OOC: ^ One thousandth post! :woot:

When Kyle spoke, her eyes flickered towards Rose. Victoire figured that her cousin was probably fuming inside right at the moment, but unwilling to vent her anger in front of Kyle... or maybe Victoire was wrong about that. Two elves quickly brought out the girls' desserts, placing them gingerly on the table before scuttling away into their respective areas of the kitchens. Picking up her fork, she took a piece of treacle tart and, before placing it in her mouth, tried to break the awkward silence: "Mind sharing some of your liquor?"

She almost regretted her words just as soon as they came out of her mouth. Not that Victoire hadn't had a glass of firewhiskey before, but she knew that Rose might possibly become angrier because she, of course, was Miss Goody Two Shoes and would cause a ruckus within the trio of drinkers. Victoire only hoped for the best.

Matt arched an eyebrow curiously. "Only if you share your dessert." He said in a flirty tone. An elf laid another couple glasses on the table, along with another small bucket of ice cubes. He poured some firewhisky into each new glass (Topping up his own and Kyle's as well), and added a few ice cubes, then laid one infront of each girl. "Cheers." He said with a wink, taking a sip. His eyes shot to Kyle, hearing his twin's remark. "Not at all. Stay." He replied, picking up a fork and taking a small corner from his girlfriend's dessert.

"Alright then." Kyle replied, picking up his glass and taking a sip. He took note of how not pleased Rose seemed at the mention of the girls having a drink as well. Probably still traumatized from her past, and seemingly only experience with the stuff. But Victorie didn't seem hesitant at all. And good lord, could Matt look any more like a love sick puppy? Ugh, it was almost vomit worthy. Then again, that was only because he was exceedingly jealous of his relationship, and was not afraid to admit it. Go figure, Matt gets the (Second) most beautiful girl in the school, without even trying. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms casually.

Al looked down and met her eyes as she tilted her head back. She looked at peace with everything, which was far more then he could say. It was all he could do to keep from shaking. But when their eyes met he relaxed, just a little. She seemed comfortable, leaning there against him like that, but his legs were turning to mush. "Uh, d-do you wanna go over by the lake... Sit down for a while?" He asked, letting her go and taking a step back. He bit his lower lip, knowing he probably just sounded like a complete idiot.

OOC: Yay, 1000!! Thanks guys for sticking around for so long. You're all awesome. :)

Alyss smiled softly and nodded. "Sure," she replied as she pulled away from him and took his hand. She had noticed how tense he was and she would be lying to herself, if she didn't feel a little tense as well. She just hid it better. Being accustom to doing as she was usually expected, being in uncharted ground was completely strange for her. Leading the way down to the lake, she stopped just a few meters away at a tree. The branches above them were full of leaves and provide cover from prying eyes from the tower. She had a feeling certain 'claws and Gryffie might want to spy on them. Pulling her wand out, she conjured a blanket. She wasn't about to sit on the ground, her outfit was new after all. Putting her wand back, she sat down. Now that was better.

Alyss smiled as she felt the blanket being placed around her shoulders. That is definitely new, she thought to herself, but again she shouldn't have been surprised. She was with a gentleman compared to the other guys she could be with at the moment. Pulling the blanket around her slightly, she turned to him. "Well, let me see," she laughed as she tilted her head slight. What should she tell him that he probably hadn't heard before? "My middle name is Noelle, I'm the only daughter in my family and the middle child. I spend a lot of my time travel when I'm not here for school. My parents adore me, but they can't say the same about each other." She really couldn't think of anything that she could say that wasn't already known about her and had just suck to basics. Shrugging, she laughed. "I know, nothing too amazing to tell you, but what else would you like to know about me?"

" Yeah sure.' Jay answered casually with a slight shrug. " I still think i could have dealt with him if everyone would hae stayed out of it," He mumbled under his breath.

Rose listened not really caring about anyone's excuses. It was obvious what has happening. And oh, was she mad at her dear cousin. Before she knew it a drink was being offered to her. She immediately shoved it away. That was not going to happen again. She instead entertained herself with her sundae. At least the actual dessert wasn't a trick.

"Well if you feel the need to do that, just don't make scene." Meg said. Boys will be boys, right? And if they felt like they had to settle their differences in such a savage way... well, so be it. As long as she wasn't forced to get involved again, that is.

Al nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that could happen." He replied. He knew that she and her family lived fairly close to his in London, so it wouldn't be hard to find her. "I'm sure they'll be back over the summer. From what I hear floating around, their starting a world tour after they graduate. And I wouldn't doubt theres truth in that." He said casually, relaxing back against the tree trunk again.

Kyle watched as Rose immersed herself in nothing but her sundae, trying to block out the outside world. Was he honestly that bad of a guy, that she refused to even talk with him civily. Good lord. He heaved a frustrated sigh, and downed the rest of his drink. "You know what, I think I'll leave anyway." He said sarcastically. "I think if I sit here any longer, watching the pair of you like that, I'm going to throw up." He slammed his glass down and walked off, both hands in the pockets of his favorite jeans.

Matt rolled his eyes and looked over to Victorie. "See what I mean? Stubborn as a mule." He said, ignoring his brother's clearly flaring temper. But it seemed to be well deserved. Rose had, after all, given him the cold shoulder, even as she sat directly across from him. He wasn't going to say anything now with her in the room, but he was going to talk some sence into his brother later. "Sorry about that. He's not well." He said kindly to Rose, taking the drink she didn't want.

