Tales from a Veela

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

A lot of the classrooms in Hogwarts had been abandoned since the rebuilding of the castle, a lot of which were in the dungeons near the Slytherin Common Room. Most students avoided the place altogether, and some of the Slytherins had taken it upon themselves to transform the classrooms into something useful. After all, why bother having a room you don't use? Why not just get rid of it in the rebuilding? McGonagall didn't really seem all that smart sometimes. AJ had taken one of the classrooms and turned it into her personal gym, which she let the other Slytherins use for free. Theo found himself in there sometimes when he didn't feel like going outside to practice Quidditch. He'd hit at the sand bag that would continuously need replacing, but nobody ever seemed to be ambitious enough to place something else there. Funny, coming from a house that valued ambition so much. Though if Theo had to guess, plenty of the Slytherins had ambition for the right things. Things more important than some silly sand bag.

After seeing what AJ had done with the gym, he became a little impressed with the girl. So she knew what she was doing after all, and he took the idea and created a little something for himself. He'd knocked one of the walls down making one classroom into two, and he set up targets all around the room where he practiced his dueling. It wasn't so much to practice disarming and harming people as it was to practice his speed. In Theo's mind speed mattered just as much, if not more, as what spell you decided to use. So he would practice his hexes and how quickly he could disarm the lot of mannequins he'd transfigured, just in case he ever found himself by a group of people intending to kill him or worse. No one was invincible of course, and he knew that... but it helped if you were prepared, and Theo intended to be prepared as he could be. He'd gone around the grounds and picked out the best sticks he could find to replace wands. It was a weak substitution, especially when they couldn't fight back, but Theo didn't mind so much. It was good practice. He'd gone through the targest ten times or more with each of the different hex combinations he could think of. He'd considered dabbling in the more painful curses... ya know... the forbidden ones... but he decided against it. He'd just sent a hex towards one of the dummy's when he heard a noise behind him. He'd forgotten to close the door again...

He whipped around like lightning, his wand still at the ready. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, but as his eyes focused and recogized the figure as Vivian his wand immediately lowered. It took a few seconds for his blood to slow down in his veins.

"Hey Viv... what's up?" he asked a bit nonchalantly before turning back and hexing one of the dummys, watching as its head exploded. He grinned at his results before turning back to Vivian as if he'd done nothing out of the ordinary. He tended to become a bit Vivian like when it came to hexing things and people. It was like second nature to him, and he loved it. He eyes focused on her face once more and he spotted a bruise, his eyebrows furrowing slightly before he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Probably not the best response to give, but the only one that left him nonetheless.

"What happened to you?" he asked, chuckling again before gesturing to her face and turning around and hexing another dummy.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian had been looking for Theo, but she hadn't had to look far. He wasn't in the Slytherin common room, and she had been pretty sure he wasn't practising Quidditch. It wasn't time for lessons, so she had thought either here, or the potions lab. The potions lab was going to be her next stop, since it was at the bottom of the school and therefore further. Vivian was glad she didn't have to make the trip.

She wasn't put off by Theo throwing hexes around. She had seen him practice before, and was used to it. Vivian herself didn't practice much. What was the point, when she'd pretty much fail every class anyway? And looking like you didn't care was much better than looking like you'd tried and failed. She didn't flinch as Theo spun around and pointed his wand at her. Theo's best assets when it came to duelling were his speed and his reflexes. Which meant that he'd see it was her before he sent any hexes her way. Vivian had had enough with being attacked.

Theo saw the bruise on Vivian's cheek, which she hadn't seen yet but could feel was pretty bad. She was sure it must be getting ready to turn about a hundred unattractive shades of purple, and she didn't like it. She put a hand up to the bruise, and it came away with a tiny amount of blood on her finger tips. Great, so there was a laceration, too. That had better not scar. Vivian didn't want to go to Madam Pomfry. Perhaps her Veela genes would earn their keep and heal her skin back to flawlessness.

Vivian didn't want to see anyone, because she didn't want anyone to call her ugly. Not that she'd be insulted or believe them (a temporary bruise did not an ugly Veela make) but because it would just remind her of her mother, and she did not want Daphne Greengrass to have that power over her. Too many people would love a chance to see the Veela with a less than perfect face. So she had come looking for Theo, because he wouldn't gloat, and because she was confused, and the whole thing seemed to have something to do with him anyway.

Well, she had thought he wouldn't gloat but now he was laughing at her. She frowned, and walked into the classroom, sitting herself down on a desk, pulling her legs up onto it.

