Well. I am here to sadly announce that I am not JK Rowling. Shame, that is.
Teddy meets Victoire the day she's born. He is two and a half, just starting to notice the world around him, and he is in his godfather's arms in a field with stones scattered throughout when the call comes. Harry wipes a tear from his cheek and smiles, shaking his head, muttering about people coming and going and the irony of it all, but Teddy doesn't understand. He knows that his family is different, somehow, but for the life of him his toddler brain cannot understand why people come up to him and his nan on the street and say things like you poor child and I'm sorry for your loss. He doesn't get why people follow Harry around, trying to take his picture and shake his hand. He doesn't get why one scary man on the street started yelling and called him "the monster's brat." He doesn't think Nan is a monster, and neither is Harry. Teddy is still mulling over Harrys words when they apparate out of the field with the stones, which he now realizes have writing on them, and into a huge building with white walls and a funny smell. He laughs when he sees a boy with a duck nose, and matches his nose to the boys. Harry looks down at him as they check in with a nice lady at the desk and bursts out laughing, calling to Ginny, who had arrived right after them. Ginny takes one glance at Teddy before tears form in her eyes and she starts quietly laughing, whispering about someone named Tonks. Teddy looks at her quizically, before solemnly informing her that Tonks is a funny name. Harry and Ginny smile sadly at him, but soon they are being led down a white hallway with pictures of babies all over the walls. They enter a door and go into a room filled with a mixture of blond and red-haired people, all of them surrounding his Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill. Grandma Molly is crying, and so is this other blonde lady who seems to have caught the attention of most of the men in the room. Teddy pushes himself up in Harry's arms, trying to see what all of the fuss is about. When that doesn't work, he asks Harry to put him down, and when Harry complies he marches straight up to Uncle Bill and asks what's going on, tugging on the man's robes. He likes Uncle Bill, he always tells him stories when they see each other. Bill just grins at Teddy and picks him up, pointing to Aunt Fleur on the bed and the bundle of blankets in her arms. Teddy asks what that thing is, and they laugh and tell him that's a baby. He nods seriously, then asks if the baby has a name, because babies are supposed to have those, don't you know. Harry, Ron, and George seem to be trying not to laugh at the panicked glance Bill shoots at his wife, while an inquisitive toddler watches from his arms. After a minute of Bill's stammering, Victoire is vhat ve vill call her, I think Fleur says, and Teddy nods approvingly before squirming out of Bill's arms and running over to Grandma Molly to tell her that the baby's name is Vic-something, I can't say the rest, sorry, as if no one else could hear the conversation and following announcement.
Victoire doesn't like boys. Granted, the only boy she knows is Teddy, but he's two whole years too old and won't call her by her name. Vic, she thinks spitefully, kicking up dirt under the tire swing that is now outside Shell Cottage. She is three, and everyone tells her that she has a beautiful name, and that she is pretty. She likes being told she's pretty, and she likes her name, especially the way Maman says it. Veek-twah sounds nice rolling off the tongue. Much nicer than Vic. Dad calls her Vicky, because he thinks it's funny now that they have Dominique they have a Nicky too. Dad is allowed to call her Vicky, but no one else. Maman is having another baby now, and Dad wants to name it something that rhymes with Vicky and Nicky, but Maman said no. Nicky calls her Vika, because she can't make the twah sound. No matter what she does, however, Teddy won't call her anything but Vic. She complained to Dad one day, but that got he just looked like he was trying not to laugh and suggested they talk to Uncle Harry about it. When she confronts Uncle Harry, he and Uncle Ron actually do laugh, and she scowls. Right now, the only Weasley kids are her and Nicky, and also (kind of) Teddy, but Aunt Ginny, Aunt Angelina, Maman, and Aunt Audrey are all having babies. Victoire wishes she had a cousin her age like all of those babies will. Dom is only two, so she can't play with her, so she begrudgingly spends time with Teddy, who is five. They spend a lot of time together, but most of it is Teddy telling her she's too young to do something and Victoire telling him to stop calling her Vic. George, unbeknownst to Victoire and much to Bill's dismay, has already started a betting pool for the date of their eventual marriage.
Teddy is six when he finds out. He learned when he was four that his parents had died right after he was born, and had gotten so upset that Nan had decided to leave it at that. He also knew that Tonks was his mother, because that's Nan's last name, and that his father was named Remus, but his knowledge of his parents is limited. When he is six, however, he is walking with Ginny and baby James in Diagon Alley when a middle aged woman corners him in a store and starts yelling about illegal spawn and disgusting creatures. Ginny ends up pulling out her wand and suddenly the woman has great green things fluttering about her face. Ginny grabs Teddy and James and makes starts heading for the Leaky Cauldron. Teddy has a lot of questions, but Ginny looks distressed and he gets the idea that this might not be the best time. They stepped (or in Teddy's case faceplanted) out of the floo at the Potter's cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole, and Ginny put down James then called Harry. Teddy is very confused now, and he can't stop thinking about the scary lady yelling at him while Ginny talks to Harry through the fireplace. A few minutes later Harry comes out and he looks mad. He asks Teddy if he is ok, and Teddy tells him he is, but he's really confused. Harry sighs, and asks Teddy if he knows what a werewolf is. Teddy thinks for a second then nods. Harry says his dad was a werewolf, but that Teddy shouldn't think about him any differently, but some people don't think werewolves should have children and will treat Teddy differently because of it. Teddy understands, he thinks, but he asks Harry to tell him more stories about his parents. Harry says that his dad, who died when he was a baby, was best friends with Teddy's dad, and was like an uncle to Harry. Harry says that his mum was a lot younger than his dad, but that she was one of the best people Harry ever knew because she was funny, bright, and was willing to work so hard for what she wanted. Harry says that his parents died fighting for what they wanted for Teddy, and they wanted him to understand that. Teddy feels happy when Harry tells him all of this. Harry shows him pictures of his dad with Harry's dad and two other men that were taken somewhere called Hogwarts. Teddy thinks Hogwarts sounds cool. He thinks it would be nice to meet some friends who aren't practically related to him, like Vic is.
