Beauty and Respect

I sat upon a cold pile of snow, staring in wonder at the mystical background that was in my surrounding. I saw the beauty of the day in that background, curiously wondering where the beauty had come from and what made it so dashingly perfect.

I, myself, was not particularly unattractively, being one-eighth Veela, and luckily sharing most of my mum's characteristics, rather than my father's bright, dashing hair or regular folk look. Not that I thought red hair was unattractive, just that I didn't think it would suit me quite well. I would've to be a little more daring and bold to pull of the intense look, for I was even one of the first Weasleys in generations to be a Ravenclaw and not a Gryffindor. I just thought that compared to the backdrop, I was not a beauty at all.

There were extravagant mountains, covered with pure white snowflakes that brought the whole of Hogmeade to life. There were snowflakes falling in the immediate and distant air, casting a feeling of life and delight. There were the children of the school playing in the background, with smiles and fascinating looks of happiness, especially those young ones who had only seen the great magical town once or twice before.

It was the first snow of the year and there was good reason for delight. It was one of the earliest Hogsmeade weekends and the snow was so prettily and elegantly falling to cover the wizarding town, as well as the school of Hogwarts.

The trip was a wonderful break from the usual daily work, and even though I enjoyed my work, I also enjoyed a break, especially on a frigid, snowy day. Being outside, letting the cold, dry air press against my face on a winter's day helped keep me in tune to the realistic nature of the world.

And as I stared into the realism, I couldn't help but to be a little bit upset. It was my fifth year at Hogwarts, yet I didn't have many that I could share my deepest, darkest secrets with. And even worse, I didn't have a single male acquaintance that I could desire or that would even desire me as a friend, let alone a girlfriend. I was part Veela, but no one cared. I was just another, regular girl, though I was probably worse than the regular girl. No one paid much attention to me at all, not even that boy who knew me when I was little.

At that particular point in time he was playing with a couple of his mates, throwing snowballs back and forth. It seemed like rather a foolish game to me, but he was having fun. His hair was a dashing shade of brown at that moment, and his eyes were bright blue, but I knew that they could change quite easily, with whatever mood came through.

I didn't quite have a favourite look, though plenty of girls my age did. The whole school seemed to be entranced over his unique ability, and many of the girls quite fancied him because of it. He was, in every sense a playboy, and I couldn't help but be attracted to him as well.

But he was pretty much my cousin. He wasn't officially related to me, but my uncle and aunt helped raise him, and he was always at their flat. It seemed weird to think of him as just a boy at school, but that was really what he was to me. We rarely talked on family occasions, so it just came down to school as the primary point of communication, but that was rare. I wasn't even sure if he knew my name.

One of his friends, a tall and dark-haired boy, had terrible aim during the elementary snowball attack. He was aiming for Teddy, but instead the large, wet mixture of snow headed towards my direction. I didn't notice it quite in time, as it directly hit my blond head of hair.

I didn't say a word the moment that it hit, as I was quite shy around those I did not know too well. I decided to wait for one of them to speak because I knew that they would. They were pretty well-mannered for adolescent boys.

It was Teddy who came to apologize. He was closest to me, so I think that was why, but I did hope it was because he was the most courteous of the three. "I'm sorry, Victoire," he happened to say, in a most sincere tone. So he did know my name. "Grady has quite bad aim."

I should have just smiled politely and discarded the incident. I could have even partaken in picking out a snowball and throwing it in his face. That actually would have been quite fun, though my mum had taught me that proper ladies did not engage in activities of that sort, and I did respect my mum.

But instead, I found some nasty words coming from my gloom-filled lips, "Why would you even attempt something like that? You know that I'm right here, sitting in peace, and you decide to play a childish game? What bloody awful gits you and your friends are. Now go!" I pointed my finger at the direction of the Hogsmeade village shops, and I emphasized that I wanted him and his brigade of cronies to leave in that direction.

I was not sure why I made that remark, but as soon as it came out, he looked rather bemused. He soon turned to leave, but before he did I could see a smirk emerge from his face, and a subtle chuckle escape out of his mouth. And as he reunited with his group, the three of them started to laugh even more heavily, making a mockery of my whole statement.

