"Just bad dreams." Victoire didn't buy it for one second. Everyone experienced a nightmare every once in a while, but it wasn't every nightmare that required late-night consolation. As he carried on, her brow furrowed in concern. This was definitely not normal. Her arms wrapped loosely around his neck as she spoke. "Hey," She began, "You're not mad, and nobody's going to die." Victoire's tone was tinged with authority and decisiveness, yet her nerves knotted at the thought of Matt's dreams. Why would he dream of death, nonetheless with herself the one dying? Did he think he was going to lose her? She gave him a swift, chaste kiss, her hand reaching up to brush a few fallen strands of hair from his face. "At least you don't dream about acromantulas and dragons," She spoke rather embarrasedly, laughing softly as a soft pink flush crept up her cheeks.

Victoire put a finger to his lips. "You-are-not-mad," She gazed into his eyes, her index finger making sure his lips didn't refute her words. "It's probably just stress. Today was long and rather eventful." She laughed softly, pulling her finger away. So much had happened in that day, it felt like Victoire had gone through an eventful week rather than an eventful day. As he pulled away, Victoire stayed put as she looked at him rather inquisitively. "Don't worry about me," She spoke, "What about you? I'm not going to bed unless you're alright." She placed her hands on her hips, wanting to make sure that Matt wasn't going to toss and turn through the night.

He didn't want to tell her the truth, that there'd be no sleep for him tonight. Just aimless wanderings about the school and perhapse watching the sunrise over the lake. He instead just shrugged. "I'm ok. I'm probably going to go back to bed myself..." He said, taking her hand in his. He brought it up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. "Honestly." He lied. Hopefully, his fantastic ability to lie hadn't gone with his sanity.

Al pulled back from her kiss and smiled a little. "Tomorrow indeed." He replied before letting her go. He gave her one quick kiss on the cheek before heading off to the gryffindor tower, in and infinatly better mood then he had been earlier. As he reached the portrait of the fat lady, he arched an eyebrow when he spotted Matt and Vic standing outside. "Evening." He said with a friendly smile, and he gave the password and entered the common room.

Victoire's eyebrows rose. "Probably?" She asked after he kissed the back of her hand. But there was no use in arguing it. He would fall asleep eventually, which would hopefully be very soon indeed. "Alright," She relented, the authoritative tone in her voice having disappeared. "Goodnight, love." She give him a goodbye kiss before approaching the Fat Lady after speaking the password. Before entering through the portrait hole, Victoire keep one hand onf the wall as she turned back to look at him. "Are we still on for breakfast?"

Having finished his meal, being one of the last professors to stay in the Great Hall, Teddy wiped his mouth and tossed the linen napkin aside, striding down from the staff table and out of the Great Hall. Most of the students had gone to bed, and Teddy was far from tired. What better time than to take a look around his old stomping grounds again? Sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he began to ascend the Grand Staircase, softly whistling a tune as he went along.

"Yes. I was thinking of maybe... going green perhaps." Meg said wondering what Jay's response would be. "How do you think I'd look in green?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, sure." He replied with a smile. "Night darling... I love you." He said before turning to leave the seventh floor. He decended the stairs, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He walked about for a bit, but found inside to be a little boring. He made his way to the entrence hall, and left the building silently, and headed for the lake. It was probably his favorite place on the whole grounds. Between the soothing sound of the water, and the cool breeze that blew in from it, he found he could relax better there then anywhere else. He found a tree not far from the path the the lake, and Climbed up a few branches, before sitting on one and looking up at the stars. He knew that there'd be no sleeping tonight.

Kyle sighed when he didn't earn a responce from Rose and got up from the place where he sat. "Fine." he said, disheartened. "I guess I'll see you around." He said before heading down to the Slytherine common room, and to his dorm. Who was he to think that she'd actually talk to him seriously. Yeah, he was about to admit everything he'd felt for her to her then and there. But that didn't matter now apparently. He noticed Matt wasn't in bed, and shrugged, knowing better then to question his brother when he didn't show. He changed quickly, and slid into his own bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Victoire entered the common room, sighing as part of her knew that everything was not alright. Maybe if they both had a good rest, then everything would be better; she sorely doubted this hope. She ascended the staircase to the dorms once again and realized that sleep had evaded her once again. Taking a blanket from her bed, she wrapped it around herself and sat on a ledge by the window that overlooked the grounds. It was so peaceful outside, much more peaceful than the maelstrom that was brewing in Hogwarts. Victoire knew that something was coming; she just hoped to Merlin that it wouldn't.

