Author's Note: Okay, so to make up for my lack of work in the past year, here is a story, and here's a promise to do better in the New Year. Oh, and I just own the idea, the plot and the baby.
It was, what someone may call an interesting day of an interesting nine months for one particular branch of the Weasley family, not that what had happened had not affected everyone in some way, shape or form. There were people who may have wanted to judge, however, after they saw her, unconscious, laying in a hospital bed with no colour in her naturally pale face, nobody could bring themselves to do it, it was not the first time that she had ended up in this situation, just the first time that anyone besides her sister had found her, and then she just would not wake up. They had (the nurses and the Hogwarts staff) had kept her in the Hospital Wing for a couple of days, praying that she would wake up, and when she did not, she was transferred over to Saint Mungos. He did not know, she never had the opportunity to tell him, he was, only Merlin and Harry Potter knew (He was on an Auror mission), meaning no contact unless it was absolutely necessary, she did not think that she was worth it, and also the young woman was scared of his reaction. How was Teddy going to react to what was going on? She wanted to graduate, to finish with the best marks on her N.E. that she could possibly receive, so everything else in her life ended up taking a backseat to her studies. Every time that she collapsed, a voice inside her voice told her to stop, but she wouldn't, being the stubborn person she is, just like all the other Weasley and Delacour women. Her sister found out, and attempted to help her, but what could a fifteen year old do, but listen to her older sister and try? Eventually Victoire somehow managed to complete her studies, and then they took her back to St Mungos, it was as if all of the pressure that was holding her together was released, and it was worse than it had ever been before.
Harry had offered to bring Teddy home, but she refused, she was not going to add to her pain and her stress. The fact that she did not want him home, as she usually did, along with all the other information gathered from the healers, her behaviour and the facts that Dominique had been obliged to tell the family allowed all of the pieces of this particular puzzle fit together.
The sky was covered in grey clouds, no blue could be seen anywhere from Shell Cottage, it was as if a storm was brewing, however it was the calm before the storm, something that one would think is particularly peculiar for the middle of May, but that didn't stop Louis from going down to the beach with his mother as Bill worked and his two older sisters sat on the couch. Dominique smiled as she lounged out on the large, comfortable couch, her straight, and her Weasley red hair tied up in a messy bun as she watched something on the muggle television. Her older sister by just over two years sat beside her, her hair was messy, dark circles rested permanently under her eyes as she rubbed gentle circles into her two-month old son's back.
"Vic, you know he's asleep, right?" Dominique asked her sister, taking her eyes off of the television for a second.
"So?" Victoire sighed, and kissed the baby's forehead gently, continuing to rub his back.
Dominique rolled her eyes and sighed. "Sleep, you idiot. I'm pretty sure that he won't wake up."
"He'll wake up, I'm fine Dommi…" She sighed. "Hey, I'm not an idiot."
"You had sex with Teddy, you're an idiot anyway." The younger girl smirked and continued before her sister could attempt to intervene. "You've said that, several times after collapsing. So shut up and go to sleep."
"Dom, there are some things you just don't understand, and this is one of those things." The blonde started.
"Don't give me that crap, Toire. You're not even supposed to come down here, and I know you didn't sleep last night." Dominique rolled her eyes. "I don't know why they let you out of the hospital last week, when you can barely climb a flight of stairs, but I'm pretty sure bed rest was involved."
Victoire looked at her younger sister with an annoyed expression plastered on her face. "You can't babysit me forever Dommi." She mumbled. "He's fine, and I'm coping." Her voice cracked on the last syllable.
"Victoire Apoline Molly Weasley, stop." The younger teenager said, reciting her older sister's full name. Her face softened slightly, and she looked back at her gently, before sighing. "Give Callum to me, and then you can sleep here, on the couch."
Victoire shook her head and held Callum closer in her embrace. "He'll wake up." She said quietly.
Dominique opened her mouth to argue as a knock on the door was heard. The redhead sighed and shook her head, exhaling deeply as she stood up to open the door. She was in absolutely no hurry to open the door, however after approximately twenty seconds, she reached said door, and opened it. On the other side was an electric blue-haired, hazel eyed, grinning man wearing a Weird Sisters t-shirt and a pair of jeans. As he saw that it was Dominique, his giant grin faltered slightly, but not much.
