempt to eat her alive. On the other hand, my parents will be thrilled. My older brother hasn't managed to marry yet. I haven't the heart to tell them that it is unlikely he ever will. A baby will send them into raptures. And then I'll have to face her parents."

Tarquin shuddered in sympathy. "Before you get utterly legless," suggested Tarquin, " go ask her."

"I should have a ring," said Chris fretfully.

"Let's sneak into Hogsmeade," said Tarquin eagerly, "and get one."

"I don't think I have enough galleons," said Chris fretfully.

"Pay me back later, you git," said Tarquin affectionately. "Let's go."

Both Slytherins made their way to the statue of the one-eyed witch. As they made their way to Hogsmeade, Tarquin made his case for why he should be godfather rather than any other of Warrington's mates.

"Maybe Sarah wants to have a vote as well," pointed out Chris.

"Oh," said Tarquin confidently. "She'll pick me. After all, I set you two up to begin with. Plus I asked her to marry me first. She let me down easy. But a girl always remembers her first-"

"Tarquin," said Chris with a glare.

"Her first proposal," said Tarquin innocently. "By the way, how are you going to do it. I asked while flat on my back hungover."

"I don't know," said Chris with a worried frown. "You know the circumstances are not ideal but I was going to ask her someday."

"Really," asked Tarquin curiously.

"You know Tarquin," said Chris, "finding a partner in life is really hard for people like us. There is not a huge choice out there and my family would prefer I married a pureblood girl. Although my grandmother always said that I should marry a half blood girl because she felt that the pureblood girls were getting too thin blooded."

"Inbred," said Tarquin with a sigh. "My father said the same thing. He chose the Jones family because they are not too finely bred as he put it. Better chance for more than one child with a girl whose family tree has a few half bloods, he said."

"Seriously," said Chris thoughtfully. "This must be the Fates telling me for sure that Sarah is 'the one'. She is from a pureblood family. We shouldn't have been able to have a child this easily."

"Well," said Tarquin slyly. "You did do all that practicing."

The Hogsmeade Brasserie:

"Are you sure Katie," asked Stuart Bell quietly, "that you don't want to go elsewhere?"

"No," said Katie with a smile. "This place looks brilliant." Katie steered the conversation to the game. As her father and stepmother talked about how exciting the game was, Katie nodded and threw in a comment every now and again. Yet, Katie was aware with every fiber in her body of Marcus sitting just a few feet away.

Marcus tore his eyes away from his view of Katie reluctantly as his mother asked him a question he did not hear.

"Pardon me," asked Marcus absently.

"Marcus," chided Natalya Flint. "Please pay attention. Your father was saying something important."

"Whatever," thought Marcus.

"Marcus," said Aurelius Flint with an edge to his voice. "I was just saying that I have arranged for a clerking job for you this summer with the firm."

"Oh," said Marcus casually as he buttered a roll. "I have plans for this summer already."

"Where," asked his mother with surprise. "You aren't going gallivanting with that Pucey boy all summer, are you?"

"No," said Aurelius sternly. "He is not going to be apperating Merlin knows where during the Quidditch World cup either."

"No," said Marcus serenely as he gave his grandmother a conspiratorial wink. "I'll be too busy. I am going to the final, though. Higgs found tickets."

"I'm not paying for something that frivolous," said Aurelius. His face was getting a little red. Marcus's demeanor was unsettling him. He looked like he had a secret, a secret he found amusing.

"No," said Marcus as he ate the bun. "Tarquin sprang for the tickets. We had to grab them while we could."

"What will you be doing?" asked Aurelius outright.

"I'll be at training camp," said Marcus with the barest suggestion of a smirk.

"Training camp," asked his grandmother with a little grin. She had always known that Marcus wanted to be a professional Quidditch player most of his life.

"With the Falmouth Falcons," said Marcus, as he deliberately looked his father in the eyes. "I signed a contract with them this morning. I'm their new reserve Chaser."

Marcus unconcernedly began buttering another bun as the pandemonium erupted around him.

"You can't legally sign a contract with that Quidditch team," said Aurelius through gritted teeth.

"Oh I beg to differ," said Marcus. "I had my lawyer go through the terms of our family trust for me. I can and I did sign that contract. I am of legal age and of sound mind. You may be able to chose my wife but you cannot choose my career."

"You have a lawyer," said his grandfather with a booming laugh. "You forgot to write your NEWTs last year but you remembered to get a lawyer to go through the family trusts? There's hope for you yet, grandson."

"Thanks," said Marcus with a smile.

"I forbid it," said Aurelius with a glare at his son.

"What are you going to do?" asked Marcus with an equally angry glare. "Announce my engagement without telling me? Sorry, you've already done that."

"Are you still sulking about that Katie girl?" asked Aurelius with a smile. "Girls like her-"

"Don't finish that sentence," threatened Marcus. He could feel his temper fraying.

"Please everyone calm down," said Natalya fretfully.

"I'm surprised the Falcons still want you," said Aurelius icily. "After that horrible game you just played."

"Enough," said Lydia Flint firmly. "Aurelius and Marcus, stop it. We are in public. And the Romanovs have just arrived."

Marcus could feel his stomach drop as he got to his feet. He could see a couple approaching and out of the corner of his eye and he could see a tall girl behind them. He took a deep breath and turned to meet his future wife. He paled when he caught sight of her and quickly turned and gave his father an incredulous look. His father gave him a malicious smile in return. Marcus turned back and allowed his mother to introduce the Romanovs and their daughter to him.

