Victoire was the platinum blond veela beauty. She was perfect. Blond hair pin straight and in order, blue eyes that shimmered and sparkled, a tall, lithe form. Victoire received the best grades in her year and was loved by all her teachers and classmates. She was Head Girl. Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Everything just seemed to come so easily to her. Dominique never saw her practicing Quidditch or studying. Victoire seemed to just wake up each morning looking like a Greek Goddess. The other students just naturally gravitated towards her, making her their queen.
At home Victoire was always the perfect daughter in front of their parents. She would help out around the house, break up arguments between her siblings, help Louis with his homework.
It was really quite depressing.
But Dominique knew better. She was almost sure she was the only one who knew, because Victoire was only different when she and Dominique were alone.
Dominique had red-gold curls. They were neither the platinum blond of her veela mother or the Weasley red of the rest of her family, but something in between. She was shorter than Victoire, and her blue eyes were darker and not so sparkly, she thought. She didn't match the rest of the family, but she wasn't so above-and-beyond wonderful like Victoire. Dominique was just stuck in the middle.
She had to work hard as anything for the grades she got, which still weren't top. She was a mediocre Keeper but she still made the team because she was better than any of the others who tried out, and she practiced for hours. She had good friends, a few, but she had earned them through years of hard work and caring. The teachers didn't hate her but didn't love her either.
A few times, when her parents thought she wasn't around, she heard them talking about how they wished she could be more like her older sister. So Dominique tried hard, harder, hardest to be better that herself. She wasn't as good as Victoire, she knew, but she wouldn't disappoint her parents if she could help it.
Sure, she'd never be Head Girl or Quidditch Captain, but she was a Prefect and she was on the team. She'd gotten (after several sleepless nights in the library) the most OWLs in her year.
But she still wasn't Victoire and her parents still didn't think she was good enough. Of course, she never actually heard them say that explicitly. She thought it was pretty obvious, though.
Sometimes she wished she could tell about Victoire. But she never would, of course. That would be mean of her. It would ruin Victoire forever, take away everything she'd ever been given. In those moments, though, when Dominique saw that all her effort was never as good enough as what Victoire got without trying, she really wanted to tell about how Victoire was.
Because, when they were alone, Victoire hit Dominique.
Dominique knew it was just because of all the stress of being perfect all the time. She realized that Victoire had to have some kind of release. And of course Victoire always apologized right afterward. But Dominique still had bruises on her arms from where Victoire had hit her. She had to make up a story about getting hit by a book to hide the truth of her black eye. And she hoped to God that no one noticed how she winced whenever something touched her ribs.
It had gotten worse over the years and it happened at Hogwarts too.
Dominique handled it as well as she could and kept the secret well. She would not ruin Victoire. Because Victoire was perfect, and if she ruined that, everyone would surely hate her.
There's something else you should know. Dominique had been in love with the same boy since she was six years old and he had given her a piggyback ride home when she had broken her leg falling from a tree. He was three years older than her, but they still became friends at Hogwarts. He would always smile and compliment her on her grades and Quidditch playing, though no one else did. He was the first person she told when her Prefect's badge came in the mail. He had picked her up and swung her around like she was a little girl again when he found out. She loved him with her whole heart.
There was only one problem: he was Teddy Lupin and Teddy Lupin was Victoire's.
Victoire had begun liking him in her sixth year when he was Head Boy and Quidditch Captain like she herself wanted to be. He was the perfect boy for her perfect self. Together, they would be amazing. So Victoire turned on her veela charm.
The summer before Dominique's fifth year, he asked Victoire out. Victoire had smiled her perfect smile and said yes. The whole family commented on how they were the perfect couple together. Dominique faked her smiles but no one else noticed.
Even with the perfect boy for her perfect life, Victoire still felt upset and stressed. So she still hit Dominique.
But it had never hurt her as much as losing Teddy did. Dominique cried at night now, every night. She wasn't her sister, she wasn't good enough, she'd never have Teddy. But she still would never tell. That would just be petty of her now, she thought, to tell because of jealousy. It would be cruel.
So no one knew.
"Hey, Vicka," Dominique said one day during the summer before sixth year. "Do you want to go play Quidditch with—"
She was slapped so hard across the face that she felt her head spin and tears spring into her eyes. Not a good time, apparently. A swift punch to her stomach followed. Blinking back the tears, she stepped back a bit. "All right, sorry, Vicka. I shouldn't have bothered you." Turning around, Dominique made to leave the room.
But Teddy Lupin was standing in the doorway, staring. Victoire saw him at the same time as Dominique and gasped. Both were quick to make excuses and Victoire threw apologies in Dominique's direction. She was distraught. Dominique felt bad for her. Someone had finally seen her imperfections. But she went to her older sister anyway, and rubbed her back, soothing her, assuring her that Teddy would tell no one, that he forgave her. After calming Victoire and returning her to her work, Dominique pulled Teddy from the room.
"You can't tell anyone," she said.
