Teddy rolled onto his back again, listening to the deep snores of Angus, Benjy and Connor in the beds surrounding his own. He envied them. They could all sleep on a knife edge, no matter how much stress they were under. N.E. were starting tomorrow, and Teddy thought he might crack under the pressure. For him, failure was not an option. If he didn't pass, he could kiss goodbye to his place in the Auror Academy, whether his godfather was head of the department or not.
A thump close by his head made him jump and he rocketed upwards into a sitting position.
"Ow! Ah, crap, I stubbed my toe!" That voice was impossible for Teddy to not recognise.
"Victoire... what the hell are you doing in here? No, wait, how did you get in here in the first place?" he demanded in a whisper, so as not to wake up the others.
"How do you think? I told the Fat Lady the password and then walked up the stairs." Once again, the sarcastic tones of Teddy's best friend rang out in the pitch darkness.
"But you're in Ravenclaw..." he protested.
"Well done, with brains like that you could be a troll." He suddenly felt Victoire's hand grasping his shoulder as she groped around in the darkness to find the edge of the bed.
"What is that that I'm touching?" she asked warily.
"My shoulder," Teddy answered. He was electrically aware that she was touching his bare skin, though he was determinedly trying to ignore the swooping sensation in his stomach.
"Right, okay," she said methodically, her voice sounding slightly closer. "Shift up."
"But..." he began, but she was already pushing him over to one side of his bed so that she could climb in. "Vic, I don't even have a shirt on!"
"Oh, please, Teddy! As if I care!" she scoffed, and Teddy tried to pretend that her comment wasn't a slight blow to his ego.
She slid under the covers beside him, and he instantly felt awkward. It had been four years since they'd shared a bed like this, and Victoire was not eleven anymore.
Teddy was finding the fact that Victoire had grown up quite difficult to ignore. These days, he was finding a lot of things about her difficult to ignore... whether it was about how pretty she looked in her new dress robes or how infectious her smile was whenever he made her laugh. He always felt a sense of accomplishment when he made Victoire laugh.
It wasn't normal for her best friend to notice when she got new clothes, or that her eyes were precisely five different shades of blue. Not if the best friend in question was a notoriously unobservant 17 year old boy in the first place...
"Earth calling Teddy?" Victoire said jokingly, prodding him with her sharp fingernails in his kidney. He squirmed in discomfort.
"Sorry Vicky, I think I zoned out."
"No kidding," she said wryly. Teddy fought a smile. The girl was too sarcastic sometimes.
"Why are you here again?" Teddy asked. Victoire made an offended noise.
"If you don't want me here, I'll go..." She twisted away from him, but he seized her by the elbow and held her firmly in place.
"No! That's not what I meant," he assured her. Why did she have to be so touchy?
"Okay, well, to be honest, I couldn't sleep," she admitted. Teddy ran his hand down her arm until he could thread his fingers through her own. He thought he felt her shiver as he did that, but he dismissed the gesture as his own imagination.
"Nightmares?" he asked.
"Nerves," she corrected.
"Oh, yes. The dreaded exam season is upon us." Teddy pulled a face, and though she couldn't see it, Victoire laughed.
"You're making a stupid face, aren't you?" she guessed.
"You know me too well," Teddy replied, though the thought made him feel smug for some reason.
"Just well enough, I think," Victoire disagreed.
The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, and every so often, Teddy noticed Victoire's arm twitching beside his. Was she uncomfortable? She didn't say anything about it, they merely sat holding hands.
"Teddy, I'm going to fail," Victoire sighed.
"Shut up, you will not. You're off-the-charts smart, and you know it. Stop fishing for compliments," he teased affectionately.
"But what if I want to fish for compliments?" she joked.
"We could be here all night," Teddy replied.
"Why... what would you say?" she asked coyly. Teddy swore mentally. Why did his stupidly oversized mouth have to land him in these dig-yourself-a-hole situations? Especially around Victoire.
"Just... you've kind of got it all really. Brains, wit, beauty, and the personality to match."
"Beauty?" she asked.
"Yeah," he continued carelessly, not processing his own thoughts. "You're gorgeous, Vic. Nice hair, killer smile, cute freckles... you're just amazing."
Victoire did not reply for a long time, and Teddy began to feel a little nervous.
"Vic?" he checked to make sure she was still alive.
"What was that last part?" she whispered. Teddy gulped.
"Er... you have cute freckles?" he suggested.
"You called me amazing." There was the strangest emotion laced through her tone, but Teddy hadn't the slightest idea what it could be.
"Is that bad?" he asked, confused.
"No... but you've never told me that."
"Just because I haven't said it doesn't mean it isn't true. You are amazing."
"You always mean what you say, Teddy," Victoire mumbled, and I could almost feel the heat of the blush I knew had risen on her cheeks.
"Exactly."
"So... I've never heard you say that to anyone."
Teddy squirmed a little, feeling like he'd slipped up. "What's your point?" he demanded.
"Nothing," Victoire replied smoothly. "Just... thank you."
"That's okay," Teddy dismissed.
"You have cool hair," she complimented him, her breath tickling his shoulder. "You're pretty awesome, generally."
Teddy was glad it was too dark for Victoire to see him blush this time.
"Are we gonna go to sleep?"he asked abruptly.
"What do you mean?" Victoire responded.
"Well, I assume, judging on past experiences, you were going to ask if you could sleep in my bed tonight. If memory serves, that's how this works." Teddy grinned into the darkness.
"Well... the Ravenclaw common room is all the way downstairs... and it is late..." She had already settled down onto his pillow, he realised, as he felt her hair tickling his arm.
"You're lucky I'm feeling generous. As always." He pushed himself further down the bed, so that he was lying nose-to-nose with Victoire. His heart thumped too quickly at the close proximity.
"What would I do without you, Teddy?" she muttered sleepily, her minty breath fanning across his face.
"Maybe fall asleep in your own bed for once?" he suggested dryly.
"I could never sleep without my Teddy-bear to make me feel better," she joked, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.
"You know, the boys are going to wake up in the morning and jump to the wrong conclusions," Teddy pointed out. He felt Victoire shrug.
"Let them. I don't care," she replied quietly, pressing her ear to Teddy's racing heart.
"Okay then, as long as you don't hold it against me when they do."
He almost heard Victoire rolling her eyes. "Goodnight, Theodore."
