Victoire could feel her legs growing tired as they ascended. The two of them had reached a steep incline over twenty minutes ago, and she couldn't help comparing it to climbing to the fifth floor when you had three minutes 'till class. "Nearly there I think." Teddy called from ahead of her, his breaths unlike hers, even and paced. She had given up trying to stifle her pants about ten minutes back. Sure she was fit from Quidditch, but climbing had never really been her thing. She had memories of Teddy on the other hand, scaling the orchard by the Burrow as a child, grabbing rotting apples and chucking them at her when he was in a bad mood. She stifled a laugh just as he stopped abruptly ahead, causing here to narrowly avoid stepping into him. "Aha!" he breathed, his voice triumphant. She peered over his shoulder and was greeted with the sight of what seemed like a very small panel several feet ahead of them. "That's the door?"

"Hey, don't judge it 'till you try it." He shrugged, making his way toward the portrait. "I doubt Aberforth is still up at this hour. The old man's been sleeping most days through ever since he finally accepted seniority." He grinned, nearing the door. As Toire got closer, she could see that there was no door knob, just a thick frame covered by very stiff canvas, like what her mother used to use when she had decided to take up painting. Scribbled in ink in the upper center of the canvas was the title of the painting; Ariana – Country Road. She had a flash of recollection for the painting. It accompanied the story she had heard several times at her uncle's knee while Teddy pleaded over and over again for the story of the Dark Lord's defeat to be retold. Harry would tell it to them bashfully, always careful to leave out the part that included the deaths. Particularly the murder of Teddy's parents. Before she had time to further inquire, as this was probably not the most appropriate time to do so, Teddy gave a great push forward on the frame. There was a sharp crack, followed immediately by a cloud of dust that sent Toire into a coughing fit. "Shhhh!" Teddy whispered, grabbing her hand, and covering her mouth with the other. "I said the old man was sleeping, not that he was deaf." He smirked, their faces pleasantly close. His hands were gentle against her, and in her hand she could feel the callouses he'd earned from hard work and a life dedicated to Quidditch. As soon as she thought it, he pulled away, taking a little bit of her warmth with him. She coughed again. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "Come on, let's get in there."

Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he pushed one more time and with a final snap, the frame came lose from the wall. The portrait swung open, leaving Victoire and Teddy overlooking pub famously known as the Hogs Head.

"Well I'll be damned." Teddy grinned. Victoire couldn't help but smile with him. It had been remarkably easy considering. She stuck her head out for a better look, taking in the darkness of the place but still noting the shapes that lined the room. Chairs were stacked on tables and the counter had been sloppily wiped down not too long ago. There was still the occasional straggler outside the bar. Apparently Aberforth hadn't been keeping the late hours he had in his prime. Luckily for the two of them, the bar across the street was open and seemed to be attracting most of the attention in Hogsmede. No one was paying attention to the dusty corner pub, let alone the two teenagers inside it.

Teddy leapt down from the perch before she could pull her attention away, landing surprisingly gracefully on the stone floor. He turn towards her and held open his arms to catch her. She turned to him, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm not incompetent Teddy, I know how to jump from a ledge."

"I know that, I just didn't want you to get your hair messed up." He said, winking, his arms still open in an invitation. She glared at him at the comment but edged forward all the same. Half expecting him to drop her, she pushed off the edge and was pleasantly surprised when she landed upright in his arms.

He had caught her expertly, his hands pinned around her waist so that she didn't slip. Her hands had gone instinctively for his shoulders and now that what she had shrugged off a moment ago was a reality… she couldn't help but blush. He looked up at her, for some reason not letting go, and smiled. He was so solid, so warm… she couldn't get the scent of him out of her head.

"You're blushing." He said, his smile widening.

"I'm not!" she objected immediately, which of course made her face turn an even deeper shade of pink. She could feel it crawling up her neck, knowing that soon it would reach her ears and she would bear a horrific resemblance to a humiliated Ronald Weasley. "Put me down." She said rather forcefully. He quirked an eyebrow, and she bit her lip. "Please." She said, softer this time.

He loosened his grip and she slid down his front, her shirt riding up slightly so her naval pressed against him. They stood flush to each other, his arms still around her, hers still on his shoulders. He hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole moment.

"Do me a favor." He asked suddenly.

"Okay."

He smiled. "You don't even know what it is yet."

Dammit, she cursed herself. You're being so obvious… "Okay then, what is it?" she asked, trying to brush off his comment.

"Save a dance for me tonight."

She felt her chest begin to hammer faster and squirmed a bit at how hot it was becoming. He let his arms drop and so did she, but neither of them stepped away. "You know I would have done that anyway." She said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "But you're a popular girl. Who knows what could happen."

She laughed. "Yeah, okay. Just promise to keep your woman-charming to a minimum and we have a deal."

"Good." He said, biting his lip momentarily. She had the sudden urge to hook her fingers in his belt loops and pull him closer. She hadn't even noticed that neither of them had been speaking until he broke the silence. "I'll get some stuff from the cellar then." He said, and as quickly as it had come, the connection had gone. They were back to business.
"You focus on what's behind the bar."

"Alright." She said, moving away from him, feeling her the heat in her face once again. "I've put an undetectable extension charm on the bag over there, so you can just put it in when you come up." She said, nodding to the backpack they had brought along.

