I lounged easily against the wall of our compartment, my legs stretched lazily across the seat while Aelius and Craig bickered on the opposing one. Listening only half-heartedly, I flicked the snitch up and down in my hands; occasionally letting it zoom away, only to snatch it back again. Ripping it from the air smoothly for a fourth successive time, I smirked happily. It's wings fluttered feebly in my hands, pushing to be free again.

Not so fast, little guy.

"Teddy, please!" An exasperated Aelius turned to me, black hair flopping dramatically over his pale, angular face.

"Tell him he's wrong. Portia is great- but she is nowhere near Harriet. I mean, they are just not in the same league!" he gestured wildly to emphasise his point, just as a heated Craig cut across him.

"I'm not saying that they're equals looks wise- I'm saying Harriet's a twat! That counts as negative points- Portia's an alright bird though, ergo- plus points. That makes them equal overall. Dumbass."

I glanced over at them, bemused. Ignoring the persistent efforts of the now frantic snitch to escape my clutches, I paused to consider. They both waited patiently enough for my verdict, Craig leaning forward eagerly as Aelius slouched confidently into the plush, red leather of the compartment seats. I could see why Aelius was confident. I was exactly renowned for scoring personality high on my list of must haves. Taking a second to mull it over, I tossed the snitch one more time and caught it quickly.

If only it were this easy on a broom.

"Neither of them are a dream to be around. I mean, Portia being better company than Harriet doesn't make her good company. So, it's got to be Harriet doesn't it? It's not like you're marrying either of them."

Aelius whooped triumphantly as Craig opened his mouth to protest some more. Sighing, I swung my legs from the soft seats to face them directly.

"Calm down, it's not like you're getting either of them any time soon. So don't get too worked up over it. It's a problem that's unlikely to present itself to either of you." I smirked cheekily over at them as they both scowled back.

"Please. I could get Harriet if I wanted." Aelius shrugged indifferently as Craig scoffed loudly.

"You? You could pull the hottest girl in our school if you wanted- but what? You felt disinclined for the past five years?"

I snickered appreciatively, sharing a look of amusement with Craig as Aelius flushed; running a hand through his jet black hair.

"She's the hottest girl in Gryffindor. Not the entire school." He corrected curtly, pretending to be interested in the passing countryside outside our grubby compartment window. The defiant raise of his chin and slight set to his jaw however, told me we'd hit a nerve. It was nothing to be overly concerned about though. Aelius was without a doubt the most vain, egotistical boy I knew. On average, someone probably hit a nerve at least four times a day. It served as a constant bafflement to him that the general population of the school failed to see exactly how lucky they were to have Aelius in their midst. Especially the female population. And seeing as he was actually widely admired by the female population, this was a worrying view point.

I quirked an eyebrow, now smiling openly in bemusement. "Name one girl that's hotter."

He glared at me for a moment before concentrating hard; staring at the floor. Craig and I burst into loud sniggers as his face contorted with the effort.

"Face it, she's unbelievable. A total loony, I'll grant. But still." Craig shook his head with an awestruck smile.

"No, I think we're being narrow minded here." Aelius insisted. "I mean, do we really know any girls from the other houses?"

A smirk spread involuntarily across my lips.

Craig looked up and grimaced at me. "Christ sakes Ted, we don't want to hear about the Hufflepuff twins anymore."

My smirk flared into a full blown grin. "What? I didn't say anything.

Aelius chucked the snitch over at me and I dodged it neatly; laughing with the two of them as we readjusted in the seats. Glancing out of the window myself I started at how dark it had become. The mountains to our right appeared like nothing more than looming shadows, save for the white snow laden peaks. Where had the time gone? We'd be arriving soon. And we hadn't even heard a whisper of the trolley lady. As if coming to the realisation simultaneously, my tummy gave a loud rumble. Merlin I was fucking starving.

"For Merlin's sake just go find the trolley lady. I'm hungry and I want to eat before your perverseness spoils my appetite."

Aelius scowled over at me, pouting in a way that I knew drove all the girls in our year crazy. He had the whole broody darkness thing going on, a carefully constructed look that meant everyone else in our dorm had to wait a half hour each morning for him to be finished in the bathroom. Merlin knows what he did in there, or what he looked like before he went in. I don't think I'd ever been up early enough to see him go in. Absent-mindedly he followed my gaze out the window. No, wait. He was checking his reflection again.

In contrast, Craig had a much lighter appearance; almost as pale as Aelius, but with ashy blonde hair and grey eyes. Although not as much of a natural looker as Aelius, he managed to do okay for himself. Being one of the star players of our Quidditch team, with an Irish accent to boot, seemed to get him along in life.

