Sparks

Sparks 35:

Chapter Thirty-Five:

The Slytherin Dungeons: Later that afternoon:

"Marcus," giggled Katie as she wriggled away from Marcus's grabby hands. "Your room mates might come in at any moment."

"No, they won't," coaxed Marcus in a husky voice. "They know to knock first." He pulled Katie closer to him with glittering eyes.

"It's daylight," protested Katie weakly as Marcus trailed light teasing kisses down her neck.

"Brilliant," said Marcus with a slow grin. "Then I can see better." He looked Katie in the eyes as he teasingly undid the buttons on her shirt one by one.

"You are so bad," whispered Katie as her eyes drifted closed. She arched into his knowing hands.

"That is one of the reasons why you kissed me in the first place," said Marcus as he trailed a finger down her chest.

"Why did you kiss me?" asked Katie curiously.

"Because I wanted to," said Marcus as he pinned her against the cushions of the sofa and claimed her mouth in a slow deliberate kiss. "I kept kissing you because I couldn't help myself."

"I couldn't help myself either," confessed Katie as she ran a hand down his firm chest.

"I need your help, Katie," said Marcus with an innocent look.

"You do," said Katie breathlessly as Marcus kissed her ear then gave it a light bite.

"I've lost my NEWT study guide," said Marcus with a surpressed grin as he looked into her passion glazed eyes.

"Where," asked Katie innocently. She slapped at Marcus's hand as it trailed up under her skirt.

"The last I saw of it," said Marcus with a teasing grin, "it was between the sheets of my bed. Can you help me look for it?" Marcus got off the couch and pulled Katie to her feet and coaxed her towards his bed.

"You are so transparent," said Katie repressively as her heart rate accelerated madly. Katie gave a sharp gasp as Marcus pulled her up flush against his hard body. He slid his hips against hers and Katie's face turned a crimson red.

"Is that an invitation for me to take my clothes off," asked Marcus with an arched eyebrow.

"Actually," purred Katie as she slid her arms around his neck, "it is." Her hands ran down his muscled back.

"And here I thought you were still so innocent," said Marcus as his breathing hitched. He closed his eyes and moaned when Katie kissed his throat teasingly.

The silence in the room stretched as they exchanged heated, slow, deep kisses.

"So," said Marcus as he caught his breath a few minutes later, "my beautiful fiancée, I have a wonderful idea."

"What?" asked a languorous Katie.

"Let's spend the afternoon in bed," said Marcus with a wicked grin.

/p>

"Yes," said Katie as she leaned into his strong arms. "That sounds absolutely brilliant."

"Really?" said Marcus with a surprised look on his face. "I thought you'd say no or something about my room mates or object to-"

Katie cut him off with a kiss that Marcus eagerly returned.

"Flint," murmured Katie. "Are you taking me to bed or are you going to talk the afternoon away?"

"Honestly," said Marcus as he lifted Katie effortlessly and tossed her on the bed. "Put an engagement ring on a girl's finger and she gets all pervy and demanding."

"Pervy," gasped Katie with mock outrage as she tried unsuccessfully to get off the bed. Marcus captured her waist and swung her back around and pinned her to the bed.

"I like pervy," purred Marcus as he buried his face in her neck. "I like demanding too."

A couple of hours later, Katie burrowed closer to Marcus under the covers and rubbed her face against his chest. She stared off into the distance and savored the feeling of being in his arms. She knew by his breathing that he was not sleeping. She listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart.

"You know," said Katie as her soft voice broke the silence, "I lied to you that morning in the Gryffindor common room. In the past few weeks, I knew that I had lied to myself as well. I would have gone on loving you until the day I died, Marcus. Even if I never saw you again. I was so afraid that I was going to spend the rest of my life yearning for you. I had such terrible nightmares about it."

Marcus's arms tightened around her. Marcus thought to himself that their happiness hinged on such an insignificant thing. Katie had dinner at the same place he did last night. All sorts of 'what if' scenarios plagued him. He smoothed her hair and clutched her closer.

"Katie," whispered Marcus huskily and intensely. "I know that if things had gone a different way, we would have been terribly unhappy. But I would never have stopped thinking about you or loving you either. It was torturing me thinking about which bloke would take my place in your heart. It enraged me. When you said you would move on to another love, it nearly killed me to hear you say that. I was so hurt by the thought that you would forget me so easily."

"I didn't mean it," said Katie tearfully as she heard the anguish in his voice. "I wanted to you to forget about me and be happy with her."

