Yo, I'm back! I just want to say that if these two are not canon I'm doing to sue Disney!! (Kidding :P)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of this story, the Hogwarts AU or the pictures I used for this chapter. All credit goes to their original owners and artists.
Warning(s): Homophobia
Bad language
Hogwarts information:
Nathaniel: 4th year, Ravenclaw
Marc: 4th year, Ravenclaw
Chloe: 4th year, Slytherin
Sabrina: 4th year, Slytherin
Alya: 4th year, Gryffindor
Marinette: 4th year, Slytherin
Nora: 7th year, Gryffindor, Head Girl
Felix: 4th year, Slytherin
Alix: 4th year, Slytherin
Master Fu: D.A.D.A. teacher
Mrs. Anciel: Witch
Mr. Anciel: Wizard (okay, question: when reading the story, am I the only one that imagines Marc's dad with a big mustache, kind of like Tom's? X'D)
Also, please let's all just pretend that people that use Crucio don't go to Azkaban. Can you do that? You. Yes, you! I see you over there! Pretend people that use Crucio don't go to Azkaban, now! Alright! That's all guys! Hope you enjoy! Cya!
-Kim
HOMOPHOBIA-ACCEPTANCE
"So, I was thinking, here we could add..."
Nathaniel spaced out as Marc spoke, too occupied admiring how good the black-haired looked when he concentrated. Honestly, the boy was breath-taking all the time, but Nathaniel had noticed that whenever he got passionate about something his whole being glowed with excitement. His eyes shone, his lips were always formed into a smile and his voice came out quicker and smoother than usual.
"...te? Nate?" Marc called out for the seventeenth time while shaking his hand in front of the other's face.
It caused Nathaniel to blink a couple times and look around once he was brought back to reality.
"W-What...?"
"Did you listen to anything I just said?"
"No..." the red-haired said hesitantly.
After a small moment of silence they both burst out laughing. Almost immediately, however, they were silenced by the students around them, who complained about the inappropriate noise in the library. The two blushed a little in embarrassment and whispered a few "Sorry", before turning to look at each other. They smiled and were ready to return to their assignment, when a voice interrupted them.
"Well, well, look who's here," Chloe's high-pitched voice made the boys look up to see her and Sabrina standing a few feet away from Marc. "I should have guessed that it would be you two causing trouble in here."
"When have we ever caused trouble before?" Nathaniel grumbled in a quiet voice.
"Huh, what was that? Did you say something?" the girl asked with a smirk. "It doesn't matter whether you did or not. I don't have time to listen to you."
Chloe then looked at Marc for the first time. The Ravenclaw was looking down with his hands on his lap, not saying anything. That made the girl's smirk widen as she leaned closer to him.
"Why are you looking down? Scared? Are you scared little fag?" Marc seemed to become smaller at those words. "Look at you. No wonder your parents don't talk to you. I mean, I would be totally embarrassed if I had a son like that as well. Of course, my son would be perfect, nothing like you. Who would want their child to be like you, anyway? Your parents did the best thing leaving-"
"Chloe, that's enough!" Nathaniel interrupted her and shot up from his chair.
His reaction surprised Marc, Chloe and Sabrina as well as himself. Nathaniel never spoke up like this. But he couldn't take it anymore. Seeing Marc in that state – being badmouthed, tensing up, at the edge of crying – made him incredibly mad. He knew how bad the black-haired felt about his parents' disapproval of his sexuality and how much worse comments like those of Chloe's made everything for him. Nathaniel believed Marc deserved better than that – he knew the boy should be treated a thousand times better. And he wanted to make sure that would happen – as much as he could at least.
"Did you just shout at me?" Chloe asked when she got over her shock – both because someone had just yelled at her and because that was Nathaniel.
The red-haired tensed up a little, but stood his ground.
"You shouldn't talk like that to Marc."
"Huh? And why should I listen to you? You're just as bad as him," Chloe said, making the boy clench his fists.
"Stop it."
"What are you going to do about it? There's nothing you can do to me. You're nowhere near me. If I wanted, I could have you out of this school. And there's nothing anyone can-"
"Actually, Chloe, there are a lot of things that can happen to you," a voice interrupted her.
When the four turned to look, they found Alya and Marinette standing right behind Sabrina. The green-eyed girl jumped a little and run to hide behind her friend as soon as she saw the two of them.
