Chapter 21

TVTVTVTVTVTVTVT

Breakfasts at Hogwarts were usually pretty tame, most of the students still too tired to do anything particularly rowdy until later in the day. Even the teachers, as unpredictable, and some would claim as insane, as the students, usually waited until later in the day to drop bombshells on the Hogwarts attendees. No, besides the occasional inaccurate or… unreliable owl (that poor, poor Ravenclaw boy), breakfasts were pretty slow.

This had the unfortunate habit, however, of putting some dark-haired Gryffindor third-years asleep when their friends were talking to them.

"Emily!" shouted Victoire directly in her friend's ear, though she may as well have signed it to her for all the good it did.

"Emily!" she tried again, this time even louder, gaining the attention of some nearby students. Victoire and Emily were both seated at the Gryffindor Table for breakfast, both their plates filled with the house-elves' finest. Victoire was almost finished while Emily's plate was still near full. She couldn't blame her really, it probably was fairly difficult to eat while sound asleep.

Victoire finally let out a sigh, admitting momentary defeat. Emily had fallen asleep mid way through buttering her toast, her head hung forward slightly with the butter knife and the half-buttered toast both held slightly in the air, just below chin high.

The noise of the Great Hall covered up the soft snores that Victoire knew only too well.

Deciding sound alone wouldn't wake her stubborn friend; she needed to make a more… direct approach. After a quick glance around the Great Hall, spotting Teddy talking animatedly to his friends, though she avoided gazing at the Ravenclaw Table, she causally stretched, pretending to yawn. In reality, she used her left hand to swat Emily's elbow from the table, causing her to jerk, hopefully, awake.

It worked… for the most part. Emily woke when she lost her balance, jerking awake and blinking rapidly. Luckily, she held a firm grip on her buttered toast. Unluckily, her grip on the knife wasn't so tight. It flew a good six or seven yards, but it didn't do any permanent damage really, nothing that Madam Pomfrey couldn't… reattach.

"What's goin' on?" she asked wildly, jerking her head towards Victoire, blissfully unaware of where her lost knife embedded itself.

"Wow, look at the time! Time to go! Come on!" rushed Victoire, pushing the Gryffindor away from the table as she glanced fearfully back over her shoulder at the groaning Sixth year boy.

Victoire, pushing a very confused Emily, made a fast retreat out of the Great Hall, only slowing once they were near the Grand Staircase.

Emily, finally getting her bearings, cocked an eyebrow towards her blond housemate.

"Do I want to know?" she asked softly, glancing back towards the Great Hall.

Victoire, finally assured they weren't being followed by a justifiably angry Sixth year, was about to inform her best friend of the incredible benefits of plausible deniability when she was interrupted.

"Trying to make it to class in record time?" shouted a voice farther down, Victoire turning to see the familiar grin of her blue-haired Hufflepuff friend. He was wearing his Hogwarts uniform, the black robes offset by the yellow trim and the Hufflepuff crest on his chest. His shaggy electric-blue hair striking in the early morning sun. Christian was beside him, shaking his head at his girlfriend with a small grin also on his face.

"We thought it best to leave quickly" she answered, also grinning.

"Yeah, I'll bet" he replied. The Great Hall was emptying, the students beginning their trek through the castle towards their first class, which for Victoire and Emily was Transfiguration with Professor Jones.

"Teddy Remus Lupin!" shouted a voice, farther down the Hall, Teddy instantly cringing, a pained expression on his features. Slumping his shoulders as he sighed, he turned to meet his fate. Victoire looked over his shoulders to spot the approaching view of a very angry Amber Noble.

"We were supposed to walk together to Charms! How many times have I told you?!" she continued, her auburn hair whipping dangerously. She stood before the nervous blue-haired Keeper, obviously awaiting a reply to her rhetorical question.

"Oh… um. A lot?" he answered weakly, looking towards Christian for support. Unfortunately for him, Christian seemed unable, or unwilling, to bail out his friend.

She didn't answer, instead sighing heavily, rolling her eyes. "The things I put up with! Sometimes I don't why I date you" she continued, turning away from Teddy momentarily as she waited for the staircase to arrive.

Teddy froze at that last statement, Victoire practically able to hear the gears spinning in his head. Finally, after a few seconds of what must have been a fairly memorable inner debate, the handsome Hufflepuff turned towards the auburn-haired Prefect.

