Teddy's POV
The first clue was her absence in Defence. Admittedly, I hadn't even noticed that she wasn't present; paying no heed to the empty seat by the back corner, never missing her weirdly shinny dark hair. Given all the trouble she had caused for me and Victoire, it seems weird that I wouldn't be conscious of her presence, but there you have it. I'd forgotten she was even in that class. I guess because I only ever really seemed to draw her attention when I was with Vic, and Vic wasn't in this class.
But when Lys commented she'd been absent from Potions that morning, something clicked with me. I hadn't seen her either. Was she sick? Or… was it something else? Something distinctly Vic related? I chewed my sandwich thoughtfully, staring curiously over at the Slytherin table where Bursnell's cronies were sat, looking distinctly lost without their ringleader.
Lys followed my gaze with a sly smirk. "Yeah, I thought they looked a bit forlorn too."
Aelius dropped his sandwich, craning his head to peer over her shoulder, and frowned. "Who Nessa? And that Bee one? Seem grand to me." He picked up his sandwich again and resumed munching, contented the mystery was solved. Or at least, only in existence in our heads. Lys frowned lightly over at him in bemusement.
I shook my head. "I dunno… It feels fishy to me." And it did. The way they were sitting so quietly; not looking at each other? Bursnell's absence coinciding with the second day of Vic's absence? Had Vic actually done it? It was very quick. My stomach squirmed uncomfortably. She'd been hazy on the details, so I wasn't one hundred percent of the plan. But I was pretty confident she wouldn't have gone to this man's family. She was just planning on threatening to. Convincingly.
Lys looked at me for a beat. "Wow Teddy. That was bizarrely astute."
I grinned. It was wasn't it? I think I was spending too much time around Vic.
The second clue came that evening as we all sat around pretending to read our Transfiguration homework, but really were just wondering where Vic was. According to Rose, who'd heard it from Scorpius, she hadn't appeared at Quidditch practise that evening, which was basically unheard of. She never missed practise. Never mind the pre-Gryffindor match practise. Zabini was apparently on the war path.
Raised eyebrows and meaningful looks were exchanged. So Burnsell hadn't been seen since the morning post then. Lys said she wasn't in the dorm either.
I inhaled deeply, going back to my study.
Vic, where are you? And what did you actually do?
Victoire's POV
I paused at the door of the school, allowing the air whip through my hair and chill my cheeks. Breathing deeply, I tried to ignore the thrumming of my heart; reminding me forcefully that this was it. The last roll of the dice. It either worked or it didn't. There wasn't much else I could do. Time to face the music.
Opening the door and stringing purposefully in, I paused as a figure stepped forward to greet me. I don't know why McGonagall's presence surprised me. I was returning from suspension after all, not some little holiday. I stopped, gazing at her uncertainly. What should I say? A meek apology?
"Ms Weasley. I trust you've used your time at home wisely."
I blinked. Holy fuck.
She pierced me with a stern gaze as my silence lengthened. "You are suitably recharged?"
Oh. I coughed. "Um, yeah. Yeah, I totally am. Thanks Professor."
She swooped up her robes impressively, motioning for me to walk with her. I hastily grabbed my small bag and fell in time with her.
"I shall walk you to your dorm. I'm aware a few of your dorm-mates have free periods this morning, and I mean to ensure the events of this term do not continue."
My mouth fell open in aghast. Nooooohoooo! I was handling it! The last thing I wanted was McGonagall spoiling things by chaperoning me personally. The situation was going to be tenous enough without her policing it. I fixed my face into a gracious smile and slowed my pace to a halt, forcing her to follow suit.
"Professor, I appreciate the gesture. But we'll be seventh years next year, and we've all been friends since first year. I really think this is something we should settle ourselves. As adults."
A niggling thought popped up in the back of my head. Is that what I was doing? Being adult? I squashed it.
She appeared to consider me for a moment and then half smiled. "As you wish. You know where to find me."
