Hey everyone. I'm so happy for all the reviews! I had kind of a writing breakthrough and wanted to get this chapter up quicker. But I'm really excited for next chapter.

Disclaimer: Be reasonable.--- I 'aint no JK Rowling, foo.

(Now that's some good grammar for ya there.)



Chapter 8

Silences and Shattered Wants

Teddy and I have had fights before. When I was six, he broke my favorite china doll so I ripped up his favorite comic book. When I was in first year, he accidentally messed up one of my potions so I gave him boils. And then when I was in fourth year, I interrupted his very first date and he said he would make sure I never got a date all that year. But all these times, we made up the next say and were best friends again. And it just so happens that I got a date that same week.

But I had never had a fight with Teddy as bad as this one.

It had been a whole week, and we still hadn't spoken. It didn't help that Wood and Lucy weren't speaking either. Every day at mealtime, we would sit at the opposite side of the table so we wouldn't have to speak with them. Back in the dorms, we would go on and on about how stupid boys were and ponder why they were even created. But every time we talked, we would never say their names. And though we would never say it out loud, we knew we both missed them.

This is why I was dreading detention tonight.

Last Friday, Neville gave us separate detentions. I scrubbed out the flower pots- no magic- while Teddy rearranged all the ingredients in the store cupboard- also no magic. But Neville had made it clear that we would be working together tonight.

I was afraid that the first time I saw Teddy, I would run up and say how sorry I was. Then maybe he'd forgive me and we would be best friends again. But I promised myself I would not do that. Because he was the one who practically started the fight. It was all his fault.

And he was a stupid boy.

So that afternoon, Friday afternoon, I was lying down in my four poster bed, staring at the wooden canopy. I was mentally preparing myself for detention. After about an hour, I realized that just staring at the ceiling was bloody boring, and started to walk the corridors. I wasn't even sure where I was going at the time, but my feet led me to the library.

I went up and down all the aisles, dragging my hand across the spines of the dusty books. Occasionally I would pick one out, read the first couple pages, and then return it to the shelf. Anything was better than thinking about Teddy.

When I got to the N section of the shelves, I spotted my cousin James sitting at a table with his head in his arms. He had books spread out all around him, and a quill inches from his head. I walked over to him and sat down in a chair across from him.

"Hey, are you hard at work or hardly working?" I chuckled.

I waited for him to reply, but he said nothing. "Hellooo? James?" I tapped his shoulder.

And then he snored.

I sighed and kicked his chair under the table. He woke with a start and rubbed his eyes. He looked around for a minute and then saw me. "Oh. Hey, Vic."

"Hi. What were you up to before you, you know, fell asleep?" I asked.

He ran a hand across his hair and said, "Just some homework. My roommates were driving me bonkers…"

"Yeah, I know how that is." I yawned and ran a hand over my face.

James looked at me kind of funny and furrowed his brow. "Is…Are you okay, Vic?"

"Well, what do you mean?" I asked, curious.

"Um, well… you're kind of pale and you have circles under your eyes. Have you been sleeping?" James got like this sometimes. Normally, he was happy-go-lucky and a little prankster, but then he'd get all serious and wise on you. I think he gets that from Harry. I always called James the 'little adult.'

"Yeah, I'm okay," I lied. But James gave me a look that said 'no you're not'. "Okay, so not really. I got in a fight with Teddy…"

"Oh, you'll get over it, Vic. You'll probably just make up tomorrow," James said in a dismissing voice.

"But that's just it. We haven't been speaking for a week."

James looked very surprised and then smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Vic. You guys always do." He got up and started collecting his things. "I'd better go. I need to finish all this Potions rubbish."

"Alright. I'll see you later." And he walked away.

That seemed to be happening a lot lately. James walking away when I needed to vent. Lucy walking away from Wood and trying to convince herself he would get over it. Me walking away when Teddy lied to my face.

Screw walking away.


When I went back up to our dorm, I found Lucy doing exactly what I had been doing earlier. She was lying down on her bed, looking up.

"Hey, Luce, I'm headed for detention, alright?" I called over to her.

"Mmm-hmm" was the reply I got.

"So don't wait up for me for dinner or bed, 'kay?" I prodded.

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p'. I had been hoping for some more conversation. But what can you do?

I left the Gryffindor tower and arrived in the North tower where Neville told me to go for detention. Ever since Trelawney left school and Firenze occupied a classroom, the North tower had been converted into a trophy room. Now instead of crystal balls, there were House Cups and plaques for academic achievements.

I opened the wooden trap door finding myself looking at Teddy's back. Neville was standing over at one of the cases. I took a deep breath and stepped all the way in.

"Victoire, good to see you made it," Neville said cheerily.

Since it was Neville, I responded with a reply that was sarcastic with just a pinch of cheekiness. "Oh, not as glad as I am to be here, Professor," I said in a fake, happy voice. "It really joys me to spend my Friday night scrubbing down floors and picking the dirt out from under my fingernails afterwards. Maybe you should join us, hm? Oh! And I can't forget the fact that I get to skip dinner." After my rant, I felt a little bit better; not as angry or moody as I was feeling before. That's personal therapy for you.

