Chapter 21: Consequences

Teddy woke up to an unusual feeling. One that was made up of warmth and butterflies. It took him many minutes of self struggling to open his eyes to take in the silvery hair peeking out from beneath his blanket. Teddy found himself smiling at his realization that he'd wrapped Louis tightly in his arms at some point. Just as he was about to wake his companion he heard the door open to the dorm room. Teddy sat up and peeked out of his bed curtains to see Winston sneaking back in. As soon as he spotted Teddy a look of guilt crossed his face.

"Busy night?" Teddy asked. Winston shrugged and gave a nervous laugh. "A girl possibly?"

"Possibly."

"A Gryffindor?"

"Actually... a Hufflepuff." Winston replied with a grin.

"It's always a Hufflepuff."

"Yeah, whatever. Why are you in bed so late? I figured you'd be at breakfast by now..." Teddy shrugged in reply and attempted to climb out of his bed without alerting his roommate to his still sleeping friend. Unfortunately the maneuver didn't go by unnoticed. Now the look of guilt was transferred to Teddy's face.

"It's not what you think." Teddy started as he raised his hands in defense. But his small attempt was shoved aside (literally) as Winston crossed the room to pull back the crimson curtains. There it was. The hint of silvery hair. Teddy began to think of a million explanations for having Louis in his bed. "Winston-"

"Oh. My. Merlin. Victorie is such a liar!"

"Pardon?" Teddy asked. Victorie a liar? How did Louis in his bed have anything to do with-! Victorie! What if Victorie found out!?

"She told me she wasn't putting out for you until you were married! She's such a liar!" Winston clapped Teddy on the back as he made his way to his trunk. "How did you get her to change her mind?"

"I.. um..." Winston didn't realize that it wasn't Victorie. Teddy felt slightly relieved. Maybe this moment would pass over into time unnoticed. "I'm not sure."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah." Teddy noticed movement in his bed and quickly jumped back in. As he climbed under the blankets he caught Louis' eyes. The boy looked confused and Teddy tried to tell him everything with that quick glance. Louis remained still under the blankets and prepared to wait Winston out. "So, tell me about this Hufflepuff."

"Hm?" Winston was halfway through dressing. He was currently stuck in his shirt from yesterday since he decided to put it on without removing his tie first. Teddy managed to watch the pitiful struggle without laughing. Once the brunette found his way to the light, he turned to grab his wand and headed toward the door. "Sorry, I don't kiss and tell. Besides, it's not official yet." Winston answered. His hand reached the doorknob. "Coming down to breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'll just be a moment."

Which would have been true had Victorie not opened the door and stepped inside.

Winston looked confused momentarily before looking back at Teddy with accusing eyes. Of course he didn't open his mouth. No way was he getting caught in this.

Winston ran for his life.

That left Victorie standing there smiling at her boyfriend. "Why you still in bed, silly?"

"Um..." Good answer.

"Is something wrong? Are you not feeling wel..." Victorie was halfway to Teddy before she noticed the extra lump under the blankets. An extra lump with silvery blonde hair. Unfortunately for Teddy, there was only three students at Hogwarts with that shade of hair. Victorie stood there for a few moments without speaking. Teddy felt her anger like electricity. Her voice was like ice when she finally did speak. "Why is Dominique in your bed?"

"Wwhat? No! No!"

"Don't lie to me! I can see her from here!" Teddy felt Louis' huff before the petite boy found some Gryffindor courage and sat up. He looked well rested and his hair clung to him in an unorganized fashion. Victorie's jaw dropped.

"Good morning, Vicky."

"...Louis?" She was overwhelmed. Her eyes darted between the two boys as she let out a shuddery breath.

"Vicky, it's not what you think." Teddy stated as he crawled out of bed again. He reached her and gently stroked her arm. "He was upset about a lot of unwanted attention last night. He hid up here last night. It's no different from when our family visits Shell Cottage and bunks up." Tears were building up in her eyes as relief slowly washed over her.

"Thank goodness!" She whispered as she embraced him tightly. Teddy felt thankful to have avoided an unwanted situation. He could feel her pheromones dancing around them. To him they felt like cold electricity, gracefully swimming around them compared to their sharp explosions from a moment ago. It was strange how he could feel her extreme emotions through this unique link. It started occurring after she picked him as her target to focus upon. He silently wondered what Louis' pheromones would feel like to his target. Would they feel like fresh falling snow like Victorie's? How strong would they be compared to hers? Even without the petite boy focusing on him, his pheromones were so compelling!

Teddy was so caught up in his thoughts and the feelings of Victorie that he never noticed Louis quietly slip out of the room. Victorie had. She had sent her brother a silent glare threatening him to leave her boyfriend alone.

Louis wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel.

Last night had been something amazing. He had felt so warm and safe. It was different from the other night when he slept with Scorpius and Albus. Teddy seemed to have a force about him that eased the petite boy. Like the warm waves of the ocean at Shell Cottage.

But it couldn't happen again. Victorie was pissed. She might seem like the gentle girl to everyone at school but watching her grow up Louis knew how she turned into a ruthless soul when she wanted something.

Or couldn't have her way.

Or if she felt wronged.

Dominque had wronged her once by stealing her favorite doll. Of course, his sister had returned it with apology once Victorie had complained to their parents. Yet that didn't matter. Victorie had spent the next few weeks tormenting Dominque. Her favorite dolls ended up having tea party accidents that left them stained. Her collection of flying origami swans from Aunt Heromine had accidentally gotten smashed when Victorie tripped and her book of fairy tales landed on them. There was also the less subtle way Victorie cut Dominque's hair up in the middle of the night, claiming innocently to her parents that she aspired to be a stylist.

Victorie should had been a Slytherin for her underhanded methods.

Louis sniffled as he descended the stairs back to his room. Yes, last night had been so amazing, but he needed to find a more permanent fix. He felt slightly saddened to hear about Winston and the mysterious Hufflepuff, but there was nothing he could do about that. It wasn't like he liked the boy or something like that. Not really... He really needed to find his target.

A/N: Yay! I got a short chapter done! Somehow having a computer hooked up to the wall somehow limits me being in its proximity! I don't understand it myself. My computer is like this fancy, expensive radio at this point in time. Fox Update: 3 months old now, babbles like crazy, loves light fixtures and TVs, and is almost constantly happy! We plan to have him dress as Captain America for Halloween (even though he has green eyes (for now) and could totally pull a baby Harry!) As for the story, I do realize this chapter was just Teddy, Winston, and Louis. I'll have more Scorpius and Albus next chapter. Hint: think... Halloween? (If you have any requests, let me know! Even if it's just a costume!) I have most of my ideas down already, but the extras always make it fun. Ah! I have to include another fun hint... Snape is intoxicated (it is October 31st after all).

Thank you ThugQueenBreezy, Hollibell, Kartoffel-chan, MoonStar100, christian77611, madamesquid, Lavinia Coralia Rosescu, Petrichor-3, and alias1331 for reviews/adds!

Severus being godfather to Albus is new information. I haven't elaborated on it yet. Just know something's brewing.