Victoire's 4th Year and Teddy's 6th Year- 2014-15
December 2014
Teddy and Victoire stood side-by-side and waved as the train rolled away from the platform.
"Oh, well," Teddy sighed. "Another Christmas gone."
"Can I believe it is the same Teddy who was in such a hurry to grow up?" Victoire teased.
He smiled down at her a little wistfully. "I can't imagine leaving school and working somewhere."
"I can't imagine what Hogwarts is going to be like, without you." Victoire said, softly.
"Well," said Teddy with a wink. "Very entertaining, I am sure."
"What?"
"With all the young, hopeless blokes, gazing at you like lovesick puppies-"
"Teddy! They don't look at me like that!"
"And eyeing me with jealousy, because I have known you all my life." continued Teddy ruthlessly, slipping an arm around her slender shoulders.
"What about all the young witches who swoon when you enter a room?" huffed Victoire, leaning into him. "If looks could kill, I would have been dead the very first day I arrived."
"That's an idea to get rid of unwanted attention," said Teddy, putting both arms around her.
"All I have to do, if a particularly distasteful girl has designs on me, is pretend that I love you."
"Oh? And where do I benefit in this bargain?" Victoire laughed, wriggling helplessly in his embrace.
"You're welcome to use me for the same purpose."
"To get rid of unwanted blokes?"
"Why, yes." He said airily. "Like ol' Egmont for instance." His voice grew stern. "Or Smith."
"Smith's not the least bit interested in me."
"As of now." Teddy replied cryptically.
They walked to her compartment together, Teddy's hand on her arm, dodging people hurrying by. Victoire pushed the door open, and sat down beside her sister, who was animatedly discussing something with her cousin Molly, and best friend Rachel Penrose. Rachel's elder sister, Rebecca, smiled at Victoire and said: "Were you detained down at the corridor?"
"Yes," Victoire nodded at her best friend. "Teddy thought it would be amusing to pretend to everyone that we were in love with each other."
"And Victoire liked the idea so much, she agreed." Teddy countered smoothly, as he flopped down casually beside Rebecca.
"That's disgusting." Dominique looked up in revulsion. "You're practically cousins."
Teddy, Victoire, and Rebecca burst out laughing, much to the confusion of the three twelve year olds.
"What's so funny?" demanded Dominique looking from one to the other.
"Calm down," Teddy told her. "We're just fooling around."
"So, have you seen Dan?" Teddy asked Rebecca, choking down his laughter with difficulty.
"I think so." replied Rebecca, "He was near the prefects' carriage with Melanie Lacey."
"With Melanie Lacey?" asked Victoire in surprise. "I didn't know he-"
"Was going out with her?" Teddy finished, getting to his feet languidly. "He isn't. But he's been besotted with her for years; and he's got some wild idea that now he's made Quidditch Captain, she'll pay attention to him."
"He's made Quidditch Captain?" asked Rebecca.
"Yes. Over Christmas," replied Victoire. "He was so happy, he sent a very tearstained letter to Teddy."
"Say, I'd forgotten all about that!" laughed Teddy, winking at her.
"But it's the middle of the year," protested Rebecca.
"Yes, but old Rivers chose the middle of the year to back off and say he wanted to concentrate on his NEWTS, and leave poor old Dan to manage and find a new Keeper before the next match."
"Don't you have a reserve?" asked Victoire.
"Not for Keeper," answered Teddy, sliding open the door. "Gotta catch Dan now. See you in a bit, ladies!" He called as the door slid shut behind him.
But it was not until the train had almost reached Hogsmeade station, and Dominique, Rachel, and Molly, had run off to get the best carriages, when Teddy and Daniel West appeared, looking slightly sheepish.
"Where have you been?" asked Rebecca, with her hands on her hips.
"Well, Dan was busy accompanying Melanie wherever she went, and I-I was-"
"Well, what's her name?" interrupted Victoire, tying her blue and bronze scarf firmly about her neck.
Teddy looked dumbfounded while Dan laughed and nudged his best friend. "You'd best tell her, mate. Can't have a sulky Victoire with us for the rest of the journey."
"Griselda Jorkins," admitted Teddy, glancing at Victoire, apprehensively. She looked thoughtful for a long minute and then finally said, "Well, there's nothing wrong with her, as far as I know. She's quite Little Miss Perfection, and a little feather-brained in the bargain. She should suit you finely, Ted."
Teddy only twinkled his eyes at her in response, while Dan let out a dramatic sigh of relief. Victoire instantly gave him a playful slap on the arm. "And I. Don't. Sulk."
"Sure you don't, young Victoire." Dan said genially, and Victoire couldn't help laughing.
"If you lot are done," interjected Rebecca, amused. "we may reach Hogwarts in time for the feast."
The four of them hurried out of the train and into the nearest carriage; and thankfully, reached the castle in time for the feast. Teddy and Dan made for the Hufflepuff table while Victoire and Rebecca walked over to the Ravenclaw table. As Victoire sat down, she noticed Dan at the Hufflepuff table sitting next to Melanie, and nudging Rebecca, nodded in his direction. Rebecca laughed and pointed to Teddy, who seemed totally unaffected by his friend's desertion and was sitting wedged comfortably between two fourth year girls, who were staring at him, openmouthed in admiration, as he talked.
"I expect we shall hear all about it in class tomorrow. We have Charms with Hufflepuff," said Victoire, and directed her attention to her plate.
