2. Goodbyes

Teddy Lupin woke up feeling uncomfortable. He had been feeling that way since that night at the club, three days before. He turned in bed, wishing he could just erase his memory from that night and continue to feel normal. His alarm clock said it was almost noon. He rubbed his eyes and his stomach tingled again. It had been tingling like that for a while now, especially when he thought about that kiss.

"Ugh." he exclaimed, covering his eyes with his arm. He had been trying to suppress it, but Victoire's image was there to torture him again. He remembered her slim frame squeezed into that tiny red dress and he immediately felt pressure inside his trousers. His member was up and ready due to his recent awakening. He couldn't let himself think about Victoire that way. She was like his little sister, for Merlin's sake! But as he turned two, three times in bed, his erection just became bigger and more urgent.

I could take care of it once and never think about it again, Teddy thought, his hand wandering towards his nether region. He closed his eyes again, his hand drifting inside his boxer shorts and enclosing his hard member. He moved his hand up and down his shaft, slowly at first, trying to remember exactly what Victoire had worn at the club. He remembered her round breasts filling her cleavage, her waist narrowing, and then her hips curving and framing her perfectly full ass.

He started pumping faster and clenching his member tighter, his hand acquiring a nice firm rhythm. A moan escaped his lips, and he closed his eyes strongly, his mind wandering from his memories and making fantasies of its own. He imagined Victoire pulling down the zipper of her dress and revealing lacy red underwear that matched it. He imagined himself tracing her breasts with his finger, and pinching her nipple.

He was close, he could feel his pleasure pulling the lower part of his belly, and as he moved up and down, he let a quiet moan depart his breath. The Victoire in his mind's eye started kissing him and touching him and just as he was about to enter her, someone in the real world knocked on his door.

He immediately sat upright, his hand leaving his erection, and pulling all the covers towards him, trying to conceal his actions. His granma had the best timing in the world, but he couldn't complain, she always knocked.

"Yes, I'm awake now." he called.

"Teddy, can I come in?" that was not his grandma. Teddy cursed his luck, just the girl he was fantasising about. He suddenly felt ashamed, and promised to himself that he wouldn't use Victoire for that purpose again.

"Yes." he replied, tucking the covers more securely.

As Victoire opened the door and took hold of Teddy's form under the covers and a slight blush caressing his cheeks, she felt her own cheeks begin to redden. She was not entirely sure what had happened that night at the club. She remembered giggling and hugging him, and even kissing him all over his face, and she could swear she felt her lips brush his, but she was almost sure nothing else had happened. And if it had, she could always blame it to the fact that they were struggling, and whatever happened was unintentional. She decided that was the best way to act. She walked towards the bed, forcing herself to cheerfully smile at the heap of blankets and crazy hair that was Teddy.

"You're still in bed? Do you know what time it is?" she asked, sitting down at the end of the bed, trying to pull the covers off of him playfully.

"Yes, well." said Teddy, gripping them tightly around him. "I couldn't sleep last night."

"What kept you up? Are you excited?" she smiled at him, the kind of smile she did whenever she didn't show her teeth: sweet.

"Excited?" Teddy was having trouble getting his mind out of the gutter. Flashes of a naked Victoire passed before his mind's eye, and he felt guiltier still. "For what?"

"What?" Victoire scooted closer to him, aligning her body to his, and then she flopped onto the pillow beside Teddy. "Aren't you starting Auror training tomorrow?"

"Ah, yes." Teddy said, a gush of relief invading his chest. He flopped onto the pillow too, and stared to the ceiling. "I'm still a little-incredulous towards the whole thing. I'll be living in my own flat from tomorrow onwards."

"Your own? More like you'll be living in your own room in a communal flat. You've got, what?, five roommates?"

"Three." Teddy said, turning his head towards Vic. She smiled at him again with that sweet smile. He thought she couldn't look more like a little girl than in that moment. She had her hair ruffled by the pillow, and her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes playful. She was still a kid. He couldn't believe he had used this girl in his private fantasies. He felt a shudder.

"Are they all blokes?" Victoire frowned slightly, and deciding she was better off not knowing, she added: "If you got girl roommates, I bet the place would be a bit cleaner. For your own good health I wish for that."

Teddy laughed. He let his white hair become blue and his eyes brown. He could always feel at ease with Victoire nearby, so he let his guard down. His hair always turned blue when he was having fun and relaxing, and his eyes, although naturally brown, almost never were that color.

"I don't know, yet." Teddy said, turning his body towards Victoire, his erection was no longer a problem, and he was feeling better from his guilt. "I'll write you about it."

"Oh, please do!" Victoire giggled. "I'll miss you terribly at Hogwarts. Your letters will brighten my day."

