Of Angels and Poinsettias
"I'm already packed. Relax, maman! I'll be back before you know it," said Victoire Weasley, closing the front door of Shell Cottage and breathing in the cool Christmas air.
She walked towards the hill she used to spend her summers at, under the shade of a tree, playing pretend with Dominique, Louis, their cousins and of course- how could she forget? - Teddy Lupin.
The moment she remembers his name, she can't help but smile. Love does that to you; it makes everything better. Always.
"Was it something I said or just the mere thought of me is making you smile, Vee?" said a voice from behind her in a singsong fashion. "Surpriiise!"
"Oh Merlin's Beard! TEDDY! DON'T DO THAT!" shrieked Victoire, struggling to get back on the ground after Teddy literally swooped her off her feet. "Teeeeed! Quit it!"
"If you really wanted me to quit, you wouldn't be giggling. Admit it, you loooove meee!" he said, finally letting her go. Victoire just shook her head and smiled. Teddy loved it when she did that. Her strawberry blonde hair, a perfect mixture of her mom's blonde and her dad's red, was dancing in the wind. Her steel blue eyes were twinkling, if it was because she was part-veela or not, he couldn't care less. "I've missed you"
"I have too," she said, giving him a warm hug. Using the metamorphmagus skills he always tinkered with, he made his arms longer and wider, holding her as if he was never going to let her go. "What are you doing here anyway, silly? You know that we're leaving for France in a few hours. Mamie and papy are thrilled to have us over for Christmas this year."
Teddy turns his sandy brown hair into a shade of bubblegum blue which Victoire ruffled right after. "I know, I know… which is exactly why I wanted to see you before you left!" he exclaimed. Teddy was always free-spirited and spontaneous; he was color in her eyes. "I haven't seen you in a while after all"
"But you saw me five days ago at the platform-"
"Yeah but we weren't really talking much, were we? I was being such a prick-"
"Don't say that," she said calmly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're leaving Hogwarts in a few months; it's natural to stress over what happens next. I kind of like that side of you… it makes you SEEM responsible," she added jokingly.
"Oho? Responsible, you say? Such a pleasure, mah dear lady, to hear such loving words" he said, growing a mustache out of nowhere, in a bright shade of orange. "I wish we could go back a few months when it wasn't this complicated…"
"I know what you mean," she said with both of their thoughts coming at them like the Hogwarts Express. "Those days I'd build snow angels and you'd torment me with snowballs"
Teddy was two years older than Victoire but because Voldemort's return scared several families from having children during and directly after the Second Battle at Hogwarts, changes in Hogwarts had to be made. Classes weren't exclusive for just one-year level such as History of Magic and Care for Magical Creatures. Students of all houses from the same year level took subjects that require a certain progression in teaching such as Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions and the like at the same timeslot.
There were only 21 students in 7th Year: 8 in Slytherin, 6 in Gryffindor, 4 in Ravenclaw and 3 in Hufflepuff. Teddy Lupin was the poster boy of Gryffindor house and to put it bluntly, the most popular guy in the school. Headboy, Quidditch Team Captain, above average in all his classes except in Potions which he is exceptionally good at, intern at the Ministry of Magic and student correspondent for the Daily Prophet. It also helps that he can morph into a demi-God if he wanted, much to the delight of the girls at the school.
Victoire was in 5th year with only 19 students in all four houses, the lowest turnout rate Hogwarts has ever experienced. She was one of the 5 Gryffindor students and being so little, their dormitory was conjoined with the 20 students in 6th year. Vee was appointed Headgirl at fifteen, possibly because McGonagall needed someone to balance Teddy out. This appointment was much to the annoyance of Alessandra Bianchi, a girl Teddy used to date and since then has been trying to outdo him. She's extremely intelligent, speaks Mermish and Gobbledegook and is the Gryffindor seeker. She could charm any boy if she wanted to but since Teddy finally confessed, she wanted nothing more.
"There are times I forget that in a few months, I'll be out of Hogwarts. I won't have Harry to look out for me anymore… I mean, I know he'll always be there. He has been since my parents passed away… then when my gran followed not long after," he said, looking out at the sea that was frozen at the edges. "When gran died, he was only 20 and was still living with your grandparents"
Victoire smiled. "Can you imagine Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry living under the same roof at Uncle George? I don't know how gran survived that! Or how Aunt Ginny survived, actually!"
"Imagine the shock of the century he got when he realized he had to raise a 2 year-old boy at the age of 20. It's like he got someone pregnant minus the guilty conscience," he replied jokingly. "He moved out of the Burrow for me and fixed Grimmauld Place so I could have a proper home. When Harry and Ginny settled down at Gryffingrove Manor, they had a room and a study built for me even if I was off to Hogwarts real soon—"
"Just because you're out of Hogwarts doesn't mean he's through with you"
"I know, I know! It's just that he's done so much for me and I've got to stand on my own two feet, " said Teddy, determinedly. "And there's the matter of the younger girlfriend I must attend to"
"Oh?" replied Victoire quizzically. "Do tell me more about this 'girlfriend' you so fondly speak of" she said lightly with a tinge of sarcasm.
"She is arguably the most beautiful girl in all of Hogwarts. I can't imagine how worried and jealous I'd be of Curtis Zabini or Thames Hawthorne" he said, rolling his eyes twenty times fast, morphing them into the eyes of a frog.
"Well, I'm sure she'll be fine and he has nothing to worry about. After all, it should me doing all the worrying. You happen to be very very VERY reckless and when you join the Ministry, I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt and not just by a bludger" she said as he placed his arm around her.
"If I'm going to die any time soon, it might probably maybe be because I'll miss you too much" he said, giving her a light peck on the cheek. "I'm going to miss Hogwarts… cuddling by the fire at the Common Room, watching you study while I build paper airplanes at the library, picking out random and at times poisonous flowers from Hagrid's for you, singing obnoxiously at the Great Hall much to McGonagall's dismay and of course, kissing you at midnight at the Prefect's Bath—"
"Was a very poor judgment call on our part but I can't deny, I've never felt so alive" she said flirtatiously. They laughed at each other's silliness; there were times she sincerely believed they were made for each other and Teddy couldn't agree more. "My best friend" she said, smiling at him.
"Has a gift for you!" exclaimed Teddy excitedly, ruining the somberness of the moment. "Fly with me?" he said, pulling the broom out from behind the tree.
"I—uh—wha?" but before she could say anything more, they were up in the air. The freezing cold was balanced out by the noontime sun and the view did justice to the beauty of that part of Cornwall. They drew nearer and nearer to a distant hill and the closer they got, the more the splotchy spots of the color red were evident.
"Ted, I don't know what to say," said a taken Victoire. The splotches of red were poinsettias, formed in the shape of a snow angel. They got off the broom and everything around them was just beautiful.
"I'm sorry I ever snowballed you. I didn't exactly know how good my chances were that one day I'd be so fortunate enough to—"
Before Teddy could say anything more, Victoire kissed him full of the mouth, full of love, longing, and even promise. He held her, warm and true, at the center of the angel and all the difficulties they endured and were about to endure were all worth it at that moment.
"Happy Christmas, Vee"
"Happy Christmas to you too, Ted. I love you"