*the last moments of deep sleep slowly made way for that lighter, just coming into consciousness, happy-type sleep, the type of sleep that all you need is to nestle yourself closer or deeper into the pillow to catch maybe an extra hour or two before having to get up*

*he was completely wrapped around Seamus, warm and comfortable, which was good because Seamus had hogged all the covers again (most of them at least; he thought Seamus did it on purpose so he'd burrow closer to him in search for more comfortable body heat or something like it)* *he heard the pops of Dimpy's apparition in and out of their room, more than saw anything; she didn't usually bother them in the morning, save to make breakfast downstairs and always usually waited until they were up before cleaning up and starting laundry, so her popping in and out was out of the ordinary*

*Marcus shifted, and stretched, smiling at Seamus' sleepy protests and blindly groping hand to get back to sleep, s'too early* *with a content sigh, he spooned up against Seamus, though sleep was already eluding him, and he opened his eyes...*

*...their room was decorated from top to bottom with balloons and streamers and confetti* *blinks* What the--?

Who: Marcus and Charlie
What: Marcus visits a mate
When: Sunday
Where: Jonas' farm
Why: Because it's been too long

( Oi, Charlie? You around, mate? )

( rp link )

*stops by a take away curry place to pick up some food for him and Chad (it never really occurred to him to owl or floo first to see if he's home, mostly because if he's not, he'll leave the food and come back some other time)*

*knocks on the door to his flat*

*he's in his old study, looking for a book he'd seen once on specific dark spells he wants to use in training the next few weeks; can't really defend against Dark Magic if you don't know what it looks like or does*

*can't remember the title exactly, but does remember the spine was red* *hands a dusty book to Seamus* Check to see if it has that suffocation spell I showed you. I'm not sure if this book's the one. *then, almost to himself* They went and reorganised everything and now, I can't find anything.

*reaches for another book to look over* *idly, flipping the pages* So, Summerby and Chad look pretty serious, don't you think?

Who: Chad, Summerby, Seamus and Marcus
What: Dinner to check out the new boyfriend boyfriend
When: June 2
Where: Abertawe Chapel
Why: Because embarrassing Chadwick is an ongoing mission

( Time to embarrass the shite out of Chadwick. )

( rp link )

To: Chadwick Warrington
From: Marcus Flint

Chadwick,

I know I missed your birthday. I'm a crap mate. Want to make it up to you, so come over for dinner next weekend? Bring your boyfriend boyfriend.

I'll behave. I promise.

Marcus

Who: Marcus and Seamus
What: An argument
Where: Home
When: May 16, coming home from lock-up,
Why: Because Marcus has issues he's been avoiding

( We have a lot of things to do if we want to stay out of jail. Dean, too. Have you owled him? )

( rp link )

Who: Marcus and Neville
What: A confrontation
Where: HQ
When: May 14
Why: Because Marcus is worried.

( All this shite has to get done, and who the bloody hell else is going to do it? )

To: Arthur Weasley
From: Marcus Flint

Arthur,

Got someone who'd be good to have on our side. Zach Smith. Uncle's Ollivander. He's into the family business.

Let me know if you need more information.

~Flint

( rp link )

To: Chad Warrington
From: Marcus Flint

C,

He told me.

~M

*he's been worried ever since Chad's last few owls -- something is wrong, and he knows it* *it's when he gets Adrian's owl -- with only two words scribbled neatly on it(Captain, Roof.) -- that he's filled with dread* *he tells Seamus he has to go out for a while, but that he'll be back soon, not to worry (even though the abruptness with which he does leave will likely cause Seamus to worry anyway)*

*after grabbing his cloak, he apparates to the castle, taking the long way up to the roof, even though climbing up the side makes him dizzy; he needs to think, prepare for the worst, because he feels it'll be just that*

*climbs over the side, sees Adrian standing on the far side, looking out towards the tower, and approaches him* *much like the last time they were up here, both are wearing their black cloaks, both looking very much like Death Eaters they know they aren't; the only thing missing from last time are the black gloves and smattering of snow on the rooftop*

Don't be a twat, Ade. Of course, I came. *Adrian's not looking at him, and that worries him* What're you doing up here? S'wrong? *frowns at the answer; Marcus has been in that place before, the place where you think everything's wrong and nothing's right*

*frown deepens* Yeah. I know about him. *pause, listening* *slight snarl* He's not replaced you, Adrian. You're his best mate. You'll never be replaced.