Victoire is five when Aunt Gabrielle gets married, and she learns she loves France. She hasn't been since she was two, and she doesn't remember that. She loves the rolling hills, she loves that everyone gets her name right, and she loves the big house that grand-mere and grand-pere Delacour live in. She loves Aunt Gabrielle because she let Victoire be the flower girl. The wedding is really fun, because Uncle Harry was invited so she Louis won't bother her and can play with James. Teddy is there too, and they watch Aunt Gabrielle and her new uncle Jean dance on the dance floor, so they decide to try it too. Teddy is a really good dancer (he only steps on her toes once!), and they are best friends now, even though he still calls her Vic. They are having so much fun that they don't see Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny cracking up off to the side and her dad grumbling don't tell George to her maman. Victoire is spending a whole week in France, but Teddy is supposed to go home the next day, as Aunt Ginny is about to have another baby and they don't want to stay away for too long. Teddy and Victoire beg, and the adults agree that Teddy can stay with Bill and Fleur for the week. That week, Teddy and Dad teach Victoire to fly a broomstick, and Victoire spends hours up in the air, taking in the French countryside. Victoire and Maman try to teach Teddy French, but by the time they give up he can only say five words. The Victoire, Teddy, Dom, and Dad go hiking along side a stream that surrounds the Delacour property one day. It is slippery, so Victoire holds on to Teddy's hand so she doesn't fall. She doesn't get why Dad is scowling. After all, Teddy is her best friend. She still half-heartedly tries to get him to stop calling her Vic, but these days she doesn't mind so much. He still tells her sometimes that she is too young to do something, but he always caves.
Teddy turns eight and he starts to feel alone. Harry and Ginny have a new baby Al, and Harry got some sort of promotion so now they are super busy. Every other Weasley is living up to the name and there are so many new babies that the lot of them don't seem to have time for anything anymore, much less him. He spends a lot of time at Vic's these days, it is far too quiet at Nan's and far too loud anywhere else. At Shell Cottage, he and Vic can stay outside. When Uncle Bill asks why he likes outside so much, Teddy tells him and Bill smiles and says that he starts to act more like his father every day. Teddy likes quiet, and he likes that his dad did too. He doesn't really like going to the family holidays at the Burrow all that much anymore, because every time someone announces a pregnancy (which is practically every single one of those things, its mad) or brings a new baby, it makes him mad (his mum had a temper, he's told), and he feels horrible for being mad (that's his dad again), but it really isn't fair. All of these kids have parents who fought in the war just the same as his did, but their parents are alive and giving them siblings. When he was little, for a long time it was just him, Vic, and then Dom. Now they have James, George's son Fred, Percy's daughter Molly, and Louis; along with new babies Al and Rose. Aunt Audrey is having another baby soon, and so is Aunt Angelina. Teddy, as the only Lupin of the bunch, is a bit spiteful of all of that family, even though everyone tells him he is just as much a part of the family as anyone. So he sticks by Vic, because she at least doesn't pretend that he's another cousin, something he's not, but treats him like a friend instead. It's strange, he thinks of the rest of the Weasleys as cousins, but Vic isn't. Vic is just his best friend, and he prefers it that way.
Victoire is eight now, and it seems like everyone is done having babies. Finally. Lily and Hugo have just been born, and if Victoire sees one more maternity ward she is going to scream. Honestly, she can tell Teddy is with her on that one. He dutifully show up every time, just like she does, but when they got a call one day that Aunt Hermione is in the hospital for Hugo, Teddy gets a stony-faced look as they floo to the hospital that reminds her of pictures they found at Uncle Harry's of the Black family, especially. Then again, Teddy is a Black, but the look is surprising on his normally cheerful face. He pastes on a smile that doesn't reach his eyes by the time they get to St. Mungo's, but his hair is going brown at the ends like it does when he is upset. She grabs his hand as they walk down the ward and starts to tell him any joke she can think of until he cracks a real grin when she starts insulting the portraits that line the halls in French. That's what she and Teddy do; they have learned at a ridiculously young age to help each other deal with pressure, so she has learned what takes his mind off things an he has learned what makes her smile. When Teddy turns eleven, he comes barreling through the fireplace to show her his brand new Hogwarts letter, and she smiles and listens to him chatter about houses and pets and wands, all the while wanting to cry just a little, because it hadn't occured to her that he would be leaving so soon. Teddy, miraculously, picks up on this through all of his pre-Hogwarts excitement, and before he leaves to go show Uncle Harry (she almost cries just because he showed her first) he gives her a big hug, and whispers in her ear that he promises to write everyday. Victoire mopes around that day, and at dinner, when Maman tries to convince her to got to Beauxbatons again she flat out refuses, saying that there is no way, not now that Teddy is going to Hogwarts. She really should ask Dad why he gets a funny look on his face when she says stuff like that.
Teddy is eleven now, and he is going to Hogwarts. And he is really, really, really excited. Mostly. He is excited to meet some people his own age, for once, and he is excited to see the place where his parents once were taught, and he is excited about a curious piece of parchment that Harry gave him at the station with explicit instructions to keep it secret, especially from Nan. He took this to mean that he could show Vic, of course, but he would wait until Christmas for that. He was really, really, really going to miss Vic. He was also going to miss, no matter how much they annoyed and made him question his very sanity, the Potters and Weasleys. Teddy boards the train with a kind of reckless excitement that only comes in youth. He does not, however, show his excitement outwardly like everyone says his mum did, but keeps a show of outward peace like his father. He finds a compartment with a boy called Loren Tylers and a girl called Kate Macmillan. They are both first years, and he is mildly surprised that Kate recognizes him instantly, because he is mostly sure he has never met her before. Loren says he is a muggle-born, and so Teddy and Kate, who's uncle Ernie apparently was in Harry's year, start to tell him about wizarding history. When they get to the war, Kate goes quiet when they get to the war and sends a panicked glance a Teddy. Teddy takes a deep breath and pull out his History of Magic textbook and flips to the chapter on the war. Loren, who apparently loves to read, takes in the text quickly. His eyes widen when they get to the list of casualties. He looks at Teddy, and Teddy nods and points to Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. Loren's eyes widen further when Kate says that Harry Potter is Teddy's godfather. Teddy figures he just is going to have to get used to this. The train ride goes quickly after that, and he and Loren and Kate fall into easier conversation, talking about their lives before Hogwarts. Teddy is fascinated by Loren's description of muggle primary school, and Loren and Teddy both ask Kate continual questions about the States, where her parents took refuge during the war and she grew up (he knew something was off about her accent!). Soon the train pulls into Hogsmeade, and an aging Hagrid (who Teddy has always known) leads them to the castle through the boats. There are only fifteen students in Teddy's year, which seems really small, but he goes along with it. After the sorting, Teddy is a proud Hufflepuff, along with Kate, Loren, and another girl with long black braids and coffee colored skin who was introduced as Gemma Wood. She said her dad's cousin had been Harry's Quidditch captain, and that her mum was from Spain so that was where she was born (lots of new, strange accents). Teddy is a bit overwhelmed with all of the new people, and it makes him miss Vic and Harry and Nan all the more. When he writes home, Harry writes in mock dissaproval that he wasn't in Gryffindor, and Nan writes a rather shaky letter telling him how proud his mum would of been. Vic's letter is just asking dozens of questions that he has no answer to about Hogwarts. He thinks it will be a good year, though, because every Hufflepuff is really nice to him and Loren and he have a room all to themselves.
