Let Us All Make History

You Can't Handle That Defeat

Molly POV: Molly sat with Victor in the boy's room, for Janine was simply getting to be too much to handle. Today she was whining about her homework, crying because she didn't understand and constantly bombarding Molly about it, almost as if it was supposed to be her problem. Molly wanted to help of course, however she had explained the simple concept at least three times to Janine and the girl still couldn't manage to understand. And so she took refuge with the boys, or at least what she thought was the duo. Instead she just found Victor sitting cross legged on his bed with a book and quill propped up before him.
"Is Sherlock not back yet?" Molly asked rather obviously, for any idiot could tell that Sherlock wasn't back.
"Ya he's still out doing whatever it was he needed to be doing. Something about the tournament." Victor said in a rather hostile voice, scribbling on his parchment agressivley before looking up at Molly with an almost exasperated look.
"Now don't tell me you need my help too?" Molly presumed, jumping up onto Sherlock's bed and making herself right at home on his blankets and pillows. She knew that he wouldn't mind, so long as she kept her shoes off.
"No of course not. I'm perfectly capable of doing my homework on my own." Victor snapped, sounding just a little bit upset tonight. He had been really touchy the past couple of days, and of course it was Molly's job not only to find out what was going on but also to be the mediator. Usually when Victor was upset it was about Sherlock, and vice versa, and Molly never liked it when her boys quarreled.
"You sound tense Victor; I don't like it when you're angry." Molly murmured.
"I'm fine." Victor snapped, however his tone of voice assured Sherlock that he really wasn't fine.
"You don't sound fine. Now don't try to hide things from me Victor, you know it doesn't work. And you know I'm an expert with confidentiality, so whatever you say stays between us. I promise." Molly assured, holding her hand to her heart as if trying to assure Victor of her trustworthiness. And of course she wasn't lying; she was always the most discreet with secrets, especially when it had to do with her friends. She was the keeper of many secrets, some that had to do with her friends that they didn't even know yet. Molly was very good at predicting secrets, that was for sure.
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I doubt you'll understand." Victor murmured, however he put down his quill and stared blankly at his parchment, preparing for story time despite his reluctance.
"Try me." Molly challenged, sitting up against the wall and swinging her legs in an almost childlike manner. Victor took a deep sigh, shaking his head and watching Molly with an almost regretful look. It was almost as if he pitied her, all the while he was the one that was feeling down.
"It's just that ever since we got here...well I came on this trip because I thought I would be able to find the love of my life, you know? I thought that I was going to make friends, find a boyfriend, all those things that were like impossible at Beauxbatons. But it turns out that you two are both finding that, you've got Greg and Sherlock's got John, and well to be honest instead of finding other people I'm feeling lonelier than ever. I feel like we're all splitting apart over boys, and now with the tournament it's just...well I'm feeling quite in the shadow of you both." Victor admitted with a heavy sigh, shaking his head once more as if trying to call himself an idiot before settling against the wall and pushing his book aside. Molly sat for a moment, trying to think of something positive to say. It was a difficult task to be sure, especially when Victor's points all had serious validity to them.
"Well to be honest Victor, I found Greg out of luck. He found me, actually, so it has nothing to do with me. As for Sherlock, I hate to say it but I'm like 101% sure John is as straight as a board, so even if Sherlock thinks he found his true love I'm afraid that he's mistaken. And for you, well it's only been a month! You'll find your special someone I'm sure of it! You're good at that, you're the most socially confident out of all of us, I'm sure you'll find someone before the trip is over!" Molly insisted.
"Well there were some very nice looking Durmstrang boys, and to be quite honest that short one, the one who hangs out with Sebastian Moran, I noticed him looking at me in the Great Hall at breakfast." Victor admitted with a little smile. Molly swung her feet even more excitedly, clapping her hands together in congratulations despite the horrible feeling she always got when that boy was near. He seemed to be somewhat evil, that was for sure.
