The moonlight danced across the water, and Victoire could see Teddy's silhouette gazing up at the bright, full moon. She worried whenever he did this. Seeing Teddy staring at the moon could only mean one thing... he was thinking about his father.

Her heart bled for him, it really did. Victoire was so close to her own father – they did everything together during the holidays. She was always her father's princess, and the idea of not knowing him... it would break her if she thought about it for too long.

Teddy didn't even remember his parents, but he was forced to endure stories about their heroic sacrifice, hear over and over again about how they laid down their lives for the greater good. He'd confessed to Victoire that it made him feel proud, hearing how noble and brave they were, but that every time he heard their names it was like a knife in the ribs, because everyone seemed to know them, everyone knew everything about them except Teddy, their own son.

It hurt Victoire to see her best friend in pain, but there was nothing she could say. Of course... was he even her best friend anymore? They spent most of their time together, but ever since that Quidditch match last year, when Teddy had collided with Francis Chessler and fallen forty feet... she felt differently about him. It was such a subtle change at first, she wasn't even aware of it. She had spent two days straight holding his hand while he was unconscious in the hospital wing, and all she'd been able to think about was how relieved she was that he was okay. That part was understandable.

What wasn't understandable was the way she had been transfixed by his breathing, or the way when his eyes finally opened, she felt as though her stomach was doing back flips as his dark irises made contact with hers and he flashed her his typical impish grin. She didn't understand how he could still be Teddy, but how she noticed his unique sandalwood-y smell, and the way his eyes would light up when he laughed...

The chilly air pressed in on Victoire as she stood, fretting. She shivered almost imperceptibly, and started forwards, intent on cheering Teddy up.

"Hello, Vicky."

Victoire halted in her tracks, shocked. How on earth had Teddy known that she was there? She had been so quiet...

"Can't sleep?" he continued, and she could hear a shadowy imitation of humour in his voice.

"No. You either?" she replied, folding herself onto the ground beside him.

"Not so much." There was a pause, and Victoire could tell that Teddy was struggling for something else to say. He was probably debating whether to tell her what he was thinking or not. As if she couldn't guess.

"Aren't you cold?" she decided to ask, seeing the goosebumps on his arms. He wasn't even wearing his cloak, and the sleeves of his school uniform were pushed up, leaving his forearms exposed to the elements. Just looking at him made her cold, Victoire thought, pulling her own cloak tighter around herself.

"No. Should I be?" he replied absently, his mind a million miles away.

"It's freezing, Teddy," Victoire pointed out, suppressing a shiver.

"Oh." He pulled his gaze away from the moon and met Victoire's concerned gaze. Her breath caught and she was once again forced to remind herself that she was being stupid, that he was Teddy, for Salazar's sake! She shouldn't think of him that way...

"Happy birthday, Vic," he said eventually, and Victoire blinked, surprised. It took her a full minute to remember that it was two hours into May 2nd, her birthday.

The anniversary of Teddy's parents death... Victoire remembered, her heart twisting painfully. That was why he was in such a pensive mood.

"Um... thanks," she sighed. Teddy's birthday, a month before Victoire's own, was always cause for celebration, doubly so this year, as it marked the end of O.W.L and N.E.W.T exams for the both of them. But neither of them ever felt like celebrating on Victoire's birthday. There were too many things for Teddy to mourn.

"How does it feel to be sixteen?" he asked, without much enthusiasm.

"No different from being fifteen," Victoire decided. "Except that you're expected to grow up a bit more."

Teddy's smile was half-hearted, but it made Victoire's stomach do a backflip as much as his usual grin did.

"Don't you want to grow up, Vicky?" he asked gently. Victoire pondered this. Yes, she wanted to grow up, to be treated like an adult... especially by Teddy. Being two years older than her had never been a problem, but now... at eighteen he seemed eons older than she was. Only when he was in a serious mood, though. But when he was feeling that way, the age gap between the two seemed to expand, growing like a wall between them.

"I want to grow up. But not this quickly." That was the only answer she could give without embarrassing herself.

"It does seem fast, doesn't it?" he agreed, holding out his arms so that she could curl up into them. She accepted the offer gladly, burying her face in his chest. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly, and Victoire fought back another shiver, although that one was not because of the cold.

"Do you miss them, Teddy?" she murmured.

He knew who she was talking about. "Yes. That sounds really stupid, though, doesn't it? How can you miss people you never knew?"

Victoire looked up at him, pulling back a little so that she could stare right into his eyes.

"It's not stupid, Teddy. Missing something that you wish you had is only natural. You feel deprived."

"You have all the answers, don't you, Vic?" he laughed gently.

"Not to my own problems. But to yours, yeah." She smiled back at her best friend.

"What problems do you have?" he prompted, concern leaking into his expression. Victoire flushed slightly. She wasn't about to tell Teddy that her biggest problem was... well... that she thought she was falling in love with him. Yeah, that would go down well.

"They aren't important, not now."

"They're important to me," Teddy argued.

"Teddy, leave it. It doesn't matter."

He stared sternly at Victoire for a moment, and she quailed under the intensity of his gaze. His brown eyes seemed to pierce her soul.

"I have to tell you something." His voice was confidently quiet. Victoire's heartbeat fluttered a little. This sounded important.

"What's wrong?" she answered nervously.

"I..." Teddy sucked in a deep breath. "Vicky, I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied automatically. "So what were you going to tell me?"

Teddy stared at her like she was missing something incredibly obvious. Victoire frowned, confused.

"No, Vic. I'm in love with you. That's what I'm saying."

Victoire's chin practically hit the grass.

"What?" she gasped.

"Are you going to freak out about it?" he fretted, grabbing hold of her wrists as though he was expecting her to run away.

"I..."

"Look, just don't run away, okay, I know you don't feel the same way, it's fine! I just had to..."

"Teddy, are you insane!" she hissed. How could she not feel the same way?

"No! Look, I know it sounds crazy, and I know you weren't expecting it, but..."

"You've got that right!" Victoire laughed, looking at Teddy's desperate expression. Was he that oblivious to the way she felt about him, she wondered.

"Just, please still be my friend, I don't want this to come between us..." he pleaded.

"I can't be your friend because..." she started.

"No, Vic! Don't say that..."

"Teddy, SHUT UP!" she shouted, breathing heavily. Teddy fell silent instantly, watching her with fearful eyes. "Right," she said matter-of-factly. "I can't be your friend..." She covered his mouth with her hand when he showed every intention of interrupting her again. "Because I don't want to be your friend anymore. And the reason I don't want to be your friend is NOT because you love me. It's because I love you, too."

She removed her hand from Teddy's mouth, satisfied that she had communicated her point.

He gawped at her.

The next thing Victoire knew, Teddy's lips had crashed into hers, and the both of them had careered backwards into the grass. He kissed her euphorically, and she completely melted into his embrace, elated. She had been feeling guilty about dreaming about this moment for the past few months. And all for nothing.

Teddy loved her too.

They broke apart, both a little breathless, and Teddy rolled over in the grass so that Victoire could lie across his chest. She had a feeling that she would not be able to go back to her dormitory tonight.

Teddy was more than worth the bleary eyes she would have in the morning.