A/N: I guess Sirius's 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs' inspired me. 'Dragons from the Realms of Glory' comes from 'Angels from the Realms of Glory'. (No, I've never heard of it either). And if the Queen lives as long as her mother (101) she'll still be Queen in 2015. Poor old Prince Charles. The Christmas Remus is referring to is the one in HBP, which has also been floating around in my head lately. Also…forgive the last line. ;)
Chapter Three: Resolution
The Lupin family were having a lovely Christmas. Every year, they would spend the morning and afternoon at home, with Andromeda coming over, and then would usually go to Molly and Arthur's Christmas party. Ted spent most of the morning absorbed in the trilogy of murder mystery novels his parents had given him, whilst wearing the dress robes his gran had bought him to wear for graduation in the summer. His dad and gran were in the kitchen cooking Christmas dinner, Olivia listened to the wireless Christmas play and Mum admired the necklace Dad had got her in the mirror.
"I don't get why these are always so gruesome." Ted said. "Do people like horrible things on Christmas Day?"
"Apparently they do." Mum said, "Last year, when Thingy got pushed off a cliff, I think half a million people listened."
Ted laughed in recollection. It was wrong, but he could hardly take 'being pushed off a cliff' seriously when it was in a radio play.
"That was so sad…" Olivia said quietly.
Christmas dinner was, as usual, perfect. This year, they were trying some new Muggle thing called 'crackers'. The toys inside were to be expected from Muggles, but Ted thought he looked rather fetching in a bright orange paper hat. He and Olivia also discovered what a strange sense of humour their family had.
"What did the policeman (that's a Muggle Auror, I think) say to the stomach?"
"I don't know!"
"You're under a vest!"
Mum, Dad and Gran all laughed. Ted and Olivia groaned and drank some more Butterbeer. Shortly after that, the Queen's speech came on the wireless.
"What does the Muggle Queen do?" Ted asked his dad.
"Er…Queen sort of things. Visiting foreign nations, opening buildings, posing for pictures, and, of course, making speeches to her people. Not bad for someone who's about ninety."
"Are we really her people, seeing as she doesn't know we exist?" Mum asked. Gran shushed her.
"Of course we are, that's why they broadcast it on the wireless. She is a very prominent Muggle and one worthy of our deepest respect."
The adults were silent as the Queen went on. Ted leaned across to Olivia and whispered to her;
"Will you be singing 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs' for Gran today like you used to?"
"Only if you sing it with me." She told him, and he grinned.
"Come on then…God rest ye merry hippogriffs, let nothing you dismay…"
This distracted Mum, who sang with them, and before long, everyone was singing.
"Oh, tidings of ferrets and mice, ferrets and mice, oh tidings of ferrets and mice!"
"OK, how about; Dragons from the realms of glory…"
"Wing your flight o'er the earth…"
There is always something of a lull on Christmas afternoons. Ted, after helping Gran wash up (it was the same every year-she insisted on doing it, even if she was the guest of the house-probably just didn't want Mum to do it) came in to the living room to find his parents slumped in the chairs while Olivia was hidden behind her new easel and board. As the afternoon progressed, his dad was beginning to feel more ill, and looked rather peaky. Perhaps the red Santa hat was draining him.
"Hello, Dad, Mum, Liv." He said. While Dad and Olivia greeted him, Mum did not respond. Ted turned to look at her; she was fast asleep and her mouth was wide open. Her bright blue paper hat covered one of her eyes, exposed the red and green hair her son had as well. He smirked. "Has someone taken a picture of this?"
"Too much turkey, I think." Dad said, looking at her with a smile.
"You feeling alright?" Ted asked.
"I've been worse." He replied cheerfully, though sounding slightly tired. "Are you alright? You've been quiet today. Do you miss Hogwarts?"
Ted was sharply reminded of Victoire and Edgar. What were they doing right now? "…I'm fine, I just…" Perhaps it was because it was Christmas, but Ted was struck with the urge to open up his troubles. "Victoire's got this boyfriend she's spending Christmas with. He's a git, but…at the same time, not a git. She seems to like him a lot. I don't know why I'm so upset about it, I guess I just…"
"Would rather you were in his place?" Dad said.
Ted hesitated a moment, then said; "Yeah. Yeah, that's it."