"I'm glad you find it so funny," she said, scathingly, "it was your psycho girlfriend that did it." She waited for those words to hit home, watching Theo for a reaction that could explain all the madness.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian frowned at his laughter, which was unusual. I mean, yeah, it wasn't the best reaction, but he would have thought she'd know him well enough by now to know that that's just how he was. He was a bit of an ass most of the time, really, but when it really mattered he tried not to be. And apparently this was one of those times when it really mattered. She walked into the room and pulled herself up on a desk and he turned around and he busied himself with resurrecting the dummies that he'd blown to bits so he could have another go at them. The sticks were all on the ground, so he never risked blowing those up. Merlin knew he didn't want to go and collect all of those sticks again. He walked around the room placing a stick back into the hands of each of the mannequins before Vivian spoke again, and when she did speak her words were fierce and... confusing.

He turned around, his brows furrowed. Girlfriend? He didn't have a girlfriend... He looked at her for a moment. "I don't have a girlfriend, Vivian," he said simply before continuing to place the sticks into the hands of one of the last few mannequins. It was only a fraction of a second more before it seemed to all click in his head. Theo didn't have a girlfriend... but he kind of wanted one. He sighed inwardly, upset with himself for being such a tool about Vivian getting hurt. He opened his mouth to apologize as he turned toward her, but the upset he had just felt was quickly replaced with confusion.

"Woah, woah, wait, why would Daphne attack you?" he asked with his brows furrowed once more. The last few sticks were abandoned as he walked back toward the desk where she was now sitting. His eyes scanned her face, and now that he was looking at the bruise with more attention he could tell it was a pretty good one. Daphne had hit her. Hard. He fought the urge to smirk and the small swell of pride he felt for the girl. If it had been anyone else he wouldn't have hesitated for a second to run and find the girl and gush with pride, no matter the reason it happened. But this wasn't anyone else, it was Vivian, and no matter how frustrating their friendship got at times, she was a dear friend to him. And he wouldn't allow himself to be proud of Daphne for her actions. He saw a few splotches of blood and frowned slightly.

"What happened?" he asked, confusion and worry both evident in his tone. He knew Daphne and Vivian didn't get along, but he never actually expected them to actually duke it out. Daphne usually just spat out a catty comment and Vivian ignored it coolly. It wasn't like Daphne to outright attack anyone but AJ, especially with her fist.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian rolled her eyes when Theo said that he didn't have a girlfriend. Well, really, she knew that. But Theo knew exactly who she meant. She wasn't really interested in defining the finer points of Theo's 'relationship' with Greengrass.

Then the penny seemed to drop, and Theo turned back around, with a very odd expression on his face. He asked why, which Vivian had expected, and then walked over to her, inspecting her face more closely. For a moment it looked as though he liked what he saw, and Vivian saw a smile threatening to cross is face.

She scowled, her nose wrinkling, which made her face hurt but she didn't care. "Didn't peg you for the type you liked people who threw punches, Theo," she said, coolly, "you should meet my mother. You'd like her." She hoped she had made her point, because she didn't want to discuss her mother any more than she had to.

Theo asked what happened again, and despite Vivian's slight annoyance with him, she was glad he did. She wanted to tell him what had happened, and perhaps he could explain why it had happened. Vivian wasn't one to lie, or swing the story in her favour, and Theo knew that. She'd give him the facts, he could interpret.

"I was outside," she began, "she came looking for me. She started yelling at me, throwing insults, you know, the usual," she raised an eyebrow as though to say 'what a lovely mate you've chosen'. "She wouldn't tell me what she wanted, I was going to leave but then she grabbed me," Daphne had grabbed Vivian by the hair, and gotten more than a good chunk of it, too. "And she asked about you, if we'd kissed! And she grabbing me, so I made her stop," Vivian had pinned Daphne. "I told her yes, then I started to leave, and she grabbed me again! And then she hit me, so I made her stop, again," Vivian smiled, "I had her on the ground, I thought she'd finally just give it up," the annoyance in Vivian's voice was obvious. "But then she got on top of me," Vivian lifted up her shirt to reveal a bruise forming on her stomach, "then she got off, and I hexed her. That made her stop, finally." Vivian had really gotten Daphne good.

Vivian had won, and that went without saying, so she didn't bother to say it. "Can you please explain why I've got a psycho attacking me, supposedly because of you?" she asked, looking up at Theo. Yes she had won, and yes it had been interesting, but her cheek and stomach really hurt, and even she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge as the thought about how even though she had been attacked, her friend was more than likely to go and offer comfort to her attacker. That really wasn't fair.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian was in a foul mood. You didn't have to look twice to know that, but the words that Vivian spat at him had his heart drop and his blood boil at the same time. How dare she accuse him of those things. This was completely different than that, first of all, and secondly he knew exactly what it felt like to be hit by your parent. His eyes narrowed dangerously at her. He didn't deserve to be accused of enjoying things like mothers who beat their children, and he supposed he enjoyed fathers who molested their daughters too? He was momentarily infuriated. He had done nothing wrong. He'd asked a few questions, and the smirk that had threatened to cross his face was squashed by the fact that it was Vivian who sat in front of him, and no one else.