When Marcus first looked at Ekaterina Romanova, he had thought she was Katie for one split second. As he sat down, he covertly looked at her carefully. She did look like Katie but everything about her was just off. She wasn't as tall and willowy. Her hair was too bright a blond. And her eyes were the wrong shade. Marcus felt sick when he realized that his father had planned this all along.

Marcus and Ekaterina had a stilted conversation for a few seconds about the weather. He could tell she was as nervous as he felt.

"Did you go to Durmstrang Ekaterina," asked his grandmother kindly.

"No," said Ekaterina. "I was tutored at home. I was taught practical matters like how to run a large manor. My grandfather thinks that school only gives witches the wrong ideas."

"Wrong ideas," asked Marcus with surprise.

"Yes," said Sergei Romanov. "Ekaterina was brought up in a more old fashioned way than most modern witches. I'm sure that this marriage will be satisfactory for both families as Ekaterina wants nothing more than to be a wife and mother."

"I have a feeling," thought Marcus dryly, "that Ekaterina does not know how to play Quidditch."

"Why don't we get formalities out of the way before the meal," said Aurelius smoothly, "and sign the betrothal contracts right away."

Marcus felt his head spin as everyone agreed at the table. He noticed that no one even looked in his or Ekaterina's direction, they just assumed that they would fall into place like obedient little soldiers. Marcus could feel a surge of anger run through him.

"Ekaterina," said Marcus lowly.

"Please," said Ekaterina with a nervous smile, " call me Katya."

"Katya," murmured Marcus. Even her name was a little off. He looked up when he heard Katie's laugh. He watched her laugh at something her stepmother said. Her face was in that moment, so beautiful and full of life.

Suddenly, everything around Marcus froze and went in slow motion. He had a searing moment of clarity as he looked from Katie's bright face and into his fiancee's pale and nervous one. He saw his mother sitting there nervously and his father looking so triumphant. Her parents looked relieved. His grandmother had a sad expression on her face as she watched the proceedings. His grandfather had a wary one as he caught Marcus's eye. Marcus blinked hard and everything went back to normal.

"But what is normal," thought Marcus. "I'm sitting here like I'm about to be called into the Headmaster's office while my life is being written out on a piece of parchment. The betrothal contract will bind me to this girl I have just met, for the rest of my life. I should feel something. Ekaterina is a pretty girl. She'll make an ideal wife." His eyes strayed back in Katie's direction. His heart lurched. And suddenly everything became crystal clear.

"But not my wife," though Marcus firmly. "I can't do this. I won't do this. Life is about choices. And I have a choice."

"No," said Marcus quietly. He cleared his throat and said the word louder.

"What is it Marcus," asked Aurelius lowly and dangerously.

"I can't do this," said Marcus hesitantly.

"What is wrong," asked Sergei Romanov with a confused air as he looked at Marcus's father.

"Nothing," said Aurelius. "Marcus is forgetting that contracts are drawn up and that he will disinherit himself if he refuses to sign."

"No," said Marcus quietly. "I am well aware of what I'm doing." He turned to look at a confused Ekaterina. "I'm sure you are the nicest girl and you will make some wizard a brilliant wife. But it won't be my wife."

"Marcus," gasped Natalya.

"I love Katie Bell," said Marcus as he addressed the stunned table. "I know in my heart that I simply have to be with her. Even if it means giving up my family."

"Marcus," said his grandmother with tears in her eyes as she recognized the determined look on Marcus's resolute face.

"What's the use of having all these galleons if I can't be with the woman who makes me happy," said Marcus simply.

"I'll disinherit you," said Aurelius flatly.

"I know," said Marcus as he got to his feet. As Marcus walked away from the table, a giddy sense of freedom flooded him. For the first time in his life, he was free of family obligation. This freedom was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Marcus walked straight towards the private table in the back, where she was sitting.

"Katie," said Marcus softly.

Katie froze when she heard his gruff voice say her name. She slowly turned and looked at him. Her father and stepmother stopped talking abruptly.

"Katie," said Marcus again. He felt a little dazed by the swiftness of the events unfolding. But when Katie looked into his eyes, he felt a sense of calm come over him. He was making the right decision. Marcus felt his mind race as he struggled for the right words to say to her.

"I choose you, Katie," said Marcus as he grasped her suddenly cold hand. "I love you and I have made the only choice I could have."

"What do you mean Marcus," said Katie with her heart in her throat.

"I love only you Katie," said Marcus intently.

"Marcus," said Katie breathlessly. "You can't mean it. Your family, your inheritance, you are not going to pick me over them."

"But, I do," said Marcus simply. He pulled her to her feet and shook her gently. "I have chosen you like you chose me that day in the hallway with Johnson."

"Oh Marcus," said Katie as her eyes filled with tears. Katie could feel her heart pound out of her chest as his words finally began to make sense to her.

"You mean it," asked Katie hopefully.

"Yes, I do," said Marcus with a smile as he saw the joy flare to life in her eyes. Katie threw her arms around him as Marcus drew her to him in a fierce embrace.

"I thought you were lost to me forever," whispered Katie tearfully in Marcus's ear.

"So did I," whispered Marcus.

"Marcus," said Aurelius Flint icily. "What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?"