Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe is owned by the flawless JK Rowling. Lyrics are owned by Taylor Swift. Chronicles of Narnia belong to CS Lewis. Wendy (who is mentioned in like, two sentences, but whatever) is mine, though.
A/N: For the "Taylor Swift Song Competition/Challenge" on HPFC by SavannahBanna. My song was I Almost Do by Taylor Swift along with the prompts: photograph, shattered, and dolphin.
and I just want to tell you
it takes everything in me not to call you
and I wish I could run to you
and I hope you know that every time I don't
I almost do, I almost do
-I Almost Do; Taylor Swift
"And they lived happily ever after – the end."
Victoire grins as she closes the tattered storybook, and both Lily Luna and Lucy clap fervently from their places on Lily's bed – the eldest Weasley has always had a knack for story-telling. The rest of the Weasley-Potter clan is residing in the family room, but the two youngest cousins insisted that Victoire read them a book before bed. So that's what she did, because Victoire adores the two ten-year-olds and honestly can't say 'no' to them for the life of her.
"All right, It's time for me to be getting home and you two to turn in for the night," she says with a sigh, hiding her smile when they groan simultaneously.
"Can't you read just one more?" pleads Lily, clasping her hands together, strawberry hair falling over her shoulder.
Lucy nods her head in agreement and then suggests, "Oh yes, we could read The Chronicles of Narnia!"
Victoire shakes her head, giggling. "We've read it three times already, Luce. Plus," she points out, "Hugo will be very upset with us if we read it without him."
Shoulders slumping, Lucy pouts slightly, but makes no further attempt to argue. Victoire stands straight and places the old book back on the shelf with the rest of the storybooks. After a kiss is placed on both of her cousins' foreheads, she turns towards the door. "Goodnight, girls."
"Goodnight, Toire!" Lily and Lucy call after her.
Once Lily's door is closed behind her, Victoire moves to the sitting area. There she finds her of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, and parents all gathered in the normally small room – Mr. Weasley had enlarged it for this very occasion so they'd all fit. In Victoire's eyes, her entire family together is a rather amusing sight.
Uncle Ron looks uncomfortable to say the least. His eyes constantly flick back and forth between Rose, Albus, and Scorpius Malfoy, who they had invited over for dinner. Dominique and Molly II are off to the side of the room, bickering over who is to get the last cranberry tart. Hugo is annihilating his older cousin, Louis, in Wizard's Chess, a skill he has seemingly picked up from his father. On the sofa, James II seems to have gotten bored of Fred II's spiel on how infuriating something or other is, so he gives a tug on Wendy's hair to amuse himself, and she cries out. Turning round with pursed lips, she yanks much harder on one of his dark locks. James howls in pain while the copper-haired female roars with laughter beside him. Overall, all is well in the Burrow.
Victoire waves goodbye to the family, her parents promise not to stay much longer, and she nods her head in acknowledgement. Her heart pangs uncomfortably in her chest when she looks away. The oh-so familiar sight of turquoise spikes and honey eyes evade her. They've been evading her for almost a year now – a year since he left for work. A year since he left her.
The sudden wetness of her cheeks appalls her. Victoire dabs furiously at her eyes with her sleeve, gnawing on her glossed lips. Merlin's beard, she thinks, what has come over me? Whipping out her wand, she imagines herself safe back at home, inside Shell Cottage. The next thing she knows, a tingling feeling slowly spreads from her head to her toes, and she's whisked away in less than an instant.
Victoire plops down on her mattress, a large scrapbook cradled in her arms. She crosses her legs underneath her, and pulls the quilt Mrs. Weasley made for her onto her lap, followed by the scrapbook. Her family is still at the Burrow, so she figures she has a bit of time to herself before they return. With a tired sigh, she traces the worn, lace border with her finger. On the front cover there is a moving picture of two familiar children, one with turquoise spikes and the other with blonde waves. They grin and giggle and dance around the porch they're standing on without a care in the world.
This time, when Victoire's eyes prickle with tears, she doesn't bother wiping them away. Instead, she opens the old scrapbook and flips casually through the pages, being careful not to damage them. Finally, she comes to a photograph that makes her giggle. It was quite a while ago, Victoire remembers. She was twelve and Teddy was thirteen, and her mother had been generous enough to take the two to the aquarium over the summer.
In the picture, she sees herself standing on the platform beside the water where the Dolphin Show is to take place. A little ways in front of her is a familiar Teddy Lupin, who's bending over the side to try and get a better look at the dolphins. When her mother looks away, Little Victoire sneaks up behind Little Teddy and gives him a swift push on the back because they're best friends and that's what best friends do. He falls, arms flailing, into the water with a loud splash. Fleur spins around at the sound, but her daughter is too busy shaking with silent laughter to notice.
