It was Saturday morning, a bunch of people were sitting in a group in front of the fireplace chatting. The situation couldn't have been more threatening, but the fact that he was among a crowd didn't deter her.

Yes, she was coming down the stairs with a target in mind.

He was sitting on the edge of the couch in flannel trousers and a black t-shirt, dressed for a morning in and chatting casually to another student.

She walked headstrong up to the group. Some of them immediately noticed her, except for the boy in question, who had his back turned. She felt singled out.

Resisting the urge to look herself up and down to make sure that there was nothing wrong with her outfit (that would be like admitting defeat) she acted quickly and grabbed hold of Teddy's wrist.

Unfortunately for him he was using it to support his head while leaning his elbow against the armrest. When Victorie grabbed it in a panic, he lost his balance and he fell over where he sat.

Victorie's eyes went wide in horror as she watched him push himself up into an upright position and eject:

"What the hell?"

But before any animosity could form, his head swivelled around and he traced his arm up until where his wrist connected with Victorie's hand.

When he looked up at her he relaxed. "Oh, hi! ...What can I do for you?" He asked with a hint of surprise, not sure if he should give her a smile or not.

To her relief he ignored the others' mutterings about what 'this girl' was doing. Instead he broke into a smile when he once again acknowledged that they were touching.

"What is this?" He asked, referring to his new and unconventional bracelet.

Victorie felt honoured that she was being addressed with such civility after what she had just caused. She took a moment to reflect on how their touch gave her a hint of nerves, which she pushed away instantly.

"You're coming with me." She said with trembling command and while trying to avoid looking at anyone else. "I need to speak with you."

She pulled him and his embellished hand with chipped black nail polish along with her.

Such a gaudy display, she thought to herself.

Teddy happily complied. He let himself be guided away by her with one last shrug sent the others' way.

Soon after they were out of the portrait hole and in the corridor. They continued until out of hearing distance of the Fat Lady before stopping.

Teddy still looked positively surprised. He was still smiling, looking antsy in his step, like he was expecting some kind of firework show to begin.

But Victorie had not brought any fireworks to be ignited, and she had a growing feeling that Teddy might not be pleasantly surprised by what she was about to bring up.

"The book doesn't say anything about my emotional life being guarded." She watched his face as it dawned on him that she had managed to get the book back to normal. She put her hands in her pockets sheepishly then looked down at the floor.

Teddy was quiet and she didn't need to look at him to know that he was disappointed.

"You don't need a book to tell you that, or anything about yourself for that matter." He was no longer treating her with the same courtesy as before. "It's plain to see that you don't seem to want anything to do with anyone."

He spoke with the attributes of someone who felt hurt, but Victorie didn't want to acknowledge that. She knew she had to get to her point quickly and looked up at his frustrated expression.

"Perhaps that's true. Regardless, I've been doing some thinking and..." She paused to gauge where she had him, but he no longer seemed to be paying much attention. He was looking off wistfully into the depths of the corridor's continuance. Nevertheless she went on, "Your schoolwork is important, and let's face it, Andromeda would kill me if she knew that I refused to help you."

He turned back to her with his arms crossed, not quite ready to let go of his bitterness. "Wait, that's what this is about? You've decided to help me with school after all? What made you change your-"

Teddy's face changed as his mind seemed to backtrack a few steps in their dialogue. He chuckled and leaned back against the wall, now secreting confidence. "Or is this perhaps a backwards way of asking me for help?"

Victorie pursed her lips. He was quicker than she had relied on for her strategy to work. "It's a win-win situation, let's face it. But yeah, if you can see all of the things about me that you say you can..."

"I can." He interrupted, eyes piercing.

"...then you might actually have something that you can teach me."

"So you believe me now — that my social skills are a skill and not just a default of my fame?"

Victorie subtracted her chin and side eyed him. "No. Why would I believe that?" Her patience for how much she could agree on had run thin. "I'm here because I believe that you can teach me something. I'm not here to give you approval."

"Wow." Teddy whispered and put his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He beheld her with his head held high.

"What?" She snapped. "I'm here asking for your help, isn't that validation enough?"

"I think you can do better." He replied, oozing with stubbornness.

"How, though?" Victorie asked, putting on a show of well-timed willingness, with little real substance.

Teddy didn't seem like he was about to comply anytime soon, and she wondered if she was ever going to get what she wanted from him, or if the journey there would be worth it.

"You can't ask for my help, and simultaneously discredit me, it's disrespectful." Teddy declared.

She gathered that she had offended him, and she had to admit, maybe it wasn't the best way to butter up her desired teacher. It was time to change her angle.

"Okay! So how then?"

