Disclaimer: I own -to be sung to the tune of Dr Cox's 'Wrong' song – Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. NO-THING. NO-THING. NO-THING.
Victoire's earliest memory involved him. She was sitting round the Christmas tree at Uncle Harry's – possibly on her Daddy's knee, she couldn't remember – and she had just opened her first present. It was from Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione and it was a shining, new broomstick. Of course it didn't fly very high, it really only hovered, but it was her first, and she leapt up to try it immediately. She shook with anticipation as she gingerly perched on top of it and it began to glide. Gasping and giggling with delight, it was even more fun than it had looked and she swooped daintily around the tiny room, her parents and aunts and uncles laughing with her. Then out of nowhere, a turquoise and orange blur barrel-rolled into the room yelling 'DOWN, CROOKSHANKS DOWN!' and crashed straight into her. She, her brand new broom, and the colourful blur went sailing into the Christmas tree and thudded to the floor, tiny golden fairies zooming in a frenzied panic, and the ugly, and very old ginger cat clawing to get away. Victoire sat up slowly, a wail rising within her as she examined a fat scratch from Crookshanks across her leg, a bruise blooming on her elbow and her brand new broomstick cleaved clean in half. As she began to scream, she heard the adults around her leap to their feet, scolding Crookshanks and Teddy, heard her mother try to soothe her in French, let her Daddy lift her into his arms, and watched as Teddy stomped away in his too-big trainers, blowing a tuft of his turquoise hair out of his angry little face.
She saw him fairly regularly, at least every family celebration they had on her Daddy's side. He used to tug on her hair, telling her that it was too bright for him to look at, and that he would have to chop it off, and why, he would always ask her with maddening superiority, could she simply not change her hair like him? He would compliment this by swiftly morphing his hair from blue waves to curly red to straight blonde, like her own. Then he would stick his tongue out at her and she would retaliate by asking him pointedly why he was at a Weasley/Potter family function, when he was neither? At this point the smirk would slide off his face and Victoire would get told off by her parents for being rude and insensitive. Heavens, he made her furious. Couldn't everyone see that he was being just as mean? Victoire wasn't stupid. She wasn't callous. She knew what had happened to Teddy's parents and that he was Uncle Harry's godson. Her parents had told her many times that he was there because Uncle Harry wanted to include him as 'they were nearly the only family he had'. Well, Victoire reasoned, that was all very well, but he was becoming an awfully difficult person to include and think of as part of the family. Family were meant to love you, and you them.
Things changed slightly when James was born. Aunt Ginny would let Victoire hold the baby while Uncle Harry would take Teddy for a flying lesson in the nearby Quidditch field. Soon afterwards, Rose and Albus and Hugo and Lily were born and the house at Christmas and birthdays was far too full for Teddy and Victoire to get in each other's way. About a year after Lily arrived, it was time for Teddy to go to school. Victoire remembered going to Platform 9 3/4 with Teddy, her parents, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, James, Albus and Lily, Uncle Ron, Auntie Hermione, Rose and Hugo, Ma and Pa Weasley and Aunt Andy, who was Teddy's real grandmother and the one he usually lived with. All the grown ups had paid him so much attention and all the Auntie's started crying and Victoire had watched the colour drain from his hair at the sight of the busy station. He was scared, but he bravely walked round the small circle of people and was hugged and kissed from every side. When he got to Victoire he gave her a sheepish smile and, feeling her mother nudge her gently, Victoire obediently told him goodbye and have a nice time at school.
And of course, Christmas celebrations that year were doubled in honour of Teddy's return from school.
When Victoire started at Hogwarts, she was sorted into Ravenclaw. Being a year below, she had nothing much to do with Teddy, a Hufflepuff. Occasionally she would pass him in the hall and they would sometimes nod at each other. Every now and then she caught a flash of teal coloured hair across the Great Hall at breakfast, and at one point there were rumours circling about a fight he had started with Addison Lestrange. Somehow, she was sure they were rumours. He had mellowed as he grew. He seemed quieter and more polite at Christmases, but not shy. She had shared a couple of detentions with him, forbidden to talk, but he had passed her a note asking her how her parents were. Uncle Harry told Victoire that Teddy excelled at Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Quidditch, and once she saw him looking with Professor Longbottom at a photo display in the Entrance Hall. There were two photos, one of the first Order of the Phoenix, and one of the second. Victoire resisted the urge to join them. She knew that all three of them were the children of Order members.