Victoire is now eleven too, and Maman grumbles the whole way to King's Cross over her refusal of Beauxbatons. She couldn't care less, because now she and Teddy are going to school together, and she gets to be sorted and go to the school Dad went to. She sits with Teddy on the train, and she meets his friends, a nice girl with short brown hair named Kate, a boy with pretty blue eyes called Loren, and a girl called Gemma with long black braids and a wicked sense of humor. The boy, Loren, keeps looking at her funny (Maman said that boys love Delacours, so this is apparently what that means), but she decides she will just ignore him for now. She has a good time on the train with the Hufflepuffs, and she appreciates how much more exuberant Teddy is around them. When she stands up in front of the Great Hall a few hours later with a hat on her head, she has a two-minute long argument with the hat before she finally give up and allows it to call GRYFFINDOR. She had really wanted to be with Teddy, who looks crestfallen, but there are three other girls in her year in Gryffindor, and one, named Meredith Bell, is super nice. In the dormitory, all of them start quizzing her, asking things like Are you really a Weasley? Like Ron and Hermione Weasley? They cool down a bit when Meredith asks one of the more talkative ones, named Tina, how many Weasleys she thinks there are. Victoire decides that she rather likes Meredith. The year passes by quickly, and she is sad because she doesn't see Teddy nearly as often as she had hoped, but he still eats breakfast with her every morning, so that's nice.
Teddy is fourteen, and he is losing his shit, because Vic apparently decided to go through puberty over the summer, and now he knows what Loren has been drooling over for the last year. She grew like four inches, and now she comes up to his shoulder, and she is starting to fill out (he smacks himself for thinking that, earning a strange look from Gemma in the common room). He doesn't have a crush, no that would be too strange. After all, Vic is only a second year, and he is a fourth year, and there is a pretty Ravenclaw in the year above him named Emily Reynolds that he has liked since first year that he can't forget about. Also, Loren is his best non-Vic mate, and he has been mooning over Vic since the moment he met her, and it would be rude for Teddy to ruin his chances. Teddy, luckily, has enough going on to distract him from confusing Vic-related thoughts. He made chaser for the Quidditch team this year, much to Harry's excitement, and that keeps him busy. He also has the Marauder's Map, which he has now shown Loren, Kate, and Gemma, and that often causes detentions. Not to mention his school work, which Nan said was very important to his dad, and he'll be damned if he isn't top of the class in DADA. He is super busy, but it doesn't go beyond his notice (or Loren's) that Vic was holding hands with a third-year Gryffindor boy. How could it, when Loren is pouting about it for a solid week after? He asks Vic about it over breakfast one day, and she says that this "Tim" asked her out and she said yes, and that was that. Teddy doesn't like Tim. And Vic is far too young to date.
Victoire turns thirteen, and now Dom is coming to school with her. Honestly, though, Dom is such a little spit-fire that she isn't even a tiny bit worried about her. Who she is worried about, however, is Teddy. Mostly that Teddy has been totally weird lately. She had started dating Timothy O'Dooley, a Gryffindor in the year above her, at the end of second year and they had broken it off half-way through the summer. She hadn't been at all attached to him, she had only kissed him a few times, and she hadn't even told her parents, so she wasn't a little bit upset about breaking up. Teddy, however, had gone off on a rant when she told him about it. It's not just his attitude, however. Victoire has realized that objectively, boys look very nice in Quidditch gear. She learns this when she and Meredith were watching the final, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Tim is the seeker for Gryffindor, and Meredith's older sister Taliana, a fourth year, is a beater. Teddy, along with his friend Gemma, is a chaser for Hufflepuff. Victoire is watching Tim streak through the air, and remarks to Meredith that Tim looks cute in his Quidditch kit, when Mere says Teddy looks hot in his. Objectively, of course, she studies the subject and finds, objectively, that Mere is not totally wrong. This hits Victoire hard, to realize that Teddy is not unattractive (she can't say hot, because this is Teddy). She is so flummoxed that she can hardly find it in her to cheer when Gryffindor wins. She still go finds Teddy the next day and collects her galleon, because he owed her. So anyway, now she thinks of that day when she sees Teddy, and has found, objectively, that Teddy is alright looking in regular clothing too. Victoire, Meredith (who Victoire has come to realize has a bit of a crush on dear Teddy), and Dom sit with Teddy and his friends on the train, like they always do. Dom chatters excitedly with Kate and Gemma about Hogwarts before heading out to search for new friends in her year. Meanwhile, Victoire is talking to Loren. She is surprised when Loren asks her out, but she figures he is cute enough (he has nice eyes) and agrees to go to Hogsmeade with him at the first one. The rest of the day goes by quickly, with Dom joining Victoire in Gryffindor, and then the school year begins. The first Hogsmeade weekend comes and goes, and Victoire finds that she likes Loren a lot. He is really sweet, and walks her to class. She also can't help but notice that he is a good kisser. She doesn't notice when Teddy gets the stony look that she used to associate with new babies everytime Victoire and Loren are together in his vicinity. She does notice, however, that Teddy is now going out with some older Ravenclaw. She doesn't mind. Really.
