A/N: A response to the 'I Love You' Challenge on HPFC with the prompts 'stars' and 'Shell Cottage.' I'm not sure how I did with my first adventure into next gen, so all comments are appreciated! So, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, enjoy!

Home had to be her favorite place in the world. Although she loved going to school and thought the Grounds at Hogwarts were magnificent, something about the familiar land surrounding the little house she had grown up in. The only setting even comparable to it was Grandmum and Grandpa's.

Staring out at the steady, soothing slaps of the waves against the shore, Victoire let her thoughts run freely through her mind. Only here would she ever find such freedom of mind, with the water below and sky above. Opening her eyes, she turned her face upward, gazing up at the seemingly thousands of stars twinkling down on her.

'They always seem to smile at you.'

Letting her eyelids flutter shut again, she let herself remember his voice whispering that to her not two nights ago. Taking in a deep breath, the smell of the ocean seeped into her body, seeming to penetrate her very soul, calming it in a way no potion ever could.

'What do you mean?'

'They only smile at me when I'm with you.'

'Stars don't smile, silly.'

'Yes, they do.'

For three long days, she refused to let her mind mull over those words, that voice., swiftly changing the subject the one time his name had been brought up at the dinner table. Now, as he again controlled her thoughts from afar, she wished that the events of a few nights ago never happened. If only the family hadn't decided to have a cousin's night on her parent's anniversary.

No, that was a stupid wish. She liked spending time with her cousins. And with Teddy, who obviously came along to their family gatherings. After all, he was practically one of them. She had grown up with him always being there. He was her best friend.

'Do you think you'll ever be as happy as your parents?'

'You mean with their marriage?'

'Yeah.'

'I hope I will be.'

In recent years, the two of them had held many conversations about his parents. Grandpa, her dad, and all of her uncles would tell stories about the unknown Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, laughing about Teddy's mom's sense of humor and bubble-gum pink hair. Uncle Harry always would insure Teddy that his dad was a great man – a mentor and father-figure for him when he was a boy and had no one else. But sometimes, like three nights ago, the wonderful tales weren't enough.

'Ginny always tells me how much my parents loved each other. I know we all hate how gross the adults are when they get all lovey-dovey with each other, but sometimes I wish I could have watched my parents be like that.'

'I'm sorry. I know you miss them.'

'I can't really miss them when I don't even remember them.'

Having grown up with her parents, Victoire often didn't know what to say to him at those times. Heart aching desperately, most of the time she only offered what she could – comfort.

'I owe you so much, V.'

'Whatever for?'

'You're always here for me. You can always make things better.'

'Well, I try to.'

'Believe me, you do.'

Around a quarter to midnight, they had gone outside together. Little Lily had fallen asleep, Aunt Hermione reading a book on the couch next to her as she supervised a game of Wizard's Chess between Albus and Hugo. Molly, Dominique, and Roxanne were in the kitchen with Aunt Audrey making something bound to be delicious, as the four often did when the night reached such a late hour. James, Fred, Louis, Lucy, and Rose raced to complete a 3D magical puzzle as it shifted around midair, laughing and cracking jokes as they scrambled for the moving pieces. No one really noticed when they slipped out, but none of them would have cared anyway.

Immediately, the two of them made their way to the collection of rocks on the cliff. Teddy called it 'The Edge' mockingly, teasing Victoire about how she hadn't wanted to get so close to the edge of the cliff all those years ago that he had first had the idea. Only when he promised to jump off if she didn't come sit down by him did she finally cave, climbing atop the pile of rocks faster than Uncle Ron could shove a plate of Custard Creams into his mouth. She was six back then.

Three nights ago, she had ventured up the small mountain casually, lying down as soon as they reached the flat portion to look up at the starry sky.

She had always loved the nighttime, but hearing the ocean while gazing at the stars seemed even more amazing than either one without the other. It was like chocolate and almonds: almonds were magnificent and chocolate was decadent, but chocolate-covered almond clusters tasted like heaven in her mouth.

Besides, she adored listening to Teddy tell her all about the constellations. Of course, the conversations that began with Orion and Sagittarius consistently grew into the most memorable conversations about family members, friends, school, and life in general.

Standing now on The Edge, she knew that the discussion of three night's ago would be among those other memorable ones. In all honesty, it may very well turn out to be the one she remembered for the rest of her life.

'I don't know what I would do without you, V.'

'You'd get by.'

'I don't know. I think it would be hard.'

'Nonsense, Teddy. You have so many other people in your life that would keep you company.'

'But none of them mean as much to me as you do, V.'

'That's not true. What about Harry and Ginny? They raised you like a son of their own.'