Victoire turned her body too. They were facing each other and she wanted to touch him, just slightly, to say goodbye to him. She elongated her hand and touched his chest. He looked down towards her hand, and grabbed it with infinite delicacy.

"Vic." he said. He was a tad worried about what she had said before kissing him. She had said she loved him, and he was utterly scared of her bringing the subject up again when sober. It felt strange to him to think she regarded him as something else, but the truth is that they had said they loved each other in multiple occasions, and they had always meant it as siblings or cousins or as best friends. Why had that night been different? Could it had been that she had no intention of kissing him like that? She was always kissing his cheeks and hugging him like no big deal, maybe that was it.

"Yes?"

"About…"

"Yes?"

"Nevermind…"

"About the club?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry about it. Papa didn't notice, I think Dominique did, but I can count on her to keep the secret for us." she said sweetly, her hand still firmly pressed against his chest.

"The secret?" Teddy said. He felt himself blush and just shut his eyes tight for a second to make it go away. "There was nothing to be kept in secret."

"I think getting drunk while still being underage qualifies as a secret we have to keep from Papa." Vic laughed.

"Oh, right. That secret." Teddy lifted his hand and made to move out of bed, but Victoire talked again and clenched his shirt before he could move.

"What secret were you talking about?" she enquired. "If…"

"If what?" Teddy asked, feeling that tingling sensation in his stomach again.

"I don't really remember that well. But if…" it was her turn to blush furiously. "If I happened to do something, you can be sure it was an accident."

"Oh." Teddy smiled nonchalantly. "I guessed as much."

"So did I do something embarrassing?" she asked, wincing.

"Not much." Teddy tried, as best as he could, to look unperturbed. "You danced a lot with Jordan, and I must say nobody would take that kind of dance as innocent."

"Oh, no!" Victoire exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm glad I'll probably never see Jordan again."

"And you hitted me a lot, too." Teddy laughed. "Your limbs were flying in all directions and hitting me as frequently as possible. You should never hit the person who's watching out for you."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I do remember that."

"It's fine. You kissed me a lot too, so I guess that makes everything even." Teddy laughed.

"I remember kissing you all over your face, too. I'm sorry." Victoire blushed even farther.

"No biggie. You always do, anyway." Teddy shrugged his shoulders and turned away from her. He sat down on the bed and stretched.

"Teddy…" Teddy turned to look at Victoire, and he suddenly felt heart struck. She had lifted herself from the bed, her hair was tousled, and her lips and cheeks were red. Her eyes were serious and ice blue. Teddy gulped.

"Don't forget about me."

"I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. You're a pain in the ass, anyway." Teddy said, turning away from her and morphing his blush out of his face.

"You're right." she simply said and stood up from the bed.

Victoire got out of the room, leaving Teddy to his thoughts. She was probably waiting for him to change his clothes so they could go out. She had asked him to spend the last day with her, and he had accepted before they had gone to the club. But he was then unable to move from the bed. He was feeling rather clumsy and fidgety since the whole club thing. It had definitely been a mistake to take her there, and he was not ready to face what his mind was shouting at him. He couldn't like Victoire as something more than a friend, and he knew now that she didn't see him as anything else, too. She had said everything had been an accident, and the disappointment he had felt at her words was really suspicious. She was his little sister, and he was going to make sure everything remained that way.

He got out of bed and changed into a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt of his favorite band: The Bubotubers. He looked at himself in his full-length mirror. His hair was still blue. He hated it whenever it changed to blue, it made him seem boyish. He shook his head and it turned to the white-blond hair he was sporting now. With a final glance and sighing his nervousness, he headed downstairs.

"Ready to go?" Victoire asked, crossing her purse over her chest.

"Where are you going, dear?" his grandma asked from the kitchen. "Don't you want to eat some late breakfast?"

"No, thanks." Teddy replied. "I'll eat something wherever we're going."

"Then let's head out." Victoire said, grabbing Teddy's hand and dragging him to the door. "Thanks for the tea, Andromeda."

"You have a big day tomorrow, don't come in late!" his grandma called after them from the kitchen.

After they had gotten out of the house, Victoire led him to the broom shed. She held her broom and gave him his. She mounted and took off, screaming after her that he should follow. Teddy loved to fly, not for anything he had been captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and having to chase Victoire (who was ruthless when flying was involved) was a fun way to pass the time. He rushed towards her, circling in the air and feeling revitalized by the fresh view of the mountains. Keeping track of Victoire did proved to be a challenged, they had contended against each other for the past two years, Victoire was Seeker for Gryffindor, as he was for Hufflepuff. And he had always admired her enthusiasm for Quidditch. More than once had he lost to her in the field, and he still licked his wounds from time to time.

