Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine.

Little Demon

Teddy often wondered why he chose Victoire over Dominique.

Dominique had always been his friend; the one who shared his interests. She was the one he loved to go flying with. She was the one who could be seen joining her heads with James and Roxanne, planning to wreak some havoc, and she was the one who would come to him for advice on how to do just that.

That little demon, he thought, smirking. She looked unnaturally pretty with her hair down, for once, and her blue dress robes fitting her figure just the right way. Prettiness had always been Victoire's thing, but as Victoire clutched his hand in pride, Teddy could tell she didn't mind that all the eyes were on her little sister for a change.

After all, one could only graduate from Hogwarts once.

"Isn't she radiant?" She whispered.

"Very lovely," he said. "A Delacour through and through," he added in a stronger voice, so his words could be overheard by Victoire's mother. Victoire rolled her eyes, but Mrs. Weasley wore a tiny smile that made him feel successful.

"You know, Teddy," Victoire whispered. "My family adores you. There's no need to win anyone over."

"Not even your sister?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe her. But what do you care? She doesn't get to factor in."

Why, just why had he chosen Victoire? It wasn't like he regretted his choice, not at all. But the fact that he even wondered unsettled him. Why not Dominique, really? Dominique genuinely got jealous whenever he couldn't give her any of his time; Dominique had harbored a childhood crush on him and had been the one he'd confided in when things went awry. She had been important to him while growing up. Not Victoire with her exuberant girlishness and pedantic humorlessness.

Dominique was nothing like Victoire, who was confusingly aloof and self-possessed, never treating him like the center of his world. Never did she betray anything but level-headed love in four years they'd been together, and only such an amount of time was an indicator that things were like they should be. She wasn't passionate, fiery or strong-tempered; she wasn't anything like-

"Weasley, Dominique!"

Her name had been called last, so she strutted her way to the Headmaster and the Board of Governors all alone and confidently - not unlike a model would on a catwalk. A smile finally crept on her face, reveling in the attention and the things that were being said about her by the Headmaster – The fact that she had secured a job months before graduating, the fact that she was a stellar Chaser and the best Quidditch Captain that Gryffindor had had since Harry Potter…

Hers was a dazzling smile, and Teddy found himself entranced, so full of pride and-

"You love her, don't you?"

He was startled by the suddenness of Victoire's inquisitiveness. He stared at her a bit warily, wondering if she'd read his mind. But the sweet, sweet way she looked at him made him realize that it wasn't an accusing question, but an endearing one.

She knows, he told himself. She knows I love Dominique, and she doesn't care.

And a sudden realization hit him, one that Victoire had understood much before he did. I grew up with Dominique. She's my little sister, and I love her as such. I only knew Victoire as a girl, as a woman… and that's exactly the way I love her.

"Yes, indeed. I do love that little demon," he answered truthfully, and Victoire beamed in return, squeezing his hand lightly.

That's why, then, Teddy resolved as Dominique's radiance eclipsed Victoire's for the first time in their lives. Victoire is sure of me. She doesn't need exaggerated gestures or unrealistic promises to know I'm fully hers. She reads me, accepts me and she respects me for everything I am. I need nothing more.