How To Tame A Gryffindor

Chapter 12: Levicorpus

After a week of attempting to coax the painting of the Fat Lady into fetching Victoire for him, Teddy finally decided that it wasn't going to work.

He sat in his classes, brooding over ways to get her alone, to talk to her again like before. Like the night on his rooftop. He wished they were in the same year, that way they might be in some of the same classes.
It occurred to him that his fears that night in his bedroom had come true: things were different at Hogwarts.

It only took a few accidentally mis-potted Mandrakes and a burnt potions for Kent to realise that class wasn't the only thing on Teddy's mind.

"Okay, Teddy, I realise that you are a very clumsy person but this is a whole new level of klutz for you. What's up? And if you say Victoire, I'm going to slap you."
Teddy laughed "how did you know about that?"
"I heard you and Jorah talking the night you spilt my milk."
Kent said this good naturedly, but Teddy knew this would be a different matter if he was tired and grumpy, so he might as well tell him now.
"I kind of sort of maybe like her a little bit...maybe..."
Kent slapped him over the head with the frog they were meant to be transfiguring. Both boys laughed.
Well we need to get you to talk to her so you can bloody stop messing up in every class.

That evening in the Hufflepuff common room, the boys sat on the pale yellow sofas in front of a roaring fire, half-heartedly throwing around ideas on how to get Victoire away from her annoying friends, Ingrid and Scarlet.
"So really our problem is the Fat Lady isn't it?" Teddy said, plucking a chocolate frog from the table.
"Well we'll have to find another way to get you into the Common Room...so let's see...there's really only the portrait hole and the windows that are entrances..."
Jorah sat up quickly: "I have an idea."
----------------------------------------------
"This is dangerous," Kent snapped as the boys stood at the base of Gryffindor tower.
"Well so is Teddy in DADA when he can't focus on repelling his troll..."
Teddy sighed nervously, "just do it."

The two boys looked at each other before pointing their wands at Teddy and yelling "Levicorpus!"

Teddy at once felt like he was filled with helium, he began to rise and rise against the grey bricks of the tower. As he gained altitude, he suddenly remembered that it was a full moon. His head pounded and his stomach ached, but he would get there.

The boys were metres and metres below him, he worried that they would retract their wands and he would fall endlessly onto the ground below.

As he neared the window, he began to try climbing up the wall. He grasped the windowsill while he attempted to remove his own wand from his pockets.
When he retrieved it, he pointed it at the lock on the window and yelled
"Alohomora!"
The stained glass window did not show him what was going on inside the common room...
Teddy had assumed everyone would be asleep and he would have to search for Victoire, but once he stumbled in the window and into the common room, he wondered if any Gryffindor students were in bed.

Every single sinner in this house was gathered in the common room, there were large banners saying "welcome back" that were darned with Crimson thread, there were massive pitchers of Butterbeer on the table along with a huge array of food that Teddy guessed could only be from the kitchen.

When he fell in, the party fell silent. The students playing the guitar and singing in the corner stopped to stare at him.
Teddy smiled sheepishly and the entire common room exploded in applause.