Teddy glanced around the platform anxiously as he hopped out of the Hogwarts Express. Pale smoke gushed out of the train, fogging his vision. He tapped his foot impatiently, squinting into the large crowd. Harry had promised to be there on time, but Teddy seriously doubted the man's time keeping skills. He prayed silently that Ginny would be even slightly more trustworthy. It was only his first year at Hogwarts, so Christmas break was a big deal for the boy. It was the first time he would see his odd assortment of family in months.

Just as Teddy started to panic, he noticed a rather un-subtle movement in the corner of his eye. His eyes brightened considerably when he saw Harry waving to him while running across the platform. Teddy grinned easily as his godfather skidded to a stop just before crashing into him. Behind Harry, Ginny walked slightly more calmly, rolling her eyes at her husband's antics. Little James clung to his mother's neck, gazing curiously at the reunion.

"I thought you would never get here!" exclaimed Teddy, glaring at Harry. But his wide grin gave away his true feelings, so Harry just smirked back.

"Teddy, Teddy," Harry said, putting a carefree arm around his godson's shoulder and guiding him towards the entrance to the rest of the station. Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry's back and shook her head in frustration, as she was left with Teddy's surprisingly heavy trunk as well as her young son (who was getting fussy at the lack of attention. Great. At least she had left Albus with her mum). "I know for a fact that the train got in less than five minutes ago." Harry turned his head to look at his young godson, still smirking.

"Yeah, well, you should've been here earlier," said Teddy, lacking a better comeback. Harry just laughed, amused.

"Just be glad Ginny reminded me to be here at all, otherwise you'd be on your way back to Hogwarts right now," said Harry jokingly. Truthfully, he'd been counting down the days until Teddy came home. He was more like a son than a godson to Harry, and he was anxious to have him back home.

Teddy sent a glare towards his godfather as they walked through the barrier into the muggle world. He knew Harry was just poking fun, but he still had abandonment issues. He would never tell anyone this, but Teddy secretly believed that his parents had never wanted him to begin with, that they went to battle in hopes of getting away from their son. He knew this was completely irrational, but the orphan believed it nonetheless. Teddy was just glad he had the support of his ever-growing makeshift family, especially his best friend, Victoire. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"Hey, Harry?" asked Teddy, "When am I going to see Vic?"

"Ginny's going to Floo Fleur later to make plans," Harry answered absent-mindedly, squinting into the parking lot, trying to find their old Ford. "Hey, Gin, can you make an appointment with my optometrist later?"

"Of course, dear," said Ginny sarcastically, "And speaking of appointments your wife needs to make, perhaps one for her chiropractor. Because if you don't take this trunk from her soon, she may just need back surgery," James giggled as Ginny glared at Harry. Harry smiled sheepishly as he took the trunk off of her hands. As he turned, he finally spotted the elusive car. He jogged ahead of his family, lugging the trunk behind him. Ginny grinned at her husband's back and winked at Teddy, who chuckled quietly. It was good to be home.

Teddy was bored. Really, really bored.

He lay on his bed morosely, staring at the plain white ceiling. He wasn't even thinking; his eyes were out of focus as he listened to the blasting wizarding wireless next to his single bed. Teddy turned his head to stare at the wireless. Why was he even listening to this? He hated the Weird Sisters. He just groaned and resumed staring at the ceiling.

What was so interesting about this ceiling? Absolutely nothing. But in Teddy's mind, it was much better than homework, which was what he really should be doing. But it was Christmas holidays, for Merlin's sake! He should be having fun. But, alas, no one was there to relieve the boy of his boredom. Ginny was out at the supermarket and Harry had been called away to work on short notice. Teddy clearly remembered his godfather muttering about the owl he had received as he donned his cloak. Paperwork: that was the big emergency. Teddy's lipped twitched fleetingly as he thought of this. At least someone else had to suffer through this torture.

