Beaxbaton Academy of Magic, France, 1988 (Vanessa - Mature)

Being at school with what Louis would only describe as entry requirement for girls of being beautiful, left Louis with a lot of different "sports" to play. Puberty and the work he put in on the Quidditch field had left him growing taller and bulkier than most of the other weeds in the school. And with all that came a gaggle of giggling girls intent on keeping him happy. Louis had never complained about the situation he'd found himself in, girls were the only thing that made coming to school worthwhile.

Except Vanessa, perhaps.

The duo had spent copious amounts of time together over the fives years they'd been at school. Studying together, relaxing together, getting in to mischief together. Since the day they'd first kissed they'd been able to find comfort in one another too. Louis was quite sure that she felt the same way, though he could never always be sure with Vanessa. Merlin knew as the years went on, girls became harder to read and Vanessa was no different in that regard.

After their first kiss, kissing had become something of a normality for them both, Louis found himself kissing her goodnight most nights, revelling in the feeling that hadn't yet become old. The only difference between their first kiss at the age of twelve and their kisses now, was that Louis' body told him he wanted more. Whether Vanessa knew about the way she intoxicated his body to a whole new level he wasn't sure, but seeing as their relationship hadn't progressed beyond kissing (all be it deeper, French kissing) Louis had sought out attention from other girls.

But he never made his plays public, Louis respected Vanessa enough not to have the school gossiping about him. His elevation to prefect that year had only strengthened his power in the school, overshadowing Dominic once more because despite the older Clement's smarts, he did not have the presence to take on the role. But it went unnoticed, to everyone except Vanessa.

It had been his fourth year that Louis had begun reading further in to the Dark Arts that the school didn't teach. It taught you how to defence yourself from such spells, but never how to do them, so Louis had moved on to his own research, studying different spells, hexes and methods of magic that he hadn't seen before. It was precisely that which had him still up that evening, the moon high in the sky as he sat in his dorm window over the holidays. Everyone else had gone home, and Vanessa had been busy with something long since forgotten.

The bay window showed a great view of the grounds, but the youngest Clement paid them no mind, going over the act of creating a Horcrux. Louis found the idea exciting in a morbid way, being able to keep alive by putting part of your soul in to an inanimate object. Just in case something happened to you... But it meant you had to kill somebody first.

Pros and cons were always and issue with Dark Magic, yet Louis still found it enthralling. His book he'd ordered was giving him an insight to everything he needed, and distracting him from the increasing problem of Vanessa and the magic she worked on his body.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

Beaxbaton Academy of Magic, France, 1988 (Vanessa - Mature) Aishwarya-rai-free-desktop-wallpaper-125685

Vanessa Jhalak Sheridan

Christmas Holidays had been pretty quiet, all things considered. The three cousins had been required to return home for the Clement's annual Christmas Ball but this year Grandmere had consented to relieve Vanessa of the duties of attending the various pureblood socials that normally demanded her time this time of year. When Aunt Lynette had objected, Grandmere had simply pointed out that Vanessa was already engaged, there was no point in making a show of the poor girl, earning the young witch's gratitude. Vanessa had taken the next train back to school with Louis while Dominic had opted to stay until the holidays ended properly after the new year. While Louis and Vanessa had always tried to find their way out of the sheer magnitude and loneliness of House Clement, Dominic revelled in it. Vanessa knew he felt safe there, his mother felt safer with him there. It was just one of those things.

The duo had returned just before New Year's Eve to find the school almost completely devoid of students and teachers. Only one other Ombrelune had opted to spend the holidays in the palace and she had done so mostly to get the library to herself and never hung around the common room. Two Bellefoulles made up the rest of the student quota staying in the beautiful glass palace. Staff wise there was the caretaker, the librarian and the groundskeeper and one or two scant teachers in charge who had gotten in the habit of taking some liquor up to their quarters in the evenings and not emerging until noon the next day - or so a casual inquiry in the kitchen had informed the witch. All this meant that the students were left on their own.

A prospect that somehow made Vanessa uneasy.

Even Louis, who usually always had time for her, appeared to be busy with whatever it was he did when they weren't together. Vanessa had heard things, rumors mostly but she had been taught o listen to rumors from a young age. Important information always got distorted but a careful, refined ear could unearth floating gems, Grandmere always said. It wasn't gossip... not strictly speaking. But girls did confide to on another, and it was common knowledge that Vanessa was betrothed to her cousin.

Not that it stopped those bitches from trying.

The idea of what she heard in the boudoir made a feeling of shame well up inside her. Part of her wanted to believe it was untrue but the other, more reasonable part told her it probably wasn't. Talking to Louis about it was out of the question. He was perfectly within his rights to explore other options if he wished. He had never put any stipulations of fidelity towards her either, implying that she too could engage in extracurricular. But the only time Vanessa had kissed another boy - a brief, chaste and forced experience - she had vomited after, rinsing her mouth out with copious amounts of mouthwash to get rid of the taste and smell of the boy in question. It had just felt wrong.