Soon enough, Victoire started flying high between the clouds. Muggle villages were in abundance in this part of the country and they had to be careful. But Victoire suddenly swooped low, and made him hurry to catch up with her. She dived, and he dived with her. He was matching her for every move and he felt in peace. Victoire finally descended enough to hit the ground and her feet touched the soft grass of a big meadow. Teddy landed right behind her.

"Are you ready?" she asked, grabbing his hand and taking him into the muggle village.

"Where are we going?" he asked, squeezing her hand and shouldering his broom.

"Aunt Ginny did a favour for us." they entered the muggle village, and even though they were a bit suspicious with two large brooms on their shoulders, nobody seem to notice the two young wizards roaming the streets. "Come on, it's right around the corner."

They got into an alley that was surrounded by large brick walls. Victoire took out her wand and tapped the bricks with a musical rhythm. The wall automatically folded itself, revealing a large metallic entrance. She tugged his arm, and walking into the metallic alley, she took out two tickets from her purse. At the end of the alley, there was a bloke at a gate, and giving the tickets to him, he let them in into what seemed the upper part of an stadium.

"What's this?" Teddy gasped, his eyes sinking into the landscape before him. The lights and the hoops and the grass and the players unfolding before him.

"Surprise!" Victoire exclaimed, tugging his arm into one of the chairs. The stadium was empty except for tiny figures at the very bottom, no doubt the couches and the referee. "Aunt Ginny gave me the tickets. She had to pull some strings, but she did it gladly. I know the Montrose Magpies is your favorite team, I'm sorry I couldn't get you into a game, I hope this practice in enough."

"Are you kidding me?" Teddy asked, his eyes glued to the players figures zooming in and out of the field. "This is amazing!"

Victoire giggled. The practice was delightful to both teenagers, as they were both avid Quidditch fans. They followed each movement with excruciating detail, and commented about it eagerly. Teddy's hair, had turned from his usual white blonde to black and white, showing his appreciation for the team. And when the practice ended, Teddy was so elated, that he hugged Victoire as thanks.

"That was unusual." she murmured.

"What?" Teddy said in an absent minded way. "Did you see those flips in the air?"

"Yes." Victoire responded, her cheeks firing. It was true that they had an intimate relationship, and hugging was practically an everyday thing, but in 99.9% of the time, Victoire was the one that hugged and Teddy was the one being hugged. "Let's go, Ted."

"Oh, Merlin. Let me just admire the view a little longer." he said, gazing into the now empty Quidditch field.

Victoire was suddenly heart struck. His white and black hair suddenly started fading to his characteristic blue, and his eyes sparkled. His cheeks were flushed from the excitement and his arms were on his waist, his chest puffed out. If Victoire could etched a moment in her mind for the rest of the year she was not going to see him, this was the way she wanted to remember him.

"Thanks for the farewell gift." he said, smiling at her with his boyish grin.

"It's not over." she said, smiling broadly and taking him by the arm. She laughed and leaded him towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" he said, laughing with her.

"It's tradition, we have to go." she said, tightening her grip on his arm. When they exited the stadium they were someplace else. It was an alley adjacent to Diagon Alley, and around them a bunch of stores specializing in magical creatures stood. She leaded him into Diagon Alley and away from the stores. When they arrived to the heart of it, Teddy's mind remembered the tradition and it came into him.

"Fortescue!" he exclaimed, smiling like a little kid.

"Yes! We ought to have our last ice cream before you go. I'm just sorry this year it won't be while getting our supplies for Hogwarts." she said, giggling.

"Vic, you are one amazing friend, you know." he said, sitting down at one of the outside tables. Victoire followed him and left her broom perched on the railway.

"What's gotten into you, Teddy Lupin?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I can't be nice to my little sister?" he said, mockingly.

"It is unusual, though. First you hug me, and now you praise me? You must be getting sick." she said, wrinkling her nose. "And I am not your little sister."

"I don't know." he said, feeling his face heat up. "I guess I'm just happy."

"Good, that was the point of doing this whole thing." she said. After several minutes, their ice cream arrived and they ate it in silence, just savoring the moment, and to Teddy it felt as if this part of his life was coming to an end. It really was the last time he was going to be a reckless teenager, it was the last time he would be careless and free. It came down on him hard, and he felt a knot in his throat.

"It truly is the last time." he murmured.

"We can always come in a holiday." Victoire said, smiling shyly.

"I hope so." Teddy looked up from his ice cream. "I mean, I don't know when I will be able to come and see you again."

"Don't be over dramatic. We'll still be in contact with each other. We'll owl all the time." she said, reaching out to him. She squeezed his hand, but he withdrew it quickly.

