A/N: And hi guys! Nice to see you again!

Dancing-Souls: Thanks for all those reviews! :D My inbox just blew up XD

SomeoneThatCares: I really loved your review, and everything you wrote was so...what's the word...insightful? Let's use that word for now XD

Disclaimer:

Me: So what's your name, anyway?

Penguin: Who, me?

Me: *sarcastically* No, the other talking penguin around here.

Penguin: Right. My name's Egbert Shelvenstein Doobelkutz Andre Marco Benjamin Pollo Garrett Ernesto Heinz Hans Sebastian Kippelklotz the Third. But you can call me Sebastian if you like.

Me: Are you simply one hell of a butler?

Sebastian: Are you calling me a butler because I look like I'm wearing a tux? Tha—

Me: *sighs* No, that's not it. You didn't get the reference. *sighs again* At any rate, I don't own Harry Potter.

Brave:

(adj). ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.

Chapter 5: Brave

o

Five months later

Victoire's Second Year

Februrary

o

"Han — hang on. That's a checkmate! I win!" Victoire stood up in victory, fists raised high, and she let out a little whoop. Then she noticed Raymond's face. "What?"

Raymond scrunched his eyebrows in though, then looked up chose each word carefully. "Well, it was a clever move, I'll admit, but it's also sort of impossible."

Victoire slammed back into the seat and stared at the board. "What do you mean?"

"Well, castles can only move forward, backward, or sideways. But you went diagonal." His finger made little motions in the air above the board, and his eyes flickered up into hers. "See?"

Victoire glanced between Raymond and the board, frantically, as though he were about to shout, "Only joking! You won!" Instead, silence hung in the air. She hung her head low, straining the back of her neck.

"Next time, we're playing with a normal set, not one of your Muggle collections. In a normal set, the castle would have kindly informed me of that rule before I made a fool of myself."

Raymond let out a small sigh, then carefully moved her castle back into position. Victoire crouched forward, examining the board yet again, when Simone strided into the room. She scanned the room, and found her friends sitting by the fire. She sauntered over to them. "Honestly, I can't leave you two in the common room alone for a minute without you pulling out that lousy chess board." She wagged a bag of pretzels in front of them. "I'd share these with you, but you're too boring for pretzels."

Victoire tried to snatch the bag, but Simone yanked it away and popped one into her mouth, a smirk on her face. Victoire sighed. "Will it be boring when one of us wins the trophy for the chess tournament?"

"Almost definitely."

Victoire groaned. "You're impossible." She turned back to the board and glanced at Raymond. "Still my turn?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but you don't really have that many options. Let's see, you can move your queen to E5 — oh wait, then I could just get her with my bishop — err, well, I suppose —"

"Well, you two have fun figuring that out," Simone said loudly. "I'm going to talk to some normal people for a change." She stared pointedly at the two, waiting for a reaction. She watched them bicker over possible moves, not even acknowledging her. She shook her head slightly, then casually strolled toward another group of second-years. "I'm Simone Hoghedge," she announced.

Both of the girls glanced at Simone, with faces of mild amusement. One spoke up. "Yeah, I know. I'm your partner in Potions, remember?"

Simone blinked. "Oh, right. Paige. I wasn't really looking when I walked over he—"

The two girls giggled, turning back to each other, leaving Simone swaying in her spot, biting on the inside of her cheek. "Well, all right then." Paige took out her Chocolate Frog collection and the second girl imitated her. The two started chattering again, as if Simone had never stopped by. "I'll just be going then." She tottered, then took a few steps back.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to begin our meeting with a roll call. Lupin, Theodore Remus?"

Teddy, who was in the process of slipping and stretching his hair into a long purple bushy jungle, flinched like a pigeon when he heard his name. "Since when is this a meeting?"

Myron raised his furry eyebrows. "Well, why on earth not? Professor Thrussington has the gavel and hammer, and I see no better use of this classroom than for a meeting. I mean, how often do we get a simple cleanup job for detention?" As if to prove his point, he stepped up to the board and wrote.

Team Lionhead Official Meeting

10th of Februrary, 2013*

President: Myron Braniff**

Secretary: Jac

"Hang on," said Jacob, sitting up a little straighter. "Why am I the secretary? I never agreed to that."

"Well," Myron pointed out, "you already have your parchment out." A short gesture indicated the parchment, which was smoothed across the desk and the quill that was perched in his hand. "Might as well put it to good use."

"I'm writing a letter to Bar—"

Myron held up his palm, silencing Jacob. He finished writing.

Team Lionhead Official Meeting

10th of Februrary, 2013

President: Myron Braniff

Secretary: Jacob Dobson

Treasurer: Ted Lupin

First Order of Business: Valentine's Day Prank?