And then that smile appeared again, the cheeky one, with his eyes shaded by his fringe. The fireworks show had finally begun.

"By complimenting me."

Victorie retracted her body and stared at him with cheeks growing ever rosier. "Excuse me?"

He gave her a reaffirming nod. "Yeah." He said. "If you want someone's help, you have to show them some admiration. That's how it works."

Victorie stood still, like awaiting the final blow of the scythe. She didn't know what to do. Handing out compliments wasn't her strong suit. Telling people what she liked about them was unheard of for her.

The idea of showing him a mirror reflecting that particular smile of his did cross her mind, but ultimately it was out of the question. Besides, when she didn't muster anything but an offended posture at his proposition, Teddy dropped the playful façade almost immediately.

"Just try it." He said, shoulders relaxing.

It came out with an unexpected lack of arrogance, like there was more to his sentiment than his usual desire for ego boosts. Not that it wasn't also about that, if his raised eyebrows and expectant smile was to indicate anything.

"Why am I so brilliant that you want me as your teacher?"

Forcing herself to not shoot metaphorical daggers at the boy opposite her, Victorie closed her eyes and rubbed her neck in reluctant preparation. The seed had been planted already, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to let it go if she gave up now. She had to give him a chance.

"You used to be like I am now." She tried.

This was a lot harder than she'd imagined. Her words felt stale as they came out of her mouth. But Teddy was listening attentively, so she trudged on.

"You used to isolate yourself, and at the time it seemed like it was a choice you were making. But we both know that it's not a choice either of us has ever made. It's a choice that was made for us, simply by being the way we are."

She dragged her shoe against the stone floor awkwardly; deliberating if the route she had taken was the right one. Teddy wasn't letting anything on. His face was expressionless as he watched her shoe move.

"But you aren't the same anymore. I don't know how, but somehow you managed to change your ways. I guess that's what I admire."

A small smile portrayed on Teddy's lips at the compliment. He was so bad at concealing his satisfaction with it, you'd almost think he wasn't used to praise.

"So, I want you to teach me what you know." Victorie finished with excessive coldness to compensate for any wrongful self-assurance she may have caused.

Still smiling in contentment, Teddy outstretched his hand. "It's a trade."

Victorie took it and they shook firmly once. When she let go, Teddy turned and walked back toward the Fat Lady, shaking his head amusedly.

"But when's our first lesson?" Victorie called after him, surprised at his quick departure.

He turned briefly her way. "I think that was it." Before he escaped into the portrait hole, leaving Victorie gobsmacked at how slick he believed himself.

He's going to regret this.

The high bookshelves towered above her. Victorie grazed a shelf lightly with her fingertips so as to not receive any splinters as she trailed down the array of books stretching out before her, closing her in within the tight aisle.

The library really had a book on everything. From useful things like the international statute of secrecy, to the most esoteric subjects like... Victorie swept past a book on chancery cursive, perfectly encapsulating her point.

She settled on the book, withdrew it from its place among the rest and returned to her seat in a dimly lit corner, but not without disappointment that despite the copious amount of books, she hadn't found anything on the art of making friends.

She focused on the empty parchment in front of her. With an ink-stained hand and her most adored calligraphy pen she disappeared into her own world practising her penmanship.

The dichotomy between the thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes moved her. She sat there until her hand was cramping up and her eyes were sore from focusing so intensely.

A drop of ink was coming down the top of the ink dispenser. She took the drop with her finger and smudged it between two fingertips.

"Alright, I've made a syllabus."

Victorie looked up to see Teddy approaching her while waving a bunch of parchment. He spoke loudly and only just within hearing distance.

Once having made it over he self-righteously took a chair and sat down opposite her, placing the impressive amount of parchment on the table in a pile.

Victorie met the eyes of a few curious students, busy (although not currently so) with their own studies. She cursed herself for not suggesting a more secluded spot for them to start their lessons in.

Thankfully she managed to stop herself from making her discomfort clear. She didn't want to make him feel self conscious about the attention he inevitably brought with him.

Putting the peering eyes out of her mind, her attention swiftly returned to the table where Teddy was flicking through his pages and trying to order them.

The typically studious girl let herself wonder if this was what he had spent the day doing. She wasn't exactly pleasantly surprised, feeling that getting Teddy to focus on school was perhaps going to be a bigger challenge than anticipated.

Soon she was overpowered with curiosity at his work though, and without considering whether her newly appointed mentor approved of sharing it with her, she claimed the topmost piece of parchment for herself. She let her eyes dart across it candidly, permanently staining it in the process with her sticky fingers.

With one hand slammed against the pile in the aftermath of a much too belated attempt at preventing the thievery, Teddy burst out, "No! That's much too advanced for you."