Looking back, Victoire hypothesised that the turning point in her relationship with Teddy was not attending Hogwarts, but her love of Quidditch. By the time Victoire was in fifth year, she had been accepted into the Ravenclaw team as a Chaser. Teddy, a sixth year by now, was the Hufflepuff Keeper. During their first match against each other, Victoire hurled the Quaffle through the hoop right before he reached it. She thought about the look he gave her for the rest of the match – utter surprise and the look of being impressed against his will. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Katherine Wood, caught the Snitch and won them a landslide victory. When the teams had touched down to the ground, Victoire started toward the change rooms, sure Teddy would sulk. Instead, he marched right up to her, a smile blooming across his face. 'Weasley! I didn't know you could shoot like that!' She had stuttered out a thankyou and tried to shake her puzzlement as she changed back into her school robes. And from then on, they could perhaps, just maybe, have tentatively been able to refer to one another as a 'friend'.
The Christmas of Victoire's sixth year was one to remember. The moment Victoire leapt off the Hogwarts Express, she knew something was awry. Her mother and father were waiting on the platform, huge smiles stretched across their faces, and her mothers clothes stretched far too tightly across her stomach. Victoire stopped short in surprise. Her parents burst into laughter and swooped down to hug her, saying things like 'We're so sorry we didn't tell you' and 'we wanted it to be a surprise!' and worst of all 'we're due on Christmas Day!' Victoire smiled back as best she could, and busied herself by moving her bags around. Teddy waved as he ran past her to greet Uncle Harry, slowing as he noticed Fleur's appearance. He raised an eyebrow at Victoire and she gave him the most excited smile she could muster, breathing a sigh of relief when he smiled back and kept running toward his godfather.
Frederick Jean Weasley was born right on cue. The screaming cries of a brand new baby heralded Christmas morning, which for Victoire, was spent at St. Mungo's. She had to admit, once he was clean and swaddled in blankets, a thatch of bright red hair protruding from his tiny head, he was pretty cute. What felt like every Weasley, Potter, Delacour and Granger who ever lived decided to traipse through the hospital room and exclaim upon the baby and oh goodness what tiny feet and Merlin's Beard what sweet little eyes. Victoire smiled until her face hurt and began counting the different coloured stripes in the wallpaper to stay awake. She felt horrible. How ungrateful and horrid was she, to be thinking of herself at a time like this. Her parents were radiant in their exhaustion, their faces beaming at their tiny son, Bill's arm swung around Fleur's shoulders as she lay on the bed chatting to relatives and friends. Victoire bit back tears, silently talking to her brother I'm sorry, baby brother, I'm sorry that I'm being selfish today, that I don't seem to love you as much as I should- Someone sat down in the chair next to Victoire and touched her arm lightly. It was Teddy, now a seventh year, grinning at her from behind his hair, a vivid green today. He was holding a cup of hot chocolate to her. 'You look so tired, Weasley. Kid keeping you up?' Victoire could've cried with relief as she gulped down the caffeine. Teddy nodded in the direction of the now-screaming bundle. 'He's pretty sweet though. I would've liked a little brother or sister'. Immediately the chocolate tasted bitter. Of course. How could Victoire sit here and resent the newest addition to her family when Teddy, and so many others whose families fought against Voldemort, would never again celebrate Christmas together?
On the train back to Hogwarts, Victoire curled up in a carriage on her own. Her friends had remained at Hogwarts for the holidays, along with quite a few other students, so the train was virtually empty. She pulled out a sheaf of photographs and went thought them slowly. They were of her parents and her new brother, and her cousins and her stomach twisted violently as she realised how long it would be before she saw them again. She bit her lip, revelling in her solitary state, preparing to have a private but embarrassingly long cry. But it was not to be so, for a second later, Teddy sailed through the door of her compartment. He sat down heavily next to her with an exaggerated groan and let his head roll back, closing his eyes.
'…Can I help you, Teddy?' Victoire asked after a few moments.
'Not at all,' he murmured, his eyes still shut. Victoire made to shuffle the photographs back into her bag, but he sat up suddenly and reached for them.
'C'mon Vic, give us a look,' and whisked them out of her hands.
'Hey!'
Teddy was staring at the pictures, his expression unreadable. He flicked through them silently, pausing briefly on a photo of Bill, Fleur and baby Fred. He held it up.
'You must love them heaps, huh?'
Victoire glanced at Teddy's expression. He was smiling faintly, as though he was thinking of something else.
'I do. Very much.' She felt a stab of longing and love and something else. Teddy grinned even wider. He handed her back the stack of photos and leaned back again, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
'Talk to me, Weasley,' he said 'Tell me about school and your friends and stuff.'
'Don't you want to go sit with your friends?' Victoire knew for a fact that Lacey Johnson and Marius Black were on the Express that day.
