Yo! I am sooooo sorry for the wait. As I said, I'm really excited for this chapter.

A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT: I want to thank you all so much. My last chapter has received more views than any of my other chapters- IN ONE DAY! It means so bloody much to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, son.

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Chapter 9

Battle Scars and Hidden Trophies – PART UN

Since all I could do was stand there, I did a quick recap in my head. So far, I knew this: I was stuck in the North tower without a wand (not good). I had not eaten dinner (bad- I get cranky when I'm hungry). I had specifically told Lucy not to wait up for me before she went to bed (very bad). Oh yeah- and I was locked in a confined space with Teddy, whom I had recently yelled at for almost kissing me (tremendously, horrifically BAD).

What a good start to my Friday night.

There was no possible way to get out. The trap door really was locked, thanks to Peeves, and we were so high off the ground, we couldn't possibly climb out a window.

As much as I didn't want to, I finally spoke up.

"What do we do now?"

Teddy didn't say anything for a minute. He just kind of stared at me. I forbid myself to look away. Then he blinked and sighed. "Well, let's see where we stand."

At first I thought he was making some witty comment about our friendship, but he turned away from me. To me it seemed like he was walking in circles around the tower, but soon he disappeared behind some trophies.

I just stood there, contemplating whether or not I should just let him get himself lost among the trophies. Merlin knew I was still furious at him. Maybe that would have let me off easy. But I would never know because I was stupid.

I followed him, of course.

With a weary sigh, I took off to the direction I had last seen Teddy. I was astonished for a moment by how large the tower must have really been. The whole thing was like a giant maze, and I lost myself in the wonder of it. I peered over at all the sparkling trophies, awards, and plaques. I was suddenly hit with the realization that I was in the presence of things hundreds and hundreds of years old.

I walked up to one of the trophies and ran my finger across the nameplate. It was a trophy for "Impressive Work in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Its color was dull, as if maybe even polish wouldn't perk it up. My finger collected the dust of the nameplate and I could just read the name. It was dated to the year 1978 and was inscribed to Remus John Lupin.

I gasped. I pulled my hand back immediately, as if I had burned my fingers. I gaped at the name, somehow looking for an answer.

"Victoire?" I heard Teddy call. In a second, he appeared at the end of the row of trophies. "What are you doing?"

I surprised myself by placing myself in front of the trophy, blocking it from Teddy's view. I didn't know why I didn't want Teddy to see it, I just didn't.

"N-nothing," I replied. I remembered that I was mad at him, so I narrowed my eyes a little.

"Okay, well, I found a closet over here…" he trailed off. He made a step to the side to see what I was standing in front of. I just pressed myself closer against the golden cup.

"Alright. I'll be there in a second." His brows furrowed suspiciously, but he shook his head and walked away.

I waited until he was completely around the corner of the row before I backed away from his father's trophy. I took one last look at it before following Teddy.

--

When I found Teddy, he was on his knees inside said closet, rummaging through its contents.

"Erm… what are you doing exactly?" I asked him. I spotted some even older trophies inside the closet, along with a crystal ball and teacups.

Without turning around, he said, "This was the old Divinations classroom." I waited for him to say more. He didn't.

"I'm aware of that," I replied, slightly annoyed.

Then, he turned and sat back on his feet. He gave me a look that said "you're not helping".

"Well," he continued, "this closet has a bunch of old rubbish from when the old bat taught up here."

"Yeah, so?" I was getting pretty pissed with his lack of information. "How are any of these things supposed to help us out? I mean… teacups? Crystal balls?

"No. Pillows." He stuck his hand into one of the piles and threw a bright orange pillow at me. I caught it and examined it. It had sparkles and fringe that reminded me of a gypsy. The pillow was lumpy, like it had been sat on too many times. Though it was apparently old, it was surprisingly soft.

"Hmm…" I mumbled.

"There are also some old wool sheets that they must've used to pack the trophies up in. They're bloody dusty, but it's the best we've got right now."

He handed me a gray sheet. It looked way less comfortable than the pillows, but like Teddy said, they were the best we had.

He stood up with four more pillows and two sets of sheets in his arms. We walked over to an open space on the ground behind a couple rows of trophies. Teddy spread out one of the sheets on the ground first.

I sat down on the blanket he had spread out, putting the orange pillow beside me. Teddy lowered himself down across from me, dropping the extra pillows around us.

After a while of sitting on the floor, I found myself getting cold. I wrapped the wool sheet across my legs. I had only worn a tank top, thinking I would be back in my warm, cozy bed by now and would not need to worry about the draft in the north tower.

Teddy had been quiet this whole time, but I was completely aware of the fact that he was watching me. I could feel his gaze burning a hole through my face.

I was about to pull the sheet around my shoulders as well when Teddy spoke up.

"Wait." I froze, letting the blanket fall back into my lap. Teddy wasn't looking at my face anymore, but at my freckled left shoulder. He reached out a hand towards it.

I found myself following his hand with my gaze. I didn't stop looking at it until his index finger touched the small scar on my shoulder.

"You still have the scar," he said quietly. "I thought it would have gone away by now." He pulled his hand back.