"Well…you have three options. A, you sabotage the relationship and take her for yourself. We'll call this the Sirius Black approach; because he's the only person I knew who managed it without getting severely hexed. Then you have Option B; you give up. We'll call this the Remus Lupin approach; because it's the kind of thing I would have done in your situation. Finally, we have Option C; you wait. The relationship won't last forever, and when it eventually ends will be your time. We'll call this the Nymphadora Tonks approach. I may not have been with another woman when she fell in love with me, but for reasons I won't go into, your mother is an extraordinarily patient woman."
Ted looked over at Mum. She was hardly in the most dignified position, but he had always known that she had a heart of gold-an incorruptible substance as well as a precious one. He decided, though reluctantly, that her approach was the best one.
Suddenly, there was an exceptionally loud squawk from upstairs. Mum woke with a start.
"What in the name of turkey was that?!" Olivia and Dad burst out laughing. Ted recognised the sound.
"It's Thunderbird, Rupert's owl." Ted said. Thunderbird, or Thunder for short, was so called because he was the noisiest owl in the school, though he was more commonly known as 'that bloody bird'. Ted headed upstairs, hearing his family converse behind him.
"My mouth wasn't wide open just now, was it?"
"Oh no, no."
Thunderbird was hopping around outside Ted's window. Looking at the angry expression on his own owl, Hibou, Mum wasn't the only one Thunder had woken up. He let the bird in. Thunder had, unsurprisingly, brought a letter from Rupert.
Dear Ted,
Merry Christmas!! I hope you're having a great day at home with your parents and sister. Did you get the Hobgoblins album you wanted? If not, I did, so you can listen to it here. I normally give Thunder a break on Christmas Day, but I have some news that I am sure will interest you.
You may remember that last year some girls from Beauxbatons came over for an exchange. You probably don't know much of the specifics as it was in the year below, but a rumour went around that, nine months after the Beauxbatons girls went home, one of them had a baby. I'm not sure how the story got ressurected (probably someone's penpal or something) but it turns out it's true, her name was Genevieve. Now, which Hogwarts boy was particularly close to Genevieve during her exchange?
That's right, you guessed it. The whole school, or at least everyone who's here, knows now, so Edgar didn't bother denying it. Victoire was pretty shocked, but being a forgiving sort of person, she wasn't going to dump him if all he did was make a mistake. So, first of all, she asked him the obvious question; did Genevieve keep her baby (so he would know where it was, and send it presents and so forth) or did she put it up for adoption? According to Wendy, Edgar didn't know, and didn't seem to care that he didn't know. Thoughtful, eh?
So, needless to say, Victoire is single again this Christmas, and alone. Perhaps she needs an old friend? Nudge, nudge!
Merry Christmas,
Rupert
"Poor Victoire. Poor Genevieve, as well." Dad said, as Ted showed them all the letter.
"I know. What shall I write to her-Victoire?"
"Don't write her a letter." His dad advised. "I wrote your mother a letter one Christmas. Judging by her response, I think she'd much rather have seen me."
"Well, how am I supposed to see her? I can't get to Hogwarts."
Dad ignored him. He seemed deep in thought for a moment, and then said. "Ah, but Hogsmeade will be open, it being a village."
"Victoire couldn't get there. James has gone home to his parents, and probably taken his Invisibility Cloak with him."
"You're thinking strategically, Ted, but not in the right direction. You know the ins and outs of Hogwarts pretty well. There's more than one way to get into Hogsmeade."
"The cellar of Honeydukes will have an Anti-Apparition charm on it, so I couldn't get in. They probably don't want to be burgled."
"Come on, Ted." Mum said, encouragingly. "Little building in Hogsmeade…you can get to it from Hogwarts...the grounds of Hogwarts…"
"Do you know what they're talking about?" Gran asked Olivia, who shook her head.
"Ted," his dad said, looking him straight in the eyes. "Think; what is the one building in Hogsmeade, which is accessible from the grounds of Hogwarts, which wouldn't have an Anti-Apparition Charm on it because no one would want to go in it?"
The answer occurred to Ted immediately; "The Shrieking Shack! I'll get Victoire to meet me there!"
He leapt up, feeling a rush of excitement like a child on Christmas morning. Before he bolted up the stairs, he turned to his family and said; "Thank you!!"