'Weasley! I'm being supportive and friendly for a change instead of pulling your hair and showing off my Metamorphmagi skills! You'd better enjoy it while it lasts.'
Their first match back at Hogwarts was in the pouring rain. Victoire was battered by the elements from every angle, and she could see her teammates weren't doing much better. Through the sleet she watched Teddy flying back and forth. She could tell from his stance that he couldn't see the goals, but neither could anyone else on the pitch. She leaned forward on the broom and raced toward a Hufflepuff Chaser, a blur of red clutched in their hands. Sure enough, flying directly below them, she could see they held the Quaffle. The Ravenclaw Beater came flying out of nowhere, belting a Bludger at the Quaffle-holding Chaser, and Victoire threw out her arms to catch it as it rolled from the arms of the Hufflepuff. Her hair plastered to her face, and her legs frozen around her broom, she sped toward Teddy and the hoops. Closer and closer she got, her arm tensing to release the heavy ball, when suddenly a gale of tornado proportions whipped her hair across her eyes, slapping the sodden locks straight into her vision. She let out a yell as she dropped the Quaffle and tried to turn her broom, the result being that she smacked side-on into Teddy. She felt him wrap his arms around her shoulders and heard him bellow over the wind.
'HOLD ONTO ME!' So she did. Fisting her hands into his robes as they tumbled off their brooms and plummeted to the ground.
She woke up in the hospital wing, and honestly thought she would never move again. The groan she elicited was, as Miss Pomfrey told her later, 'loud enough to wake the dead'. Victoire rolled over gingerly in the bed, aware that every inch of her felt as though she'd been clubbed by a troll.
'You right there?' Teddy moaned from the adjacent bed. 'Or do you feel the need to drag us both to the ground again?'
Victoire sat up quickly, regretting it instantly as pain shot through every limb.
'Teddy?' the accident came back to her in a rush of dreary images. She looked outside at a brilliant blue sky. 'How long have we been in here?'
'That's okay, Weasley, I accept your apology, don't worry about me. I believe we have been confined to this room for two days now.'
'Two days?...Who won?' she asked stupidly.
Teddy burst out laughing, but stopped abruptly to wince, clutching his side. The ripple of concern she felt was marred by her irritation at being laughed at.
'H-Hufflepuff.' He wheezed. 'Take that. Marius got the Snitch right as we fell.'
'I'm sorry about that.'
'Don't….mention it.' He breathed.
An awkward silence descended and Victoire began to tense, trying to think of something to say. Right as she opened her mouth, she heard Teddy's snores punctuate the hospital wing and she lay down, relief and sleep claiming her. The next day when she woke up, Teddy had moved back to the Hufflepuff dorms.
After those event-filled months, Victoire was aware of something very strange happening to her. It was happening slowly, but happening nonetheless and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about all this. Surely, she had a say in her own feelings? But apparently not, for a weird new infatuation with Teddy Lupin was developing completely of its own accord, despite her attempts to stall it. It was just little things – she found herself taking the long route through the corridor so she could look out at the Quidditch pitch while the Hufflepuffs were practicing; she felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach whenever he smiled at her in passing; the same thing happened whenever she caught a flash of turquoise in a crowd – but when compiled, they made for quite an annoyingly dizzy attraction. One afternoon in the library she was squeezed between two tall shelves, actually climbing to the top to reach a copy of Scamander and Lovegood's Creature Control: Effective and humane charms to wrangle beasts, when she saw a tuft of turquoise hair on the other side of the shelf. Teddy was tall, no doubt about it, but she still hadn't expected to see him this close. Silently, she leapt down from the shelf and breathed slowly. No need to be nervous, she would just say hi, just so she didn't look like an idiot, no reason to be nervous, really, I mean, just how long had she actually known this guy-
Victoire stopped dead as she rounded the shelf and saw him. He was leaning against the back wall, his face screwed up in pure anguish as his hands clutched his hair, which was turning rapidly silver. His shoulders heaved with the silent crying that only true heartbreak can bring. In one hand flapped a single piece of parchment. Victoire was seized with a powerful desire to run, to give Teddy his privacy and leave before he noticed her. But her feet remained rooted to the floor and as Teddy Lupin slid slowly down the wall, his eyes flicked up and saw her. His breath seemed to catch in his throat as they stared at each other, but the tears still rolled down his cheeks. Victoire was frantically searching for words and stuttered out his name. He dropped his head again and held out the parchment to her. Her eyes skimmed swiftly over Uncle Harry's loopy writing until she saw. Aunt Andy. Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's maternal grandmother and only surviving biological family (who actually cared about him), was dead. It had been peaceful, Harry pleaded, and she didn't want a fuss made and that was why he wasn't pulled out of school. Then, 'a turn for the worse', and the Healers at St Mungo's were unable to save her. Teddy, Harry wrote, had been all she talked about in the minutes before her death. By the time Victoire had finished the letter – 'We will be up to get you for the funeral, I promise. We love you. Harry.' – Teddy had calmed, Victoire's presence seeming to act as a sedative. She took a step closer to him. His head was still bowed, his shoulders still quivering slightly. She could hear his ragged breathing, see the glisten of tears on his face and neck.
