Prodigal Witch

Marcus and his house

                                                           Warning - lemons & limes ahead

Hermione stumbled out of the Floo into the waiting arms of Marcus Flint. True to form, Marcus swung her up into his arms. One by one, he reached and pulled her legs around his waist.

"Mmm," Marcus rumbled into her neck. "I've missed you, princess."

Hermione was immediately lost in the overwhelming feel of Marcus against her, his body heat and scent saturating her senses. It became harder to think of anything else besides Marcus when he began placing soft, wet kisses along her neck. Hermione groaned and clung to him tighter.

"If that's what you two plan to do for lunch, what are Blaise and I supposed to have?" Theo chuckled.

Hermione pulled away from Marcus and blushed. She appreciated that Theo didn't seem bothered or overly jealous. In fact, none of them did. When she'd agreed to go out with Adrian, Draco and Theo looked pleased. Either they didn't mind her dating them all at once, or they were very good at hiding their emotions. They were Slytherins, so the later really couldn't be discounted. Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to share a wizard with another witch; it just wasn't in her nature. She wondered if she could talk to them about it.

"Darling, why don't you put Miss Granger down so we can have lunch?" a female voice asked.

Hermione squirmed to get down, her blush turning beet red. She looked over at the older, athletic woman and tried to suppress the urge to bury her face in Marcus' shoulder in embarrassment.

"I don't need lunch," Marcus said, holding on to Hermione a bit tighter. Hermione pushed harder against Marcus' chest and gave him a scowl. He reluctantly set her to the ground with a sigh. "Hermione, this is my mum, Inge Flint."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Flint," Hermione greeted, stepping away from Marcus. Inge Flint was very tall, almost six feet, and broad shouldered. Rather than looking overly masculine, she was handsome and statuesque. Hermione thought Marcus had her lovely blue eyes and full lips, but Inge was a blonde. A burly man, only slightly smaller than Marcus, entered the hallway as well. This was clearly Marcus' father. They had the same dark hair and olive toned skin.

"I've heard so much about you, Miss Granger," Inge smiled. "This is my husband, Pius Flint."

"Mister Flint," Hermione nodded.

"Please," the elder Flint scoffed. "Call us Inge and Pius! I've wanted to meet the famous Hermione Granger for years now. Your exploits during the war caused Voldemort's unending torment. It was the highlight of those years for me. You bothered Voldemort more than the others because you were Muggle-born. You outsmarted him and your magic was just as good, if not better, than those in his command. It was wonderful."

Pius' voice was wistful, close to joyous. Hermione wanted to laugh at the contradiction between the large older Flint's imposing stature versus his carefree manner of speaking.

Pius offered Hermione his arm as he spoke and escorted her to the dining room. Marcus similarly escorted his mother. Hermione was entirely surprised that the Flints were so jovial and warm. Marcus had always seemed so reserved and quiet. When Hermione observed this to the group as they sat for lunch, everyone just laughed.

"You try getting a word in edgewise with these two," Marcus growled in mock protest. He clearly loved his parents, even if they had very different personalities.

"It was hard for Marcus," Pius pointed out, looking at his son with an expression that could only be described as apologetic. "Inge and I were never very interested in politics. My father, however, was very different. To say that he wasn't a nice wizard would be putting it mildly. He would do any unscrupulous thing to advance his wealth and power. He promised me to Voldemort when he first came on the scene and I was forced to receive the Dark Mark. All I ever wanted to do was play Quidditch and spend time outdoors. As a result of my ...induction, Inge and I never could open up and be ourselves in our society. It was confusing for Marcus as a child, because we were one way alone with him, and another way around others."