"Nique." He greeted her as Victoire's eyes snapped up at the sound of his voice.
"Edward." Dominique greeted back. "Why're you here?" She asked. "Aren't you supposed to go see Uncle Harry after you get back?"
Teddy raised his eyebrows. "Um, I sort of came to see my girlfriend…your sister? Yeah, but I wanted to see Vic first. I went home, had a shower and then I came here." He replied, slightly offended at the defensive tone. "Since when did you call me Edward?"
"Since you had sex with my sister…that's your name." She replied, using the same tone, with a hint of annoyance.
He rolled his eyes at her antics. "Yes, but no one called me that, it's only on my birth certificate… Are you going to let me in, or do I need to climb through the window? Because it's been nine months since I saw Victoire." He sighed. "How'd you find out about that anyway?" He asked as a side note.
The redhead shrugged. "Vic's not here, and I know everything." She said, glancing at the couch using her peripheral vision for a split second, before looking back at him.
Teddy exhaled and looked back at her. "You're lying. She never leaves without her handbag, and I'm an Auror. I know how you lie Dominique." He sighed. "Why don't you want me to come inside?" He asked her.
The ginger haired teenager sighed. "Go straight to the kitchen." She mumbled, opening the door for him, and watching him as he followed her directions.
Victoire began to hyperventilate, she was not ready for this, and she did not have enough strength in her for the forthcoming conversation, whichever way it was going to play out. Callum remained asleep in his mother's arms, completely oblivious to the situation unfolding around him. In that moment, for a second, she wished that she could swap positions. She knew that she could not run, and this would have happened at some point or another, however, if she had have had any control over the situation at all, it definitely would not have been anything like this, at all. She would not have been weak, Callum would not have been two months premature, she would not have collapsed at all, Callum would not exist, and she would not have gotten pregnant and had a baby at the age of seventeen. However, there was no point in dwelling on what could have been. Dominique's re-entry into the living area without Teddy calmed Victoire down a bit, but the older sister continued to hyperventilate.
"Can't do this…" The eldest breathed. "How'd you get him to stay there?"
Dominique smirked. "I gave him food." She shrugged. "Yes, you can, and you're going to have to." She said softly, giving her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. "Just remember that I don't want to hear you two having sex, and I'm taking my nephew upstairs, because then it's easier without Teddy automatically seeing him." Dominique explained before tenderly took Callum from her grasp, keeping him asleep as she did. "See, he's fine Toire." She whispered.
Victoire narrowed her eyes at her younger sister and stopped hyperventilating, yet the panic was still evident in her eyes. "Don't drop him." She told her sternly. "Why can't you just stay, and talk for me?"
"No, A. He's here to see you, B. It's your thing to, and C. If I have make-up sex with Teddy, it's just weird."
Victoire cracked a slight smile at the fifteen-year-old's antics. "You're not having sex with Teddy, I'm not having sex with Teddy, no one is having sex with Teddy."
Dominique laughed and smiled softly. "Hey, the Snow Queen cracked a small smile, I haven't seen that in a while." She teased, before her tone of voice completely changed with seriousness in it. "You know where I am if you need me." She chimed, before climbing the staircase with Callum in her arms.
Victoire breathed in deeply, attempting to calm herself down, even if it was only slightly. There was barely enough time for Victoire to take five deep breaths and readjust her position on the couch before Teddy entered the room. There was an incredibly awkward silence between the couple as Teddy took in the weak, frail form of his girlfriend and as Victoire waited for him to speak. Neither of the two knew how long the agonisingly painful awkward silence lasted, until Teddy broke it with one word. "Hi."
Victoire nodded and chewed on her lip nervously. "Hi Teddy." She replied softly. "Isn't that a shirt I left at your flat?" She asked, her voice weak and strained, attempting to make conversation of some type.
"Yeah, it's one of mine that you stole, then left it at my place at the end of summer, before I left." He replied, continuing to take her appearance and fragility into account. "What's wrong?" He asked softly.
Victoire rolled her eyes weakly. "Tactful Ted." She sighed. "To what are you referring?"
"Vic… you know what I mean, you look weak and sick, you're not playing it off as if its nothing, so you know what's wrong, you've changed so much in what? Nine months?" He replied, sitting next to her on the couch. "Vic, talk to me, please?" He begged.
