A/N: Yeah, I know you're all probably wondering when is it going to be Teddy and Victoire; it's coming. But be patient, this is just the way I planned the story. I wanted to make sure enough time had elapsed that it would be hard for the two of them to recognize each other. It didn't seem realistic if I just put them together again in like three chapters. I have to also mention the fact that I decided to make this story a lot less conventional so like Teddy in the last chapter, Victoire does not have a typical wizarding job. This is an important catalyst for later on when they finally meet.
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.
Chapter 9
"Victoire, zis is amazing!" Fleur exclaimed as she walked into her daughter's new clothing store. Bill and Fleur had purchase the store for Victoire against her protests; her mother said it was something her grandmother would have wanted from the inheritance she left them. Victoire spent the whole summer decorating the store and designing her pieces. Today was the day before it's grand opening and her family was visiting the store for the first time since Victoire didn't let anyone see the store beforehand.
"Where do you want this?" Louis asked as he held up a box. Victoire directed him to the storage room before returning to give her mother a tour. When her family was finally familiarized with her store, they agreed to go out for lunch. But before Victoire closed up, she saw her sister eyeing one of her new dresses. Victoire smiled to herself before approaching Dominique.
"I'll make sure you get one before it's released," Victoire said and winked.
Dominique looked at her doubtfully, "Who said I wanted it, you know I don't like wearing dresses." Victoire chuckled; her sister had always been the opposite of herself. While Victoire was loud and frank, Dominique had a more reserved nature. Her sister was more interested in academics and quidditch while Victoire was more of a girly girl like their mother had been. However, Victoire noticed over the past year that Dominique was slowly directing her attention more towards prettying herself up. Not that Dominique needed to try hard, the girl was naturally pretty like Victoire; something about having veela blood does that to someone. But she suspected a certain boy had something to do with Dominique's sudden change in behavior.
"Mmhmm, right, well even if you don't want it, I'm still going to make you take it. I need some advertising and what better way than having someone walk around in my clothes," Victoire said coyly.
Dominique seemed to take in what Victoire just said, it did make sense since she would be going back to Beauxbatons for another two years to make her sister's clothing line known to all the students. And she knew Victoire was only saying it to make her feel better but decided to take her up on her offer. "Fine, but only because I want to help you," she said, trying to sound as unattached as possible. Besides, she couldn't wait until a certain boy saw her wearing more feminine clothing, perhaps he will finally see her in a different light.
Victoire rolled her eyes, "Sure, now let's go to lunch. I'm starving!" Both sisters walked out of the store where the rest of the family was waiting.
The first few months of running the store was harder then Victoire thought. There weren't a lot of customers and those who did come in usually left empty handed. Victoire was beginning to think she didn't have the chops of being a fashion designer like she thought. After taking some losses, Victoire was losing hope that her store would survive past the first year. And she couldn't expect her parents to keep paying for it while she was struggling to find her feet. However, much to her surprise, during Christmas time, there was a sudden influx of customers. A lot of girls and their mothers had come into the shop and purchased her clothes. Victoire was managing to break even for the first time since the opening.
"You can thank me later when you're a rich and famous designer," Dominique said smoothly as she walked into the store.
Victoire looked at her sister with a confused look, "Huh?" She continued to ring customers up while she attempted to coax Dominique for an explanation.
"Looks like your idea worked. As soon as I arrived at Beauxbatons, every girl came up to me asking where I got my clothes and especially that dress! I told them it was from your new store. I was going to mail you about it and possibly help you with mailing orders but I wanted to hear what you thought first," Dominique replied.
Victoire's face brightened up, "That's a great idea Nikki! That way, I can have sales all year long, not just when students are out during break." She ran around the counter and gave her sister a hug.
Customers protested on the line and Victoire threw an apologetic look before returning to the register. "I'll make sure to give you some more clothes," Victoire added.
An idea suddenly popped into Victoire's head, "Hey Nikki, do you want to work here during your free time? I could really use some help," she said as she motioned around her crowded store. "I'll pay you," Victoire added.
Dominique smiled, "I'll just take more clothes as payment." The winter break continued to be hectic for Victoire and she managed to sell out many of her clothes. When Dominique returned to Beauxbatons, Victoire continued her business mostly through mail orders with her sister's help but her in store sales had also continued to rise.
"Millie!" Victoire exclaimed as she met her friend for lunch one day. Millicent had told Victoire that she was recently let go from her job and Victoire decided to take the afternoon off to cheer her friend up.
"Hey Vic," Millicent said sadly as she hugged her friend.
"Cheer up Millie, I've got something to tell you. Oh and lunch is on me," Victoire declared. Her store had been so successful in the past two years that she was named the up and coming fashion star in Witch Weekly. The two friends mostly talked about life and some gossip during lunch. It wasn't until they were halfway through the meal that Millicent remembered Victoire had something to tell her.
"Oh right Vic, what did you want to tell me?" Millicent asked as she took a sip of her soup.
Victoire smiled, "Well I know how brilliant you are in dealing with business matters and my store is taking off faster then I can handle," Victoire said with an implying tone.
