Vicious Kind (Theo)

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian sat in the hospital wing, perched on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed, tapping her nails on the side table, trying to be as irritating as possible so Madam Pomfrey could see to her quickly, and she could get out of there. But it didn't seem to be working. Some of the other occupants of the nearby beds were glaring at her, clearly irritated, but Madam Pomfrey had worked here for too long and dealt with too many students for any tactics to work on her. Still, Vivian didn't stop. At least she could annoy someone.

"Would you stop that?" a Ravenclaw girl a few beds down from Vivian said, in an annoyed tone. One of her hands had swollen up to twice its normal side, and was covered in pus secreting boils. A potions accident, probably. In response Vivian tapped louder and faster for a moment, an eyebrow raised, before resuming her usual pace.

The leg that Vivian had crossed over was dripping blood from a shallow but sharp cut just below the knee. She hadn't wanted to come to the Hospital wing, but Professor Slughorn had sent her. Sluggy was head of Slytherin, and had final say so, apparently. He liked Vivian, and was always kind to her, even if she did exasperate the hell out of him when it came to classes and homework. But Slughorn had a habit of currying favour with the powerful, or the soon to be powerful. Obviously he thought a Blackwell, raised by the Woods, and a beautiful part-Veela at that, would be a valuable addition to his collection. It wasn't her brains that got her in the 'slug-club'; Vivian was close to failing everything.

The cut had come from a fellow Slytherin girl, something Vaisey, who had tracked Vivian down during lunch. In front of a large group of people, Vaisey had accused Vivian of flirting with her boyfriend, and demanded that she leave him alone. Vivian had no idea who her boyfriend was, but doubted that she actually had flirted with him. More likely that the boy had been the one to show interest. Vivian had responded with indifference, and Vaisey had whipped out her wand, performing a very ill aimed hex, slashing Vivian's lower leg. The hex had caused her to stumble, nothing more, but Vivian had responded quickly. She performed the levicorpus charm with surprising speed and potency. In fact, many of her fellow schoolmates, who had stood around watching, did indeed look surprised, and none looked more so than Vaisey, dangling by her ankle high up in the air. No one expected Vivian to be any good at spells. They thought she was dumb, because of her bad marks. Vaisey struggled fruitlessly as her robes and skirt fell over her head, the surrounding students laughing... and Vivian had walked away, leaving her there. She was sure someone would let her down, eventually.

Not five minutes later, Slughorn had caught up with her. He was genial enough, and Vivian smiled sweetly to appease him, but (as he had been so sorry to say, but 'rules were rules'...) both girls would have to attend a detention next week. Then he had insisted she go to the hospital wing to see to her leg, and 'wouldn't take no for an answer'.

So Vivian had flounced off to the Hospital Wing, and was now waiting for Madam Pomfrey to clean her 'wound' and perform a spell that would take all of two seconds to heal it up. But the nurse was taking her sweet time. Vivian sighed, bored, and continued to tap her long fingernails.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo had just been walking into the Great Hall for a late lunch when it happened. He’d gotten a bit preoccupied by one of the girls in his year, making him late. He didn’t like to be late for things, and he didn’t like when he was hungry, but when he walked into the Great Hall all thoughts of food had vanished. It happened in a flash, the girl had sent a poorly aimed hex at Vivian and Theo watched as it cut her leg, and Vivian quickly retaliated with speed and precision that almost matched his own when dueling and hoisted the girl up into the air. He smirked as her skirt fell over her head and showed her underwear for the whole of the hall to see. That was Vivian alright. He smirked as she let the girl down, but frowned when Slughorn approached her. He knew what would have to happen, but Slughorn was hardly a hardass in any sense of the word, especially to Vivian and Theo. Vivian was in the slug club for many reasons, none of which had to do with her grades. And The was in the slug club because of his grades. Theo was very good at potions and was welcomed into the slug club at an early age.

He watched as Slughorn urged her off to the hospital wing and he sighed inwardly. The hospital wing was the last place that Vivian would want to go, but he decided he would take his sweet time in getting there. He grabbed a sandwich and chatted with a few other students before finally getting up and making his way through the hall toward the hospital wing. He could hear the girl Vivian had hung upside down whining to her boyfriend, and her boyfriend was denying that he’d ever looked at Vivian. The snorted a short laugh, staring at the boy with a raised brow. The boy stammered and the girl shrieked and Theo walked away without a care. Was it really that simple to break up a couple? Pathetic.

