Potter

Chapter 54

"I think I do."

"Move it, Thatcher. I don't have time for this nonsense." I said sharply, trying to step forward again but recoiling as he once more blocked my path, my chest hitting his rather abruptly. He didn't wear his signature sneer. Instead he simply stared at me, almost furiously, and it made me regret leaving my wand in the dorms. Why did I never learn? Why?

"You. There's something funny about you, Longbottom." Marcus's voice was low. "And I'm going to find out. You're not who you claim to be."

"Who else would I be? Merlin? Really, Thatcher, it's no wonder you didn't end up in Ravenclaw." I snorted, trying to bypass him once more. I was starting to become uncomfortable now, but it seemed escape was impossible as he once again blocked my path. But this time instead of just blocking me he reached out, grabbing me by the arms and shoving me roughly against the stone wall of the hallway.

"So help me Thatcher, I will kill you!" I yelled as my head smacked back into the cement, not hard enough to bleed but certainly enough to make my vision spot. When my vision righted itself all I could see was Marcus, his head ducked down so that we were of the same height. His stare was unwavering, brown eyes dark enough that they nearly blended with the pupil.

"No, you won't. I can tell when you're bluffing, Longbottom. You have a lot of tells." He said, jaw clenched.

"Do I?"

"Your shoulders square whenever you're going to tell a lie. Your lips twitch before you smile. And you play with that ring of yours almost nonstop when you're nervous." He said, his voice nearly a whisper. "You only ever tuck your hair behind your left ear, never your right. And when you're angry, like you are now, your lips pull up just slightly."

I was both speechless and wary. He was too close.

I opened my mouth to speak, to throw him off, to say something that might throw him off when his mouth collided against mine with a ferocity that I had not been kissed with before. It was filled with anger and frustration, and it was with the same amount of fury that I kissed him back, my mouth hard on his. He didn't seem surprised by it. He seemed to welcome it.

His hands slipped from my arms to pull at my waist roughly, but not hard enough to bruise. His fingers tugged and pulled at my waist, at my skin, at my clothes, as though he was trying to tear me apart and put me together at the same time. Not that I could blame him- I was being just as vicious.

My hands gripped at his shoulders, fingers bunching up his shirt as his hands pressed me back into wall, keeping me there even as I raised myself up onto my toes, pulling him forward so he was closer.

The groan he let out was captivating, and it snapped my fury, my anger softening, the roaring fire leaving me and replaced soon by a group of embers, tamed but not snuffed out. I let my fingers soften on his shoulders, and while they still pulled and pawed at his skin I was no longer scratching at him.

I didn't expect for him to relent though, for his mouth to soften on mine a moment later, his fingers, instead of clawing at my skin, pushed down on me gently, keeping me pinned against the wall and his body. I could feel his thumb gently stroking the bare skin where my shirt had risen up, the soft movement making a knot in my stomach tighten.

"I- You should.." I mumbled weakly, feeling his breath fan my skin as he let out a sigh, his lips soft against the corner of my mouth.

"You can't be." His voice was a whisper at first, so hushed and quiet that I hadn't noticed until he said it again, his breath fanning my cheek this time. I didn't have a chance to ask what I couldn't be though as he leant forward, our mouths colliding again with a much gentler passion.