*should have the decency to grimace or wince or look abashed at the next comment, but he doesn't* You're damn right, I told you so. Christ, Ade. I still don't understand what happened. You did a complete turn around; was like you were flying arse backwards. *jaw sets* I was happy that you were happy, but it didn't mean that I understood it. I never had any clue--

*snarls ferociously* Don't-- *pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration* I don't want to talk about Jonathan. You did the best you could, under the circumstances. I wasn't myself. I didn't want to be myself. Don't blame--

*brow furls* Leaving? *confused* What do you mean? Where?

*he's stunned silent for a moment, and is only snapped out of it by Adrian asking him to say something* *suddenly furious* You're joining the what?! How the fuck can you even consider that? Aren't these the people who hate queers and magic? *snarls* Why would you want to be with people who hate everything you are? It's-- *points, sneering* --this is even more fucked up than you turning queer.

What about Ellie? All this time you've been fighting the bitch for Ellie and your rightful inheritance and you're just going to leave her? *bitter laugh* Oh, right. I didn't realise. A priest's better ranking than a queer in the eyes of the Wizengamot. Sorry.

*paces, not giving Adrian time to speak* Fuck this, Ade. Fuck this. This is bullshite. *looks at him* You're running away. You've given up and are running away. Why don't you fucking grow up, Adrian? You're so used to getting what you want that the first time you can't have something -- someone -- you fucking pout like a five year old. Give up the tantrum for just one minute--

*when Ade grabs him by the front of his cloak fist up, he returns the gesture; they stand there, neither moving, each holding on to the other by the front of their cloaks, and each ready to take the first hit if needed*

*they stay like that for a few minutes, breathing hard, hearts thumping, until Marcus drops his fist and pulls him into a fierce hug* *eyes sting and he shakes his head silently against Adrian's nod willing this to be wrong, to not happen, even though he knows it has* *he's not sure how long they stay like that*

*finally, Adrian releases him, gives a final little nod and wishes him a late happy birthday* *Marcus looks away, not saying anything else -- he can't, and thankfully, neither does Adrian*

*after a long pause filled with words they'll never say, they each walk to opposite ends of the roof before apparating away without looking back*

Who: Marcus and Dean
What: They have a conversation
When: April 25
Where: Dean's flat
Why: Because Marcus is worried about Seamus.

( They said you're an empath? )

*decides he needs some fresh air (though, mostly he thinks Seamus needs him to stop hovering)* *gives Seamus a little kiss, then promises he's not going to do anything extraneous (even if Seamus is the one supposed to take it easy now), and smiles when Seamus teases about extraneous activities of their own*

*tells Seamus that'll come later, and grabs his cloak, before pausing and deciding where to go* *decides it's been a while since he spoke with Smith (he always liked Hertfordshire), and anyway, he'd been thinking lately (since he had a lot of time on his hands) that maybe they could use his skills*

*apparates to his usual spot*

*Seamus was back home, though it's now his turn to take it easy instead of Marcus* *Dimpy was in heaven, having to take care of both he and Seamus* *he'd decided to give Seamus a little space -- he's probably sick of having Marcus hover*

*after trying to figure out something to do, he decides to go check up on Thomas; he heard he'd been released, and he had a few things to tell him, anyroad*

*apparates to Thomas' flat, then knocks on the door*

*Seamus was napping; while he didn't really want to leave him, but the nurses usher him out, saying Seamus needed his rest, and frankly, so did he*

*he didn't want to leave the hospital, so he just headed to the cafeteria for some coffee* *he's on his way back up to the waiting room, with a steaming cup of crap black coffee*

*he'd been in a foul mood (even fouler than before, if possible) since his talk with Chad* *he's sure he's driving them all mad with his snarling at the staff, snapping at everyone trying to comfort him* *he didn't need comfort; what he needed was his husband safe and well, and no one could give him that*

*finally, after what seems like hours of waiting, he announces he's getting some air on the roof* *the look he gives everyone makes it very clear he wants to be alone*

*once up, he paces; he's got an excess of energy from adrenaline and the pints of coffee he'd been drinking to keep himself awake* *the thought of coffee makes him snarl; he wants (needs) something stronger, damnit, but no one's giving in, no one's letting him drink* *it's started to take its toll, because he feels himself shake and become restless more and more-- earlier that night, it was from fear and panic, but now, now he thinks it's from something else*

*needing to burn off excess energy, he grabs a empty crate and hurls it against the stone wall of the stairwell booth; then picks up another one, and another one and another one...*

*he's angry, so very angry at everything, and angry at nothing* *mostly, he feels guilty* *guilt at letting Jonathan die eats at him, but he's also got guilt about still loving him, even if he loves Seamus, and guilt about loving Seamus so much that he was able to save him, but not Jon*

