Ameortentia - Collection of One-shots

Life Debt (Hermione x Marcus)

If asked, he'd tell you he didn't know why he did it; He'd claim he hadn't a clue as to just what exactly it was that made him deflect during the final battle. That it was simply a split second decision to turn his wand on Pucey once they'd engaged in dueling Granger together, that he figured saving the golden girl would earn him a few extra brownie points with the ministry after Potter won. He'd say the torture curse he took to protect Ginny Weasley had been accidental, that shoving her brother away from the wall before it collapsed was purely instinctual, that he'd made a rather fortunate mistake when he'd missed his intended target and hit Crabbe with a stunner in the room of requirement; He'd never admit the truth to anybody but Granger, though she already knew he owed her a life debt that he's intending to spend the rest of time repaying. 

She'd come across he and Pucey, barely an hour before midnight after being separated from Weasley during the final battle, her clothes had been blood stained and he can still to this day remember looking at the exposed bone peaking through the gash she'd gotten on her right shoulder. Pucey had turned his wand on Granger as soon as they'd spotted her, having every intention to kill her himself and earn the favor of the Dark Lord. Marcus had faltered in his movements in favor of watching the blossoming battle in-front of him, rather unfortunately however his hesitation had been noticed by a passing Greyback. The werewolf had pounced upon him, Marcus had been certain that it would be the last moments of his life before suddenly Greyback was blasted out a nearby window thanks to a powerful blow from an unknown spell Granger had sent flying their direction. As soon as the threat to his life had been banished he'd leapt to his feet and turned his wand on Adrian, the betrayal he'd felt after being abandoned to die, especially at the hands of such a monster, by the man who was supposed to be his brother in all but blood had been enough to flip a switch within him. In that Moment all he knew was that Granger had saved his life, so now it was his duty to save hers. 

The battle between the two of them against Pucey had been quick, Marcus and Hermione had overcome one livid Adrian Pucey in a mere matter of minuets. She'd been about to run back off into the battle when he'd grabbed her wrist, asking her to wait a bloody moment before she got herself killed. It was in the immediate forty five seconds following that he realized if he wanted to deflect then that was his only chance, that owing Hermione Granger a life debt would surely be one hell of a task to live up to- and he'd determined it was worth it, that she was worth deflecting for. She'd saved him when his own friend had left him to die, without her he'd have been in the stomach of Greyback within the hour. She'd come to his aid when he'd most needed help, it was something he vowed to never forget. He practically glued himself to her hip for the following six hours of the battle, only leaving her side to aid others who needed it most. Without Marcus then the Weasley family would be two members short today: he'd taken a torture curse from the business end of Dolohov's wand so that Ginny would have enough time to overpower the man, and he'd tackled Fred Weasley from beneath a collapsing wall at a speed Marcus had never even realized he could reach without the aid of his broom. 

They'd fought their way through the castle almost back to back, never leaving the other without cover. Classmates from both sides stared at the duo in confusion once they crossed paths, unable to fully comprehend what was going on. Most of his housemates took it to mean he'd betrayed the cause, some saw it as a way to avoid Azkaban, and a very select few saw it as their final call to do the right thing. The first time he'd left her side it had been to aid Ginny Weasley, whom had been locked in a very intense duel with Antonin Dolohov; He'd been trained by Dolohov after his recruitment and had been anticipating the crucio before it'd been cast, launching himself in-front of the curse to earn her the time needed to take him down. In those short moments when the curse was inflicted upon him Marcus got a first hand taste of just what exactly he'd been doing to people, the ones that'd been stupid enough to reject The Dark Lord's advances. He'd hardly recovered from the aftereffects of the curse when he'd spotted one of the Weasley twins and another of their brothers dueling the minister and Bellatrix Lestrange.