"She was a pale imitation of you," said Marcus. "I love only you. It scares me to think that if you hadn't been at the restaurant last night, would I have been unhappy enough to sign that damn betrothal? For weeks, I was just so depressed. What if I had just said to hell with it and signed out of apathy?"

"Ekaterina was very beautiful," said Katie in a small voice. "Far more pretty and accomplished than I am."

"Katie," said Marcus soothingly. "You are the most beautiful witch in the world."

"No, I'm not," said Katie as she wiped away her tears.

"To me," said Marcus firmly. "You have no equal."

Katie laughed and then kissed Marcus lingeringly. She laid her head back down on his chest.

"We are so lucky," said Katie dreamily as her hand traced Quidditch patterns on his firm chest.

"Yes," said Marcus thoughtfully. "We cannot let anything ruin our second chance. I shudder to think of what else is going to come our way. I could not bear the thought of you leaving me again."

"Marcus," said Katie seriously. "I will never leave you, no matter what."

"How can you say that," asked Marcus with a worried mien. "Life doesn't have guarantees."

"Would you ever consider leaving me," asked Katie in a small voice.

"Hell no," said Marcus firmly.

"I say the same thing," said Katie earnestly. "I will never give you up. I swear, Marcus."

"I know what we could do to make sure no one could ever break us up," said Marcus seriously after a short tense silence. "Let's get married tomorrow. There are no classes on Merlin's birthday. It's a Hogsmeade day. We could slip off unnoticed."

Katie gasped and leaned up. She was so flabbergasted that she forgot that she was nude.

"Are you completely mad, Marcus Flint," asked Katie as she kneeled up beside his sprawled very naked frame.

"No," drawled Marcus with a serious glint in his dark blue eyes. "We could go to the magical village in the Orkney Islands. You can get married immediately in the standing stones. All you have to be is sixteen and willing. No bans need to be called; no parents need to know. The druids follow the old ways up there. The marriage ceremony is binding and the licenses they issue are acknowledged by the Ministry of Magic."

"That type of ceremony is binding for life, you daft Slytherin," whispered Katie.

"If you thought that I was one day going to give you a divorce, you deluded witch," said Marcus heatedly, "you have another thing coming. You are mine forever."

"I know," said Katie soothingly then she frowned. "What about my parents?" protested Katie as she threw her hands up. "What about your parents and your grandparents? They would kill us if we dared to marry behind their backs. And don't you need to have a marriage contract before you marry, oh Slytherin prince?"

"I thought you wanted to get married," said an annoyed Marcus.

"I do," said Katie protestingly. "And I want to marry you."

"What is stopping us from getting married tomorrow," asked Marcus with a scowl.

"Obviously not common sense," said Katie sarcastically. "And what is that buzzing noise?"

"The wards," said Marcus sulkily as he looked at Katie significantly. Katie blushed as she realized that she was naked. Marcus got out of the bed and shrugged on his robe.

"We have not finished discussing this issue, you stubborn witch" said Marcus firmly.

"You have that right," said a feisty Katie. She caught the extra robe Marcus tossed at her and quickly found her clothes. She ran off to the bathroom to have a shower just as Marcus opened the door to his disgruntled roommate. As she showered, she kept hearing the words 'married' and 'tomorrow' go through her dazed mind.

"He's completely mad," said Katie to herself as she dressed. "And he has the nerve to call me impulsive."

Katie walked into the room and blushed as she saw Marcus sitting on the couch with Tarquin. Marcus was just wearing his boxers.

"Marcus," hissed Katie. "Put some clothes on."

"I've seen him wear less Bell," said Tarquin with a grin at Marcus.

"Before anyone else comes in," whispered Katie at Marcus. She went over to his bed and began to smooth the covers. She turned when she heard light snickers coming from the couch.

"Slytherins are not daft Katie," said Tarquin with a smile and a sidelong glance at a smirking Marcus. "I pretty much know what you and Marcus were doing all afternoon."

Katie heaved an embarrassed sigh. "Please Marcus," said Katie pleadingly.

"Only if you agree to my plans," said Marcus as he gave her a speaking glance.

"What plans," asked Tarquin with a curious look.

"We are going to sneak off and go the Orkneys tomorrow to look at the standing stones," said Marcus blandly.

"No," said Katie firmly. "We are not."

"Yes," said Marcus intensely. "We are."

"Bloody hell," said an aghast Tarquin. "You two are eloping?"

"How did you know," asked Katie with surprise. "And for your information, Marcus had the daft idea to do just that."

"Everyone who elopes," said Tarquin with a shrug, "goes to the Orkneys to do it. The druids up there are a law unto themselves. They tell the Ministry where to go every decade or so when the aurors try to shut them down. Marcus, your father would kill you."