The teen shook her head, refusing to think about it as she got out of her bed. There was now way she would be able to sleep. Her feet automatically finding the soft velvet shoes she wore, the witch slipped into them, not even stopping to retrieve a dressing gown to cover her flimsy black nightgown from the back of her chair as she made her way out of her dorms and down the stairs only to cross the main are and climb up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Sitting with Louis might help her relax, it might loosen the knot of dread growing inside her.

Upon reaching the door, Vanessa knocked softly once before she entered, taking in the dim glow of candlelight and Louis sitting with a book by the bay window.

"I can't sleep," she admitted quietly. They had done that as children. Many a times when Vanessa had found herself unable to sleep or afraid of nightmares, she had come to Louis' room. The degree of reaction upon finding both children in the same bed come morning usually depended on how long the servant in question had worked for House Clement and whether Grandmere was within hearing range. Aunt Lynette had frowned on it even then but not said anything because Grandmere deemed it too unimportant to make an issue of.

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Beaxbaton Academy of Magic, France, 1988 (Vanessa - Mature) Rsz_mi10

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"I can't sleep," she admitted quietly.

The sound of the door hadn't really registered with Louis, but the voice that followed it did. After closing his book and rubbing his eyes slightly from the strain of low lighting and complex material, Louis looked up to his cousin with a soft smile. A smile that could almost have turned in to a smirk if he hadn't perfected the control of such urges a very long time ago.

But there was doubt that Louis appreciated what had been brought to him.

Placing the book in the window, Louis rose from his seat and moved swiftly across the room. "Are you sure you weren't just missing me, Ven?" Louis teased, his arms circling her as his lips found her forehead. He didn't wait for an answer as he swept her off her feet, turning towards his bed. "Or was it my cuddles?" He added, raising an eyebrow at her in question. Merlin knew they were getting too old for nightmares to be the reason she was coming to him.

Whatever the reason she was here, Louis knew that it would mean lying next to her for the next few hours, trying to keep his body in check as she drifted off to sleep. It wasn't fair, and he was almost sure she knew what she was doing to him, but if she did... why? Louis shook those thoughts away as he placed her down on his bed, pulling the sheets over her to cover her legs. The boy took a seat next to her, wondering what she wanted him to do, he wasn't ready for bed, and Merlin knew that if began taking his clothes off it was going to make the whole task ten times harder to work through.

So he did what was second nature when around Vanessa, and waited.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

"Are you sure you weren't just missing me, Ven?"

The witch smiled smiled briefly as Louis' lips touched her forehead, a smile that turned into a small gasp of surprise as he lifted her off her feet, cradling her easily in his arm. It was a little unsettling sometimes how easily he could pick her up, make her lose her sense of balance, make her head swim with a few touches.

Make her wonder if his expertise were due to practice...

"I always miss you when we're not together," she answered honestly as he gently deposited her on his bed, pulling the covers over her. When he took his place on a chair beside the bed however, Vanessa knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. There was too much on her mind and the self doubt that slowly worked away at her psyche wasn't going to help.

The witch closed her eyes nonetheless, sinking back into the pillow, her shining brown curls pooling around her head and streaking the pillow. Her thoughts were an invisible galaxy of constellations, constantly moving around her to be picked and examined at leisure. On most days anyway. Today they pressed inside her closed eyes, demanding attention invasively in the darkness.

"I might be visiting father this summer," she murmured softly, eyes still closed to the world. "If Grandmere approves."

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"I always miss you when we're not together,"

The smile on Louis' lips grew a little at that notion. He could have told her the same, but he didn't think it was particularly necessary right now. Pulling off his suit jacket, Louis hung it over the back of his chair before turning his attention back to her. How she looked so at home in his bed, her hair creating an image on the pillow that was only her. Louis was glad she had her eyes closed, he could watch her up close without her thinking him weird for doing so.

"I might be visiting father this summer," she murmured softly, eyes still closed to the world. "If Grandmere approves."

Now that... that was enough to bring Louis back from his musings of her beauty... Of everything she was, and everything she was going to be. "Your father?" Louis asked, confusion evident in his tone. "Why?" Louis asked, still not sure why that would be something she would want to do. Hell, he couldn't remember the last time Vanessa had seen her father. But she must have had some reason to want to go now.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

"Your father?"

Vanessa didn't reply, letting Louis digest the information at his own pace. His surprise was justified. Growing up, the witch could count the times she had visited her father on one hand. He hadn't seem to particularly mind, unsure what to do with her around to the extent that her last trip, Vanessa had had to make do without a Lady's Maid, her father's butler not having the foresight to hire one when he had first been told Vanessa would be visiting. Something her father had received the sharp end of Grandmre's tongue for. Vanessa had been thirteen then.

England wasn't particularly interesting and if Vanessa was honest, neither was her father. The only thing both had in their favor was the relative peace and solitude they let her stay in.

"Why?"

"I don't know what else to do," she answered, a small frown touching her forehead even as her eyes remained closed. She wanted to tell him she no longer felt at home at the Clements. She wanted to confess her wish to just fly, without a destination in mind, without worries of upholding anyone's honor or fearing anyone's disappointment. But the notion didn't even make sense to her.