Victoire took a sip of her firewhiskey, the corners of her lips turning down as Kyle left. Her eyes flickered towards Matt and then towards her cousin, not entirely sure of what to do. Sighing, she spoke of the only thiing that she could say, "See you in the dorms." She grimaced as Rose walked off, trying to understand what had gone wrong. Had they planned the event just a bit too much? Had they gone overboard on trying to intervene? Maybe all Matt and Victoire would have to and need to do would be to sit back and let fate guide the two into each other's arms. She took a bite of her own treacle tart and, making sure that Rose had completely left, began, "Our little ingenious plan wasn't so intelligent after all."

Matt frowned and shook his head. "No, that was just Kyle's large jealous streak coming out." He said sadly. It wasn't like he tried to do things to upset his twin. Not at all. And when he tried to help out, it apparently only made things worse. "As long as this dosen't end in another all out brawl, I'll be perfectly happy. He's got a pretty hard punch..." He looked away from Victorie and sighed a little. It was rather disheartening, seeing their plan fall to pieces like it did. "Sad thing is, it would have worked too, if we'd have left and locked them in here. He would have gotten ****** off, she would have said something to try and calm him down, and he would have blown up at her. Which would have lead to him telling her exactly how he feels." He explained, finishing off the drink in his hand. "Whatever. He's being a prat now anyway."

Kyle heard the portrait open and close behind him as he walked up the hall, and looked to see who was following. It was Rose. "Oh." He said, his voice emotionless and rather cool. "It's you." So you won't talk to me when Matt's around, but you'll follow me out of the kitchens. I see what you're playing at. He thought bitterly. "Not in oggling my brother? What a shock." He said. He shocked himself with how Slytherine he sounded. But hey, he wasn't in the greatest of moods, and she was the cause, so he was allowed to get a little snippy... Right? He turned his head from her, and kept walking.

Al nodded. "Yeah, it would." He said through a yawn. It was getting late, and after the previous night's party he didn't get much, if any sleep. "Wanna head back in?" He asked lazily, figuring she was in much the same state as he was.

"Seriously? I'm not sure if I can stand being around my cousin anymore." Rose said. "I don't know what she and Al are playing at." she said. It wasn't Kyle... she just couldn't stand them making decisions for her.

Al nodded, standing and extending a hand to her. "Yeah, that's why I didn't put in an application like mum and dad wanted. I prefer to sleep in as much as I can before classes." He laughed softly and helped her to her feet, and picked up the blankets.

"Try living with Matt for seventeen years." He muttered, glancing over his shoulder quickly. "At least you three live in seperate houses during the summer, not a crampt tour bus." He shook his head and rolled his eyes, not really wanting to talk to her. He knew what both her cousins and his brother were trying to do. "Maybe if you tried listening to them once in a while, they'd ease up." He said coldly.

Rose stopped in her tracks. "They have no business telling me what to do." she said. "And neither do you. I was quite content with my life before any of this happened." she said. Really, if the past day had taught her anything it was not to listen to her cousin's ideas.

Victoire took a rather deep sip of the glass of firewhiskey, closing her eyes as she thought. "It just frustrates me to no end," She finally opened her eyes, a bit of fire seeming to burn behind her pupils. "They both inherently know that they like each other. Why not effing go for it!" She couldn't help but pound a fist on the table to release some of her anger. "I swear, I never thought I'd meet someone as stubborn as Rose." She fumed in silence for a moment, taking another quick swig of her drink. Taking a deep breath, she tried to recover as she began again, "Part of me wants to leave them to their own devices... but then again, we both know that they're not adept enough to handle this situation on their own."

Alyss smiled as she took his hand and was pulled to her feet. "Mum and Dad would have been happy to see me just focus on my studies, but I'm a bit of an overachiever." she shrugged. Being a prefect was just a step closer to the title she wanted...Head Girl. "But what would I do to get a little more sleep before lessons," she added with a laugh. "I haven't been able to sleep in in a while, but I can always do that over break, right?"

Kyle shot her a look. "I didn't attempt to tell you what to do. It was mearly a suggestion to help you get them to shut up." He replied, looking away again. He wasn't about to try and tell her anything right now, with the mood he was in. Even if he did confess his indying love for her right now he'd probably get slapped, called a creep, or she'd tell everyone and he'd be the laughing stock of Hogwarts. Neither of which seemed like a great option right now.

Matt reached across the table and took her hand. "If you ask Kyle, there's no situation to handle." He replied. "He'd sooner ignore it then deal with it. Which is why he's always so jealous of me." He sighed and shook his head. "He sees a girl he's interestd in. Does nothing about it. She's intrested too, but he is who he is, so she won't approach him. This goes on for weeks, she gets bored, and moves on to me, because apparently I'm more approachable." He rolled his eyes and looked back to her. "Maybe we're better off leaving well enough alone. They did manage to get talking earlier, before we met up with them when we came back inside."

Al laughed and nodded a little. "Yeah, that is true." He said, walking beside her back to the castle. "So what time are we meeting for Hogsmead tomorrow?" He asked casually, trying not to sound to anxious to spend time with her again. Suprisingly, he had a really good time with her. He firgured that their date would just be her acting like he wasn't there, because he was somehow less of a person then she was. But it wasn't... She actually talked to him.