'That's not what I mean. I love them, and love all of my adoptive family members, but… not like I care for you.'

Sighing deeply, she recalled how she had frozen after he had said those words. Privately, she knew that she had started developing feeling for the boy a girl doesn't have for a best friend or pseudo-cousin. But she dismissed them, thinking it normal for a teenage girl to have silly fantasies and daydreams without any real foundations.

Frozen as she was, she hadn't moved an inch as he leaned forward. No thought even made its way into her mind as his lips paused mere centimeters away from her own.

Never before had Victoire been so glad to see Rose, or to be interrupted during her time alone with Teddy. Unaware of the situation, her younger cousin had loudly proclaimed that her parents and the others had gotten home and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny wanted to go home. On the way back to the cottage, Teddy had asked Rose about the puzzle the group had been working on, at once getting an animated response from the fiery girl. Victoire was grateful for it, since it meant she didn't have to speak with Teddy. By a stroke of luck, she had managed to avoid talking to him as the collection of relatives gathered together and left the house in bundles.

Although she couldn't avoid him forever, she knew that in a matter of weeks, it wouldn't be an issue. After she left for Hogwarts, she wouldn't have to worry about seeing him.

She didn't know how that made her feel.

On one hand, she would have time to think about the almost-kiss three night's ago. On the other hand, she wouldn't be able to see him until Christmas. Even the thought of the separation made her heart heavy.

"Am I interrupting?" a familiar voice inquired gently.

Spinning around, she found herself facing the person currently occupying her thoughts.

"No," she replied after a moment, dropping her eyes to her hands. Even looking at him made her insides flutter.

"Good," he answered simply, walking up to stand beside her. For minutes, they stayed silent, staring over the cliff at the moving waters.

"V…" he began, looking over at her. Not knowing what to say, she did nothing.

"How… I need to know something, V," he told her, tone sounding almost desperate.

"Yes?" she responded quietly, afraid to hear the question. What if she didn't know the answer?

"How do you feel about me?" he asked. Victoire closed her eyes, mind running incredibly fast as she asked herself that very question.

"You know how I feel about you, Teddy," she answered after a few silent moments that seemed to stretch into eternity. "I… I love you. You're like a br-"

"Don't say that!" he retorted firmly, reaching out his hand to touch her upper arm. At the sensation of his fingers against her skin, she turned to face him. His dark blue eyes had swirls of chocolate brown in them. "We both know it's not true."

"It is true, Teddy!" she insisted, hating the way she shivered in delight when his hand trailed down her arm. "It has to be."

"I have never, never, thought about you as a sister," he assured her, gaze pouring hers as he tried to make her understand. "Or even a cousin. And I never will.

"You're more than that, V," he proclaimed, fingers finding hers. Raising their forearms, he let their fingers intertwine. "And I think that you realize that. Deep down inside you, you know it to be true. But you don't want to admit it, because you're afraid. You're scared. You're scared because you feel the same way about me."

"I'm young. I don't know how I feel," Victoire responded meekly, breaking away. After losing the connection with his hands, she tucked her arms close to her body, hugging herself to keep from crying.

"Merlin, V! Stop lying!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air as his hair grew pure black. She could imagine his eyes, dark grey with sparks of purple, even though she couldn't see them. "Stop lying to me, stop lying to yourself, just cut with the bloody bull! I'm getting sick of it."

"If you're so sick of it, why don't you drop the subject? Just forget about it!" she pleaded, facing him again.

"I can't do that, V! It's driving me bloody bonkers! I'm going mad trying not to think about it, about you, about these stupid feelings that I have inside me that are ripping my world apart!" he exclaimed before settling into a dark and mournful mood. "It's not like I asked for them, you know. I'm not an imbecile. I know that Harry won't like it. But I don't care. I don't know why I don't care, but I don't."

"I…" Victoire trailed off, not quite knowing what to say. He was right. She was afraid. She didn't want to face those feelings she had been hiding. What if things changed? She didn't know if she could handle it if a… a relationship didn't work out and split them apart instead.

"But you know what? We're not kids anymore," he announced, stretching out his arms to gently hold her face in his hand as he stepped closer. "I have all these … feelings … and I can do whatever I want about them."

Still not knowing what to do, Victoire decided that she wasn't going to fight this. Struggling against it hurt, and just letting him hold her and stay close felt right.

"I love you, V," he admitted softly. "I have for the longest time."

Suddenly Victoire broke down, eyes clouding with unshed tears as she brought her right hand up to his cheek, cupping it affectionately before bringing his face down close to hers.

And to the music of the ocean's waves and beneath countless smiling stars, she nearly burst with happiness as the boy she loved kissed her for the first time.