Teddy is fifteen, and Victoire is going out with Loren. It's fine. Really. Loren and Vic are his two closest friends. He wants them to be happy. Anyway, he has Emily, and she is quite nice, if not a little swottish. But it's all good, because she is an amazing kisser, and he has OWLs this year, along with Quidditch, Marauder's map adventures with Loren, Vic, Kate, and Gemma, and he is also a prefect (which Harry finds highly amusing, considering said Marauder's map adventures) this year. Teddy barely has time to eat, let alone worry about girls. And he doesn't need to worry about girls, because Emily Reynolds, the girl he has always liked, is his girlfriend, and any other people he may or may not have mixed feelings about are taken. He's really busy, and that's why he isn't seeing Vic so much, besides breakfast, which he isn't at all bitter that Loren joins now. He takes Emily to Hogsmeade for the first time before Christmas, and they have a good time, and Teddy introduces her to Uncle George and Uncle Ron, who are working at the new Hogsmeade branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Uncle George seems totally crushed when he introduces Emily as his girlfriend, though he isn't sure why, or why Ron looks like he is trying not to laugh. He and Emily walk through the village, buying Christmas gifts, and he buys her some chocolates from Honeydukes. He sees Vic and Loren kissing over by Madam Puddifoots, and it doesn't bother him one bit. That has nothing to do with the reason that Teddy pulls Emily over and starts snogging the life out of the girl. Teddy and Vic go home for Christmas that year, and all that anyone wants to talk about his Teddy's girlfriend. Uncle Bill seems particularly delighted with the news, George still seems equally as not delighted, which makes Bill even more pleased. Dom is telling all of the cousins about her dorm room (Dom was in the heat of a wizarding baby boom, so they had to have two rooms for girl first years), and Vic is switching from gossiping with the aunts about Loren and being interrogated by the uncles. Teddy sits with Harry and watches the scene. Until suddenly:
"How much do you want to smash Loren's head in right about now?"
Teddy's head snaps up. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"Why would I want to bash his head in? He's my best mate," Teddy asks.
Harry chuckles. "Because you've got the same look on your face right now as I had for the majority of my sixth year."
"Which is?"
"Jealousy, confusion, and a touch of self-loathing. Your Uncle Ron wore it for the majority of the time between fourth and what would have been seventh years, so it could be worse." Harry says, then calls Ron over.
Teddy shakes his head. "I don't want to bash Loren's head in."
"Not even a little?"
Teddy thinks. In actuality, there is a very large part of him that would very much like to bash Loren over the head with a quaffle. Ron has joined the conversation now. Teddy answers, "Possibly a little, but that's just because Vic is like a sister to me. I don't need to see her snogging." That is such a lie and you know it, he thinks, and apparently Harry thinks so too, because he throws Ron some sort of significant look over that, and Ron snickers.
"Teddy's got the 'girl I like's dating someone else' look," Harry mock sighs. "I believe you are familiar Ron."
"I am not familiar with it," comes Ron's indignant reply. Harry coughs, and it sounds suspiciously like "Viktor Krum." Ron's sounds like "Dean Thomas."
"I do not!" comes Teddy's equally affronted response.
Ron looked at Teddy, hard. "Yeah you do, mate. Sorry." Harry snorted.
"I've got a girlfriend!"
"So did Ron."
"Vic is like a sister!" No, not really.
"So was Ginny." Harry must see the impending explosion of anger from Teddy on his face, because he and Ron take that opportunity to join the uncles. Teddy thinks he hears Ron say "George will be so pleased," but his head is swimming with new information and he quite feels like he might pass out.
Victoire is fourteen, and she is going to break up with Loren. He is still really nice, but she swears that boy is so damn agreeable that she is going to lose her head. Honestly, she is a Weasley, and a part-veela to boot. She needs someone who will challenge her, she likes to argue, she likes to yell, and she is fourteen, and arguing is her best outlet for angsty feelings. She does it a week into the start of fourth year, and the next day she sees Teddy and Loren at the Hufflepuff table, and Teddy looks to be trying to comfort his friend. He really doesn't seem all that into it though, because he looks like he is fighting every muscle in his face in order to keep a solemn look. When he sees her enter the hall, he gives her a jaunty wave behind Loren's back, and his face has split into one of those giant grins that she remembers from childhood but feels she hasn't seen in ages, and her day seems much brighter. He mouths that he will eat with her again tomorrow, and she understands. Teddy and Victoire fall into a rhythm that feels much more like the old days when they were children. Teddy has broken up with is Ravenclaw girl (Victoire never did like that one). He helps her with her homework sometimes, and she has to help him with potions, which is quite amusing. Meanwhile, she is becoming extremely busy this year on her own. Dom wants to try out for chaser in Quidditch, so Victoire agreed to try out for keeper, just to appease her little sister. What she didn't count on was the both of them making the team, so she is trying extra hard at that, with Dom, Teddy, and her practicing some weekends. Meredith and Victoire are closer than ever, and after four years Uncle George had finally decided to mention that he was close friends with Mere's aunt Katie, who Victoire realizes she has met on several occasions. It is shaping up to be a great year, but Victoire is slightly disconcerted that the whole Teddy-looks-nice-in-Quidditch-robes thing from last year hasn't blown over quite yet. In fact, she has come to realize that he looks good in regular clothes too, and that the majority of Hogwarts's female population agrees. Now that she is watching, she thinks that every time she is with Teddy, some blonde, curvy, Hufflepuff will come up and start batting her eyelashes at Teddy, and it is bothering her. Teddy is either too oblivious, as his father's son, or too nice, as a Hufflepuff, to do anything about these girls, who can't possibly need that much help on homework. Victoire, however, as a Gryffindor, is not above hexing. Not that that has anything to do with why Tiffany Hightower has no eyebrows. They have no proof against her. None.