"Don't you sit there and accuse me like that, Vivian. If I liked people who threw punches I would be on much better terms with my father," he said bitterly, his eyes falling to the floor in a glare. He didn't want to be angry with Vivian. He didn't. She had been hurt by Daphne, and that wasn't okay... but surely Vivian hadn't gone down without a fight either. And then his thoughts moved to concern for Daphne, what had Vivian done to her? Had Vivian acted anything like she had when she was down in the common room? Shouting and throwing potions against a wall? Only instead of throwing potions she threw fists or spells? Or did she keep calm and collected?

He waited in anticipation for Vivian to explain how in Merlin's name this all happened, and Vivian quickly launched into the story of what happened. At first Theo was confused... it seemed like Daphne had sought out Vivian for no reason other than to beat her up, which was likely true, but Daphne didn't seem like the kind of girl to attack someone without having a reason. And even though he knew Daphne hated Vivian... she still wouldn't attack her for no reason. But then Vivian said Daphne had asked if they'd kissed and it all made sense and he let out a low, frustrated growl as she continued the story. He listened as she said the girls went back and forth, but Vivian seemed to be leaving out how exactly she had Daphne 'stop' attacking her. The bruise on Vivian's stomach was a good one, and that was one he did frown at.

"How did you get Daphne to stop attacking you, Vivian?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Vivian would have had to attack her back, and Theo knew it. So Daphne had attacked Vivian because Vivian had kissed him even though he and Daphne were like... a thing, and Vivian attacked her right back, admitting they kissed probably like it was no big deal and she did it all the time! He was disgusted. He was torn between shouting and feeling bad for Vivian. He was inwardly kicking himself for not getting to Daphne before the damn rumors did. Damn it, Vivian! This was all her fault. If she'd just been able to control herself... He could only imagine what Daphne thought of him now. They'd been so close to.... well, becoming an official couple. It was pretty well-known that they were together, though, even if they'd never made it official.

And now he looked like a cheater. And an ass. He sighed a little before turning around and disarming a mannequin before hexing it to pieces. He did that three times before he finally turned back around, and he didn't feel any better.

"Daphne attacked you because you kissed me, Vivian. Because you kissed me in the potions room with your arms around me all passionate. And I guess someone saw and now everyone knows and I look like an ass and-" he stopped talking, frustration getting the best of him again. He blew up the rest of the mannequins not bothering with the sticks. They exploded into small bits and he let out a long, frustrated sigh. He'd have to go and gather those sticks again, but that was the least of his problems right now. He had to make sure Vivian was okay, but... in all honesty, he wanted to clear his name with Daphne a little bit more.

"She was jealous, Vivian. Because you got to kiss me, and even though it meant nothing Daphne probably thought it meant everything and you know that I like Daphne and you know that she likes me, and you kissed me anyway and that's... that's not okay. That's why I told you to cut it out the first time...But no, you had to go and get angry and try and prove your point, which didn't even work!" he sighed out, turning away from her.

He didn't want to be mad at her. He tried to tell himself it wasn't her fault, but at the same time he could only imagine what Daphne thought of him now. He wanted to find her, to tell her that it was all a big mistake, to tell her that she was the only one he wanted, and no one else even mattered. But he wasn't going to abandon Vivian, either. She was his friend, and no matter how frustrating their friendship got he cared about her, and he didn't want to lose her, either. Despite his incredible frustration at the fact that she'd put him in a rather s*** situation with Daphne, he had to at least try and be supportive. And he did care about her injuries, he did feel bad about them... But he had to find Daphne, and soon. But he couldn't think about that right now. Right now he had to deal with Vivian.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his face softened as he turned back to face her again. He meant the question, and he hoped that Vivian would see that, despite how badly he wanted to just rewind and find Daphne before whoever told her about the potions room, or to rewind and just stop the potions room altogether.

Theo didn't care what other people in the school thought of him, but Daphne... he cared what she thought about him. Sure they'd never been in each other's good graces, they'd always been hot and cold, but there was something about their chemistry this year that just exploded every time they were together, and Theo liked it. He liked the feeling of her sitting in his lap, an arm around her. He liked singing songs with her, and he liked drinking at the ball with her. He liked just being around her, and that was something that had always been true, but he'd been too childish to acknowledge it. And he didn't want to give all of that up because of some stupid misunderstanding...