The worst part of Teddy's current situation was that it was New Year's Eve, albeit early in the day. It was even the Potter's turn to host the annual family celebration; shouldn't there be things to do? Apparently not, as Ginny had already cleaned the house and was out getting her last minute supplies. All there was left to do was cook, and that was something Teddy definitely couldn't do.

He moaned and flipped over onto his stomach, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. But that stupid wireless was too loud. Was it just him, or was it getting even louder? The awful CD he had gotten from Percy for Christmas seemed to overtake even Teddy's bitter thoughts. He grunted in frustration as he pushed away from the comfortable cushions. Teddy felt as though his ears were about to burst from the strain of the blaring guitar solo.

But as he turned to shut off the wireless, his scowl stretched into a manic grin. Victoire stood next to his wooden nightstand, her hand hovering over the volume dial. Her eyebrows were raised and she wore her unique crooked smile. She sighed mockingly at her best friend and mercifully shut off the wireless.

"Victoire!" exclaimed Teddy as he hopped off of the unmade bed and engulfed the girl in a tight embrace. "Merlin, I missed you!" It was the first time he had seen Victoire since he had come home; she had spent Christmas with her family in France. She just laughed merrily as she squeezed him back, swaying back and forth.

"I missed you too, Ted," Victoire said, "It just wasn't the same without you. I can't wait 'til I get to go to Hogwarts, then you'll never leave my sight again!" Teddy nodded vigorously, laughing loudly in joy. He hugged Victoire even more tightly, picking the petite girl up in his enthusiasm.

Ginny leaned against the doorframe, gazing at the pair of friends fondly. A warm smile graced her freckled features as she watched the two catch up, holding hands all the while. Ginny knew this was an unconscious act between the two, something they had always done. But they were getting older now; Ginny couldn't help but see the small gesture as something more. She was pulled from her thoughts abruptly by the doorbell. It was probably Luna, who had had Albus and James for the morning. With one last glance at Teddy and Victoire, Ginny dashed down the stairs, anxious to have her sons back in her arms again, something she wouldn't be able to do with Teddy. Not anymore.

Teddy and Victoire were holding hands. That was the first thing Bill Weasley noticed when he entered the Potter home behind his wife. Of course, this was nothing new. But what worried the man was the fact that they never let go, not once.

Bill mingled with everyone during the party, a drink constantly clutched in his hand. He never strayed far from Victoire, though. He kept throwing suspicious glances at his eldest daughter and her best friend throughout the night. Bill wouldn't call himself a protective father exactly, but weren't the two getting a little old for this hand holding business to be innocent? He glanced at his heavily pregnant wife, his brow scrunched together in confusion. Fleur didn't seem worried, but had she even noticed? Was he the only one?

Bill ended up standing by the fire, the crackling flames glinting across the scars on his face as he brooded silently. Just as he was about to go and refill his cup with more of the intoxicating Firewhiskey (Eggnog flavored. A little strange, but oddly tasty), a tiny blonde head bobbed up to his waist. A pair of blue eyes peeped up inquisitively.

"Hullo, Daddy," greeted Bill's youngest daughter, Dominique. She was so very young, so very innocent. Victoire had been like that once, but look at her now - holding hands with that Lupin boy, laughing, giggling … Bill's lips thinned considerably. It would have impressed a certain professor greatly.

"Daddy," said Dominique confusedly, "Why are you staring at Teddy?" She cocked her head slightly, looking up at her father.

Bill blinked a few times before looking down at Dominique, who looked so much like her mother. He smiled warmly before grabbing her hand. Dominique giggled loudly and started swinging their arms back and forth. Bill was probably just seeing things. Neither of his girls would ever be involved with any sort of boy, anyway. "No reason, Sweetie. How 'bout I get you some butterbeer? But don't tell your mummy, I'll get in trouble for spoiling your dinner."

As Bill pushed through the crowd of talkative family to the crowded and steamy kitchen, he heard the gleeful laughter of a young boy and girl float gently behind him, haunting his ears for the rest of the night.