OOC: Moving on to the next day. Sorry guys. I'm bored. :P

Matt had spent the better part of the night sitting in the same tree, and watching the sky. The thoughts of his dream had kept him up, as much as he didn't want it to. It was Sunday, so that meant if he really wanted to, he could nap. He watched as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, and the sky changed from black to a dull grey, then to brilliant pinks and oranges, and finally blue. It wasn't the first time he'd watched the sun come up, just the first time it had been alone. He wasn't used to the emptyness it left him with. Most times when this happened, he'd been lying in bed with Lex, looking out the large windows in his bedroom. Now, he was just sitting in a tree, like a fool, watching alone. He hopped down from his branch and went back inside the castle and down to the dungeons. He was supposed to meet with Victorie for breakfast, and he didn't want to show up in the same clothes she'd seen him in the night before. He pushed the door of his and Kyle's dorm open silently and slid inside, careful not to wake the other. Once inside, the grabbed a clean pair of jeans, and t-shirt, and headed into the bathroom to shower. He showered, changed, and left again, hoping Kyle didn't wake up. It was still too early for breakfast, so he took a seat on the couch, and picked up a novel from the table, reading quietly until someone came down, or the clock struck eight.

Kyle heard the door latch snap closed, and the water in the bathroom turn on. Clearly, Matt had been out all night again. He turned over and tried to sleep some more, but just as he was drifting off, he heard his twin's footsteps move across the wooden floor. Clearly he wasn't getting back to sleep. When the door latched again, he sat up and pushed back his blankets, before getting out of bed to shower and change as well. His shower ran cold halfway through, which instantly turned his mood south. And after, he couldn't find his favorite jeans with the torn back pocket. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a pair of his brothers, and pulled a shirt over his head, before heading down to the common room. "Morning." He said lazily, flopping down beside Matt.

Matt looked up and smiled a little. "Morning." He replied. "I tried to be as quiet as possible..." He said, noting his brothers somewhat annoyed look.

"Nah, you didn't wake me up... You did use all the hot water though." He said, turning to Matt with a smirk.

Victoire woke as the rays of the sun poured in through the window next to her four-poster bed. The night before, she had sat at the window ledge for an hour or so, contemplating everything and contemplating nothing as she attempted to find the elusive agent known as sleep. She had finally shuffled off to bed once she had succeeded in her mission. Victoire quickly got ready, her mind elsewhere as she showered, applied her make-up, and slipped on a simple summer dress. Today just seemed off, if that was even a way to describe how she felt. Lacing up her oxfords, Victoire slowly, mechanically, made her way down the stairs, out of the common room, and to the Grand Staircase. She knew that Matt might not be down for a short while, but she didn't mind. It would simply be nice to be one of the first down to breakfast, as she wouldn't have to fight another for the last bagel or deal with twitchy second years who had a tendency of blocking her way.

Teddy woke rather slowly, not used to having the sun's bright rays serve as a wake-up call. He contemplated pulling the curtains over the window and heading back to bed, but it would be to no avail; the damage was done, his body awake and ready to begin the day. After quickly getting ready and slipping on a simple pair of jeans, a plain white tee shirt, and his trainers, Teddy made his way out of his office, quickly locking the door behind him with the flick of his wand. It was unusual for him to be up this early, but it was better than sleeping in and missing breakfast. That would simply add another reason to the Headmaster's list as to why he was an incompetent employee. But Teddy had plans: he knew that he still retained his skills from his days on the Gryffindor quidditch team and was prepared to use them to his full advantage, even if it meant showing off in excess. As he made his way onto the Grand Staircase, he smirked as he remembered when Victoire had tried out for the Gryffindor team simply to impress him. She had made it, but just barely. And she quit after one year, simply for the fact that she couldn't bear to humiliate herself in front of the entire student body, nonetheless Teddy. Those had been the good days, the days before they had become strangers. Teddy continued to walk along at a moderate pace, descending the stairs with his hands loosely stuffed in his pockets.