Alyss bit her lip in thought for a second before turning to him. "We could meet in the courtyard after breakfast and go down together, unless you want to meet up there?" she offered. Being so accustom to just meeting there, she hoped he's pick walking down together. The weather was supposed to be nice and it would be a change for her and could be interesting. Plus, it would give them time to talk to each other. She actually liked talking to him and listening to what he had to say. Oddly enough, she was genuinely interested in their conversations and unlike other guys, he wasn't after something and could keep up a real conversation with her of some substance.

Alyss blushed slightly as she felt his lips on her cheek. Again, that was a first for her. It was probably the most chaste kisses she had ever received, but she found it cute at the same time. Giving him a nod and a smile, she looked down at her hands briefly. Looking back up, she leaned up quickly on her toes and returned his kiss with one of her own on his cheek. It was innocent enough. Leaning back, she stepped back a step, biting her lower lip softly. "Night Al, I'll see you in the morning." she said before turning to the stairs leading to the dungeons.

Rose didn't respond but just shrugged her shoulders. "Do you do what people say you should do just to get them off your back?" she asked. That would seem much more passive than he looked.

Al smiled as she walked away and headed up the stairs, laughing to himself in disbelief. He just spend the last few hours, with the most unlikely person in the school, and had an amazing evening. His cousins were not going to believe this. He entered the gryffindor common rooms, knowing both Rose and Vic would still be up, and hoping to see them to tell them about the recent events. But he saw no one. Both girls were still not up... Either that or they were gone to bed. Hmm. He sat down next to the coffee table, where he'd left his homework, and pulled his charms questions from his back pack, and began working while he waited.

Kyle stopped, and turned to face her. "If I did, you'd have known long before now." He said, in a rather monotone voice. It was true. Matt had always told him to just tell her exactly how he felt... Confront this whole thing. But he always found an excuse as to why he either shouldn't, or couldn't. But for the most part, he did take the advice given to him by his brother, and friends. Like different ways to get her to notice him... Not that they worked. And things he should say to her... Not that he ever did. But he did take it... Sometimes.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Rose asked with her arms folded across her chest. Was this guy so full of himself that he believed that she would have heard something?

Victoire nodded, "You're right." She squeezed her small hand as it rested in his. "At least, I hope so." Her eyes turned towards the closed portrait hole, hoping to Merlin the some act of fate eventually bring the second Tuck and the brunette Weasley together. Her insides squirmed just imagining Rose in such a situation, both from anxiety about her saying the wrong thing and from satisfaction of the event actually even happening. With her free hand, she took another small bite of her treacle tart and chewed slowly, thinking. "I'm just so scared for her. I want her to take a chance for once, and not in academics. I have this wierd image of her growing old and becoming a spinster with cats in her house and gnomes in her garden." She was being serious, but she couldn't help smiling slightly at the funny thought.

Rose had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Boys were so weird. "Whatever." she mumbled as she headed for the stair case. One thing for sure was that she was not going back to the common room tonight. She did not want to see either of her cousins. Maybe she'd find that abandoned astronomy tower Kyle was taking about earlier.

Victoire smirked as Matt laughed. She knew it was wrong to think of Rose in that way, but how else did old witches with no one to love turn out? She ran a hand through her blonde hair, sweeping it out of her face and placing a lock of hair behind her ear. Shrugging, she began, "I hope she does. We were supposed to go together, with Al possibly tagging along. But after tonight, I'm not sure how much she wants to go with me after all." Sighing, she took another small sip of her drink as she fell into somewhat of a reverie. "But that won't mean that she won't go. She might just head off by herself, or with a friend." Her eyes lit up as he mentioned a song: "Hm... that could work, if she would listen, nonetheless actually be in the vicinity when the song's being played." Taking a breath, she tried to summon the strength to give her stubborn cousin another chance. "...I'll try to bring her, or rather entice her to come to your show. But I can't make any promises."

Kyle sighed as she walked past. Great, blew it again. Way to go, you idiot! Next time, instead of fighting with the girl, TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL... Moron. He thought to himself, heading to the other end of the hallway. He found the statue of the dueling dragons and scratched one under the chin. The statue shifted, revealing a very long staircase. He climbed it, and found himself on the same astronomy tower as he had been before. His bag was still there with his belongings, his sketch book, and his guitar. He didn't care about leaving it there, after all, only he and Matt knew where to find this place. Sighing, he hopped up onto the low railing running around the sealing-less tower, and hung his feet over the edge, looking out over the grounds.

His mind was still reeling. She really didn't notice him, did she? And after all that time he'd spend trying to show her that he wasn't as bad as the rest of the slytherine clan, she just didn't see it. Maybe his friends back home had been right. Maybe he was just waisting his time. What good was all this waiting around doing anyway? He sighed and looked up at the cercent moon hovering high over head, trying to figure out a way to get over this whole thing.

Matt nodded, shrugging. "Yeah. It's no big deal if she won't, though. " He said, mindlessly tracing patterns on the back of her hand with his finger. "As long as one of you is there, the message should be sent loud and clear." He looked away from her again, smiling a little to himself. She didn't need to know quite yet exactly how he was starting to feel about her, but if she gathered that from the lyrics he'd written, then so be it. He heard the clock on the wall chime twelve times and glanced back up to her eyes. "It's getting kind of late..." He started, knowing that she would probably want her beauty sleep.. Not that she needed it. "Want me to talk you to the commons?" He asked, watching her expression change to a mild confusion. "Yes, I know where they are... That rumor floating around about me sneaking out of there early one morning last year.... Yeah, that's one of the true ones." He blushed a little, a rare occurance, and shook his head. "Don't ask, and I won't tell."

