Hey, all! Sorry, sorry for the slow update! College isn't so much fun in the final month, but summer's on its way for me! Thanks ever so much to the folks who reviewed the previous chapters and either favorited or alerted the fic - e-mails like that are very inspiring, I assure you! I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter (lots of Victoire ;])! It was a lot of fun to write, with of course the help of the lovely Niko~ Enjoy!
In the next week-and-a-half to come, Teddy Lupin seemed to go quiet completely. Nobody really seemed to notice that he faded in and out of the office like a ghost, rarely speaking when he did show up, instead seeming focused on something entirely unrelated. Twice Harry stopped to ask him if he was alright, and Teddy's answer was always the same: he was fine. He went about his business as quickly as he could, so he could get home and continue on his private investigations. What he never noticed, however, was how Victoire's eyes would follow him everywhere he went when he was in her line of vision, and the suspicious expression on her face whenever he came up as a topic in conversation.
Her suspicion only lasted for two weeks until she finally confronted him.
"You're up to something."
Teddy, sitting at his desk in his cubicle, jumped and looked up in alarm at the unexpected intrusion, seeing Victoire standing at the entrance. Her expression looked formidable, as though she was just daring him to lie to her, and he couldn't help but be reminded of when they were children. Toire had always been the sort who, once an idea was in her head, would not let go of her objective until she'd achieved what she wanted. She'd always reminded him of a bulldog.
"Bloody hell, Toire," he grumbled in annoyance as he shifted in his chair and eyed her suspiciously. "Some warning would be nice, next time. What are you even talking about?"
Her answer was simple. "I want to know what you're doing."
Somehow, in that second, Teddy knew that she knew. He clenched his jaw and did his best to maintain a blank expression as he gestured to his desk. "I'm filling out paperwork, what does it look like?" he demanded almost rebelliously.
"Don't screw with me, Lupin." She had her hands on her hips now, and she glared at him. "That isn't what I was talking about, and you know it. What are you up to that you're coming in late and going home early? You're sure as hell not doing it for sleep."
Teddy bristled. "And how would you even know that?"
"You always have circles under your eyes, and you're always more irritable when you're tired," she said without hesitation. "And don't try to sell me that crap about a bird in Diagon Alley, because you wouldn't be so bloody annoyed all the time if you were getting tail at the end of the day."
This made Teddy scowl, and he tensed. Distracted now, he looked her up and down with suspicion. "As if you'd know how people feel after they sleep together," he quipped scathingly.
Toire raised her chin defiantly. "I know plenty, thank you, thanks to my arrangement with Robert. He runs a shop of his own in Hogsmeade, and we meet up sometimes, not that it's any of your business." Teddy gritted his teeth, knowing her tone didn't leave much room for interpretation as to what 'meet up' meant. He opened his mouth to snap something rather unsavory about Robert, but Toire cut him off. "We're getting off topic. What are you up to?"
"I've been busy, not that it's any of your business," Teddy retorted. "Why don't you go back to mooning over bloody Robert?"
Toire rolled her eyes. "After all these years, you're still a jealous git. Get over yourself, Lupin. Tell me what you're-" Suddenly, she stopped, as if something just clicked together in her mind. Her eyes widened, and it was like Teddy could see how the gears clicked behind her bright blue eyes. "You're working on tracking down those bloody Death Eaters!" she hissed. "So help me, Lupin, you-"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Teddy hissed back at her. "Bloody hell, Toire, just saying that out loud could get me fired!"
All she did was pull her wand out from her robes, and for a split second, Teddy was worried that she might jinx him. But instead, she flicked it impatiently at the entrance to the cubicle, muttering, "Muffliato extremus." A magical sheen sprouted across his entrance and just like that, Teddy knew they were warded off from being heard. But that didn't stop him from keeping his voice down, just in case.
"Are you a blooming idiot? What the bloody hell are you thinking? How long?" she demanded.