*he knows it's irrational -- no one said feelings were rational -- but he feels this and he doesn't know how to come to terms with it...* *...he doesn't know how to come to terms with a lot of things right now*

*after exhausting himself (and rebruising his ribs, but that doesn't matter right now), he practically collapses to the ground, finally settling himself against the stairwell* *he stays like that for a while, until he actually dozes off a bit* *he has the most wonderful dream of flying with Johnathan, both in their Falcons' gear; at one point, Jonathan flies close and leans in for a kiss* *he smiles against his mouth, but when he pulls away, it's Seamus instead, no longer flying, but together at the house, stretched along side each other on the sofa*

*he's startled awake by a bird's chirp, but the feeling of the dream remains* *he looks up at the sky -- sun's rising -- and thinks a new day's a good thing*

*he gets up, and heads back downstairs, deciding to take Pansy up on the change of clothes she's brought him and a shower -- he wanted to be ready for when Shay woke up -- and when asked if he wanted something to drink, he knows they mean coffee or juice or something, but when he says no, he means it for the firewhiskey*

*decides a new day's a very good thing*

Who: Marcus and Chad
What: Chad intercepts Marcus
When: April 12
Where: St. Mungo's
Why: Because Marcus is broken.

( You look me in the eyes and tell me that if you'd had a chance at destroying the person truly responsible for killing Jonathan, even at the risk of your own life, you wouldn't have taken it? )

( rp link )

Who: Marcus, Seamus and Parvati
What: Parvati's in distress
When: April 11
Where: Abertawe Chapel
Why: Because her and Padma have been attacked.

( Seamus. Get in here. )

Who: Marcus and Seamus
When: April 9
Where: Abertawe Chapel
What: Seamus tells Marcus about what happened with Umbridge
Why: Because they're partners

( Umbridge called me into her office today. )

( rp link )

( rp link )

Who: Marcus and Seamus
What: They discuss Marcus' issues.
When: April 02
Where: Home
Why: Because Marcus is really fucking stubborn about everything.

( My partner's an eejit. )

( rp link )

Who: Marcus and Neville
What: Visit and training
Where: Abertawe Chapel
When: March 29
Why: Because Marcus is cranky

( I'm just a soldier. It's Potter they need, not me. )

*when Dimpy announces that Mr Neville is here to see him, he can't help smiling; he wipes his hands on his trousers, leaving the half-finished sandwich in the kitchen, and goes to greet Neville*

*when he reaches the door, his trademark scowl is firmly in place, though there's no heat to it, and it's clear he's pleased to see him* Neville, hey. How's life with Fawcett? *leans against the doorway to the living room*

*he's in an exceptionally good mood -- of course, it probably (definitely) had something to do with just having been extremely well shagged by his boyfriend (Seamus had just left not long ago to go to work, much to both their disappointment); he'd been in a much better mood this week, ever since the stitches were removed on Monday, meaning his and Seamus' medically imposed vow of chastity had finally been broken. repeatedly. over and over again*

*humming to himself, he bounds (well, more like he takes the stairs at a moderate enough pace, but considering how slow he'd been moving lately,it's practically bounding) down the stairs to greet Chad, whose arrival Dimpy had just announced* Chadwick!

Who: Marcus and Healer Sinclaire
What: Therapy
When: March 5
Where: Sinclaire's office
Why: Because Marcus has had a rough couple of weeks.

( Er. Sorry I missed my last appointment. )

( rp link )

*he's lying in the hospital bed, counting the dimples in the ceiling paint, bored out of his mind, the owl he'd received earlier that day, lying crumpled and (mostly) forgotten on the side table*

*sharp sigh, then tilts his head to better hear whether someone was out in the hall or not* *he smiles, because he's pretty sure the coast is clear* *throws the covers off him and (slowly) swings his legs over the side of the bed; he's still sore everywhere (especially his side and chest, where he still had a slew of magical stitches), and when he slides off the bed (still slowly), his hospital gown (fucking thing) rides up a bit to reveal an angry scar on his thigh*

*carefully, he starts to cross the room towards the window*

*he's feels like he's just been through a dozen of the most brutal Quidditch games in his life; he's sore all over -- hell, just breathing seems to hurt -- and he's all fuzzy and groggy from...well, he's not sure*

*he'd come in and out of (consciousness) sleep a few times, but he'd been so tired that he'd just wanted to sleep for days, or years come to think of it* *right now, he's awake, he thinks* *his eyes aren't open, but he can hear things going on around him and...is he in a hospital? Can't be. He hates hospitals; everyone knows that!* *he can't help the slight panic at the thought of being stuck in a hospital and he starts thrashing around a bit, though not much because he can't hardly move (Jesus, why does his side feel like it's burning?)*

*hears a mediwitch call out to a healer that he's awake, and soon, he's being poked and prodded and asked a million and one questions he doesn't care about* *softly, hoarsely because he's tired and parched* Seamus. Seamus Finnigan. He alright? *coughs, then takes a long steadying breath through the pain of that* I want to see him.