Theo sighed before pushing open the hospital wing doors and contorting his face into one of confusion. It was busy? It was hardly ever busy in the hospital wing. But the incessant tapping of fingernails gave Vivian away before anything else did. He smirked as he approached her, his eyes searching for Madame Pomfrey, who seemed to be busy working on someone else. A girl had shouted for her to stop, and he looked at her hand, which was twice its regular size and he grinned.

”Might want to be careful what you put in your cauldron,” he said with a laugh before turning to face Vivian. The gash on her knee was hardly that bad, and Theo made a face. She didn’t need to get sent to the hospital wing for this rubbish.

”I’ve come to spring you from the depths of hell, m’lady,” he said with a fake doofy bow before pulling out his wand. All it would take was a simple charm and her leg would be good as new, but the second he went to swish-and-flick a high-pitched shriek filled the room.

”Mr. Nott you will put down that wand right now or I’ll have you sent for a detention,” Madame Pomfrey shouted and he turned around to see her rushing towards them.

”Poms it’s just a scratch. It’ll take you five seconds to fix it,” he said, putting on his best concerned face. Madame Pomfrey stared at him a bit, unamused before sighing and swishing her wand with a wordless spell. The skin on Vivian’s leg mended almost immediately and Theo grined as he waved for her to get up and started heading towards the door.

”You can’t deny it, I’m good,” he said laughing once the doors were shut behind them. ”You would have been in there for hours.”

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian stopped tapping her fingernails on the table as she heard a familiar voice, commenting on the girl with the swollen hand. It was just as she had suspected, a potions mishap. Theo would know; he was the potions expert. Stupid girl. Vivian had no sympathy for an injury brought on by stupidity. Not that she'd had any sympathy before, but even so...

"Took you long enough!" she said. A part of her had been wondering where Theo had been. Hadn't he cared that she was injured? He was her only friend, for merlins sake! But then again, Vivian wouldn't have wanted Theo to come running after her like a puppy dog, asking if she was okay when she so clearly was. He wasn't that kind of person, and if he was she would never have been friends with him in the first place. "Weren't you worried? Did you stop to have dinner first?" Vivian pouted at him, but they both knew she was only teasing. She wasn't really that pathetic. She was mostly annoyed that he hadn't shown up sooner because she had been so bored.

But she smiled as Theo said he was here to 'spring her from hell' in a very colourful fashion, and bowed to her. That was more like it. He pulled out his wand, and Vivian happily angled her knee so he'd have a clearer view. She trusted Theo, and assumed he knew what he was doing, even if she'd never actually seen him do the charm before... but she wanted to be out of here already. Theo was just about to get started when Madam Pomfrey stopped him, and Vivian groaned. Was she ever going to get out of this place? She was bored!

Vivian glared at the nurse as she threatened Theo with detention, and Theo pointed out that Madam Pomfrey could have fixed her knee in about five seconds. Vivian raised her eyebrows and gestured to Theo, as though to say 'that's what I've been trying to tell you all along,' and Madam Pomfrey shot her a look, before getting out her wand, waving it once, and healing the scratch.

"Thank you!" Vivian said, though it sounded much more sarcastic and exasperated than actually thankful, as though what she were really saying was 'finally!' She hopped down off the bed, and followed Theo out of the Hospital wing, running a hand through her long blonde hair as she went.

Vivian rolled her eyes as Theo started to brag.
"I wouldn't have been there at all if it hadn't been for Sluggy." she said, which was perfectly true. It had just been a scratch, the hex that girl had sent at her had been pathetic. "What do you want, Theo, my eternal gratitude? A proper thank-you?" she spoke as though she were flirting with him, in that simpering way so many girls did. Vivian didn't know why he put up with it. He almost seemed to enjoy the attention. He should have done what she did when boys approached her, and nip it in the bud. Act like a bitch, and they'd give you a wide enough birth. Well, not so wide so that they couldn't still stare, irritatingly enough.