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian was scowling as Theo ranted at her. Like it was her fault. She didn't know why Daphne cared so much that she had kissed Theo. When she had walked in here, she had said that Theo's 'girlfriend' had done that to her, and hadn't Theo replied with "I don't have a girlfriend"? He had said it himself, they weren't together, and so Theo was free to kiss anyone.

He might say that he hated his father for throwing punches, but Vivian had seen the slight look of pride on Theo's face as he saw what Daphne had done. Maybe because she was a girl, it was okay? Well, Vivian's mother had been a girl. Or maybe it was just hitting Vivian that was okay? Vivian knew that Theo wasn't as cold hearted as that, but she could see as he ranted that who he really cared about was Daphne.

So when Theo asked her how she had made Daphne stop fighting her, Vivian was happy to hell him. "I made her stop," she said, coldly, "I held her down. I made her," she had hurt Daphne until she stopped. She wasn't going to attack Daphne the same way Daphne had attacked her. She was just going to make Daphne do what she, Vivian, had wanted her to do.

Vivian saw some genuine concern on Theo's face when he asked her if she was okay. He had finally stopped ranting at her, and blaming her, and generally being angry. He seemed to soften as he looked at her, but Vivian wasn't going to soften so easily. She had just been attacked by some girl he was doing whatever with, and it had been her fault?

"I'm fine, Theo," she said, in an emotionless voice. "I've had much worse. Surprisingly, I know how to take a hit." she was still scowling slightly, not taking her eyes off him.

"I'm sure all this is my fault," she said, with a hint of sarcasm, "but even so, I don't enjoy being used as some sort of human message board between you and your girlfriend. That's what this is, isn't it?" she pointed to her cheek "Pretty much a message to you. Or about you." all of this was about Theo. Vivian barely counted as a person in Daphne's eyes.

"I may not understand your fucked up relationship," she said, "I may not know what it is you two feel. But that doesn't mean I deserve to be dragged in, and then tossed aside again."

She scooted back on the table, so her back was resting against the wall, and as she did so the bruise on her ribs really punished her for it. She winched slightly, despite herself, and then scowled even more fiercely, looking away from Theo. It didn't even hurt that much. She was fine.

"I'm fine, Theo," she repeated "you can go find Daphne now." She looked back at him as she said it. Vivian could be very perceptive, and she knew Theo. Her feelings (such as they were) were hurt that he only really wanted to go and find Daphne. "You've paid your dues here. You asked if I'm okay. And I'm okay. So you can go find Daphne."

Vivian may not understand a lot about relationships, and she may not always be the easiest friend. She didn't think she was a good person, and she knew that she was messed up in a lot of ways. But she didn't think that she should have to beg for a friend who clearly wanted to be elsewhere. Yes, she could see Theo was conflicted, but still he blamed her for this. She'd been dragged into this mess of a relationship between him and Daphne, and now she was going to be pushed aside so the two of them could kiss and make up. It reminded her of her mother, and her step-father. Her step-father would pay her too much of the wrong kind of attention, and her mother would be furiously jealous. She'd hit Vivian to punish her, to make her 'ugly', and then go back to her husband, and win him over again. Because apparently jealousy could be a sadistic sort of turn on. Not that Vivian would know.

Vivian didn't delude herself that this was the same, or that history was in any way repeating itself, but it was inevitable that her mind would go there now. She looked away from Theo again, staring at the wall.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian told Theo how she made Daphne stop attacking her, and while it wasn't the best visual in the world Vivian defended herself, and that was all. Daphne had started all of it, and Vivian defended herself. He didn't know if what Vivian had done was better or worse than what Daphne had done to her, and somewhere inside Theo hoped it was only even. He didn't like the thought of the only two women he really cared about in life fighting, especially over him. Most guys would have thought it was his dream... but it was really just a lot of stress he didn't need. He wanted Vivian to be okay, he wanted to make things right with Daphne, and he wanted to keep them both in his life. They could dislike each other all they wanted, as long as they were both still in his life. And he knew that he would do anything to keep them both.

Vivian said she was fine, and she seemed fine, but she seemed angry, or maybe she was hurt? Theo hadn't meant to do that, and when her next words hit home his heart fell once more. He knew she could take a hit, after what she told him about her parents. And he wasn't sure why but it hurt the way she said it. She was so... angry. She probably thought he overreacted, and maybe he had, but it was his last intention to make her angry or hurt. But Vivian continued a small rant of her own and Theo only started to feel worse. She called the bruise on her cheek a message to him or for him, and maybe she was right. Maybe it was a message that they were through, or maybe it was a message that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

In either case, Vivian was right. She didn't deserve to be put between them. And then, at the same time, she put herself there when she kissed him after he asked her not to! All of this was a huge mess. Theo liked Daphne and Daphne liked him, but Vivian was just doing what she wanted to and she'd been trying to prove a point. This kiss meant nothing and now look at all of the trouble it caused. He realized his thoughts were putting Vivan at fault again, and he stopped. It was Daphne who started it, after all? And he had to agree that Vivian didn't deserve to be treated the way she had been. Daphne had always disliked Vivian, but Theo was Vivian's friend, and he knew that she didn't deserve to be treated this way. If it was any other girl, he would find them and hex them. But it wasn't. This was Daphne and Vivian, and here he was caught in the middle, up the creek without a paddle, just trying not to drown and lose them both.

