As Rox continued to ignore me and Grace and Aidan spent more and more time together, I continued to feel lonelier and lonelier.

I needed Teddy. I needed to talk to him. I needed his friendship.

So I owled him a couple of days before the first Hogsmeade trip of the new term to ask him if he would consider meeting me there.

His response was short and to the point.

Vic,

The Three Broomsticks, 12:00.

Teddy

I was nervous when I arrived at the pub. I had no idea what to expect. I was ten minutes early, so I figured I would end up waiting for him. But to my surprise, I spotted him almost immediately. He was sitting at a small table in the corner, his turquoise hair the brightest thing in the room.

I slid in across from him.

"Hello, Victoire," he said, his voice almost formal sounding.

"Hey," I replied.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine," I said, copying his stiff tone. "And you?"

"Can't complain," he replied.

We sat in silence for what felt like years. And it was the awkward kind of silence. The kind that made you pray that a hole would open up in the ground so that you could drop though it and disappear.

I had no idea what to say to him. How were you supposed to go about begging your ex-boyfriend to be your friend again?

I shot a glance at him. He wasn't looking at me. It was almost as if he was avoiding making eye contact with me. I followed his gaze and noticed that he appeared to be looking at a girl. A young pretty girl. I knew that he was probably just staring off into space, but I still suddenly felt very flustered. So in flustered in fact that I somehow managed to accidently knock over his butterbeer.

He quickly redirected his gaze when he heard my quiet shriek as his nearly-full glass hit the table.

For some reason the sight of the brownish liquid spilling everywhere made tears well up in my eyes.

Teddy quickly scourgified the mess. When he looked up and saw the tears streaming down my face, he looked alarmed.

"It's just butterbeer, Vic," he said. "I can get another one. There's no need to cry."

I wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeve, not caring how disgusting I looked.

Teddy did a good job of quickly covering up his slightly repulsed expression almost immediately.

"I'm not crying about the butterbeer," I said. "I just have a lot of shit going on in my life right now and knocking over your freaking drink just set me off for some reason."

"What kind of shit?" he asked. He was definitely not avoiding making eye contact with me now. His brown eyes were boring into mine, filled with concern.

"Well," I began, "the main thing is that Rox hates me."

He looked at me incredulously. "Rox hates you?"

"She won't speak to me. Hasn't in weeks."

He shook his head. "That's crazy. You two have always been inseparable. What happened?"

"She just got pissed off at something I said to her. And it's just been really hard. She's my best friend, you know. I feel like I have no one to confide in."

"What about Grace?" he asked.

"Well, she and Aidan finally got together. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but they spend a lot of time together. I feel like the third wheel when I'm around them."

Suddenly I felt those stupid tears welling up in my eyes again. "I just really need someone to talk to," I said. "Someone like… like you."

"Vic…" he began.

"I know you don't like the idea of us just being friends," I interjected. "But I really need you. I need things to be like they were before we ever dated. Please."

He nodded. "Alright," he said. "Let's give it a go."

I smiled. "Thank you."

We sat there for a while and I filled him in on what had happened between Rox and me, as well as what had happened between Grace and Aidan.

Then, when he was in the middle of a story about something Uncle Percy had done at work, we were interrupted by someone squealing Teddy's name. Someone who was approaching our table. Someone with black hair and tan skin and big boobs.

No, no, no, no, I thought to myself. Go away. Go away. Go away.

Maria slid into the seat next to Teddy.

"Teddy!" she cooed. "Fancy seeing you here!"

He grinned. "Hey Maria."

She turned to me and her eyes immediately dropped to my stomach. Her overly-glossed mouth fell open. "Omigod! You're pregnant!"

She turned to Teddy. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be a father?"

"Er," he replied, "I'm not. The boyfriend she had before me is."

"Omigod, I'm so embarrassed," she said, not looking embarrassed at all.

Did this stupid skank know how to say anything other than 'omigod'? She sounded like an American.

Teddy shrugged. "It's an honest mistake."

She smiled. "So how are you two? Still madly in love?"

"Actually," replied Teddy, "we broke up. We're just friends."

Her perfectly waxed eyebrows shot up. "Omigod! I just keep embarrassing myself, don't I?"

Yes, I thought, I'd definitely be embarrassed if I went out in public looking as much like a hooker as you do.

Out loud I said, "It's no problem. Like Teddy said, it's an honest mistake."

She laughed. It was a hideous laugh. Scratchy and hoarse sounding. Like she'd been heavily drinking and smoking since was two.

I stood up, needing to get away from her. "I need to use the loo," I told them. "I'll be back in a minute."

I stayed in the loo for as long as I possibly could. But then an annoyed Slytherin girl started pounding on the door, telling me to get my arse out of there. So I did.

I headed back to the table. Maria had slid her chair so close to Teddy that she was practically in his lap.

I stopped walking, wanting to know what they were talking about.

"You know," Maria was saying, as she fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, "if you're looking for a rebound or something…"

Her hand was sliding down lower and lower.

"… I'm always available," she murmured, her hand reaching its destination.

I couldn't bear to hear what Teddy's answer was. If he wanted to shag Maria, I didn't want to know anything about it.

So I quickly hurried over to the table, just as Teddy was opening his mouth to reply. When he saw me, he scooted away from Maria so fast that she nearly toppled out of her chair.

I hoped my expression didn't give away that I'd heard what she had said to him. I plopped down in my chair and smiled brightly. "So what are we talking about?"

"Nothing," replied Teddy. "Nothing at all."

Maria stood up. "I better go," she said. "Maybe I'll see you around."

She walked away. Every guy in the room turned to stare at her bum as she went. Every guy except Teddy, at least. He was staring at me.

"What are you looking at?"

"You."

"Well yes, I can see that," I replied. "But why?"

He shrugged. "I was just thinking that you somehow manage to look beautiful, even when you're six months pregnant, you're wearing a baggy T-shirt and sweats, and you don't have a speck of makeup on."

"Not as beautiful as Maria," I replied.

"Maria looks like a blow-up doll," he said. "You're much more beautiful."

I grinned. My mind wandered to when Aidan had told Grace that she was the most beautiful girl that he'd ever seen.

"Am I the most beautiful girl you've ever seen?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

I felt my heart speed up.

Teddy was staring at me with the most intense expression on his face. He was staring at me in the kind of way a friend wasn't supposed to stare at you.

Shit.

I stood up quickly. "I should get going," I said. "I have a lot of homework."

He stood up as well, looking disappointed. "Okay," he said. "You'll write to me, right?"

I nodded. "Bye, Teddy," I said, turning to leave.

"Bye," he replied.

I stopped and turned around. "I'm really glad we're friends again," I said.

"Yeah," he replied. "Me too."

I hope you liked the chapter. As always, don't forget to review!