"I don't even know what Vaisey was on about," she said, irritably, her tone changing in a snap, "I never went near her boyfriend." Vivian wasn't the slag people liked to make her out to be, and no one knew that better than Theo, so she knew he'd believe her. She was a virgin, and although she sometimes kissed boys for fun, at the parties the Slytherins sometimes enjoyed throwing, she quickly got bored. The only person she'd ever done anything more with was Theo, and even that hadn't gone past some clumsy touches when they were younger. The two of them used to 'experiment', but Vivian had been unwilling to let it go very far. Theo was warm and comfortable and smelled nice, and kissing him had been nice, but it was all for fun. They'd sometimes just lay on Theo's bed together and kiss and talk, and joke as Theo occasionally cajoled her to take it further. As they'd gotten older Theo had wanted more than just endless snogging sessions, and it seemed as though maybe more meaning would have been attributed to their 'experiments' if they continued, and so sometime last year they had stopped completely. Theo knew Vivian was a virgin, he knew she'd never had a boyfriend (the only boy- hell, the only person- she could really tolerate was him), and he knew that she didn't flirt. She didn't need to.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian explained that it took him long enough to arrive and Theo merely grinned at her, knowing she didn’t actually care. Well, part of her probably did, but only because she was dying of boredom, not because she actually cared. She was an odd one, she always had been, but she was his best friend. She was his odd one, in an odd kind of way. And then she asked if he’d had dinner first and he let out a laugh before waving a hand at her, as if to dismiss it entirely. But he answered her, he always answered her.

”Of course I ate dinner. I was bloody starving. Not to mention it was hardly a scratch, you saw how quickly Poms fixed you up,” Theo said with a smirk, glancing around at the others who were inside the hospital wing, wondering what ailments some of them had. Some of them, like the girl with the blown up hand, were more obvious. But other people seemed to be just find. He wondered how many of them were faking it simply to get out of class. Theo thought it was kind of pathetic. If he didn’t want to go to class… he didn’t. He didn’t go to the nurse and pretend to be ill. That was just stupid; being trapped in the hospital wing with Pomfrey and actual sick people was just as bad as being in class.

Vivian didn’t seem even remotely amused by Theo’s bragging, but he didn’t really care. He was the reason she was out of the hospital wing and they both knew it, so whether Vivian enjoyed his bragging or not – he was right. He smirked as she began to ask him what he wanted in an annoyingly shrill voice and he glared at her for only split second before shrugging, as if weighing his options.

”I think a monument would be nice. Right outside on the grounds. Or maybe a medal, that would be nice too,” he grinned cheekily in her direction. But let’s not kid ourselves. A proper thank you from you is about as rare as well… a lot of things that I can’t think of right now,” he said, grinning before he ruffled her hair to show that he was joking. Vivian had never been one for manners or politeness, and that was one of the things that drew him to her in the first place. So many of the Slytherin girls were too prim and proper and precious to ever do anything fun, so why would he want to spend any time with them? But Vivian wasn’t like other girls. She was nothing like other girls, but that’s what made their friendship work. Because they could openly mock the girls who followed him around like lost puppies together.

And in an instant Vivian’s mood changed to one of annoyance, but Theo just continued grinning slightly. She didn’t have to justify herself to him and she knew that, but if she wanted to complain he would always hear her out. Theo let out a small chuckle as he remembered the pair fighting outside the Great Hall.

”Vivian, you should have learned two very important lessons from me by now, and that is that one, women are crazy, and two, men will say whatever they have to not to get caught,” he said with a nod. Theo had never been in a serious relationship before. He mostly just used the girls who followed him around (and all of them were more than happy to be used by him), but he was a guy after all. And he knew that most men would rather have their cake and eat it, too, which is exactly what Vaisey’s boyfriend wanted. He had Vaisey, but he wanted Vivian too.

”Vaisey probably caught her boyfriend oggling you, and he probably lied and said you were flirting with him first or something so he wouldn’t get caught being… well, a guy. But I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her anymore. I took care of it. All it took was a simple eyebrow raise,” he said, chuckling lightly

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian rolled her eyes as Theo listed the things that he would like as a thank you. The funny thing was, Vivian was sure Theo would actually love a nice monument, or even just a medal. It wasn't as though his ego could get much bigger. Vivian put a lot of time and effort into carefully deflating Theo's overly large head, and every day her hard work was undone by a gaggle of giggling girls following him around. Oh well, she thought, she'd just have to keep trying. She glanced at Theo and smirked slightly.

She tried to dodge his hand as he made to ruffle her hair, but he managed, as he always did. Vivian swatted his hand away, and then ran a hand through her hair, her nose wrinkled at Theo. He was always doing that, and it never ceased to be annoying. If anyone other than Theo tried to touch her hair they'd lose a hand.