Teddy knew that his cover was blown – Toire had always been too smart for her own damn good. He clenched his jaw and his fists on the desk. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this, Toire, you know that, right?" he asked of her, unsure of whether to feel defeated or angry. "I haven't found anything big, alright? I'm just sick of waiting around."
"How long?" Toire repeated.
"Since they killed that halfblood in Cotswold."
"You're an idiot."
He glared up at her. "Excuse me?"
"This isn't just some little gang of troublemakers that throw around dangerous jinxes for fun, Teddy!" she snapped. Teddy was extremely grateful that she'd sealed off his cubicle with a sound-warding spell, otherwise half the department would likely have heard her. "These are Traditionalists, and some of them were actually bloody Death Eaters! They're killers, and you're too emotionally attached to this. It's not safe, or healthy for that matter."
"If I wanted safe, Toire, I wouldn't have become an Auror in the first place. Trust me, I'm being careful. Now promise me that you're not going to tell anyone. Especially not Harry."
For a moment, silence reigned between the two of them. Toire stared at him, and he could see the gears turning behind her eyes again. Somehow, he got the feeling that he wasn't going to like what came out of her mouth. And he was proven right when, a moment later she blurted out,
"I will if you let me in on it. Let me help."
Teddy's response was immediate. "What?! No bloody way in hell."
She raised her chin again, and this time she folded her arms across her chest. "Let me help or I'm marching off to Harry's office right now to tell him what you've been doing."
"You wouldn't." Teddy glared at her, and only a second later, she raised an eyebrow at him and turned to start moving for the entrance. She raised her wand as if to lower the wards when Teddy snapped, "Stop! Just… just stop, why the bloody hell would you want to help?"
"You're not the only one who's tired of being stuck around here doing nothing," Toire told him, frowning. She paused again, as if struggling to figure out what to say. "And I know you," she continued, "Like I said, you're too emotionally attached to the whole thing. You say you're being careful, but you're probably being an idiot." When he opened his mouth to protest, she held up a hand to stop him. "If something happens to you, what do you honestly think that'll do to your Gran?"
Teddy looked down in guilt, knowing that this was something that weighed heavily on him every time he thought about it. Not to mention fear of what Andromeda would do if she ever found out. He tugged at his locks in discomfort. "That's why I'm being careful," he said, "Nothing will happen to me. I don't need a babysitter, let alone you."
Unruffled, Toire replied, "I don't care what you think. You'll do better with someone watching your back. Let me help and I won't tell anybody."
For another long moment, silence stretched between the two of them as Teddy thought about it. He was beginning to realize that, in reality, he had no other option. But he liked to fancy that he actually had a choice in the matter. Toire was smart, he knew that, and she was a lot better at putting things together than he was. And while he'd never seen her train, he could remember a number of his colleagues commenting on how the fiery blonde could pack a punch with her spellwork. He'd never seen her in action, but he was sure he could trust the word of others. Would it really be so bad to have her help?
"And there's no other way to bribe you into silence?"
"No."
Teddy let out a long, deep sigh, continuing to tug at his strands of honey-colored hair. No, Toire would be an asset, he knew that. And it might be nicer to have someone helping him. But knowing that meant they'd be in close proximity all the more often? He wasn't so thrilled about that part. Or, at least, most of him wasn't.
"Fine. You're in."
Toire brightened like he'd just told her that she could have some candy. "Great," she replied cheerfully. "On your way out, stop by my office. Then we'll head back to wherever you're keeping your information so I can help you go over it." Without another word, and not giving Teddy the chance to respond, Toire left his cubicle and waved the wand behind her to take down the sound wards.
He stared after her, not entirely sure if he was supposed to believe what had just happened. Had he really just allowed Toire in on his scheme, and had she really figured it out from only a week-and-a-half of watching him? Was he that obvious? Or was she just that intuitive? Would he actually have to take her back to his apartment where he had his file locked away in a drawer at his bedside table?
Merlin, Teddy thought to himself, I really am an idiot.
