"Swerve- Gwen- SWERVE!"

I winced as my new seeker braved a bludger to the side, buckling lower in her broom in an effort to stay aloft. Swallowing uncomfortably, I forced myself to look away. I couldn't baby her just because she was a girl. Craig was right to target her in practise- our first match was against Slytherin in just two weeks' time. Lord knows they wouldn't ignore her just because she was a girl.

"Okay, stretch it off."

She flew to the ground, dismounting roughly and glaring up at Craig's retreating back. I jogged over to her.

"You okay?"

She looked up at me and pulled a face, her shoulder length black hair swinging with the motion. "I'm fabulous. That idiot is after cracking a rib- I'm sure of it."

I laughed easily; forcing her to sit. "Rest a bit. But this is nothing compared to what Slytherin will do. You know that right?" I gave her a concerned glance; my eyes searching her face for any reservation.

Rolling her eyes she chuckled; unconcerned. "I'm not too worried. Besides; against Slytherin, I'll have that tyrant on my side for once." Jerking her head in Craig's direction, she made to stand again, stretching out her arms and testing her muscles. "Besides; I trust you boys won't let me get too bloodied."

Offering me a cheeky salute and wink, she plucked her broom from the ground and zoomed off. "Good to go, Captain."

In the space where she had stood, Aelius rapidly materialised, flooding a few feet off the ground and watching her retreating back with a sombre expression, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He then cut his gaze to me.

"Nip it in the bud. Now."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You think?"

He nodded; for once serious. In his warped little world, Quidditch was the only thing that came before girls. "Yeah I do- that whole 'saluting' thing? Have I ever once saluted you? No. And not because I don't respect you as Captain. My disrespect for you is an entirely irrelevant and separate issue. It's because I don't want to jump your bones." He gestured knowingly to where Gwen was now scanning the field several metres above us.

I looked up at him uncertainly. "Mildly insulting, but good to know."

He flashed a cheeky grin, saluting me with flourish. "Any time. Captain."

As we piled from the locker room after practise; joking about training; I felt a slight pull on my robes. Turning slowly, I noticed that Louis was standing right behind me; looking anxiously up into my face.

"Louis? Alright mate?"

His face was scrunched up with worry, as he hung back awkwardly from the others. I shot them a quick glance, telling them to go on ahead. They lingered for a moment uncertainly, eyeing the two of us before pulling ahead and continuing their conversation.

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he remained silent; even after the other boys chatter had faded. He raised pained eyes to me.

"I, uh, I don't really know how to say this- but, you're my captain so, I guess I should tell you right?"

Glancing around for some clue as to what was going on, I searched for the right words. "Uh, yeah, of course mate. Whatever it is- it's cool. I mean- you can tell me." I winced inwardly. Christ that was shit.

He sighed. "I've um. I've been receiving some… attention from classmates about… all this."

Suddenly the confusion was cleared; my eyes lit in understanding. Ha! I knew it! It was kind of nice that he was so taken aback by the female attention. I guess I was just so used to Aelius lapping it up unquestioningly. I tried to bite my lip to keep a grin from forming. It was a bit odd though- him coming to me about girls. Surely he had someone else?

"I know mate- and honestly don't worry about it! It dies down after a while, once people get used to you on the team." I smiled encouragingly at him and he frowned lightly in response.

"So… it happens to everyone? I don't understand. What did you do about it?" He looked up at me earnestly; his eyes full of confusion.

My face fell dramatically. Whaaa..? Was… was he expecting me to give him a sex talk? My eyes widened as I tried to think of a way out of this conversation. He had to be at least- 15? Surely he had someone else? Anyone else? In fact; I thought it downright irresponsible to allow your fifteen year old son to wander around oblivious to the ways of the world. It was selfish too. It thrust the responsibility into the hands of someone completely unqualified and unprepared- but more to the point- it was awkward as fuck.

Laughing awkwardly, I ran a shaky hand through my hair. It struck me how alone we were out here; the lights of the Quidditch pitch barely stretching to the dark line of trees to our left; their shadows creating peculiar angles on our faces. Such a bizarre situation.

"Um, I'm not sure it's my place Louis- I mean- don't you have an older brother or something..?" I trailed off hopefully.

His brows knotted together. "I have an older sister- but I can hardly tell her; she's dating the bloody Captain."

