Shuffling uncomfortably outside a classroom on the second floor; I scoured the deserted corridor one more time. "You sure this is it?"

Craig frowned up at me; unimpressed. "Teddy- you're the one who wants to be here. If it's so important to you to learn how to duel; why don't you look up where the club meets?"

Raising my eyebrows and rocking back on my heels, I held up my hands in defeat. "By all means- after you."

With a frustrated sigh, he swung open the door; announcing our presence to the entire room; all pausing momentarily as they took us in. Forty or so faces swivelled to face us, a sea of green and silver; scarlet and gold; blue and bronze. But no Hufflepuffs; I noted absently. Odd.

Merlin; this was fucking awkward.

I could practically feel Craig's glares trained on my head as I stood forward hesitantly. "Hey, um… we're here for… um- duelling club?" Eyes skirting around the room for that familiar pale golden colour; I floundered for a beat or two. She wasn't here. I could still leave I supposed. I glanced uneasily around at all of the eyes; trained on me.

Could I still leave?
This was such a bad idea.

An all too familiar voice piped up; high and whiney and laced with disbelief.

"You want to join Duelling Club? You?"

Wincing slightly; I directed my attention to the speaker; her strawberry blonde hair tied high in an arched ponytail that made her face slightly too round. Still though. She looked good.

"Yeah, Harriet. We would like to join."

Her gaze flickered between my overly sincere face and Craig's reluctant expression; considering her words. A cold smile spread across her face. "Well I'm sorry but it looks like we're pretty full. Thanks for trying though."

Now, without Victoire there, there was no earthly reason that I would ever have considered joining the Duelling Club. But something about her tone irritated me. I don't know why I pushed it. I should have just left and accepted her word. But she was just so smug.

And in that instant; I wanted to be a member of the Duelling Club so bad.

"But we haven't even tried out yet. No one has a place yet- it's try-outs Harriet."

I shot her a deliberately confused glance, as several of the younger students looked up at me in sympathy. Forcing a smile through gritted teeth she half grinned; half glowered at me.

"Yes well; seeing as everyone else was on time; I've had a chance to see their capabilities. I'm afraid you're not up to scratch Teddy. You'd be wasting both our time."

Opening my mouth to argue again; I felt Craig tug on my arm. "Leave it- you didn't actually want to be part of this anyways." Biting back my words I turned to follow him, trying very hard not to appear childish, but inwardly fuming.

Stepping out into the corridor I turned to give Craig "meaningful" eyes. He rolled his in response. "What did you expect?"

The hum of activities resuming in the classroom behind us filtered out through the gap under the door. I could hear Harriet's shrill whine from here. Lazily falling into step beside Craig as we slowly walked up the dimly lit corridor, portraits rustling sleepily by our sides, I ran a baffled hand through my hair; now darkened slightly into a dusky brown.

"I dunno; I guess I was expecting she would have gotten over it by now. Christ that girl can hold a grudge."

Craig chuckled lightly; about to make some witty reply when his words were drowned out.

"Lupin? What are you doing here?"

Pivoting quickly, my eyes widened as I saw Victoire standing by the classroom door behind us; less than mere feet away. How did she move so quietly?! It wasn't natural.

Her hands were poised lightly on the door handle; as though she was just about to enter when she spotted us. Slowly she straightened up; appraising us carefully. Her eyes were trained on me; pointedly ignoring Craig; who lingered uncomfortably by my side.

"I wanted to join the Duelling Club- but sadly I'm informed I'm not of Duelling Club material."

Victoire's eyes narrowed minimally; a flicker of suspicion alight for an instant. "You wanted to join the Duelling Club?"

Why do people keep saying it like that?

Craig intervened lazily. "Actually WE wanted to join. Not that anyone cares."

Victoire's gaze shot to him for the briefest of moments. "I'm sorry- who are you again?"

Moving quickly to cover whatever angry response Craig was sure to provide; I cracked a crooked smile. "Look- I really need extra-curriculars for Auror applications- Duelling Club is a perfect fit." Shrugging as I finished, I shot her a hopeful look.