Victoire shook her head; she could not physically do it. She wanted to lean on his shoulder, and to have him embrace her, but if she did not tell him, someone else would. She could not honestly figure out how to though. "It's a long story…" She finally decided to say.
Teddy raised his eyebrows at her sympathetically. "I have the time, I always have the time for you." He whispered, awkwardly reaching for her hand, and beginning to stroke it with his thumb. In his concern, his hair had changed from the normal electric blue to the sandy brown colour of his late father.
Victoire drew in another deep breath, allowing herself to look into Teddy's eyes, which she was able to see were full of concern, and love for her. "I came home, well, um… j'ai quitté Hogwarts juste après j'ai fini mes N.E. -" She started.
"Vic? Vic… I can't understand French, Love." He stated sheepishly. "Please explain in English, so that I can understand and then I can help."
Victoire exhaled deeply, and turned her warm brown eyes back up to him. "I left Hogwarts about two months ago, just after I'd finished my N.E. ." She repeated. "That was the wrong word, um, something sort of happened, and then circumstances led to me being in the Hospital Wing, and then they transferred me to St. Mungos, and I came home a week ago." She attempted to explain, albeit briefly.
Teddy looked at her and nodded. "The circumstances? Two months? Why didn't you contact me? Or get Uncle Harry to?"
Victoire sighed; she was only adding the questions. "Yeah, two months. Because I wasn't going to pull you out when it was completely unnecessary, and Uncle Harry offered…" She mumbled the last part.
Teddy sighed deeply, looking at his girlfriend with sympathy. "Why were you in hospital Vic?" He asked again.
The blonde looked down, before connecting back with his eyes. "Collapsation, I was unconscious for a few days, Dommi can tell you all about it. Mum and Dad have all the medical details, so does Uncle Harry." She sighed.
Teddy listened intently as she spoke. "You, you… you collapsed?" He asked, his voice rising in volume in panic.
"Teddy, I'm right here…" She reminded him gently, before he could interrupt her again, she continued. "My N.E. were everything, I needed to pass, so basically nothing else mattered to me, I only ate when I was starving, sleep was less important than studying-" She was interrupted.
The now sandy brown haired man shook his head. "I told you not to do that…" He sighed.
"Since when have I listened to anyone?" She asked him. "It wasn't the first time I collapsed, or the first time it'd landed me in St Mungos, Ted, that was the worst one!" She exclaimed, not even bothering to think before she said it.
"What?" He asked, shaking his head. All the man wanted to do was hold her close, just so that she would not break in front of him, but he was slightly concerned that doing that, might make her break anyway.
Victoire purely nodded in shame, and paused for an instant to make sure that Callum was not crying. "Teddy, please relax." She pleaded, the stress of this situation and conversation was tiring her out, and she honestly had absolutely no idea how much longer she was going to be able to stall telling him the entire truth.
After a couple of seconds, the twenty-year-old resumed stroking the back of her hand with his thumb gently, moreso trying to prove to himself that she was still there more than anything else. Victoire smiled weakly at the closeness between the two of them, and attempted to not think about how she may ruin it. As Teddy thought about everything, the reasoning for the amount of collapsations and how it continued to get worse, something was missing; the puzzle was incomplete because at least one crucial piece was missing. "Vic?" He asked softly.
"Victoire looked up tenderly. "Mhmm?" She replied.
"Something's not right, you're not telling me something." He told her quietly.
"Don't overreact. Please don't yell." She whispered, if she did not tell him now, she probably would not, and it was almost certain that Dominique would just yell it down the staircase. Or else Louis and her mother would come back, and Louis would tell him. She had truly thought about making Callum tell him when he was old enough, however, she just could not bring herself to go through with doing that "Remember how the night before I went to Hogwarts, we had sex?" She asked him quietly, attempting to start the process.
Teddy locked his eyes with Victoire and nodded, continuing the tender stroking of the back of her hand with his thumb. "Yeah, which was amazing." He replied. "I think we did it a fair few times that night."
The blonde smiled slightly at that and the memory. "Yeah, it was…" She replied gently. "Um, well somehow I ended up pregnant…" She explained, well, attempted to anyway, it had been less tactful than she had hoped for.
