A/N: Hello! Welcome to A Certain Romance. I really hope that you all enjoy this little piece, as it is one of my absolute favorite pairings! I am hoping to post daily updates M-F through May 24th, for a total of 18 chapters. However, I did severely sprain my finger over the weekend and I have been finding typing to be quite difficult so no promises this time. You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Also, y'all know I love to respond to each reviewer, but due to the quick turn around time between chapters for this story, I am unsure if I will be able to keep it up. I am going to try my darndest, but I hope there are no hard feelings if I can't.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and be on the lookout for chapter two tomorrow!

1994

Rows of lurid colored packaging lined the shelves of Honeyduke's Chocolate Shop in Hogsmeade, making seventh year Marcus Flint feel rather overwhelmed. He'd thought it would be easy to get in, buy some candy, and get out before anyone was the wiser, but it seemed as if things weren't going his way today.

Not that things ever seemed to go his way, if he were honest.

Things were already bad enough that he'd been held back to repeat his seventh year because he'd failed nearly all of his classes last year. It wasn't his fault that Quidditch seemed to be the only thing that held his attention. Who cared about Charms and all that shite if he was just going to play professionally when he got out of school? His father did for one, and his Head of House as well. He was ordered to scrape by at least one NEWT and then he could go do whatever he wanted. Still, it didn't save him the embarrassment of everyone knowing he was back because he was too stupid to pass his classes.

Quidditch was a bright spot. Snape had argued that he should be able to retain his position and captain's status seeing as he was still a student, even if he was returning for poor grades. Marcus still wasn't sure how he'd managed to get McGonagall and Dumbledore to agree in the end. He couldn't complain about the extra year of experience he would get from playing for his house team and he couldn't wait to beat those Gryffindors for the Quidditch Cup. He was positive that with the team changes he'd made - going for size this time around - that they'd be able to boss their way to the number one spot.

The other bright spot, Marcus could barely admit without blushing, was Gemma Farley. Gemma was a fellow Seventh Year now, though he was a year older. Being that she was the Slytherin prefect, Snape had asked that she help Marcus out with some of his classes, and she'd done so graciously. He never thought that he'd admit it, but he now longed for study sessions in the library with the smart girl, only because he could spend as much time looking at her as he wanted.

Her hair was the color of honey and her eyes looked like dark chocolate and she was just so fucking pretty, Marcus frequently found himself getting tongue tied around the little witch. Every time she pushed her straight hair back over her shoulder to get a better look at her parchment, he would feel his heartbeat pound faster than when he trained. Whenever she laughed at one of his dumb jokes, he could feel his belly flip-flop so much, he wasn't sure that he wouldn't be sick right there in front of her. Salazar, she was really perfect.

Marcus wasn't sure if she realized just how much he fantasized over her, but he wanted to do something to show her how special she was to him. Seeing as Valentine's day was coming up, he had planned on buying Gemma some chocolate. He'd waited until lunch time to even enter Honeyduke's, knowing that most of his classmates would be too busy eating to notice him making a huge fool of himself. He couldn't imagine the embarrassment he would feel if all of his peers knew that the Troll Marcus Flint fancied a girl.

The shop had been blessedly empty when he walked inside, but now that he was in front of all the candy displays, he found himself feeling quite overwhelmed. This was certainly not going to be as easy as he'd imagined, mostly because he just had no idea what Gemma would like. Finally deciding that he was just going to get her one of the pink and purple packaged chocolate frogs and be done with it, he heard a voice from behind him.

"She won't like that," a swotty little voice piped up, making Marcus's hand hang in mid-air while he wondered if he was hearing voices.

Turning around, he looked down, only to see a pint-sized Gryffindor staring up at him from behind a head of really, rather quite bushy hair. With cold-flushed cheeks and maroon and gold scarf wrapped around her neck, she looked far more intimidating than she really should have. Maybe it was the mini-McGonagall impression she was giving him.

"What?" he asked, hating how dumb he sounded in the moment.

"Gemma Farley," the girl - Harry Potter's muggleborn sidekick, Granger - said with a roll of her eyes. "That's who you are trying to buy for isn't it?"

"How did you know that?" Marcus questioned, staring her down, hoping that his sheer size would intimidate her into just leaving him alone. He could already feel the blush beginning to form on his cheeks, and hoped that she couldn't tell how embarrassed he really was.

Granger rolled her eyes. "I'm not as thick as the rest of our classmates," she said imperiously. "I'm very observant, but you would have to be blind not to see the way that you moon over her in the library. It's quite distracting," she scolded, placing her hands on her hips.

Marcus swallowed thickly, hoping that it really wasn't as obvious as she said. Still, if Hermione Granger of all people had noticed, maybe that meant Gemma had as well. And she'd certainly never tried to discourage him from staring at her. Maybe this was a good thing after all. "Well, why wouldn't Gemma like a chocolate frog? Everyone likes chocolate frogs," he scoffed.