*when the healer tells him that won't be possible because only family's allowed in at the moment (he obviously hadn't gotten the memo from who ever Ade spoke to), Marcus frowns* *he motions to the healer to come closer, indicating he wants to tell him something* *the healer leans close, and Marcus reaches up slightly to grab the healer's tie, and pull on it with as much force as he can muster (despite the pull on his magical stitches), which causes the healer to cough and choke in surprise*

*voice still soft and hoarse, but decidedly angry, his eyes meeting the healers', indicating he means business* I want to see my boyfriend. Now. *gives the tie another hard tug for emphasis*

Who: Marcus & Daphne
When: The Ministry Attack, after helping Chad and Adrian.
Where: The Atrium of the Ministry.
Why: Because Slytherins are the shit.

( And look, here's proof. The world is really fucked up. )

*he'd left Chad and Adrian down in the Wizengamot level with Wally and Ozzie Fawcett, a thought that both distressed him (for having to leave them) and comforted him (he trusted Wally and Ozzie with his life, and therefore his friends' lives), so he could find Seamus and send down reinforcements because they were getting hammered hard down there*

*it'd taken him a long fucking time to get up the levels -- he'd had to detour a few times, since Death Eaters held most of the stairs, by getting off at one floor, crossing it to get to the stairwell on the other side, climb more and then repeat the process all over again* *he'd crossed Tonks in the stairs at one point as she was coming down, and he was going up, glad to know the Order was here, though considering how green their squads were, he didn't know if really that was a blessing or a hindrance*

*finally, he's able to bust through to the Atrium, which looked just as crazy if not more than the Wizengamot levels* *someone fires a spell at him, and he barely ducks in time*

*he'd only been back to work for a day and a half, and already, he was going stir crazy at his desk, confined to restricted duty and mountains (literally) of paperwork* *he'd managed to get through a small pile of paperwork, when he picks up a report about some illegal wands; they'd recovered some wands -- untraceable, naturally -- but no one had any clue as to whom the supplier might be* *he checks his watch and decides that, yes, he needs to take lunch now; well, after he makes a trip down to the evidence locker*

*he signs out the wands kept in evidence, sliding them in the inside pocket of his Hit Wizard robes, and apparates to Hertfordshire forest* *he only has to look around a bit before he sees him scouting for wand wood* Enjoying the scenery? *smirks*

*they'd decided to go to Neville and Luna's ceremony, but forgo the reception, which suited Marcus just fine, both because neither he or Seamus were in the mood to deal with people, but also because he'd been right grumpy since his conversation with Adrian yesterday, which only increased today, the closer the ceremony got*

*finally home, he pulls at his tie and pressed official dress Hit Wizard robes* Christ, it's like they want people to suffocate in these.

*he finishes up tonight's training session -- the squad had been happy Tonks took over for a while, but then discovered she was just as tough as he was, and were happy to have him back...except that was short lived, because as they're walking away to the showers, they're grumbling about not needing enemies when your own squad leader's out to kill you*

*he can't help smirking*

*waits until the group's inside before packing up the training equipment and picking up a towel to wipe the sweat off his face and neck*

*once Chad apparates out, he heads upstairs to find Seamus, the ring box in his shirt pocket temporarily forgotten*

*opens the door to their room slowly, poking his head inside* Shay?

*he's at the kitchen table, working on his "homework" to help him with his reading; usually, Seamus helps him, but he's gone to visit Parvati -- this attack on Parvati's sister has had Seamus extremely worried, and it helped him focus on someone other than himself for a while -- so he decided to try and get some of this done by himself, if only to show he can do alone once in a while*

*however, it's really slow going and he's getting frustrated (mostly because he's having trouble concentrating), and contemplates going up to beat the shite out of his punching bag to relax when the front doorbell rings* *he hears Dimpy squeak eagerly and pop to the door to greet whoever's come by*

*looks up from his parchment when Chad walks in* *tired, but genuine smile* Hey.