'Merlin, Teddy….' She didn't know what to say. He nodded listlessly, his voice cracking as he spoke.
'I know.'
Victoire felt cold. He was placating her, making an effort to fill the silence. And she was letting him, despite the effort it was costing him. Disgusted with herself, she dropped to her knees next to him.
'You don't have to talk about it…' her voice sounded stilted and muted. 'Not if you don't…if you d-don't want to.'
He seemed to sense that she was trying and he nodded, dragging an arm across his eyes. Victoire twisted herself so she was sitting next to him against the wall. She handed him back the letter and his fingers brushed against hers. She ignored the pounding of her heart and reached for his hand, linking their fingers gently. He gave an audible sniff and tightened his grip ever-so-slightly. And they stayed like that, in oddly comfortable silence, until the library grew dark around them and they could no longer keep track of time.
The funeral was the week after, and all the Potters and Weasleys at Hogwarts were attending. She met her parents in Hogsmeade, along with her younger cousins, James and Lucy, where they had set up a Portkey to take them straight to the church. Teddy had slipped out silently a few days ago, absent from the Great Hall at meals since the day in the library. As soon as they arrived, her parents ushered her in to sit down in a pew with the other Weasleys and Potters. Teddy was already there, down the other end of the pew next to Uncle Harry, his dress robes ruffled and his head in his hands looking as though he hadn't slept in days. The church was tiny and filled with sunlight, fresh summer air streaming through the open windows and the scent of lilies, Aunt Andy's favourite flowers, wafting around. Baby Fred was quiet throughout the service, his little eyes sombre and placid, seeming to realise the importance of the situation. A very, very frail and tiny old witch got up to deliver the eulogy and Victoire recognised her as the notoriously tough and elderly woman who had raised Professor Longbottom. She spoke about her friendship with Andromeda, who had been much younger than her, but had lived in the same street after the war ended. She spoke about Teddy and how there was no one Andromeda had loved more, no one she would have been more proud of. Victoire felt her lip begin to shake as she thought of him, down the other end of the pew, but she didn't dare to look. It wasn't until Grandma Longbottom finished her speech, her tough, robust little voice cracking slightly, did Victoire see him. Grandma Longbottom called him up to the pulpit, and announced that he would say a few words. He got up slowly, his tall frame looking awkward as he sloped up the stairs, shoulders drooping slightly. He placed two large hands on either side of the pulpit, a lock of shining black shading his eyes.
'My grandmother…' his voice was soft and sounded very thick. His fingers curled around the pulpit as he studied the wood, without raising his head. 'My grandmother was everything to me.' He seemed to be breathing very slowly and deliberately, as though he had to remember how.
'She…lost everyone she had ever loved in the war. And when I got older, and I…I found about this, I didn't understand.' He wiped quickly and forcefully at his shaded eyes.
'I didn't understand…h-how someone could go through so much…and still be…and still be capable of loving.' He clenched his fists suddenly and Victoire heard a sharp, quick breath, as though he was stifling a sob. 'B-But she was. And she never failed to let me know how much love she still had f-for me.' Victoire heard his register shake noticeably on the last phrase.
'I will be…forever, forever grateful to her for teaching me that. That love is limitless. And that it completes a hurting soul.' His composure seemed to be returning suddenly, his breathing getting steadier as his voice got louder. 'She was always honest with me about the troubles she had with the family she was born into.' He chanced a glance up and looked at Harry.
'Every day I thank Heaven that I was born to parents that loved me…so much they died for a cause that would keep us all safe.' His hair was paling now, melting very slowly from black to blue, lightening as it went.
'And I know she felt okay about leaving me because she knew I would be well protected and always loved.' He was still looking up, but out one of the airy windows and into the brilliant sky. 'And she knew I'd understand. And that I wouldn't forget. And that I wouldn't stop loving her.' His voice was quiet again, but his face was free from tears. He seemed to realise he was looking out the window and he shook his head slightly before stepping down with an inaudible 'Thankyou,', crossing back to his seat.