She tilted her head slightly; considering. Finally she nodded; allowing a small smile. "Alright; I guess I owe you one anyways."

Craig and I paused; freezing momentarily. Was she… was she going to get us in?

HA! YES! Oh I can't wait to see Harriet's face! Exchanging a look; we eagerly followed in her footsteps; the entire group falling to a complete standstill once again as we returned. Harriet's face turned putrid as she pushed through other students.

"I thought I explained… Victoire- what is-?"

Deftly tying up loose strands of silky blonde hair; Victoire turned to face her coolly. "Teddy is trying out for Duelling Club? What does it look like?"

Harriet's face turned blank in shock at Victoire's opposition. Which was fair when you thought about it. We weren't friends as such; we just harboured a mutual grudging respect for each other at the moment. That; and I was obsessed with her. But Harriet couldn't be expected to know that. In fact seeing as we had only recently been involved in a very public brawl; it was completely understandable that Harriet was bewildered. Poor soul. She spluttered for a moment or two; glaring at each of us individually. "But- but he can't… Fine. Fine. I'll trial him myself." She shot a menacing glare my way.

I swallowed.

"No that's okay- you're already occupied. I'll trial Teddy." Victoire turned back to face me; dismissing Harriet.

Harriet smiled forcefully at her; desperately trying to convey in silent girl talk that she really wanted to trial me. Her agitation grew with each passing second that Victoire pretended to be oblivious. "Really; I want to help. Besides Bursnell is fine; she doesn't need a trial."

Victoire turned to smile sweetly at her; and I prayed fervently that she wouldn't hand me over to Harriet. I did not want to relive the boils experience. Not here; in front of all these watching people. And as much as I hated to admit it- those things were more than embarrassing- they were fucking painful.

Victoire tilted her head slightly in consideration as I waited on tenterhooks. She was going to hand me over to Harriet so that she could duel Bursnell. I just knew it. Silently I cursed myself for ever telling her Bursnell was behind the attacks on Louis. I needed to learn when to say NO.

"Yeah you're right; Bursnell doesn't really need one. Why doesn't she go with Jorkins, just for practise? Clemence- you know Trevor right? His cousin works in the Ministry- Department of International Magical Cooperation. You interned there this summer yeah? I'm sure you two will have loads to talk about."

To the casual observer; Victoire's show of interest in Clemence's life looked kindly; even sincere. But something about the cold malice in her eyes; the secretive slant to her smirk; made me look over at Bursnell for a reaction. Despite how innocent her words had sounded; Burnsell looked slightly sick; her face pale with shock as she hastily moved to comply. Oval brown eyes were widened in disbelief as she stared almost beseechingly at Victoire; refusing to meet this Trevor's eyes.

Watching her slink away in satisfaction, Victoire turned back to Harriet. "If you really want to help; why don't you trial…" She frowned over at Craig; as though realising for the first time he was still here. She gestured over to him; puzzled. "I'm sorry- what did you say your name was?"

Craig stared at her in disbelief. Sensing anger brewing, I once again intervened. "This is Craig, my dorm-mate." I smiled happily over at him; encouraging him to get involved. His answering glare was withering. Inflated with the knowledge I was not going to be left to Harriet's mercy; I found it hard to muster up the guilt I should have felt at forcing Craig into this situation. But honestly; he could bare it with better grace. Hadn't I willingly sat through weeks of Chess club for that Dobbyns girl in third year?

Got pretty good too. Sometimes I missed chess club…

Harriet grimaced over, sarcasm lacing her tone. "Wonderful. Can we expect Aelius to join us too? I was oh-so-hoping for the complete trio."

I smiled innocently over at her. "Unfortunatly Aelius couldn't make this one. But I'll tell him you were thinking of him. I'm sure he'd be flattered."