Neville frowned. "Nice try, Victoire, but your guilt trip is not going to work." He clapped his hands. "Firenze had other obligations so I'm just going to get everything settled. You two are going to be polishing trophies, tonight. Maybe you could even dust them while you're at it. You know the drill- no magic. Wands, please?" Teddy and I handed our wands to Neville. He smiled, satisfied.

"Since I have known you two since diapers, I will trust you to be honest and leave in exactly three hours- no less. Have a good night." With that, he turned on his heel and exited the trophy room.

And then it came: the silence.

Teddy and I stood there for at least five minutes, not doing anything. I refused to look at him and instead focused my attention on the scuffed up toes of my trainers. I was struck with the fact of how loud silences really were and began wishing that I was listening to some music right about then.

Eventually, I heard Teddy sigh and he walked over to wear Neville had put the cleaning supplies. I looked up at him only to get another mental slap in the face.

His hair was a mousy brown. The same color brown it had been on that fateful night.

Before I could stop myself, I muttered, "Damn it."

Teddy looked up at me with an annoyed look on his face. "What?" he said sharply.

It was obvious that he was still as mad at me as I was at him. I pulled myself together and narrowed my eyes at him. "Nothing," I shot back. There was venom in my tone, and I knew Teddy sensed it. He rolled his eyes angrily and went back to unscrewing the jar of polish with more force than necessary.

Forty minutes later, we still weren't talking. Every minute of silence, I found myself getting more and more angry. I polished every trophy so hard, my fingers were getting sore.

I started polishing a very unusual trophy. It was for "Outstanding Behavior", dated back to the 1930's, and was made out of pure glass. It was beautiful and elegant, and unfortunately for me, highly breakable.

I discovered this about two seconds after it slipped from my fingers.

It shattered instantly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Teddy look up at the ruckus. I cursed quietly and bent down to pick up all the pieces. I figured I'd make a pile for Neville to 'reparo' since I wasn't allowed to use magic at the time being.

Maybe it was because I was so frustrated, but karma didn't seem to be in my favor. Because the first piece of glass I picked up immediately sliced my finger. This time I cursed, I cursed loudly.

I lifted my finger up, wrapped it with one of the cleaning rags, and cautiously made a pile of the glass my good hand. I reached out to pick them all up when a stronger, slightly calloused hand stopped me. I looked up to see Teddy inches from my face. I stumbled back a few inches.

He let go of my hand and gestured to the glass. "I've got this," he said quietly.

"No, I'm okay," I insisted.

"Victoire, I can really-"

"Teddy!" I interrupted him, annoyed. "I can handle it."

But suddenly, Teddy snapped. "Damn it, Vic! Why do you have to be so bloody stubborn?" he shouted.

"Why do you have to be so aggravating?!" I yelled back. To my dismay, I felt tears forming in my eyes. "You're driving me mad!"

"What did I ever so to make you so angry with me?!" He threw up his hands.

"What did you ever do?" I repeated. "You know damn well what you did!"

"Enlighten me, Victoire!"

"You know what?" I screeched. I felt the tears leak from my eyes, and I angrily wiped them away. "I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Yes, you do! You're changing the subject!!"

"FINE! You want to know what you did wrong? You ki-"

But just then, the trap door to the North tower burst open and in flew Peeves, the poltergeist. He flew around the tower, pushing things off the shelves and making a mess. He was spinning around with an evil expression on his face. And then he started singing:

"Lupy and Weasel are starting a fight,

So loud that no students will sleep sound tonight!

Now Peeves will step in and he won't hear a shout,

Because Lupy and Weasel can no longer get OUT!"

Peeves gave one final wink before turning around and flying out the door. He slammed the trap door shut behind him.

And then I heard the click.

You see, from personal experience I knew that a click sound from a door either meant that I was locking or… oh, nope. Just locking. I waited about a second before running over to the trap door. I grasped onto the handle as hard as I could, and pulled.

Nothing.

I tried it one more time, but the trap door would simply not open. My hand flew to my back pocket where I searched for my wand, only to remember that Neville had confiscated them for detention. For a moment, I just looked at the trap door. This can't be happening, I thought.

Pathetically, I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that maybe it was all a horrible dream. But when I peeked out again from under my eyelids, I was still staring at the wooden trap door.

Slowly, I turned to look at Teddy. He was just as stunned as I was.

We were trapped in the North Tower

We had no wands, no food in our stomachs.

The only possible way out was to jump out a window, and I didn't like the odds of our landing.

But Teddy said exactly what I was thinking: "Damn poltergeist."


OOOH! Cliffie! I am so excited to write the next chapter!

Unfortunately, I might be a couple days considering I need to read the brand new fifth Maximum Ride which came out… about eighteen minutes ago. (Seeing as I am posting this at midnight)

REVIEWERS GET TO BE LOCKED IN A TOWER WITH TEDDY LUPIN!