Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: So here we are! First Harry Potter fic that isn't The Decent One, and it's the pairing of Teddy and Victoire for the 'Battleships' event over at Diagon Alley II. Hope you enjoy!
It was May 9th when he first laid eyes on her.
Of course, the turquoise-haired two year old had begged his grandmother to see her right when she was born, but the woman told him that Auntie Fleur needed time to rest after giving birth to the baby, and she didn't need an excitable young boy asking her millions of questions.
Eventually, Andromeda had consented to visiting the week after.
"Bonjour, Andromeda—and bonjour, Teddy," the young mother lilted as she answered the door. Fleur looked incredibly tired, but it did not seem to detract at all from her natural beauty. "Please come in—Bill eez in ze living room with Victoire."
Andromeda walked Teddy into the cottage by the sea, and as soon as Teddy's eyes set upon the red-headed father sitting on the couch with the swaddled baby, he darted to meet them, eyes wide open in excitement.
"Uncle Bill, Uncle Bill! Can I see her?" the toddler asked as he dove onto the couch beside him.
"Easy there, Ted," Bill said with a small chuckle. "She's sleeping."
Teddy peered over the man's arm at the baby with a pout. "Aww… how come babies sleep so much?" he whined.
"It's because they develop the most when they're asleep," Bill replied.
Teddy looked blankly at the man, unsure of what he meant by that. "…Oh. Okay," he said. He then stared down at the baby in his arms. "She's so tiny."
Bill smiled at the young boy. "Do you want to hold her for a little bit?" he asked.
Teddy nodded with a smile. "Yeah!" he replied.
"Alright, then. You need to be very careful with her, understand?" Bill asked.
Teddy nodded again, smile replaced with a more serious look. "Yes, okay."
"Hold out your arms in front of you," Bill said.
Teddy held his arms out in front of him as told, and Bill put the sleeping baby in them. "You need to support the head, Ted," Bill said, moving Teddy's arm so it cradled the baby's head.
"Why?" he asked, looking up from the baby to her father.
"Her bones still need to grow so she can support herself, but until then someone else needs to help keep her head up so she can breathe."
Teddy's eyes widened, and he suddenly looked worried that he would break her. "Oh…" he said, squirming uncomfortably.
Andromeda joined her grandson in the living room, and smiled down at him with the baby in his arms.
"What do you think, Ted?" she asked.
Teddy gave a short pause, thinking over his answer carefully. "… Can she play with me when she gets bigger?" Teddy asked.
"Of course you can, Teddy dear, as long as Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur say it's okay," Andromeda replied.
Teddy smiled wide and hugged Victoire a little closer to himself. "I love her lots, then," he said.
The baby opened her eyes and looked up at Teddy, blinking curiously at the turquoise-colored blob that she saw.
"Hello Victoire," he said. "I'm Teddy. We're going to be best friends."
The baby's face suddenly scrunched up in a frown, and Victoire started crying loudly, giving Teddy a little start.
Bill couldn't help but laugh a little as he took his daughter from the small boy's arms. "It's okay, Ted, she's probably getting hungry. I'll take her over to mummy."
Teddy was convinced for a year at least that Victoire had absolutely hated him, but once she was able to stand on her own, Teddy and her were inseparable.