Dreams
I said, oh my, what a marvellous tune,
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved.
The whole place was dressed to the nines,
And we were dancing, dancing
Like we're made of starlight
Like we're made of starlight
Victoire stood in front of the mirror of her dormitory, looking over herself one more time whilst waiting for the call from her sister that would tell her he was here. He would come, wouldn't he? Even the most confident of girls had their insecurities sometimes, Victoire included.
Her reflection didn't look half as nervous as she felt. She wore robes of royal blue, and her long silvery hair flowed over her slender shoulders and down her back. She wore a silver locket embellished with sapphires which created the letter T: a gift from Teddy that morning. He must have saved his money from his summer holiday job at Uncle George's shop. Strangely enough, they perfectly matched the sapphire drop earrings that she had received from her parents. Victoire smiled at her reflection. The night was young, but it was already one of the best ever.
"Hey, Vic!" Dominque called up the stairs. "Teddy's here!" She was also excited, having managed to secure a date despite the fact she was only a third year. Victoire grinned; she had always known he would come. After hurrying out of the fifth-year girls' dormitories and down the stairs into the Ravenclaw common room, she admired her younger sister, who looked extremely pretty in robes of floaty lilac. Next to her Molly Weasley stood radiantly, dressed in bright gold.
"He's just outside the door," said the auburn-haired girl.
"Thanks!" replied Victoire as she forced down a childish squeal. She began to rush to the door, but stopped. Calm down, Vic she told herself. She then walked slowly and steadily to the door and pulled it carefully open. Throwing a smile over her shoulder at her sibling, she stepped through.
I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of '45
Picked me up late one night at the window,
We were 17 and crazy, running wild, wild
Can't remember what song he was playing when we walked in
The night we snuck into a yacht club party
Pretending to be a duchess and a prince
He looked handsome and relaxed, smiling awkwardly as ever, standing there in his dress robes, hands in pockets, his hair it's usual style: chestnut brown (although with random strands of bright turquoise) and scruffy, just the way it suited him. "Hey gorgeous," he winked cheekily. Victoire blushed.
"Hey handsome," she replied.
"You're looking very lovely tonight. Nice locket, by the way."
"Thank you. For the compliment, and especially the locket." She had already thanked him a thousand times for the locket but that was no reason to stop. "You really didn't have to come all the way here – it must have been a pretty long walk from the Gryffindor common room. It would've been easier for you if we'd just met at the Entrance Hall, like everybody else."
Teddy shrugged. "I don't mind," he said. It was his genuine thoughtfulness that made Victoire love him even more.
"Come on, then," she smiled. "We don't want to be late to the Yule Ball!"
And I said, oh my, what a marvellous tune,
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved.
The whole place was dressed to the nines,
And we were dancing, dancing
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
The Entrance Hall was packed with people searching for their partners. Teddy and Victoire walked straight through them all and into the Great Hall, arm in arm. The walls of the Hall had been covered in sparkly silver frost, with garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The house tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people. Taking a space at the side of the dance floor, the pair waited patiently for the ceremony to begin. As silence fell, he whispered into her ear.
"I'm sorry your partner isn't a champion."
The girl looked at him, her heart breaking. How could he think such a thing? She squeezed his hand. "I don't care if you're a Triwizard champion or not. You're my champion. And that's all that matters." The look Teddy gave her was so full of love that Victoire knew he understood.
He said, look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change
You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way.
He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me,
Don't you see the starlight, starlight?
Don't you dream impossible things?
She smiled at him as the doors of the Great Hall swung open, revealing the three champions and their partners, all of whom were looking excited and nervous at the same time. Everybody applauded them as they took their places and the music began. Victoire admired their dancing skills: whatever other people might've thought, she really was hopeless at dancing. She had two left feet.
Nobody else had joined the champions in their dance yet. Victoire looked at Teddy just as he looked at her, and a sort of agreement passed between them. Suppressing smiles, the stepped forward away from the crowd and onto the dance floor. A murmur passed through the people behind them as he took her hand and they began to dance. It was a chaotic sort of waltz, littered with mistakes. But in Victoire's opinion, it was the best dance ever.
Like oh my, what a marvellous tune,
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved
The whole place was dressed to the nines,
And we were dancing, dancing
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Blue eyes connected with brown, the gaze never wavering, even with the irregular stumbling.
"Do you know what?" Teddy said quietly as the rest of the students began to join them on the floor.
"What?" replied Victoire, bemused.
"They say that the first couple who step out to dance at the Yule Ball are destined to be together. They'll get married, and live happily ever after."
"Really?" The girl feigned shock for a moment. "Well, if we're lucky, they might just be right. We'll just have to see where time takes us. We could get married, and have kids. Lots of them. Ten."
Teddy snorted.
"What's wrong with ten kids? We can dream, can't we? To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream."
Teddy looked at her. "Where did you get that one from?" he asked.
"A French Muggle." Victoire said stoutly. "What do you think of it? I really like it."
"Trust you to know a French quote! It's a nice one, though. You're right. Dreaming is good." Teddy laughed. "But then again, you're always right, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Victoire grinned as they continued to dance, well into the night. Never in a million years would she forget how she felt – it was the best feeling ever.
Ooh ooh he's talking crazy
Ooh ooh dancing with me
Ooh ooh we could get married
Have ten kids and teach them how to dream
The band struck up their last song, a slow, gentle ballad. It was gone midnight and most people had already left. But the pair in the middle stayed, solitary, gazing up at the enchanted ceiling together, which was now velvety black, with stars like white pinpricks.
"Stars are so beautiful, aren't they?" Victoire breathed.
"Yeah. They make you believe that the impossible is possible: like anything can happen."
"That's because there's no such word as impossible. If you can dream it, it's possible. Everything is possible. Dreams really do come true, sometimes. Like tonight – my dream came true, in the form of a dance. It was the best night tonight, and I'll never forget it."
"I love you."
"And I love you."
Oh my, what a marvellous tune
It was the best night, never would forget how we moved
The whole place was dressed to the nines,
And we were dancing, dancing
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we're made of starlight, starlight
Like we dream impossible dreams
Like starlight, starlight
Like we dream impossible dreams
Don't you see the starlight, starlight?
Don't you dream impossible things?
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I used the song Starlight by Taylor Swift for this. And thanks once again to my amazing beta Ami (AlwaysPadfoot) who is the best beta ever! This story was for:
The Artist Competetion by teddylupin-snape – my artist was Taylor Swift. The song was Starlight by Taylor Swift.
The Taylor Swift 'Red' Challenge by Lizaluvsdoggies – the song Starlight.
The Pairing Diversity Boot Camp Challenge – Pairing: Teddy/Victoire. Prompt #41: "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream."
The Minor Character Boot Camp Challenge – Minor Character: Victoire Weasley. Prompt #28: Dress robes.
The Song Fic Boot Camp Challenge – Song: Starlight by Taylor Swift. Prompt #10: Music.
The School Subjects Competion by ladyoftheknightley – the category was Arithmancy (something canon)
Disclaimer: The part of the paragraph about 600 words in describing the Great Hall ("The walls of the Hall … seating about a dozen people.") is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.