Chapter 9 – Teddy vs. Bill

Teddy was sat at one end of the fairly long wooden table that stood in the kitchen at Shell Cottage. Outside he could hear the happy shrills and laughter of the younger children. Inside the room where Teddy now sat, there was a much tenser and haunting atmosphere.

Across the table, at the other end, was Bill Weasley. They were the only two people in the room, and although the rest of the adults had left them together so they could go and 'supervise their children' and give eddy and Bill some privacy, Teddy was almost certain that they were stood just outside the door, listening in on their every word. He even thought he saw an extendable ear, one of George's products, slinking its way through the small gap between the floor and the bottom of the door.

The two men sat in an unbearably tense silence. Teddy glanced around the room nervously, eager to escape eye contact with Bill. Bill, on the other hand, was glaring at Teddy with such pure hatred, that Teddy felt that if looks could kill he would have been brutally slaughtered by now.

Several times over.

Teddy gulped nervously. They must have been sat in that stony silence for about ten minutes now, and he was certain that Bill hadn't blinked once. He waited patiently for Bill to speak, but it looked like he had no desire to anytime soon.

Teddy wondered if he was expected to speak first. But what was he supposed to say? "I'm sorry," didn't seem to be an appropriate apology for the distress he had apparently caused Bill. And to be perfectly honest, Teddy wasn't sorry.

He wasn't sorry that he'd finally told the girl he'd loved for several years that he did, in fact, love her. He wasn't sorry that he'd comforted her and cared for her when she'd felt so unloved and despised by her parents that she'd run away. And he definitely wasn't sorry about what else had happened between them.

He was, however, sorry that they'd been caught. He was pretty sure that Bill would have been mad if they'd simply come to him one day and announced that they were a couple, but witnessing them being a couple, in his own house, was pretty much the worst possible scenario that could have occurred.

Victoire was at that age when fathers get really protective over their daughters. They don't understand that they're not the innocent little angels that they used to be, even if Victoire did still look like one.

After a few more moments of pondering how to handle the situation, Teddy finally opened his mouth to speak. "Err," – his voice sounded extremely unfamiliar. After the intense silence, he had forgotten what talking was like. He closed his mouth immediately. If it was even possible, Bill seemed to glare even harder at Teddy than he had been before.

Teddy thought it was odd how Bill had been perfectly vocal before, not holding back his emotions towards Teddy in the slightest, yet now it was as though he was a statue. A very angry statue.

Taking a deep breath, Teddy plucked up a bit more confidence. "I, err, I'm really so–"

"Don't," Bill growled from across the table.

Teddy sat back in shock. He hadn't expected Bill to talk so soon. The man in question finally dropped his gaze and instead glared at the table, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I really liked you, Teddy," he said, a little miserably. "I liked you a lot. I had a lot of respect for you, and I felt like you were a son to me."

"I know, Sir, and I –"

"And this is how you repay me?" he shouted, slamming his fists onto the table, and standing up to his full, terrifying height. "By strutting into my house and corrupting my eldest daughter?"

"Please, Mr Weasley," Teddy begged desperately. "Let me explain."

But Bill was gone now. "I TRUSTED YOU," he bellowed. "I trusted you to protect her, to keep her safe, to be her friend – her guardian when I couldn't be there for her. And all this time you've been – you've been abusing my trust!"

"Please, Mr Weasley – it's not like that at all! Please let me explain, Sir." Teddy stood up so he felt less intimidated. He was extremely grateful for the sturdy wooden table that kept Bill at a reasonably safe distance away from him, otherwise he was certain he would have strangled Teddy by now. Bill just shook his head in disappointment and sat back down.

Shakily, Teddy took his seat again as well.

"Well," Bill growled. "Explain then."

Teddy proceeded with Bill's permission, choosing his words delicately. "Mr Weasley," he said seriously, and as politely as he could. "I know what you're thinking, and I know what it looks like, but you can still trust me."

Bill grunted. Teddy ignored him and continued calmly. "I care about Victoire a lot – she's my best friend, and she will be forever, and I would never, never, do anything to hurt her. You have to understand that." He gulped nervously. "But you also have to understand that she isn't a little girl anymore –"

"She will always be my little girl," Bill interrupted in a quiet voice.

"I understand that, Sir, but she's also a mature, sophisticated young lady now. She's seventeen – she's wants to explore the world and explore who she really is. She doesn't need so much protection, she's not as vulnerable as she used to be, and she can handle things her own way and take care of herself. And you need to let her. You need to be responsible enough to set her free and let her make her own decisions now."

"Don't tell me what to do in my own house," Bill snarled through gritted teeth. "And don't you dare talk to me about responsibility. Victoire is still too young to handle herself – she barely understands what life outside of Hogwarts is like. The world may not be as dark as it used to be, but it's still a dangerous place, and she is still not ready to experience that yet." He narrowed his eyes, looking extremely sinister. "And exactly what does any of this have to do with what we're really here to talk about? Don't try and turn the tables, Teddy – you better explain yourself pretty damn well!"

"I don't know what to say, Bill – err, Sir – other than that I love your daughter. I love her more than anything, and I think – I hope – she feels the same way about me. I promised I would never hurt her and I stand by that. She means everything to me and if you don't let me see her ever again then I'll completely understand. But know this – not a day will pass when I won't think of her and pray that she's somewhere with people who can care for her and love her as much as I do. And if you would let me, then there isn't a day that would pass where I don't protect her and give her all the love and freedom that she deserves."

Teddy looked Bill deep in the eye, trying to convince him that what he spoke was the truth.

Bill faltered for a second, taking in what Teddy had just told him. "Love?" he asked curiously.

Teddy nodded eagerly – finally Bill was beginning to calm down. But suddenly his expression turned to rage again. "That was not love that I saw. That was –"

"A mistake!" Teddy exclaimed. "It was a mistake and it won't happen again, Sir, I promise."

"I want you to get out of my house now, Teddy," Bill said coolly.

"But Sir!" Teddy protested.

"No, Teddy. We're done talking." Calmly, Bill walked over to the door. Teddy heard a scuffle of footsteps retreating from the other side of the door. Bill didn't seem to have noticed. "I think it would be best if you didn't see me or my family for a while."

Teddy rose from the chair, making a horrible grinding sound as it scraped against the stone floor. He cringed, but Bill seemed too vacant to care. "Mr Weasley, Victoire goes back to Hogwarts next month – I won't be able to see her for a whole year," he pleaded, but Bill raised a hand to silence him.

"In that case, you better go and say goodbye quickly. You have five minutes. My decision is final." He held the door open, but stared blankly at the wall opposite, completely ignoring Teddy as he gloomily mooched out of the kitchen.

Teddy walked straight through the living room, ignoring the adults that leapt up from their casual conversations and bombarded him with questions. He didn't speak a word, or show the slightest sign that he knew anybody else was there. As he strode out the door into the garden, he thought he could hear Harry shouting. "Come on Bill, be reasonable!"

He stopped, blinking in the sunlight, until his eyes fell on the person he was searching for. The way the sunlight hit her made Victoire look as though she was sparkling, radiating her own light. Perhaps she was, Teddy thought. She turned, her golden curls flowing dramatically over her shoulder, and spotted him. At the same time, they began to run to each other like in a sappy, romantic film.

But there was no enchanting music playing, and this was not the fairytale ending that people desired.

Victoire flung her arms around him, and Teddy clung to her, cradling her back. He breathed in deeply, taking in the beautiful aroma of her hair, trying to savour every wonderful memory of what it was like to hold her.