I nodded dejectedly. "Yeah- I guess asking a sister is hard, but- wait, what?" My face spasmed in confusion as his words caught up with me. They weren't in keeping with the conversation at all. So what if his sister was dating a Captain- presumably a Quidditch one. And he hadn't said "a" Captain either, I realised slowly. Suspicions now forming; I turned to face him again; my tone infinitely more serious.

"What do you mean "the" Captain? What has that got to do with anything?"

He blushed furiously. "I thought you said… it happens to everyone? I thought-"

I shushed him quickly. "Louis- what happens? Tell me." I kept my face calm with effort.

He bit his lip. "I- I can't be sure it's the Slytherins. But recently… just things have happened."

"Things?" I pressed.

He looked insanely embarrassed. "My potion- in class- it exploded in my face yesterday. My pumpkin juice in the morning was hexed to turn into vinegar. In the corridors, I constantly get hit with trip-jinxes… My bag was ripped the other day." He looked up at me almost apologetically. "I'm sorry Teddy- I'm not saying it's your responsibility or anything- I just wanted to know what you would do? You know, in my position."

My jaw jutted angrily as I gritted my teeth to keep calm.

He looked up at me in alarm. "Teddy- your hair- it's gone… black?"

I shot him a glance; distracted now. "Yeah, it does that. Ignore it. Do you know anyone behind it Louis?" I spoke low and fast; trying to convey to him the urgency of the situation.

He shook his head; ashamed. "No."

"But you said Slytherins right? You don't have proof, I know; but if you had to point a finger- if you absolutely had to?"

He hesitated. "Yeah. I mean, I had potions with them. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Gryffindors- and I don't know any Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs with a vendetta…"

I nodded. It might not be enough for him; but it was enough for me. "Right, come with me." I strode off ahead in the darkness; making for the castle. Slightly shorter than me; he had to work to keep pace with my angry strides.

"Where are we going? You're- you're not going to tell McGonagall are you?" His worried voice floated over to me as I swung open the door to the castle; pounding up the stairs with him in tow.

I scoffed dismissively. "No- of course not. They'd only get detention. No- we deal with this on our own."

His voice rose an octave. "What do you mean- they'd only get detention? Teddy- what are you going to do?"

I ignored his questions; walking into the common room and searching around for the faces I wanted. "Alec- get Aelius and Craig will you? Nab Gregory if you can too."

Alec looked up from a seat by the fireplace; curiosity eveident in his face; but he read mine well enough to know not to ask. Silence spread through the common room as I leaned against the portrait door; not even bothering to check my dark appearance. I knew all too well that my eyes had sunk to match the colour of my hair- black as a cauldron. As I stood motionlessly; Louis shifted anxiously beside me.

Aelius and Craig eventually appeared with Alec, confused faces colouring with shock as they took in my appearance. They approached cautiously; their gazes flickering between Louis and me.

"Gregory is on his way." Alec offered by way of greeting. I nodded curtly.

Aelius raised his eyebrows. "What seems to be the issue?" His eyes flickered subtely to my hair.

"Slytherins." I growled. "The team have been harassing Louis- trying to intimidate him."

Their faces clouded over in an instant; even Aelius looked outraged on his teammate's behalf.

"That true?" He looked over at Louis for confirmation. Louis nodded; avoiding everyone's gaze.

Aelius nodded firmly. "What's the plan?"

All three boys leaned forward slightly; and suddenly I became conscious of the complete silence in the room. Staring around I saw that the entire common room had ceased movement and conversation; everyone straining to hear what was being said in our circle of trust.

Shaking off their gazes, I shrugged dismissively. "We don't let it continue. Any money says it isn't actually the team acting directly; but just random people throughout the house. So we hex the first fucker to try something."

They nodded in agreement as Louis's mouth fell open. "You… you can't do that! You guys can't be everywhere at once- and anyways- you'd get into trouble-"

Aelius silenced him with a look. "Of course we're doing it. Besides we don't need to get all of them- we hit one hard enough; and the rest will back the fuck off. We'll take it in turns."

Louis paled. "You're going to walk me to classes?"

Craig nodded. "Yup. From now on- you don't breathe without one of the team- or us- beside you."

Alec frowned lightly. "I'll tell Gregory. We could get a few other of the boys in too- Andrew upstairs would be game. He could probably convince his dorm too. Or even Tobias- you know, in Ravenclaw? He's hated Cassius for years."

We debated for another few minutes; murmuring heatedly in the corner of the common room; ignoring the open stares of our housemates and stuttered objections of Louis. Once we had the details ironed out and everyone disbanded, it was just me, Aelius and Louis. He looked up at us; suddenly quiet.