She gave him a little smile, perhaps pleased that he hadn't just taunted her like Malfoy would have. "Of course everyone likes chocolate frogs, but they aren't Gemma's favorite. You want to give her something that is special to her, to show her that you care and that you notice things about her. For instance, my favorite candy is-"

"Sugar quills," Marcus cut her off with a laugh, knowing how bookish the girl was. It seemed to fit.

"No," she responded in a rather exaggerated tone, as though he were a complete oaf. "My favorite candy from Honeyduke's is the toffee."

"So, then...if you are so smart and all, what's Gemma's favorite kind of candy?" Marcus questioned, wanting to show her that she wasn't as smart as she thought she was. But, if he actually could goad her into telling him what Gemma's favorite candy was, he'd be all too happy to take the advice.

"Salt water taffy," Granger said triumphantly. "Her parents are always sending her the taffy in their care packages and she's always excited about it. If you are going for a Valentine's gift, maybe you could pick out some pink and red ones," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Marcus felt his eyebrows practically shoot up to his hairline. Pushing his short hair back, he realized that he never would have guessed salt water taffy. He honestly hadn't even noticed Gemma's parents ever sending her any care packages to begin with, and he spent a lot of time watching her. But, he would usually get distracted by her more...feminine attributes. Clearing his throat, he knew that he had to thank the little pipsqueak for helping him out.

"Thanks Granger," he said neutrally. "You know, you're really not as bad as Malfoy says."

Granger just rolled her eyes in response. "Gee, what a glowing assessment, Flint. Don't mention it," she said sarcastically before pushing past him to get to the register to make her own meager purchases.

Marcus stared after the witch for a few moments before heading over to where the taffy was stored. The pink and red taffy idea was really a good one - festive and it showed his intent. But, at the last minute, he decided to get some purple as well. Even he wasn't so dense as to not know that was Gemma's favorite color. By the time he had his bag full of taffy, Granger was long gone.

Walking over to the register, he briefly stopped at the toffee display, before finally making his purchases. Maybe Valentine's Day wouldn't turn out to be so terrible after all.

By the time that Valentine's Day had rolled around, Hermione was really quite sick of all the love in the air. She just knew what it was about the stupid holiday that made all of her classmates minds turn to mush. The boys could never act normally around her, and it made her a bit uncomfortable. Godric, even Marcus Flint had gone a bit barmy!

Hermione had thought it was a bit funny to see how clueless he'd looked at Honeyduke's and she almost didn't help him. But in the end, her compassionate heart won out, even for a burly Slytherin seventh year. Harry and Ron were always teasing her about her need to fight for lost causes.

Now, seeing him sitting across the Great Hall, snuggled up with Gemma Farley, she thought that it was probably all worth it. The pretty blonde girl happily popped a pink colored taffy into Flint's mouth with an indulgent giggle, obviously grateful for her gift, and willing to share it with that big oaf. She was glad to see that he went with her suggestion after all, and Hermione honestly hoped that they did well together.

It was a bit hard not to feel too badly about herself as she watched the owls swoop in, laden with packages and brightly colored envelopes, sure to bring declarations of love and affection to her classmates on that Valentine's day. Hermione had no illusions that her plate would be left, unfortunately, empty. Not even Mrs. Weasley would send her a chocolate like she did for Harry and her children, and her parents thought that Valentine's candy was an unhealthy dental habit, so they wouldn't send her anything either.

Sighing to herself, Hermione propped up her head, resting her hand against her cheek, hoping that she didn't seem too put out. She didn't want to seem like a total mope, to let her friends know just how easily her feelings could get hurt. She was sure it would get better when she was older. Her eyes easily found Marcus Flint and Gemma Farley once again, drinking in the happiness that they seemed to share. She just hoped that one day she would have someone who obviously cared enough about her to get her a present that was really special to her. Not that Flint would have been able to figure out what to get Gemma if it hadn't been for her.

Suddenly, she was startled by one of the school owls swooping down, landing rather ungracefully on her empty plate, before dropping off a red box tied with a golden ribbon. Completely perplexed, Hermione took the box and wondered just who would be sending her a gift on Valentine's Day. She hoped that it wasn't a nasty prank by Malfoy or Fred and George.

Grabbing one end of the ribbon, she pulled tentatively, subconsciously wincing as it came undone, expecting an explosion of some sort. When none came, she nervously opened the lid of the box, only to find a few pieces of Honeyduke's toffee inside. Smiling to herself, Hermione found a slip of parchment shoved down one side.

Thanks again for the help.

The handwritten note was barely legible, as if it had been written in a hurry or as an afterthought, but there was no denying what it was. Joy filled her body when she realized that it was from Flint. The unexpectedly sweet gesture seemed so out of character for the boy who was more frequently likened to a troll, and was purported to be just as mean and vicious. She couldn't believe that he'd actually thanked her again - something she honestly didn't expect. But, what was more surprising was that he'd actually remembered what her favorite kind of candy was. Marcus Flint had listened.

Maybe Valentine's Day wouldn't turn out to be so terrible after all.