"Yes," said Katie heatedly. "Besides, I want my mother at my wedding."

"We'll tell her later," protested Marcus.

"I want to wear white, carry flowers, the whole package," argued Katie with a set expression on her face.

"I just want to make sure that you are mine forever," said Marcus as he stood beside a trembling Katie. He touched her face with a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah," said Tarquin. "But isn't eloping carrying it a bit too far?"

Katie was about to carry on the argument when Chris Warrington came into the room with a dark expression on his face. He stood looking at his mates and Katie with a look of intense anger on his face. Katie had never seen Warrington look so angry.

"What is it?" asked Tarquin seriously.

Warrington began to pace around the room like a caged tiger.

"I just saw my parents in Professor Snape's office," seethed Chris.

"They found out about your betrothal to Sarah," asked Marcus. Katie gasped then gave Chris a bright smile that faded when she saw the look of pain that flashed over Chris's face at the mention of Sarah's name.

"They've said no," said Tarquin perceptively.

"Bastards," said Chris. "They said that they were hoping that I would marry a better class of witch."

"Did you tell them," asked Tarquin as he gave Katie a look that she could not interpret.

"I did," said Chris grimly. "It made no difference. I pointed out that I am a younger son and the family cannot legally tell me who I can or cannot marry."

"Did it help," asked Marcus.

"No, I cannot believe it took them this long to figure out my brother's room mate was his boyfriend," said Chris with a growl. "My father said that I had to carry on the family name. Therefore my choice of bride was paramount. I pointed out to the utter wanker that Sarah was already expecting an addition to the family tree but my stupid mother said she was still not good enough."

Katie sat down on the sofa in shock as the importance of Chris's words sank in. Sarah was expecting a baby.

"Does Sarah know about the refusal?" asked Katie with a sad expression.

"No," said Chris hoarsely as he sat down beside Katie.

Katie's heart went out to the Hufflepuff witch. She knew that Sarah was fathoms deep in love with Chris and he was just as in love with Sarah. A baby was just so serious and life changing. She gave Marcus a speculative look. She wondered what it would be like to carry his child underneath her heart. She swallowed and bit her lip as she thought about Sarah and the difficult road that lay ahead of her.

"Have they formally refused permission," asked Tarquin with a set expression.

"Not yet," said Chris wearily. "As I said, I cannot be forced to marry because I am a younger son. But my father is moving to get our lawyers to change that statute."

"I have an idea," said Tarquin with a determined gleam in his eyes.

"What?" asked a frustrated Chris. "I have to marry her. I love her but if they change the trusts, I will not be able to."

"What if you marry before the trusts are changed," asked Tarquin. "Will they be able to disinherit or prevent you?'

"The trust can be easily changed," said Chris with a sigh of defeat. "It is a matter of a few words."

"But tomorrow is Merlin's birthday," said Katie as she suddenly realized what Tarquin was getting at. "It's a holiday. The ministry is closed for a long week-end."

"Yes," said Marcus as he looked at Tarquin and Katie. "I had an idea a few minutes ago. I wanted Katie and I to get married in the Orkneys tomorrow."

"Married," said Chris with surprise. A look of comprehension flooded his face and then he smiled. Katie gave him a bright smile as Chris began to laugh.

"Merlin," said Chris after a few minutes. "Sarah and I will get married tomorrow."

"Katie and I will too," said Marcus with a glint in his eyes.

"No we won't," said Katie with a stern look at Marcus. "We are going to far too busy pulling this wedding off."

"I am going to tell Sarah," said Chris with a determined air. He got up to leave the room. He turned and gave his mates and Katie a serious look. "I don't know what I would have done without your help and advice today. Sarah and I are lucky to have you three as friends."

"You did the same for me when I thought my world had ended," said Marcus with a warm, possessive look at Katie. "You helped me see my choices clearly."

"Thank-you, nonetheless," said Chris with a choked voice then he quickly left the room.

"I am going to make a list of things we need," said Katie with a slight frown. She shifted over to sit at Marcus's desk.

"First off," said Tarquin. "We are going to need secrecy and some galleons. Luckily, I have lots of the latter."

"I'll owl for a portkey," said Marcus. "But Katie, I was serious."

"I know Marcus," said Katie. "But I want my father to give me away, my mother to help me with my dress, and all our friends to be there. Besides Chris and Sarah need us."

"I know," said Marcus as he bent over his parchment. "I'll ask you again this summer."

"Promise," said Katie with a look of affection at her stubborn wizard.

"I promise," said Marcus with a wry grin at his witch.