I couldn't bring myself to reply, so I just nodded. All I could think about was Teddy touching my shoulder. But I was also thinking about how my arm had burned when he did.

Ironic.

--

Flashback.

I was at Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's house and I was eight years old. We were celebrating Aunt Ginny's birthday so it must have been August. The whole family was there. And I mean the whole family. Even Neville, Teddy, and his grandmother were there. Birthdays were always a big deal with our family.

I was playing with Teddy in the garden. I picked some flowers while he chased garden gnomes. Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron were sitting on a bench nearer to the house, talking. They made it look like they were just hanging around, but I knew know that they were watching us. They were making sure we didn't get into any trouble. Teddy and I tended to do that unintentionally.

"Hey, Teddy. Do you think I will ever get into Hogwarts?" I asked him.

He stopped running and said, "Well, sure. You have to. You're a Weasley. And a witch, too."

"And you're a wizard," I pointed out. "You'll go too. But before me, right?"

"Right. But when you come, we'll be in the same house and have lots of fun. It will be just like Uncle George tells us. We'll be brave Gryffindors. I know it."

Uncle George loved to go on and on about his days at Hogwarts. He told all the kids stories about the mischief that he and his brother Fred got in. From the stories Uncle George told us, I would have really liked to meet Fred.

Eventually, Maman sent me to the busy kitchen to help Grandma. Everyone was getting ready for Aunt Ginny's dinner. Grandma was busying herself by charming some potatoes to drop into a pot of boiling water.

"Hey, Grandma. Grandma? Hey, Grandma!" I called after her.

It seemed like Grandma should have minded that I nagged her all the time. But she always answered like she didn't even notice. And she always gave me the smile that made the corners of her eyes crinkle together.

"Yes, dearie? What is it?" She smoothed a hand over my dress. I was wearing a sleeveless, pink sundress. I had been very proud of that sundress. All the adults told me I looked mature in that dress.

"I was wondering if you needed any help with the dinner." I left out the part about Maman suggesting that I help out. Just me wondering made me seem more responsible and grown up.

"Well once I finish draining these potatoes out, you can help me set the table. How does that sound?"she offered. I nodded enthusiastically.

When Grandma said "finish draining" she really meant that she was going to use magic to drain them. I knew this, so I made sure I had a good spot to watch. Since I didn't have any of my own yet, magic had always been fascinating to me.

I watched as Grandma began to levitate the boiling pot of potatoes. She was bringing it from one counter to another. It would never make the other counter, however, because Teddy rushed into the kitchen just then.

"Victoire! You have to see-"he started. But before he could explain what I had to see, he crashed into Grandma Weasley. Her concentration broke and the boiling pot fell.

On me.

There was a lot of confusion right about then. The pot hadn't spilled on its way down, but the pot itself had clipped my shoulder. There was a scalding pain that covered most of my shoulder.

Teddy was hysterical, apologizing like a madman, and I was trying to stop the tears from leaking out of my eyes.

In about three minutes, Grandma had covered most of my shoulder in dittany. Grandma Weasley warned me that I may have a scar. While I was healing, the entire family gathered around, making jokes to cheer me up. Uncle Harry made a wise crack about how only the coolest people had scars. Uncle Ron told me that it could be like a battle wound and said if I was lucky, I would have a scar to prove how brave I was. Then, of course, Uncle George made a few ear jokes.

I felt better instantly. In fact, I almost wanted the scar. Once the dittany had done its job, I discovered that I had a small burn scar left on the top of my shoulder. But I didn't mind at all. Because I was a little warrior.

--

I ran a few fingers over my scar. My shoulder still tingled from where Teddy had touched it.

"I always felt so bad about that," Teddy said. "It was my fault that Grandma Weasley dropped the pot."

"I like the scar," I stated. "It has character."

Teddy smiled a half-smile. "That's so Victoire. Thinking a scar has character. Then again, I guess no scar has character like Harry's."

I laughed. "Yeah I guess you're right."

He was silent for a moment. "You know, I never meant to hurt you Victoire. I'll never hurt you intentionally."

"I know," I said truthfully.

Then I realized that I wasn't mad at him anymore. Just thinking back to a memory had made me forget all about my fight with Teddy. I decided I'd forget about the fight for the time being, but I knew that it would come up eventually. But my thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl of my stomach.

I put a hand over it, as if to calm it down. I looked at Teddy. Apparently he heard it too because he was wearing a knowing grin. Then a thought seemed to visibly hit him.

He dug his hand into the pocket of his sweatshirt. He searched for a second and then pulled out a container of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans.

He saw my questioning glance. "I nicked them from Wood's trunk after I found out we were missing dinner. I forgot about them until now." He held out the box with a smile. "So, how's this for a good dinner?"

I laughed. "Oh yeah. The feast of champions."

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A/N: Again, sorry for the wait. This is the first part of Battle Scars and Hidden Trophies. There will be two.

A special thanks to TheFourthPeverell, randomrayyxx3, Akierin, Sore Tomo Kimi no Koe, ari119900, maddikinz940, Purplpocadots13, and Rob-girl for reviewing last chapter. You guys make my life.

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