Teddy stopped to let a student pass by, Victoire's presence only registering after she made her way past sluggishly. He gazed at the back of her head, her blonde hair waving along as she turned around a curve of the staircase. Had she purposely ignored him? Well, he would have to find out. Picking up the pace, Teddy jogged down a couple of stairs before catching up to Victoire. Keeping pace with her, he cleared his throat softly.

Victoire had been walking along, her mind in a comatose state as she had not noticed the presence of Teddy, nonetheless the presence of another person. Hearing another presence, she seemed to come back to reality as her head snapped up. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized who it was. It was Teddy, but not as she had last seen him. When they had last talked, Teddy had had a rather solemn look on his face, a look that can be faux or genuine, a look that one has when they split up with another. But the Teddy of now had a soft, innocent smile playing on his lips, his eyes twinkling as his raven curls framed his handsome face. A look that seemed to want reconciliation. But it was too early in the game to determine that. Victoire's blank expression stayed plastered onto her face as she forced her mouth to form something coherent, anything. "Good morning." She said rather bluntly, much to Teddy's enjoyment as a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"Frog in your throat, Victoire?" "Not at all," She replied rather swiftly, derision evident in her smooth tone. Teddy realized that Victoire wasn't up for small talk. He sighed, biting his lower lip before speaking, "I know we haven't spoken since... well, for a while. But do you mind if we talk?" Victoire stopped walking, turning to face Teddy with a rather fierce look on her face. "You," She began in soft, yet furious, tones as her blood pressure rose, "You come here, out of the blue, and expect me to welcome you with open arms? I'm not a sap, Teddy. I don't know what you're up to, but frankly, I don't care. Why don't you just stay out of my way while you're here? I can live with ignoring your presence until graduation." Teddy sighed, his gaze averting her piercing stare as a slight tinge of guilt came over him. "You have every right to be mad," He began, putting his hands in the air in a form of surrender, "But really, can we talk in a civilized, more private manner?" Victoire simply huffed, her arms crossing over her chest defiantly as she looked the other way. After a moment of tense silence, she replied tersely, "Whatever." She began to walk off, giving Teddy the impression that she had ignored his request. After she had turned into an empty corridor, Teddy still stood on the steps, bewildered. Victoire poked her head out of the corridor. "Coming?" She tilted her head, a rather irritated expression gracing her features. Teddy snapped out of his reverie, joining her in the corridor. Well, that had been an improvement: Victoire had gone from furious to irritated. Maybe she would be able to tone it down to somewhat-courteous after he talked some sense into her.

Early was not usually in Jay's vocabulary as a word used for voluntary actions but here he was up far earlier than needed. He dressed and headed down stairs catching site of Alyss as she exited. He hadn’t seen her since the night before the Hogsmeade trip and he was curious, jealously so but he wasn’t tell that to anyone. He hurried after finally catching up with her halfway to the stairs. “Morning.” He said the corner of his mouth pulled into a smile as he fell into step beside her. “Early rounds?” He asked just for general conversion.

"Ahh Makes sense I guess.. What were you wanting to talk to Jacobsen about anyway?" He asked curiously as they made their way up the stairs. He laughed when she mentioned the time. " I know and I have no idea I just was suddenly wide awake for once." He said with a shrug. " just hope its not to common a thing."

Excuse the lack of purple for Teddy; it got to be a bit too much in this post.
 

Victoire stood by a window that illuminated the otherwise dark corridor, her lips pursed and her arms crossed. If Teddy was going to try to talk, he better make it fast and not make her late for breakfast. She wouldn't want to give Matt the impression that she had ditched him for Teddy. Teddy entered the corridor, tensed up slightly as he prepared for a verbal barrage of swear words, predicting a mix of English and French words that would make a sailor blush. Teddy took his stance a few feet away from her, taking a long breath before beginning. "I just wanted to say that I-I'm sorry." He bit his lower lip as he waited for her reaction. "That's all you wanted to say?" Victoire hissed, her eyes narrowing. "I could have gone without hearing your pathetic attempt at reconciliation." She made her way to leave the corridor, but Teddy rose his arm. She hesitated and pulled back to her former standing place. "Yes?" She inquired, a nasty, sarcastic tone coloring her words.

