"Teddy?" Vicotire said, poking her head out- sure enough, there he sat, his hair a gloomy brown, his fingers clasped together like they always were when he was nervous or upset. His sapphire dress robes no longer matched his eyes.
Victoire sat down next to him. Teddy did not look up. They sat in silence for a few seconds- Victoire's eyes wandered. She caught a glimpse of the trees growing around the forbidden forest, the rose bushes Hagrid himself had planted for the Yule Ball that year, and the colorful spells that ricocheted off the glass walls of the lanterns hanging on lines outside like colorful, bright fireflies.
Teddy had looked handsome. His hair had been a sky blue that day, a personal favorite of Vicotoire's. His date was more interested in talking to her friends, and Vicotire did not have one (despite the many date offers she'd gotten), so they'd met up and separated from their friends for a while to talk- about platonic and familial matters of course. She wasn't attracted to Teddy. She didn't think he was handsome- she did not think the mischievous light in his eyes was endearing, and nor did she like watching as his hair changed color from one wild shade to another. She was only fourteen, anyway, and she wasn't looking for a relationship- especially with a boy who was like her honorary cousin, and was an year above her. Most boys unnerved her anyway.
"The moon looks beautiful today." Teddy blurted out, blushing. "She said it looked beautiful."
They sat silence. Victoire stared. It was true that the moon looked beautiful- full, round, complete. It shone brightly, cheerfully, creating an identical reflection over the surface of The Black Lake with all its clarity.
"It is." Victoire said. She thought of how such beautiful sight caused suffering for dozens of werewolves monthly. Most of them had never seen the true beauty of the full moon. She wondered if they remembered gazing at it, as normal people, and admiring that thing that would cause so much suffering.
"D-do you think it hurt?" Teddy asked, looking away, his hair turning darker, gloomier. "Turning into a werewolf, I mean.."
"I don't know." Victoire responded. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and took a closer look at Teddy.
"I mean…I'm sure she didn't mean it like that, and…" A frown graced her features. She tilted her head in thought, and squinted at Teddy as if she were looking through a spy glass. "Do you think about that often, Ted?"
Teddy turned around to face her. His lips pulled into a weak smile- even gloomy, and sad, Teddy looked handsome. Victoire wondered if it was appropriate to think so; a soft blush spread over her face.
"Sometimes," Teddy said. "When I think about things like this- balls and, you know the normal stuff. I'd look up, see the full moon, and think- how much would my dad be missing on a day like this? Then I'd try to put myself in his place and…I can't imagine it. You know?"
Victoire did not know. She did not know that new of information about Ted, and part of her felt warm and fuzzy at the fact that he had trusted her with it. Nor did she know what it felt like to be a social and mental pariah, not only from others, but from himself, because of something you can't control. Her dad did have some type of medication to help him with his condition- but it wasn't life-changing. He just got a bit cranky around the full moon and developed a taste for raw steak- add to that a few potions around the month, and her father was as good as any other typical wizard.
"I think- I think he'd be happy anyway." Victoire dared to say. Teddy looked at her curiously.
"I mean- he met your mother. He had you. I think that was a break for him."
Teddy smiled. "I guess," he said after a pause. "Harry and Gran always told me so. I mean, it's not that I don't believe, it's just…I still couldn't imagine it- one little thing making up for years of pain."
"Little thing?" Vicotire asked incredulously. "You think your birth was a little thing? Teddy, I know this is going to sound cheesy, but- see that moon?"
"I-"
"Sh. Now, do you see it?" Teddy nodded reluctantly, his hair turning a green of confusion.
"Your dad never noticed the sun because he was too busy dreading the moon-he never saw light because he was too afraid of the darkness to appreciate it. But then- imagine this- you were born, and then light flooded his world. The sun was no longer blocked out of his view, and it more than made up for the dark. Your dad had a few days of sunlight- and I know he'd wish for more." As she spoke, she blushed. She had no idea where the words were coming from, but they poured out of her lips with ease- she felt silly, speaking so deeply of someone she didn't know, but she somehow knew it was all true. And someone needed to make Teddy see that. He had to stop mourning for other people, practical Hufflepuff or not.
Teddy smiled, a pure, genuine happy smile- but his smile transformed into a smirk, and Vicotire suddenly knew why he was a Gryffinodor instead of a Hufflepuff as his hair turned back to a mysterious shade aqua.
"I didn't know you were good at cheesy speeches, Vic."
Victoire's face turned a harsher shade of red. "I didn't know you valued imagination more than solid facts."
Silence.
"You got me there." He shrugged, and extended his arm to her, smiling. He didn't voice his words, but his eyes delivered the message- 'Thank you'. "Lucina went to talk with her friends anyway." Teddy told her, referring to his (in Victoire's opinion) completely shallow and insensitive date. " I think one more dance wouldn't kill me. Ready?"
"Ready," she answered without hesitation. Her heart skipping, Victoire, feeling oddly brave, snaked her arm through Ted's, and they walked inside, their backs facing the full moon's reflection on The Black Lake's calm surface as colorful magical lights flickered and shone into the loneliness of the night.