Vivian let out a small laugh as Theo reiterated his supposed 'lessons' to her. It was true enough, if she was honest; Theo seemed to attract enough crazy women, and he certainly avoided getting caught in an awkward position with them at all costs. He explained that Vaisey's boyfriend was probably oggling her, and that he would then have lied and said Vivian came on to him first. Vivian let out a noise like an angry cat.
"I'm not their entertainment," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. Sure, Vivian liked attention as much as the next beautiful Veela girl, but that didn't give anyone the right to use her like a pawn in their little games, in their farce of a relationship.

It was times like this that made being beautiful feel like a real chore. Vivian had just entered her fifth year at Hogwarts, and now at fifteen her beauty was shifting from something rather innocent looking to more of a womanly beauty. She had grown taller over the summer holidays, and started to fill out. Her face was mostly the same, her eyes were still big and green, her skin was still perfect, and her lips still full, but it seemed as though her cheekbones had become slightly more defined. She was still slender, but now she had hips and breasts; predictably, she was growing into quite an impressive figure.

Vivian bit her lip slightly as she thought of her step-dad, and wondered if the changes would make him leave her alone, or make him even worse. She had hardly seen him or her mother at all over the summer holidays, mercifully. She shuddered slightly as she realised she didn't know if he'd like her more this way, or less.

But Theo didn't know about that, and it was easy for Vivian to move past the momentary coldness thinking about John Woods had brought on, and return to her normal cool, collected self.

Then Theo said that he had taken care of Vaisey, and Vivian looked at him indignantly.
"Excuse me!" she said, "You took care of it with a raised eyebrow? In case you forgot, I had her dangling from the ceiling, with that disgusting pair of knickers on show. Personally, I think that took care of it."

Vivian didn't get how something as subtle as a raised eyebrow would do anything. It didn't even occur to her that it may be something to do with Vaisey's relationship. Vivian didn't really think in those terms.
"And I wasn't worried," she added, after a moment, when what Theo had said sunk in.

She was bored with talking about Vaisey now, and honestly thought they had already given the girl and her boyfriend too much of their time.
"Where are we going, anyway?" she asked. The two of them seemed to be wandering aimlessly, although Vivian had no problem with walking around and talking. Theo didn't bore her, like so many other people did.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

The noise that Vivian let out when Theo said she'd been being oggled was about the opposite of what most girls her age would have done, and Theo couldn't help but laugh at her for it. Most girls of Vivian's age and decent would probably die of excitement at the thought of being oggled by another girl's boyfriend. But Theo supposed that was just yet another way that Vivian was pretty much the opposite of your typical girl. She shouted that she wasn't their entertainment, and Theo just laughed again.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said, whispering as they passed a few other Slytherin boys, "But that's not what they think." he pointed to the group they'd just passed and Theo looked over his shoulder to see that, of course they were staring at her. He smirked at the fact that he was right once more. He knew that she was right, of course. She wasn't their entertainment, but... being a guy, he also knew very well that he was completely right. Guys thought all women were there for their entertainment.

But Vivian had soon moved on and taken offense to his saying he fixed everything, and he smirked slightly as she bragged about having the girl hanging upside-down by her ankle. And then she added that she hadn't been worried, and Theo just shrugged.

"You're never worried, but... women are crazy, and I doubt Vaisey would have left you alone," he said. Women were crazy, after all. Hell, he'd been around Vivian long enough, she was probably the craziest of them all. But he wouldn't trade their friendship for anything in the world.

He watched as Vivian bit her lip, looking like she wasn't thinking about whatever they'd just been talking about. Theo wondered what was on her mind, but he knew all too well if she wanted him to know, she'd tell him, no matter what it was. And soon enough the look was gone. She asked where they were going and Theo gave a shrug.


"I figured maybe the lake? It's not too cold out. Could be some nice weather," he said with a grin. Vivian had a particularly fond friendship with the giant squid. Personally, Theo thought she was crazy, but every time they went out there there the squid was, friendly as ever. It was the strangest thing, and it skeeved Theo out to no end, but Vivian seemed to enjoy it

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

A group of Slytherin boys walked past them, and usually Vivian wouldn't have even glanced in their direction. She wouldn't have noticed them, or seen them looking at her. But Theo leaned in and whispered to her, and she looked and saw that he was right. They saw her as entertainment. She didn't turn around to look at them as they walked by, but Theo did, and one look at his face told her as much as if she had looked herself.

Vivian liked being admired, and liked the power that having boys want you gave her, but she liked it to be on her terms. Thinking of herself as their 'entertainment'... well, Vivian didn't like that at all. It made her feel like a slab of meat. It made her feel only valued for her looks. All her mother had had was her looks... Vivian saw her now, ageing, desperately trying to cling on to what she had had, and felt scared that she was looking at her own future. If all she had was her looks, what would happen to her once they were gone?