"I don't understand," Teddy began, shaking his head slightly. "How can you hold a grudge for so long, Victoire?" Those words made her snap, her arms uncrossing as she approached him, a murderous glint in her eyes. "Why?!" Her voice rose, "Really, must you ask? You left me, left me the night before you were to go off on your travels. Do you know how much that hurt me? How do you think it felt know that you preferred gallavanting around Europe instead of staying here with me?" Victoire's chest rose and fell as her blood pressure rose, her hands curled into fists. Teddy couldn't help but scoff a bit, Victoire having to stop herself from attacking him right then and there. "For Merlin's sake, you knew how horrible I felt. You knew that I needed an income, and the Prophet offered me a job that I couldn't refuse!" Teddy huffed, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he tried to control his emotions. They were both getting riled up, and it didn't seem as if the situation was going to end well. "I... I still had feelings for you, and you damn well know that!" He cried.

Victoire threw her hands in the air melodramatically. "Well, I'm sorry that I stood in the way of your career. Not that you had much of one to even begin with!" She snickered softly, her lips curling maliciously, "And as a matter of fact, no, I had no-effing-clue. It happened so quickly that I figured that you had moved on." Teddy frowned, taking a deep breath before speaking. "Darling-" He began, having realized too late that he had made the mistake of calling her by the name that he had used when they had dated. "Don't-you-dare!" Victoire hissed menacingly, cutting him off. Teddy had a rather dumbstruck look on his face. "We are not together, we're not friends, we're not even extended family." She heaved another breath before beginning once more, "I don't give a damn if Rose and Al still want to speak to you. But know that I don't. I'm perfectly happy with my boyfriend, and we don't need any interference."

Teddy was silent; those words had stung, and hard. He took a few breaths as he let himself and Victoire calm down a bit. Beginning in a more level tone, he spoke, "I'm sorry. I have no intention of interfering with you, with anybody while I'm here. I just needed a steady job and the Headmaster was the first to offer me a position. I-" He paused, sighing, "I'll promise to stay out of your way as much as I can, alright?" She shook his head as his features became glum. He turned as he readied to make his way out of the corridor, hands stuffed in his pockets as he accepted defeat in silence. Just as he was at the threshold of the corridor, Victoire called out suddenly. "Wait." Teddy stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, noticing that her chest was still heaving but that a rather guilty expression lay on her face. "I... I'm sorry, now. But you-you can't just come back into my life suddenly and without any warning. What if I had surprised you when you were in Turkey?" Teddy was silent, shrugging, although he knew that he would have been delighted to see her during his travels. She would have made for some nice company. "I guess we can say that we're... even?" Victoire crossed her arms over her chest. "I just need some time. But I guess we can say we're... oh, I don't know, acquaintances?" A small smile appeared on Teddy's lips. "I'll take it." He answered, nodding curtly.

A small smile appeared on Victoire's lips as well. "I'll see you around." She spoke, nodding slightly as she made her way out of the corridor. She felt different. Victoire no longer walked mechanically along, but there was a small spring in her step. Maybe being acquaintances wouldn't be so bad. Teddy remained in the corridor for a few moments, still slightly dumbstruck. He chuckled softly as he made his way out of the corridor a few moments later.

Matt had been walking towards the great hall when Kyle, when he spotted Victorie and Lupin talking. His eyes narrowed as he stopped, watching. For a while, it seemed as if she was going to hit him. Then it turned civil. That worried him. He watched as she walked away, and jogged down the dorridor after her. He caught up with her, shooting Lupin a clare in passing. "What was that about?" He asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice. He knew it was probably nothing, he just wanted the confirmation that Lpuin wasn't trying to step in on his territory. He slipped his arm around her waist and placed a quik kiss to the top of her head. "Seemed a little heated."

Kyle saw the same sight Matt did, and got worried. But luckily, Matt didn't do something stupid. His brother had waited until Lupin had gone, and then went to talk with his girlfriend. He looked around, hoping Rose would be down soon. He still really needed to talk to her. He made his way into the great hall for breakfast, and took a seat at the end of the slytherine table.

