Victoire Weasley. Perfect. The oldest cousin of the huge Weasley clan. The go-to person (apart from Teddy), the most beautiful, mature, graceful, part Vela girl. The daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley, she had obviously inherited their good looks and charm. With long silvery curls falling down her back, bright, sparkling blue eyes, a flawless complexion, an upturned nose, pointed ears, a perfect body, and, (to her never ending despair) abnormally large feet, no one could doubt which family she can from, nor who her parents were.

She was the first grandchild of Grandma and Grandpa Weasley to go to Hogwarts, and she had really wanted to do them proud. Yet, no matter how much she prayed in her head throughout the sorting, no matter how much she begged and pleaded with the Hat to put her in Gryffindor, it insisted on Ravenclaw. Crushed, she took her place at the table, careful not to look at anyone. She was sure they were whispering about her, the first Weasley to not be in Gryffindor in the last 6 generations. She looked down while eating her food (the aunts and uncles hadn't been lying, it was some of the best she'd ever tasted), willing everybody to not look at her. She thought she'd kind of succeeded, and as the meal ended, she breathed a sigh of relief. But of course, it wasn't so, because somehow life really seemed to hate her today, and Teddy Lupin bounced up out of nowhere, his hair a brilliant blue in honor of his house. "Vicky! Hey, congratulations! The little baby's in my house; though granted, it's going to be annoying. We'll have fun, right? It'll be cool, you'll love it. Won't you? Vic? Hey, where'd you go? Vic? Did you listen to me? Hello! Not cool! You don't just run off, geddit!"

Pushing her way blindly through the crowd, Victoire found the Ravenclaw prefect leading everybody up the stairs. She followed him, blending into the excited crowd so that Teddy wouldn't find her. Didn't he understand? This was such a big deal; it meant so much to the whole family. Whether they said it or not, she knew they had really wanted her, the oldest of the next generation to be in their house. Yes, Teddy had been put in Ravenclaw too, but honestly, he never seemed to care what anyone thought. And because he didn't, no one said anything to him. But Victoire wasn't like that; she was more sensitive, she wanted people to like her, to accept her as one of their own, to be proud of her. She wasn't sure that the family was going to look at her the same way now. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she barely noticed the grand yet comfortable blue and bronze common room, with an amazing chandelier hanging right above their heads and covering more than half the ceiling. She barely bothered to introduce herself to her roommates (Sakura Chang, Jenna Boot, Bridget Connor and Sophia Baker, a muggleborn). She barely bothered to change before falling onto her bed with a sigh, getting ready for a long night.

Lessons were over for the day, and Victoire supposed they weren't too bad. Of course, Potions was a disaster and she just couldn't get the hang of Flying, but Hogwarts was pretty cool all the same. What she loved most about it was the calm and peaceful surroundings. The Forbidden Forest loomed tall over Hagrid's tiny little hut, dark and threatening, mysterious and alluring. The lake sparkled, and the sloping grounds were dotted by trees and students alike. She settled down in a secluded spot and started doing her homework. The humiliation of being but in Ravenclaw forgotten, she worked and worked and worked, completely blocking out everything, until…

"Vic."

Oh, joy.

"Teddy."

"Why'd you run off, Vic? What happened?"

What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? She mentally shook her head. How that great buffoon ended up in the Smart house would forever remain a mystery to her. "Nothing"

"Oh, please, Victoire. Seriously, what's up? I didn't say anything, did I? No, I couldn't have…then what? Did a senior say something…a teacher…nah, it can't be, maybe it was- WAIT!"

She jumped. Why did he need to shout? Now everybody was looking at them. She shook her blonde curls about to cover her face and stubbornly kept writing. Teddy, however, could not be brushed off so easily. He squinted at her, and said, "It's about the Sorting isn't it? You wanted to be in Gryffindor."

Well, OK, so maybe he wasn't such a great buffoon.

"Vic, really? You can't let that get to your head. Look at me. Look at me or I'll start shouting again!"

That did it. Anything to not be stared at. The book was snapped shut, the parchment rolled away, curls pushed back, arms crossed, chin up and blue eyes angry and defiant.

"Vic, no one's going to care which house you're in! Seriously! I mean, yeah, you're not in Gryffindor, but that's not such a bad thing. You're incredibly smart and talented, you deserve to be in Ravenclaw. It's not a bad house, ok? And listen, I know you think Gran and Gramps are going to be disappointed but trust me, they'll be even more disappointed if they knew that this is what you thought of them. You're their first grandkid, you were the one to give them hope after the War, Vic. You gave everyone hope. They'd love you even if you were in Slytherin. They'd love you if you were a Squib. They'd love you no matter what, Vic, you know? They won't care about which house you're in, they'll just want you to be happy."

Victoire stared out at the lake. She couldn't believe how irrational she had been. Teddy was right, he was! Of course he was!

She turned back to him, her hair flying in the breeze and her eyes light up with relief.

She smiled.

"Thanks, Teddy."

He smiled too, and sat down close to her.

"Anytime."