But she'd never let anyone get to her, and she'd especially not be seen to be upset in anyway. If she even could be upset. Really, it hurt her pride more than her icy cold feelings. She shook her hair back over her shoulder, and made a dismissive sort of sound.

"At least you're not like that," she said to Theo. He didn't oggle her. At least... she looked at him sideways, frowning slightly. She didn't think he did. Well either way, Theo, it seemed, found her entertaining for the right reasons. Which was good, because she had quite enough people fawning over her, and it was beyond boring.

"We're just lucky this power has fallen to one as innocent as me," Vivian said, in a mockingly sweet tone. "Any other girl would have shagged her way though half the castle by now. And you, Mr Nott," she looked at him, eyebrows raised as though giving him a telling off, "if you were given such a power, the female population would all end up walking funny. You'd devastate the Quidditch teams; how would they sit on a broom?"

Of course, Theo wasn't quite the man-whore Vivian was making him out to be, but he did see his fair share of action. He was a sixteen year old boy, and he had opportunity. Of course he took it!

Theo suggested the lake, and Vivian nodded.
"Great," she said, approving of the suggestion. The lake was one of her favourite places to go. It was large enough that almost no matter where you sat there were no people crowding around, and she could play with the Giant Squid. Theo was still kind of freaked out by the Squid, but he put up with it because he know Vivian found him amusing. Theo also sometimes played his guitar when they were outside, away from other people. He was good, and Vivian knew he sang, too, though he rarely did that, not even in front of her. She didn't know why, but she didn't press him on it.

The two of them walked out of the castle, and headed towards the lake. As Theo predicted, the weather was nice, although it had a look about it that suggested it wouldn't stay nice for long. It was mild, not too cold, and not raining which was something. The sky was overcast, but there were enough gaps for sun to peek through.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian said at least Theo wasn't like that, and he was grinning, until he saw her face. His own face contorted into one of both confusion and shock. She couldn't possibly think he saw her in that way could she?! His jaw dropped as if he were offended.

"Trust me Vivian if I wasn't immune to your feminine wiles we'd have a huge problem on our hands," he said with a laugh before she began going on a rant... of how innocent she was?! His facial expression remained unchanging and solemn as he listened, as if taking every one of her words into consideration, but he lost it when she said the Quidditch players wouldn't be able to ride their broomsticks. He closed his eyes as he laughed before shaking his head.

"There are so many things I could say right now, but I think they're all too filthy for your innocent ears," he said with a laugh. He wasn't really a man-whore. Sure he'd had his fair share of women over the years, but he didn't really get around as much as Vivian was making him seem. But he didn't mind her poking fun at him, he poked just as much fun at her, if not more. No, it was definitely more.

Vivian agreed that the lake was a good idea, but there wasn't a doubt in Theo's mind that she'd want to go. She always wanted to go to the lake. Theo wasn't exactly sure why, but he didn't mind going. It gave him a chance to play his guitar sometimes, away from people who wanted to listen in.

They exited the castle and a brisk but comfortable September breeze wrapped around them. The sky was overcast, but the clouds were thin enough that the sun was able to peek through, lighting up the splotches of grass as they walked toward the lake. Theo silently debated on whether or not he wanted to summon his guitar, but in the end he decided against it, and was happy to just walk and talk. It looked like it might rain, but it wasn't yet, so that was always a welcome sign. Sometimes in the fall it felt like it was always raining.

"So will you be calling upon your giant friend the other day?" he asked once they got closer to the lake. The ground looked cold and unwelcoming, despite the somewhat sunny sky, but Theo knew they'd be sitting down anyway, so sit he did.

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian laughed as Theo pretended to be shocked at what she was saying.
"Sure," she replied, nudging him with her shoulder, "Immune. Lets go with that," she winked at him, but it was all light hearted teasing. Sure, she and Theo had fooled around before, but that was all in the past. It hadn't been much, anyway, especially not when compared to what Theo sometimes got up to these days (if the bathroom gossip was to be believed). Vivian thought she probably didn't register on Theo's list of 'conquests'.

She pretended to cover her ears in horror, as though she really was just too innocent to hear what Theo might say, and then laughed again. Virginity was a technicality, innocence, however, was a state of mind. Vivian certainly had one, but not the other.

