This is a one shot Based on my Fan fiction featuring these two. Currently they're still in their second/fourth years and really weird with each other but this was an exercise in creating a third person persona and balancing exposition with dialogue. What do you think? I would really appreciate reviews with any thoughts you might have. Anything helps me grow as a writer.
The girl stared at the boy from across the room. He had been in her life for what seemed like forever and right then she couldn't have been less pleased by that fact.
It was such a horrible cliché, he was playing Romeo in a short skit that a few of the Hufflepuffs were doing to lighten the overall mood of the castle since some attacks had started in Hogsmead. Anyone could have told said Hufflepuffs that the tale of tragedy wasn't suited to the times but they had turned the dark though beautiful play into a huge joke wherein Lady Capulet seduced Romeo and Juliet fell in love with the Friar.
'Ouch.' She had bit her finger far too hard with thinking of him. Neighbours sitting in close proximity to her at the Slytherin dining table laugh. They know of her crush. Her pale skin and freckles allowed for a rose blush that revealed everything. She had seen him practicing the night before and instead of proceeding with a prank planned by her best friend, they had stayed to watch.
Teddy Lupin was talented in many things; he was a metamorphmagus and a good singer, he was very talented when it came to the guitar and did better than average in every subject except for potions. His acting left a bit to be desired and though his body lacked in clean definition, its leanness attracted most girls from almost every house. Last night a few had squealed when he took of his shirt and jumped on the Lady Capulet.
If he had been playing the classic Romeo, Victoire Weasley probably would not have fallen for him; she would have rolled her eyes with her best friend Sasha and proceeded to change the entire colour scheme of the production to the Slytherin Silver and Green. This would happen because Hufflepuff had hosted a party the week before and forgotten to invite them, who at fifteen and sixteen believed themselves important enough to have been invited and were unaware that the party had been only for the seniors.
Luckily for everyone involved except for perhaps Victoire and Teddy the appearance of a shirtless Romeo jumping Lady Capulet had caused the girl to almost swoon.
Victoire; unlike Teddy was a fantastic actress in that she knew how to lie very well and in contrast with this trait was actually a very sweet girl. She hid her insecurities behind a silky exterior that came of five years of Hogwarts and a desire to constantly be loved. She was very good at potions and average in most other subjects and had a clear voice that was neither good nor bad and was almost child-like when she sang to herself and waltzed alone or was caught unawares while dancing with her arms around herself and her eyes closed in dreams.
Victoire and Teddy had an odd relationship that was difficult to explain but easy to figure out once seen. Her barriers were strong and placed carefully around herself with only a few careful locks for certain people. Teddy was; in contrast, and there were many of those, on open and honest person who let many people in and was very talented at shrugging away hurt. He had; from a young age; been drawn to Victoire like a masochistic moth to the proverbial flame. She had never opened up to him like others in her family had and never considered him family. Eventually Teddy had realized that Victoire was a bit of a brat with much growing up still to do. Their main connection came from a shared transformation during the full moon and the two were friendly but rarely close.
Teddy was popular inside his own circle and well liked by many and Victoire was popular in most circles and loved by few because her friendship was hard to win but always to be counted on and her looks and naïveté were attractive to people of the male kind.
Their small connection was facilitated by Sasha; Victoire's best friend and a rascal whose dark eyes and hair but sweet smile and personality made her the more approachable of the pair and the more mischievous one. Sasha followed Victoire like a shadow but was actually the more dominant of the two and mastermind of most pranks and plans.
One such plan was the early arrival to the final day of the production, the chatting up of most male participants and the subsequent invitation to the after party.
Like most of Sasha's plans this one started off swimmingly but in its rapid conception she had forgotten her best friend's affinity for obsession. Victoire often had flavours of the month and became fixated on them until a new obsession appeared. Her current obsession was Ted Lupin and this was made obvious by the way she hummed a love song to herself as she slowly danced down the hallways and stared at the boy throughout the longer-than-average skit. She blushed constantly whenever he made eye contact and kept her arms wrapped around herself as if she could feel him hugging her. Sasha had come up with a plan by the end of the play and nudged her friend before whispering; "If you want to go to the party with him, you'll have to shake off the love struck look and flirt like you've never flirted in your life."
