Friday, 1 September 2017
As James Potter sprinted across Platform 9 3/4 towards his family, Teddy and Victoire, out of casual sight behind a pillar, broke their kiss and drew away from each other. Victoire held Teddy's eyes for a long moment and then sighed and shook her head. "I hate to say this, but..."
"I know," Teddy said. "This just isn't going to work, is it."
"Well, at least we tried," said Victoire as she turned and leaned back against the pillar. The roughness dug into her shoulder blades just a little bit and she dug her fingertips into the mortar between the bricks.
"We can go back to being cousins again," Teddy said with relief as he leaned sideways next to her, propping up one foot against the other. Even though Teddy wasn't actually related to the Weasleys, he was always treated like one of the family. When they had decided to try dating, they had agreed to stop thinking of each other as cousins.
"And at least I won't have to kiss you anymore!" said Victoire.
"Hey! I'm not that bad, am I?"
"No, you're pretty awesome, and I don't know how you got there, considering your lack of experience. It just doesn't do a thing for me." Now Victoire sounded morose.
"How do you even know, if it doesn't do anything for you?" Teddy asked indignantly, not even gloating over the compliment to his kissing skills . "It's not like you've got any more experience than I have."
Victoire gave her no-longer-boyfriend an impatient look. "I read, Teddy."
"What's that got to do with anything?" he asked skeptically.
"Muggle books. They've all got kissing in them. It's ridiculous, actually. I know way more than I want to about what makes a good kiss."
"Hah," said Teddy smirking at her and shaking his head. "Only you would say that, Victoire, only you. I think you're the least romantic girl I've ever known."
Victoire sighed and gazed out towards the platform. Teddy was more right than he knew, and she didn't know what to do about it. She'd hoped that once she tried it out, she'd start to… feel things. She liked Teddy, after all. She liked him a lot; he was her best friend, after all. Just…not anything other than that, not anything romantic, or… whatever else you were supposed to feel for a boyfriend. Victoire wasn't really sure about that part.
"Sorry Vic, that was kind of mean. I'm sure you'll find the right person someday." Teddy said when she didn't respond.
"I guess so," she said, and sighed again.
The train blew it's warning whistle, and Victoire jumped. "I'd better go," she said, and threw her arms around Teddy. "I'll miss you, Teds, even though it didn't work out. You're still my best friend."
"Of course," he said, hugging her back. "Have a good term. Write to me. See you at Christmas."
"See you at Christmas," Victoire said and dashed off to get on the train.