Scraping myself off my seat I grinned over at the two of them, my best friends since our very first year in Hogwarts.

"Ladies, I am more than happy to oblige."

Smirking as I sauntered from the carriage, I heard the whizzing of the snitch behind me and knew instinctively that Aelius had chucked it at my head. I ducked quickly in the corridor and spun lithely around to catch it; just as I crashed into a group of girls behind me.

Stumbling back over them, we careened to the floor in a pile of limbs and screams and girlish whines. Wincing as I straightened up slowly I offered my hand to the girl directly beneath me and most damaged by the fall. The rest of her friends had already straightened up and were offering me the coldest glares they could muster. Which was pretty unnecessary. I mean, it had clearly been an accident. I found myself slightly taken aback by the hostility. Facing a group of angry girls was not something I had to deal with often.

I pulled the girl to her feet with a charming smile, her long blonde hair tumbling over her face as she leaned down to fix her robes. Ignoring the guffaws of the two pricks behind in the compartment, I began to apologise.

Until she swept her hair back with one manicured, soft hand and pierced me with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. And not the cheesy turquoise blue that wasn't even real, but the deepest, darkest blue I could have imagined.

She cocked an eyebrow frostily, plump lips pursing in distaste. "Are you fucking blind?"

I blinked rapidly, shaking myself from the haze her eyes seemed to cast. Her words caught up with me slowly. I frowned lightly.

"What?" I replied dumbly.

She rolled her eyes impatiently. "And deaf, too. Well don't worry about apologising to me then. It seems you have enough problems in your life."

Her accent was clipped and polished. The softness of her voice jarred with the coolness of her words in the most disorientating manner. And yet, for how outstandingly rude she was being, all I could think was how have I not met this girl before? She was incredibly… beautiful. "Hot" didn't do her justice. Her face was almost pixie-like, almost ethereal. Round, huge eyes were framed by thick, dark lashes that barely grazed high, golden cheek bones, and her lips; man, her lips…

My mouth slightly ajar in shock, I recovered quickly and allowed the ghost of a smirk to play on my lips.

"You're right. I'm sorry- I didn't mean to hurt you. I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm Teddy, by the way. Teddy Lupin." I offered her my signature crooked grin, watching for some sort of melt in that icy exterior.

Her eyes narrowed minimally. "I know who you are Lupin."

She took a step forward and I could feel my breath hitch. She smelled incredible. She had to be part Veela or something- there was no way she was doing this naturally. Her loose blonde hair tumbled forward as she leaned in slightly closer; just enough so that my heartbeat soared but not so close as to be in anyway nearing inappropriate. Unfortunately.

"Do you know who I am?" She tilted her head in curiosity; her hair once again rippling with the movement.

Slightly embarrassed, I shook my head, grinning sheepishly at her as I silently reminded myself to blink.

Nodding slowly, she took a step back, her tone instantly more business-like. "Well allow me to clear the ambiguity. I'm a Prefect and that'll be, let's see… five points from Gryffindor for reckless endangerment of fellow passengers?" She cocked her head in sarcastic deliberation, holding my gaze for a few more seconds before smirking slightly. My eyes fell reluctantly to the green and silver badge sitting smugly on her robes. Slytherin robes.

Shit.

She sauntered past me without another word, her three friends following after her in giggles as I stood rooted to the ground in shock. Long after their chatter and tinkling laughter had dissipated down the train, I turned in a daze back to our compartment; the door still ajar with Aelius and Craig sitting just beyond it in silence, staring at me with poorly supressed sniggers. I sat down quietly and instantly they erupted into roars of laughter, clutching each other for support.

"Your face-"

"I'm Lupin- Teddy Lupin- like fucking James Bond-"

"Slytherin prefect-"

"Reckless endangerment-"

I glared over at them until they had finally had their fill of mocking me. Eventually collapsing exhausted back into their seats; still grinning like idiots, they fell quiet.

"She schooled you though, admit it." Craig looked at me from under half closed eyes.

I frowned. "Yeah. She did."

Silence elapsed for a minute or two.

"Guys- remember when we said there was no one hotter than Harriet Carlisle in the school?

They nodded sleepily, exhausted from the afternoons antics. For a moment the only sound was the gentle chug of the engine and the hum of distant chatter throughout the train.

"What about… Slytherin?"

Aelius cracked open a sleepy eye in suspicion. "What about them?"

"Scum of the earth." Craig mumbled, offering his two cent.

I glared over at him, but decided to ignore it. It was half true at least.