"Righto. Good thinking." He grinned, turning towards a trapdoor towards the back. "Remember to be quiet!" he whispered over his shoulder, lifting the door just as it let out a huge creek. She clenched her hand instinctively and brought it to her mouth wincing along with him. The two of them froze for a moment, listening to the upstairs for any sign of movement. When there was none, Teddy nodded and continued on his way. "Speak for yourself." She mumbled, turning towards the bar, trying to keep the smirk off her face.

She examined the top of it, sliding behind the counter. There was beer and ale on tap in plain view, but down low on shelves there were rows upon rows of bottles and crates, all containing an assortment of different booze.

There were boxes of Fire Whiskey, assortments of Butterbeer, Flogged Tolly's Rum and even a crate of Venus Vodka. Mixed among it were bottles of muggle drinks and even some exotic things she couldn't pronounce the name of. She started rifling around in the boxes, pulling out this and that and setting it aside. Once she thought she had enough she started carrying them towards the backpack, reaching down deep enough that her whole arm had to stretch until she felt the bottom. She was just finishing up with the bag when she heard an un-doubtable crash from below.

She froze. "Shit shit shit shit shit…" she whispered, scurrying across the floor to the cellar door. She peered into the depth of the pub, one ear listening of footsteps above as she called down. "What the hell what that?" she whispered.

"I found a keg!" Teddy whispered back excitedly. She blinked.

"A keg."

"Yeah! It's great, help me get it up there, hold on I just gotta-"

"Teddy."

"One sec, I've almost got it. It's a bit heavy-"

"Teddy."

He paused, his face coming back into view. "What?"

"What the hell are you thinking?"

He looked up at her, stunned that she wasn't as elated about this discovery as he was. "What do you mean? It's a keg, that's exactly what we need-"

"Teddy."

"What?"

"How are we going to get a keg back to the Gryffindor common room without making any noise."

He stood there.

"How are we going to get a keg out of his cellar without making any noise?"

They stared at each other for a moment, Teddy's brows furrowed. Then, in an instant of inspiration, a wide grin split his face.

"You clearly didn't pay much attention in first year Charms, now did you?"

"I can't believe we're doing this."

Teddy took a step back from the lip of the cellar. The backpack was weighing him down- Toire must have snagged half the stock at this rate- and with all her complaining; her nerves were starting to rub off on him. "Come on, let's get it up and go." He whispered down to her. The two of them had traded placed since Teddy's revelation and Victoire was currently shaking her head as if this were the worst decision she had ever heard, even though Teddy thought it was a pretty damn good one.

"I can't believe we're doing this." She repeated again.

"I can't believe you forgot we know magic." Teddy smirked, while Toire heaved a sigh, muttering something under her breath that sounded an awful lot like "plastered".

"Just do it already!" he called down.

"Fine." She mumbled, lifting her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa" .

Without a hitch, the keg began to rise and a wide smile spread across Teddy's face.

"I don't know why you're so happy, it's literally one of the first spells we ever learned."

"I am going to get Clyde so shitfaced." Teddy muttered to himself, ignoring Victoire completely. "Come on then, let's go."

After much pulling and placing, Teddy now had Victoire's bag and the keg balanced beside one another. He reached down into the cellar to give Toire a hand and pulled her up until she stood beside him.

"Well, that was easy." He said, clapping his hands together. "Now, who wants to carry the keg?"

Without a word, Victoire pointed her wand at the crate and the two of them watched it levitate once more. "My aim is pretty good. We should be able to make it through the tunnel like this." She said to him, letting a smile ease into her words.

"Brilliant." Teddy grinned. And they were off.

After about an hour or so of trekking back through the tunnels (they couldn't believe Aberforth hadn't woken up, considering they had just stolen nearly a quarter of his bar's contents) Teddy halted the expedition for a moment of planning. "We're getting close. Just let me check in here for minute…" he reached into the depths of his pocket and pulled out a well worn and creased piece of paper. Victoire's face lit up.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Teddy muttered under his breath, and in a matter of seconds a map spread out like ink spilled on parchment, filling in all the lines and dots that made up Hogwarts castle and all of it's residents. Just as Teddy had suspected, the Gryffindor common room was packed full of students all awaiting their arrival.

"So, we know we don't show up on this, but I'm just checking to see if…" he trailed off, eyes glancing over the corridors on the floor of the room of requirement looking for any signs of movement. "Right. Filtch is on the third floor so we're safe for now. Ready?" he asked, glancing towards Toire.

"Piece of cake." She smiled. Moving forward down the corridor they finally reached the end.

Opening the door under the statue, Teddy raised confidently while Toire waited below, still levitating the keg. This is ridiculous… she kept thinking to herself, glancing back and forth from Teddy to the keg. I could get expelled for this…

Suddenly there was a loud slam as Teddy dropped back into the tunnel from his spot above. Toire let out a squeal and the spell on the keg was broken, sending it crashing down to the ground and leaving a huge dent in the side, perilously weaker than before and seeming easily crackable. Not to mention the noise, now echoing down the tunnel, was probably loud enough to wake the nearest member of the Queen's navy, let alone a professor. "What the hell!" Victoire hissed at Teddy who was now lying on the ground from where he'd falling, body tense with the shock of it.

"Sorry! Shit, Mrs. Norris was up there and I didn't notice on the map…"

"Well we have to go now then! She'll get Filch!"

"Right, right…" Teddy said, panicked. "Okay, get up and hand me the-"

There was a creak from above. Footsteps. Then an all too familiar voice.

"What have we found here my precious?" the voice croaked through the door cracks.

Teddy and Victoire looked at each other. There was no way out.