Walking into my dorm, the first thing I noticed was everything was restored to exactly where it had been. No doubt the work of McGonagall and not an act of apology from Bursnell. It had probably been done the day McGonagall found out. I set down my bag slowly, sinking into my bed and losing myself in thought.
How many times had I cried myself to sleep in this bed? How many times had I pictured marrying Cass? How many times had I wished I wasn't what I was? How many times had I nearly laughed myself to sleep with elation at how I had turned my fortunes around?
It all seemed quite trivial now. It had so little to do with how I wanted to be. With who I wanted to be. I didn't care about Bursnell. I really didn't. I just wanted her out of my life. She could be Minister for Magic or some scully ruffian in Knockturn Alley and I wouldn't care, so long as she stopped interfering in my life. She could have Cass. I was over stressing about him. I was over apologising for being a Weasley and a blood traitor and part Veela. Those things didn't matter. It was madness looking back at how much these things had bothered me.
Slytherin or Gryffindor.
What did it matter?
Very little in the end. I just wanted it over.
The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone. The bathroom door opened, and there she was. My nemesis in all things. Her dark hair was scrunched up in a messy bun, looking casually distressed. Her olive skin was clear of make-up and still looked pristine, save for dark circles around her puffy red eyes. She froze when she saw me sitting on my bed, seemingly unable to look away or say anything.
The feeling was mutual. In six years, I'd never seen her cry. It didn't make me pity her. But it didn't bring the satisfaction I thought it would.
"So you're back." She moved awkwardly to her own bed, fixing her eyes downcast.
"I am. I take it you heard from Jorkins." I stated calmly, refusing to back down now.
She nodded jerkily, her jaw tightening as if she was biting back tears; refusing to let them fall in front of me. "I did."
"And?" My heart was going to explode. Watching her struggle to form words I felt kind of faint. It was beyond bizarre, a sort of surreal outer-body experience. There I sat, engaged in the first conversation I had had with her in years, calmly discussing our fate.
"And… That's it. You win." She breathed raggedly, lifting her dark eyes to meet mine with thinly veiled hatred.
I sighed. That was it. It was over.
It didn't feel over.
I stared at her for a beat, trying to decide what I felt. What I wanted to say. There was nothing that covered it. Nothing to say that would explain what I felt. I hated her. Hated her for hating me. Over nothing. Hated her for ruining any bit of happiness I had found here. For ruining my time here, for making it all about manipulating and bitching. I could have had real friends apart from Lys. I could have been free to realise Teddy was right for me a long time ago.
I hated her for making me feel guilty for this last play.
She had brought it on herself. She had no one else to blame. And yet, the wheel we'd been spinning for the past six years had seen each of us on top at different times. I now knew what it was to feel it shift again and watch yourself plummet to the bottom. I knew what it was to see no way back.
It was a sickness, a rotting feeling in the pit of your stomach. And it was written all over her face.
"Why? Why did you do it?" I knew as soon as opened my mouth what I would ask. Just as I knew she wouldn't need an explanation of what I meant. It wasn't referring to a specific incident. It referred to the past six years of feuding and back-stabbing.
I expected her to scoff and roll her eyes. To storm off and slam the door. Or to play dumb. But I was beginning to feel she was as tired as I was.
"You know why." She met my gaze, slightly surprised by the question but at least she wasn't pretending she didn't know what I meant.
"Do I?" I raised a brow and she scoffed, looking like she might actually cry; this time with frustration.
"Don't pretend you don't. It doesn't make you modest. It makes it seem like you think everyone around you is too dumb to see it's false modesty. And it makes you look arrogant and stupid."
In another time I might have cried at that. But I guess Bursnell had hardened me over the years. I rolled my eyes this time.
"Right. You hate me because I'm prettier than you. That's very original Burnsell."
She let a hollow laugh. "See? It's much easier deal with you when you stop pretending to be so sweet and innocent."
"Is it? Doesn't seem to have worked so swell for you this time."
She stopped at that, blinking slightly. She responded slowly, fixing her gaze out the window. "Yeah. I guess not. So what now?"
"I'm sorry?"
