* 𝑰𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑼𝑺 / 𝑭𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑺.

over the years, victoire had slowly come to understand the struggles that came with developing feelings for a best friend. she had known teddy her entire life and one would imagine that she could ever only see him as a ‘ brother ’ but that was far from the truth. the more her feelings intensified, the more she pushed them down and tried to smother them. despite knowing it was a fruitless effort, she had been flirting with some boy in hufflepuff for the past few weeks as a form of distraction. honestly, she hadn’t really expected anything to come out of it. but, the boy proved her wrong by asking her out on a date. the first person she ran to tell? teddy. she rushed up to him in the nearly empty library, grabbing ahold of his arm excitedly. “you remember that cute guy that i’ve been talking to for a couple of weeks? well… he finally decided to make a move!” she was trying to act as excited as possible to gauge his reaction. this could possibly be the nail in the coffin. “it’s magnifique, no? i’m super nervous though. i’ve never been on a date before. what if he tries to kiss me? i don’t even know if i’m a good kisser.”

despite stefan’s open distaste toward most slytherins, there was one exception to that rule: louis weasley. the boy surpassed just about every stereotype that was made about the members of the said house. almost after every quidditch match, he and louis would meet up afterward to have a smoke near the edge of the lake where no one would be able to find them. but after today, stefan had no such desire. he had taken a tumble during the match and was now covered in bruises all along his torso, body aching. he had brushed everything off and lied through his teeth, stating that he was just tired. after practically shooing the boy away, he sat alone. it was hard not to take notice of how black and blue he was as he sat there on the bench with his shirt off. he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the door creaking open, expecting to see louis standing there again. but instead, it was his sister. he blinked in surprise as he caught dominique staring at him. he nervously looked away and grabbed his sweater, tugging it on as if to hide his shame. “what are you looking at?”

even though he was fairly perceptive when it came to learning new concepts, there was something that had him falling short when it came to one particular subject area. it honestly bothered him to no end. before his grade took a permanent turn for the worst, he realize that he needed to seek out assistance. reese clutched his transfiguration textbook close to his chest as he pushed his pride aside before closing the distance between him and a familiar face in the common room. he took in a deep breath before coming to a stop in front of where riley was seated, an attempt at a warm smile appearing upon his lips. “um… hey.” for someone who valued friendship above all, he was far too introverted for his own good. “i know this is going to sound weird and all, but i was wondering if you’d be willing to tutor me in transfigurations sometime? i’d be willing to help you with anything you’re not up to speed on or even bake you sweets.” he wasn’t good at this. “i don’t want you to think i’m using you but i know that you’re an animagus and you have really high marks in transfiguration, so i thought it might be worth a shot to ask you?” he paused, wetting his lips. “no pressure or anything.”