As Matt traced patterns on the back of her hand, a wierd sensation rushed up her spine. She was almost angry that the clock had ended their golden time together. "Sure. I promise I won't inquire about your past..." She laughed, finishing off the glass of firewhiskey and patting a napkin to the corners of her mouth as she stood. Her hand in his, she stepped through the portrait hole and began to make the slow descent up to Gryffindor Tower, deliberately taking her time so as to be able to spend every last second with Matt. Besides, if anyone saw Victoire out of bed at this hour, who would stop her? Matt was a prefect, and a Slytherin at that. Who would dare cross his path? It almost made Victoire laugh to think that earlier they had been worried about their house rivalries, a subject that seemed near trivial now.

Rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand as they walked, she began, "Thanks for a wonderful time, despite the rudeness of Rose. It was still lovely spending time with you." She stopped herself. Didn't want to seem too desperate and let him know that she wished to stay with him longer. A crazy thought appeared in her mind: could they sneak off to the kitchens and stay awake til dawn? She immediately brushed the thought away. No proper Weasley would ever do that, although Victoire had done some questionable things in her life.

Victoire remained in silent surprise as Matt spoke the words that she inherently longed to hear. Was he a legilimens, or did he just know how to read body language? Or had some random act from Merlin caused Matt to speak those words? As he kissed her, she smiled and nodded. "I'd love nothing better," She answered, placing her hands on his shoulders. Part of her mind was screaming to run off to the portrait of the Fat Lady and go to sleep in the girls' dormitory. But her heart screamed louder than her mind to stay put, to follow Matt to wherever he might take her.

What's gotten into me? Her thoughts continued to fight. But she fought right back to supress those thoughts. Her mum had always taught her to follow her heart, and Victoire had never appreciated that advice more than now. "Where's this place that you speak of? Some well-kept Slytherin secret?" She smiled mischievously yet innocently.

Matt laughed lowly as she asked where it was. "Actually, it's more like a well kept Tuck secret." He said, releasing her from his arms and leading her up another few flights of stairs. "I don't really remember how we found it, but Kyle and I used to use it as a jam space. Now that our other guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer are all gone, it's just there." He explained. "Our best bet is that it used to be a teachers living quarters, that's not been used in years. The latest Daily Prophet in there is from 1985." He laughed a little and continued to lead the way, his arm around her waist.

He walked down a long, dark, seemingly abandoned corridor, stopping at a specific spot. There were no markings on the blank wall, no brick out of place. But he pulled his wand from his jeans pocket, and tapped on a series of bricks. Much like the wall leading to diagon ally, the bricks shifted, revealing a narrow arch way and a set of stairs. He led her up the short flight, and opened another door, causing the wall to close behind them. "Here it is." He said, letting her in.

The room beyond branched off into two more, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The room itself was a large sitting room with a deep fireplace, and shelves lined with books. The couches had been arranged around the fireplace, and an old school style record player sat in the corner, beside three milk crates pull of old muggle records. "Something tellls me it was a Muggle Studies professor." He commented, nodding towards the record player.

Kyle sighed after a while and hopped off the ledge back onto the stone floor. He wasn't tired at all, for it being so late. He picked up his guitar from it's case and leaned against the ledge, playing to himself. "She's a myth that I have to believe in, all I need to make it real is one more reason. Now I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do... When she makes me sane..." He sang as he played. He sighed, and continued playing, knowing no one would hear him.

OOC: Lyrics = Vermillion pt.2 by Slipknot.... Cute song, for Slipknot whom I normally REALLY don't like

Rose continued to wander around until she heard some music. She must have been getting close. But since there was music... that must mean... that Kyle or Matt was in there. And it would probably be awkward to intrude. But nevertheless, her curiosity was getting the best of her. She'd just find out where it was and then go back later.

"Well kept secret it is... or rather was," Victoire spoke leaving Matt at the entrance as she slowly made her way around the room. She approached the record player, a film of dust over it and seemingly most objects in the room. She ran an index finger over a record that had been left in the phonograph, the pad of her finger instantly becoming brown with dirt. She wiped the muck off onto her robes as she continued to gaze around the room. "Whatever happened to him... or her?" She asked nonchalantly, strolling over to the dresser as she began to examine a few framed photographs.

Kyle sighed again, slipping down the wall to sit on the floor. He still was in no mood to go all the way back to the dungeons to go to bed. Besides, looking at, or talking to his twin was not something he was particularly willing to do. And knowing Matt like he did, the second he was seen, there'd be questions asked about his conversation with Rose. A conversation he'd sooner forget, because of how terribly it went. He changed songs again, to one called Burden by Opeth, his favorite band. People always did comment on how similar his voice was to the lead singer of that band, which was always made him feel pretty good. He all but worshiped the ground Mikael Akerfeldt walked on. "Saw movement in their eyes
Said I no longer knew the way
Given up the ghost
A passing minds and its a fear
In the wait for redemption ahead" He sang once more, looking up at the stars over head.