"What do you want? Don't play coy. It doesn't suit you. You're speaking to possibly the only person in this whole school who understands fully what a raging bitch you are."
I scoffed. "You think you know me best? You don't know me at-"
"Victoire. I don't think many people in this school know what it's like to play this game. And no one plays it at the level we do. You're friends are spectators. Mine too. They don't have any clue what it costs to play. What it's like to win and… to lose. I do. And you do. They don't. End of."
I stared levelly at her. I was shocked that I kind of… agreed with her. And somewhere in my head, grudging respect surfaced. I tried to quell the feeling, disgusted that I could respect anyone who had behaved so repulsively to me. Who made the thirteen year old me cry solidly for a year. If I could see myself now. If I knew then that one day I would respect Bursnell for all she had put me through-
But how much better was I? I knew a lot of the things I did would hurt her. I owed her nothing, that was true, but eventually that became irrelevant. Eventually blood had been drawn on both sides, and I didn't stop it. I didn't want to. When I was on top had I ever once shirked from an encounter with her? Had I ever once turned the other cheek? She was right. There was only so long I could play innocent for. I was accountable. I had played too.
And I'd played to win, sometimes for no more than the joy of playing. I'd never say it out loud outside of this room; I was overly conscious of what the admission said of me. And I would strive to change. But in front of Bursnell… I was unashamed. We both were what we were. She knew what I was and I knew what she was.
"You know… forget it, it's way too cheesy." I flicked my hair out of my face, sniffing indifferently.
She looked up at me, for the first time allowing some of the hostility to fade. She smiled; looking tired and wry. "I know what you were going to say. It is too cheesy. So shut up."
Our eyes met and I couldn't help but stare. Imagining for the first time what life would have been like if we'd been actual friends. If she'd been in my corner and I in hers.
"Bit too late now anyways." She stated flatly. And there was no regret in her voice. No question. No hopefulness. It was too late. We would never be friends. We'd both ensured that.
Coughing, I sensed our conversation was coming to a close and I rose to stand.
"I want you to pull out of the match this weekend. Convince whoever else you think you can. All of the other teams are striking to have Teddy reinstated, so the match will be rescheduled so long as we have Slytherin co-operation."
Her mouth fell open in surprise. Clearly that was not a condition she had been expecting. She thought for a moment and then nodded jerkily in silence. Weirdly, I knew she'd keep her word.
"What about Cass?" She enquired curiously. "He can't seriously still-"
"Be in love with me enough for this? No. I think we both know he never loved me. Remember?" I surprised myself by forming the words without venom. I simply didn't care about his betrayal anymore. And I suspected that incident had hurt her as much as me.
She rolled her eyes. "Are you still moaning on about that? Merlin, it wasn't even all that good."
A small smirk tugged at my lips and she sighed wistfully. "Alright that was a lie. I know how to pick them, huh?"
Her face dipped again and I reminded myself to leave quickly. I could afford her the privacy and dignity of not crying in front of me.
"Yeah well. You messed up and slept with the asshole once. I dated him for two years."
"Yeah, but then I slept with my supervisor. And fell in love with him. And then he fired me and banned me from contacting him. And now he only writes to me to tell me to stop being such a selfish, spoilt brat. I could be wrong, but you didn't do anything quite that stupid. Unless the rumours about Nott have truth..."
I raised a wry brow. "You started those rumours, remember? And I did decide to break up with Cass to sleep with Teddy Lupin. Not exactly a brainwave. I lost pretty much everything."
"I have too. Just to keep that idiot's secret. At least Lupin loves you back." She forced a bitter smile.
Reaching for the door, I looked back at her one last time, finding the words to voice a decision I'd made the second I sat down on that bed.
"You won't lose a thing, Clemence. I amn't interested in playing anymore. If there's no game, then no one wins, and no one loses. Sit out of this match, that's all."
She eyed me uncertainly from her bed, looking like she didn't know how to react. If she even wanted the game to end. If it even could.
"And then I want you to leave me alone."
She held my gaze for a moment and I felt the unmistakably shift in our relationship. A sort of curtain closing.
And I was glad of it.