"Well that's wonderful Victor, see, all that worrying for nothing!" Molly exclaimed excitedly.
"You really think John Watson is straight then?" Victor clarified.
"Well of course he is, I talked to him after we played quidditch that one time, remember? He seemed pretty freaked out when I asked." Molly admitted.
"Don't you think he was just being defensive? Trying to hide the secret he didn't even know he had?" Victor guessed, to which Molly just shrugged.
"I mean that could be a possibility, however he's been hanging around Mary hasn't he? I mean that can't just be friendly, for no one would ever want to be her friend." Molly muttered apprehensively.
"Ya that's true." Victor agreed, sounding evermore hopeful about the situation.
"You want him to be straight, I can tell." Molly decided, sitting forward curiously and studying Victor for a moment, wondering what was going on inside of that head of his. He always was very unpredictable, one moment he wanted one thing while the next he had changed his mind completely. Molly had tried to get used to it over the years, she learned to just expect the unexpected.
"Well I don't know, to be honest I've never wanted to see him with someone else." Victor sighed heavily, looking almost ashamed to be admitted something so selfish.
"Because you're in love with him?" Molly presumed in a motherly voice, to which Victor just sneered and shook his head.
"No of course not, Molly you really need to get your head out of the clouds! Gay boys can be friends with one another, it's just like you! You're not in love with us, are you? Even though you're straight and we're guys?" Victor asked.
"That's different Victor, I know there's no way you'll be interested in me! And ya, when we first met I liked Sherlock." Molly defended, crossing her arms to which Victor just sighed heavily. That obviously wasn't the point he was trying to make.
"Molly I don't love him, I mean I wouldn't be upset if he suddenly showed interest in me, however I'm not going to get all bent out of shape just because he's got his eyes on another more attractive suitor." Victor defended with a little bit of a frown, to which Molly nodded in an accomplished way and sat back with a sigh. And so there it was, even though that wasn't much of a love confession it was enough in the world of Victor. So he was being defensive over Sherlock's new attraction to John, Molly had known that there must have been something else tied up here if they had already settled the unappreciative dispute. In some ways Molly was relieved, for at least now she knew what had Victor all upset, and yet in other ways she was more glum than ever, for she realized there really was nothing she could do for him. Sherlock wasn't in love with Victor; in fact Molly seriously doubted that he had ever looked to Victor as an option! He was rather blind to what was in front of him, and that was proved in their first couple of years of schooling, when Molly had tried endlessly to set the two of them up. But no, it had been long enough and Molly had even suggested it to him a while back, trying to get it so that he might give Victor a chance. Even then Sherlock had cast the idea away, and Molly was sure now that he had more beautiful boys to focus on that Victor would be left entirely forgotten. The only way to pull Victor's spirits out of the mud would be undoubtedly to find him a boyfriend, and of course that may not be difficult. There was an overabundance of boys in the Hogwarts castle, not even natives but those from Durmstrang as well, all very attractive, very strong boys who would probably not mind a little bit of beauty from another boy once in a while. Victor was dashing of course, he was charming and he was brave, surely he wouldn't have much trouble finding those who were gay and those who weren't?
"I could help you find a boy, if you'd like me to. We can go down to the stairwell sometime this week, and play the rating game you hooligans like so much." Molly suggested.
"That's not a way to get boys to like you; it's more like a way to scare them off!" Victor laughed, shaking his head but smiling all the same.
"So you're in then?" Molly teased, which in turn Victor just nodded.