Teddy is sixteen, and he is bloody well losing his mind. For starters, he ditched Emily about .7 seconds into the new year. Second, when Vic dumped Loren, he was fairly certain he hadn't been happier since he first got his Hogwarts letter. He will freely admit that he is harboring some sort of something for Vic, since apparently the adults in his life could all already tell, and he is also extremely glad that Vic broke up with Loren, and not the other way around, because then he would have to defend Vic's honor and all that, and he doesn't fancy beating up his best mate. He's starting to think Gemma suspects his Vic-related Feelings, as they shall henceforth be known, but from what he can tell she's got some Loren-related Feelings, so he doesn't mind. So yeah, he's probably maybe slightly mad for Vic, so he happens to notice that she gets prettier with each passing summer. Her silvery hair has grown out to her waist, and he has to quell an urge to touch it almost every second he is with her. She is also on the Quidditch team now, and he has realized his underappreciation for the girls in Quidditch gear. Teddy is of the opinion that Vic is the only person on planet Earth who makes Keeper's pads look hot. She has lost the last of the childish roundness from her face, and it makes the light dusting of freckles on her face stand out. This is all well and good. What is not cool is that he is not the only one to notice Victoire's pretty hair, willowy stature, and other assorted feminine wiles. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a guy at Hogwarts who hasn't noticed. And now she is single, and that is just great until six separate guys ask her to Hogsmeade, in his presence, in one week. Teddy can't very well ask her out, because she has just got out of a nine-month relationship with his best mate, and she thinks of him like a brother, probably. By Friday, however, he feels he cannot be held responsible for his actions anymore, and therefore feels not one string of remorse for the non-verbal tap-dancing jinx he sends at Kyle Lansing from under the table as he approaches them at breakfast Saturday. As a bonus, it makes Vic laugh, which he has recently decided is one of his favorite sounds. She has her first game that day, and he feels it is his duty as Hufflepuff team captain to go and attend a Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match. It has nothing to do with Vic, and even if it did, he is cheering for and watching Dom just as much. Gemma shakes her head at Vic's Gryffindor scarf, which she gave to Teddy to wear. Gryffindor wins, and the Hufflepuffs go to the Gryffindor party in their common room. Gemma, in a fit of boldness, drags Loren off to dance, and Kate goes and finds her seventh year boyfriend, leaving Teddy alone, trying not to watch Vic dance with that smarmy little Hufflepuff in her year (Jaren or Josh or something). Honestly, why is he even here? (Teddy is quite capable of ignoring the fact that he too is a Hufflepuff for the sake of teenage angst). The nice thing about Gryffindor parties as opposed to Hufflepuff ones is that they keep a steady supply of firewhiskey in the Gryffindor seventh-year boy's dorms. Teddy usually shies away from the hard stuff, but today he feels he could do with a drink. Four shots later, Teddy is pleasantly buzzing, and Vic is still with Mr. Hufflepuff, so Teddy sets out into the party. Ten minutes and one more shot after that he and Maisie Cattermole, a lovely sixth year Gryffindor, have become rather well acquainted. The rest of the night is a haze of alcohol burning down his throat, blaring music, and he knows he and Maisie kissed for a solid twenty minutes, but he is fairly sure that she was with someone else by the end of the night.
Sunday dawns bright and clear, unfortunately. Teddy somehow manages to drag his sorry arse out of bed within a reasonable time to get to breakfast. According to Loren, who looks quite like a cat who got the canary, he and Gemma hit it off last night while Teddy drank his problems away. Loren talks at him all the way up to breakfast, where he goes to find Gemma. Teddy plops down across from Victoire with a groan. She looks far too amused at his pain, for being the one who inadvertently caused it. She and Dom, who is seated with them for some reason today, seem to think it good fun to beat Teddy while he's down, what with their loud chatting in French, for some reason. Halfway through breakfast, after he's given up on eating anything and put his head down on the table, the start to really go in on him.
"Have fun last night Ted?" Dom says with a grin. For a second year, she really knows far too much for her own good. Teddy grunts.
"Oh yes, dear Teddy had a marvelous time, didn't you Ted?" Vic adds in. Teddy pulls his head up of the table and looks at her. She has a strange look about her, like she is simultaneously too stiff and too loose.
"Do tell, Vicky."
"Not if you call me Vicky, Nicky." Dom wrinkles her nose.
"Can I call you Vic?"
"No."
"Teddy calls you Vic."
"Teddy cannot be convinced to do otherwise, so he's allowed." Teddy tries to hide his grin.
"All right, Victoire, what did Teddy do last night."
"He was snogging Cattermole," Vic says. She shoots a sideways glance at Teddy, who stiffens. Dom grins wider.
"Way to go Lupin!"
Teddy decides he probably needs to chime in. "Dom, it's disturbing to hear that from a twelve-year-old girl." Dom just winks at him. He turns to Vic, but still addresses Dom. "Your sister spent the whole night dancing with some Hufflepuff bloke."
"Less impressive, Vicky." Vic scowls.
"Jeremy Hodgins. Honestly Ted, isn't it Hufflepuff policy to know your housmate's name?" Vic frowns deeper. He looks at her curiously.
"In my defense, after three shots of firewhiskey names, as well as faces in general became unimportant. Hence Cattermole, who was with some other bloke by midnight, by the way." Not as important as you. Never. Could never forget your face. He fails to mention that he saw her dancing when he was sober, and that that was why he was drinking in the first place.
Vic nods, but she looks uneasy. It might be a hangover-induced hallucination, but he swears he saw her shoot a glare towards Maisie. Dom is watching the whole exchange like Teddy and Vic are a mildly amusing television show. He can practically see the wheels turn in her head. Teddy suddenly wants to go to bed. He gets up, muttering his goodbyes, and sets off wandering about the castle. Pathetic, you are Lupin. Can't even handle seeing the girl you like dancing with someone who is probably a better person for her, seeing as he is going for girls his own age, Teddy thinks. Honestly, they were hardly touching, but it sends you off on a drinking binge and impromptu snog session. Pathetic. All right, so he likes her. Mad about her. There, he said (thought) it. Shit.
Victoire is fifteen, and she is going through a phase. Her parents, being new at this kind of thing, do the only logical thing and consult the various Weasley archives of grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Grandad has a small smile on his face, and reminds Bill in that unnervingly calm way of his about Bill's own teenage years. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are all cracking up and reminiscing about Harry's fifth year, because according to Ron "look mate, we felt for you, you had a lot going on, but despite that you were such a little drama queen we found it hard to be around you." George and Angelina join in with that one, while Harry sits in a corner and sulks ("Yeah! He looked like that for a whole year!" George says, enthusiastically pointing at the head auror). Bill informs them that they are all being extremely unhelpful, of course.