"Maybe we shouldn't" spoke up Teddy confidently, obviously voicing a thought he must have been having for quite some time.

Amber turned slowly, her pretty face looking at Teddy with slight disbelief, though her eyes still glinted dangerously.

"Shouldn't what?" she asked slowly. Teddy collected a deep breath, the rest of his Hufflepuff friends arriving beside him. Taylor placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a nod along with Chase, Christian, and, surprisingly, Emily.

"Maybe… we shouldn't see each other anymore" he answered, unaware he had the attention of most of the school population. She could even spot out Tristan in the mob surrounding the two Prefects, his large smirk confusing her even more.

"Are YOU breaking up with ME?" she asked very slowly, her eyes narrowing.

Teddy took an audible gulp, taking a long breathe to alleviate his nerves.

"Yes, yes I am" he replied, his face breaking out into a wide smile. His posture instantly relaxed, seemingly a great weight lifted from his shoulder. Amber stood there for a few seconds, the Sixth year Prefect at a loss for words, or perhaps at a loss for words she could shout loud enough.

"WHAT?!" she shrieked, several vases on the Seventh Floor above them shattering.

Guess not…

The Transfiguration class was only half-full when the Gryffindor girls arrived, taking their traditional seat near the middle of the class.

It was only a few minutes later, just enough time for the ringing the leave Victoire's ears.

"Quite an eventful morning huh?" asked Emily, setting her books down on the table. Victoire had to agree, the morning was nothing if not eventful.

"Might not have been so eventful if you had just stayed awake during breakfast though" countered Victoire, steering the topic away from what Emily obviously wanted to talk about. "It has been over two weeks since the Winter Holidays! You should be used getting up at a decent hour by now."

"Not my fault" she answered, taking the hint and keeping away from the morning's most memorable scene. "Tuesdays are always the most exhausting!"

"You say that about every day" smirked Victoire, rolling her eyes. Emily's retort, as inventive or cunning as it may have been, was cut short by the arrival of their Transfiguration teach, Professor Jones.

Just as in their previous classes, Professor Jones commanded respect from his students without saying a word. He remained a mystery to the greater portion of Hogwarts and, most likely, to everyone but Professor Jones himself, that is how it would remain.

He wore an odd expression as he turned to face the silent classroom, the pale light from the windows streaming in behind him. He seemed almost… contemplative, searching the faces of the students. For what, no one could be sure.

"Ms. Matthews, who was the first Dark Wizard in recorded history?" he asked suddenly, calling on a timid Ravenclaw girl near the back of class.

"Um… Herpo the Foul… sir?" she replied hesitantly. Her uncertainty was reasonable as Professor Jones had surely never started a class like this before.

"Correct Ms. Matthews, five points to Ravenclaw" he answered, his eyes sweeping the class once more. "Mr. Carroll, who was the last great Dark Wizard?" he asked.

"Lord Voldemort sir" the Gryffindor boy answered quickly.

"Correct Mr. Carroll, five points to Gryffindor" he replied. He surveyed the class once more, his dark brown, almost black, eyes meeting those of his students. His search found Victoire suddenly, his eyes connecting with hers.

"Ms. Weasley, who will be the next great Dark Wizard?" he asked, his eyes remaining locked to hers.

Victoire, understandably, drew a blank to the unfamiliar question. Looking to Emily for help, her friend could only shrug in reply, clearly not knowing the answer either.

"I… don't know sir" she answered, looking back up at her Professor. Instead of looking angry or disappointed as she expected, he was wearing a look of almost… resignation.

"I did not expect you to Ms. Weasley" he replied, no hint of malice in his voice. Whatever the point he was attempting to make, it obviously was not to ridicule.

"There is no one who can answer that question… for there is no way of knowing who will rise in the Darkness" he continued, his eyes continuing to survey the class, meeting the confused gazes of his pupils.

"They hide, sometimes in the shadows" he began, his eyes continuing to search, "sometimes in plain sight, but always preparing to strike. They keep their intentions hidden, preparing for the time where they can unleash themselves upon the world, just as power-hungry and ruthless as their predecessors."

"You must be ready for them, preparing to fight them at any time, whoever or wherever they may be. They may be the obvious choice" he continued, his eyes meeting with Victoire's briefly, "or the person you least expect. It can be anyone, a fellow student, a trusted Auror, or even… a Professor" he finished, watching the captivated faces of his students.

