The Secrets of the Map

The Scream

     Tentacles immediately sprouted across Henri's face, who then cried out in surprise and let go of Victoire to grab his face. Teddy barely took notice of him, and instead pushed him away to turn to Victoire, who looked shocked. "Teddy-"
      "Are you alright?" He interrupted.   
      "I-yes, I'm fine. You didn't have to do that though-I had it under control."
       "I couldn't risk it," Teddy admitted, part of him wanting to apologize and another equally strong part screaming that he was not sorry for anything.
       "You better stuff him in the closet before the trolley witch notices," she added, still recovering from the shock. For some reason her face had was flushed.
Henri, who was unable to talk as a tentacle sprouted from his mouth, immediately stumbled down the hallway into the other compartment, catching many surprises looks.
Teddy watched him go, a growing satisfaction emerging within him. "If he does, he'll have to tell her how he got it. He'll keep his mouth shut." He turned to her, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could think better of it. "Want me to walk you to your compartment?"
     "No, I can handle walking," she said in a slightly cold tone that softened as she continued to look at him. "Thanks."
     "Anytime." He stood there awkwardly as he watched her leave before turning and stumbling back into the compartment.
     "Careful," said Heather, catching him before he tripped over her foot.
      "Thanks," he muttered, feeling his face warm. Hopefully Victoire hasn't seen that...
      "Someone's head over heels," Victory noticed, and it was only then that Teddy noticed the shocked stares they all were giving him.
     "Slimy git," Alejandro scoffed, but Teddy knew he was talking about Henri. "What'd he grab her for?"
      "What did it look like, genius?" Heather retorted. "I can't believe that idiot's a Captain now. What in the world was Slughorn thinking...?"
     "He probably wasn't-he's pretty old," Tom explained in his usually mild tone.
      "Yeah, well either way, next game you make sure to hit him in the balls for me," Victory said to Alejandro, stretching.
     "You got it."
      "Are captains allowed to ask that?" Heather asked.
     "Technically I'm not a captain until we reach school grounds," she replied evenly. "So until then, I can say whatever I want, which includes smacking slimy gits in their place."
     "I call his backup if his aim's not great," Heather added, and Teddy laughed at the look on Alejandro's face.
      "I don't need backup..."
      Heather pretended not to hear him. "Anyways, how long has that been going on?" She asked, jerking her head outside the compartment while looking at Teddy.
       "How long as what been going on?" Teddy asked, feigning innocence as best as he could. Darn it, Heather...
       "Your-"
       "Dislike towards Henri," Tom interrupted hastily.
        Teddy shot him a grateful look, but immediately regretted it as Tom winked at Heather, who smirked. Despite their smugness, he was relieved they hadn't said it aloud. Alejandro was great, but if he heard this Teddy wasn't sure how much longer the secret could be kept. Though on second thought, it probably wouldn't last long anyway, now that James knew...
   "He's always been a jerk. Remember last year?"
       "Course," Victory scoffed. "But you've never attacked him before. Care to enlighten us?"
        Teddy figured it would be easier to stick as close to the truth as he could. "He won't leave Victoire alone, and it's getting on her nerves."
       "And yours," Heather pointed out, smirking.
       Before Teddy could reply, the lights went out in the car. With the absence of the sun that had set an hour ago, darkness filled the car.
       "What the heck?" Alejandro asked, groping around. "Was that a power outage?"
     "Looks like it," Tom noticed.
     Suddenly there was a great lurch, and Victory's bag fell on top of Tom. Ignoring his muffled protest, she looked out the window suspiciously. "Why are we stopping?"
    Teddy followed Victory's gaze, and noticed that hey had stopped right over a bridge. "Dunno." He had an odd sense of deja vu. Something similar had happened to Harry, but as much as he racked his brain, all he remembered was the part about Harry passing out and meeting his dad. Did Harry ever tell him why? "I'll check outside." He offered, standing up.
    Unfortunately, all he saw was heads poking out, worried voices following the motion. The power had gone out throughout the whole car, not just their compartment, and suddenly Teddy felt goosebumps travel up his arm from a cold breeze...
     It was then that he stepped back. "Lock the door," he told the others. "Keep your wands ready."
    "What's going on?" Victory asked, suspicious.
    "Hopefully nothing. I need to find the Potters quick." If anyone were to remember that story, they would.
      As he stepped out, he suddenly ran into a startled Rose. "What's the matter?"
    She looked at him, almost breathless from running. "How are your patronus skills?"
    "Why?"
    She opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out a scream shattered through the compartment. A familiar scream.
     Victoire's.