"Retired?" Matt said, flopping down on the couch. He flicked his wand and the fireplace lit, casting a warm orange glow around the room. The moon lit the rest, as it poured in from the large french doors that lead to a small balcony. "Died? Who knows really." He looked over at her, and couldn't help but smile, that same warmth flooding into his chest again. "Come overe..." He said softly, opening his arms to her.

Rose continued poking around. Finally she came across a mysterious door. She opened it and the singing got louder. Had she found the place? And then she remembered that she probably shouldn't be sneaking around trying to find the secret astronomy tower. She closed the door, probably much too loud.

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice out of nowhere surprised her. Dang it. He heard the door slam.

"Oh... nothing... I got lost on the way to the Gryffindor tower." she lied. Yeah, that was the stupidest lie she'd ever heard. There was no way he was going to believe that.

Rose laughed. "Fine. You caught me." she said. No. She was not lost. "Are you kidding? Why would I want to go back there?" she asked. Al would be there. Victorie will be there. And she was sure by now everyone had heard what happened.

"What in Merlin's name gave you that idea?" Rose asked. Had he been acting that way? She really need to learn how to pay attention to things around her.

She shrugged. "Not really. I slept all morning." she said.

Victoire nodded as he spoke. Whatever had happened to the room's former occupant, it didn't matter in the least now. It was now for Matt and Victoire, and only them. She smiled softly as Matt requested her presence, strolling over to the couch and sitting beside him, swinging her legs over his lap and leaning in to softly kiss him. Pulling away slowly, she smiled, her eyes twinkling as she spoke, "It's a mystery as to how I've never noticed your handsome face in Hogwarts before this year."

Kyle shrugged and looked her over quickly. She seemed to be judging him somehow, weather it was good or bad, he didn't know. "Oh." He replied with a smirk. His hazle eyes shimmered in the dimming candle light. He tucked a piece of loose hair behind his ear. "So... You're still up, I'm still up... How about that tour of the forrest?" He asked casually.

Matt groaned in protest as she pulled away from his lips, and wound his arms around her. "Believe me, you've definitly seen me around before... You just never cared to give me a second glance." He said lowly. He kissed her again, pulling her small body against his and holding her close.

"Sure. That sounds great." Rose said trying her best not to sound too excited. She really did want to go into the forest. "Do I need to bring anything?" she asked. Like maybe better shoes. Maybe she should drop off her robes while she was at it. She wouldn't want that to snag.

Victoire wrapped her arms around his neck, some fingers grasping onto his long, silky hair as he pulled her close. As they kissed, she felt her stomach flutter incessantly. Could it be happening again? Could she be falling in love, and falling hard? At the moment, she could care less about what others thought, about their pasts, about house rivalries, about curfew. All she wanted was to stay in his arms. "Perfect..." She whispered, quoting herself from an earlier time as she pulled away to take a breath.

Kyle shrugged. "You might want to change out of those school robes and into something comfortable to walk in." He said with a laugh, nodding towards the school issued skirt, knee socks, and mary-jane type shoes. "Probably a sweater too. It's a bit chilly." He pushed off the wall and walked her back towards the portrait of the fat lady. "Yeah, I know where your towers are. Matt knows, and he tends to tell me everything... Happens when you're related to someone who brags constantly about his.. err... love life?" He stepped back to the other saide of the hall and turned his back. "Go on, give the password. I won't listen." He said, looking over his shoulder, flashing the same smile he and Matt shared.

Matt sighed as she pulled away, his eyes closing and a smile on his lips. "I couldn't agree more." He replied, as his head rested against the back of the couch. The fluttering in his chest came back again, and sent a shivver down his spine. This never happened. But when it did it always ended badly for him. The last time he felt like this for a girl, she shattered his heart... But would Victorie? His smile faded as the old memories came back again, and the fear of feeling that kind of pain again returned.

Rose smiled. She held her hand up to her face so that Kyle couldn't read her lips. She then whispered the password and entered the common room. She hurried up the steps to her room. She threw off her clothes and searched her bureau for something more appropriate. Pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans she quickly re-dressed herself. She then put on tennis shoes. She grabbed a jacket and then headed back out.

"So how do I look? Is this fine?" she asked when she arrived back outside.

Victoire leaned her head against his chest and sighed softly, but not before catching a glimpse of his changing facial expression. Had she done something wrong? It wasn't like Victoire to become self-conscious, but this was one of the rare exceptions. "Penny for your thoughts?" She inquired, gazing up at his face.

"Thanks." Rose said happily. "Ok." she said following his lead. Hopefully it wouldn't be too scary since it was dark out.

"What? Oh, no. It's nothing." He replied, shaken from his memories. "Just thinking about something." He shrugged and ran a hand through her hair and down her back, letting it rest gently on her hip. But the thoughts didn't go away. In the back of his mind, he was still well aware of what could, and probably would happen, were he not careful. He wasn't going to give her his heart as easily as he would have liked to. There was nothing more he wanted then to tell her how he really felt, but to do so would probably ruin everything. He closed his eyes again and sighed.

Kyle caught the look on her face, like she was nervous. "Don't worry about the forrest. There isn't anything in there that can hurt you this time of the month. It's nowhere near a ful moon." He smiled a little, and slowed his pace, so he was walking beside her. "The Centaurs are really quite friendly. And unicorns are just curious... But they spook easily." He opened the castle doors for her and allowed her to go through first.

