Shades of Denial

There's only so many ways to deny true love, and Teddy and Victoire discover all of them the summer before her seventh year.

1 | In Which Their History Is Explained

When asked to think of the one, constant thing in her life, Victoire thinks of Teddy Lupin. Not her parents (who were there when she needed them and even when she didn't), not her grandparents (who always had a hug, a kiss, and some wise advice on hand), or any of her various aunts and uncles (who each had their own special qualities and areas of expertise). She thought of none of them.

Instead, as per usual, her thoughts turned toward the orphaned boy who was two years her elder, with hair and eyes that changed colors. Specifically, she thought of the photo that rested on her beside table.

The picture was taken a few hours after she was born. Victoire was wrapped in a tiny pink blanket and two year old Teddy was holding her. He kept looking with bewilderment at the camera and then at Victoire. A pair of hands (she'd always assumed that they were Uncle Harry's) were helping Teddy support her so he didn't drop her. Teddy's hair was changing back and forth from amber (anxious) to tan (curious).

They had always been Teddy and Victoire for as long as they could remember. Where Teddy went, Victoire followed. Where Victoire went…Well, she usually followed Teddy everywhere. But when she did go places by herself, he followed at a distance to keep an eye on her.

Being the eldest of their generation, they were usually stuck babysitting their younger cousins. They never minded, though, since they could spend more time with each other, and they were both very protective people. The adults often called Victoire the "Mother Hen" and teasingly asked her and Teddy where their "brood" was.

When Teddy left for his first year at Hogwarts on September 1, 2009, Victoire cried like never before. Not in front of him, of course. But after the train was out of sight, she started to sob and she didn't stop for three days. It was then that she realized that she loved him.

She tried to look back on her childhood to figure out when and where she'd fallen in love with Teddy Lupin, but failed. In every memory of him she felt the same rush of devotion and love for him; she just hadn't had a name for it back then. Later, after she told her best friends Harriet Baxter and Ginger Tyson, she thought maybe it was one of those rare "forever loves" like Ginger suggested.

Either way, she was overjoyed when she went to Hogwarts in 2011 and was sorted into Gryffindor with Teddy. He, however, seemed less than thrilled. Over the past two years he'd become the popular Gryffindor Keeper who had a cool magical ability and war heroes for parents. Victoire also achieved instant celebrity status due to her last name and attractive appearance, but Teddy seemed embarrassed by her.

That caused a rift in their relationship that wasn't healed until their next year, when Victoire became a Beater on the team. They both adjusted their friendship so that it was more fitting for their ages, and went on from there. It also helped that most of the school's attention had been turned to their first year cousin Molly, who had taken Hogwarts by storm with her rebellious ways.

The year after that Dominique came to Hogwarts and became the first Weasley to be Sorted into Ravenclaw. Victoire became quickly jealous of the attention Dominique was receiving and sought to make herself even more desired. That back fired.

Everybody quickly became sick of her, even her friends. And on one night when emotions were running high for the both of them, she and Teddy ran into each other. Before they knew it, they were snogging in an unused classroom. Sounds of Peeves causing mischief disturbed them, and they silently agreed to never speak to each other about it again.

Their friendship was strained after that. They weren't as close anymore, and hardly ever talked to each other about the important things. She tried to pretend he was just Teddy, the boy she'd grown up with, even though she desired to be his.

HPHPHP

Victoire had always been just Victoire to Teddy, until she wasn't anymore.

It was very confusing, and not something he liked to think about because it gave him a headache. They'd grown up together. He'd known her since she was born. She was the closest to him in age, although Molly wasn't far behind. They understood each other.

Things changed when he went to Hogwarts. She wasn't his only friend anymore; he had other people to talk to. Lots of people wanted to be his friend. For the first time, he was in a place separate from his family (although not completely separated) where he could be himself and shine.

Then she came to Hogwarts, and suddenly he didn't want to be around her anymore. He couldn't explain it himself. But they were both...different, somehow. Suddenly she seemed so much younger, immature, and embarrassing. He was thirteen years old, and he was no longer at the age where it was cool to have a little girl be your best friend. He knew that she didn't understand and was hurt, but he couldn't help it.

The next year she got on the Quidditch team with him, and he didn't see her as embarrassing anymore. She was one of the guys now. Slowly, they adjusted their friendship from brother-and-sister to buddies.

It was in his fifth year that he started to wonder why his parents had abandoned him on that fateful night so many years ago. The thought that gaining glory in a war was more important to them than their own infant son tormented him every night. He would do anything to distract himself. And one night, that distraction just so happened to be Victoire.

They snogged in an empty classroom until they were disturbed, and then they never spoke of it again. But the feel of her lips on his never left his mind. He wanted to talk to her about it, but she clearly didn't. So he just treated her like one of the guys again, but it was hard. Their relationship was strained. They couldn't talk about things anymore. And he couldn't see her as just Victoire anymore. She was no longer just the little girl with long blonde hair that followed him around.

She was so much more than that.