Victoire's countenance changed suddenly, either because she understood the need to embody what her friend had just said or because she had not realized how transparent she had been. She stood up and walked towards the meagre cast and crew with what can only be described as a strut. "Can I help?" she asked in a voice slightly lower than her own but chocked full of sweetness and persuasion.
The lighting technician seemed to be in a state of shock and stuttered tactlessly; "Why?"
"We want into the after party." Victoire replied with the same bluntness.
"Oh." He smiled up at her, rejoicing in his good luck no doubt. "I thought you might be trying to pull one over on us." At this Victoire smiled apologetically as their last prank had been a Hufflepuff boxer raid, "consider this your invitation… Though some help would be appreciated."
Again the girl smiled, and then rolled up her sleeves and pulled her pale strawberry blonde hair into a ponytail. She harboured a secret love of hiking and physical labour and this love was often left unsatisfied. Subtly (she thought) she wandered over to Teddy and picked up the opposite side of the bed he was carrying. She admired the way he did indeed have some muscle, a tiny amount and he stared at her and wondered an entirely different thing.
He wondered if she was laughing at him. He was dressed in classic slouching jeans like any other boy who was trying to give the impression of being very laid back and a wife beater that he had worn under the ridiculous Shakespearean ruffled shirt he had been wearing. He wondered if she was laughing at his skinny physique and thought he was trying too hard.
She wondered if he though she was trying too hard. Her dress was black and very, very short the kind that looks just ruffled enough to be from 1960's. She paired the look with tennis shoes and a simple cardigan and she was sure; was cemented firmly in the belief, that he would look at her and understand that she was desperately crushing on him and run away like any boy ought to when she came a-fishing.
In their separate but very parallel trains of thought, the two finished much of the lifting work without realizing it and without making eye contact. It was only when the moving was done that Victoire spoke, staring firmly at the piercing he had in one ear; "So; you were quite the ladies man." She said it almost question-like.
"It's a parody." He replied, which didn't answer the almost question at all.
"All the girls are totally falling for you." She returned, blushing and letting loose her hair to cover said blush.
His countenance changes almost imperceptibly but his voice comes out harsher; "What do you want Vee?"
She gulped before spilling out; "I have a slight love of hard labour. It needed satisfying."
"And I suppose the party does nothing for you and Sasha?"
Before the feelings can take over she shoved the facts in his face; "The invitation has already been extended. The help was all my own." She changed, maybe only in his eyes from the girl she'd become to the girl she was as she crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.
It's this that maked him smile. The impetuous brat. "Where's Sasha then?"
"Probably long gone. We took a while."
He handed her a flask with what was probably fire whisky but might just have been vodka. "Better catch up then. I've heard how much you hate to miss a party."
She wanted to say; 'I'd miss it for you,' but was well aware of the creepiness implied in her statement. Instead she spoke with far less authority then she had up until then; "I've never been to the Hufflepuff dormitories." Alone with him, it was as if they had both lost their power. She had not eaten at dinner and the alcohol went quickly and suddenly to her head.
"You won't be going there any time soon." He replied, "The party's in the room of requirements. I'll take you."
"Well, I should hope so. I've never been there either, I don't think."
"You probably shouldn't try; you might hurt yourself." The hurt of her punch was balanced by the contact between them, like something had just slid into place. Immediately Teddy started walking and Victoire followed two steps behind until they reached the room and entered.
The entire set up would have seemed over the top if the room hadn't done all the work. The combination between lounge and dance floor wasn't perfect but it was pretty close and the mass of bodies dancing to the latest hits in both the muggle world and the wizarding world belied the 'cast and crew' label applied to the festivities.
