Chapter 7
A/N Please review! I need to know what you guys think. WARNING: Cheesy bits. I don't particularly enjoy writing them, but I have to follow what the characters want. And I felt that was what Ted and Victoire needed, a bit of romance. Sometimes I wonder if they're the writers, and I'm just the person who types it out. I'm not a romance writer; I'm a romance reader, but bear with me whilst I adjust, okay? Anyway I promise there will be more action/gore/mystery later on. PLEASE REVIEW Also a massive thank you to my 2 BETA's, Last Marauder Of Five, and my bestest friend felldowntherabbitholetoo
It took three weeks for her to ask. Three weeks of battling against the blood and the memories before she realised what it was she needed. Answers.
She could not spend another day not knowing, because the pain was now gone. Where to, exactly, she was not entirely sure. But what she was sure of was that she needed her Teddy. Yes, he is my Teddy, she assured herself. Always was and always will be. Now more than ever. At least there was one plus about this mess- and that was seeing Teddy every day.
"A werewolf attack."
He spoke softly and quietly. Calming her with the words that broke her. She knew it would be bad, that it would shock her, but never could she have predicted something that hit her so personally. She felt sick with the new images that tortured her, of werewolves in their wolf form ripping her mother's delicate skin, blood seeping through her blonde hair, a claw shredding her cheek...
"Come back, Vic," A strangled voice pulled her from the scene. But it just reminded her of the sickness building up inside the pit of her stomach, a sickness caused by fear.
When she spoke for the first time in three weeks, she knew the sound of her own voice would startle her. So she only said one word. "Why?"
Teddy swallowed as he fiddled with the bed cover. "We don't know. The aurors can't track anyone down. It was most likely someone who had been born a werewolf. So that would mean that one of the parents was a werewolf during Voldermort's reign." He waited for Victoire to fully comprehend what he had said.
"And the werewolves during that time were controlled by Voldermort," She whispered, her deep blue eyes wide and alert. "Which could suggest..." She trailed off, her gaze landing on the now charcoal black haired Teddy.
"No." He said firmly, cutting her off abruptly. "It doesn't. All it means is that a werewolf didn't realise it was a full moon. He could have been having a stroll down the beach, and gave in to his hunger. It happens...not often, but it happens. An accident, Vic, that's all it was."
"I want to believe that, I really do. But I just can't. It can't be a coincidence that my father was attacked by a werewolf too. And even a werewolf wouldn't make such a... mess. If you'd of seen what I saw, you wouldn't believe it either." A rogue tear rolled down her cheek, but she swiftly wiped it away.
"I saw, Vic. When I heard you scream through the phone, I flooed over immediately. You were unconscious when I arrived, and, at first, I thought the blood was yours. But then, as I crouched over your body, I saw her." He looked at her, his Victoire that was always so full of energy and life. Who was now so thin and frail, whose once bright blue eyes sat lifelessly and dead in her sockets. Whose skin was so pale that Teddy was afraid to touch her, for fear of her disappearing entirely.
She wanted to throw her arms around him there and then. She felt a sudden urge to crush her lips against his, to come right out with it and confess her love for him. But instead she sat still, dead eyes staring out of the window towards the horizon.
"When I close my eyes, it comes to drown me. And there's nothing I can do but lie there, waiting for it to stop. I don't know what else to do- I'm afraid if I open my eyes it will still be happening." She frowned at the sea, dead eyes filling with water. "It's because this isn't over. I can feel it haunting me, following me wherever I turn. I don't know when it will stop, because I don't even know what it is." It was Teddy's turn to frown.
"Nothing is out there Vic. There is no "it", I swear to you. There is nothing to be afraid of, because no one will ever let anyone hurt you. The ministry won't let anyone hurt you, the aurors won't, and I won't. I will always be here for you. Always." He grabbed her hand. She flinched away from the contact, but he didn't loosen his grip. Instead, he pulled her to his chest tightly. She stiffened as she felt his lips brush her forehead, and lifted her head abruptly only to find his mouth with her own.
It took exactly three seconds for Victoire to realise what she was doing. In that three seconds she had managed to extract her arm from the embrace and place it against his chest. It took another few seconds for her to gather the strength to shove him away from her, hard. Shocked and confused, he stared at her, waiting for an answer.
"This is wrong." She stated simply, looking at her hands. He placed his hand under her chin to tilt her face upwards, but she slid away from him quickly.
"No...It couldn't be more right," Ted argued, his voice rising slightly.
"My mother is dead. She's dead, and I'm kissing someone." She said it more to herself, running through the facts in her head. As if predicting that he would say something, she held a hand out stop him from interrupting. "I need to find out what happened, find out what is happening, and put an end to it." When Teddy tried to interrupt again, she slapped her hand against his mouth.
"Because I can't carry on living without doing this, and you want me to carry on living, don't you? No, don't answer it." She scolded him, and her dead eyes lit for a second. "Just nod." And that was what he did. He always did what Victoire said- he was in love with her. Always had been and always would be. And if she wanted to hunt down the werewolf that killed her mother, then he would nod. Nod to allow her. Nod to accompany her. Nod to protect her.