~ findo narratum ~
The next few hours passed far too quickly for Teddy's liking, which was odd considering on any other day they couldn't go by fast enough. But he knew exactly why he was reluctant for the workday to come to an end, and the reason was seven cubicles down and across the way in a little office that Harry had managed to procure for her.
When the time finally came, however, Teddy ran a hand over his face and let out a deep, irritated sigh and started to gather up his things. He had half a mind to just go home without fetching Victoire to avoid her completely, but if she'd meant that she'd said about tattling on him to Harry, it was a risk he couldn't afford to take. Why did she have to be so damned stubborn? Glaring at the clock above his desk like this was all its fault, he shouldered his bag, threw his cloak over his arm, and moodily stalked down towards her office.
He shoved his way inside with no regard for whether or not she was busy, but he found her already putting on her coat. Luckily nobody was inside with her, and ignoring the smug look on her face, Teddy jerked his head towards the door. "Come on," he snapped. All because he'd been forced to agree to let her help didn't mean that he had to act happy about it. "If you want to get involved so badly, follow me. Everything's back at my flat."
"Oh, a field trip," Toire quipped, to which Teddy rolled his eyes and just left her inside while he went to go wait.
The second she emerged, Teddy was moving, and the clicking of her heels against the stone floors told him that she was following – maybe if she got lost in the crowd, he couldn't be held responsible for not getting her involved. But once she spoke, he knew he hadn't lost her.
"So how much information do you have, anyway?"
Teddy's shoulders tensed, and he looked over at her with a glare, making a gesture for her to quiet down. "Shh!" he hissed. "We're not bloody talking about it here, I already said I didn't have much earlier."
Toire scurried to catch up with him, easily keeping stride as she fell in beside him, and her seeming good mood made Teddy grit his teeth. "Nobody's listening to us," she pointed out cheerfully. "They have their own problems. Relax."
Fat chance. "Well, I could have relaxed," Teddy growled, "But I've got to babysit an irritating-as-hell blonde that could go blabbering everything off to the first person she sees." The only reason he wasn't snapping at her to run along home was because she practically held his career in the palm of her hand. Upon the reminder, a flash of irritated magenta raced through his hair, attracting the surprised glances and stares of some of the people they passed on their way down to the Apparition points.
"Which is exactly why you should be nice to said blonde."
Teddy growled, "There's nothing about this bloody arrangement that requires me to be nice," and shoved his hands into his pockets, taking the rest of the trip down to the Apparition points in silence. Another part of him hoped that, maybe, if she got fed up with his attitude, she'd just give up. But of course that wouldn't happen – this was Victoire. She didn't give up that easily.
By the time they reached the designated Apparition point for Diagon Alley, Teddy had realized that Toire had never been to his apartment before, and that she'd have to side-along with him. Scowling, he held his arm out for her to take and felt his heart thump against his ribs. He hated that, somehow, she still managed to have that effect on him. "I'm not giving you the address so you can muck up the Apparition and end up somewhere you could get hurt," he told her sharply when she gave him a questioning look.
"Me?" Toire raised her eyebrow at him. "You're the one that's Splinched yourself before, Harry told us in training. My record, on the other hand, is perfect." Though Teddy bristled and opened his mouth to retort something (after all, his accidental Splinching hadn't been something major), her effortlessly twisting her arm with his and almost coming too close for it to be considered casual silenced him. "Now, lead the way, would you? I don't have all evening." She smirked at him.
"Oh, then, by all means, go about your bloody business if you don't have all night," Teddy sneered. "That would suit me just fine."
That was all the warning she got before they turned on the spot with a pop! and appeared right on the front doorstep of Teddy's flat. Teddy released her arm like it was a hot coal, and shaking himself off, pulled out his wand and mumbled the spells to alter some of his security wards before unlocking the door and going inside.