Teddy sat there, his mouth open agape as he regarded his girlfriend. As soon as the word "pregnant" had left her mouth, he had stopped moving completely, as if it had fried all of the circuits in his brain. This continued for a few minutes, during which Victoire was hopeful at the fact that Teddy had not screamed at her yet, but the silence was not exactly what one would call welcoming either. The only indication that Edward was still alive was the fact that his heart continued to beat, and his abdomen moved slightly, showing the indication that he was continuing to breathe. Eventually the man managed to move his jaw, however no sound came out of his mouth, as if he was attempting to put all of the pieces of a puzzle together. When he spoke, it was not loud, a hoarse tone, only slightly louder than a whisper. "I'm so sorry Vic…" He continued to stroke the back of her hand once. "You should have made me come back early."
Victoire looked at him astounded, it was the exact opposite reaction of what she had expected from him. He was coping better than Dominique and the rest of her family actually had. "Yeah, but I didn't." She replied softly. "I know, and that's how this ended up happening." She said softly.
"How what happened?" He asked for clarification, his mind still reeling at the new information.
Victoire shook her head and looked at him. "The collapsing and everything, partly, well, mainly because of what I was doing… I wasn't going to abort, and I didn't." She mumbled, only just coherent enough for him to hear and fully understand what she had just uttered. "I-"
"I'm sorry." He interrupted her again, the urge to hold her as close as possible continuing to grow.
"Ted, I love you, but you need to stop interrupting me." She sighed before continuing on what she had started to say before he had interrupted her this time. "I didn't miscarry either." She continued, prior to the opportunity of him interrupting her again. "No, no stillbirth, and I'm not still pregnant." She finished. "You can talk now." She stated hoarsely.
Teddy shut his mouth again, looking down into her chocolate brown eyes, which were identical to her aunt's. He was a father, he could not be, he did not know how to be one, and his career would keep him away. "Um…err…" He managed to say. "But that would mean…"
She nodded gently, her strength running away from her. "Yeah." She opened her mouth once more to speak before he cut her off again.
"But, you should still be, or you should've just given birth." He said in disbelief. "What did you do?"
The young woman exhaled deeply and raised her eyebrows weakly. "He was two months premature…" She said quietly. "He's upstairs, with Dommi." She continued in the tone. "I couldn't give him up after all that pain I went through, and I didn't think you'd want to either, and by the time I was out of surgery, they'd all fallen in love with him. I know I can be a horrible person sometimes, but I couldn't take him away from them."
"You're not a horrible person, you don't have it in you to be a horrible person Vic." Teddy managed to say before focusing on the other facts.
They sat there awkwardly, Victoire not having any idea on what to do until Teddy gave her some indication of what was going on inside his brain. He continued to remain quiet and immobile, and so she decided to give him the rest of the information. "His name's Callum William, I put Lupin on the birth certificate without even thinking about. I thought about naming him Remus, but he doesn't look like one, and Uncle Harry said that I wasn't allowed to name him after him." She paused to breathe properly. "He was so small when he was born, and his right lung collapsed, they didn't think he'd last the night. I held him for a minute before he was put in the incubator, and gave him breathing tubes. After about a month he was fine, they'd fixed it, and he was deemed as healthy, but he cracked one of my ribs and I'm still recovering from everything… I collapsed again when we were supposed to leave, and now I'm supposed to be on bed rest." She stated, breathing deeply after she had finished speaking. "Please say something, I might vomit if you don't."
Teddy scanned her face affectionately, taking the information in, hoping for a lack of an overload. "You collapsed again?" He asked, the concern in his eyes shining through. She was his top priority; everyone else that meant the world to him had basically been taken from him; his parents and his grandmother. Sure, the Potters and Weasleys were important to him, but no one was as important as Victoire.
Victoire bobbed her head in agreement, playing with his finger nervously. "Yep." She responded. "I don't remember it, but James found it funny, up until the healers rushed in, or at least that's what I have been told."
The sandy brown haired man nodded, opening his arms for her to lean against his body. "Vic…" He sighed, as she accepted his invitation gladly. "Do you realise that bed rest means staying in bed right?" He asked in a slight joking tone.
Rolling her eyes, she leaned further into his embrace. "Yes, I'm well aware of that, I'm not stupid Ted, I just wanted to be closer to people." She shrugged, leaning her head against his chest.
"I'll take you upstairs if you want." He offered. "Do I get meet my son?" He asked nervously after a couple of seconds in delay.
