All You Wish For and All You Need

Marcus closed his eyes as he sank to the ground. A cold breeze rustled the leaves and a tree faintly groaned. The sun shone brightly, but provided little warmth. Marcus shifted his cloak so that it wrapped around him as he drew his knees up and rested his chin upon them. The other students were at lunch, but he had left the castle to walk into the trees.

It was now two weeks since the Death Eaters had tried to kill Harry Potter. The Daily Prophet had only just stopped talking about it. Soon, they would begin again when the three men were put on trial. Nobody had spoken to Marcus about it since that day. Even Anne had let it slide.

Marcus had seen her walking into the Great Hall for lunch, and had been tempted to join her, but the lure of being alone, even for a few moments, was too great. It had been so long since he’d had time to himself. Not that he had been desperate to be alone. As soon as there was no other person around to focus his thoughts upon, the dark shadows would slink forwards from the back of his mind.

He frowned, closing his eyes tightly and thinking of Anne. He imagined that she was there beside him, her head rested against his chest as her arms wound their way around him, holding his body tightly to hers. Marcus breathed deeply, the scent of her hair seemed to be entwined with the air as it brushed past his nose.

If he thought hard enough, he could almost feel her heart beat as it pressed against his own.

He opened his eyes. The bright light from the sun caused him to blink rapidly as his pupils adjusted again. Marcus glanced down, expecting to see Anne pressed against him. But she wasn’t there. He sighed quietly and ran his hands over his face.

Anne glanced up from her food and quickly searched the Slytherin table for Marcus. Not seeing him, Anne knew where she would be able to find him.

“I’ll see you later,” she said quickly to Arabella.

“Where are you going?” Arabella caught hold of her sleeve, pulling Anne back down to the table.

“I just remembered that I’ve got some work to do before Charms.” Anne gave a small smile and detached her wrist from Arabella’s hand.

“Oh, well I could help you with that if you want.” Arabella pushed her own plate away and made to stand up.

“Well, you could, but if I never do any of my own work, then I’ll never really get it Arry.” Anne smiled again, forcedly, and stood. She hurried away from the table before Arabella could get up and follow her.

Anne glanced behind her as she stepped out of the castle. As soon as she was out of sight of the other students, Anne started jogging towards the clearing where she knew Marcus would be.

“I knew I’d find you here.” Anne smiled as she sat beside Marcus.

“Am I really that predictable?” Marcus kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer.

Anne sighed softly and reached across for Marcus’ hand. She entwined her fingers with his and brought his hand up to her lips. Marcus looked down as she kissed his hand gently, breathing in the scent of his skin.

“Completely predictable.” Anne looked up at him and laughed quietly.

Marcus ducked his head down and pressed his lips against hers. She smiled against him as his hand ran lightly up her back and he twisted his fingers delicately into her hair. He held her gaze as he pulled away and wrapped his arms firmly around her body.

He glanced out towards the lake and for a moment a frown settled upon his face. Anne followed his gaze and pulled away from him. She moved so that she was straddling his lap, and twisted his face so that he was looking at her.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked.

Marcus paused for a moment, his eyes sliding back towards the still surface of the lake.

“Marcus.”

He looked back at Anne. “You know exactly what I’m thinking about Anne.” He rested his hands on her waist, his fingers clutching at the material of her uniform.

“Don’t, please stop thinking about them.” Anne pleaded. “They’re gone; they can’t do anything to you. They never could. They’re dead Marcus.”

Marcus shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand. It wasn’t..” He trailed off.

“Help me understand Marcus. I want to help you.”

Anne winced as Marcus’ fingers dug into her.

“There no way you could understand Anne. No matter what I said, you will never be able to understand.” Marcus looked towards the lake again. “You don’t know what it’s like to be trapped by something like that. I can never escape them. You realise that don’t you?”

“No.” Anne held his head firmly, forcing him to look at her. “I don’t. Because there is no way that they can do this to you Marcus. You’re better than that. I know. I know you Marcus. It doesn’t matter who your parents were, all that matters is you.”

Marcus shook his head slightly and shifted so that Anne was on the ground beside him. “That isn’t how it is, and it will never be like that.”

“Marcus, for god’s sake!” Anne snapped. “I don’t care that your parents are Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. When will you understand that?”

Marcus stared at her before replying quietly, “You may not care, but everyone else would.”

In the dark shadows of the trees nearby, Arabella stood in shock. Slowly, she backed away from where Anne ad Marcus sat.