I began cautiously. "Well, purely objectively obviously… that blonde girl-"

"The Slytherin prefect?" Aelius sat up fully now, considering my theory seriously.

Craig glanced between us, testing if we were joking. "You're ripping the piss right? A Slytherin? Come on-"

"Why not?" I demanded hotly. If it were a purely objective scale- no personality considered (which it clearly was if Harriet was coming out on top) then that blonde girl was above and beyond top of the pile.

Craig reluctantly joined the conversation, leaning forward and grimacing. "Yeah- okay- slytherins can be hot. But it's negated by the fact that- and I repeat- they are slytherins! And her especially, I mean-"

"She was incredible Craig- don't even deny it. I couldn't have dreamed her up. Though I imagine I'll be trying my utmost from now on." Aelius smirked over at me and I half grimaced, half grinned back. Gross.

"Wait, what do you mean "her especially"? You know her?" I leaned forward, my full focus now absorbed by Craig, as Aelius too turned to face him. He looked slightly taken aback at the sudden spotlight thrust upon him.

"Well, yeah- I mean, not personally, but everyone knows her…" He trailed off as Aelius and I exchanged a baffled look. Did everyone know her? An image of those eyes, those lips floated unwillingly back into my mind's eye. Yep, I could easily believe a girl like that attracted attention.

Craig sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, the two of you spend way too much time absorbed by Gryffindor groupies. You know, if you actually looked beyond the sea of one night stands, you might find that there are plenty other-"

I held up a hand to stop him. "Craig, the girl please."

He threw up his hands in defeat. "Why are you bothering? This one is beyond even you, Teddy."

Aelius waved a hand. "The girl Craig."

He shook his head softly before speaking. "My God. Fine. Fine, on your heads be it. She's the Slytherin Princess, for fuck's sake. Straight Outstandings, prefect, not to mention dating Zabini-"

"The Slytherin Captain?" I cut across, just to clarify.

Craig raised a world weary eyebrow. "Do you know another?"

I shrugged, gesturing for him to continue. Merlin he could be sassy sometimes.

He sighed, but obliged. "I dunno what else to tell you. She has a clique of Slytherin groupies that follow her around- she always looks amazing. But she's supposed to be an incredible bitch and all too aware of her looks- part Veela or something."

I nodded, absorbing this. So she was dating Zabini. Ugh, the idea of that prat with a girlfriend that hot just reinforced the notion that there truly was no justice in the world. But it unsettled me, for more reasons than just that. They didn't fit well together. A girl that quick, that clever and cutting… She should be with someone, I dunno, more than Zabini.

I shrugged off the discomfort though; reminding myself that I didn't know her. I had only Craig's word to go on that she was clever. That and one frosty exchange in the corridor. She could be remedial, for all I knew.

But then she was a prefect…

Shut up and stop thinking about her. You don't even know her name, for Christ sake!

"What's her name again?" I looked up at Craig hopefully.

He frowned over at me astutely. "Why?"

I shrugged indifferently as Aelius smirked knowingly. "Please tell me you're not going for this? The rest of the school isn't enough? You have to go sully our reputations by chasing some snotty Slytherin ass?"

I frowned defensively. "I only asked what the girl's name was."

"So you can scribble it all over your books? Come on Teddy, there are plenty other girls who are much easier and much less trouble. You heard Craig, she's with Zabini. There's a fight we don't need."

My frowned deepened. "I don't recall asking your permission. I asked her name."

Aelius rolled his eyes derisively; standing to pull down his trunk and fetch his robes. Craig followed suit as I sat in frustrated silence wondering was anyone ever going to answer me.

Aelius turned back to face me, grinning slightly. "There's another problem I'm sure you haven't foreseen too."

I stared at him stonily. "Enlighten me."

He smirked over at Craig. "She thinks you're scum of the earth. Just because you're willing to overlook the fact that she's a slytherin doesn't mean she'll return the favour. And judging from earlier… things aren't looking good…" He waggled his eyebrows ominously as I glared up at him, ignoring their chuckles.

Craig rolled his eyes; stilling grinning. "Alright Romeo- if you're this determined to find Juliet. Just remember it doesn't end well for either of you."

Aelius and I fixed him with blank stares. This generally happened when Craig entered muggle-speak. It was baffling noise to our ears.

"What's a Roh-mey-oh?" Aelius turned curious eyes on Craig as he threw his eyes up to the ceiling.

"He- it doesn't matter. What matters is that Teddy here finds his lady." He offered us meaningful looks, drawing the pause out for suspense.

"Her name is Victoire." He finished with a flourish.

A crease formed between my eyebrows.

Victoire…

Where had I heard that before?