"I'm sorry... that she attacked you..." he said quietly, staring at the floor. She was staring directly at him, and if looks could kill he was pretty sure he'd be dead, and he didn't want to meet that angry gaze. "You don't deserve to be put in the middle, you're right."'

The words were feeble, he knew, but it was all he could offer. She was right, and he agreed with her, and he hoped that maybe admitting that to her that she wouldn't be so angry with him. He cared about Daphne yes, and in his selfish rant he seemed to forget the fact that Vivian was one of his best friends. She said that she may not have understood their 'fucked up relationship' but that she didn't deserve to get tossed aside. Theo frowned. He didn't think his relationship with Daphne was fucked up. A little different, sure, but... not that messed up.

"Who said anything about tossing you aside?" he asked with a frown before taking a few steps closer. He felt truly horrible now. He was a selfish person, but not to the point that he completely gave up on the people he cared about, and he did care about Vivian. Sometimes he thought he was all she had sometimes, and he tried be there for her whenever he could. And then she said he could go find Daphne, and that he'd paid his dues. He frowned once more, his eyes falling to the floor again. He refused to leave like that. Sure he wanted to, but he refused to leave the room unless he and Vivian were on good terms again, because right now it seemed like she wanted nothing to do with him.

"I'm not going to leave... I'm sorry. I was being an ass. It's just... I like Daphne, and I really want things to work out with her. And now I'm afraid that she'll hate me forever," he paused, heaving a heavy sigh before walking over and standing in front of the desk she was sitting on now. "But that doesn't mean I'm just going to forget that you're my friend, Vivian. You didn't deserve what Daphne did to you, and I'll make sure she knows that."

This was all a bunch of rubbish. He felt torn and exhausted, and he turned around once more and sent a hex into one of the mannequins halfheartedly, attempting to busy himself so he wouldn't have to think about the s**** storm he found himself in the middle of. It didn't make him feel any better so he turned back to Vivian once more.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I'm not so good with charms or I'd offer to do something about the bruise..." he trailed off. He was going to suggest going to Madame Pomfrey, but he knew that was likely the last thing she wanted to do. He wasn't sure what he could possibly do to help, but he wanted to offer. He wanted to make things right between them just as much as he wanted to make things right between he and Daphne, though admittedly the Daphne situation was a little more.... concerning. He and Vivian would be fine, and he knew that... or, at least he hoped that. But he and Daphne? Daphne could have snogged seven guys six ways til Tuesday by now and that thought drove him slightly insane with jealousy of his own. But he pushed those thoughts aside, his eyes focusing on Vivian. He would have to fix this first.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian just watched Theo as he spoke, and apologised, and she felt the anger (or whatever happened to Vivian that was like anger) drain out of her. He was in the middle, just like she had been put in the middle of his and Daphne's so called 'relationship'. And he seemed really sorry.

For the first time Vivian wished that she could cry, or anything like that. Something to help process the situation, because she could feel something going on inside of her, but didn't know what.

Theo asked who was supposedly tossing her aside, and Vivian looked down, running a hand through her hair. She didn't like to think about being 'tossed' aside. It hurt her pride, apart from anything else. "Sometimes I just think that if it came down to it, you'd pick her." she said, shrugging. Daphne might try to make Theo pick. Vivian didn't think that was outside the realms of possibility.

She looked back up at Theo when he said he wasn't going to leave, but looked away again when he talked about his feelings for Daphne. Vivian stared out of the window, still frowning slightly. "You weren't even with Daphne when I kissed you," she said, quietly, "you're not even with her now. What does it matter?" She thought about when she had kissed Theo, and how much he had hated it. It made her feel like defective goods; most boys would just love to kiss Vivian. The only one who knew the real her was repulsed.

"Daphne said you wouldn't want a sadist like me," she said. She didn't know what Daphne had meant, but she had known already that Theo didn't want her. Vivian felt exhausted, like she just wanted to lay down and sleep. She felt battered and bruised, and not just physically. Right now life just felt like an uphill struggle. Not feeling much of anything meant Vivian avoided the bad, but without the good it came to pretty much the same result anyway.