"Come on," he muttered to Victoire, and Teddy sighed in relief when he realized that his apartment was, for all intents and purposes, pretty clean. His grandmother had always impressed upon him as a child that cleanliness was rather important, and Teddy had taken it to heart. Teddy hated bringing people to his flat when it was a mess (not that it was all that often), and something about the visitor being Victoire seemed to make it all the more important that he try to make a good impression. Even if he didn't really know why – after all, what did he care what she thought of him?
He flicked his wand to turn on the light as Toire entered behind him. Teddy sighed. "Just… wait here," he said. "And shut the bloody door and turn the lock."
"'Shut the bloody door,'" Toire mimicked him, looking around.
"Just do it," Teddy snapped, rolling his eyes even though she was already moving to do as he asked. Trusting her to wait like he'd told her, he stalked off towards his bedroom where he kept all of the evidence in a locked drawer in his bedside table. He unlocked the drawer and pulled out the file, spreading out the documents and leaving the broken wand in the drawer, browsing through the papers and frowning as he did so. In a childish way, Teddy almost wanted to keep certain documents from her, to hoard some of the information for himself so that, in some sense, this venture would still be his own.
"You're still such a neat freak."
Teddy yelped and jumped nearly a foot in the air. Of course she hadn't listened. "Why do I even bother?" he grumbled more to himself than to anyone else, shooting her an irritated glare. Toire didn't looked phased in the least. He added for her, "I like to keep things organized. So what?" His tone suggested that one more snide comment from her might send him into another rage.
Toire stared at him for a moment, and right then he realized how close she was. Finally, she just said, "Nothing. Just noticing." She abruptly turned away from him and reached out to pick up a newspaper clipping. "Is this it?" she asked.
"Since you're so bloody keen on following me around everywhere, yes. This is everything," Teddy confirmed begrudgingly, gesturing to everything spread out on his bed. "I get what reports I can from Harry, and I've been tracking the house the Aurors raided a while back. The escapees came back at least once, I'm waiting to see if they'll come back again, and I-"
"They won't," Victoire cut him off, her eyes roaming over the documents. "It was too close of a call. They won't leave the area, though." She glanced back up at him, all business, before looking back down at the file and sifting through it, reading his scrawling handwriting.
Teddy's jaw clenched. "Right," he said tensely. "While you do that, I'm making myself dinner." With that, he stalked off towards the kitchen.
Partially, he left because he couldn't stand being in such close quarters with her anymore – too many memories. And Teddy was true to his word, he did start making his own dinner, as cooking was always therapeutic for him and probably the best thing to do right then. But as he started prepping to make pasta, a quick and easy dinner that would only take him ten to twenty minutes, he guiltily looked back towards his bedroom door where Victoire was still looking over the papers. After a moment, he sighed and grabbed for more pasta – he was angry with her, but he wasn't heartless. And if he was hungry, he knew that she was. It felt scarily ordinary, he decided after a moment, to be cooking for two people instead of just for himself.
A few minutes into stirring the pasta, Toire emerged from his bedroom, looking smug. "I know where they're going to be," she proclaimed.
Just to humor her, Teddy asked, "And where would that be? I was watching the house because the Aurors missed something, and I don't know why. Did you see the broken wand? The core's missing, I found it under one of the beds upstairs. I figured it was left there when they came back after the raid or… either that or Harry's men did miss something."
Toire's gaze had flickered to the boiling pasta, and Teddy could have sworn he heard her stomach grumble. He had to hide a smile as she minutely shook herself and said, "I think they went back, realized they'd been compromised, and they left it. And they took the core to keep it from being identified, which shows that they're not stupid. Either that, or the wand was a victim's, again showing that they're not stupid. Either way, they're not going back there, Teddy."
"Then where are they going to be?"
"I'm not telling you," she said, and then added with a small smile, "yet. Consider it… insurance that you'll keep your end of the bargain. But they won't be going back to that house."
"Well then where are we supposed to bloody look, if you won't tell me?" Teddy demanded. "Because clearly I'm not any better than the rest of the bloody idiots working the case, then. I think you're just trying to buy more time to figure it out." Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath and glanced back at the pasta. He went back to stirring it, trying to sooth his nerves.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Do you want to risk that?" Toire retorted. "And maybe you're not, but now you have something even better than them. You have me, and I am better. You know that."