Millicent looked at Victoire with wide eyes, "Don't shit with me Vic, are you serious?"
Victoire gave a playful grin at her friend's choice of words and outburst, Millicent always managed to swear at least once during their conversations. This was something they would need to work on since Victoire couldn't have her friend swearing like a sailor when they were in the public eye but she knew Millicent would be perfect. "I'm serious Millie, you'll be great."
After lunch, Victoire was in a great mood, she had a successful business and just managed to make her friend's day. When she reached the store however, her mood dramatically dampened. Sitting on the front steps was none other then Leon, who was looking down at his shoes before he finally noticed Victoire's presence. He immediately stood up and dusted his clothes off. "Victoire, can we talk?"
Victoire angrily brushed past him and into the store, "I have nothing to talk to you about." It had been over two years since the break up but Leon continued to pester her on and off.
Leon followed in after her, "Please, I love you. Just give me another chance."
Victoire stopped abruptly, causing Leon to almost crash into her. "You love me?" she asked with scrutiny, "Well that was a nice way of proving it, by cheating on me. And why are you still here? It's been two years, let it go!"
"It didn't mean anything with Brigette. It was just a stupid mistake," Leon pleaded.
Victoire was now growing increasingly impatient, "I wouldn't call a three year, long distance relationship a big mistake. Tell me, did you ever plan on telling me or were you just going to hide the fact that you had two girlfriends at the same time for the rest of your life?"
Leon was speechless. He just stood there with sorrow filled eyes waiting for Victoire to miraculously take him back. "Get out of my store, you're pathetic Leon," she scoffed.
Victoire let out the breath she had been holding when he finally left. As much as she hated Leon, she hated herself more because a part of her had loved Leon as well. It had taken a while to get over her break up and it was even harder to move on when Leon kept coming back into her life. She finally sobered up before her break was over and customers came pouring in again.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the last day she saw Leon. In fact, the boy was determined to torture Victoire with his presence. He continued to visit her and told her that he was sorry and that he loved her. Occasionally, he would bring lunch or flowers and usually, they would end up right back at his face. Thankfully, Millicent had begun working at the store and managed to hold him off most of the time but Victoire was beginning to grow tired of his attempts. She honestly wanted to move past this point in her life.
One day after closing, Victoire sat down with Millicent to have a serious talk, "Millie, I can't do this anymore."
Teddy's POV
It was Teddy's day off so he decided to enjoy himself and just hang around his flat for the whole day. Olivia had since moved out when she started becoming serious with her boyfriend Clark and Teddy had enough income now to afford the flat by himself. He was now a junior editor and was writing more and more stories, even making it to page six last month. Luther had also started calling him by his first name, which meant he was finally a journalist. Although he couldn't say the same for his social life, doing well at work meant Teddy had to sacrifice everything else. He barely had time for his friends and family, the only one he managed to hang out with was Jonah but that was because they worked together.
Teddy was currently sitting on the reclining chair reading the Daily Prophet and secretly admiring his work. When he had finally managed to publish an article, he read it over and over again and nagged his whole family about it. Harry and Ginny were extremely proud of Teddy but the kids for the most part were indifferent. He was just getting to a good part when he heard a knock on the door. Teddy wasn't expecting anyone today but he pulled himself up to reach the door.
"Surprise!" Luke screamed when Teddy opened the door. His friend immediately pulled Teddy in for a hug.
"C'mon let me get a good look at you, big shot journalist now are we?" Luke teased when he let go of Teddy.
Teddy chuckled, "Still getting there, but what about you? Big bad quidditch star now who doesn't even have time to visit."
After Luke settled down, Teddy handed Luke a butterbeer and the two caught up. Teddy learned that Luke was actually back for good this time; his friend was traded to England from Ireland, which is where he had been playing for the past three years. "Hey well look, if you want to crash with your old friend for the time being, I've got an extra room," Teddy suggested.
Luke looked around the room hopelessly before staring into his butterbeer. "So it's safe to assume that you and Olivia don't room together anymore?"
"Oh, I thought you knew mate, Olivia lives with her boyfriend now," Teddy said in a regretful tone.
Luke immediately looked up, his face masked with happiness, "No it's fine. And I'd love to room here," Luke managed.
Teddy could see Luke was feeling down, he probably visited Teddy in the hopes of seeing Olivia in the first place. "C'mon let's go down to the Leaky to grab some firewhiskeys. Your treat," Teddy said with a wink. Luke chuckled and grabbed for his coat and the two friends headed to the Leaky Cauldron.
As Teddy reached his fifth year working at the Daily Prophet, he was offered a chance to take a sabbatical and go abroad for a year to write in another country. He would still be working for the Daily Prophet but it was a way to sharpen his writing skills and to have a more well rounded view of what was happening outside of England and the wizarding world. Teddy immediately jumped at the opportunity, he always wanted to travel outside of London and this was his chance.
"So where am I going?" Teddy asked Luther when his boss bought him in to the office to talk about the sabbatical.