Mostly she wanted to be away from all the silly bitches at school.

"I think I am becoming disenchanted with France," she said softly, reaching out to take his hand in hers. She didn't need to open her eyes to sense where his hand was. It had always been near her, whenever she needed it. Tonight was no different.

"I'm... I feel as though I have no direction in life," she finally managed opening her eyes to contemplate the ceiling above her.

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"I don't know what else to do,"

Louis frowned at her more as she continued to try to explain. Why had she all of a sudden put their usual ideas of spending the summer together to the side. They could do whatever they wanted, but Vanessa seemed to want to spend it away from him. The irony being she was here because she was missing him in the first place. But Louis wouldn't point that out to her, merely comfort her when she was upset.

As her hand found his, Louis gave it a soft squeeze, trying to be reassuring in his silence because he wasn't sure what to say. Maybe Vanessa couldn't see how much going to her father's house would hurt him, and if she couldn't then he wouldn't even think of telling her that much.

"I'm... I feel as though I have no direction in life,"

"No direction..." Louis repeated, moving to sit on the bed beside her, still holding on to her hand. "Shall I tell you a secret, Ven?" He asked, not knowing if it would help her in the slightest, but it was something. "The only direction I have is you. So, if you have no direction, what hope do I have?" Louis asked, the glimmer of a smile on his lips. Louis had no clue what he was going to do, he didn't have much of a role in the future of the Clement family, that was Dominic's outlook. All he had was his fiancé, or whatever name they were giving it these days.

"Besides, if you go to England, you won't have me." The boy finished, leaning down and carefully placing his lips on hers. Hopefully it would make her smile, but Louis couldn't be sure. But so long as he tried, Vanessa couldn't ask for much more.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

"Shall I tell you a secret, Ven?"

She felt the mattress shift as his weight joined hers on the bed, his hand reassuring in hers. Vanessa's grey eyes left the mysteries of the dark ceiling in favor of contemplating him in the dim candlelight, his face weary but still resonating the kind of strength the witch had always wished for.

"The only direction I have is you. So, if you have no direction, what hope do I have?"

The girl shook her head silently. He had the world at his feet. Nothing, not even his family, could hold him back because he was not the heir. Despite what Louis claimed, he would be accepted anywhere he went.

Things were different for her. The world was too vast and the only thing that had ever made sense in it was him. If anything, it was the other way around. He was her only direction.

"Besides, if you go to England, you won't have me."

As his lips touched hers, the teen could feel her own forming into a small smile. "I meant to ask you to come with me," she murmured against his lips before kissing him back, closing her eyes once more. Over the years, Vanessa had learned that her cousin possessed a power hitherto unheard of, the power to take away all her thoughts through a single kiss.

"How could you think I would spend the summer away from you," she asked, her voice soft as a secret against him.

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"I meant to ask you to come with me,"

"Come with you?" Louis asked between the kisses, a hint of his teasing nature coming through. "Why would I want to go to England?" He inquired, kicking his shoes off before he slowly led down next to her, drawing her closer to him. The reason why he'd go was already here, but he liked to play with her just a little bit before he gave her what she wanted.

"How could you think I would spend the summer away from you,"

"Hmm... probably without much sleep, but you could spend the summer away from me. You just choose not to." Louis explained, knowing he was being cheeky for actually giving her an answer, but he couldn't help it. That much neither of them could argue over, as much as Vanessa might like to admit otherwise, they had needed each other for longer than they could probably count, even if it was merely in the form of being in the same general area of one another.

"When it gets closer to the time, if you still want to go, I'll take you." Louis promised, sealing the deal with one final kiss to show he meant it before he leant back on the pillow, holding her close to him.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

"Why would I want to go to England?"

The witch knew he was teasing. There may be many doubts in her mind but Louis being wherever she was not one of them. The promise made in childish innocence when they were five, of him never leaving her, had been kept nonetheless. The witch felt all her muscles relax as he kissed her, caressing her lips gently in the way only he could.

"When it gets closer to the time, if you still want to go, I'll take you."

"I'd like that very much," she whispered, cuddling into him as he held her close, laying her had against his chest so he could utilize the pillow. He might not understand her reasons for wanting to leave France, even if temporarily, but at least he would be there with her. If this was how things were going to be after they were married... Vanessa wouldn't find much to complain about.

"The world is so big..." Her hands moved idly to his chest, tracing the circles of his shirt buttons. The craftsmanship was exquisite as befitted anything that adorned a member of House Clement. "I want to see it... but I don't want to get lost in it..." The idea had been taking shape in her mind for some time now, conflicting with what her family had planned for her and what she wanted. Sometimes it seemed to be the same thing, other times... Vanessa couldn't tell.

It didn't matter in the end because even if she hated France, she would stay there if Louis wanted her to. The only place that would be unbearable to live in would be where he was not with her.

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» Beaxbaton Academy of Magic, France, 1988 (Vanessa - Mature)
» Beauxbaton Academy of Magic, France, 1985 (Louis & Vanessa)
» And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988)
» And You Let Her Go... (Vanessa - 1988)
» The Road to Honesty (Vanessa)