"You know I love the rating game, and now with a fresh pool of unknowing participants!" Victor exclaimed excitedly, to which Molly just laughed with a shake of her head. The rating game was a form of unorthodox entertainment, in which they sat in a public place and rating all the boys that went by on their level of attractiveness, one being the worst and ten being the best. Of course Sherlock and Victor liked to veer into a fifteen point scale, just to emphasize just how gorgeous their subjects were, however Molly was always one to stick to the rules and keep it simple. She was never nearly as blown away by the boys that past as her companions were, however it was a good bonding game since they all liked boys and they all had their different types. Sometimes their subjects would question them, as if wondering why they were shooting out numbers before proceeding to argue about the good and bad qualities; however they have still yet to come up with a good excuse for such conversation. In the end it took some batting of the eyelashes to get the boy to scramble away (usually Victor's job) and once Molly had even scored a date with one she had categorized as a six. Sherlock's arrival announced a rather abrupt end to the conversation, for the two had begun to talk about all the interesting characters they had come across in their time. Sherlock looked rather elated, and as soon as he jumped onto his bed with a large smile they of course had to question him on what was making him so happy. Victor's smile vanished immediately, for of course there was only one thing that could make Sherlock look so love sick and dreamy.
"What's got you all happy Sherlock?" Molly wondered with a smile, prodding Sherlock playfully in the shoulder to which he only giggled and sighed.
"Oh you know...John Watson of course." Sherlock breathed, falling onto Molly's shoulder and sighing heavily, evidently losing himself in thoughts of his potential suitor. Molly smiled for him of course, patting him on the arm all while looking rather apprehensively at Victor, who only sighed heavily and rearranged his homework on his lap.
"Fill us in then, what happened?" Molly wondered insistently, to which Sherlock just paused, thinking about what there was to be said.
"Well nothing exciting, but he invited me over to the Gryffindor table to eat dinner with him, so I guess that's not nothing?" Sherlock admitted with a little smile.
"That's not nothing at all." Molly agreed with an excited smile. She noticed, however, that Victor was not going on to doing his homework with something of a forceful neutral face, as if he was trying his hardest not to scowl. Sherlock sighed heavily, shaking his head for a moment as if remembering something that might bring him down from Cloud Nine at least for a moment.
"He talked about Mary though, asked me if I knew her. In fact he even questioned me on my sexuality, which was quite a heart stopping moment. I didn't know whether or not to lie or to just admit to it all in hopes that he might actually be asking for his own sake...In the end I was just vague. I didn't want to scare him off too quickly, but I didn't want him to count me out just yet." Sherlock admitted.
"He was talking about Mary? Well that's not good." Molly murmured.
"It can be worked around of course; I mean I'm sure most all boys are under the impression that they're straight just because they don't know any better." Sherlock said with a shrug.
"That's a good point." Molly agreed with a sigh, for she knew that despite Sherlock's high hopes he really was just grasping at thin air right now. She was almost positive that he had no chance with John, sure there was bisexuality but even that was a long shot at the moment. Boys like John Watson, jocks who could have any girl they wanted, well they usually didn't even consider the other option! They got so excited about the female possibilities that they never even thought to consider the beauty that was standing right before them in male form.
"It's fine, I'll be fine. You know what, whatever happens is obviously meant to be. I know I don't have a big chance, and so if it indeed turns out that he picks her, well I won't be disappointed." Sherlock decided with a huff, looking rather proud of himself for making up such a daring speech.
"You'll be blubbering for a week straight the moment he doesn't say hi to you in the hallways." Victor muttered back, to which Molly nodded her reluctant agreement.
"I hate to say it Sherlock, but he's right. You're never really one for accepting defeat." Molly agreed.
"I'll do better this time." Sherlock said confidently.
"Liar." Victor muttered.
"Shut up Victor!" Sherlock snapped, grabbing for one of his pillows to throw before Molly smacked his hand away.
"No more violence, children!" Molly exclaimed, to which Sherlock just sighed, falling away from her shoulder as if he now he was getting moody and landing on the edge of the bed with a huff. He seemed upset about something, partially John's mention of Mary and partially about his friend's distrust; however Molly couldn't be bother with his childish attention seeking at the moment. Victor was looking about ready to throw something as well, for his ink well was clutched rather violently in his fist; however Molly's intervention seemed to be enough to keep them both at bay.