Luther scrolled through a large piece of parchment until his finger stopped at a line. "I've got you listed for New York City."
Teddy scrunched his face, "You want me to go to America?" Teddy had thought that it would be somewhere closer to England, somewhere in Europe. Instead, Luther caught him off guard and wanted him to go across the pond.
"Is there a problem Ted?" Luther asked as he looked up with a challenging gaze as if he was daring Teddy to protest against him.
Teddy sighed, "S'no problem. I'll start packing." Luther nodded and dismissed Teddy. This would be the first time that Teddy was going to be leaving his family, and for a whole year no less. He had really hoped to stay close but Luther wasn't giving him any other options and Teddy had already agreed to the sabbatical.
On Teddy's last day, Jonah and his other work friends gave him a going away party. "I heard there's going to be a lot of parties and pretty girls over at New York. Don't get too carried away Ted," Jonah joked.
"Hah, I doubt I'll have time for any of that. If it's anything like it is here, I'll be wired to the desk until I come back," Teddy chuckled.
When Teddy got back home, he was shocked when Luke had surprised him with a party. This was now the third party, the first one was with his family last week, and then the one at work and now Luke had thrown him another one. Teddy shook his head and smiled, "Why am I not surprised?" Teddy knew Luke would make any excuse to have a party. He looked around and saw that most of the people there was Luke's teammates and a few of their friends from Hogwarts.
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't throw a party for you? It's the least I could do before I trash this place for a year," Luke winked.
"Mmhmm," Teddy said as he grabbed the firewhiskey from Luke. Luke laughed and pushed Teddy towards the crowd as he went back to the table for another drink.
By the middle of the party, Teddy was on his way to getting a hangover when he suddenly bumped into someone. "Shoot, sorry about that!" Teddy shouted over the music that was now booming. He was sure his neighbors were going to come up any minute now and throw everyone out.
When Teddy finally managed to compose himself, he noticed that it was actually Olivia whom he bumped into. "Liv! You came to see me off."
Olivia must have realized it was Teddy and beamed before reaching for a hug. "Hey Ted, I haven't seen you for the longest time. Just because I moved out doesn't give you an excuse to not keep in touch mister," she said with a sly grin.
When Teddy finally realized he hadn't told Olivia about the party, he furrowed his brow. "Wait, how did you know about the party? Even I didn't know."
Olivia looked away shyly, "Um, actually Luke invited me. I just got here after work."
Teddy's eyes boggled, "So you two are actually talking again?"
Olivia nodded, "Yeah, but we're taking it slow. I really miss him Ted and just because we couldn't make it work as a couple doesn't mean I should just throw away my friendship."
"Good for you Liv! I'm proud of you," Teddy exclaimed.
Just then Luke walked over to the two of them drunkenly. "Hey there you are, my two best friends," Luke slurred.
Teddy was about to grab for Luke and seat him down but Luke ignored his attempts. His friend was now concentrating on Olivia with such precision that it was almost contradicting with how drunk he was. Olivia immediately blushed, "Ted's right Luke, you should sit down," she insisted as she tried to maneuver Luke onto the couch. When Olivia sat Luke down on the couch, she tripped and fell down on him. Teddy could see the tension between his friends. Just then, there was a loud bang on the door; Teddy rushed to see that it was indeed his neighbor who looked like he could kill.
"Alright, party's over!" Teddy shouted and opened the door to let everyone out. He apologized to his neighbor before he returned to the couch.
"Well I should get going, take care of him Ted," Olivia flustered as she tried to find her purse.
When she finally found her purse, she hugged Teddy and left for the door. But before she could leave, Luke spoke up, "Wait." Teddy and Olivia both turned to face Luke who was now trying to get up from the couch.
Teddy stared at Olivia who was looking increasingly anxious by the second and looked back at Luke. "So that's it? I just kissed you and you act like nothing happened," Luke said.
Teddy looked at his friends in disbelief and when he saw Olivia's face, she had confirmed Luke's comment with her reaction. "Because it was nothing!" Olivia shouted.
"I knew I shouldn't have come," Olivia muttered as she turned to leave but Luke was faster and caught her wrist.
"Don't pretend like you didn't feel that," he challenged.
Teddy backed away and cleared his throat, "Right, well, I'll just go to my room and let you two be."
"No, we're done here," Olivia cut in and pulled her arm away from Luke's grip before she slammed the door and left.
The next morning, Teddy woke up early to catch his portkey. He looked around his flat; he would miss living here for a year. Teddy poured himself a cup of coffee before delving into the Daily Prophet one last time; he doubted he would be able to read it in New York.
"Sorry about ruining the party last night," Luke said as he walked out of his room.
Teddy waved his friend off before offering a cup of coffee to Luke. "Just make sure you don't do something stupid while I'm gone. I don't want to have to come back to find that Olivia already killed you."
Luke chuckled and the two had breakfast before it was finally time for Teddy to leave. "Here goes nothing," he said as the portkey started to glow. Teddy reached for the old tin can and he felt his navel being yanked before his whole body twirled until he finally landed on American soil.