*it's still early, but he'd finally convinced Seamus to get some sleep (even though he knows Seamus is probably just humouring him for now)* *heads down to hunt a bottle of firewhiskey because he just needs one drink -- just one -- right now (he's starting wonder if anything will ever get back to the way it was, and has to stop for a second because he knows it really won't)*

*almost as soon as he hits the hall, he notices Dimpy at the door, and hears Ade's voice* *jogs over* Thank you, Dimpy. I've got it. Can you make sure Seamus has something to eat for when he wakes--? *doesn't have time to finish the request when she disappears with a squeak and a pop* Christ, these elves are efficient.

*offers a tired, but genuine smile, pleased to see him* Hey, come on in, Ade. *greets him with a hug*

To: Chad Warrington
From: Marcus Flint

Chad,

I need you to do me a favour. Can you go to my vault at Gringotts and bring me the rings? The ones Seamus's mother gave me. I need them.

Stop by the chapel with them later, if you can? I really appreciate it, mate. Thank you.

Love
Love,
Marcus

*once Dean had arrived last night, they'd only spoken briefly to catch each other up on what was going on -- quick, short, to the point -- and he'd then left him to spend time with Seamus, something he knew both would want and appreciate*

*with that, he made himself scarce, though by scarce he really meant, sitting in the kitchen at the table staring into...well, nothing; he was grateful for Dimpy steering clear of him and grateful it was so late that the owls had stopped coming (he was sure he wrote about a hundred owls today), but now that he was just sitting there, all he can do is sit and think*

*he's not sure how long he stayed in the dark like that, just sitting at the kitchen table, long after his legs and bum got numb from the wooden, uncomfortable chair; he didn't care because all he can think about is Seamus and his pain and the fact his parents are gone--*

*without realising it, his throat constricts and his jaw sets, fighting off the show of sadness, because he can't do this now, not when Seamus needs him* *he never heard Dean come down, and is surprised when the lights flick on to a soft dim*

*quickly, he wipes his eyes and sniffs, looking away* *hard, quick swallow, he clears his throat to deflect* Shay's sleeping?

*he'd been relatively awake since Seamus had been called in earlier -- hazard of himself being on call (even if on restrictive duty) was that he was a light enough sleeper, so when the owl pecks at his window, he's awake almost instantly, wondering if Shay's owling him to say he'll be gone late*

*opens the window to let the owl in; when he reads the note, his heart seizes in disbeleif for a second* *blinks at it, and reads again, but that's what it says, no matter how many times he reads it* *jaw sets, and crumples the parchment, shooing the owl away with a vicious snarl*

*he gets dressed quickly, and has barely finished pulling a shirt on before he's grabbing his cloak, wand and gloves and apparate outside Thomas' flat*

*as soon as he touches down, bangs on the door with his fist hard enough to make it rattle on its hinges*

*they'd decided to come out tonight to celebrate moving in together, and had spent most of the evening practically wrapped up around and with each other; Marcus had to admit, he'd been having a very good time*

*nuzzles Shay's jaw* *loud enough to be heard over the music* I need another drink. Come on. *takes his hand to tug him towards the bar*

*after dinner and a shower (he'd trained Luna and Neville earlier that evening), both he and Shay were settled on one of the large, comfortable sofas in the sitting room; there are books and parchment strewn about the floor in front of them*

*he'd received some instruction on how to start his dyslexia treatment -- he's squinting at the parchment now -- and has to groan when he realises what it is* Wait. We have to read out loud together? *sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose* Let me get this straight. You have to assign me a word before we start, then read out loud, and I have to follow along with you. When ever I see my word, I have to say it out loud.

*makes a face* Seems kind of stupid to me. *picks up a book titled Around The World in 80 Days* *makes another face*

*he apparates to Hogsmeade, then makes the trek up to Hogwarts, pulling his cloak closed tighter* *it's dark, but he'd done this route in the dark enough while in school (and having snuck out) that it was almost second nature* *arrives at the gates and waits for Hagrid to come out* *has to resist the urge to eyeroll at the man, but manages, barely* *gruffly* I'm here to see McGonagall. She's expecting me.

*he needed to speak to Lupin, and he figured he'd given him enough space for now, that it really couldn't wait much longer (more like he didn't want to wait, but that's neither here nor there)*

*takes off from the Ministry on his lunch hour, and apparates to HQ; it's funny how he's lived here all his life, but feels no sense of attachment to the place -- it's just a really big, old, fucking drafty castle with bad memories* *still, he knows it well, and easily wanders through the halls (after signing in, which makes him eyeroll) looking for Lupin*

*finds him in the kitchen, which is good, because he can finally get something to eat* *strolls to the fridge, and frowns when he finds it pretty much half empty -- the fridge was never that empty when he had the castle* Where's all the food?