Of course, Little Victoire doesn't have much time to laugh, because Little Teddy's hand shoots up out of the water, locks around her ankle, and yanks her backwards. She, too, lands with a splash. Fleur squeaks, rushing towards them in her too-high-heels. Little Victoire, ignoring her mother's hands trying to reach her, sends the turquoise-haired boy a stern look. But all too soon do they erupt into a fit of laughter, struggling to stay above the surface while they giggle. In the midst of the commotion, a sleek, gray dolphin chirps excitedly, suddenly appearing beside the two. The children 'ooo' and 'ahh' at the sea creature, their blue and honey eyes full of delight.
When the scene finally ends, Victoire notices how damp her cheeks are and the strangled sounds coming from her throat. She's crying – properly crying for the first real time since Teddy left almost a year ago. And the realization of this makes her sob louder.
She thinks back to only a half-hour ago, when she was reading to Lily Luna and Lucy. And they lived happily ever after – the end. Why can't she have a happily ever after? What has she ever done to deserve this? If only she could speak to him, maybe then… Her eyes flit around the room, landing on her cell phone lying on the dresser. She lifts her hand to reach for it.
She almost does.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Victoire finds herself musing. What if she were to go find him? Maybe they could be together again. But Teddy must think she has moved on by now, or that she hates him. Either one. Whenever he calls her, she lets it go to voice mail, and later she'll cry while listening to him say he's sorry over and over again. It must not have occurred to him that she can't say hello, and have to face yet another goodbye. The first one was much too hard; he should know, he was there.
But before she can turn to another page, Victoire hears the front door open and the voices of her family fill the house. So she closes the scrapbook, hides it beneath her pillow, and wipes furiously at her eyes until all signs of her emotional breakdown are hidden.
Later that night, he calls her again – again, she ignores it. And when everyone else is asleep, Victoire curls up under the quilt, her cell phone pressed to her ear. She plays back the message he left her and tears spill down her cheeks at the sound of his voice.
"Erm… Hey, Torie. It's me again." It's hard not to smile at his awkward boyishness he never really grew out of. "I… Well, I just wanted to tell you that I miss you. I miss you. And I also wanted to say that there's been an opening at Hogwarts – I can come home. If you want me to, I mean." Teddy pauses, and by this time Victoire's eyes are wide in anticipation. "I'm sorry, Victoire. I am so sorry. Leaving was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I love you. I love you, Toire. So, if you want me to come back, just… just call me back, all right?"
And then the message is over and Victoire Weasley is bawling her eyes out. Her fingers ghost over the screen on her phone, daring herself to press his number. Daring herself to call him, to bring him home. She can do it. She can bring him back to her and make everything all better.
She almost does.
The next day, Victoire is numb. Numb with pain. Her heart has shattered into a million pieces all over again. She could've brought him back, but she didn't. And it hurts to know that. She sits cross-legged beneath the tall tree that has grown overtop Dobby's grave – she often comes here to think. Or sulk. Or cry. Or… well, she comes here a lot. But today, she doesn't feel very much like a guardian to Dobby. She feels as though he and the tall tree are keeping her safe, for the moment that is.
Lily Luna and Lucy both tried talking to her already, as did her mother and sister. But Victoire is in much too deep to be helped. Helped by them, at least. There is only one thing her heart and mind – both of them for once – long for. It has turquoise spikes and honey eyes and the brightest smile she has ever seen in her entire life. Unfortunately, she just buried her chances of ever seeing him again by not returning a simple phone call.
You are such an idiot, she thinks as her head falls into her hands and she lapses into silence. The wind is the only thing that can be heard, until the sound of crunching dirt beneath feet meets her ears. She's about to tell Louis or Dom to bugger off, but she stops short.
"Torie, why didn't you call me back?"
Victoire freezes. She spins around, hair flying around her face, and her eyes widen. Her heart stops, as does her breathing. Slowly unraveling herself from the ball she has wound into, she stands. Her hands begin to shake and her lips begin to tremble. "T-Teddy?" she gasps.
Suddenly, the familiar sight of turquoise spikes and honey eyes and that smile comes rushing back, overwhelming her. So she doesn't try to restrain herself when her body moves forward without the consent of her mind. He meets her halfway. His arms wrap around her waist, and hers lock around his neck. Her lips are on his and he tastes just like she remembers - honey, like his eyes.
They stay like this for who knows how long, Victoire really doesn't care. Tears cascade down her cheeks, and Teddy pulls away when he notices. "Why're you crying?" he mumbles, concern clear in his tone.
"They're happy tears," she whispers, smiling like mad. The first real smile since he'd left. Her fingers twist around his turquoise spikes, and she holds on like she's never going to let go. Because she really doesn't want to.
"Oh, good," murmurs Teddy, pressing his forehead against hers. He breathes in deeply and grins. "Merlin, Victoire, I've missed you."
Victoire gazes into his honey eyes and giggles. "I've missed you, too, Teddy."
And they lived happily ever after – the end.
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