Victoire was angry. No, angry could not sum it up. The platinum fourth-year was seething with inhuman, pitiless, barely-containable wrath. Today was the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, the day when her Uncle Harry had defeated Voldemort once and for all. But today was something else too. Today was her birthday, and not a single person had mentioned it. Not one! Not her best friend Hannah, or even her cousin James! She stomped on each stair as she went up towards Gryffindor Tower, earning herself a disapproving glare from the Gray Lady and the Bloody Baron, who seemed to be arguing. The normally chatty portraits stopped talking and averted their eyes as she walked by. They had seen her in fits of anger before, and many had rips or scratches after having been at the wrong end of her temper.
She approached the Portrait Hole, and gave the password. "Felix Felicis."
The Fat Lady shook her head. "The password has been changed." Victoire shot a death glare at the portrait.
"What the bloody hell do you mean the password has been changed?" She spat.
"I mean that you have given the incorrec-" The Fat Lady was cut off by Victoire.
"It was a rhetorical question." The blonde moved forward and started pounding on the door. The Fat Lady attempted to shield herself, before quickly abandoning her portrait muttering something about psychotic adolescents.
After what seemed like an hour of pounding, Victoire sank to the floor below the portrait, her eyes brimming with tears. She put her hands over her face, when the portrait creaked open a bit. She jumped up, her temper flooding back, and prepared to give whoever was in there a piece of her mind. She threw open the door to find complete darkness. She walked forward and felt her knee bump along the side of the couch. Suddenly, the lights flooded on. "Happy Birthday!" She forgot her anger for a moment. The room was decorated with balloons and banners and a giant tiered cake sat on the table in the center of the room. It looked as though all of Gryffindor house was there, as well as her friends from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Hannah stepped up, looking absolutely ridiculous in a crimson and gold striped party hat.
"Did you really think we forgot about you?" She asked Victoire with a huge grin on her face. Victoire studied her friend.
"You are the most devious, most cruel, most horrible best friend in the world." Victoire tried to keep her face angry. "And...I love you to pieces!" The blonde threw her arms around her best friend, as the two broke out into laughter.
The party was winding down, and Victoire was sick from eating too much cake. Hannah was tipsy from drinking the spiked butterbeer which Victoire had avoided. She did not fancy getting a hangover the morning after her birthday. "Why's it hard for a ghost t' lie?" Hannah's voice was slightly slurred. Victoire sighed.
"Why?"
Hannah grabbed onto her shoulders. "Because you can see righ' through 'em!" She burst into a peal of laughter. Victoire grabbed onto her friend to hold her up.
"Hannah, I think you better get to bed." Victoire pushed the girl up the stairs and made sure she was safely in the dormitory before making her way back down to join the party. As she stepped off the last stair, she noticed a familiar boy sitting alone in the corner of the common room. He was drinking one of the stolen firewhiskys that had been used to spike the punch, and surveyed the room with a hateful eye. His normally exuberantly-colored hair was a bland shade of brown. Victoire approached Teddy Lupin with caution, sitting down in the armchair opposite him. "Teddy?" The boy didn't look at her. "Teddy what's wrong?" He snorted derisively.
"As if you cared." He hissed, a distorted smile on his face, though he obviously found no humor in the situation. He abruptly stood, and left the common room through the portrait hole. Victoire stood, and hurried after him. She raced after his faint footsteps, down the charms corridor, and finally through the entrance hall and out onto the grounds. He finally stopped next to a giant birch tree that she had never seen before. It was right next to the Forbidden Forest. He sat down next to the tree, and when she was close enough, she could see tears making tracks down his face. She sat down next to him, and took his hand in hers.
"Teddy, tell me whats wrong." She spoke softly but firmly.
When he began, his voice was no longer bitter, but sad and resigned. "You're all up there, celebrating. Celebrating your birthday, but mostly celebrating the Battle of Hogwarts. But it wasn't all good." He shook his head. "Do you know how many lives were lost? How many good people sacrificed themselves?" Teddy stared numbly at Victoire. "The day that is so happy for all of you, that is the day that had made my life incomplete, that is the day that my parents were taken away from me forever." He stood up and pointed to an inscription in the tree that she could barely make out.
This tree commemorates the spot where
Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks
Gave their lives for the greater good.
May 2, 1998
May they forever be remembered.
Victoire stood slowly and approached the shuddering boy. She carefully put her arms around him and held him close. "Teddy." Her voice was barely over a whisper. "I'm so sorry." She raised her hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes, and realized she was crying too. He kept speaking in the same soft tone.
"Last summer, my grandmother Andromeda died. Now I have no one, no real family." Victoire held him tighter.
"That's not true, Teddy! That's not true. You have Harry, he's your godfather, and you have all his family, they're your family too." She lowered her voice so he could barely hear it, she wasn't sure if she wanted him too. "You've got me." He must have heard, for his arms made their way around her, and he pulled her into his chest, letting his chin fall onto her hair.
"Thank you." He released her, but took her hand as they made their way back to the castle. This day was an interesting day, a conflicting day: it was the day that took his family away, and the day that gave him a new one.
A/N: I'm really not sure where this came from...It just sort of popped into my head so of course I had to write it. I've never read any Teddy/Victoire fics before so I hope my idea wasn't cliche. Please review! You know you want to click that pretty button right there ;)
Mwah!~ thechosenone96