"Now I'm leaving, it's getting late and I'm done with both of your childish behavior, so I'm going to bed." Molly said finally, getting to her feet and looking about to the whiny boys that frowned at her from their respective beds.
"Ya alright, goodnight Molly." Victor agreed.
"We'll be good. I promise we'll both be alive in the morning." Sherlock murmured, not sounding all too confident in himself all the same.
"No promises from this end." Victor muttered, however with a quick glare from Molly he held his hands up nervously, as if he knew better not to argue with her. "Whatever you say boss."
"That's more like it. Now goodnight boys, and be good." Molly said with a little smile, nodding her farewells to them both before retreating off to her room to face whatever troubles Janine was having tonight. It was probably the same troubles she was having an hour ago, for she was probably making no progress whatsoever. Molly, on the other hand, had made a lot of progress, at least with the Victor enigma. At least now she knew what had him down, and so she knew that it was her responsibility to bring him back up again. That of course, wouldn't be all that difficult. It was only a matter of time before he fell in love once more, and all of this moping around would be forgotten. 

    The first task was approaching quickly...in fact it was approaching so quickly that Molly had almost forgotten about it until she noticed Sherlock's constant signs of anxiety. He was getting more and more nervous; constantly practicing spells out by the lake where he could have some privacy. He was exercising as according to Madam Maxine's workout plan, which involved mornings where he got up early and took runs around the lake and did pushups and whatnot. Molly knew that these training sessions were supposed to help him get more fit, however it seemed as though they were doing just the opposite. Instead of getting buff and muscular Sherlock seemed to be slowly dying, every time he returned from even a half mile run around the lake he seemed on the verge of death, wobbling around and whining about how he was seeing a bright light. Of course it only took a sip of water and a nice shower to get him back to his mopey yet alive self, whining about how miserably exercise was. Molly and Victor had each volunteered to help him out once in a while, however that ended rather abruptly when Madam Maxine yelled at them, telling them that a champion's training was kept secret from those who were elected 'unworthy' and that they were to stay in the carriage like the rest of the students until Sherlock returned. Of course that had no positive impact on Victor's self-esteem at all, and it took quite a while of talking to before he was finally able to hold his head up high once more. If there was one person more on edge than Sherlock it was undoubtedly Madam Maxine, who was taking this tournament so seriously that Molly was actually worried she thought they had a chance. She was mentoring Sherlock now on all the past champions and their first task, which ended up usually being a monster of some sort. Madam Maxine taught Sherlock defensive spells, summoning spells, and attacking spells just so that he'd have some sort of shot out in the arena. No one had any idea what to expect, and of course that was probably the worst part of the anticipation. The castle was stirring with the opposite kind of energy that was felt within the friend group, in fact instead of being nervous they all seemed to grow more and more excited with the looming of the first task. They were all quite excited about seeing some people die (which of course meant Sherlock, for he was the only one that didn't seem all that able bodied) and of course whenever bloodshed was mentioned Molly turned a bit pale and prayed that Sherlock wasn't listening. To be honest the very idea of Sherlock losing his life in that arena was enough to make Molly's stomach rumble nervously, for she couldn't stand to see him face such a public and gruesome death. She loved Sherlock as a friend, as family really, and to see him die would just be too much to handle. He deserved so much more, he really did, and to be quite honest Molly was expecting great things from him. She knew that no one really counted him as a contestant, in fact she was sure that some people forgot he was even competing, however she had a sneaking suspicion that Sherlock was somehow going to turn the cards in his favor. He was good with spell work, oh who cared about the physical aspect of it all? One spell could stop the whole thing, and Molly was quite sure that was what Sherlock was going to manage. He always had a trick or two up his sleeve, it was all going to come down to whether or not he was brave enough to use it. Obviously the consensus throughout the school was very much against Sherlock, for he didn't look anything like a champion when compared to John and Sebastian. However Molly was still betting on him, secretly of course, but she was still betting on him.