We Can't Wake Up

Marcus sat quietly in on his bed. As usual the curtains were drawn around him like a cage; a cage for a wild animal that shouldn’t be released. There were only a few more days until the start of the holidays. A few more days until Marcus would be back with his guardians. A few more days until Percy’s time would finally be up.

An eerie smile spread slowly across Marcus’ face. This smile had been plaguing him since he had decided to kill Percy. No-one knew what to make of it. Some people knew that something bad was going to happen. Some people just thought that Marcus was going insane.

The thoughts made Marcus laugh, the same cold and cruel laugh that his father had once laughed.

Marcus cast the Muffliato spell quickly as students came into the room.

“Harry Potter is coming again tomorrow!” one student babbled excitedly.

“Again? Great.” another student moaned. “As if one time wasn’t enough torture. We now have to listen to him whine about how much his life sucked again”

There was a deep laugh from one corner of the room. “Did you see the way he reacted last time when he saw Marcus?” Richard’s deep voice struggled to stay at a whisper. “Absolute classic.”

“Speaking of the devil, where is Marcus? I haven’t seen him all day.” Arnold said, mostly to himself. “He said yesterday that he needed to talk to me,”

Marcus removed the spell from around him and climbed out from behind the curtain. “Looking for me?” he asked quietly, slightly smirking.

Arnold nodded slowly.

“Harry Potter is coming again is he?” Marcus surveyed the people who were in the room with him. “Well then, he’s going to have fun isn’t he?”

The strange comment silenced the few people as Marcus strode quietly out of the room.

Arnold shook his head slightly as he fought an almost irresistible urge to bow deeply. Richard looked questioningly at him as they followed Marcus from the Slytherin common room. Arnold shrugged, Richard grinned lopsidedly.

The sun was strong and warm even though there was a cool breeze billowing the students’ robes around like bits of paper.

Three girls dashed past Marcus, Richard and Arnold, clutching their tunics around their knees. Each girl flicked her eyes towards Marcus appreciatively as they passed. Arnold stifled a laugh at how indifferent Marcus seemed to their attentions.

The school was once again abuzz with excitement of the imminent visit of Harry Potter. Marcus was again ignoring everyone as his thoughts were consumed by the thought of the person he hated most in the world.