Chapter 2
August 31st, 2017
"I know your secret," Rose said, leaning across the table with a smirk on her face.
Teddy raised an eyebrow at the eleven-year-old (nearly twelve, he reminded himself) sitting across from him. She smiled sweetly at him in return, causing him to chuckle.
"What do you know?" Teddy asked her, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
"I'll tell you only if you pay for my ice cream today," she told him, giving him that angelic smile that he (and every other Weasley male) was a sucker for.
Teddy gave a mock sigh of frustration and rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. "Fine. So, what secret of mine do you know?"
"You fancy Victoire," Rose said, smiling smugly.
Teddy's jaw dropped. He had indeed been fancying Vic for a while now, but he was convinced she didn't see him as anything more than a friend or older cousin. Since he didn't want the whole family to know, he'd only told a few of his best friends, but that was it. He thought he had been keeping it a pretty damn good secret, but apparently not.
"How the hell did you figure that one out, Rose?" Teddy asked, dumbfounded.
She shook her head. "Ice cream first, answers later."
Teddy rolled his eyes but got up to order their ice cream anyways. Since he was about fourteen and Rose was six, it was their tradition to get Florean Fortescue's whenever they could. Usually Teddy would ask her how her school was going and then she would ask question after question about Hogwarts, but today was a bit different. Tomorrow, Rose would be heading off on the Hogwarts Express to start her first year. Teddy knew she'd do brilliantly, but he was still a bit nervous for her.
He ordered their ice cream (a Butterbeer sundae for him and two scoops of Chocolate Frog for her) and then brought their ice cream back to the table. Rose thanked him and they ate in silence for a while. Teddy's mind was still racing and he hoped no one else had noticed his newfound feelings for Victoire.
"It wasn't obvious, you know," Rose said, finally breaking the silence. "It took a while for me to figure it out and I'm positive no one else noticed."
"What gave it away?"
Teddy chuckled slightly at the exasperated look he received in response, as Rose looked like a complete miniature of Hermione, save for their differences in hair and eye color.
"Honestly, Teddy. I know you better than anyone. You stare at her when you think no one is looking and you laugh at all of her jokes that aren't funny. That's how Connor Wood and a few boys at school act around me and I know that they fancy me," she said matter-of-factly.
Teddy shook his head in amazement. Everyone thought Rose was pretty as a picture, but she was only eleven (nearly twelve, he reminded himself) and that's too bloody young to be receiving attention from boys. The picture of an irate, overprotective Ron flitted across Teddy's mind and he couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
"I think you should tell her," Rose continued in a slightly bossy tone. "I'm pretty sure that she fancies you back."
"What makes you say that?" Teddy asked, trying not to get too excited over the news.
"Vic flips her hair a lot more when you're around and she told me once that she only flips her hair when she's flirts with someone," Rose replied, smiling slightly
Teddy wanted to make a comment about how Rose was too young to know what flirting was, but though better of it; he knew Rose well enough to know she'd go off on a tirade about how she wasn't a baby. Instead, Teddy considered Rose's words carefully as he ate his ice cream.
Vic and Teddy hadn't really gotten on well together when they were growing up, as Vic just wanted to play with dolls or follow Teddy around and Teddy found her annoying when he was trying to play Quidditch with his friends. By the time Vic was a fourth year and Teddy was in sixth, she had stopped following him around all the time and Teddy began to find her more appealing. She was smart and beautiful and witty, but totally off-limits. But if she fancied him back, that would change everything.
They ate their ice cream in silence for a while before Rose set down her spoon and looked at Teddy with a worried expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Rose?" he asked, frowning.
"What if I don't make any friends? What if I fail out of all my classes and have to go home? What if the Sorting Hat tells me that I don't fit into any of the houses? What if my roommates hate me? I'll be forced to live with them for seven years! What if one of the Acromantula that lives in the Forbidden Forest eats me? What if I'm the only one who gets homesick and everyone makes fun of me for being a baby? What if—"
Teddy stared at Rose in shock as she kept talking, looking close to tears. For the past few days, everyone in the Weasley extended family and friends had been showing nothing but support for the kids going to Hogwarts for the first time this year: Rose, Al, and Declan Finnigan. The three of them had been inseparable as of late and talked constantly about how excited they were to finally be going to Hogwarts. Teddy had no clue Rose was so nervous about it.
She didn't need to be at all. Teddy had never met anyone as kind and sweet and brilliant and funny. She stuck up for people who were being made fun of and had a smile for everyone. She'd love Hogwarts and everyone in Hogwarts would love her; Teddy could just feel it.
"Rose," he said, interrupting her. "You are going to love Hogwarts. You're going to do well in all your classes and make friends with everyone. And no matter what, we're all still going to love you, so stop worrying about it so much."
Rose bit her lip, not looking convinced. "But how do you know?" she asked in a small voice.
"Because it's me, Rose," Teddy said, smiling softly at her. "I know you better than anyone. Plus, you'll have Al and Declan in your classes and Vic, Dom, Louis, James, Freddie, Roxy, Sean, Connor, Adam, Callum, Teagan, and Miranda there if you need them. Hell, you'll know half the school already."
Rose finally smiled a little as she pushed her bowl of ice cream away from her a bit. Teddy took it as a sign to leave and he stood up, leaving a couple of Knuts on the table. As they walked down Diagon Alley together, Teddy wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulder.
She looked up at him and smiled a little brighter. "Thanks for that Teddy," she said. "You'll be at the platform tomorrow, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Teddy said honestly.
"Good. I don't think I could do it without you."
They walked into the Leaky Cauldron and smiled at the barkeeper as they reached the fireplace. Rose took a handful and walked into the fireplace, grinning.
"Tell her tomorrow," Rose told him. "Or just snog her. Either way you'll get a response."
Before Teddy had time to respond, Rose winked at him and yelled "The Den!" and disappeared before his eyes.
Hm. Maybe he'd have to take Rose's love advice. Even if she is eleven (nearly twelve).
September 1st, 2017
Teddy couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Not only did Vic tell him that she fancied him back, but she snogged the hell out of him and then told him she'd owl him about the first Hogsmeade date.
The train's whistle blew and Teddy swore. He had meant to go see James, Rose, and Al onto the train but he must've been snogging Vic longer than he thought. He spotted Ron quickly, since he was about a foot taller than the majority of the crowd and ran over, pushing and elbowing his way through the crowd. The train started to move and Teddy swore again.
"Teddy!"
He looked down the train and saw Rose's smiling but slightly anxious face sticking out of a window. As he ran over and got a closer look, he saw Al standing next to her, waving goodbye to the family. Rose grinned bigger as Teddy got closer.
"Write to me, Rosie," Teddy half-yelled over the noise of the train as he walked beside it.
"Of course!" she replied. "I'll miss you terribly."
"Have a wonderful time! Be safe! I'll see you at Christmas!" Teddy said, feeling a pang in his chest.
"Love you, Teddy!" Rose yelled out the window before the train sped away.
He watched as the train rolled away, feeling a whole bunch of things at the same time. On the one hand, he was ecstatic that Vic fancied him too and that they had snogged. However, watching Rose leave had hurt more than he thought it would. She'd do wonderful at Hogwarts but he'd miss the kid like hell.
Sighing, Teddy walked over to Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Lily, and Hugo. Aunt Ginny and Hermione both had tears in their eyes and Harry and Ron looked sad too. They each gave him a sad smile, while Lily and Hugo grinned at him.
"Would you like to join us for lunch, Teddy?" Hermione asked as Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Sure," he said, the pain in his chest lessening a bit.