Rose smiled nervously. That was not reassuring. She nodded and excited the castle doors. She was excited, nervous, scared, and everything in between. This would be a night to remember.

The corners of Victoire's lipsticked mouth turned down slightly as he replied. Men were so obvious when they lied, and Matt Tuck was no exception. As he ran his hand through her hair, she almost lost her will-power and was going to relent, but the ornery French veela wasn't about to give up. Matt's face easily portrayed his true emotions, and he wasn't giving off a positive vibe at the moment. Taking a porcelain hand to gently sweep away one of his long, jet black locks of hair from his face, she began in an innocent tone, "Are you sure it's just nothing?" Her voiced sounded angelic, although a hint of ferocity lurked behind those sickly sweet words. If Matt was to open his eyes, he might find the beginnings of a fire burning behind her brown eyes.

Matt felt her hand sweeping the hair from his face, and opened an eye slowly. Though her words were innocent and sweet, the look on her face meant business. He wanted to tell her everything he was feeling, and thinking. But he knew that to tell her what he was thinking, was to tell her he was falling in love with her. And it was just too early for that. He sighed and closed his eye again, not wanting to see the anger in her eyes. "Honestly, it's nothing. Just trying not to remember things better left forgotten." He replied through another sigh. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Kyle laughed when she didn't respond. "Seriously, you've got nothing to be scared of." He replied, noting the nervousness in her eyes. "All the professors make the forest sound like a terrible place, to keep us out of it during full moons. But other then that, there isn't a thing in here that'd even think about attacking someone." He lead her to the mouth of the forest and pulled his wand from his pocket and gave it a flick, lighting the end. "C'mon, I'll show you." He took a few steps inside the forest and turned to her, holding out a hand again. "I promise, you'll be fine."

"Okay..." Rose said slowly. She was still unable to hide a little bit of nervousness in her voice. She took his hand and followed his example. "Lumos." she whispered lighting her wand. "Alright, but you better be right. My parents wouldn't like if I just disappeared." Maybe she should have gone to find her cousins and let them know where she was going to be.

Rose followed along with him. She watches as he poked a flower... plant... thing and it began to glow a bit. Okay, so maybe that wasn't so bad. But there were other things in here too, right? She had once heard her father mumble something in his sleep about giant spiders. There was no way giant spiders were harmless.

" I wasn't planning to do anything to begin with. You know I was willing to be civil and step out of teh way and let things be, For you even if he can't keep his snarky remarks to himself." Jay finished off his drink.

Inhaling a rather large breath, Victoire attempted to let her anger subside, and it surprisingly worked. "Alright, I won't push it," She spoke, her finger twirling a lock of his jet black hair. It was a hard thing for Victoire to do, to let things be. She usually was the type to push and push until she got her way, but with Matt, it was different. She didn't want to upset him.

"A unicorn, really?" Rose asked in an excited whisper. She didn't know why she whispered. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to scare any away before they came. She giggled a little as he pet the rabbit. That was not a sight she was expecting to see.


"Yeah. I know." Meg said a little frustrated. "I don't know where my head has been recently. I don't think I've been capable of my normally wise thoughts in awhile." she said. What was she thinking. She should have never jumped on the back of some random guy's broom. None of this would have happened if it weren't for that.

Matt pouted a little, hearing the frustrated tone in her voice. "You said you didn't want to get into my past life." He replied quietly. "So I'm trying to avoid bringing it up. But if you honestly want to know what's going on it my head, I'll tell you." He kept his eyes closed, so she didn't have to see how painfull the memories really were. Not many people knew about why he became the kind of person he did, and why he never had a real relationship anymore. And he prefered to keep it that way. But if she insisted on knowing, then he'd tell her... Not that she'd like what it was implying about his current feelings for her.

Kyle heard her giggling quietly, and caught her eyeing him as he pet the rabbit in his lap. He laughed, looking over with a smirk, and an arched eyebrow. "What?" He said, looking at the bunny. "I like animals... And they tend to take a liking to me." No sooner had he spoken, then a unicorn fole appeared just behind Rose, still in the surrounding trees. "Shhh..." He said, laying the bunny back on the ground, where it scampered off. "Look behind you." he stood slowly and held out a hand, fingers down, and palm flat. The unicorn took a step inside the clearing, trying to judge the safety of the situation. After several minutes, it made it's way over towards Kyle, sniffing his palm. He couldn't help but smile, shaking his head. "See what I mean." He laughed, looking over to Rose.

Victoire left the atmosphere silent for a moment as she thought. Was it really worth the chance, asking him what was going on in his mind? Asking him about his past? Was she ready to delve that deep into his history at the moment? Then, the voice of a familiar loved one came to her head: No time like the present, eh? Closing her eyes and taking a breath, her eyelids fluttered opened before she uttered a single, momentous word, one that could possibly effect their future together: "I'm ready." She spoke, almost breathed.

Victoire couldn't help but frown as she realized what he had been thinking, what he had gone through. No feelings of pity were in her mind, but she felt upset knowing that someone had hurt him so horribly. A piece of her wanted to charge that tramp, Lex, and toss her to a horde of starving acromantulas. But being here, right at that moment in the Room of Requirement alone with Matt, all she wanted to do was make things better any way she could. Her thumping heart seemed to falter as he avoided her gaze, obviously embarrassed and still hurt from what had occured. Victoire could barely register the last few words that he had spoken, but for the moment she brushed them away.