"It is your duty to keep vigilante, to warn those close to you, your family, your friends" he stressed, meeting Victoire's light blue eyes once more, "of the dangers they face, no matter how safe they feel. Darkness is everywhere and you would do well to remember that."

He paused for a moment, watching the captivated faces of his students.

"Now, for today we will be transfiguring living animals into inanimate objects…" he started, returning to his normal role as an instructor, giving no hint of the speech he just spoke.

"That was weird" whispered Emily, her eyes wide. Victoire could only nod in agreement.

The clock above the Gryffindor fireplace struck eight, only another hour left until Victoire needed to leave to meet with Teddy. It had been over a week since the… incident. She hadn't had much time to talk with the blue-haired Hufflepuff, but she'd have plenty of time to talk to him soon, only the two of them walking the deserted halls of the castle.

She had seen the tall Hufflepuff occasionally though, he seemed almost… free, as pathetic as that was. Though, with her current situation, not even with her Gryffindor bravery and foolishness could she look at Jake, let alone talk to him. It was just… weird. Almost a month between contact, and only in the form of an apology letter, hadn't helped either.

Victoire and Emily were both seated at the one of the tables littering the Gryffindor common room, Victoire absentmindedly pretending to finish her History of Magic essay as she stared at the clock, Emily making the final touches on her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework for Professor Wispen.

Letting out an impressive yawn, Emily glanced at the seemingly stationary clock.

"Finished! Finally! I'm going to bed early, I can't take any more homework tonight" she spoke tiredly, letting out another large yawn.

"At nine o'clock?" questioned the blond, drawing her eyes off the stubbornly slow-moving clock.

"Thursdays are always the most exhausting" explained the dark-haired Gryffindor, rolling up her parchment and putting her books back in her bag.

"I'm sure" she replied, waving off her friend as she retreated up the staircase to the girl dorms.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the sarcasm in that" she answered, her foot reaching the base of the girls' staircases.

"Doesn't make it true" she called back, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'm too tired for this. Just say Hi to Teddy for me" she called back, walking up the spiraling staircase to her dormitory.

To someone outside the conversation, it would look planned… the reason they both froze at the same moment, though of course, they wouldn't know it was for complete different reasons.

"What did you just say?" asked Victoire in disbelief, turning towards the silent black haired girl.

Slowly, like a small child caught taking an extra cookie before dinner, Emily turned around with a sheepish look upon her face.

"Just… buy a teddy for me?" she replied hopefully.

Victoire just sighed in response, chastising herself for not realizing it sooner.

"How long have you known?" she asked, not trusting herself to look Emily in the eye.

"How long have I known… what?" she replied, causing Victoire to pick her head up and send her friend a glare.

Sighing, Emily came clean, "I've been your roommate for over two and half years, you didn't think I'd know you were sneaking out once a month?" she asked, turning around to sit back down at the Common Room table.

The crackling fire was still roaring strongly, throwing off an uneven, pale yellow light over the scarlet and red themed common room.

"How did you know I was going to see Teddy?" she asked in response.

Emily just shrugged, "I am dating Christian you know. They do share a dorm after all."

"Well I guess it's not that big a deal you know" answered Victoire, giving her friend a small, but genuine, smile. Emily returned the gesture, happy that she wasn't upsetting her dorm mate. Sitting down in the cushioned chairs by the work table, she looked over at her blond friend with new enthusiasm.

"So… is he a good kisser?" she asked, her face breaking out into a wide grin.

"What?!" shouted Victoire, her eyes going wide.

"Oh, that bad? I'm sure he'll get better with practice" she replied consolingly, trying her best to reassure her obviously distraught friend.

"Better with… what are you… I have no idea how he kisses!" she spluttered, finishing with a shout. Emily just raised her eyebrow, confused.

"But you have to know by now? I mean, how long have you two been snogging? A year, two?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Wha… we're not…" she began with a shout before glancing up at the girls' staircase, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper, "we're not snogging."

"Yeah right" she answered skeptically, "you just happen to go on romantic moonlit walks with one of the hottest guys in Hogwarts and you're telling me that you two aren't finding a comfy broom shed to get in some good snogging time?"