"Later, I'm comfortable here… If you want, but you'll have to pry him off of his aunt, who is quite fond of holding him."
"No, come on, I'll carry you." He replied gently, chuckling slightly at her response, as he tenderly lifted her up to carry her to her bedroom.
After having had climbed the staircase, carrying his girlfriend, he gently placed her in her bed, and looked at her trying incredibly hard to remain awake. He smiled and purposely changed his hair colour back to the electric blue it generally stayed. "Sleep Vic," he said softly, climbing into the bed after having had have taken off his shoes. "I promise that I'm not going anywhere." He whispered as she curled herself into his embrace. "Unless it's the toilet, but you'll understand then." He added, lightening the mood ever so slightly.
Victoire nodded, planting a gentle kiss on his jaw. "Mmkay, but get in here to hand Callum to you." She said as her eyes fluttered closed.
Teddy pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. "Okay." He replied, as Dominique appeared at the door holding the baby.
"How'd you do that?" Dominique asked quietly, looking at her sister. "How'd you make her sleep?"
Teddy chuckled. "Boyfriend magic." He replied in a whisper. "Besides there's also the fact that I can carry her up the stairs to the bed."
The redhead rolled her eyes. "So, now you know…" She sighed in exasperation, smiling at her nephew.
Teddy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, is that him?" He asked, and then he reached the realisation of what a stupid question that appeared to be.
"Yeah… She's told you that I have to give him to you, hasn't she?" Dominique asked.
The blue haired man bobbed his head in agreement. "Basically, can I please have my son Nique?" He asked.
"Shut up and give him Callum." Victoire said, before Dominique could object, her voice was drowsy, and she did not even bother to open her eyes, before going to sleep.
The fifteen-year-old grumbled. "Just support his head, and be careful." She commanded as she handed Callum to his father.
Teddy nodded, holding Callum with his free arm, the one that wasn't holding Victoire in place. "I know, I remember." He replied, admiring his son's features, choosing which characteristics came from whom. Victoire had been right; he didn't look like a Remus at all.
Dominique watched, smiling slightly before making sure that her older sister was actually asleep. "What are you going to do about work?" She asked curiously.
Teddy chewed on his lip, not tearing his eyes away from his son. "I have absolutely no idea, but I'm sticking around, and not going on any missions until Vic's better at least. I can either work something out with Vic, move to paperwork and managing, I have a feeling that Harry wouldn't have an issue with it at all, or I still have the qualifications from my N.E. to become a healer or a teacher. But teaching means I'm still away more. I really don't know." He replied.
The fifteen-year-old jiggled her head in understanding and breathed deeply. "You're going to have to talk about it with Toire." She told him, before changing the subject slightly. "I told her this, and I'm reiterating it for you. Please no make-up sex when I'm in the next room." She begged him, partially joking.
"No promises, and we haven't broken up Nique, so just sex with you in the next room is apparently fine." He chuckled, glancing at Victoire, before looking back down at Callum. "I think at the moment we're going to be a bit busy for that."
Dominique rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "Maybe…" She sighed deeply. "Did you really not talk to Uncle Harry before coming here?" She asked in a completely different tone, one filled with curiosity and suspicion.
"He knows that I'm back, I waved and mouthed that I was coming here, and then I went home and cleaned up, before, well you know what happened after that. So in the sense of actually talking with him, I didn't. But we did communicate quickly at the office." He replied.
After that, Dominique nodded and left the small family alone, letting her sister sleep. Allowing Teddy to get some bonding time with their infant son, to see his eyes for the first time, and the first smile caused by him. Every moment was precious, especially precious to him. Even though he had been deprived of parents, he was intent on being there for Callum, for Victoire, and for any other children that the two of them may or may not have in the future. He could not imagine his life without them now, and he planned on making sure that having them was the way it was going to stay, no matter what sacrifices he was going to have to make for them, it was going to be worth it.
Author's Note: Woo! So what did you think? I wrote this on exchange in France, and it's taken a while to actually type up. I wrote this because I was looking for a fanfic like this, and I couldn't find one, hence, voila. I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think. There are heaps of prompts and ideas floating around (Check my profile for what's in the pipeline just for HP). If you have any queries or anything, feel free to contact me through a PM. Feedback is always appreciated. Until the next time my lovelies!