But it wasn't so easy. He insisted that she roll up her sleeves (she wore them long even in summer) and show him her ribs, gasping when she did. "God, Dom," he whispered, horrified.
"Please," she begged. "Don't tell. It'll ruin Victoire."
He shook his head stubbornly and when her parents returned home he pulled her forward and showed them. Her father looked shocked and her mother was crying as she hugged Dominique around the neck. Dominique was crying, too. She had done this. She had taken away Victoire's perfection. Why couldn't she ever be good enough? Now her family was broken. And it was all her fault.
Victoire was sobbing and apologizing when dad brought her down, saying that she didn't mean it. Dominique left her mother's embrace and went to comfort her sister again, because she'd always been the only one who could calm Victoire down. That was how this whole mess had started, anyway. She dried Victoire's tears and stopped her own, not having time for them right now. She whispered assurances until Victoire was composed.
Their parents watched them. Her mother looked at Dominique, heartbroken. Her father looked angry. Teddy looked at Dominique, admiring her strength. How could she still do this? She was the abused one, so why was it that she was comforting Victoire and no one was helping her? She must have been the bravest, strongest person in the world.
But Dominique did not feel brave or strong. She only felt desolate and alone. She had ruined her sister. She was not supposed to do this. What was wrong with her? She got Victoire up again and stood by her, saying that it wasn't Victoire's fault, that she just needed an outlet for her stress, anything to save her sister.
But it wasn't working. When she told them about how Victoire needed her, her mother just sobbed harder and her father's expression got sadder. Teddy just looked at her. She turned to the stairs before they could see her cry again. "Come on, Vicka," she said, pulling her sister along with her. "Let's get you to bed." That was always a good way to calm Victoire. If she could sleep off her worries, she wouldn't hit Dominique anymore. Victoire followed numbly and allowed Dominique to tuck her in to bed.
Dominique sighed as her sister collapsed in sleep. Hopefully she would be better in the morning, back to her perfect self again. But when Dominique went downstairs, she looked at her parents and knew the family would never be the same again. "I'm sorry," she said, tears finally spilling from her eyes. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have—" but she was choked off by sobs.
She felt two pairs of arms close around her. Her parents. "No, honey," her mother said. "It's not your fault. You're perfect."
Dominique felt her sobs grow more violent. She had wanted to hear her parents say that for so long. But not like this. Never like this. She was broken now, not perfect.
oOo
They got Victoire signed up for some anger and stress-management sessions and Dominique tried to put the pieces of herself back together. Why, now that she was saved from Victoire, now that she wasn't being hurt anymore, was she more broken than she ever had been before?
Louis, fourteen at the time, hugged her tightly when he found out. Her parents were very supportive. Victoire apologized. Dominique felt worse.
Teddy broke things off with Victoire. Dominique felt guilty for that. Victoire's perfect life was forever changed. Whenever Dom looked at her the guilt came anew and she mourned her sister's lost greatness. For some reason, though, Teddy still visited every day to talk to Dominique. Those visits were the highlights of her day, the only time she could forget about what she'd done.
Dominique knew she would have to go back to school soon, though, so she hardened her heart, shutting down the tears and the emotions. It was over now. Remorse would only drive her to insanity. So she locked up all the bad feelings in a dark corner of her heart and fought to return to normalcy.
When she went back to Hogwarts, most people would not notice any difference. Only those who knew her very well saw the ice that had formed around her heart and the way her smiles never made her navy eyes sparkle anymore. To most, she was still just Dominique, the not-quite-Weasley and not-quite-veela. She was just somewhere in the middle.
Those last two years at Hogwarts were a lackluster blur of ice and faked normality. Sometimes, though, her walls would crumble to the ground and she would collapse into tears, back at the beginning again. When this occurred, her family would help her off to some discreet location where she could recover. She always did, rebuilding the walls of ice around herself.
And then, the summer after her seventh year, Dominique went home to find Victoire, her hair in a messy bun atop her head, sitting next to a vaguely familiar man. This was strange for a few reasons. First, Victoire never looked messy. She was always perfectly put together. The new look, though, it was more relaxed, more comfortable. It suited her. The second thing that was odd was that Victoire was smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Victoire smile like that. She looked happy.
Victoire stood up when Dominique came in, rushing over to her. She hesitated just in front of her sister, as if unsure of what to do. Then Dominique hugged her, and Victoire hugged her back. She stepped back and gestured at the man on the couch. "This is Derrick Wood," she said. That was why he looked familiar. He had been in the year above Victoire at Hogwarts. "We're dating."
Dominique nodded, introducing herself to Derrick.
Then Victoire bit her lip, turning to Derrick. "Do you mind if I…" she looked at Dominique.
Derrick nodded.
And Victoire turned to Dominique and pulled her up the stairs to her old bedroom. Victoire sat down on her bed and looked up at her younger sister. Dom, who had taken care of her for all those years when she had been so awful. Her lovely, wonderful, strong sister. Dominique now had hard eyes and she didn't smile, not like she had before. I did this, Victoire thought. "I'm so sorry, Dom," she whispered. "I hurt you so much. I was a rotten older sister. Can you ever forgive me?"
