The Competition That Must Not Be Named- Round 3:

Prompt: Write a one-shot on two characters pulling an all-nighter

A Sleepless Night

It was late — very late — but Victoire Weasley was still up. She was wandering around her room, unable to sleep or to do anything else. Her mind wasn't elsewhere: all she could think about was her inability to sleep and that was driving her crazy.

She tried to look out of her open window at the clear sky and the stars, a beautiful image that had helped her relax so many times before. But not this time; the sky seemed too big and tiring for her to mind.

Suddenly, she felt someone moving behind her. She was ready to turn around but a hand pressed at her mouth muffled her scream. She was scared; her heart was beating hard at her chest. Many thoughts crossed her mind at the moment and she felt her panic taking over.

The person behind her moved and as soon as she felt his hot breath at the side of her neck and face and heard his voice whispering at her ear, her body relaxed and with that his hands left her and she was free to move.

"Missed me?"

She turned around without saying a word and took a moment starring at him. Her fear was gone; it was now replaced by anger. So she raised her hand and slapped him. Hard.

He didn't seem to mind. A red mark was slowly being formed at his face, where her fingers had hit him but he still looked cool and careless. Seeing her reaction — her breath hitching at her throat, her trials to calm down — he laughed. It was a low but original laugh that pretty much relaxed her.

"It's not funny, Teddy!" she hissed, though her voice betrayed her relief.

He just smiled and she threw herself in his arms, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and after finding her regular rhythm of breathing she turned to him and trailed kisses over his face where her hand had left marks.

"Couldn't sleep?" he murmured, pulling back.

"You neither?"

"Yeah," he responded and sat down at the edge of her bed.

"You are not supposed to be here, Teddy. We are not eighteen anymore," she told him in a last attempt to reason him.

He gave her a look and he was suddenly so sweet that he looked less than eighteen. So she just smiled and followed him, placing her head at his lap and lying down.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Ladies first."

She groaned. "Well, guess."

He smirked and caressed her hair. "Mmm, let's see …" he pretended being thoughtful, but soon, too soon for her, he started talking again. "You are getting married tomorrow … and you have second thoughts?" His tone had suddenly become serious at those last words.

A serious expression appeared onto her face, too. "Not exactly. But, Teddy … what if I can't be a good wife? I'm too spontaneous and I never think, I'm definitely not mature or smart and it's not that I don't want to do it, I'm afraid I'll let you down and I …"

"Vicky!" he interrupted her. "There is absolutely no reason to think of that stuff! You are the greatest person I've ever met and it doesn't matter how smart or spontaneous you are because all those things make you who you are! And you can do it, Vic … you can do anything you want to …"

"Really?" she asked shyly.

"Really," he reassured her with a grin. "After all he must have a reason to marry you."

She raised an eyebrow. "He?"

"Yes: your future husband."

"Aw, I see …" she stared at him intensively for a while, like she was trying to read his thoughts, but soon she gave up. "And why cannot my future husband cannot sleep either?"

He grew serious again. "He has some … err … uncertainties too."

She smiled at him, prompting him to continue. "What if I'm not good enough for you? You could have whoever you want — you are so beautiful and nice — and I … I'm not …"

"You?" she laughed.

"I'm serious, Vic."

Another smile. He loved those smiles. "I love you. Isn't that enough?"

"Sometimes love is not enough."

She got up and kneeled in front of him, so she could look in his eyes. "Yes, but like you said before all those thing make you who you are. And I love this person with all his drawbacks. So I'm ready for whatever comes."

Teddy smiled and pulled her up into his arms. "You suddenly seem so certain."

"Yeah … you make me sure. You give me self-confidence every time I lose it. And I love you. Those things must be enough for us to be happy."

"You're right."

They remained silent for a while starring into each other's eyes until Victoire tried to get up. "Where are you going?"

"Well, Teddy, now that I am relaxed I'm able to sleep. And you should go because we both need sleep."

"Why?" he groaned.

"Because we are getting married tomorrow, Ted. Even if we forget about the tradition according to which you are not supposed to see me before the wedding, it's late and we need sleep!"

"Why do you always have to be the voice of reason?" he complained.

"It's something you get, growing up," she told him, proud for herself.

"I'm older than you, Vic," he reminded her.

Her response was a simple "whatever" as she tried to push him off her bed.

"Come on!"

He resisted for a while, leaving her pulling him with no result but then he pulled her too and laid with her at the bed.

"Teddy!" she hissed for the second time that night.

"You know there's no way for you to get me off this bed if I don't want to and I know that you won't call your parents. So what about sitting around talking because we've got, like, four hours to the morning?"

"Talk about what, Ted? We've got a whole life to talk …"

He smiled dreamily. "That sounds good."

Victoire's slightly annoyed expression changed to the one Ted had. "Yeah…" she murmured, giving him a wide smile.

They stayed silent for a while, starring at each other's eyes and smiling. Soon, Victoire, feeling that she couldn't just let Ted go that night, asked: "So, what do you want us to do?"

He smirked in response. "I knew I could change your mind."

"I changed my mind. And now say what you have in yours, before I change again!"

He laughed. "Aw ... think about how much fun we have together ... we've laughed and smiled since I got here."

"Teddy!" she exclaimed. "You also made me angry when you got here!"

"Fine," he agreed, not minding much. "Here's what we'll do: I'll tell you what we have in mind and if you don't like it, I'll leave. What about that, princess?"

"You probably want me to say no. Where does 'princess' came from?"

"Vic! You're loosing the point!"

"Tell me."

"I suggest us to spend the few hours we are left with celebrating our last night as bachelors," he said in a happy tone but seeing her expression, he added: "Please don't say anything extremely rational!"

She laughed. "Come on, Teddy! You really have no one else to spend your last night as a bachelor with but your very-soon-to-be-wife?"

"Can you talk a bit lower? Your parents might listen," he whispered. "And anyway, I'm not spending it with my wife: I'm spending it with my best-friend," he stated.

"Oh..." She looked at him and seemed ready to cry. "I think you won."

He took her in his arms held her tightly. "I love you, Vicky."

Then he smiled and kissed her face softly. "I love you too, Teddy."

"Friendly, of course," he added.

"Why do you always have to spare the moment?" she asked him angrily.

"You weren't playing by the rules, Vic," he told her seriously.

She laughed and punched him playfully. He responded by attacking her with the pillow. And so they spend the rest of the night up playing, laughing and talking like two good old friends. Only years later, they wondered how had no one had listened to them without ever learning that both Fleur and Bill had listened to the noise, checked on them but let them spend the night together because they made a beautiful image for them to destroy.

The following day, when he saw her walking down the aisle, Ted knew they were ready. He knew that they would deal with everything because they would do it together, because they had each other. And Victoire, seeing him smiling heartily, she realized she knew that too.

And like that, Ted Lupin and Victoire Weasley had their happily ever after.