Al awoke early the next morning, feeling light and happy. Something he wasn't used to. He showered and dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a vintage Metallica t-shirt with a pair of old beat up converse sneakers. After fussing with his hair for a few minutes, he gave up, knowing it was goin to be a loosing battle. He instead grabbed hs favorite visored beanie style hat and pulled it on, only causing his hair to wing out from underneath it. "I'm going to have to let Vic cut this eventually." He muttered, before he left his dorm for breakfast. He was supposed to meet up with Alyss soon, and figured he'd see her in the great hall.

Victoire jumped as she felt Matt's arm around her waist. She had expected to meet him at the Great Hall, but meeting him earlier was fine with her. Victoire felt a bit embarrassed as she realized that he had witnessed some, or all, of her fight/conversation with Teddy. "It was nothing," She lied smoothly. "I guess it was time that we had some sort of conversation; it's been months since we've talked. But nothing to worry about, love." Victoire felt a bit awkward speaking about it, not sure of how much Matt had heard. But in essence she had nothing to worry about: she had said nothing derogatory about Matt or their relationship. Hopefully Matt was wise enough to know that she preferred him to Teddy.

Meg woke in the morning. Today was the day. She went to her closet and took out a Slytherin green shirt and a white skirt. Not only was she not in uniform, but she was not wearing blue. If this didn't turn heads she wasn't sure what would. She checked the clock. It was still a bit early. She'd wait awhile to go down, just to make sure everyone was down there. She wanted to witness everyone's reactions.

Rose woke in the morning and got ready for the day. After getting dressed she headed down the stairs. After not spotting either of her cousins she headed down to the Great Hall alone. When she arrived she saw Kyle. She gave a small wave before sitting down at the table to eat.

ooc: I'll be out of town starting tomorrow night until friday night. so feel free to move Rose/Meg around during that time :D

Matt frowned, not wanting to push her. He had a feeling that she wasn't being entirely truthful, but refused to ask. If she had something she wanted to tell him about, he was sure she would... He hoped. "I see." He replied, taking a seat at the table, several chairs away from Kyle. "Talking is always good..." He said, picking up a goblet and filling it with orange juice.

Kyle smiled over at Rose. "Morning." He said lightly, spreading some peanut butter on his toast."You're up early." He looked down the table and saw Matt with Victorie. He didn't look pleased, then again, neither did she. Perhapse there'd been some kind of tension.

"I guess so," She nochalantly answered, taking a seat across the table from him. Victoire grabbed a goblet of orange juice, taking a sip as she sensed a tenseness in the atmosphere. "So," She began, attempting to change the subject, "Were you able to fall asleep last night?" She examined the lines in his face, attempting to discern whether or not he had shadows under his eyes. What if he had stayed up most of the night, or all night? Would it have been because of her, because he was scared of reliving the nightmares once more?

"Morning." Rose said looking up at Kyle. She began to pile some things onto her plate. "How are you today?" she asked him before taking a bite.

Matt shook his head. "No, I went out to the lake." He said truthfully. "I knew when I left lastnight that I wasn't going to get any sleep, no matter how hard I tried, so I didn't bother." He explained, poking around at the small amount of food on his plate. The stress of the current situation left him with no apatite, and no desire to sleep. But that only caused a massive headache to start pounding behind his eyes, that were ringed with darker then normal cirlces. He didn't look up at her, as her rested his elbow on the table, and put his chin on his hand. To do so would have made him feel guiltier.

Kyle shrugged. "I guess I'm ok, so far." He replied, glancing over at her. He knew now was not the time to tell her how he felt, let he cause he to choke on her breakfast from laughing. "Do you think we could go for a walk around the grounds later? I-I mean, if you don't already have plans with your cousins, that is." He asked, with a small smile.

Victoire set down her goblet and reached a hand across a table to hold his free fingers in hers. "Love," She stressed the word, not wanting to sound as if she were scolding him. She was a bit worried, though. "You need to sleep. I can't have you becoming an insomniac simply because Teddy's here." Victoire looked up at the staff table, noticing that he hadn't arrived for breakfast yet. Maybe that was a good thing, seeing as she wasn't sure if it would be prudent to have Teddy and Matt in the same room together. Giving his hand a slight squeeze, she began once again, "Do you want me to sleep next to you? We can go to the room of requirement every night and I'll make sure you fall asleep, without any nightmares, if that's what it'll take."