When they reached the lake Theo sat down with a resigned look on his face. Vivian followed suit, and sat down next to him, her cloak on the ground beneath her to shield from the cold grass. Winter may not have set in yet, but summer had definitely abandoned them. Vivian didn't really mind, though. She wasn't as big a fan of summer as most people seemed to be. Summers for her were never fun.

Because it was still so early in the school year, Vivian hadn't donned the black tights most girls wore in the winter months yet. Her legs were bare, though her skirt wasn't too short. Well, it was shorter than it had been last time she wore it, she was sure, but then again she had grown. Skirts were supposed to be no more than 3 inches above the knee, and Vivian was currently breaking that rule. Still, it was long enough, she supposed. Vivian wasn't one of the girls who shortened their school skirts more and more as the year went on, as though they were in some sort of competition with each other. She wasn't a prude, but she didn't need to try to get attention, either. She had it. Vivian felt like joining in the hemline race was demeaning.

Vivian shivered slightly, and rubbed her legs to warm them until she got used to the slight chill. But she didn't complain; really, the only thing Vivian ever complained about was boredom, and even that was more of a prerequisite to doing something about it.

She smiled as Theo asked about the Squid, and sure enough a tentacle was already emerging from the water. Vivian didn't know how he always knew she was there- could they smell, from under the water?- but he did.
"Cheer up, Theo," she said, bumping her shoulder against his, "he won't hurt you." She reached up a hand to ruffle his hair. "I'll protect you." The tentacle swatted gently at her legs, but the Squid didn't seem to be in a particularly playful mood today, and didn't try to engage her any further than that.

Vivian looked at Theo for a moment, feeling in a bit of a funny mood. Her legs were bent, and she rested her chin on her knees, her hair just touching the ground, tickling against her bare skin and providing almost a sort of blanket. Her head was turned slightly, so she could look up at Theo.
"How was your summer?" she asked. She didn't ask it as though Theo were going to tell her of family holidays and fun. Vivian knew that Theo didn't have a great home life, although she didn't know the details. He knew the same about her. They were best friends, but both understood the other enough not to pry. Still, she could ask... it was a simple question. And she did care, even if she sounded as uncaring as ever.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo watched as Vivian sat down beside him, and surely enough a tentacle came creeping out of the water. Theo scrunched his face before watching as Vivian seemed to rub her legs together. He smirked. Thank Merlin for pants.

"I never understood how you guys don't freeze every winter," he said, amused as the tentacle creeped forward toward them. Theo wasn't fond of the giant squid, not really. He didn't really understand how Vivian could be so comfortable with it. Theo figured at any moment it could wrap its tentacle around her and drag her in and under. To trust a creature she didn't really know like that was... well, confusing and very interesting. The giant squid wasn't like some kind of dog or something. And it was put in there precisely to keep kids out of the water, so how it had befriended Vivian he wasn't sure. But he knew if he asked she likely wouldn't be able to answer anyway.

Vivian must have noticed that he wasn't exactly happy to see the thing as she nudged him, saying she'd protect him. He chuckled lightly before looking at her with a raised brow.

"Right, and who's the better dueler of the two of us?" he asked with a smirk, but he let the rest of it die without more comments, despite the fact that he knew very well he could keep going. A short silence built between them, but Vivian ended it as quickly as it had started with a question that... well, wasn't exactly a welcome topic with Theo. He looked at her, curled up around herself as if protecting herself like a blanket and he let out a small laugh.

"You look like some kind of see turtle," he said, chuckling once more before he thought about the topic at hand. Summer. How had his holiday been? Well, he'd gotten into several physical and verbal arguments with his father, but, it wasn't as bad as it had been in other years. He was stronger now, and taller than his father, so it was a pretty even match. Vivian knew about his home life. Well, she knew that it wasn't good, but he'd never fully divulged the truth about his home life to anyone at Hogwarts, not even her. But if he had to tell someone, it would be her. But that was not something he wanted to talk about today.

Summer was okay. Not the best, but I've had worse, too. What about yours?" he asked. He knew that she didn't have the best home life, either. It was understood that they just... didn't really talk about them, and Theo knew that her asking was her way of showing that she cared, even if her words told most other people otherwise. Theo knew her inside and out, and he could read her like a book.

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Vivian laughed slightly as Theo said she looked like a sea turtle, though not quite sure how he made that leap.
"Maybe that's why the Squid likes me so much," she said, still smiling slightly.