Victorie read aloud, "Basic pleasantries and greetings... how are you... thank you... you're welcome..." Her voice faded with solemn venom to it. "Too advanced? Are you kidding me?"

Teddy's neck was tightly crooked and he avoided eye contact, speaking through thin lips, "I stand by my word. You're not ready for it yet."

She gave him the most confuddled look she could muster, eyes twitching in the process. "Try me."

He was still avoiding her stare. This only gave her more mileage.

Despite how offended she felt at his lack of belief in her, it was mixed with feelings of attraction at how resolute he was in his assessment. But there was something even more attractive about the idea of wearing her childhood acquaintance down, which in turn was mixed with a will to prove him wrong.

"Throw me in the deep end, I'll surprise you." She added.

Visibly perturbed, Teddy ran his hand through the front of his now bright blonde, almost silver, short and spiky hair. It had far too much goo in it for her taste, but just enough to keep the locks of hair pointing upward, which she supposed was the point. She assumed it was another attempt of his to uphold the look of a disillusioned teen.

"I sincerely doubt that." He mumbled mostly to himself while continuing to sort through his 'masterpiece' of a syllabus, getting the pages even more sullied, this time at the fault of his own hair products.

"Wow. Well you can call me offended." She retorted, not sure whether she was reaching for sarcasm or not.

"I sincerely doubt that too." He said, but not to her face.

With every flick through a piece of parchment however, he was gradually slowing down, something only Victorie took note of.

It was evident he felt guilty that his syllabus had offended her, and it made his case come out far too frail. It was too late, he'd flashed her his weakness. She knew how unprepared he was to fight for this cause. Her eyes flicked between the parchment she was still holding in her hand and him.

"Try me, please." She reiterated.

"Fine." He folded, yet his lack of confidence in her was still clear. "I'll throw you into the deep end. But if you fail we will do this my way, and I don't want to hear any complaints."

"Fair enough."

"Let's try having a conversation. What do you think is an appropriate response if I say..." Teddy paused to think for a moment then said, "The worst thing happened yesterday..." He rested his arm on the table theatrically and continued between acted out sighs, "I was late to potions and Slugthorn gave me detention."

"Actually it's Slughorn." Victorie interrupted, but when she saw the look on Teddy's face she immediately retracted. "That's not my final answer though!"

He ignored her and held up a finger to silence her, evidently not done with his bit. Victorie began to feel nervous suddenly. Perhaps this wasn't going to be a piece of cake after all.

But Teddy continued as if undisrupted, "...And the worst part is, it interferes with quidditch practice!"

They both stared at each other until one of them was certain that the other was done. As soon as he'd finished his sentence, Victorie felt a jolt when she realised that she actually had the perfect response in store, something which didn't happen to her often in conversation.

"Easy. I know a shortcut. The tunnel behind the portrait of Timothy the Timid on the fifth floor takes you straight to the potions classroom. I would advise you to take it next time. As for Quidditch, Mr. Potter once told me that crystallised pineapple is Slughorn's favourite. They sell it at Honeydukes. You might be able to persuade him to move your detention." She finished triumphantly.

Her competitiveness had kicked in. "Give me a hard one next."

But oddly, soon after the words had left her mouth she too felt a touch of doubt in herself. Perhaps she had spoken too soon. Or she could have considered her approach a little more carefully.

The way that Teddy was currently studying her didn't grant her more confidence either. He retracted his resting arm from the table awkwardly. Something about it told her that she had messed up, but she had no idea why.

He ran his hand through his hair, unconsciously flattening the perfectly disordered spikes, and continued to scratch the back of his head forcefully. "That's good advice." He commented with a smile that unfortunately didn't depict any joy.

"Genuinely." He assured her.

Victorie considered his response carefully. His sentiment seemed truthful enough. But it rang of a certain disappointment that could not be ignored.

At this point she was sure that she had failed his test, but it annoyed her that he wasn't rubbing her face in it. As if he pitied her or something.

At the same time, it was comforting to know that he had at least been rooting for her, otherwise he surely wouldn't be so sad.

As Teddy began fiddling with a ripped hem on his black jeans, Victorie rolled her eyes and prepared herself to admit defeat in the most humble way she knew.

"Just tell me what I did wrong!" She burst at the fidgeting boy.

Teddy courageously let go of his hem and faced her. "The advice was good. It really was." His speech came to a halt again and Victorie waited impatiently while he constructed his next sentence.

"Are you sure that that's what I was asking for though?" His voice was more high pitched than usual.

Victorie opened her eyes fully in deep focus. She'd just been asked a question, and nothing could wake her own determination more than the idea of giving a correct answer.