It seemed the moment they got safely inside the room Teddy made and excuse and left her side. This shouldn't have hit her like a sack of stones but it did. Right in the gut. Victoire clenched her teeth and dug inside her purse, magicked only enough to allow for a pair of silver stilettos and a tube of red lipstick to fit inside she switched shoes and applied the lipstick. She then found a willing boy in her own year and took his overly spiked butterbeer for herself. For the next three hours Victoire Weasley danced through every song and tried not to think of her Romeo.
When Ted caught up with her four hours later she wasn't as drunk as he had expected. She had stopped drinking after that butterbeer and danced off the alcohol in her frustration. In said frustration she had found another willing boy, this time in Year Seven and the two of them were quite cosy for the next hour curled up together in a corner. That is where Ted found her, him dragging a very tired but satisfied Sasha in hand.
He couldn't account for the feeling of jealously he felt watching her lose her inhibitions; so obvious to him who had known her since her birth, the way she opened herself up to that other boy hurt him; he realized and in this hurt he angrily pulled the boy off.
"Victoire; it's time for us to leave." He all but growled.
"Oh." She replied; the hurt of his abandonment still fresh, "Okay."
Their walk through the halls was ever so quietly. The three of them, even tired and still tipsy, had been sneaking out since first year and found the experience nostalgic.
When they were within ten feet of the Slytherin dormitory the girls ordered Ted to cover hi eyes and close his ears (Sasha was still quite drunk.) Victoire ran forward and opened the door for her and then ran back before Ted could leave her again.
She caught him as he was about to turn and leave and impulsively took his hand before the liquid courage left her entirely. "You always wait." She said, in the same questioning way she reserved for him.
"I can sort of hear the door to the dormitory closing, I want to make sure you guys are alright." His shrug was blasé and he wouldn't make eye contact.
"Why'd you leave me the moment we entered the room?" she demanded suddenly, still holding his hand and terrified he'd leave her; with all her insecurities waiting to pop up with a few words.
"I thought that's what you wanted."
"It isn't. It wasn't." Everything's changed.
"What do you mean?" He was trying so hard to avoid eye contact.
"When you were acting you kept looking at me; and not in a look-a-monkey-has-grown-wings kind of way or in a God-Vik-that-outfit-sure-is-revealing kind of way. And maybe I interpreted everything all wrong, which I do. You know I do. Because you know me. You know me better than even Sasha does. You stood by me even when I was a brat and when I thought I was a monster, every full moon-"
"Didn't have much of a choice there." He joked.
"Shut up." She snapped, fifteen and so virtuous in her passion; "I saw you being all bare chested and I thought it was all just one of my obsessions but then at that party when you left me, I felt so empty and alone and I thought 'I'm so lucky, I've had him for forever'- I had this silly thought that with the attacks at Hogsmead and with everything that's wrong with this the world, that if I die tomorrow, the last lips I will have wanted to kiss were yours." Her eyes filled with tears at his own expression and she muttered, "Silly thought, I know." Before letting go of his limp hand and making a run for her dormitory.
In her distress, she didn't hear the foot steps behind her and barely felt the arms that circle around her waist and chest. "If I die tomorrow. You are the last girl I will have wanted to hold today." His arms tightened around her and she fell limp against him, fitting like only two pieces of the same puzzle can. "I want to be the one you tell your secrets to, I want to kiss you and make you forget everything; I want to walk you to your dormitory every night and listen to the door close and know you're okay. I want that to be me. But I can't be your next obsession. When you're like this, when you're vulnerable I fall for you. But if tomorrow you wake up and realize that you've made a mistake and those feeling were only temporary then this bubble we're on right now is going to break and I don't think I can handle that hurt. I don't want this to be temporary so if you think it will be then please walk away now. A little break is better than a huge one."
She turned in his arms and stared at him, handing him the key to her barriers that only few own. "We're permanent." She whispered; sure that it was true. Their lips connected with a spark his hands cradling her face and hers in his hair, pulling him closer. His smile broke the kiss.
"At least until your dad gets a hold of me."