"Secretary Dobson, are you writing this down?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah." Jacob promptly scribbled everything down, then looked up. "Anything you've got in mind?"

"Actually, yes." Myron sat down at Professor Thrussington's desk and sat as tall as possible. Teddy thought he looked small sitting in the chair, at least compared to Thrussington, who had to crouch just to get through doorways. The confidence that burned from Myron's face, however, reeked of authority. "I've been poking through some of the books the NEWT kids study, see, and it talks about when people take potions together when they have opposite effects." He eyed his friends. "We'll need a lot of ingredients, but the result seems very interesting." At this, he slipped a piece of parchment out of his pocket and slid it to Teddy. "Here, I tore the page out. Read it out loud, Treasurer Lupin."

Teddy rolled his eyes, but obediently cleared his throat and began reading. "When a witch or wizard consumes two potions simultaneously that produce the opposite effect, the result is catastrophic. The two potions battle for control over the drinker, who constantly switches between the two effects. For example, if one were to drink a Knock-out potion and a Revival brew at the same time, they would slip in out of conciousness until the effects of one of the potions wore out." He glanced up at Myron. "All right, but what two potions are you thinking of?"

A sly grin appeared on Myron's face. "Veritaserum and Lying Potion. Just imagine the possibilities, especially on Valentine's Day!" He sat up straighter and used a twangy accent. "Oh, Betty, I know we've been dating for three years, but I'm into brunettes, not blondes!" He then used a false high voice. "I don't mind, Bobby, I snogged your brother last night!" He snickered. "Oh, the chaos. And nobody will be able to tell what's right or wrong!"

Teddy glanced at Jacob, who was writing everything down furiously. He then glanced at Myron, who returned the look with some raised eyebrows. "Well?"

"I...well, it's a brilliant plan and all, but couldn't that seriously damage relationships? Permanently?"

Myron rolled his eyes. "Right, well, that's the point, now isn't it? And honestly, if some people break up, we're doing them a favor, aren't we? I mean, no relationship lasts forever."

Teddy frowned, but didn't object. He just looked down at the piece of parchment again. His hand hesitated, and he swiftly flipped the page over. The next passage read:

Consuming potions in this way is extremely dangerous, and for this reason, wizards are advised not to attempt it unless under the close supervision of an experienced Healer.

"Weasley!" hollered Kristina Markham, a tall gangly Ravenclaw. Her fingers carefully pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Is there a Victoire Weasley here?"

Raymond nudged Victoire forward, whispering, "Remember, castling is a good move, but don't use it if you don't need to."

Victoire gave a shaky nod, then stepped up to the platform. Kristina tossed her a slight glance and nodded. "You'll be playing on that table over there. Now remember the rules." She popped out a list and began speaking. "No taking back moves. No illegal moves. The pieces are instructed to holler out if any..."

Victoire tuned the voice out, and simply blinked. She had already reviewed the rules a dozen times over with Raymond. Instead, she glanced at her opponent, who was already seated. He was leaning back on his chair, one leg crossed over the other, and almost no expression on his face. Victoire realized with a jolt that Kristina had stopped speaking, so she nodded quickly and hustled over to sit by Bored Bloke.

"H—hi," she said, straightening her chair and gently sitting down. He gave her a slight nod, then scratched his nose and yawned. "Should—err—do you want to go first, or should I?

"Ladies first," he gestured at the board and sat up a little straighter.

Victoire nodded, glanced at the board, and said, "Erm...pawn to D4." The pawn nodded then cheerfully bounced over to the spot. Glancing up, Victoire noticed Bored Bloke staring at her incredulously. "What?"

"That's your first move? Seriously?"

Victoire took a gulp of air.

"You're willing to enlarge everyone's noses, but not concoct a simple potion? What's going on with you?" Myron stared at Teddy. The trio were hanging outside, ready to sneak in and retrieve the ingredients necessary for their potion, when Teddy had decided against the plan. Now they were standing five feet away, looking as nonchalant as possible, despite Myron's burning glare.

Teddy glanced out the window. "Well, having a gigantic nose for a few hours doesn't exactly ruin your life."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "I think my sisters would disagree."

"Well, they're all Muggles, so they don't count," interjected Myron, who immediately returned to glaring at Teddy. "Look, if you're so against it, you don't have to break in, or administer the potion. Alright? But you still got to help with the brewing, the book said—"

"That's not the point!" Teddy shouted, attracting the attention of some passing fourth-years.

Myron froze, then quickly ushered them into a less-crowded corridor. He glanced around to make sure nobody was coming, then turned back to Teddy and Jacob. He let out a sigh. "I don't know what's come over you lately, mate. It's like you've developed a serious allergy to anything fun."