"It's not romantic" she countered, "not really" she finished weakly.

"Please, I wish Christian would do something half as romantic as that for me" she replied, "though, for our two month anniversary, he got all these rose petals together and he waited for me in nothing but his…"

"Emily! Not the time!" she interrupted, closing her eyes tightly in vain to get the image of a less-than-appropriate Christian out of her mind. That was not an image she wanted to imagine.

"I'm just saying, you snuck out at least once a month… except when you started dating Jake. Now that you two are having a bit of a rough patch, it doesn't surprise me that you'd want some quality time with Teddy. Personally, I think he's cuter anyway" she finished with a nod.

"I… am… not… snogging… my… best… friend!" she responded, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"Oh please, this is Teddy! Gorgeous, muscled, blue-haired, star Hufflepuff Keeper, Prefect Teddy we're talking about! You can't tell me you haven't thought about it…" she countered, a small grin on her face.

Victoire just shook her head, unable to meet Emily's eyes once again. The truth was… she had thought about it. A lot actually.

"We're not snogging and it's not romantic" she answered softly, trying to convince herself more than anyone.

***

"You're late" smirked Teddy as Victoire walked up to him, finding him sitting in the deserted corridor at their usual spot.

"You're early" she answered, returning with a grin of her own. Teddy just shook his head, years of experience telling him he could never win this argument.

They started down the abandoned corridor, seemingly no path or destination in mind. A comfortable silence stretched between, both unwilling to disturb the calm night air with idle talk.

For Victoire, she thought on what Emily had said, on just how ridiculous it was that she and Teddy would be snogging in a broom shed all night. She consciously avoided the thought of how she probably wouldn't mind.

Looking over at Teddy, his light brown hair reflecting the bright moonlight from tonight's full moon, his toned body silhouetted against the light from the window, his chocolate eyes lost in thought, she couldn't help but think that… no… she probably wouldn't mind at all.

"Pretty crazy return from the Holidays huh?" spoke Teddy, turning to look at the blond beside him, jolting her out of inappropriate thoughts.

Thinking of Teddy's very public breakup with Amber, her recent Transfiguration class, and Emily's admission earlier tonight, pretty crazy summed it up fairly well.

"Yeah no kidding" she sighed, too many topics on her mind to start a real conversation.

"I missed these walks you know" Teddy started, nudging Victoire softly to get her attention. "It wasn't the same without you. I couldn't take my eyes off the Marauder's Map, even when you already fell asleep" he finished, turning to look into the confused eyes of his walking partner.

"I never went to sleep" she answered, her wavy blond hair waving in the moonlight, giving it an almost silver look.

Now it was Teddy's turn to be confused, questioning chocolate eyes meeting soft blue.

"But I saw your dot on the Map, you didn't move from before the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room all night" he replied, taking the still blank Map from his back pocket and holding it in his hands.

"You're right. I stayed awake in that chair all night, keeping the fire going until morning. I… was so… angry at you, with everything going on, but I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep and relax when I knew you couldn't. I just couldn't do it" she explained, her kind blue eyes shifting back up to his as they walked down an unfamiliar corridor.

Teddy didn't reply straight away, he just looked down at the pretty blond beside him, a small grin lighting up his face.

"I'm really glad you're here now Vic" he replied honestly, his chocolate eyes meeting hers.

She smiled back before a light frown graced her face.

"Why'd you call me that?" she asked suddenly, looking up at the taller Prefect questioningly.

"Call you what?" he asked confused, the pair walking down a familiar set of stairs. The moonlight still streamed through the many windows of the castle, illuminating the deserted corridors of Hogwarts.

"Vic. You called me Vic. Why?" she asked again, easily keeping pace with his relaxed stride.

Teddy just shrugged in reply, looking down at the blond briefly before looking down the abandoned corridor.

"I've been calling you Vicky since you were that little girl that played in the mud with me" he laughed, receiving a playful, but not too soft, nudge in the ribs from his walking partner, "I figured you'd want a new nickname now since, you know, you're not a little girl anymore" he answered, the honesty clear in his voice.

Victoire looked down for a moment, a small smile gracing her lips. She didn't know what to do about Teddy, but she definitely knew that not seeing her as a little girl was a very good thing. A very, very good thing.