The truth of the matter is that Victoire is stressed. Really, really, stressed. This year, on top of Quidditch, she has OWLs, she's a prefect, as well has the small horde of Weasleys (Louis, Molly, James, and Fred) that have joined the ranks of Gryffindor this year. But really, she can handle all of that. She absolutely cannot handle Teddy Lupin though. She, you see, spent the majority of the summer after fourth year with him. And, you see, she took all of that time and developed a maddening crush on him. Which is great, and may or may not be causing her sulkiness. Dom, who is terribly perceptive with these things, figures it out almost immediately. Also, as soon as she gets back to school (where Teddy is head boy, and now holds authority over her) Mere figures it out as well. Mere has gotten over her childhood crush over Teddy (thanks in a large part to the steady string of boys kept at her mercy) and informs her after one minute in the pair's presence "you could cut the sexual tension with a spoon," whatever that means. Anyway, Teddy decided at some point that he should grow, so now he is a solid six inches taller than her, which is no small feat when you are a 5'9" part-veela. It suits him well, the lanky look that Uncle Harry calls "teenage Remus with blue hair." She suspects that is why he does it, to look like his dad, but that is beside the point. The point is, that Teddy Lupin, head boy, has approximately 85% of the female population of Hogwarts swooning at his feet. Which isn't exactly a problem for Victoire, seeing as that can only be about a 10% increase. He is so oblivious that he doesn't seem to notice, not even the head girl, Ravenclaw Hazel Davies, who practically purrs at him. What is a problem, is that Teddy acts his normal sweet self around her, but it is driving her mad. He sets up patrols so they do them together, for Merlin's sake. Which means lots of time alone. In the dark. It is on one such day, that things spiral far beyond her control.
"Teddy!" she hisses. They are walking through the fifth floor, and Teddy is attempting to show her how to patrol "correctly," at least that's his excuse for pairing himself up with a lowly fifth year. Right now, it feels like she is the one teaching him, as he is playing "ninja" (Get with the culture Vic, it's a muggle thing.) in the corridor, leaping from wall to wall.
"What?" he stage-whispers.
"There's someone in here!" Victoire is standing outside of a tapestry, which they know hides a secret passage way.
"Open it then!" he says cheerfully.
She really doesn't want to, because she is sure whatever is going on in there is nothing that she wants to see, much less with Teddy, but she obliges. Sure enough, they reveal two fourth-year Slytherins locked in a rather passionate embrace. Victoire is glad it's dark, because she is sure she is blushing like a true Weasley right now. She clears her throat, and the fourth years spring apart. Teddy is snickering behind her.
"Evening," he says, employing his business tone that just makes her crack up, but apparently it sufficiently intimidates the Slytherins. She hides a grin. "Back to your dorms, twenty points from Slytherin." They scurry off. Teddy slips into the passage, dragging Victoire behind him. She looks around.
"Have we ever followed this one?"
"No, I think it collapses halfway through," Teddy replies. "It used to go to the Three Broomsticks, I think." They are walking side by side now.
"So why are we following it?"
"For the spirit of adventure, my dear Veek-twah." He pops the last syllable.
She rolls her eyes, but is blushing furiously at being called "my dear." She is pathetic. They have reached the cave in, and Teddy nods and turns back. Straight into her. Great. She falls down, somehow managing to bring Teddy with her. She winces at impact, but after realizing nothing is broken, starts to laugh, because Teddy is apologizing profusely and offering to help her up and it's adorable and hilarious all at the same time.
"Are you all right Vic?" he asks worriedly. She giggles and nods, taking his proffered hand.
"Are you all right Teddy?" He nods. She realizes she is still holding his hand, and drops it, blushing. She needs to stop blushing
"I'm great," he says, voice sounding a little hoarse. They start to head out back down the hall. They walk in not quite awkward but not comfortable by any means silence. He eventually asks her whether she likes being a prefect so far, which is a resounding yes, especially if he always is there with her. By the time they reach the corridor they are both laughing and trying to get rival Quidditch secrets out of one another.
Victoire's feeling impulsive. "Let's go down to the kitchen. I'm starved after that adventure."
Teddy grins, and Victoire melts. "Let's go, m'lady." He offers her his arm, which she takes.
He leads her on the long trek to the kitchens, and Victoire idly wonders why she is holding onto his arm, or why she is suddenly so close to him. Her mind, however, does not seem too concerned, high on the smell that she can't define but is so distinctly Teddy. They make it down to the kitchen in record time, all thoughts of prefect duties out of their minds. Or at least out of her mind. Munching on sweets, they sit down in an alcove on the third floor, as they still have an hour to be on patrol.
"Has Slughorn invited you to one of his parties yet this year?" Teddy asks.
"Oh yeah. I was with Louis, Fred, James, and Molly in the Great Hall when he extended the invitation. Practically fell at James's feet. The little git seemed to enjoy the hero-worship though."
"He did that to me when I first got here. Now I find it funny, because he ignored both of my parents when they were at Hogwarts. I think he means well though."
Victoire can't help herself. "Are you going? You could take a date."
He raises his eyebrows. "I wasn't planning to go." She blushed.
"Oh will you? The first years have decided that they want to and Aunt Ginny said I need to keep an eye on them. Don't make me go alone, Dom already said no."
"All right, but I'm not taking a date."
"You could get practically any girl in the school, you know."
"I don't want just any girl in the school." She tries not to grin too much at that. She raises an eyebrow, just like her mother does.
"Do you not?"
Teddy has a distant look in his eye now. "No, I don't."
"Have anyone in mind?" Leave the poor boy alone, Victoire. This will only go poorly.
He turns his head slightly to look at her. "Yes."
Victoire's heart drops. "Oh." She turns to look away.
"D'you?"
"Of course," she sighs. Had Victoire been looking at Teddy, and not focusing with all her might on the wall opposite her, trying not to cry, she would have noticed two things. She would have seen him bury his face in his hands, and she would have seen his normally bright form lose all of its color, reverting to the natural sandy brown hair and grey eyes that he inherited from his father and mother, respectively.
Shit.