Dominique blinked. Why was Victoire apologizing? Dominique was the one who had ruined her sister's life. "What? It's my fault, Vicka, not yours."
Victoire blinked back tears at her sister's unemotional acceptance of all the troubles. What had she done? First she'd messed up Dom for almost ten years and then she'd just abandoned her for two years in the aftermath. And Dominique was the one who had to pay. She'd lost her happy childhood and innocence. "No, Dom. You're the good one. Everyone always called me perfect, but I was nothing without you. And I was horrible. You're the strong one, the nice one. You always helped me feel better even when I was so awful to you. Why did it have to turn out like this? It's all my fault."
Dominique watched the tears stream down her sister's face. No. She couldn't break Victoire again. She sat down next to her older sister and put her arm around her, reassuring her that she wasn't a bad person, that she was better now.
And Victoire realized that she was doing it again. Why wasn't this working? She was supposed to be apologizing to Dominique and comforting her. Why was it so turned around again? Why did Dominique blame herself?
Then she understood. That was just the kind of person Dom was. She cared too much about her family to let them be hurt in front of her. She would do anything to help it. She'd been doing it since she was seven for Victoire. And she'd just hide away all her own pain to protect others from it. So the only way to get through to her was: "Thank you, Dominique. For everything," Victoire began. "You were always there for me when we were little and you helped me be perfect for everyone else. And then you helped me let go of all that. I'm better now. Because of you I can let go of all that and finally be myself. I'm so happy now. I have Derrick and I love my life. Thank you. It's all because of you."
If Dominique was going to blame herself, let her go ahead. But she was going to have to take credit for everything. And then, amazingly, Dominique began to cry. She sobbed and now it was Victoire who held her sister, whispering the reassurances. Dominique slowly let go of all the guilt she'd held on to for the past years. And then she wasn't the ice queen anymore.
But she still wasn't happy. She wasn't so weighted down, but neither was she cheerful. Her smiles were real now, but few and far between. She moved out of her parents' house and into a flat in the city, where she worked for the Prophet. She went to work every day and sort of made friends with her co-workers. She went through the motions of life but she never really felt anything.
Until, one crisp morning in November, Teddy Lupin appeared in her kitchen. He had been in Bulgaria on an Auror assignment the past two years and this was her first time seeing him since sixth year.
A big grin broke out on his face when he saw her standing there, drinking coffee. "Dom!" He loped over and hugged her.
And then Dominique laughed, truly happy, and hugged him back. Teddy probably didn't realize that his was strange because he hadn't been there the past few years. He hadn't seen her after that summer. Anyone else would have stared at her sudden outbreak of happiness. Even Dominique was shocked at her sudden euphoria. How was it that she could just break two years unhappiness with one look at one person?
But, really, she didn't care.
She smiled at Teddy and made him some breakfast. They caught up about the past two years. He walked her to work and then said he had to go visit the rest of the family. No one else knew he was back yet. Dominique was pleased that she was the first.
At the Prophet that day, her coworkers looked shocked when she greeted them cheerfully. She didn't notice, but went on, humming, with her job. When she got home that evening, Teddy was there again.
"Back so soon?" she asked. How could she be so light and teasing? She hadn't even thought this possible anymore.
Teddy grinned. "Yes, I didn't get enough of you this morning." But he didn't look quite as teasing as he should have when he said that. His eyes pierced Dominique, sending electricity through her. "Actually I was wondering if I could crash on your couch until I find a place to stay."
Dominique felt like her younger self as she got thrills thinking about Teddy sleeping in her flat. "Yeah, that's fine with me," she said.
But, three weeks later, he still didn't have an apartment. Perhaps he hadn't exactly been putting in his best effort, but neither he nor Dominique really wanted him to leave. So, one night in early December, they performed an undetectable extension charm in the apartment and added on an extra room for him. He began paying half her rent.
Every morning when Dominique woke up Teddy was there. She smiled real smiles, the kind that actually reached her eyes, every day. Teddy was happier, too, than he had been alone in Bulgaria. The whole time he'd been there he'd been worrying about Dominique in particular. He was glad to see that she was okay after the incident two summers ago.
On Christmas they went to the Burrow together. When they entered, the whole family stopped and stared. Because Dominique, who had always been weighed down by abuse or guilt or just unhappiness, was so free now. She was radiant. Many looked between her and Teddy curiously but no one asked because they were all too glad to have her back finally.
Victoire came up to Dominique happily, the first to break the silence, gushing that she and Derrick were engaged. Dominique smiled and congratulated her, starting a conversation. The family concealed their stares a bit better this time. Why had they never noticed how beautiful she was before? She just… glowed.
It only seemed natural to everyone that, at the end of dinner, Teddy kissed Dominique. She shined even brighter.
Maybe they weren't perfect, but they weren't going to let that slow them down anymore.
oOo
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