They walked down another flight of stairs, keeping away from Filch and his demonic cat, Teddy and Victoire's impressive amount of experience telling them the crazy old caretaker was by Gryffindor Tower now. The Marauder's Map had been placed carefully back in his pocket, Teddy's concentration on the petite blond next to him.

Victoire looked back up to see Teddy grinning softly, his kind brown eyes meeting hers. They were walking slower now, their light footsteps on the hard stone reverberating throughout the silent hallway. The moonlight continued to stream through the windows, though they were much closer to the ground floor now.

As they walked, Teddy's arm would occasionally brush against hers, sending chills up her arm. He seemed not to notice, though his hand did brush her arm more often now. They neared the center of the hallway, a closed broom closest on their left as they walked.

"Emily thinks these walks are romantic" she spoke suddenly, at a loss for something to say.

"Fancy that" he replied casually, his face splitting into a soft smile.

Teddy stopped suddenly, turning to face the pretty blond, taking a step forward to close the narrow gap between them. He was close now, his strong chest only inches from her, his face close to hers as well. His hand came to rest softly on her arm, goose bumps rising on her arm, though she took no notice.

He soft brown eyes, burning with determination were locked on hers…

There was a rustling behind them, reverberating from the closed broom closet. It wasn't loud, but certainly noticeable in the deserted hallway. Whatever it was, they weren't alone.

Teddy moved swiftly, taking a step towards the door as he pushed Victoire protectively behind him. His wand was out in a flash, his left hand grasping an object in his pocket. She couldn't see what it was, but the outline showed it was something small and jagged.

The noise from behind the closed door was louder now, whatever in there was moving fast and seemingly sporadically.

"You think it's Filch?" she asked softly, the mood turning drastically. Her heart was still racing though not from excitement now, but from fear. She didn't care about Filch really, or Peeves for that matter, but there was no place completely safe from harm. Uncle Harry's legendary tales could attest to that.

"In a broom closet this far from the Towers? We're only a few floors from the dungeons" he whispered back, urgency sounding in his voice. Obviously, he wasn't taking this lightly either. "It's not Filch."

Victoire nodded silently before an idea struck her, an obvious idea really.

"The Map!" she exclaimed, before quickly lowering her voice.

"Huh?" replied the Prefect, his stance still defensive as he faced the broom closet, his body shielding Victoire's protectively. The noises were growing, something large and hard kept hitting the door, whether it was trying to free itself or not, they didn't know.

"The Marauders' Map! Let me see it!" she answered softly, receiving the map from Teddy when he fished it out of his back pocket. He handed it back without turning his eyes from the door, Victoire quickly giving the proper phrase.

She glanced down at the map, quickly finding their tiny dots. Glancing around them on the map, she saw the inside of the nearby broom closet.

She busted out laughing, it was just too funny. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be better than this. It took all of her willpower just to stay standing she was laughing so hard.

Earning a confused look from Teddy, she continued laughing, stepping out from behind the protective Hufflepuff.

"What are doing?" he whispered urgently, moving to block her from the door once more.

"Just get behind that armor" she whispered back, though amusement was clearly heard in her voice.

"What? Why?" he asked, completely confused now. The rustling hadn't stopped. If anything, it had gotten louder.

"Because you look like you" she answered, shooing him away with her hands. Reluctantly, he released his tight grip on his wand, subconsciously releasing his hold on the mysterious object in his pocket as well. Moving behind one of the many suits of armor that lined the corridors of Hogwarts, he hid from view, though he could still clearly see the door of the closet.

Victoire crept forwards, her hand almost to the handle of the door. The rustling inside was even louder know, something moving around quickly inside the door.

"You sure about this" he asked concerned. Victoire could be… impulsive sometimes.

"Believe me, you're going to want to see this" she answered back, a wide grin on her face.

Reaching forward the final few inches, she took a firm grip on the handle before yanking back, opening the insides of the broom closet for the world to see.

Teddy stood there stunned, the sight too unbelievable to be real.

-

-

Taylor and Chase, both in matching Hufflepuff pajamas, snogging furiously.

TVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVTVT

I couldn't decide how to break up Teddy and Amber, but then I realized that as the Godson of Harry Potter and Victoire's best friend, it would be simple! Do it completely impulsively!

Liked it? Review it!

I just posted a new story, but I'm not sure if I want to continue it. Check it out and tell me what you think!