She glowered furiously over at me before spinning on her heel and stalking to the other side of the room. With her ominous presence somewhat removed; I breathed a bit more freely; taking time to glance around the room. It was a pretty sweet set up they had going here. The room was large and spacious; high ceilings, long windows and white walls giving it a bright airy feel. Despite the sizeable crowd that had attended; all peeled away into two's; the room didn't feel too packed. All the tables and chairs had been removed, though I couldn't see to where.

Victoire walked closer to us slowly. "Look- I've got you a trial. But you better be amazing or she won't let you in. Do. Not. Fuck. Up. Am I clear?"

She eyed us impressively in turn.

"Why don't you pair off with Nessa?" Her eyes slid past me to rest on Craig; who with one last angry glance; stomped off to join a blonde; curly haired girl by the door.

And then her attention was firmly fixed on me, those deep blue eyes boring into mine. She smirked slightly; taking a step back. "Okay Lupin. Let's see what you got. Don't let me down."

I looked around; unsure of what to do. Wasn't I supposed to bow or something? Most other people had already started; already firing shots at each other. I turned blankly back to Victoire. Her smirk grew.

"You normally have to do a few routine steps; but seeing as it's your first time we'll skip them. This is just about gauging your potential as a dueller."

Nodding, I raised my wand slowly. So I was just supposed to jinx her? What if I actually got her?

She raised her eyebrows expectantly, a coy smile on her lips. "I'm waiting?"

Loosely; I fired a trip jinx in her general direction; not really trying to hit her, slow enough that she could easily avoid it. But before I could even blink; with the minimalist flick of her wand she had redirected it; sending it flying at speed directly into my face. I flew into the wall behind me with a loud audible smack; my bones bruising on impact. Groaning I straightened up to see Victoire standing above me and smirking broadly.

"Lupin; chivalry will be the death of you. As it is; it's unlikely you'll be able to come any way near close to hurting me. Why handicap yourself any further than your complete lack of natural ability already does?"

Growling I stood up fully; towering over her in her near proximity. Irritated; I motioned for her to take her stance again and ever smirking; she duly obliged. I watched her take position with a calculating eye. She was good; much better than I'd given her credit for. Which was stupid of me; I'd known she was a prefect and chair of the fucking duelling club.

But I hadn't received Outstandings in DADA for nothing. I'd underestimated her. But I bet she was cocky enough to do the same.

With no warning, I gave a sudden swish of my wand; firing a quick jinx at her. She deflected it easily; but before she had time to react I fired another. And another. For a few minutes we kept up our furious pace; me desperately trying to find a hole in her defence, bombarding her with hex after hex; and her maintaining her wall of shield charms with ever more speedy and focused movements. Breathless, and yet more energised than I had ever been off a Quidditch pitch; I redoubled my efforts; frowning with concentration. She reacted to the increase in intensity without batting an eyelid. She was right; I realised slowly. My best wasn't going to come close.

Hurling more and more hexes at her I began to see it would only end one way. When she finally decided to retaliate; it would be game over. Our eyes met briefly as she flashed a quick smirk; sensing an opening. I was flat on my back at the opposite end of the room before I even knew what hit me.

Winded and wheezing slightly; I attempted to straighten up. My vision blurred as I refocused; dazed and dizzy. The room had once again come to a standstill.

Shit.

This was embarrassing.

A gentle hand pushed me back down on the floor; stopping my attempts to right myself. Groaning I gave up; flopping back on the floor with flourish. Muffled voices floated down to me. The most pressing of which was right by my ear.

"Oh My God- Teddy! Are you okay? Oh My- What is your problem Victoire? He was just a beginner! What were you think-" Harriet's high keening was cut off abruptly.

"Teddy- Ted can you hear me?"

I nodded weakly; reaching out for Craig in the general direction his voice had come from. "Yeah; yeah mate- um, head is sore."

Small hands began stroking my face in the most annoying way possible. It was tickly and way too hot; and definitely Harriet. I attempted to swat her away but she was persistent.

"Okay; let's get him up." Victoire's silky voice interjected.

