All You Wish For and All You Need

Marcus sat beside the bed Anne was in. He reached out and took her hand. She laid still and quiet, her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face. Marcus gently stroked her hand with his thumb, his eyes never leaving her face.

Nobody else was in the Hospital Wing and for that Marcus was glad. He knew nothing of what had happened since he had brought Anne here, but she was fine. Madame Lousville said that Anne would wake soon enough and had then left to see of what help she could be in the Great Hall.

Marcus heard footsteps behind and turned to see who was coming. Harry Potter scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he stood beside Marcus. “How is she?” He asked eventually.

“Fine.” Marcus replied quietly.

“Good.” Harry stood there for another moment before moving to grab a chair to sit down beside Marcus.

Marcus sat staring at Anne. He knew that this was his chance, maybe his only chance to say something, but no words would come.

“I’m sorry that she got involved in that.” Harry said finally. “The three are being held in the Headmaster’s office.” He glanced at Marcus and then back down at his hands. “That man’s name is Rupert Guffid. Is the name familiar?”

Marcus thought for a moment before shaking his head.

“Do you have any idea where you might have seen him before?”

Again Marcus thought and shook his head. “I have no idea why he looked familiar, he just did.”

“Hmm.” Harry leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands awkwardly together.

Marcus glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye. He was chewing his bottom lip and looked as if he wanted to say something more. Marcus cleared his throat. “Have you ever had a secret you couldn’t tell anyone?” Marcus asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Harry leaned forwards and stared intently at Marcus. “What kind of secret?”

“One that you could never tell anyone else, no matter who they were.” Marcus didn’t look away from Anne.

Harry licked his lips and sat silent for a few minutes before replying. “Yes, there have been things that for a time I felt I couldn’t tell anyone, but eventually the time was right and I told someone.”

“Did it change the way they looked at you?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

“In a bad way?”

Harry frowned and watched as Marcus reached out and took Anne’s hand again. “Sometimes. Everyone reacts differently. What one person sees as a bad thing, another might see as good.”

“But what if you knew that everyone would think worse of you if you told them?” Marcus entwined his fingers with Anne’s.

“You never know until you say it out loud.”

Marcus glanced at Harry. “No, you can know before.”

“Yes?” Harry leaned forwards more. “And how would you know? Have you ever told anyone something? Something that you didn’t really want them to know?”

Marcus turned away and didn’t say anything.

Harry leaned back and sighed, waiting.

“What if you didn’t say anything, what if everyone guessed?”

“Guessed the secret?” Harry paused. “Well, it depends on the secret and the situation I suppose.” He chewed his bottom lip and stared at the boy beside him. He knew there was something about this boy. He was nearly completely sure that this boy beside him was the son of Lord Voldemort. But he had absolutely no idea how to bring something like that into the conversation. “Is there anything you want to say? I can listen if you want. No matter what it is.”

Marcus scoffed and turned to look at Harry. “No matter what it is?” He asked sarcastically. “You have no idea what you are saying.” He stood and glared down at Harry. “You don’t know anything about this.”

Harry stood and raised his chin slightly to look Marcus in the eye. “No, I have no idea about any of it. But you can change that. You can tell me. I could help.”

“Sure.” Marcus laughed blackly. “Sure, the great Harry Potter can fix anything can’t he. There is no problem too big for Harry Potter.” He turned away and sat down again.

Harry closed his eyes and held back his frustration. “No, I can’t fix everything,” he said quietly. “But at least I try.” He pushed the chair out of his way and turned away. He shook his head slowly as he walked out of the Hospital Wing.

Marcus closed his eyes and rested his head on the bed. Nothing had gone right.

He felt Anne’s hand twitch in his and he picked his head up. She smiled weakly at him. She glanced away at Harry’s retreating figure. Marcus turned and watched as he left the Hospital Wing and sighed. He rested his head on the bed again. Anne raised her hand slightly and gently brushed Marcus’ hair from his face. Marcus closed his eyes and breathed deeply, pushing everything from his mind, if only for a moment.