AN: written for the first paragraph challenge by edgy satsuma on HPFC. My paragraph was the one that is in italics. enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing...
The adults had gone inside for drinks, and the younger children contented themselves with a Gobstone tournament. Teddy sat in the grass watching them, and Victoire watched him. She couldn't help but watch him. It wasn't that his hair was a particularly bright green today - she'd long ago gotten used to that - or that he was talking to himself again. She didn't stare because he was so strange. She stared because he was - there was no other word for it - beautiful, and Victoire learned at a young age to appreciate the beautiful things in life.
*.*.*
"Teddy, come look at this!" The yell of an excited five-year-old Victoire caught Teddy's attention, and he ventured over to join her at the bottom of the garden, near the rose bushes.
"What am I looking at?" he asked. All he could see were thorny roses the colour of blood, some of which were wilting.
Victoire frowned at him. "The flowers, of course! Aren't they pretty?"
"They've been like that all summer, Vic," Teddy pointed out, failing to see the girl's fascination in the roses.
"They haven't. They've only started to come out now," Victoire said stubbornly.
"You mean bloom?"
"Yes, that. They've finally bloomed properly. They're so pretty!"
"Some of them are dying," Teddy told her. "They're not pretty."
Victoire's face fell. "Oh… yes… you're right," she sighed. "They're not very pretty at all, are they?"
"No. Now come on, your mum said dinner would be ready by now and I'm starving." He set off up the garden, and Victoire, with one last wistful look at her roses, followed her best friend.
*.*.*
Nine-year-old Victoire was screaming.
"Vicka! What's the matter?" Teddy's voice was frantic as he scrambled up from the bench he was reading on, terrified that the younger girl was in danger.
"There's something on me!" she shrieked, holding out her arm for him to see. Teddy looked at the arm, and burst out laughing. "What? What's so funny? Get it off me, Teddy!"
"It's just a butterfly, Vic!" Teddy spluttered out between his laughter. The small creature was perched precariously on the back of Victoire's hand. "Haven't you ever had one sit on your arm before?"
"No," Victoire said, cheeks reddening a little now. "I've only seen them on flowers. I didn't know what it was when it landed on me. Stop laughing!"
"I'm sorry, Vicka – but you should have seen your face!" Teddy chuckled.
"Should have seen yours," Victoire mumbled, but she was staring at the butterfly now as if transfixed. Its amber coloured wings were up, showing off the impressive black 'eyes' that scared away predators. "It is rather lovely, isn't it? The colours, I mean."
"It's orange and black, like a wasp," Teddy said.
"Wasps are yellow and black," Victoire said, as if Teddy was acting very stupidly.
"Close enough, isn't it? And the decoration on its wings is scary."
"Well, I think it's lovely," Victoire snapped, snatching her arm away from Teddy. Alarmed, the butterfly took off and fluttered away.
"See? Your lovely animal has flown away," Teddy said, and Victoire scowled. "Leave me alone now, I'm reading."
Cross with Teddy for making her snap and scare the butterfly away, Victoire stomped into her house without a backwards glance.
*.*.*
"So, what do you think?"
Teddy cracked an eye open. Thirteen-year-old Victoire was standing in front of him, beaming, all dressed up like she was about go out to a posh dinner.
"Mum got me the dress for that Ministry of Magic work party we're going to tonight," Victoire explained.
"Ministry of… work party?"
Victoire sighed impatiently. "Yes, the one we're all going to, including you. Anyway, isn't it gorgeous?" she asked, referring to the dress again as she twirled round to show it off.
Teddy opened both eyes. His best friend was wearing a floaty, pale blue dress just below the knees that brought out her eyes. It was strapless, and in Teddy's opinion showed too much skin. Her hair was even sleeker than usual and fanned out over her back and shoulders, and she'd been done up in make up that she didn't need.
"You're too young for a dress like that," he told her bluntly. "You look about sixteen, not thirteen."
Victoire gaped at him. "I thought you'd like it! I love this dress!"
Teddy shrugged. "It makes you look older than you are. I'm telling you, there'll be men ten years older than you ogling you tonight. And that's not a good thing, and I'm not going to be there to help you out if you insist on wearing that thing."
Victoire looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "Well, I don't give a damn what you think, Teddy Lupin! I think this dress is gorgeous, and I also think I look amazing in it for once! I'm wearing it tonight, whether you like it or not!" And with that she stormed out of the room. Seconds later, Teddy heard her bedroom door slam.
He scoffed as he closed his eyes again. She thought she looked amazing, honestly, was Victoire getting vainer as she got older?
But there was one thing he kept going over in his head. And that was the 'for once' she'd added to the end of that sentence.
*.*.*
"Victoire, can I talk to you?" Teddy caught the blonde by the wrist as she was coming down the stairs with her trunks.
"What is it, Teddy? I'm in a rush, we're leaving for King's Cross in ten minutes," Victoire said.
"I'll be quick," Teddy promised. From behind his back, he revealed a single red rose and presented it to Victoire. It was free of thorns.
The seventeen-year-old looked completely bemused, but beamed all the same. 'Oh – erm – thank you, Teddy, it's beautiful," she smiled.
"No, it's not," Teddy said firmly. "It's nowhere near beautiful."
Victoire suddenly looked rather angry at this. "What do you mean? Teddy, you know roses are my favourite flowers. Why give me one only to tell me they're not pretty? That's like insulting me, because I think they're pretty! You always do this, I remember, Teddy. The rose bushes at the bottom of the garden, the butterfly, the dress you tried to stop me wearing! Why can't you see that –"
"The rose isn't beautiful. None of those things were beautiful," Teddy interrupted, taking her hands in his, "because next to you, nothing is beautiful."
"Teddy?" Victoire whispered, heart hammering in her chest.
"You are beautiful, Victoire Weasley," Teddy said softly, locking her blue eyes with his brown ones. "And I love you."
He leaned down and their lips met. As Victoire wound her arms around Teddy's neck and the kiss deepened, the rose fell to the floor and lay there. One more beautiful thing simply contributing to a world of beauty.
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