Vivian rested her head back against the wall, staring at nothing. Her face was completely blank. Emotionless. The 'walking dead', like Daphne said. Theo asked if there was anything he could do, and Vivian shook her head. She didn't want any healing spells, even if Theo could do them. Her face throbbed and her ribs throbbed, but she knew Daphne had it worse, and she had had much worse herself, so she didn't care.

"I'm fine, Theo," she said, in her usual slow, bored voice. "We're good." she didn't really want Theo to leave, but she only wanted him to stay if he wanted to.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo waited for Vivian to speak and the second she did his insides fell a little. He didn't want to think about making a decision like that. At all. Whether it was because he was afraid that she might be right or he simply didn't want even more stress added to this entire debacle he was unsure. But he didn't want to think about it.

"I won't have to make that decision," he said confidently, though inwardly he and Vivian both knew that it was a possibility that Daphne might try and force him to not be friends with her anymore. He hoped that wasn't the case. They'd gotten along just fine before this whole mess, but Theo figured as long as Vivian kept her mouth to herself than they could both go on quietly hating each other and all of this would just fade into the background. He was being a bit too idealistic for his liking. He'd never lied to himself before, why was he trying to start now? Daphne might make him choose... and who would he? He refused to think about the situation until it arose, which was very unlike him, but this whole situation was completely different than one he'd ever found himself in before, so he supposed it was alright for now.

Vivian was frowning and staring out the window. She didn't like to hear him talk about his feelings for Daphne, but Theo couldn't really understand why. He knew they were never really the type of friends to share absolutely everything with each other. He had the things he kept from everyone, including her, and he was sure she had her own secrets that she told no one, not even him. He furrowed his brow slightly as Vivian complained that they weren't even together, so why did it matter. She made a good point, they weren't officially together, but it was kind of an unspoken thing that they were together.

"It was kind of an unspoken thing, for now, until I got the balls to actually say something about the whole thing," he said with a small laugh. He liked Daphne a lot, and he'd never been one to deny himself pleasures before, so why had he waited so long to say anything to her? Maybe because he knew she was wary of commitment? Maybe because he was afraid she might reject him? Maybe he just liked the games they were playing with each other a little too much. Whatever the case may be, he should have spoken up earlier - that he knew now. "And it matters because jealous girls are insane. Jealousy turns people crazy, Viv."

Merlin, if that wasn't a true statement he wasn't sure what was. Still, she knew that her point was true and right and no matter what he said it wouldn't change her mind, so he let the subject drop at that. She mentioned Daphne saying he wouldn't want a sadist like her, and he frowned slightly. Vivian may not be good at feeling or showing emotions, but she wasn't a sadist. She'd been defending herself... Veela's were just slightly terrifying when they decided to defend themselves.

"She was just trying to get under your skin. Don't worry about it. You're not a sadist, trust me," he said with a small chuckle. He knew the situation wasn't funny, but Vivian wasn't a sadist, she was just... Vivian. Her parents may have been sadists, but not Vivian. Not the Vivian he knew, anyway. She said they were good, and Theo nodded before grinning. He brought up a hand to ruffle her hair.

"Good," he said simply, grinning again before he looked around the room. Half the mannequins were blown to bits and the ones that weren't were missing limbs. His eyes widened slightly. He could do some real damage when he was angry, couldn't he? He turned back to Vivian, a wide smile on his face.

"You wanna try and blow a few of 'em up? It might make you feel better..." he said before gesturing toward the mannequins.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Theo was certain that he wouldn't have to make that decision, but not certain that he would chose her. She had been his friend for years, and he was going to chose some girl over her? Vivian saw relationships come and go like they were nothing. But if Theo chose a relationship over their friendship, she wouldn't be around when they broke up.

Vivian just shook her head as Theo talked about how his and Daphne's relationship was an unspoken thing. She didn't like the uncertainty, she didn't like it when people said one thing and meant another. Either Theo and Daphne were together, or they weren't. Either he could kiss other people, or he couldn't.

"I don't even see why you want to be with her," she said, shaking her head again. "She's not good enough for you." Vivian knew that that wouldn't make a difference; Theo was too wrapped up in his feelings to see the wood for the trees. He'd do this thing with Daphne, whether it was a good idea or not. Sometimes not feeling things the way others did made you an observer to some ridiculous and stupid things.

Vivian rolled her eyes when Theo continued talking about Daphne. "No one gets under my skin," she said, truthfully. A sadist was someone who derived pleasure from other people's pain. Vivian didn't even think it was technically possible for her to be a sadist.