"You are not touching him. You've done enough. Why did you do it, huh? For your slimy Slytherin boyfriend? So he wouldn't be able to play next weekend? I'll bring him up."

Jesus Christ, no. NO.

Forcing my heavy mouth to move, I opened my eyes; gazing up at their blurred faces. "It's okay. I… Victoire."

Silence greeted my words before I felt strong arms grab me, and haul me upright. From the lack of sensitivity and care I was guessing this was Craig. Trusting he wouldn't drop me I allowed myself pass out.

God this was embarrassing.

When I came to; it took several minutes of readjusting to recognise the two faces preening down at me. Aelius's face cracked into a broad smirk as my eyes fluttered open; Craig slouched on my bed beside him, attempting to keep a straight face.

"How you feeling Teddy?" He inquired in a weirdly contained voice.

I winced. "Fucking dreadful. What..?"

It came back to me in a rush.

"Oh My God."

Horror rolled over me in waves. Did I… Did I pass out at Duelling club? Did Victoire… Oh fuck.

Aelius's smirk broke into a full grin now; chortling contentedly. "Yup- it happened exactly like you remember! Beautiful work Ted- seriously. Sometimes it baffles me how you pull this shit off."

Craig supressed a grin. "If it makes you feel better- we think Harriet may have forgiven you." He gestured to a massive Teddy Bear on my bed stand holding a heart emblazoned with the words "Get Well Soon".

I cried a little inside.

Aelius leaned forward conspiratorially. "Get it? 'Cus it's a Teddy Bear and you're her Teddy Bear? Beautiful." He doubled up laughing as my wince deepened; the throbbing in my head now coupled with the dread of facing Harriet again.

"Where is she?" I whispered hoarsely.

Aelius smiled slowly. "She's outside- don't worry though mate; she's distracted." He shared a wink with Craig who was beginning to look slightly abashed. My gaze shot between them with rising concern.

"What- What is she doing?"

Aelius bit his lip to choke back laughter. "She's… She's… Dear God I can't even- Craig you tell him."

Craig raised sorrowful eyes to me. "Sorry Ted- we couldn't stop her-"

"Craig- What is she doing?"

Craig looked at the floor. "She's… introducing herself to Harry."

My stomach dropped. What? She was… what? Why would she do that? Why would anyone-

"Stop her!" I hissed frantically; motioning for them to move. Craig stared uncertainly at me.

"How are we supposed to-?"

"I DON'T CARE! STOP HER! He'll tell my Grandmother!"

"But Teddy- be reasonable; Harry won't-"

"GO!"

"Ted- We can't just-"

"Jinx her; carry her; mute her- I DON'T CARE! Stop her!"

"Come on Ted-"

"Is this a bad time?"

.

.

.

.

.

All three of our heads shot to the door. Hovering by the curtain of my bed; Victoire stood hesitantly, addressing all three of us. Silence lingered for a beat.

"No-eh, come in. These guys were just leaving." I eyed them meaningfully as they turned bemused eyes on me. Aelius grinned.

"But Ted; whatever will we do about Harriet?"

"I don't care."

"But Ted; didn't you just say we had your permission to jinx her?"

"Aelius- I don't care."

Victoire kept her head down as they filed past her; looking up slowly at me as the door clicked shut behind them. She offered an awkward smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I lied smoothly, giving her a quick grin.

Her smile deepened somewhat. "Good. So you'll be able to come to Duelling Club next Thursday?"

My face contorted with surprise and then irritation. "You don't have to give me a pity place just because you nearly killed me."

She rolled her eyes. "Nearly killed you? A tad melodramatic Lupin, don't you think? And anyways it's not a pity place- you're good. Really good in fact. I wouldn't have let it get that far if I didn't think…"

She trailed off, taking a deep breath and staring at the floor. "I guess what I'm trying to say is- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you. I… My only defence is that- you were a lot better than I expected. I spend a lot of time in there training other people- it felt good to duel for real." She raised embarrassed eyes from the ground; assessing me for a reaction.

