"Like a wildflower;
she spent her days, allowing herself to grow,
not many knew of her struggle, but eventually all; knew of her light."
Arithmancy, the last class of the day and exactly where Victoria found herself in. The final minutes were about to pass and as the teacher already finished with today's lesson, the last minutes, students surprisingly had the permission to talk in quiet while he corrected the assignment they had to hand in due today. And while Victoria animated held a conversation with Dorcas, James had his gaze on her while talking to Sirius.
"Why does she tries to make me jealous? I'm already jealous of anyone who can see her naked, and she can do that all the time. " The grumpy expression his friend wore, made it only harder for Sirius to hold back his amused chuckle as his friend kept his gaze fixed on the girl, sitting a couple of rows in the front, listening intensely to whatever Dorcas was saying.
Pushing his hair back, he turned to his hopeless friend, trying to form words of encouragement with a hint of mocking. " Come on, mate. You can't seriously think she only dates Riviere to make you jealous. Since their date 2 weeks ago, they were more private. " With his ego slightly deflated, James shrugged childishly again, having his gaze focused on the blond.
"I chased her for years and then this twat comes and steals her from me." He didn't say that to anyone in particular, leaving a short pause in their talk before he spoke up again, this time seming a lot more vulnerable.
"So they officially date now?" His question wasn't only directed to Sirius, but rather to all of the marauders, the other two occupying the seats in front of them. While Peter had listened to Sirus and James the whole time, Remus only then turned around, having then finished his homework, even it was only due next week.
"Asked her after a prefect meeting he had picked her up from. Caught a glimpse of their conversation. ," Remus explained to his friend, remembering his friends' happy reaction on the boy who had waited for her outside. Yet in the glimpse, he had caught while walking around the courtyard was just the moment Ethan asked her the question.
"Maybe you can break them up before they make their public outing as a couple. ," Sirius said, patting his friend whos sorrow was writen in bold letters all over his face.
•••
"How could it be that McGonnagle gives us that much homework? I think my lack of sleep isn't really the best thing before NEWTS, even if I still got a year. "
"Maybe we should search for someone for Minni. Then she would occupy herself more with him, rather than planning our homework and our little sixth-year badger would be happy again. "
"Isn't she with Dumbledore?"
"Sorry to inform you Lily, but I think Dumbledore swings the other way around."
"So there is a higher chance that I get together with Dumbledore than Minni and him?"
The conversation the Hufflepuff and her 2 friends had in front of her got unnoticed by Victoria as the girl only hummed in between while stuck her fork into the Yorkshire pudding in front of her. But unsurprisingly Chris statement got her looking up, her bord expression now turning into one semi-bored and semi-amused.
Then immersed in the conversation - meaning her laughing at Chris, Marlene, and Lily, Victoria hadn't noticed the approaching figure. Only then, when someone placed a mug tee in front of her, did the blond look up, immediately being greeted by a smiling Ethan who, with one arm slung over her shoulder, sat down next to her.
"Bonjour.-It is just a tee. You looked tired. ," Ethan remarked, just as the scent of fruits coming from the white mug next to her, hit her nose. His hair was slightly messy and the dark blue and silver tie was a little loose despite the rest of his uniform looking perfectly neat.
And while Victoria had already smiled at her friends before, the thoughtfulness of the boy in front of her made her smile even wider, before she leaned forward to him and connected their lips, even if it was only briefly.
"Thank you." Despite the loud chatter around her, Victoria whisper was enough for him to hear as both faces were only inches away from each other after the kiss, not bothering to enlarge the space between them in any kind of way.
The three students sitting opposite of them smiled knowingly at each other before continuing their conversation in an attempt to leave them some kind of privacy, but not too much to as they wanted to keep with the 'freshest news' in connection to the blooming love life of their friend.
Not far away, on tables separate to from each other, two jaw-clenching boys watched the scene unfold itself; Victoria Atkinson talking to 6. year Ravenclaw Ethan Riviere while chuckling quietly to each other, not noticing only their gazes on them but also from students and teachers around them who began to talk about the two cozy looking students that seemed to be in a world of their own.