Victoire took her manicured hands gingerly to his face and turned it to face hers. "You know I would never, never, do that to you. I know what it's like," Her heart seemed to hiccup as she thought briefly back to Teddy, but she brushed the thought away and immediately continued, "You have my word."

Rose smiled. She liked animals too. She gently placed the rabbit back on the ground. She turned around when Kyle said too. She was so startled she nearly fell over. Standing right there was a real life unicorn!!! She stared in awe as it approached Kyle. She didn't answer him though. She was scared of making a sound and scaring it away.

Victoire couldn't help but feel hurt as he pushed her away, but her conscience told her that it was natural. Anyone who was ever upset went through a phase of wanting to be alone. It diminished her sad feelings slightly, but not much. She watched him walk off to the bedroom as she sat on the couch, her back hunched as she sat in a rather melancholy fashion. And now she was alone in the sitting room, having seen the light from the bedroom being almost immediately snapped off.

She sat for a while, her body still but her mind racing. Her heart kept telling her that everything would be alright, that Matt just needed to shake things off. But a small voice in her head told her that she had done something horribly wrong, or that Matt felt like she was being too clingy, or... endless ideas popped into her head one-by-one. She tried to think back to those momentous words that had come from his lips, trying to decipher them. Victoire's mind rested on those last words that he had spoken, or had rather murmured. What had he said? Victoire racked her brain, trying to decipher his upset mumblings. After trying in vain, she let her head fall into her hands in silent defeat.

After a moment, she lifted her head to view the analog clock that rested on the wall. It read that it was about two in the morning. Had she really been worrying her head off that long? She stood and slowly made her way to the cracked-open door of the bedroom, her long figure casting a shadowy silhouette in the doorway. She made out Matt's figure on the bed, his chest slowly rising and falling as he had finally fallen asleep. After casting a long glance at his sleeping figure, she sighed and stepped away from the doorway, the lock of the door snapping as she pulled the door closed. Sighing, she made her way to the couch that she had previously occuped. Kicking off her oxfords and letting the black cloak of her Gryffindor robes fall off of her shoulders, she lay on the couch in her uniform: stockings, skirt, button-up blouse, and red-and-gold tie. Grabbing her cloak, she wrapped it around herself like a blanket and fell into a fitful sleep. No matter how hard she tried, the demons of the day still seemed to haunt her.

Kyle lowered his hand and the little unicorn walked further into the clearing, tesring up a mouthful of plants. He smiled a little, watching the beauty of the creature. Only the soft beep of his watch, telling him it was 2AM snapped him out of it. "We shoud get back." He said softly to Rose. He once again, extended a hand to her, to lead her back to the castle.

Matt awoke when he heard the latch snap the door shut. His sleep had been light, and filled with terrible dreams. He sat up, and expected to feel the warmth of another body beside his. But no. Just cold, pressed sheets. Hardly a thing he wanted, especially now. Maybe she was still up...

He sighed, and pushed the blankets off of himself, getting out of bed. There was still a little light from the fire in the sitting room as he re-entered it. Victorie, curled up on the couch, covered in her cloak of all things, slept soundly. His lips pulled into a loving smile, as he watched her for a few moments, before going into the bedroom, stripping the comforter and quilt from the bed and going back to kneel beside her.

His hand lightly stroked her hair, before pulling the cloak from her, and tossing it over the back of the couch. Not wanting to wake her, he gently draped the blankets over her, and placed a soft kiss to her cheek. There was still a ton of room on the massive couch, so, as softly as he could, he too lay down behind her, winding both arms around her, sighing contently. This was all he wanted. All he needed. The overwhelming feeling of contentment, and love washed over him as he closed his eyes. He'd found exactly what he'd been looking for, and he was never letting go.

Victoire finally managed to fall into a semi-sound sleep. At first, her dreams had been horrible. She had been walking through a forest during the winter, the trees dead, no sign of wildlife, and the region blanketed in snow. She had been trudging through the snow in her robes and her simple oxfords, freezing as she made her way to places unknown. Her feet had been cold and wet, her stockings almost completely soaked. But just as she began to make her way over a small hill, the land that spread out in front of her as far as the eye could see was a beautiful meadow, filled with flowers of every color imaginable. The sun had been rising and had cast a beautiful light over everything in reach of its rays. At that glorious moment, Victoire had turned to see that the snow in the previous landscape had begun to melt and that the dead trees had miraculously begun to return to their healthy, natural states, branches browning and growing larger while patches of green began to sprout from every corner.

And then her dream had ended, leaving Victoire to fall into a sound sleep. She felt warm and content, at the moment unaware of Matt's presence. A small smile formed on her lipsticked mouth as she lay asleep on the couch, side by side with the one she adored.

OOC: At the risk of waiting forever to clue up other plotlines, and because I'm terribly bored, I'm going to assume everyone found their way back to bed, and slept soundly through the night. Hogsmead trip is a-go!

Al woke a little later then normal, having gotten to bed so late the previous night. He showered quickly and dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, throwing a hoodie over it to keep warm. After fussing for a while on his hair, and losing the battle, he headed down to meet with Alyss for breakfast before they headed to Hogsmead together. He was still in a fantastic mood from the evening before, and hoped to see Rose and Victorie before he met up with her, to tell them about it. He slipped on his favorite DC brand sneekers and made his way down to the commons to wait for the girls.