Her words sank in slowly; the realisation like warmth seeping through me. "You- think I'm good?"

Rolling her eyes and laughing slightly; she nodded. "You're alright."

I shook my head slowly; undeterred as a smirk played at my lips. "Not what you said though is it? You said- "really good". "

She grinned back; scoffing slightly. "You're unbelievable. You realise you're in the hospital wing with concussion after being tossed around the room by a girl; and you're still bragging about how good you are?"

I laughed openly. "Shit. You're right. Well thanks for the offer; but I don't think my pride can handle a return to Duelling Club any time soon. Or my Quidditch season come to that."

Smiling softly, she rose to leave; before hesitating and turning to look at me from over her shoulder. "I still owe you one Lupin. I guess two now. Sending you to the hospital wing doesn't exactly constitute as returning the favour."

I quirked an eyebrow; intrigued. My imagination went into overdrive as she bit her lip nervously.

"If you're serious about wanting Duelling training for Auror applications; I could train you. One-on-one. You wouldn't need to ever face the Duelling club again."

My face froze as different emotions swelled within me. Firstly; disappointment that she wasn't going to be playing out any of my teenage fantasies any time soon. Secondly; excitement. One-on-one training with Victoire- wasn't that exactly what I'd wanted? Seemed almost worth the trip to the hospital wing.

Coughing; I stove for casual. "You sure Zabini won't have a problem with that? Your boyfriend doesn't exactly like me; remember?"

She shrugged dismissively. "Maybe we don't tell Cass. It's not like he's unfamiliar with the concept of unpleasant secrets." Her face scrunched up into a scowl; her nose crinkling distastefully.

"Well; I'm all for anything that pisses off Zabini. On one condition though."

She smirked. "Christ Lupin; I'm doing you the favour."

I grinned back. "Humour me. You just put me in hospital. What was up with Bursnell earlier? I know you said something to her- I've never seen anyone look more like throwing up in my life."

She tossed her golden hair back; laughing openly as I sat dazed; mesmerized by the movement. When she laughed she seemed to come alive; glowing that fraction brighter; shimmering with the slightest hitch in intensity.

"Never mind Bursnell. I told you I'd handle it. Trust me- it's handled."

I shook my head- pushing my luck; now genuinely curious. "No seriously- what did you do?"

She slipped easily onto the bed behind her; her skirt rising a few centimetres higher as she nestled into a more comfortable position. I swallowed noisily.

"You really wanna know? Can you keep a secret?"

I nodded solemnly. She shook her head; still giggling. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. You know the boy I paired her off with? Trevor Jorkins? Well his cousin works in for the Ministry-the same department as Bursnell interned. Half of Slytherin interns there every summer; and my friend Lys-"

"Lys?"

She frowned over at me petulantly; irritated at my interruption or at the question- I couldn't tell.

"Yeah- Lys- Alyssa? She's my friend, brown hair; big brown eyes- like seriously, do you live in a Gryffindor bubble?"

I shrugged; motioning for her to continue. Rolling her eyes she obliged, already back into the swing of her story. "Basically, darling Clemence got a tad too familiar with her superior; Mr Jorkins. He's engaged." She smirked superiorly over at me.

My face froze in shock. "You mean-? Isn't she with-?"

She nodded smugly. "Daniels? Yeah she is- for the last three years."

I sat in silence as I absorbed this; staring at her in disbelief. How could she know this? And- shit. That was heavy. Was she really… blackmailing this girl with this secret? It could ruin a marriage. And Bursnell had been with this boy for three years. He'd be crushed. I liked Daniels. He played on the Ravenclaw team. I'd sat beside him in Herbology in fourth year.

"So… what are you going to do?" I tried to keep the concern from my voice as she glanced down at her nails. She looked back up at me; unfazed.