Teddy is fairly certain he has never been more depressed. For a seventeen-year-old orphan, that says a lot. After his conversation with Vic during prefect duties, he has been downright miserable. He can't manage anything more than blue tips in his hair right now, and it requires nearly every ounce of energy he has. McGonagall practically fainted when she saw him like this, saying that she thought for a moment she was looking at his father. Gemma, Kate and Loren send him concerned looks almost constantly, and Teddy is fairly certain James wrote home about him, because he keeps getting boxes of food from Ginny and Grandma Molly. All of the Weasleys (and Teddy) are staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, because the first years "simply must" see Hogwarts at Christmas. He is positively dreading this Christmas party, but he promised Vic, and no matter how much it kills him to be in her presence he won't go back on a promise. Even his duties as head boy don't seem like enough of a proper distraction anymore. In previous year his busy schedule had successfully distracted him from any rogue feelings, but this year he's busier than ever, yet he can't go thirty seconds without thinking of Vic. Vic and the guy she "has in mind," who he has already decided is probably tall, muscular, and actually her age. Probably a Gryffindor. All of which are things that he is decidedly not (besides tall, he is actually very tall, but that is neither here or there). So yeah, here he is, on the first part of the Christmas holiday, sulking in the Hufflepuff common room, thinking for the hundredth time he is glad he is the only one of the Weasley clan not in Gryffindor. Kate sits on the couch across from him, buried in NEWTS homework. Gemma and Loren have gone home for the holidays, to meet each other's families. Teddy and Kate are of the opinion that the two of them are rather disgusting, but that might just be Teddy's bitterness and Kate's feministic boycotting of all things romantic (that's what she calls it). Kate, who has always been rather short tempered, seems to be getting annoyed with Teddy's sullen moping, as she loudly informs him without looking up from the massive book on Herbology she's reading. He sends her a withering glare that she either doesn't notice or pretends not to.
Before he has time to blink, the day of the Christmas party is upon him and James Potter has come barreling into the Head's office, Teddy's current hiding place. Teddy starts and swears.
"How the hell did you get in here!" James looks at him for a moment like he's daft and then proceeds to completely ignore the question.
"You've been hiding for the whole break. Dom told me to come get you," James explains, tugging on Teddy's arm.
"Why?" Teddy sighs.
"She wants to talk to you, for some reason."
Teddy thinks he has a pretty good idea of what Dom might want to talk about. She has always been perceptive, and he is pretty sure that she knows exactly what is going on. Reluctantly, he allows himself to be dragged up and into the Gryffindor common room. Dominique Weasley is waiting for him. She hands James a chocolate frog and drags Teddy into a corner.
"Would you like to tell me why you're being such a pansy, Lupin?" she says in a furious whisper.
Teddy decides the best way to play this is dumb. "Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb with me Ted." Well, playing dumb went well. "Does it have something to do with why my sister has been sulking around for weeks?"
"Excuse me?" Way to use your words, Lupin.
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Teddy. The only person your obvious crush on her isn't obvious to is Vicky herself." Teddy draws in a sharp intake of breath and pretends to inspect the common room. Which he full well realizes is dumb, because he has spent nearly as much time in here as in his own common room. He decides he's going to keep up the "playing dumb" act.
"Once again, excuse me?"
"Ted, even Louis has noticed somethings up, and he is the most oblivious person on the planet."
"I thought you said when you were ten that Fred was the most oblivious person on the planet."
"Excluding my own clueless brother, of course. That is beyond the point. The point is, my own clueless sister is driving everyone up the wall. Meredith says if she spends one more minute alone with Victoire she's going to murder her in her sleep."
"Why does this concern me?" Dom rolls her eyes.
"For starters, I talked to Kate and she says that you're the same way, which isn't at all surprising. What even happened by the way?"
Teddy decides that Dom is just too observant for her own good, and will figure it all out eventually anyway, so he tells her everything. He finishes his story by telling her: "…so she likes someone else." Dominique scoffs.
"You, Lupin, are absolutely daft."
Teddy blinks, startled. "Come again?"
"Daft. You are."
"Yeah I got that much." Dom shakes her head. She turns and surveys the common room.
"Molly!" A tiny redhead comes trotting up to her.
"Yes, Dom?" she asks. Teddy is just confused.
"What would you say is wrong with Victoire?" Dom questions. Molly blushes furiously.
"I can't say in front of him!" she whispers.
"Oh trust me Mol, he needs to hear it." Dom says, with a glare shot at Teddy. Molly turns and puts her hands on her hips, looking Teddy up and down in what would have been a fantastic impression of Ginny, if Teddy was any less confused. She claps a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, Dom! He likes her too?" she squeals. Dom rolls her eyes again. Teddy is even more confused.
"Honestly Molly, you haven't noticed? He's even more obvious."
"He's been hiding for like two weeks, how was I supposed to notice?"
"Excuse me?" Teddy finds his voice. Dom dismisses him with a wave of a hand.
"Molly, tell Teddy what's wrong with Victoire."
"No!" she whispers something in Dom's ear, and Dom nods and grins at her. Molly skips off toward the boy's dorms.
"Take a seat, Ted." Dom plops down on a large red armchair.
"What the hell is going on Dom?" he asks.
"Afternoon entertainment."
"What?" Teddy is helplessly lost now, and he would rather like to go back to his nice office, or maybe back to the nice Hufflepuff common room, where he is seven floors away from any Weasleys.
"Oh, Teddy, you poor thing," Dom sighs and pats his hand. "This is so much fun."
Teddy has given up on trying to figure out why he's here, so he settles onto a couch and alternately sulks and devises escape plans. After what seems like hours, but is probably about five minutes, Louis, Fred, and James are dragged down by Molly, who sprints up to the girl's dormitory after depositing them with Dom. Teddy now has a very bad feeling about this, and the maniacal grin on Dom's face is not helping. Louis is asleep again on the couch, with his feet in Fred's lap. Fred and James are talking quietly about Quidditch. James appears, as usual, to be thrumming with energy. Teddy is talking with them about the upcoming Ravenclaw/Slytherin match when voices float down the girl's staircase.
"Why the hell do you need me Molly? I was sleeping." a familiar voice that he can't place whines.
"Oh hush, it's one o'clock. I need you because you can get her down." That's Molly.
"And why do you need her? She's being a right pain in the arse." Dom grins wider and kicks Louis awake.
"This is for Dom, not me anyway. And it's because she's being a right pain in the arse."
"Give me five minutes kid, I'll see what I can do." Meredith. "Why couldn't Dom come?" Teddy needs to leave, because he knows what Dom's doing now, and he doesn't like it.