"Get off me!" Chloe whined, pushing the girl away, and then looked at the two new-comers. "As if I'd be scared of you two. You can't do anything to me."
"You're right, we can't," Marinette told her shaking her shoulders.
"But I'm sure that my sister would be very happy to hear about this. And you know what happens to whoever messes with my sister, don't you, Chloe?" Alya continued.
Immediately, the Slytherin's face paled. She glanced at Nathaniel and Marc for a moment and then back at Alya, before starting to walk away quickly.
"This isn't over!" she yelled as she walked, with Sabrina close behind her.
Alya and Marinette rolled their eyes. Once Chloe was out of their sight, they turned to look at the two boys.
"Are you okay, guys?" Marinette asked worryingly.
"Yes. Thank you for that," Nathaniel said and sat down again.
"I can't believe Chloe is still at it. Seriously, someone needs to put her spoiled ass in its place," Alya commented.
"Can't disagree on that. It would be such a relief if I didn't have to deal with her in every lesson. And the common room," Marinette whined, slumping her shoulders.
"There, there," her friend told her with a smile as she patted her back.
"Thank you again..." Marc's voice – which hadn't been heard this whole time – caught everyone's attention. "...I don't know why it's so hard for me to deal with her."
"You shouldn't feel bad because of that. Everyone has things they don't know how to deal with," Marinette told him with a smile.
"Yeah. I mean, have you seen her around Adrien? A total mess," Alya added with a smirk.
"Alya!" her friend whined. "It's not like that anymore though..."
"Thankfully! Can you imagine a relationship like that?" the brown-haired said with a chuckle.
Nathaniel noticed their bickering had made Marc smile and even laugh a little. It brought a smile to the red-haired's lips as well. He loved his boyfriend's smile and seeing him happy like that was much better than when he was ready to cry.
"Anyway, we have to get going. Kim messed up a potion and now the whole common room smells like sweaty quidditch shocks, so we need to find something to fix it. See you later guys," Alya said, before she and Marinette waved at them and left.
The boys waved back and then turned to look at each other.
"Are you okay now?" Nathaniel asked.
Marc's smile faltered and he looked away from the other.
"I'm fine, I guess. It's just that..." he hesitated. "I wish my parents would understand."
Nathaniel's smile also dropped at that. He sighed and reached out to take Marc's hand in his.
"I...I know it can be... hard," he said when the black-haired looked at him. "But it gets better. Sooner or later they will realize what an amazing person you are and that your sexuality doesn't matter and they'll regret what they've done. And until then, I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere."
As he spoke a faint blush spread on his cheeks and his eyes looked away from the other. Marc was a little surprised at first. But he soon got over it, his eyes softening and his lips forming a smile. He leaned closer to his boyfriend and kissed his cheek. Immediately, Nathaniel turned to look at him, his blush now even worse.
"T-Thank you," Marc said quietly, looking at his hands, his cheeks red.
Both of them were smiling like idiots, with red cheeks and their hands still intertwined. Who cared about homophobic parents? Not them. At that moment all that mattered was that they were together. Nothing else. And Chloe Bourgeois could go Silencio herself.
Nathaniel sighed as another one of his searches was in vein. He had been searching for Marc for quite some time now and still hadn't been able to find him. He had looked at the common room, the library, the Great Hall, Gryffindor's common room, Slytherin's common room, had just gotten out of the kitchens and was heading to Hufflepuff's common room as his last destination, before going outside.
As he walked, suddenly, something flew next to him, circled around him a little and then landed on the ground in front of him. It was a paper plane – obviously enchanted – and it seemed to have something written on it. Nathaniel leaned down and picked it up. He inspected it for a few moments and then carefully unfolded it to read what it said.
Hey, loser. I want to have a little talk with you and your fag.
Meet me at the Whomping Willow.
If you don't come, I'll tell the whole school what a scared little girl you are.
Chloe
Nathaniel staid frozen for a bit, just staring at the letter. After reading it again and again, his mind started working at a Firebolt's speed. Chloe would never stay close to him and Marc voluntarily, let alone talk to them. So this meant either that she had been forced or that she was planning something. Whatever it was, there was no way Nathaniel was bringing Marc into this. He was also not telling anyone else about it, he decided. He had never done that before, usually he would tell Felix or Alix about it. This time, however, he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. He also wanted to clear things up with Chloe once and for all. Even if he wasn't sure whether he would be able to go through with it.