"Isn't it obvious? You saw her face today. She's fucking terrified; she knows now that I know. She'll come to me eventually, and then I'll tell her flat out. She leaves my brother the fuck alone or I finish her. End of. Let her try and get a job at the ministry after this." She smirked happily over at me and I began to feel slightly sick.

Christ. Had I unwittingly ruined this girl's life by telling Victoire her name?

I reached over to her. "Victoire- you can't tell anyone this- that's… too far. I know you have some history with her but come on-."

Her face clouded over instantly at my tone; irritated by my reaction. "What do you take me for? I'm not going to tell until she forces me to. And she isn't an idiot. She isn't going to give me a single reason to. Everybody wins."

I opened my mouth to object; to make her see how fucked up this was. "You can't just go around ruining innocent people-"

Her expression darkened dangerously. "What the- innocent people? You're the one who told me what she did? Do you think it was random? She picked on him because of me! And you don't have a fucking clue what "history" we have, so don't pretend to be the source of reason in this."

"And what about that man's fiancé? About Daniels? What did they ever do to your brother?" I shot back hotly, matching her temper pace for pace.

She laughed bitterly. "How naïve can you actually be? I didn't hold my wand to her head and make her sleep with her boss! I didn't make either of them cheat- they did it on their own. You don't think Daniels and that woman would be better off not wasting anymore years of their lives with people who use them like that? You don't think they deserve to get caught?"

It was my turn to laugh; the sound vaguely hollow to my ears. "Yeah I'm sure that's why you're doing it- that innate sense of justice and honour of yours."

"I'm sorry- I guess I forgot who I was addressing. How fitting that you would be an advocate for letting the cheating skank ride off into the sunset with no repercussions." She drawled sarcastically.

I glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"When have you ever been held accountable in your life? Do you imagine that if you had pulled the shit you did with Carlisle with anyone else that you would have got away with it? If you had done that to me?"

Anger flushed my face. "What? You would have what? Fact is Victoire- you don't have a clue what happened between Harriet and I; so don't think-"

"You don't have a clue what happened with Bursnell so don't-"

.

"ENOUGH! Quiet in the hospital wing Ms Weasley or I will ask you to leave!" Madame Pomfrey eyed us severely in turn; poking her head around her office door, before withdrawing behind it with a deafening slam.

Somewhat shaken by the abrupt closure of our argument, I looked back at Victoire; hundreds of things still to say; burning at the tip of my tongue. In her anger she had pushed herself off the bed; the atmosphere in the room soured completely as we both stood in silence; glaring at each other.

I shook my head slightly; holding her gaze as I laughed softly. "Wow. You know I used to wonder how you ended up in Slytherin with a brother like Louis. I guess I know now."

Her face contorted with shock and hurt; her eyes widening at the impact of my words as the silence lengthened. My heart stilled at her expression as I desperately tried to take the words back. I hadn't meant for them to have such an effect. Well I had- but I didn't think they actually would! Quickly she swallowed; smoothly masking whatever emotion she had shown. There were no cracks in the carefully constructed smirk directed at me.

"Now you know."

The door to the wing swung open, as footsteps padded noisily down the room. Louis stuck his sandy blonde hair around the curtain; eyes searching for me in concern.

"Teddy- I heard a Slytherin got you- I'm so-"

His words dried as he took in Victoire standing by my bed. She quickly smiled over at him; looking the picture of calm; only the slight narrowing over her eyes and the stiff slant to her shoulders betraying how tense she really was. I gazed helplessly at Louis as his gaze flickered between us.

"What- Victoire what are you doing here?"

She hesitated. "It was me that jinxed Teddy- we were at Duelling club and… it was an accident. I guess… I was just apologising."

He frowned over at her, suspicion clouding his usually bright countenance. "An accident? You sure Zabini didn't put you up to it?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What- no, Louis. I would never- Cass wouldn't-"

He scoffed harshly. "Sure he wouldn't Vic. Keep deluding yourself. I think you should go- Harry's asking for you."