Ted sent Thunderbird back to Hogwarts with a letter to Victoire, telling her the route to the Shreiking Shack and to meet him there that afternoon. She did not reply, but he decided to trust her and Apparated to Hogsmeade. It was freezing cold there; his dress robes really were meant for June. He ran towards the tumbledown building, and focused on it. A split second later, he appeared inside. She was already there.
"Hey, Ted." she said, softly. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." He grinned. She leant forward and gave him a friendly hug. "It's nice of you to come and see me. I…"
"I know about the Edgar thing." he said. "Rupert told me."
She broke apart from him and sighed heavily. "Merlin, that was so awful. I mean I was shocked, of course, but I was only really upset when I found out that he hasn't even bothered to find out about the baby. I thought he was so nice, I still can't really believe it..." Her eyes fell to the dusty wooden floor. Her hands fiddled with the ends of her gold and red scarf nervously.
Though he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer, Ted asked out of sympathy; "Did you love him?"
She looked up sharply and immediately said; "No. No, I wasn't in love with him. I was fond of him, and thought that maybe after a while I would love him, but now that he's revealed himself to be a complete and utter…well, fill in the blank, I guess I was wrong. And I'm glad you've come, Ted, because if this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have realised that…"
She paused. Her pale cheeks turned a little red in the cold. Ted's fingers twitched; was something miraculous happening?
"Realised what?"
"Forget I said anything." She said, sounding a little nervous. "I'm just really glad you're here, Teddy…Ted, sorry. I mean, it's Christmas, you're my best friend. What else could a girl want?" Her smile may have been shaky, but Ted felt a festive confidence boost.
"I'm glad to see you too, Victoire, because if this hadn't happened, I would never have realised that you truly are more than just a best friend to me."
Her blue eyes widened, but apart from this her face was momentarily expressionless. Ted was suddenly afraid that he had gotten everything wrong, and he had just brought on a terrible finale to his own Christmas.
"Teddy…you don't know how long I've hoped you'd say that some day. I had all but given up!" She laughed, and her red hair shimmered. It suddenly seemed very warm in the drafty Shrieking Shack.
"That is not a good option. Patience, Victoire, is an incredible virtue."
She wrapped her arms around him. "Well, now that we've both had our turn of waiting…I guess it's time for a conclusion. Did you bring any mistletoe?"
"No. How silly of…" Before he could say 'me' Victoire's lips were over his. He closed his eyes and tightened his hold on her, and it was as if all the Christmases of his life so far had lead up to this moment. Though the kiss was as good as any other, the age-long anticipation had made it extra wonderful. Feeling her hands reach for his hair, he was about to deepen the kiss when she broke apart.
"Ted, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Why are you wearing paper on your head?"
He laughed. "Oh, crackers. A Muggle thing."
"They look odd with your fancy new robes." She said, her fingers smoothing over the folds of his jacket. "But I like that. It's…you."
And it was her, as well. Him and her, at last. After what seemed like only a few minutes of celebration, Ted noticed his watch glowing out of the corner of his eye. It was dark outside all of a sudden.
"Shoot. Your granny's party's starting in half an hour. I'd better head home."
She gave a reluctant but rather alluring groan. "Oh, fine. I'd better head back to school as well. One last kiss?"
Wanting to give the event a spectacular finish, he dipped her slightly as they kissed one more time.
"See you at New Year?" he said, before Apparating.
"See you tomorrow." She told him with a curl in her lips, and he laughed and blew her a kiss before Apparating to the outside of his home. When he went in, he saw Mum and Olivia finishing a game of cards.
"Where's Dad?"
"The utility room. The moon has already risen...he's just going to sleep through it." Mum said, a little sadly. "We'll be off to the Burrow soon."
"Sure." Ted said. He felt sorry for Dad, but nothing could spoil his good mood. He put his hand in the air.
"Would you mind…a high-five?"
Mum and Olivia did so with smiles, but then asked; "Why?"
Grinning wolfishly from ear-to-ear, Ted said; "Let's just say I…pulled a Christmas cracker."
A/N: I promised a happy ending! I hope you've enjoyed getting to it. Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a spectacular time and get exactly what you desire, especially if, like Ted and Victoire, you've wanted it for a very long time. Thank you again for reading, and for reviewing if you have, or will. Virtual Christmas crackers for everyone!