Teddy shot her a disbelieving look, and nearly opened his mouth to retort, but didn't. He knew that, at least in some sense, she was right. Victoire was the smartest person he knew. Running a hand through his hair again, Teddy sighed and pulled down two sauces, eyeing the ingredients. Quietly, he just decided to ask her, "You're allergic to shellfish, aren't you?"
If she'd been about to say something else, Toire stopped. She blinked at him. "Yes," she answered quietly, surprised. "You know I am."
And he did. A nine-year old Teddy hadn't realized what was going on when during a lunch at Shell Cottage that Fleur had made for them, Toire had suddenly started choking. A rush to St. Mungo's had revealed that Victoire was allergic to shellfish, of all things. "Yeah, I was just checking," he replied just as quietly as he put the sauce that contained shellfish back in the cupboard and started prepping the other. He cleared his throat. "If you like cheese on your rigatoni, there's some parmesan in the fridge. It'll be done in a few minutes, I figured… figured you might be hungry." If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know what he was doing. But he did know that he couldn't be cruel to Toire.
"Thank you," she said after a pause, her voice void of any of the anger or malice it had held before.
Then, Teddy took a deep breath. "Are you really not going to tell me where you think they might be?"
Some of the hardness returned. "No, Teddy."
"Fine," Teddy grumbled, bristling. "But you're telling me the second we actually have to start looking. Because if I have to include you on this investigation, that means you don't hide things from me. This isn't all of a sudden your work, it's mine too. And if we have to do this the way you want, then we have to be in it together. Understand?"
He wasn't looking at her, but he could already tell that Toire was bristling. "I'm not the one skulking off by myself," she reminded him snippily. "And of course I'm not going to let you go blind in some other direction – that would be counterproductive. But you need to stop treating me like your unwanted kid sister and trust me. You might not be happy with the circumstances, but I'm what you've got. So get over it."
Teddy had as little patience as she did. "I would have been fine skulking off by myself, but you just had to be nosy," he snapped right back. "And trust you? This coming from the woman who'll sell me out the second she doesn't get what she wants. You just sprung this on me! Don't tell me just to get over it like it isn't any big-"
He cut himself off. Toire had moved to stand just an inch from him, her blue eyes boring into his own as she glared spitefully at him. "If I wanted to sell you out, Lupin, I would have done so over lunch. This is my time off, yet here I am sorting out your problems, so give me some credit."
"I don't need you sorting out my problems." His voice was somewhat choked, and other than that, he didn't argue. Teddy had realized how close she was to him, and was struggling not to linger on how beautiful she was.
"I don't care," she replied hotly. "I'm here. Deal with it."
They stared at each other for a moment longer before the blaring bleeps of the timer on the pasta broke the silence. Teddy abruptly turned away from her, trying to hide how his heart pounding against his ribs had made him almost short of breath. His hands were shaking as he started prepping the sauce and pulled down the plates. Toire had turned away from him too, moving away – when he heard her starting to go through drawers, Teddy turned his head to snip at her before realizing that she was only looking for silverware.
"What do you want to drink?" he asked in defeat. "There's water, milk, wine, orange-"
"Water," Toire replied almost automatically. Then, after a brief pause and she'd handed him his fork, she added, "Please."
As Teddy began dishing out their food into the plates (feeling generous, he gave Toire more than half, knowing that she would eat every bite), he decided to try his luck again – this time by giving her more information. Perhaps if she knew more about his intentions, she might be more willing to reveal what she supposedly knew. "You won't even give me an idea of where we're supposed to be looking? I'm trying to track down the more peaceful lot of them, to try and get information. The Aurors are focusing on the murderers, we've got to stay out of their way for as long as possible."