As he walked, he started thinking more and more about the letter. Why would Chloe want to meet them all of a sudden? And why at the Whomping Willow, of all places? Wasn't Chloe afraid of it? Why did it have to be both of them and not just Nathaniel?
He kept thinking, with his eyes looking down in thought, until he reached the meeting place. He shook his head, clearing his mind, before looking up to finally face Chloe. However, unlike what he had expected, the Slytherin wasn't alone. And Sabrina wasn't the only one that was with her.
"Hey, loser. I'm surprised you showed up," Chloe said with a smirk. "But, seriously, what took you so long? Do you know since when I've been waiting out here for you? It's just so-"
Nathaniel cut out the girl's whining as his eyes staid glued on the two people next to her. Sabrina was holding out her wand, pointing it at a kneeling Marc that seemed to be frozen in place. His green eyes were staring at the ground in front of him and his hands were trembling – Nathaniel also noticed his wand was missing.
Chloe realized that the boy was not paying any attention to her "very reasonable" complaints and instead was staring at his boyfriend. It brought a smirk to her face as she slid next to the kneeling boy.
"You know, I learnt a very interesting spell today at that weird Chinese guy's lesson," she pulled her wand out and moved it around a little while turning her head to look at Nathaniel. "Does your little brain remember today's lesson, loser?"
It didn't take more than a second for Nathaniel to realize what the girl was talking about. That day, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ravenclaw and Slytherin fourth years had learned about the Cruciatus Curse. Nathaniel believed that students – especially of his age and Chloe's brains – should not be taught about these type of spells. And something inside him told him he would soon be proven right.
"I think that whatever they tell us is just a lie. I bet it doesn't even hurt that bad," Chloe continued speaking. "Should we try it out? Mr. Faggot will be brilliant for it. Finally he will be useful for something."
At first, no one did anything, because they thought the girl was simply kidding – playing some sort of sick-minded joke. When she turned her body and pointed her wand towards Marc, however, they started thinking she was serious. Everyone's eyes – even Sabrina's – widened at her actions.
"W-Wait..." Nathaniel muttered, his eyes going from Chloe, to Marc, to Sabrina and back again.
"Um, Chloe...I don't think it's a good idea to-"
"Silence, Sabrina," the blonde interrupted her friend.
Nathaniel was really starting to panic. He wanted to do something, anything, to stop it. Mentally, he cursed at himself for choosing today as a day to leave his wand at the common room. For a moment, he considered attacking Chloe physically, but he quickly realized that that would probably make everything worse. So he simply tried to reason with the girl with words.
"Chloe..." he started, panicking just a little more with every nerve-wrecking second that passed. "Chloe please listen to me. This isn't a game. This is serious magic that will actually hurt Marc. So, please, please, put your wand down."
"Oh, please, as if I'd believe that," Chloe rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."
"Wait, Chloe, no-"
"Crucio!"
With that small word, Marc's whole body was engulfed in pain. He immediately screamed, feeling as if he was burning everywhere. No, that wasn't it. It was more like rocks that weighted tons were dropped on top of him. No, it was like something was trying to get out of his body, eating, scratching, biting, slashing and kicking his insides in its search for freedom. But there were more than one of those things, all over his body's insides. Or was it actually as if his skin was being ripped off his body slowly at a lot of places at the same time? Whatever it was, it was painful and it made him scream louder than he had ever done before.
As soon as the first scream left Marc's mouth and the boy's body fell fully on the ground in pain, Nathaniel started trying to think what he should do. He wanted to stop it, he wanted to help the black-haired. The question was, how was he going to do that? He tried really hard to think of something, but his brain seemed to be frozen. He could only stare at Marc's hurting form on the ground as his brain failed to come up with an idea. He was ready to actually attack Chloe and tackle her on the ground in an act of desperation, when something rather unexpected happened.
"Expelliarmus!" Sabrina shouted, her wand pointing straight at Chloe.
Immediately, the blonde's wand left her hand and flew all the way to her best friend's. Everyone staid quiet.
Sabrina was looking at the now two wands in her hands with wide eyes.