She jumped for a reply as quickly as she could. "You were asking for..." But once she neared the end of the sentence, she realised that she didn't have one.

She searched her mind, scrambling to remember the pieces of the story he had made up.

"You didn't ask for anything." She said defiantly, still an ounce determined in her quest to prove to him that her response had in fact been perfect all along.

"Exactly. I didn't ask for anything."

"Okay." She deliberated whether she should start feeling hopeful that he was going to give her the gold star after all.

"So what was I doing?" He asked leadingly.

Victorie had her head tucked tightly in between her hands, elbows resting on the table. She had given up. She didn't even have it in her to feel condescended to. As intriguing as she had to admit she found this, she had to also confess, "I don't get it."

"I was complaining." Teddy felt an urge to raise his hands in a ta-da moment, but resorted not to. Judging by the way Victorie had reacted to every single thing he had said within the last 15 minutes, this was not going to be a ta-da moment either.

The O-shape she was currently making with her mouth in combination with her furrowed brows only cemented his conjecture. It was time to stop being opaque.

"When people complain, they want sympathy. They want to be consoled. They don't want their problems solved."

"People don't want their problems solved?" Victorie repeated, metaphorically presenting him with a mirror of revaluation.

"You said I didn't ask for anything. It's true, I didn't. But what's important to note is that people always want something out of every interaction. If you can figure out what the person you are conversing with wants, then you can be very successful at this."

He continued, "They might want to be silly and have a laugh. They may want you to comfort them, they may even want genuine advice sometimes, which you are very good at." He smiled warmly at her and she shifted in her spot and tucked her hands between her thighs.

"...They may want to complain about their annoying little brother, or gush about their crush."

Victorie knew all too well about that last one.

"...And as a general rule of thumb. People rarely want advice, unless they very specifically ask for it."

"But what do I do once I've figured out which one they're after? Let's say someone is... gushing, for example." Her thoughts wandered to Delilah, probably off somewhere in the castle right now, doing that very thing.

Before Teddy could let himself feel to blame for Victorie's choice of example, or the small blush currently replacing her usually sparkly cheeks, he shook it off and answered as clinically as he could.

"Then you have a choice to make: if you don't want anything to do with them, or if it's at a personal cost to you, stick to what you usually do. But if you're considering trying to be their friend, you might want to take a stab at... humouring them."

Victorie was looking at her hands intently. Once Teddy had finished, he leaned down and tried to catch her eyes under her fringe. But she only looked farther down her lap.

"Apparently I'm a lot worse at this than I thought..." She said in a whisper, sounding sincerely disappointed.

Teddy put an arm on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

When she walked back to her dormitory she felt a spring in her step. After trying and failing to tame it, she settled on the idea that she was feeling elated.

There was something very nice about the feeling of being paid attention to. That someone wasn't just ready to help her, but determined to.

Her mind traced back to the chair she had been sitting on in the library, and the boy across from her. She slipped through the portrait hole and dodged some cobweb someone had conjured as a Halloween decoration. She bounced up the last staircase and into her dorm.

While her eyes adjusted to a significantly darker room, she heard Delilah trill, "Did you see the way he was looking at me?"

"He's definitely got a crush on you." Maya replied.

Victorie hesitantly approached her own bed, readying herself to act while simultaneously fighting a carnal need to get in her bed and shield off.

Only a few steps into the room she strongly considered humouring Delilah. Once the thought had passed her and she'd gotten magnetically close to her warm bed though, she chose the first option Teddy had given her: to stick to what she usually does.

Victorie sat down in her bed. She filed it as a decision made because of personal cost to her at the off chance that she would soon be faced with a pop-quiz of some sort.

When in her bed her eyes had finally adjusted to the darker room and she spotted Delilah and Maya laying in their beds and facing each other.

It was difficult, especially seeing as they were mid conversation, and they had not greeted her upon entering, but she figured that she had to do it.

"Maya, Delilah..." She said, sitting cross-legged in her bed and nursing her aching feet from walking across the castle.

They both looked at her simultaneously and she struggled to make out what sort of expressions they were wearing through the darkness. A notion that didn't make her feel less intimidated.

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping me fix my book the other day. It was a clever way to enchant it, and I'm grateful for your help remedying it."

An earth shattering silence ensued.

Only right before Victorie was about to finally shut her drapes and call it a day did she receive a response.

"No worries Vicky." Maya said softly.

"It was the least we could do seeing as we had helped him with it." Delilah said sheepishly.

Another silence prevailed before Victorie let out a small, "Okay." And shut her curtains one by one.

She curled up inside her bed and cringed at herself. But despite everything, she felt oddly good about the interaction.

To think Teddy believed she wasn't ready for basic pleasantries yet...

Published: 1 March 2022