It was an inner debate both of them held. Was it with the option of hexing Ethan or was it going over there and talk to Victoria. Only one of them would be able to fulfill the last option as only one of was able to talk to her without getting hexed. For both of them, option one would result then into her urge to hex both of them really bad.
And while their intentions were selfish, egotistical and completely out of jealousy, they saw how happy she looked- especially with Ethan getting along with her friends whereby only one of the two envy boys could even say that he was tolerated and got along only with a certain redhead. Whereby the other one would get any kind of affection from her friends surrounding the couple, only causing them to be irritated.
•••
"So, " Snape began, leaning over the potion he brewed along with Victoria, watching the blond next to him cut some of the ingredients in little cubes. "I heard about James action with Cayden. " Immediately a groan escaped Victoria, lifting her head, to look into Severus dark eyes.
"Yeah, I thought so. That asshole doesn't have enough with annoying me continuously, so the next Atkinson in Hogwarts has to help." The half-French started to chop the Sloth brain more aggressive, causing Severus to chuckle slightly while taking the knife from her and continuing to do the majority of work, which he had insisted to do.
"Buuuttt, I also heard about the hexes-" He didn't need to continue talking as immediately both teenagers started to laugh. As they quiet down a bit, Severus dark eyes still shone with amusement and what could be subscribed as succeeding, resulting from James bad action and what effect the bare mention had to Victoria.
"The thing is, he is that stupid that apologizing to Cayden doesn't even seem to be an option to him. But still, he has the guts to be a completely cocky idiot. "
"You could have thought that previous hexes from you in his direction should have been hint enough to leave you alone. ," again he chuckled deeply while having his eyes focused on her. Like always he hoped that while their conversation went on about Potter, she wouldn't show any sign of affection. For his luck, a snort that weird escaped her, that it practically underlined the fact that Severus fear is then unnecessary.
"You thought wrong, unfortunately. Looks like him having Sardins coming out of his nose for 1 day straight wasn't enough. " Their laughter quiet down as Slughorn made his way over to them, being quite excited for the potion result from 2 of his favorite students.
"Coming along well? ," he greeted them cheerfully, both students simultaneously nodding and as Slughorn spoke out his approval about the potion. They thought he would move over to the next couple of students and for example help them, what some of them really needed.
Alone a couple of rows behind them, Sirius and James happened to blow up their potion, resulting them being covered in the substance. But the elder man didn't seem to have the urge to help the two boys but rather pull out too dark green employes from his coat, Severus and Victoria's initials on either one of them written in perfect calligraphy.
"As you have already heard, I will host a Christmas party again this year, and as two of my best students and loyal members of the Slughorn club, I would like to invite the both of you." If she could have had groaned without Slughorn noticing, she would have done it rather than that what she actually did- brightly smiling to the Professor and thanking him for his invention to the annual Christmas party.
•••
As the lesson ended for the day, and Victoria placed herself at the Gryffindor table next to Cayden, and in front of Lily, both of them couldn't help but notice her annoyed expression. Lily didn't even need to hear an explanation as she had the same factor in her bookbag.
"Maybe this year it isn't that bad. ," Lily stated in what was an attempt to get Victoria in a cheerful mood, only ending in her looking skeptical at the redhead. "I remind you of last year...Are you planing on becoming an auror or a politician like your father? What is your personal opinion on purity in blood? Is there any chance your family would be open to join me at dinner? "
It only then did Cayden caught up on what they talked about. " Slughorn invited me too. , "he stated while not even looking up from his piece of beef. Both girls looked at him surprised, seeing as it wasn't common for Slughorn to invite first years to such events.
"How did you manage to do that? You're first year! Most of the time he only invites members of his club or people he wants to become a member. And even then, never before third year. " As a cooky grin mixed with amusement made its way upon his face, Victoria knew it even before he had the chance to justify the employ that Lily now mustered in her hand.
"Your member aren't you? I swear your way to smart for your own good. You will notice it then."