It just made me feel even more awful that no one took me seriously. At least my mum knew how to stress a point. People looked at her and listened. I knew that I was not entirely well respected, but I didn't know how to change that. In my vainness, I knew that I was beautiful, and I knew that I was intelligent. I knew that I was a hard worker and I was correct in almost every statement I made for every assignment I completed. But still, the respect was not there. People just didn't listen to me.

---

Months passed by and I continued to work, busily occupied by the upcoming O.W.L exams. All of the Ravenclaws were studying intently, as the tests were extremely important and no one wanted to do poorly. I was interested as well, but for some reason I was a bit distracted. Ever since that incident of the first snowstorm, I was entranced by little Teddy Lupin.

I never thought I would be like that. I was an intellect and a proper young lady. I was not supposed to be hung over some guy like so many of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls were. Guys were supposed to come to me, head over heels, in love with me. I was part Veela!

But who was I to kid? No one cared about me. I was a snotty, bitchy, rude brat. I didn't have any friends, other than that one Gryffindor girl that obviously used me for my brain power. My kid sister, Dominique, was the one from the family who already had boys seeking out to her. She was the one that didn't have trouble getting attention from the boys.

So what did it matter if I was in love with some boy that didn't love me? No one was interested in me, so why should I bother with pride and medieval beliefs of guys seeking out girls? I had to take part in my hunt for a mate and in order to do that I had to stop being so selfish and so self-centered. I had to commit to being a different person, one that didn't yell at a boy for accidentally throwing a snowball at me.

It was right before a Hogsmeade weekend when I realized that I was just like the others; the other girls entranced by the Metamorphmagus that is. I thought about my favorite look of his and I instantly recalled the first snow day of the year, the last time I had actually spoken to him. His hair was that shade of brown that illuminated the blue eyes so elegantly.

It wasn't because his eyes particularly captivated me or his hair was looking quite nice, but it was because he was so cheerful at that time. He was happy and he was carefree, and I liked him like that. He was fun and I could see through his eyes how much he was enjoying the moment and I realized that I did not enjoy my life like he did. But I didn't know how to enjoy it like he did.

The weekend Hogsmeade trip eventually came, and I was not particularly looking forward to it. It was another cold, wintry day, with probably the last blizzard of the year looming in the distance. By then I was sick of the snow and cold weather. My lips were frail and my skin was dry and I was just looking forward to the time in which my long-discarded summer clothes could be dug out once again.

I sat upon the same hill as the first snow day, and I looked into the beauty of the background yet again. I claimed that spot to be mine since that first find, yet I was having trouble seeing the beauty that I had seen before.

My thoughts before seemed so unrealistic. The mountains were just landmarks, which some people had to climb, with effort and careful attempts. The snowflakes started to fall over my head and they brought a cold feeling of wetness that was not quite as captivating as the first snowfall. And the kids in the background didn't even seem to be having as much fun. It was a stressful time of the year and there had been several blizzards already. Most everyone was inside The Three Broomsticks, drinking Butterbeer and keeping warm. It just didn't seem like the same beautiful place as I remembered.

Then, he exited The Three Broomsticks. He was not far from me and I realized that my heart started to beat rather quickly as he walked alone, without a girl or even a guy friend by his side.

I realized that was a perfect opportunity for me. He was alone, a rarity indeed, and no one else was nearby, so at least if I did something stupid no one would notice. I was not sure what to do to get his attention, but I knew I needed to try. I needed to do something that would make him respect me and to make him realize that I wasn't a snobby brat.

So I thought back to the last time he had made true eye contact with me. That time I was terrible to him and I had thoughts of what I should do, but I didn't end up doing it at that time. So this time I was prepared to do something so uncharacteristic of myself.

I kneeled towards the ground and carefully formed a big, thick snowball using my red mittens as a barrier between me and the cold substance. I stood up quickly with the snowball in my right hand and I aimed it to the back of his head.

I prayed that it would hit him because if it didn't I would have looked rather foolish. But as it reached closer to him, I did not want it to hit him. It would make his perfect self wet and he would be cold. I knew that he probably wouldn't mind if a mate of his was attacking him with a snowball, but it was me. I didn't deserve to be able to hit him with a snowball.

At the last second I yelled, "Watch out!"

He turned around quickly, and moved out of the way just in time. The snowball barely brushed his shoulder, but it did not do too much damage.