"Guys- I hope that you know; when I went to Teddy- I wasn't asking- or you know; expecting… all this."

Aelius smirked over at him; shooing first years out of our seats and gesturing for him to take Craig's. "Don't worry 'bout it Blondie. We're all only itching for an excuse for hostilities. We have them every year. They always pick some new comer to bully. Now sit- relax. I imagine telling Teddy was a stressful enough encounter; if his little hissy fit was anything to judge it by."

I rolled my eyes. "It was hardly a hissy fit."

He raised his dark; angular brows in dissention. "Whatever you say, Captain."

Louis smiled freely. "It was kind of odd. What did you think I was talking about originally?" He frowned curiously over at me.

I shrugged; laughing in embarrassment. "Well… I thought you were unsure of how to handle- you know- the female attention? It wasn't until you brought up discussing it with your sister that I was kind of… taken aback."

They both erupted in barks of laughter, Louis shaking his head lightly as he chuckled. "Yeah, I can just see her face. That is so a conversation I never want to have with her." He shuddered for emphasis.

I laughed good humouredly; something niggling at me.

His older sister… Why was that-?

"She's dating the bloody Captain"

My heart stilled slightly as realisation jolted through me.

I stared over at him blankly; suddenly seeing things about him I'd never noticed before. The way his blonde hair was exactly the same shade as hers. The way his eyes were blue as well- not the same deep, dark blue; but blue none the less. The way he spoke- that same clipped speech pattern.

Holy fuck.

"Teddy?" Aelius frowned over at me; smirking slightly as he shared an amused glace with Louis.

Coughing slightly; I sat up straighter; trying to wake myself up a bit.

"Sorry, yeah. You were saying? About your sister?" I kept my gaze trained on Louis, willing him to say something more; something that proved my suspicions.

He looked around; nonplussed. "I… was?"

I nodded; unable to let this go. "Yeah. You said you couldn't have that conversation with her? Something about her boyfriend?" I pressed further; needing him to keep talking.

Baffled; he turned to Aelius; who looked equally bemused.

"Um… yeah. I don't know how well it would be received. Her boyfriend- you guys probably already know him- Cassius Zabini? He's kind of... I dunno, he makes talking with her difficult."

I noticed with satisfaction that Aelius had rocked upright in his seat; now giving Louis his full attention.

"Your- your sister is Victoire?" He clarified; eyes wide.

Louis nodded absently. "You guys know her?"

Exchanging a subtle look we shook our heads simultaneously. "Only to see." I supplied half-heartedly, eyes not leaving Aelius's shocked face.

Frowning, I glanced back over at Louis. The fire was now crackling happily in front of us; casting us all in a warm rosy glow; the flames dancing in shadows across our faces. The hum of the common room had dimmed considerably; the surrounding armchairs now pretty much deserted save for a few late night studiers.

"It's slightly odd isn't it? I mean- she's in Slytherin right?" I decided to play dumb, not wanting Louis to run back to his sister and tell her that I was obsessed with her. "How did you end up in Gryffindor?"

He grinned happily. "A better question is; how did she end up in Slytherin? My whole family are Gryffinors to the core- she was the first non-Gryffindor in years! Probably the first Slytherin ever. To say my parents were… taken aback is an understatement. But I suppose, my maman never went to Hogwarts- she went to Beauxbatons. Maybe she would have been a Slytherin." He shrugged, lost in thought.

We both nodded; thoroughly absorbed by his words. It was bizarre to hear about Victoire through him. To hear about her from someone who didn't see her as an Ice-Queen or a bitch. It was nice. Not wanting him to stop; I searched for another avenue of conversation.

"So do you two talk much? I doubt you see much of each other."

He pouted slightly; considering my question. "Not as much as Dom and I do- Dom's in my year too. But she tries. She came to my trials the other day." He smiled as he remembered that. "But you know how Slytherins can be. Pretty cliquey. She spends most of her time there with them to be honest."

Grinning over, he suddenly laughed. "I don't mind though- I don't want to sound like some whiney kid. Honestly I don't think I'd want to see her more than I already do. Who wants their older sister constantly lurking around?" He smiled warmly as he gathered his things; heading off to the fourth year rooms with a wave.

Once he had disappeared, Aelius turned to face me with a smirk.

"I don't think Teddy would mind your older sister lurking around a bit more."

I grinned crookedly in response.