"Well, maybe my definition of fun is different than yours," hissed Teddy.

Myron rolled his eyes. "Well then how do you define it?"

Teddy blinked. "I dunno..." He stared at his feet, trying to remember the last time he really had fun. Between the pranks he stopped believing in and the schoolwork he stressed over, fun was starting to seem like a foreign concept.

"Well, get your act together! We've got a Hogsmeade trip in a few days, so we can probably paint the town red — literally. If that's not fun, then —"

"It's NOT!" Teddy's voice echoed.

Jacob blinked at Teddy. "What about the Gryffindor spirit?"

Teddy flinched. Steadying himself, he stared at Myron in the eye. "That's another thing. You keep going on about this whole 'upholding the Gryffindor spirit' nonsense. I'm starting to think you're just using that as an excuse."

Myron returned the glare, hands closing into fists. "Gryffindors have been doing this for decades now. Your father, you uncle — they pranked all the time and thought nothing of it!"

"Well, if that's all being a Gryffindor is about, then I don't want to be a Gryffindor anymore. Put me in Ravenclaw for all I bloody care! Or Slytherin! I'm sick of this!"

Myron's fists tightened, and he lunged toward Teddy, knocking him right in the jaw. Teddy snagged Myron's wrist, twisting it violently, and jerking it down. He raised his own fist, ready to retaliate.

"Stop it you two!" Jacob shouted, wedging himself between the two. "You're best mates!"

Myron tossed him aside, and glowered at Teddy. "He's no friend of mine if he's gonna talk like that." He readied his foot for a kick, but Teddy shoved him back against the wall.

"Glad we've come to an agreement then." He let go, tossing him another glare. Spinning around, he marched forward a few steps. He heard a shout from behind, and quickly pulled out his wand and faced Myron, who also held his wand out. The wands were facing each other, the boys glaring at each other, but neither making the first move.

"Get out of here, before I hex the spine out of you," said Myron, raising his wand higher.

Teddy's nostrils flared, and he opened his mouth to cry out, Sectumsempra, but something washed over him, and he froze. He swallowed his pride, and lowered his wand. "Fine. I don't want to see your moronic face anyway."

He walked out into the open corridor, before turning around and looking at Jacob. "You with me or him?"

Jacob gave no words, just a slight shake of his head, barely noticeable.

Teddy's teeth clenched, and he stormed off.

"Face it Blondie, you lost."

Victoire gritted her teeth and swang her eyes around the board anxiously, looking for a move. Every time she thought she saw a possible move, the piece in question would see her looking, and shake their head furiously, pointing out how they'd instantly be crushed, leaving the king exposed. It was hopeless.

There was exactly one move, she deduced, that had a slim possibility of working. She mournfully instructed, "Queen to B2."

The Queen hesitated, then dragged herself to B2. She kicked a knight out of the way, rescuing the king.

Bored Bloke hummed out, "Pawn to B2," and the Queen was no more.

"Check. What're you gonna do, Blondie?"

Victoire bit her lip, drawing out a droplet of blood. She quickly wiped it off, and whispered, "Please don't call me that."

She risked a glance away from her miserable game and watched Raymond, who was studying his board intently. With a grin, he gave his pieces their instructions. Then he let out a whoop. "Checkmate! I win!" Still grinning, he turned his head, and noticed Victoire watching him. He looked so excited, Victoire plastered a fake encouraging smile onto her face and gave him the thumbs up. Elated, he faced his opponent and gave her a handshake.

Victoire sighed, and looked at the board again. She was so confused now, and the relentless shouting from her pieces wasn't quite helping. And with the taunting smirk Bored Bloke was giving her...

She rattled off a random order, not even listening to herself. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping for the best, fingers twiddling nervously. A sharp laugh jolted her out of her stupor, and she hesitantly flickered her eyes up to see Bored Bloke cheering. "Checkmate!"

Victoire tried to steady her breathing, but then Bored Bloke stood up, circled around the table, and gave Victoire a great long handshake. "Thank you, Blondie, that was the easiest win I've ever had!"

Victoire yanked her hand away from his hand, and scrammed away from his mocking face.

She scurried out of the room, trying to hold back tears. Every step she took echoed loudly, and her head took it as a chant. Stupid, stupid, failure, failure.

Couldn't she just get something right? The Quidditch, the chess, that wasn't even the half of it. Her siblings didn't look up to her at all, and the only positive attention she got that wasn't from her friends was just blind adoration because of her looks. And that wasn't even something she accomplished, it was just a veela side effect!