Theo offered to let Vivian blow up some mannequins, and Vivian pulled a face. "I'm no good when I'm not in the moment," she said, but stood up anyway, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "I'm failing everything. You know that," she got out her wand to indicate that she'd give it a go, if Theo wanted, because she was getting bored sitting on her back side on that desk.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian said she didn't understand why Theo wanted to be with Daphne, and while he knew he could explain, he'd really rather not try. He wasn't really one to gush about his feelings or the way that Daphne affected him like some sort of first-year girl or something. But when she said Daphne wasn't good enough he raised a brow, and Theo was quick to respond in his usual egotistical, snarky manner.

"No one's good enough, Viv. I'm me..." he said with a wink before chuckling and shaking his head. In all honesty, he wasn't really sure what Vivian was talking about. Daphne was good enough for him. She was a pureblood, and while he hated the fact that she was self-proclaimed royalty, he gave her shit for it whenever he could, so it he could look past that. Minor detail, minor detail...

Vivian said no one could get under her skin and he chuckled again, nodding. He knew that was true. He thought that maybe if he tried hard enough he could succeed, but he'd never want to try. The girl was scary enough when she was angry by accident, he didn't really want to see her when she was angry on purpose. "If people did get under your skin there'd probably be a lot more dead people," he said with a shrug before she hopped off the desk and ran a hand through her hair. She stated that she was failing everything. Well of course he knew that, but he also knew that Vivian wasn't stupid.

"Just because you're failing doesn't mean you don't know what to do," he said with a raised brow as if to say 'you know I'm right.' Theo knew she'd seen him practice enough that even if she picked nothing up from classes, she probably picked it up from him. Not that he was bragging or anything... Okay, maybe he was...But really! Vivian wasn't stupid. He knew that and so did she.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

"You sound like a teacher," Vivian said, her nose wrinkling. Vivian hated her teachers, and they hated her (so it worked out well). They thought she was obnoxious, and had given up trying to teach her. She would be surprised if she managed to get any NEWTs at this point. And Theo sounded like he was trying to be all inspirational... just like a teacher. Like at any moment the poor, disadvantaged kids would hug him and cry and proclaim they now had a chance in life. Vivian smirked slightly.

"Fine," she said, still smirking. This could be fun. But she wasn't about to do anything boring. Theo knew her better than that, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that she was going to be trouble. And besides, he had said he wanted to make her feel better. And it was his fault (well, his so-called 'relationships' fault) that she had a bruise on her otherwise perfect place, and another one right on the ribs (which would also be considered perfect, if there was much of a standard to judge ribs by, thank you very much).

Vivian tossed back her hair, and it glinted in the early evening sunlight. She got into position, raised her wand, and started.

The first mannequin, she blew up. That was a warm up. The second she sent flying through the air... but it didn't come back down again. It flew around the classroom, soaring up to the ceiling, and diving down, almost flying straight into Theo before it pulled out of the dive. It looked like a mad bag of sticks on a broom.

The third one, she set on fire. Fire spells were Vivian's speciality. She was often jealous of what she supposed (she had never met the woman) was her grandmothers ability to throw balls of fire from her hands. Throwing fireballs from her wand was the next best thing.

She left the mannequin burning, and lowered her wand, turning back to Theo, smiling sweetly. "Did I do good, teacher?" she said, in a mock 'innocent school-girl' tone. She couldn't help but make it sound slightly like it came from a muggle porno.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo rolled his eyes when Vivian said he sounded like a teacher. Preposterous, he sounded like no such thing! Sue him for trying to give the girl some encouragement rather than simply laughing at her like he had when she walked in. He couldn't win with this girl, could he? Clearly not. And yet, she stood up to try her hand at the mannequins anyway, and Theo chuckled slightly to himself. At least she was listening. At least she wasn't bored. She agree to practice, albeit incredibly begrudgingly and Theo went and sat on the desk lazily, waving his hand for her to have a go.

He silently wondered what the girl would do. He knew she wouldn't do anything standard. The normal was far too boring for Vivian, Theo knew that. And yet for the most part it seemed to be all he practiced. It was a normal routine, but it was intense and deadly when he was in the zone, so he had no ill feelings about what he practiced. But maybe... just maybe Vivian could show him a thing or two he could work on that was... not so normal or expected. It was always nice to have the element of surprise in battle, after all. He watched as she blew up the first one, and for a brief moment he wondered if Vivian was actually going to do something normal and routine.

And then she sent the next one in the air. Nope. Not routine at all. He watched the thing carefully, and his eyes widened slightly as it came flying straight for him.

"Oi!" he shouted with a laugh as he ducked out of the way quickly and it landed on the ground. There was one remaining mannequin and he watched as she set it on fire. Fire was one of those things that Theo always found slightly fascinating. It wasn't one of the spells he was best at, but he really enjoyed seeing them performed. Vivian turned around and asked if she'd done well and Theo snorted a slight laugh at the tone her voice took, shaking his head.