After taking Rose back to the castle, and leaving her to go off to her own dorm, Kyle had headed down to bed feeling rather elated. Expecting to see Matt in the dorms, and not finding him there, he got into bed and slept peacefully. He'd have to wait until morning to tell him what had gone on. Around nine the next morning, he got out of bed. There was a lot to do before the mini-show at the Hogs Head. After a nice long, hot shower (which was rare, because Matt almost always used all the hot water before he had the chance...) he changed and packed up his guitar, and their list of songs. He made his way to the great hall for a quick breakfast before he headed over to the pub to set up.

The next morning, Matt woke up, to find that Victorie was still sleeping in his arms. Not wanting to disturb her rest, he stayed beside her, holding her close. It was still rather early anyway, and his and Kyle's gig wasn't until one. He had time. He kissed the back of her neck softly and settled back down with a sigh. Besides, he was comfortable, and he didn't sleep much. His brother would handle the minimal set up just fine without him. He pulled the blankets up around his shoulders and closed his eyes again, though unable to sleep.

And Victoire was awake, her eyelids fluttering for a moment before she woke. She felt a presence beside her. Turning her head to look at who held her from behind, it was Matt. She grinned a small, tired smile, kissing his lips softly before murmuring, "Good morning, darling." So he had recovered after all. Her heart fluttered, happy that they had managed to eventually turn a night of a tense atmosphere into one of reconciliation. She brought a hand from under the covers to sweep her hair from her face as she still attempted to recover from minimal sleep.

Victoire obeyed, closing her eyes on command. But she couldn't possibly go back to sleep, being so close to the object of her desire. She sighed slowly, opening her eyes as a small smirk appeared on her face, "No luck." She turned her head, yawning into the couch before turning back to face Matt. "Besides," She began, her voice gaining strength as she began to wake a bit more, "Isn't today an important day for the Tuck twins?"

"You're right," Victoire began, pulling away after a moment, "But don't you think we should get ready? I mean, if Al sees me walking back to the Common Room in this state, wouldn't he think..." Victoire bit her lip, not sure if she wanted to finish the sentence. She knew that she had done nothing wrong, and nor had Matt. But if Al saw her returning to Gryffindor Tower, with her unkempt hair, smeared lipstick, and robes on from the previous day instead of her weekend clothes, he would no doubt jump to conclusions. And Victoire hadn't even considered what others would think.

JAy sighed and looked across the able at Meg. " You know now isnt a good time for me I have a lot to get done tryouts to plan for," he stated as he stood up and started to leave hte great hall

"Alright," Victoire swung her legs off of the side of the couch, quickly slipping on and lacing up her oxfords before grabbing her cloak from the side of the couch. Giving him a swift kiss, she began to speak as she made her way out, "See you at one?" It killed her to leave him, but she knew that she absolutely had to. The positive thing about the Room of Requirement was that it was on the seventh floor, so hopefully Victoire would be able to scurry off to nearby Gryffindor Tower without any looks of contempt.

Victoire crept out of the Room of Requirement and as soon as she was in the seventh floor corridor, the door had vanished behind her. Sighing, she began to slowly walk towards the main hall, ready to walk by a flight or two of stairs before reaching her destination. Her cloak was draped over her arm while her other hand went to tousle her already mussed up hair as she made her way. For a Saturday morning, the area was oddly empty. Maybe she would be able to make it to the common room in peace.

Meg woke up in the morning with a pounding headache. She blamed it on Jay for being so difficult. But luckily today was a Hogsmeade trip day. Maybe she wouldn't have to deal with him at all. After she showered he got dressed in a blue top and white skirt. She then checked in the mirror before leaving and heading down to the Great Hall for a quick bite before heading down.

Rose woke in the morning. She had a smile plastered to her face. She still couldn't believe she saw a unicorn the night before. She got ready for the day and then looked around for her cousin. Not seeing her she went down the stairs and saw Al. "Hey." she said brightly.

Al looked over his shoulder when he heard Rose speaking. "Good morning." He said, shocked by her chipper mood. "What's gotten into you today? You seem to be in a much better mood from yesterday... And where were you lastnight? I waited up for hours, but you never came in." He pouted cutely. "And I had some excellant gossip for you and Vic too... She on her way dow-" No sooner had the words left his mouth, then his other cousin entered the room. She was still wearing yesterday's robes. Her hair was a mess, and his lipstick and eyeliner were smudged. "Where were you?" He asked, looking at her hard.

Matt left the room after he'd finished getting ready, and headed down to the great hall. He took a seat at the table and waited for his brother to arrive. When he did, he smiled and shifted over to make room. "How'd it go last night for you?" He asked, figuring that he and Rose had at least talked.

"Pretty great. We went to the forrest for a while. Apparently the fact that every animal that ever lays eyes on me loves me, is adorable." He said, taking a slice of toast from the stack. "Where were you? You weren't in bed when I came in."

Matt shrugged. "We spent the night up in the RoR." He said, earning a shocked look from his twin. "No, not like that. We just talked, and fell asleep." He said with a smirk. "I'm not going there yet... Not with her." He took a piece of toast as well.