"She's… dealing with something in the common room." He stands, and Dom already has her wand on him.
"Teddy, I swear to god if you don't sit your lanky arse down I'll petrify you," she hisses. Louis snickers.
"I was brought here against my will! I was working!" Teddy hisses back.
"No, he was hiding," pipes up James from the sofa. Teddy shoots him a nasty look over his shoulder.
"Oh, look, his hair's working!" says Fred. Teddy is too pissed off to read too much into that one, but he figures it's probably red.
"Shut up, Fred!" Louis whispers. "Not relevant at the moment."
"You shut up too," Dom says to her brother. She turns to Teddy. "Sit." When he doesn't comply she stands up, grabs a handful of his jumper and shoves him into a chair, all in one fluid motion. Teddy glares at her so hard he's fairly certain his eyes are red. When Molly comes back down, Teddy glares at her too, for good measure. She simply smiles the benign smile that Aunt Audrey uses on Uncle Percy.
"Let me leave." His voice is wavering with poorly suppressed anger. In all honesty, this is the strongest emotion he's felt in weeks, and he's letting it fill him up just because it is nice to focus on something other than bitter disappointment.
"Hush, this is necessary. It was either this or lock the two of you in a broom closet. In fact…" Dom shoots a look at her brother. "… that was my first choice, but Lou wouldn't let me."
"I don't need that visual, Dom," Louis says. She scoffs. Teddy would rather like to throw something.
"I want to leave." Teddy's voice is getting louder with every word. James, the only one of the group who has ever seen him truly mad, is also the only one who looks reasonably worried. When Teddy gets angry, he is known to do stupid things. Harry says he gets it from his father. Teddy wants to do something stupid right about now. Preferably involving firewhiskey.
Dom does not seem concerned. "You've made that clear, actually," she says mildly.
Teddy stands up and goes to sit in the corner. He hears James whispering furiously with Dom. Probably warning her. It's too late for that, she's definitely getting hexed for this. Teddy's just waiting until whatever he does is less likely to end up with Vic's third-year git of a sister in the hospital wing. Or, possibly he's just waiting for Vic to deal with her first. He's so busy glaring at the wall that he doesn't notice the voices coming down the stairs. Or the nervous looks James keeps shooting him. He doesn't move at all until he hears Vic actually in the common room. He wonders if he could just morph to match the wall.
"What do you want Dom?" Vic says tiredly. Teddy sinks lower into his armchair.
"For you to stop being an insufferable git," Dom says cheerfully.
"That's nice."
"Lou, explain the plan," Dom orders her brother.
"Dom, I'd rather not," Louis whispers.
"Louis…" Dom warns.
"She's going to kill us!"
"Why am I going to kill you?" Vic asks.
James winces and points at Teddy's chair. Vic raises her eyebrows. "I'm going to kill you all because of a chair?"
Dom marches over and kicks Teddy. "Up Lupin!" she barks.
Teddy is resigned. He ignores the deer-in-headlights look Vic is sporting and turns to Dom. "Why am I up here Dominique?"
She smirks. "Because you're being an insufferable git too."
"Thank you, I feel loved."
"Always." Dom turns to her cousins. "We're going to leave Victoire and Teddy in here. Let's go to the kitchens."
"You're what?" Vic asks, panicked.
"Work it out Victoire." Dom pats her on the head and leaves. Teddy sits back down on his chair and sighs. Vic follows, sitting down gingerly.
"I'm going to have to hex her for this," she says.
"I'll join you," Teddy agrees. "So you've been sulking?"
She scoffs. "It sounds like you are too, Teddy." He smiles ruefully.
"I've had a rough week, I guess." He sighs. "What about you?"
"Rough week." She smiles softly and moves to sit closer to him, and Teddy's breath catches. When her head drops onto her shoulder, he wonders what she would say if she knew what she was doing to him. It's hard, he thinks, when you fall for your best friend, someone you already love on some level.
"Vic…" he starts.
"Shh, Teddy," she murmurs. He can feel her breath on his neck, and shivers. "It's fine."
He's confused now. "What's fine?"
"Don't apologize for liking a girl, Ted."
He almost wants to laugh as the pieces fall into place. "Oh my God," he mutters.
"Pardon?"
"Is that what you've been upset about?"
"I thought Dom told you!"
"She just kept telling me I was daft."
Vic pales. The freckles on her nose stick out, and Teddy notices just how close they are. "Oh," she says faintly.
"Oh," he echoes. She looks about to say something, when he decides enough is enough.
He kisses her.
She freezes, out of shock, he hopes. Moments later, his wishes are granted and then she's kissing him back; one of his hands is in her hair and the other is at her waist. Her arms are around his neck and her fingers are playing in the hair at the nape of his neck. His scalp tingles, and he knows that his sandy brown hair has changed. Vic has one hand running down his chest, leaving a trail of goosebumps in her wake. What was once a sweet, gentle, first kiss is rapidly becoming heady and demanding, more of a snog, actually. Teddy isn't complaining though, because she's biting his lip, and then tongues are tangling and teeth are knocking together, and he's found a lovely sliver of skin where her jumper has ridden up. He isn't sure when he ended up on top of her, on that couch. He is thoroughly enjoying himself, however.
Vic pulls away, and he groans into her shoulder.
"Your hair is pink," she blurts, breathing heavily.
Teddy pulls back and glances at her. "If that's all you have to say…" he leans back in. She pushes him away again. He lets his head fall back on her shoulder.
"What just happened?"
"Snogging, as far as I know," Teddy mumbles, muffled by her shoulder.
"Before that you git."
"You like me, I like you, then there was snogging," he says all in one breath. "Clear?" Teddy's recently dubbed kissing Vic as his new favorite activity, and he would rather like to get back to it. Unfortunately, she keeps pushing him away.
"Teddy, how long?"
"What?" he asks, baffled.
"How long have you felt this way?"
"Years? I don't know Vic. A long time."
"Good. Me too." He takes this as his cue to kiss her again, and is not disappointed.
Teddy is twenty-five, and as he gazes apon his beautiful wife and their new baby, he wonders what he did to deserve his life. All he knows his that if he knew what he did, he'd do it again. Twice.
AN:
Just a little (long) one shot :)