House: Gryffindor

Position: HoH

Category: Drabble

Prompt: 31st August

Word Count: 411

Betas: Shibalyfe and Shay

Victoire was beyond exhausted, but sleep continued to evade her. She'd been tossing and turning for hours, but just couldn't get her mind to turn off.

"Lumos."

Victoire cast her eyes to the side to see her boyfriend, Teddy, sit up in bed with his wand grasped in his hand.

"What's wrong, Vic?" he asked while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"It's August 31st," she replied, glumly.

"And?" he prompted.

"It's August 31st," she sighed. "Tomorrow is September 1st.

Catching on, Teddy gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "The first day of the Hogwarts term." When she nodded, he continued, "And you won't be going back this year."

Victoire curled into his arms and rested her head on his chest. "It just hit me all of a sudden. I've been working at Ollivander's for two months now, but today an eleven year old boy came into the shop so excited to buy his first wand. He asked me what year I was in and it threw me for a loop. I'm not going back to Hogwarts. Tomorrow, I'll go to Platform 9 ¾ and watch Dominique, Louis, and all the rest of my cousins board the Hogwarts Express and leave me behind."

Teddy gently stroked her hair and softly murmured, "It was hard for me two years ago, too. Watching everyone get on the train and saying goodbye to you was difficult. But I'm glad I went to the Platform."

Victoire lifted her head and asked, "Why?"

Teddy smirked. "Well, we did a have that wonderful snog against the —"

Victoire cut him off with a hard whack on his chest. "Be serious."

Sobering, Teddy said, "Because it made me realize it was time for the next generation to learn to love Hogwarts just as much as I had. I saw Rose ready to take on the world. I watched Albus begin his journey to the future even though he looked terrified. And you'll get to see the same with Lily and Hugo tomorrow. They're just beginning their adventures at Hogwarts. Our adventures didn't end with Hogwarts; they've just moved to a new venue."

Victoire smiled and cuddled Teddy close. "You're right. It's just a lot for me to wrap my head around." She let out a loud yawn. "Thanks Teddy."

"Anytime, Victoire," he whispered.

He gently stroked her hair until she drifted off to sleep, her dreams now filled with new possibilities of what this September 1st might bring.