He looked at me confused and perplexed and he seemed to be searching for someone else, hidden behind me. "Did you just throw that at me?" he asked in a curious tone. His eyes were still searching for another person, missing from the picture.

"I-uh," I nervously answered. I had his attention, but I wasn't sure what to do with it.

"You did, didn't you?" he finally concluded. "And then you decided against it. But you were still trying to hit me. You've started a war!"

He was playful in tone by then. And within seconds, I saw him transform. He had been characterized by long dark hair, with grayish eyes, but he then changed into his playful look. The one that I loved. And I couldn't help but smile as I gazed into his playful blue eyes.

My eyes were quickly distracted as soon as he threw a ball of snow at me. My first reaction was to yell at him, like I did on that other day, but luckily I was able to keep myself quiet. Instead of yelling, I bent down to form a snowball myself.

My aim actually wasn't too bad. I hit him more often than missed, but he did hit me almost every time, and not in a light way. He was not taking it easy on me, and I did my best to compete with him.

After what seemed like several hours, but was probably minutes, I was out of breath, soaked and tired. He soon took notice and he finally came to my side, offering his cloak, as he realized that I was pretty wet.

I graciously agreed and we started walking together, our faces alight with smiles. "You know you're not bad, Victoire," he finally said, the first real statement since the fight started. "I always thought that you were stuck up, but you're not really. You're fun."

I laughed, amused by his comments. Not many would agree with him about that. "I had fun," I finally admitted to him. "I know I've been a terrible pest to you and many others, and I want to apologize about that."

"Apology accepted," he immediately answered. "Now can I treat you to a Butterbeer or something at The Three Broomsticks?"

"That would be wonderful," I accepted.

We walked, rather silently to the inn, and as much as I enjoyed walking there with him, I eyed Madame Puddifoot's, much preferring to go there. I knew my mum would be quite displeased if she heard about me going in there, but I didn't care. Some day I wanted to be there with Teddy Lupin holding my hand.

Instead, we finally made it to The Three Broomsticks, both of us appreciative to warm up from the cold. The inn was quite crowded, just like I had suspected, as many students were too cold to travel very far during the snowstorm. They enjoyed being out, but being with their friends, sitting next to a warm fire, drinking a hot mug of Butterbeer was just as much as they pleased. And I was appreciative that I had at least one friend who I could enjoy the moment with.

"Two Butterbeers, please," Teddy asked Madam Rosmerta in a pleasant tone.

Rosmerta answered and quickly attended to preparing the drinks. As she was doing it, I noticed that Teddy started to transform his looks again, but I didn't want him to, and I decided that I had the nerve to tell him so. "Don't," I looked into his eyes, which were in mid-transformation. "I like that look of yours."

As Madam Rosmerta placed our drinks in front of us, Teddy definitively stopped his transformation. I was not sure what look he was planning to transfer to, probably the long hair and gloomy eyes from before, but I knew that I wanted him to stay in my favourite look. I was positive about that, and when I saw him stop himself because of my regard, I knew that he had come to respect me. It was just one incident, one time when I let myself become vulnerable and have fun, and he respected me. It didn't even take much effort from my part.

I had changed though. I had allowed myself to have fun and to not be so snotty. My fascination with him made me more insightful and more of a pleasant person to be around and both of us had picked that up from just one incident. I was able to study him and I was able to learn something about him, rather than just thinking for myself. I knew that he looked best with his brown hair and blue eyes, whether or not other people were able to admit it.

"You know this is my natural look," he told me. "Not many people know that, but this is what I really look like."

And somehow he didn't have to tell me that for me to realize it. I could see through him. I could see that his heart was kind and that look of his was pure. I could see there was a harsher side to him as well that he rarely admitted to, but I could see it was there, and that was only from a couple of months of observing him. I could only imagine what I would be able to discover more into the future.

I grabbed a hold of the Butterbeer that had been placed in front of me and I took a sip of it, letting the hot substance warm my body. I stared out of the window that was towards the back of the inn and I watched for a moment as the soft snow slowly drifted to the ground. I saw the mountains in the background, so elegantly topped with snow. I glanced at Teddy Lupin next to me, and I saw his soft eyes looking directly at me. There was true beauty in that moment.