Chloe had frozen at her place, staring at the girl with a dropped jaw and wide eyes.
Marc was lying on the ground, without moving at all, the only sound that came out of him and the only movement his body made being that of his breathing.
Nathaniel was the first one to move as soon as he got over the first shock. He quickly run and kneeled next to Marc.
"Marc?" he asked, gently turning the boy around to see his face, but he got no reply. "Hey. Marc, are you okay?"
However, the black-haired seemed to have passed out. Nathaniel wished he would speak to him, but, for now, seeing he was at least still breathing was enough for him. He was ready to turn to Chloe – a rather angry speech already being readied in his mind – when another voice stopped him.
"What is going on?!"
The three students looked at the owner of the voice to find McGonagall, along with Wang, coming their way. The head of Gryffindor looked beyond furious the closer she got to the four of them and the man next to her didn't seem happy exactly either.
"What happened here?!" McGonagall asked once the two of them were in front of their students. Her eyes fell on the still unconscious Marc and then travelled to Nathaniel next to him. "Mr. Kurtzberg?"
At the expecting question, the red-haired glanced firstly at Chloe - who had started panicking – and then at his boyfriend. He didn't have to think a second time before looking back at the teacher.
"Chloe used the Cruciatus Curse on Marc," he said with a steady voice.
Both McGonagall's and Wang's eyes immediately widened as they looked at the blonde girl in shock. It didn't take long, though, for that shock to turn into anger. Especially in McGonagall's case – Nathaniel was worried her head was going to explode from how red it was.
"Mrs. Bourgeois! What short of behavior is this?! How could you do such a thing?!"
"I already told you today in class, Crucio is not to be used on anybody, it's too dangerous," Wang added on the woman's words, more calmly but still just as strictly.
"But, Professor, I just wanted to-"
"That's enough! You two..." McGonagall interrupted her and pointed at Chloe and Sabrina. "...come with me. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will know how to deal with this."
"Actually, Professor..." Nathaniel stopped her before she could turn and leave. "Sabrina was the one that stopped Chloe. She used Expelliarmus on her. If it hadn't been for her... I don't know what would have happened."
Once he finished, he glanced at the orange-haired next to him. She was looking at him with big, surprised eyes behind her glasses. Nathaniel only smiled at her before looking at McGonagall again. The woman seemed to be as confused as the Slytherin. However, she was calmer now and simply sighed.
"We'll discuss this later. Right now, what's really important is taking Mr. Anciel to the Hospital Wing."
After finishing talking, she easily casted Wingardium Leviosa, lifting Marc off the ground. She started walking away with the boy's levitating body following her.
Nathaniel, Sabrina and Chloe went to follow her, but Wang stopped them. He glanced at McGonagall's walking form, before looking at Chloe. Faster than any of the three students could understand, he pulled out his wand and touched the blonde's shoulder with its tip. Immediately, Chloe jumped at the sting of pain she felt.
"What did-"
"That, Mrs. Bourgeois, is only a small ant in front of the tall mountain of pain you put Mr. Anciel through. I hope next time you decide to disobey your teachers you'll think about it more carefully," the short man told her and then turned around to follow McGonagall inside the school.
Nathaniel glanced at Chloe only for a second – she was completely shocked – before running after his teacher.
Marc slowly opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He was in the Hospital Wing. But why was he there? He didn't remember getting there himself. So why? The last thing he remembered was intense pain all over his body. And a voice. Someone saying Expelliarmus. Then the pain stopped. And then... nothing. How had he gotten in the Hospital Wing then?
A glance to his right was enough to give him an answer. Next to him, sitting on a chair, with his arms folded on the bed and his head resting on them, Nathaniel was sleeping. It brought a small smile on Marc's lips – it was good to know he had someone that cared about him. His smile, however, soon turned into a frown when he realized how uncomfortable the red-haired's position must have been. He shouldn't sleep like that. So, Marc reached out and gently shook his shoulder.
"Nate, wake up," he said softly.
Nathaniel's eyes opened and closed a couple times, before realization hit him. His head shot up and his eyes immediately met the black-haired's. He was awake. The red-haired quickly stood up and leaned down to look at the other carefully.
"How are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to call Madam Pomfrey?"
"No, no. I'm fine. Don't worry," Marc answered with a smile.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Nathaniel sighed and, after only a second of silence, wrapped his arms around his boyfriend to bring him into a hug. Marc blushed a little, but returned the embrace nonetheless.