Teddy was laying on the soft leather couch, his head hanging over the armrest. He picked his arms up slowly and let them hang in the air for a few moments before letting his hands drop over his eyes heavily. He dragged them down his heart-shaped face, moaning softly. Victoire sat next to him, curled up in a ball, almost cat-like. Her eyes drooped, threatening to shut with every second. Every so often she would rub them, attempting to keep herself awake. So far, her effort had been fruitless.

All around the pair of young friends their older family members talked rather loudly (and in some cases, rather drunkenly). Ron and Harry were laughing extremely noisily as George reminisced about the old days, their wives giggling around them. Molly and Arthur sat by the fire with Percy and his wife, Audrey. Arthur seemed to be nodding off as Percy told an "amusing" story about the office, but Molly fixed that with a quick jab of the elbow to his side. He snorted loudly in surprise and started nodding enthusiastically to try and cover up his little slip. Percy just laughed amusedly and continued with his story.

Victoire snapped her eyes open again, just as they were about to shut for good. She smiled sleepily at her father and mother as they walked down the stairs arm in arm, just after putting a protesting Dominique to bed. Fleur gave a small wave to her eldest before heading off to join her in laws. Bill smiled back fondly before glancing at the maple cuckoo clock that was hanging above the fireplace. He blinked rapidly in surprise before turning to his family.

"Hasn't anyone checked the time recently? There's only 30 seconds left," he said. The whole family exchanged grins before staring at the small clock intently. Teddy lurched upright and nudged Victoire. She opened her eyes quickly and stood up for the first time in an hour, dragging Teddy with her. She threw a glance his way, and caught his eye. They smiled at each other excitedly before starting the countdown.

Each second dragged by, more slowly than was normal. When they finally reached the highly anticipated cry of "one", the enchanted bird figurine popped out of the cuckoo clock, screaming wishes of a happy new year. Confetti had started falling from the ceiling as the large family exchanged well wishes, hugs and kisses abundant.

Victoire watched the celebration happily, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright. She adored the feelings of warmth and love that filled the atmosphere. Nothing could be better than that.

But she was wrong. Teddy had come up behind her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. But that wasn't it; that was nothing to Victoire. What filled her with such joy was when Teddy bent down speedily and pecked her cheek. The quick kiss was filled with such unsaid adoration, devotion. Victoire knew herself that this was meant as friends, but both she and Teddy could sense something more there, if only subconsciously. She looked up to her best friend and squeezed his hand back, her crooked smile and sparkling blue eyes lighting up the dimly lit room. Or so it seemed to Teddy, who gazed back at Victoire steadily.

Luckily for the young boy, Bill had not witnessed the small display of affection. But two others had.

"They'll be married before they're twenty-five," said Harry offhandedly, turning to Ron as he took a deep sip of his Firewhiskey.

Ron snorted amusedly into his red plastic cup. "Yeah, right. I say before they're twenty."

"Thirty Galleons?"

"You're on," said Ron, shaking his friend's hand as he flashed a nervous glance towards Hermione. She was looking at the two men suspiciously. He seriously doubted his wife (or any of the Weasley women, for that matter) would appreciate gambling on the pair's future love life. But she wouldn't be complaining once they were thirty galleons richer, and that was just about guaranteed in Ron's mind. After all, he had experience in this "young love" business. He looked over at Hermione again, only this time lovingly and with a sickly sweet smile.

After a few moments of contemplation, Ron turned his attention back to the two lovebirds with a happy smirk. They were back on the couch, their eyelids fluttering heavily. Teddy was sitting cross-legged, his elbow leaning against the armrest. He held Victoire in his arms as she leaned on his chest. Seemingly permanent smiles were worn on both of their faces. Only one thought drifted through Ron's mind as he watched the friends fall asleep in each other's arms. Yes, he definitely could see thirty galleons somewhere in his future.