The next few days passed uneventfully, and ordinarily. Classes were as usual; Teddy was seen escorting various giggling, coquettish girls to classes every day, which was perfectly normal. And as usual, he never seemed serious about any of them, even though he went as far as to snog them in broom closets at times. Victoire herself found two or three 'conquests' as Teddy put it, but she too was not very taken with them.
Victoire went to watch the Hufflepuff Quidditch tryouts on Dan's invitation and watched as a new Keeper was selected. Victoire even found time to catch Dominique and Molly each day and make sure they were alright.
The only really new thing was to see Daniel openly follow Melanie around, offer to carry her books for her, sit with her at meals, and escort her to classes. Victoire found it hilariously funny to see the great Dan West, Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, best friend of school heartthrob Teddy Lupin, and snogger of unsuspecting females, trying hard to get the girl he liked to reciprocate his feelings; and Teddy, to whom she mentioned this to, laughed and said he found Dan's feelings towards Melanie to be "alarmingly serious."
"Why, in Potions today, he turned to me and said that the cauldron of Amortentia smelled to him like Mel's hair," he said, as they walked down to the greenhouses together.
"Then it must be serious," said Victoire and then she nudged Teddy. "You're not jealous, are you?"
"No," said Teddy.
Victoire raised an eyebrow.
"How could I be, when I've got you?" He flung an arm around her. "The love of my life?"
"Oh ha ha,"
"Wotcher, Vic." said Teddy, looking down at her, as she walked down the slope towards him. "Are you coming for the match?"
"Do you think I'd miss it for anything?" she retorted, reaching up and fastening the button on his shoulder.
"Well, I'll tell you this. Slytherin's going to be steamrollered by us this time." Teddy lifted one arm and flexed his muscles, causing the girls nearby to clutch each other and make sounds of awe. Victoire rolled her eyes.
"Of course, you beat us after all."
"Sorry, Vic, but Ravenclaw was easy." He flicked her cheek with his forefinger, ignoring the sighs from the onlookers. "Now, just hang on to my broom, will you? I've promised Dan I'll bring Mel, he's gone down to the pitch early."
"Melanie?" asked Victoire.
"Yes. Lovely girl. You'll like her."
Teddy jogged down the road to the castle and Victoire held his broom for him till he returned immediately, chatting animatedly with a petite girl who was accompanying him.
Teddy made the introductions and as Victoire shook Melanie's hand, she wondered if Melanie wasn't a wee bit quiet to suit boisterous old Dan. Melanie had short curly brown-blond hair and wore enormous brown glasses over deep violet eyes, but when she smiled, Victoire noticed, that her eyes seemed to have a personality of their own. Victoire liked her immediately; and as the three of them made their way to the pitch, found herself chatting with Melanie so easily that they might have been friends for years.
"Well, ladies," said Teddy once they reached the pitch. "We part ways, and when I return, it shall be with Victory on my shoulder, while the other team grovel at my feet for mercy-"
"Oh, all right," interrupted Melanie placidly, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll win. Now run out there or Dan'll wet his pants." Victoire glanced at the middle of the field. The Hufflepuff team was standing there, all either inspecting their brooms or whispering to one another. All except Dan who was doing a kind of desperate half dance in the middle.
"I'd forgotten about poor Danny," laughed Teddy, and ran out onto the field. "Coming, Angus!"
"Good luck to you and Dan!" Victoire and Melanie shouted after him and giggled.
They made their way to the seats at the top, and sat down. Victoire glanced at Melanie, who was gazing rather anxiously at the Hufflepuff team.
"Teddy says Dan's liked you for a long time," began Victoire hesitantly. She never understood how Teddy managed to ask complete strangers about their love lives as if it were the most normal thing to do; and Melanie was as good as a stranger.
"Yes, he has," said Melanie calmly. "Since first year." She gave Victoire a quick smile. "But he only realised that he did in our fourth year."
"Yeah, Dan's a prat." Victoire agreed, and Melanie laughed. "He is. I wondered how he managed to charm other girls without stuttering and stammering as he did with me, whenever we had cause to meet."
"So how did he finally ask you?"
"He didn't. Teddy did."
"Teddy asked you out for Dan?" Victoire couldn't believe it.
"I know. But when I asked Teddy why Dan could not ask me himself, he sprouted some pointless tale about how he had- to quote Ted- 'wider experience in this field than Dan', and therefore would be better suited to the task." Melanie shook her head laughingly. "By the way, what happened to Griselda Jorkins? I thought Ted actually had a genuine liking for her?"
Victoire hadn't known that Teddy was in the habit of sharing his extensive love life with Melanie, but somehow that didn't seem to bother her as it could have, had Melanie been somebody else. "I think she was a bit too quiet and studious for him," she concluded at last.
"And she did have this annoying habit of agreeing to whatever anyone said," agreed Melanie, as the two teams rose in the air, amid loud, raucous clapping and hooting. "I'm sure if I told her, 'you're an annoying old bat,' she'd just sigh and say, 'oh yes, Melanie, dear me,'"
Victoire burst out laughing, startling the bunch of Gryffindors sitting in front of her. Now that she thought about it, despite Griselda's nut-brown hair and provocative eyelashes, she was excessively boring. Melanie was smiling at her, and Victoire smiled back. Yes, Melanie and she were going to be friends.