She regarded him for a moment before sitting down at the kitchen table with her plate. "I will," she said coyly. Teddy brightened momentarily until she added, "But first, dinner." Maybe just to spite him, she took a bite of her pasta after having dumped a load of parmesan cheese atop it. "I see you still have a culinary gift, too," she teased him, but Teddy wasn't in the mood to be teased.
"It's just pasta. Toire-"
"But as for peaceful, that's bullshit. No one likes to be tracked down, and no one likes to be interrogated. You're going to find peaceful is a questionable, and stupid, term. The second you push them, they're going to get violent," Victoire told him after swallowing her first bite.
"I know that," Teddy replied indignantly, stirring his pasta around as he leaned against the counter. He didn't trust himself to sit next to her or anywhere near her. "But I can take care of myself, dueling was my best mark in training. I'd be fine if they got violent. In fact," inwardly he felt a dark sort of wistfulness swell in his chest, "I'd probably enjoy it."
Toire considered him thoughtfully for a moment, chewing, before saying, "You might enjoy it, but that doesn't mean you need to go picking a fight, either. Any time you can lessen your chance of being killed, take it."
"I'm not an idiot," he protested. "I went through the same training you did. And since when do I ever go picking fights?" Maybe it was a stupid question, but it was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Not to mention, he'd even meant it as a little bit of a joke.
Clearly, Toire didn't take it that way. "Gee, I don't know, every five minutes with me?" She snorted and shook her head, continuing before Teddy could retort. "I'm trying to keep you in one piece, so we can exact vengeance or get our kicks or whatever it is you're doing."
Her remark made Teddy freeze, swallowing the bite of pasta he'd had in his mouth and suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore. Teddy set his plate down, feeling his heart rate pick up in sheer anger, and he started pacing back and forth.
"You think I'm doing this for kicks?" he asked her, voice dangerous. The sheer implication made him angrier than he was willing to admit. "You think I'm… that I'm just seeking glory and doing this for the hell of it?" Now his voice started rising. "If that's the case, then why the bloody hell do you even care? It's not as if you'd ruddy understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, especially if you think I'm just doing this for kicks! Here's a bloody newsflash, Victoire, I don't need a babysitter!" He turned away from her, yanking at his hair that was even starting to flash crimson.
"No, Teddy, you do need a babysitter, but it's because you won't listen to reason. You fly off the handle when you're angry, just like you're doing right now, and the adrenaline might help you in a fight, but it also cuts off your brain. You don't think, Teddy, that's always been your problem – your emotions control you. And that'll get you hurt." The irritated growl he shot her way didn't deter her, and she continued. "And I don't think you're just in it for kicks. I think you want revenge, and I think that's your right. But I also think there's a part of you that just wants to prove to Harry that he's wrong, and you want to prove yourself. And it's that part that's driving you to do all this. There's nothing wrong with that, Teddy, but you can't let it override your judgment. Which is exactly why you do need me."
"I don't- you- emotions are a good thing!" Teddy fired right back. "Are you trying to tell me I need to be a bloody automaton?"
"I'm not. You know I'm not. But when you're just letting them take you over so you can try and prove yourself to Harry, or whatever you're trying to do, and you're doing stupid things like this, you… you need someone looking out for you," Toire replied coolly, her voice slightly gentler.
"Prove myself-" Teddy swallowed, and turned away from her, putting his palms flat on his kitchen counter and feeling them clench into fists almost immediately. It took him a long moment to take in a deep, shaky breath, before he finally admitted in a quiet voice, "It's not Harry I'm trying to prove myself to."
"If not Harry, than whom? Yourself?" she asked bluntly.
"Forget it. It's not important."
For a moment, she didn't respond, and he could feel her watching him – was she trying to figure out what he was talking about? Did it matter? "Teddy," she finally said, "you have the makings of one of the best Aurors of our generation. But you have to learn to bide your time."
"You don't even know that," he murmured. "I haven't even… the only thing I've been able to do to prove myself as an Auror was pass training. That was it. This… say whatever you want about me, but this is my chance to… to make everything right." For them.