Victoire stared at her brother in silence for a moment; as though unable to comprehend what was happening. I searched for something to say to help her out of this. "Look mate; it honestly was an accident- Victoire was just-"

She cut me off quickly. "Leave it Lupin. He's right- I should go. This was a mistake."

I watched her go; crestfallen. This wasn't how I wanted this to go at all. Aching to call her back but unsure of what to say; I just kept my gaze on her back; throwing my head back into my pillow in frustration when the door clicked behind her. Excellent. Fucking Brilliant.

Now she was going to run off to Zabini and they could hate me together- he'd probably cheer her up after how harsh I'd been- convince her to stay away- I just couldn't-

"What are you doing?"

I opened my eyes quickly; staring at Louis blankly. I'd forgotten he was even here. Shrugging defensively, I gazed steadily at him. "Nothing."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right- what was that about?" He gestured to my dramatics on the bed; where I now lay head in hands, sprawled haphazardly along it's length.

"What?"

Advancing a few steps he glared suspiciously down at me. "You know exactly what. What are you doing with my sister?"

Speechless I gazed silently up at him. There were no words for how awkward this was.

"Nothing- nothing. Come on- you saw it mate. She hates me." I laughed self-consciously as he continued to glare at me.

"Teddy. I'm not an idiot. I don't care if you're into my sister. Just admit it."

Backed into a corner, I could see no other way out. "Well- I mean kind of. But not like- you know. Christ; this is painful Louis."

He frowned slightly. "Look Teddy- whatever you do in your own time is your business- I'm not bothered. But you can't deny you have- you know." He nodded meaningfully.

I stared blankly up at him. "I have what?"

"A rep- you know- with girls. And while Zabini is a dick- he worships my sister. I don't want her being used in some bet you and Aelius have cooked up."

His cheeks turned slightly pink at the words and for a moment I respected him for the guts he was showing. And then I remembered how ridiculous the concept was and laughed outright.

"Louis- you don't have to worry. This isn't a… bet or whatever. Look, I'm sure it's just a phase or something and it'll pass. Besides; nothing will ever happen- you said yourself- she's mad about Zabini. And I'm pretty sure she hates me now anyways."

His frowned turned less severe and more curious. "Oh man. Oh shit. You actually like her?"

I shook my head quickly. "No- No I told you-"

A grin was already spreading across his cheeks though; his face lighting up. "This is awesome! You can get her to finally leave Zabini! Oh man- his face when he finds out about you-"

Panicking I grabbed his arm quickly; forcing his attention. "No- Louis- there is nothing going on! She hates me!"

He smirked happily down at me; plans already whirring in his head. "Correction; she dislikes you. And that's probably good- you know; work it to your advantage. Zabini is pathetic; he just agrees with whatever she says. She may respect a bit of opposition."

Open-mouthed, I interrupted his musings. "Wait- two minutes ago you were warning me off her- now you're matchmaking?"

He rolled his eyes; impatient with my inability to keep up. "Two minutes ago I thought you were only after her to get at Zabini. Now I get that you like her. And you are kind of perfect for each other. I can't believe I didn't see it before actually."

It was my time to roll my eyes. "Sure we are. All I ever do is piss her off."

He laughed. "It's all I do either and she still loves me. And now you have Dom and I to help."

I raised an incredulous eyebrow; not liking the sound of this. "What?"

He grinned enthusiastically; plonking himself down on my bed as he shoved my leg out of the way. "Yeah; we both loathe Zabini. Anything to avoid his visits over Christmas. And besides it's in Victoire's best interests. You two are a way better match."

He leaned over me to inspect a bunch of chocolates on my bedside; lazily rooting through them for a favourite. I watched him in open bewilderment.

"No offence mate; creepy though I find you offer to set me up with your sister to be; you said it yourself. Girls aren't exactly unknown territory for me. I'll be fine." I eyed the door pointedly; hoping to end what had been undoubtedly one of the most messed up days of my life.

He smirked down at me as he popped a chocolate into his mouth; munching happily. "Unhuh. How's that going for you?"

I frowned.

He had a point.