"Who knows." Teddy shrugged. Why is my heart hammering so fast?, Teddy thought.

"What do you mean by that?" Victoire frowned, trying to hide her disappointment about Teddy's reaction. "I still need to report to you about the matchmaking game."

"What?" Teddy laughed out of nervousness. "You're doing it?"

"Of course!" Victoire met his gaze with seriousness. "I'm serious about it, and I said I'd do it, didn't I?"

"I thought you would forget about it." Teddy grumbled. His heart was definitively hammering faster than usual, and his chest started to tighten.

"Oh, no." Victoire said. "I already have plans for it. You'll see."

"Fine." Teddy declared, feeling uncharacteristically grumpy. "Nott would never fall in love with you."

"I don't get why are you so sure." Victoire wrinkled her nose again, looking away from him. "I have veela blood, you know? And I have good references about me being interesting and funny. Maybe you're the only one who wouldn't fall in love with me."

"How could I? You're my little sister." he said, rolling his eyes.

"I am not!" Victoire said, her anger taking her by surprise. "We are not related by blood."

"Why are you getting angry? I know that." Teddy laughed.

"Then don't pretend we are!" Teddy's laughed only helped fueled Victoire's anger.

"I'm sorry." Teddy said, slightly astonished. "I was just…"

"Making fun of me." Victoire crossed her arms over her breasts. "You're always doing that."

She's pretty when she gets angry, Teddy thought. She even looks sexy with her face flushed like that. And then he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. There it was again, the tightening of his chest upon recalling the stupid game and how Nott was going to have her.

"If you want a boyfriend just get it in the conventional way." he said, dismissing the subject.

"I don't want a boyfriend. I want to prove you wrong. I'll demonstrate that not only guys are capable of falling in love with me, but that my matchmaking skills are flawless." she said, taking a more relaxed stance and feeling her anger subsiding.

"Fine. Just don't fall in love with him too. He'll break your heart."

"I can't promise you anything, Ted. I think I'll let things run themselves out." her eyes were dead serious again, piercing into Teddy's eyes, and making his stomach flip and his insides churn.

"Vic, you're just going to end up badly, I can already see it. And I won't be there to pick up the pieces!" Teddy's emotions were all over the place.

"You are so freaking sure I will end up heartbroken and he'll dump me, but you just can't see it, Teddy Lupin! And that's exactly why I need to do it!" Victoire's words were final. She was going to do it, Edward Nott was going to fall in love with her, and when she was sure he was head over heels, she was going to dump him. It sure was silly and childish and even mean, but to her, proving to Teddy that she was desireable was her top priority.

"I'm against it." Teddy declared, standing up and grabbing his broom.

"You dared me in the first place! And you're just afraid you'll lose!" Victoire called after him, grabbing her broom too. Teddy mounted and flew away. Victoire followed him, not losing sight of him not even for a moment. If he flipped, she flipped, if he dived, she dived. And so, after some minutes of that, Teddy arrived at his house. He landed on his front yard and dismounted, exasperated.

Victoire came down next, her hair ruffled and her face pink from the cold air that hit her face. She dismounted too, and she set her serious eyes onto Teddy's face. He looked angry and annoyed.

"Why are you being like that?" she asked.

"Because you're my-"

"Don't say I'm your little sister!"

"I don't know! I just know this will end badly!" Teddy combed his blue hair with his fingers, and then sighed in an exasperated manner.

"For Nott, maybe." Victoire mumbled.

"If you're going ahead with it, just don't give in so easily." he said, feeling embarrassed.

"Give in? You mean having...sex?" Victoire felt her cheeks redden.

"Argh, you know what I mean."

"You know I wouldn't do it if I wasn't-"

"I know. But if you do fall in love with him, just bare in mind that he's a playboy and he'll do it with anyone."

"I won't do it."

"Good." Teddy and Victoire then proceeded to awkwardly stand in front of the other. Victoire was a bit happy about Teddy being against it, but she was sure it was for a brotherly reason, and it bothered her.

"Well, then. I might as well get ready for tomorrow." Teddy said. Victoire stepped forward and hugged him from the waist. She buried her face on his chest, trying to get as much Teddy as possible for the coming year.

"Please be careful." Teddy said. He hugged her back, and as he lay his chin on Victoire's head, he realised something. Could it be I'm jealous?, he thought.

"I will." Victoire said, pulling apart from the hug. "Why is your hair so pink?"

"It is not." Teddy said, shaking his head and turning it blue again.

"It was cute pink." she said, ruffling it with her hand. "I'll miss you, Ted."

"I'll miss you too, Vic."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

And with that, Victoire mounted her broom again, and flew away.