"No Vivian, it was awful..." he said, his eyes narrowing boredly before a grin grew on his face once more. "Nah, it was good. Except for that second one. I didn't try to kill you with any of the mannequins."

He grinned before waving his wand once. The mannequins were rebuilt, and with another wave of his wand and a mutter incantation water spouted from his wand to douse the one that was still flaming.

"Wanna see how fast you can take them all out? Or am I the only one that enjoys deadly speed and precision?" he asked. He'd never gotten to see too many people practice down here except for himself, so it was interesting being on the observant side of things for once.

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian laughed aloud as Theo ducked out of the way of the flying mannequin. Honestly, did he think she was going to hit him? The mannequin pulled out of the dive in time. Theo was pretty jumpy, for someone who claimed to be practising battle skills. "Now is that how you're going to behave in battle, Theodore?" she asked, with a smirk.

But Theo seemed happy with her performance, overall, and he extinguished the flaming mannequin with a gush of water.

Vivian frowned as Theo suggested more practise. It was like he was running drills, and she was his pupil. Vivian didn't like being made to feel like she was in class, because she really was doing terribly. Lessons were becoming torturous. Sometimes Vivian tried to keep up, but that only frustrated her more. Her teachers were furious, and a lot of her classmates were frustrated with the Veela's attitude. They seemed to get the impression she thought she was too good for their lessons. Vivian hated being locked up in a dusty old classroom anyway, but now things were just going beyond the tolerable point. And at this rate she'd leave Hogwarts without a single NEWT. She had managed to scrape enough OWLs to continue, but it had been very close indeed.

"No, Theo," she said, running a hand through her hair again, and gazing around her "I don't want to run drills." Suddenly she got an idea, and smiled. She backed away to the opposite side of the classroom, and drew her wand. "Lets duel." she said.

Vivian was pretty fearless; a big part of that down to the fact that she didn't process fear like a normal person. She was, quite literally, fearless. It was born out of need, a way of surviving. So Vivian didn't care about getting hurt in a duel. She wasn't scared to fight Theo. She was excited, because it would be fun, and interesting. A part of her wanted to see how far she could push him, and if he would really hurt her.

"Come on, Theo," she said, still smiling, and sent sparks flying past his left ear.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo rolled his eyes slightly as Vivian asked if that's how he was going to behave in battle. Clearly she hadn't seen him in the Battle of Hogwarts, if that was the case. Alas, he knew she was only pushing his buttons and he laughed afterward all the same.

"Don't call me Theodore," he said with a mock brooding face, followed by a pout, followed by a grin. He really did hate being called Theodore. It was so... not him. He wasn't Theodore. He was never Theodore. He was just Theo. Always. And then Vivian turned around and said she wanted to duel him. His eyes widened and he let out a small laugh, wondering whether or not she was serious. He stood up from the desk, smirking. He'd never dueled a girl before, and he wasn't sure whether or not Vivian was any good at dueling or not. She knew what kind of duelist he was, so he presumed she wouldn't challenge him unless she knew what she was getting herself into. Or she was stupid, but Theo knew that wasn't true.

"You sure?" he asked with a raised brow, but she took no time to answer. She urged him on by sending sparks directly past his left ear. He narrowed his eyes slightly with a smirk, refusing to flinch away. If she was going to call him out on displaying fear against a mannequin he didn't intend to give her another opportunity to do so. He shrugged slightly before pointing his wand at her. "Alright, but I'm not gonna go easy on you." He knew Vivian wouldn't ever expect him to go easy on her, and the sheer look of determination in Vivian's eyes was enough to make Theo want to duel her despite her gender. She didn't look afraid, and she probably wasn't, but she should have been. Well, maybe not. Would Theo actually hurt her? No... Well, maybe if he got really wrapped up in the moment, but would he? He was precise and quick, and he knew he would only truly hurt his enemies. And... Vivian wasn't an enemy. But he wasn't about to lose, either. So he was stuck until he saw how vicious Vivian intended to be.

For a moment he considered just disarming her and hexing her into a wall... gently... as he could manage, but he figured that would take all the fun out of everything, really. He wanted to duel her, not beat her in two shots. Even thought beating her in two moves would be considered brilliant, he wanted to have some fun. He wanted to see what Vivian was made of. He wondered what went on inside that head of hers, if she was so bad at schoolwork like everyone said. She had to retain some sort of information, whether she wanted to or not... right?

So, he bowed gently in her direction, as every arranged duel began, and he raised his wand with a wicked grin and with as swift flick a jet of fire leapt from his wand in her direction in and turned into a massive wall. She liked fire so much... let's see how she liked that.