"N-Nathaniel...?"
"I'm sorry. I... I should have done something. You were hurting and... and I wasn't doing anything. I should have helped you. I'm so sorry."
The red-haired's words surprised Marc. He slowly pulled away from the hug to take the other's hands in his and look into his eyes.
"Nathaniel it's not your fault. I don't blame you. I..." as he spoke he got more and more embarrassed under the other's eyes, so he looked down. "I-I... know you wouldn't hurt me and... t-thank you."
He quickly leaned up and pecked the red-haired's lips. His action made both of them blush madly, the color of their cheeks rivaling that of Nathaniel's hair. They glanced at each other and giggled, before looking away and repeating it, too embarrassed to do anything more.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, catching their attention. They looked at the entrance of the Hospital Wing to see McGonagall standing there, along with another woman and a man. Marc was shocked to see the two of them. They hadn't seen each other in so long after all.
As soon as the woman's eyes fell on the black-haired, she teared up and run towards him. Once she was next to him, she tightly wrapped her arms around him in a close embrace.
"My baby, my baby..." she kept repeating as the tears started running down her cheeks.
"M-Mom...?" Marc asked in shock. He glanced at the man, who had also come next to him and was smiling warmly at him. "D-Dad?"
"Yes, son. We're here," the man answered and joined the hug. "We're here."
At that moment, Marc finally let the tears that had gathered in his eyes roll on his cheeks. He had missed his parents. He had missed them so, so much.
Nathaniel, who had moved to the side as soon as Mrs. Anciel run to Marc, watched the scene in front of him and couldn't stop the small smile that spread on his lips. He had known that at some point Marc's parents would accept him and come back for him. Even if it took the boy going through a death like experience. And the grin on the black-haired's face was enough to fill Nathaniel's entire body with happiness.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Mrs. Anciel asked when the three of them separated, checking her son's body for any injuries.
"N-No, mom, I'm fine. Don't worry..." Marc assured her, but he kept his eyes down.
He was still a little scared his parents would leave him again. Maybe they had come just to see whether he had been injured and, once they saw he was alright, they would leave.
The two adults sensed his worry and glanced at each other. Both taking a deep breath, they sat on each side of their son to look at him.
"Marc..." Mr. Anciel started, making the boy's eyes look up at him. "We want to apologize, for what we have done to you."
"We're so sorry," his mother continued. "We shouldn't have pushed you away because of a silly reason like that."
She then reached out and pulled the boy in another hug, this time gentler. She caressed his hair with one hand and rubbed his back with the other.
"We love you, so much. And we will always love you."
"You're our son, now and forever. It doesn't matter what clothes you were or who you love. You will always be our boy."
At those words, Marc started silently sobbing and clinging to his mother, his fists tightly grabbing the back of her shirt. He couldn't believe it. His parents were there, still wanting him and loving him. They were okay with him being gay. They had accepted him. He was so happy.
After a few minutes, Mr. Anciel noticed Nathaniel standing alone a few feet away from the bed.
"And who might you be?" he asked with a smile.
Nathaniel's head shot up to look at the man, while Mrs. Anciel and Marc separated to look at the red-haired as well. The two boy's eyes met and for a moment no one said anything. Until Marc took a deep breath and smiled.
"This is Nathaniel. He's..." he took one more second to look at the red-haired, before grinning. "...my boyfriend."
His parents' eyes widened as they looked at each other in surprise. Nathaniel and Marc didn't take their eyes off one another, with smiles decorating both of their faces.
Getting over the first shock, Mr. and Mrs. Anciel glanced at the two boys. They both smiled at the sweet moment, before Mr. Anciel turned to Nathaniel.
"Nathaniel, huh?" he asked, slightly scaring the boy. "Well, come over here then."
At first the red-haired was confused and hesitant. But one glance at Marc and a nod from him made him relax and slowly walk towards the three of them. Immediately, he was pulled into a hug, with Mr. and Mrs. Anciel's arms around him and Marc's smiling face in front of him. It all made him grin as well. This was so nice. For him. For Marc. For Mr. Anciel. For Mrs. Anciel. For everyone. It was a moment of love and happiness. One that none of them would forget. Not even after many, many years.