"Not if Harry can't know about it. All this does is settle your own scores."
"My way of making things right just doesn't revolve around Harry," Teddy replied. "And this isn't just about me, or about you. If they're out there, then… then people are in danger. And my-" He stopped himself before he could say something too revealing. "It's just a fight I have to continue and get involved with. I don't care what anybody says."
"All right, then." She made it sound like they'd just settled a deal. "I don't suppose the why matters. Just the how, anyway. We work together, we do this, then we go our separate ways, since it's fairly clear that even the sight of me disgusts you."
Teddy turned towards her again, now shooting her a look of disbelief. Was that really what she thought of him? "You don't disgust me, Toire," he told her. "You never did. It's more… complicated than that. It always was." And both of them knew exactly what made everything so complicated, or maybe they didn't. But either way, disgusting was perhaps the furthest thing from what Teddy thought of whenever he looked at Victoire Weasley.
She raised her eyebrows towards him and let out a sigh. "Alright, then. Let's get this over with now. I hurt you." So maybe they did both know what made everything so complicated. "You didn't… and still don't, apparently – understand me. Our relationship broke apart because of it, and maybe I don't disgust you, but you sure as hell don't like me, either. And that's fine. But what you have to get through your head, Teddy, is that we can't let it divide us when we need to trust each other now more than ever."
Maybe I understand you better than you think. "Fine," he told her, his voice flat. "But for the record, I've always trusted you."
"That's not true," she replied. "I'm trying to help you, but you have to let me. I can't fight you every step of the way."
"I thought I already had let you," Teddy mumbled under his breath. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here, and I'd be out of a job."
Toire continued on like he hadn't spoken. "And you have no other backup here, Teddy. If something goes wrong here, you're screwed. So you have to trust me."
"Maybe I didn't want anyone working with me for just that reason," Teddy pointed out almost rebelliously. "At least if it goes poorly for me, nobody else would have had to suffer with me. But I guess you didn't think about that, did you?"
"I did. You know I did," was the automatic response. "But you also know that I can't just sit back, knowing what I know, and letting you go. I… I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened."
Teddy swallowed, and he had to turn away from her again, running a hand through his hair and tugging at the strands. Very quietly, he said, "Your life would probably be easier and happier if something did. They only person it would really hurt was Gran." But in reality, he also knew that he couldn't do that to her, not to his grandmother whom he loved so much. It would destroy her, and that, at least, would keep him from doing something intentionally stupid.
Victoire sighed. "No, Teddy. It wouldn't." She paused, as if considering what to say next. "I don't want you dead. Or hurt, or… anything else, really."
"And I didn't want anyone else getting killed or… or hurt. Especially you, Toire, but now-" He swallowed and stopped himself – they were getting into dangerous territory. "Maybe you should go. We'll start tomorrow, after work. I need… I need time to think. Just remember that you can't tell anyone, alright?"
The scraping of the chair told Teddy that she'd stood. "I won't tell anyone," she said quietly, going to put her plate in the sink. From the corner of his eyesight, he saw her open her mouth as if to say something but then stopped herself, shaking her head instead. "Good night, Teddy," was what she ended up saying after a moment of silence. "I'll see you tomorrow." And she turned away from him then, heading for the front door where she quietly let herself out.
Almost like a robot, Teddy moved to wrap his pasta up and put it in the fridge, his thoughts swirling down paths that he didn't want them going down. His feelings for Victoire had always been a complicated issue, but it wasn't even that that had him spinning down a rabbit hole. It was the thoughts of his parents, images as he pictured them in his mind. Did they approve of what he was doing? Were they proud? His throat closed at the thought as he shut the refrigerator door, and he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Gran would be awake. She was always awake. And he knew that, right then, even if she didn't know what was going on, that the one person who could make him feel better was the tiny but formidable old woman that Andromeda Tonks had become. Swallowing, he went to go and change (he was still wearing his work robes, after all), pulled on his coat, and headed out the door.
He really didn't want to have to go to work tomorrow.
