Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters……

Chapter 2: Friends and bets

It was September the 1st, twelve years later. The Hogwarts express had just left the station and Teddy Lupin was searching (more like racing through like a thunderstorm) the compartment for his friend.

Teddy scoffed every time some one mentioned the word in reference to them. He felt that friend was too….mundane a word for their relationship.

Friends shared secrets……….He knew hers even before she knew them herself.

Friends knew each others thoughts………He could predict what she'd think a decade later.

Friends kept contact even if they were separated……….There hadn't been a day in the past 12 years that he hadn't been with her for at least 12 hours.

Friends helped each other………….He'd never let Victoire have a problem to be solved.

Sappy much, Teddy? He told himself as he entered a compartment towards the end of the train. It wasn't very populated.

Just the way she liked it. Neither too crowded, nor too lonely.

"Hey Vicky! How are you?"

"Nothing has happened to me in the 12 hours that you didn't see me, Ed"

"I was just being gentlemanly"

"Come on, Ed! You? Gentlemanly?"

"A guy could try!"

"So, what did you want?"

"Heads meeting"

"I still can't believe you made Head Boy!"

"Not again! Get over it"

"Alright. Let's go"

As they were about to leave the compartment, a voice from within said, "Teddy!"

"Yes, Cassie?"

"Can you at least try to be civil? We are Vicky's friends after all!"

"Oops. Sorry. Forgot that you are the temperamental one" Teddy replied as he re-entered the compartment with Victoire in tow.

"Now, greet us and then you can leave" Castalia ordered.

Teddy looked back at Victoire to find her smiling.

"Why do you guys do this every year?"

"Habit" Teddy replied as he went about wishing the quartet. It'd be appropriate to give a description of these people who are going to come with us through out the story.

Castalia Kaylin Valdez was, by far, the closest, and the most flamboyant friend of Victoire. With long raven hair as dark as the midnight sky, she was the most good-looking one of the five. Her deep blue eyes were always alight with happiness and no one had ever seen her sad or sorrowful.

Selene Adrienne McBride or Sam in short, was the tomboy of the set with her chestnut brown hair in a cute bob and her ever alert amber eyes. She was known more for her unmatched speed on the quidditch pitch as a chaser than for her looks or character and she wanted it to remain that way.

The last two of the group, Nikita Jamie Jacobs and Nadine Rivera Jacobs were, as you'd have already guessed, twins. Both of them had golden blond hair though Nadine had always claimed that hers was a bit darker than Nikita's. That was the end of similarities between the twins. Nikita had baby blue eyes which went well with her soft spoken nature where as Nadine had deep set grey-green eyes which were as mysterious as she, some times, could be.

Victoire had often wondered where she fit in the group. Teddy had always told her that she was the sensible one of them all to which the rest of them had taken light-hearted offence.

"Can I leave now?" Teddy asked, exasperated after he had finished greeting them for the third time around.

"Well, let's see…………..Yup. You're free to go" Nadine said as she smiled innocently up at him.

"The naïve look doesn't work on you Jacobs" Teddy retorted as he dragged Victoire out of the compartment before they could find another way of retaining them.

"Whew! That was close. Those friends of yours sure know how to talk"

"Mhm………"

"What's with the think-y face, Vicky?"

"Will you ever stop adding 'y's to your words"

"Since it seems to amuse you so, no, I won't"

"Act like a Head Boy, Ed. We have to…….."

"Set a good example to the younger years. I know. Why does every body say that? Can't those firsties make up their own minds without our help? I mean, why does every one think that they are directionless and that we're some kind of maps or some thing?"

"Get used to it. It's what every body's gonna say to you"

"Whatever. Here we are!"

"I thought we were going for the Heads meeting!"

"It's not for another hour"

"Why did………Nikki'd have surely told me!"

"That girl is wiser than you give her credit for. Let's go in"

"Are your friends in there?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Then I'm not entering it"

"Oh! Come on, Vicky! It was one time and we were in second year!"

The incident in debate had happened in the train ride of their second year when the so-called friends of Teddy had charmed the compartment to sing Christmas carols every time she had tried to enter it.

"No way. They made it quite clear that time that they didn't want me in there. Nothing's changed in the past five years. I'm not going in that compartment"

"Hey Vicky! Don't mind us. Come on in" Tyler greeted as he opened the door to the compartment.

As Victoire entered the compartment she saw that there were no tricks this year.

"I told them not to mess with the Head Girl" Teddy muttered in her ear.

"Sit down, Vicky. No one's gonna bite you"

Intimidated by Teddy, the author is forced to give a description of his friends here.

The one who had opened the compartment, Tyler Graham Webb, had brown hair and charcoal black eyes which were always filled with kindness and he emitted an aura of comfort, making him the friendliest of the group. It was no secret in Hogwarts that he fancied the meek Nikita Jacobs and vice versa.

Ray Eric Saunders, on the other hand, was the resident play boy of Hogwarts. With his long, shaggy pale blond hair and deep grey eyes, he was often found stuck in the company of hordes of girls. He had the worst reputation of serial dating in the history of the school only next to Cassie's.

The last of the occupant, Carl Adam Hunter was the most down to earth person Victoire had ever seen in the world. He had haunting hazel eyes and curly sand colored hair which made him seem jovial and somber at the same time.

"Where's Drake?" asked Victoire as she looked around the compartment expecting said boy to jump out from one of its corners.

"He's in the next compartment. Said some thing about it being too noisy here" Teddy replied.

"Quidditch plans?"

"What else? That guy seriously needs to find a hobby other than quidditch"

"Quidditch is not just a hobby" Teddy and another voice from the doorway retorted at the same time.

"Thanks for speaking up for me Ted. Atleast some one here realizes the importance of the sport"

"Drake!" Victoire greeted as she hugged him.

"Hey Vicky! How was the holidays?"

"Boring without you, of course! There was no one for company except Teddy here and we all know how dull he can be!"

"Hey! I take offence to that!"

"Oh! Quit being the spoil sport, Teddy. I was just making fun of you. So, how was the Quidditch World Cup, Drake?"

"The Holyhead Harpies were amazing. Though the new Chaser was not as good as your aunt"

"Ginny is an amazing Chaser. Pity she chose to retire so soon" Teddy said as he sat down with Victoire opposite him by the door.

"So, any new plans for this year?" Ray asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Will you stop insinuating things, Ray?"

"I've lost so much money, Vicky! I have to win at least a part of it back!"

"Teddy and I are not going out any time soon" Victoire replied as she smiled at Carl who had just looked up from his book.

"Leave them alone, Ray. They have to work things out by themselves"

"What does that mean?" Teddy asked.

"Whatever you take it to mean, Ted" Carl shrugged as he went back to reading his book.

"Let's go Vicky. Time for Heads Meeting. You coming, Ty?"

"Yeah. Just a minute"

As the trio left the compartment, Drake said, "It's a pity they don't see what's right in front of their eyes"

"They'll work it out. In their own time" Carl said.

"Let's hope that's before Christmas or I'll lose yet another bet with Cassie" Ray replied as he settled down by the window to look out at the scenery passing by.

A/n: Hi guys. The second chapter is here.

As always review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!