Protector {Completed}

Chapter 13

It still hadn't hit Hestia how upset she was with the whole situation involving Dumbledore and Molly. To be honest she the fury she felt deep inside was not something she wanted to feel. Carding her fingers through Marcus's hair, she smiled down at him softly as his palm gently rested on her lap. Quietly doing her homework she made sure she kept her invisibility cloak on in case Madame Pomfrey came to check on Marcus. So when she heard the footsteps walking towards Marcus's curtain, she moved his head to the bed and got off so that the indent of her weight would not be pressed onto the mattress. Standing next to her lover, Hestia dropped the sound of her breathing, but she had to stop the sharp in take of breath she had due to shock. Dumbledore and Molly stood at the curtain, peering in at Marcus as he slept soundly, "Do you think the boy told her anything yet Albus?" Molly asked, her voice slightly cracking with what seemed like fear. "No I don't think he has. He most probably doesn't even remember that we are the culprits Molly dear. Those curses would have broken his mind as much as it did to the poor Longbottoms." Albus answered softly, at his words, Hestia's grip on her wand tightened, Marcus was tortured by the Cruciatus Curse. And the fact that he was able to answer her questions in a manner that was close to his normal behavior, meant that he was really trying to fight back against all the pain. A tear ran down her cheek, Neville's parents were tortured the same exact way, and they were nothing but vegetables, Marcus was lucky to escape with his sanity. As the two older witch and wizard discussed their plans further, Hestia was making a plan of her own.

"So that's it?" Ron asked as Hestia relayed her plan to him and Hermione. "That's it, all we need is Verisetarum, two drops in his food during the dinner and we get him blurting truths to everyone who listens." Hestia said with a smile, "and what about...Mrs Weasley?" Hermione asked, looking carefully at Ron. At the mention of his mother, Ron's hands tightened around his cutlery, turning his knuckles white, his jaw as well seemed to get taut, both girls knew he was very upset when he found out that his mother was one of the culprits behind Marcus's attack, and he was even angrier at himself for not seeing that she was toxic in the first place. As the trio spoke, none noticed the drop of conversations in the hall, nor did they notice the sudden silence that followed, they were too engrossed in planning to even realize that someone was walking towards them. Only when Ron and Hermione froze did Hestia look confused, turning to look behind her, her eyes welled up with tears, for so long had she missed that crooked smile, those mischievous eyes, that serious face. "Hey there baby Gryffindor." Marcus said, a weak but slight smile on his face. "Marcus!" Hestia screamed as she launched herself into his arms, crying into his chest as he cradled her head.

The entire school was abuzz with the news that the Slytherin protector of the Golden Girl was now alive and well. And the gossip became even more fueled with seeing how Hestia never went to not one of her classes that week. She stuck firmly to Marcus's side and even the teachers couldn't dissuade her. Marcus however took great pleasure in seeing his girlfriend being so fiercly protective of him, it really hit him how much she had changed since he had been attacked. Hestia now spoke out more than she originally did, she didn't shy away from conversation and she even stood up for herself and others more than she did before. Marcus felt a beam of pride as he saw how much stronger she was, but he also felt upset, she had to 'grow up' because he was injured. Because he couldn't protect her. He hated how stupid he was to follow Dumbledore that night. But he couldn't disobey the headmaster. Lovingly squeezing Hestia's hand, Marcus smiled at her seeing how diligently she was taking down notes even though it was 2 years ahead of her time. And he knew then and there, this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"Your plan seems to be flawless." Marcus said as Hestia recounted what she told the others in the RoR. "So we take down Dumbledore and Molly first then we work on Voldemort?" Hestia nodded as she rubbed the scar on her eye absentmindedly. Marcus looked over at her worried, reaching forward he cupped her cheek and gently rubbed his thumb over the end of her scar, "has it been hurting much recently?" He asked her with a soft scowl, Hestia didn't know how to answer that. Her scar was not hurting but it also was at the same time. There were moments she felt as if her body was not her own and that she was looking from at herself from the outside. She was scared at those moments. Because how do you explain that to someone you love? How do you tell people that you love, that you were hearing voices, or just a specific voice, a voice that told you to hurt those that hurt you just as bad as they did you? She hugged Marcus, catching him off guard, and he knew, Hestia was hiding something. Something she didn't want to speak about at that very moment. And he wasn't going to push her, he was going to wait, and he knew waiting was the best he could do at that moment. He remembered something his father told him before things went bad, before his father became cruel and obsessed with blood purity and Voldemort more than his own family, "True love needs no explanation son. It needs no 'Sorry's' nor does it need any explanation for feelings. When the person you love has issues, issues they feel will burden you. You wait, because they will trust you enough to tell you. And when you meet a person like that, you've found the one." Hestia mumbled softly into his chest "Can you wait a bit till I tell you?" And Marcus smiled his hand on her head as he nodded. She indeed was the one.