She watched Theo carefully as he seemed to mull her question over. She could tell that he wasn't entirely happy about being made to think about his summer. Although Vivian didn't know the ins and outs, she had some idea about what life was like for Theo when he was at home. She knew his mum was dead, and she knew he and his father... well, they didn't get on. She knew that Theo's dad wasn't a good man. Vivian's home life was even more shrouded in secrecy than Theo's was. She knew he'd never guess what went on... and she'd never told anyone. It was a secret, that's what she'd been told her whole life. Don't tell anyone, its our secret... only she had told one person, when she'd been very young and stupid, and she'd been hit for it.

It was strange to think of all that now, and she felt more and more detached the more she thought about it. But it wasn't an entirely comfortable feeling.

Theo said that he'd had worse, but that he'd had better, too. Vivian frowned slightly, but didn't speak. Theo knew that she understood, better than anyone, and that was worth more than words.

He turned the question back on her, as she'd thought he might, and Vivian looked away, down at the ground. She picked at a piece of grass, and shrugged her shoulders. In truth, Vivian's summer hadn't been a good one. The one before it had been better, her parents had been away for almost all of it, and when they were at the house they were busy. There had been no... incidents. But this summer hadn't been like that.

Vivian was being quiet, she knew, but she couldn't think of what to say. When she was with Theo she always felt softened, as though she might almost feel. Right now the grounds around them were still and quiet, and it was easy to feel peaceful, but it wasn't a happy kind of peace. Maybe if she told Theo about it all...

But no, it wouldn't make things different. Telling someone wouldn't help her. Theo couldn't do anything about it, even if he wanted to. And he probably didn't want to hear about it all, anyway. He didn't talk about his home life with her, so she doubted he wanted to hear about hers.

"You'll be seventeen soon," Vivian said, after a long silence, speaking quietly out of instinct, because of the quiet all around them. She didn't really need to elaborate. They both knew that being seventeen meant that Theo would never have to go back to his dad's house, if he could find somewhere else to go... it wasn't a guaranteed escape, but it opened doors. Vivian was a year younger than Theo. She wouldn't be seventeen for a while...

;; my song for this post

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo had turned the summer question back to Vivian and he watched as she seemed to kind of hull up inside herself. She looked at the ground, and for a long while there was silence. It was odd. He knew Vivian didn't have a very good home life, though he wasn't sure to what degree it was bad, but usually she said something. It was weird to see her just staring at the ground. He frowned slightly, but averted his attention to the lake. The water had small ripples in it from the giant squid, but other than that small disturbance the water looked as smooth as glass in some parts.

And then Vivian spoke, but it had nothing to do with her summer, which only threw Theo further into the mess of confusion. Was her summer truly that bad that she didn't even want to speak of it? What could have happened to her? The idea of something bad happening to Vivian over the summer to the point where she didn't speak about it made Theo very uncomfortable. Vivian was the kind of girl who talked about everything as if it didn't matter, and usually she brushed things off as if they were nothing. So the fact that she truly didn't want to speak about her summer... Theo knew something wasn't right, but he wasn't sure if it was his place to push her on the issue. She tried to change the subject by telling him he'd be seventeen soon, and he just shrugged lightly. He knew what it meant. He'd never have to go back to his father if he didn't want to, if he could find somewhere else to go, find a job to support himself.

"I will be," he said, flashing her a grin, but his mind remained fixated on the fact that she hadn't answered how her summer was. What could have been that bad? And if it was that bad... did he really want to know? Of course he did. Vivian was his best friend, one of his very few closest friends. If something bad were to happen to her... of course he would want to know about it. But how did he approach the subject? He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, or push her too far. He knew how Vivian could get when she was angry, and it usually wasn't very pretty. But a gently nudge couldn't hurt, right?


"You know.... your summer. You know you can talk to me about it if you want, right?" he said. He and Vivian had a very unique friendship, but sometimes he wondered if Vivian knew she could talk to him about truly everything. He would never judge her. They knew so much about each other... how could he ever judge her?

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Theo flashed her a grin in response to her pointing out that soon he would be seventeen. The grin was easy, natural, like it always was, and for a moment Vivian thought that they were going to move on from the subject of summers. She didn't mind, either way. She didn't care if they talked about it or not. Vivian felt nothing about it. Except... well, she hadn't told Theo because he'd never asked, they'd never brought it up, and she didn't think he'd really want to know, but also because she thought Theo might not want to be her friend any more if he knew. There were very few things Vivian cared about, but Theo's friendship was one of them. She knew enough to know most people would be disgusted at the notion of a step-dad touching his daughter, and what if Theo thought she was disgusting because of it? What if he wanted nothing more to do with her?