Victoire tried to pay attention t the rest of the service, she really did. But her thoughts were with him, sitting down the other end of the pew, his body far more peaceful now than it had been before his speech. He even chanced a smile at her as the service finished and everyone rose to their feet. Victoire, her parents, and the Weasley's and Potter's congregated outside afterwards. Teddy was standing silently near Harry, looking significantly calmer and less moody.
Ginny, Hermione and Fleur had arranged for the Hogwarts Express to return Teddy, Victoire and her cousins back to school. Teddy looked at Victoire as they said this and she returned his stare.
'You feel okay?' she asked. He raised his head so the sun bathed his face and he gave her a huge, tired smile.
'So much better.'
The train was right on time, as usual. Victoire plastered her baby brother with kisses, allowed herself to be near suffocated by her father's bear hugs, and did the rounds with the relatives, exchanging all manner of embraces and words and promises to write. She ushered her James and Lucy onto the train as it belched steam and whistles, waving as the platform began to slide away from them. She seated the children in a compartment with Exploding Snap and a stash of Chocolate Frogs before retreating to the compartment behind to catch up on some reading. She was just pulling out her Charms homework when the door slid open and Teddy came in.
'Oh,' he noticed the book. 'I'll come back later.'
'No, don't,' Victoire moved her bag off the seat. 'You can stay.'
He sat down next to her wearily and gave her a grin. 'Thanks for coming, Vic. It's your sixth year and all…it was real nice of you.'
'It was nothing, I wanted to. Aunt Andy was always lovely to me.'
'Wow,' he shook his head 'It feels so weird to hear someone call her Aunt Andy, y'know? It feels weird to think of her as anyone but my grandmother.'
'It sounded like she was as close to you as a mother.'
'She was. And she really missed her daughter. She said she was once scared of raising me – scared that she might not be able to do a good job. She told me she was worried that because I inherited Metamorphmagi skills, I might have inherited werewolf tendencies.'
He laughed fondly. Vic smiled at this.
'My father was afraid of the same thing. With me, I mean. But my mother told him that it wouldn't make any difference because he was a werewolf, just like your dad, and they were two of the bravest in the Order.'
'They were, weren't they?' He was looking at her steadily, his gaze uncomfortably piercing. Victoire tried not to blush and looked at the cover of her Charms text.
'Vic,' his voice was suddenly very quiet. She didn't trust herself to speak, but she looked at him. 'Do you ever…D'you ever think about…the future…and the…' his voice faltered and it was his turn to break the eye contact.
'The fact that,' he breathed steadily, running a finger along the spine of her book 'that life is short and "making the most of it" isn't really something that should be put off?'
'I do,' she said quietly. His finger stopped moving and he looked back up at her.
'Merlin, I hope you won't hate me after I say this. I've been…thinking. Quite a lot lately, about the last years of my grandmother's life and how she didn't marry again. She said the memories of my grandfather were enough to see her through.'
Victoire's ears were ringing slightly as he spoke. She took every word and savoured it.
'And it makes me wonder…how would you know if you had found that person? The one who was so right for you, that the mere memory of them was enough. Because for some reason,' he had started to speed up 'I find myself, very annoyingly, thinking about you a lot of the time, and that memory of the library has been what's gotten me through the last week. And it's confusing me and I'm completely in the dark as to how you feel but I just thought I should let you kno-'
Victoire's lips were soft on his and her hair smelt like cinnamon and sugar. Dizzily he reached up and held the back of her head, pressing his lips harder against hers. She pulled away abruptly, peeking up at him from under her eyelashes and for a second he thought that she had been overcome with shyness, but instead her lips fell right back on his, her hands now in his hair, pulling him down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. The blood pounded through them, bruising their lips and wandering their hands. This time Teddy broke away, his hands stroking the sides of her face, his forehead against hers. 'Merlin,' he breathed 'I knew you were part Veela, but this is ridiculous.'
Her stomach flipped as he kissed her softly on the side of the mouth, on her jawline, on her neck.
'Teddy,' she grabbed his hands as they came down from her face. 'Don't worry, don't…if you ever…I'll be your memories if you need me to…' her words came out jumbled – the feeling of his breath on her collarbone was clouding her brain. He stopped, stared at her.
'You are…you're amazing, Vic,' he leaned in once more – and promptly froze as footsteps clattered outside. It was James, bawling about something Lucy had said or stolen or hit. Victoire and Teddy sprang apart as though they were burning as the door crashed open. She got up, placating him, soothing him, beginning to follow him out into the next compartment. Teddy got up and followed her, grasping her hand discreetly.
AN: The ending is nastily abrupt but I'm headed overseas soon and want to upload it before then. Thoughts??