She turned a corner, trying not to cry. All she wanted was to succeed at something for once. She was a Weasley, for goodness' sake! The eldest kid in the most famous and respected family in the Wizarding world! And yet she was such a failure, at everything.

She sniffled a bit, and blinked rapidly. Don't cry, don't cry, Victoire Weasley doesn't cry. She kept running, and running, and finally reached the portrait hole. The Fat Lady opened up for her, and she dashed in —

With a jerk, she tripped on the bottom of the portrait hole and tumbled to the ground. Great, now I'm a klutz, too. Her nose hurt. Don't cry, don't cry don't —

She felt a sharp pain in her back, and heard an "Oh!" The person who had tripped on her pushed himself up angrily. "What in bleeding hell's name are you doing lying on the floor like that?! Some of us are trying to walk here!"

She recognized the voice immediately. A sickened feeling rose in her stomach. It was Teddy.

There it was. The breaking point. Tears flooded out of her eyes as the pain and shame exploded inside her. She stumbled to her feet, ready to make a break for the door.

Recognition and guilt flashed in Teddy's eyes, and he reached out to grab her wrist. "Victoire, hey I—" She tugged away from him, still sobbing. Teddy promptly chased after her, but in a flash she had already darted halfway up the staircase. Teddy had learned years ago not to even try climbing up those stairs.

He gave out a little sigh, then watched the wall, mentally debating how many times he ought to slam his head against it. He had just decided on seven when he heard some clapping and a voice behind him.

"Well, I just love me some good quality entertainment, don't you?"

Teddy spiraled around to face a gorgeous girl with long lashes and chocolate-brown hair in a neat bun. She smiled wryly, and Teddy couldn't help but stare. "Are you talking to me?"

"Probably." Noticing his blank look, she giggled and amended, "There's nobody else in here, genius. Of course I'm talking to you."

"Oh." Teddy glanced down at his feet then back at her. She was still smiling. "I know you, right? You're in my year?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, we are. Care to guess my name?"

Teddy, still a little shell-shocked from the rapid turn of events from the past half hour, required a few seconds to sort out his thoughts. "Err...Emma?"

She giggled. "No, but that's my sister's name."

"Oh. Helene?"

She stuck out her tongue and made a face. "Definitely not. I don't even know where you got that name from. My name's Anne."

Teddy blinked, then said, "Anne...McQuarrie?"

She nodded emphatically. "Yeah! So you do know me!"

"Well...yeah—err, I mean, just your name—I—"

Anne giggled again. "And here I was, thinking you were Teddy Lupin, Mr. Smooth-talker." She tilted her head curiously. "So what was all that about? Who was that girl?"

"Oh, her. Err, that was Victoire, a...friend of mine."

"You make it a habit of making your buddies cry?"

"No!" he defended, before noticing Anne's playful look. He cracked a slight smile. "Yeah, I, err...I just had a falling out with my mates***, and I guess took it out on her. I'll apologize soon, though."

She nodded. "Good for you. Why were you and your friends fighting?"

"Ah, they just wanted to do this prank, but I didn't. Things just escalated, that's all."

"Hmm," came Anne, glancing down, apparently in thought. Then she smiled brightly up at him. "So you stood up to your own friends? That's pretty brave of you. Very Gryffindor."

He watched her, and a smile slowly crept onto his face. "You know what? You're right." They smiled at each other, and after a brief moment of hesitation (and some butterflies in his stomach), he sat down next to her. "So...you've got a sister? I have no siblings. What're they like?"

She thought about it, and before long they were talking and laughing as though they were old friends.

NOTE: The correct answer to "What're they like?" is annoying.

Wow, my writing abilities certainly have deteriorated. I'm so sorry you have to suffer through reading this total crap.

*Did I do my math right? This date's what I got. Kinda freaky, huh? This one chapter wasn't even a year and a half ago! In just a few chapters, we'll reach the present! O.o

**Do you guys in Britain have that system for clubs? We have presidents and vice presidents and secretaries and treasurers and parliamentarians but I have no idea what you do, so I'm sticking with the American system. If I'm wrong, then I apologize, no offense intended; just blame my classic American ignorance.

***I was this close to writing "falling out with my boys", but decided it was too OOC. Pity though, it would've been such a convenient way to reference one of my favorite bands. Unless you can figure out how to squeeze the term "panicking at the disco" or "all of the american rejects" into ordinary conversation. Can you? Ten points if you figure out how and put it in a review! Lol.

Anyway, IMPORTANT QUESTION! What did you think of Anne? Like, what was your first impression of her? I've got this whole personality and all that, so I'd love to get some feedback telling me what kind of impression you got to see how well I communicated it. Thanks!