Vivian didn't know how he'd react if she ever told him. If Theo left her... well, he was her only friend. She didn't want that, not ever. Vivian looked at him, and then went from playing with a piece of grass to playing with a strand of long blonde hair. It was gently wavy, and curled at the end. She curled it around her finger, staring at it, still silent.

Then Theo said that she could talk to him about it, if she wanted to. She glanced at him again, then back at her hair, biting her lip. For a long moment she was silent, before she spoke.
"You'd hate me."

Her own mother hated her for it all, and she wouldn't give Theo a reason to stop being friends with her.

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair.
"It doesn't even matter..." she said, shrugging again. It had been happening for years and she was fine, she didn't care... she hated it at the time, but afterwards she felt nothing. She felt nothing now. She'd tell Theo, if she wasn't so determined that he not leave her.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo watched as Vivian bit her lip, looking at him and then looking back at her hair, acting like it was a curtain he couldn't see inside of, but Theo wasn't stupid. She was... she was nervous. What wasn't she telling him? Or, he supposed the more important question was... what was so bad that she couldn't tell him? His eyebrows furrowed, concerned. And then when she spoke her words shocked him even more. He would... hate her? He narrowed his eyes and raised a brow at the same time, silently asking both himself and her if that was even ever possible. He knew in an instant that it wasn't.

"Vivian," he said looking at her, pausing for only a moment, "I couldn't hate you if I tried." he smirked, refusing to allow her to sink into some kind of sadness. "And believe me I have tried." He grinned in her direction to show her he was joking, but he presumed she probably knew. And it was true, he could never hate her, even if he did want to. They'd known each other for too long to have him hate her.

Vivain brushed it off like it didn't matter, but Theo knew her better than that, and he shook his head immediately. It may not have mattered to her, but it definitely mattered to him now. And he wasn't about to drop it.

"Vivian, it does matter. What... what happened?" he asked, his voice low and soft. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer, but he knew if it was something big enough to make Vivian not want to talk about it completely... then she needed to talk about it whether he wanted to know or not.

[/blockquote]

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

He couldn't hate her if he tried... that brought a slight smile to Vivian's face, although she was still looking at her hair. She really hoped that was true. Theo was such a huge part of her life, and the only person she really cared about, apart from herself. Vivian hated to admit it, but she thought she'd feel a bit... well, lost, without him.

And when Theo spoke next his voice was lower, softer, as though he were trying to coax it out of her. He was being gentle, so as not to frighten her off. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't one for dealing with emotions. She glanced at him, but quickly looked away again. If he wanted to know then she'd tell him. What did it matter, if Theo knew or not? She knew he wouldn't tell anybody.

"When I was younger," she began, her voice flat, "I don't really remember when it started, it was a very long time ago... but my step-dad... he used to get me alone a lot." She frowned slightly, trying to remember. Vivian couldn't remember when it had first began, it sort of felt like it had always been that way. "He used to touch me, and do things..." she trailed off, shrugging. She knew Theo would know what she was talking about, but equally she knew that he wouldn't want details. He'd probably be disgusted. She wondered if he'd remember the times that he had kissed her and held her and feel disgusted. Because she was disgusting. That was what her mother had said... which reminded Vivian, she needed to continue her story.

"I told my mum, but she blamed me for it, and that's when she started hitting me. It hurt at lot, at first, but I got used to it. She wanted to make me all bruised and ugly so he wouldn't want me any more." And it seemed to work, too. When the bruises were at their worst her step-dad hadn't been so interested, especially when her face was black and blue.

"I don't even think about it any more," she said, before frowning slightly. Vivian didn't know why she had lied. She never bothered to lie, especially not to Theo. She didn't see the point. "That was a lie," she said, "I do think about it a lot, but I don't care, well... you know." Theo knew that Vivian wasn't as emotional as most people, to put it lightly. "He still does it, when he can." That was why summers were so bad. That was what Theo had asked about, after all, but she couldn't tell him without telling the whole story. "I don't like it," she added, firmly. That was important. Even if Theo walked away, now he had to know that. She didn't like it, she didn't want it to happen, she didn't do anything to make it happen... it was like her mother's voice was resounding in her head and Vivian was answering her over and over, no, I don't...

Vivian realised she was shivering slightly, and rubbed her legs with her hands again for warmth.
"Its cold," she said, still not looking at Theo, although it wasn't, particularly.