Christmas Eve dawned cold and clear. Late afternoon found Victoire lounging in the living room with Dom, the two sisters heavily immersed in their conversation.

"You can't be serious."

Victoire nodded. "I know, it was the most bizarre thing."

Dom's mouth dropped. "Well, that's going to make things awkward."

"We'll survive," Victoire said.

"I just wasn't expecting it, that's all," Dom said, "You two seemed like you were really getting on."

"We were, and then it just sort of… Died," Victoire said, "I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner."

"We're both extraordinarily busy," Dom said, "And it's not like we actively seek each other out when we're at school either."

"I suppose," Victoire said, "We should really fix that."

"We probably should," Dom said, "But you have Monica, Molly, Alexa, Sam, and of course, Teddy, so it's not like you really need to find me, and I've got Alannah and Marianne."

"Still," Victoire said, "We are sisters, we should really be more aware of each other at school."

"Maybe, maybe not," Dom said.

"Victoire, Dominique."

The girls looked up to see their mother standing in the doorway.

"We are going to leave in 'alf an 'our," Fleur said.

"I should really change then, shouldn't I?" Victoire said, standing, "Thanks Mum."

Fleur smiled and retreated to the kitchen, where she had been preparing a dessert for the party. Victoire and Dom went upstairs to their bedrooms, exchanging a parting glance before they left each other.

Victoire changed swiftly, pulling on a cream colored sweater, dark green skirt, and knee-high black boots. She brushed out her hair, shouldered a bag filled with clothes, and stuffed her wand into her boot before going back downstairs. Her parents stood by the fireplace when she entered the kitchen, and she hugged them both.

"You look wonderful, Vic," Bill said, smiling.

"Thanks, Dad," Victoire said.

"What if you lot have another snowball fight?" Bill asked, "And do you have things for the night and tomorrow?'

Victoire gestured to the bag she had slung over her shoulder. "Multiple sets of clothes right here."

"Good thinking," Bill said.

"Are we ready?" Dom asked, entering the room. She wore a pair of dark jeans and a loose, dark green button down over a red tank-top, and she too had a bag over her shoulder

"Just waiting on Louis," Bill said.

The aforementioned boy skidded into the room a minute later. "Sorry, I misplaced my-"

"It's fine, Lou," Bill said, his smile widening at the sight of his disheveled son, "Ready?"

Louis nodded. "Ready."

Bill held the bowl of Floo Powder to Victoire. She took a pinch and threw it into the fire, shouting "POTTER MANOR" as she stepped into the emerald flames.

She reappeared in the huge kitchen in the old manor house. Ginny stood at the kitchen table clutching a mug, and she set it down and stepped towards her niece as Victoire emerged from the flames.

"Vic!" Ginny said, "They sent you first?"

Victoire laughed. "That they did."

"Well, you can leave your things in the usual spot," Ginny said, "Nearly everyone is in the ballroom, you can join them when you're done."

"Brilliant," Victoire said. She hugged her aunt swiftly before hurrying upstairs to the room that she had claimed as her own as a small child, and used ever since.

Once she'd left her things in the pale blue bedroom, she went downstairs to the ballroom.

Potter Manor was huge, and old. It had been in the Potter family for centuries, and it had belonged to the Peverells before that, before Potter had become the family name. It was one of the few ancient Wizarding homes left (Malfoy Manor was young by comparison), and had been Harry's father's childhood home. As such, Harry had elected to move into it rather than one of the many other properties owned by the Potters. With its numerous bedrooms, massive living spaces, and well-warded boundaries, it had become the customary gathering place for the Weasley-Potter clan, and all of their friends.

The boundaries were necessary. Nerves from the war had never quite worn off, and the family as a whole was happier when they knew they were well protected. None of the Weasley (or Potter) children remembered the war, not even Teddy, who had been born during it. However, they all knew how their parents and relatives felt about what had happened, and suffice to say, while they didn't understand the emotions that prompted the wards, they certainly understood the reasoning behind them.

The manor had always been one of Victoire's favorite places. Some of her earliest memories with Teddy had taken place there, and she had spent every Christmas and New Year's Eve there since she had been born. The ancient architecture was still beautiful, even after centuries of existence, and the house had been tastefully updated from era to era as time went by. As large as it was, the manor was full of signs of life, thanks to frequent visits from all of the friends and relatives.

Victoire entered the massive ballroom, only to be hugged from behind. She whirled to see Alexa grinning at her and Liam standing behind her best friend, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry, Vic," Liam said, "I tried to stop her."

"You have got to stop doing that," Victoire said, looking at Alexa, "Thanks for trying, Liam."

"I was just excited to see you," Alexa said.

"It's literally been five days," Victoire said, "And we owled, it's not like you haven't heard from me in five years."

"I know, but you're my best mate and I missed you," Alexa said.

Victoire grinned. "Missed you too." Her smile faded. "But seriously, Lexa, I love you, but stop surprising me with hugs like that. One of these days, I'm going to end up with a severe injury because of you."

"Sure you will," Alexa said.

"We really don't want to cause her pain," Liam said, "Be more careful, maybe?"

Alexa rolled her eyes. "With you two keeping after me about it, I don't see how I'll have a choice."

Victoire eyed her friend, taking in the knee length red dress and green sweater. "Nice choice of color, Lexa."

"You too," Alexa said, "No red?"

"I can solve that problem."

Victoire felt something being lowered onto her head, and she turned to see Teddy grinning at her. She laughed. "What did you just put on my head, you prat?"

"A Santa hat," Teddy said, shrugging.

"Thanks," Victoire said, "I really needed that."

"I dunno, Vic, I think it completes the outfit."

Victoire whirled around to see Monica standing there. The blonde had a wide smile on her face, and she opened her arms. Victoire hugged her. "So you survived your cousins, I see."

"Just barely," Monica said, "Have you lot seen Molly?"

"She's probably with Sam," Teddy said, "He was here before anyone else, and she went looking for him as soon as she got here."

"She beat me?" Victoire said, making a face, "Bollocks, that means I owe her a Sickle."

"You bet about who would get here first?" Liam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Those two bet about a lot of things, mate," Teddy said, "You'll learn that eventually. Speaking of, who won that other bet?"

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "You mean the one about the cat?"

"Yeah," Teddy said, "Or has no one won yet?"

"Aunt Hermione won," Victoire said.

"She kept it?" Teddy asked.

"Well, Rose did, but Aunt Hermione bet that she'd talk Uncle Ron into it before Dom or Lucy could talk Dad or Uncle Percy into letting them have a cat," Victoire said.

"What'd she name it?" Alexa asked.

"Minnie," Victoire said.

Teddy sniggered. "That's nice."

"Why are you laughing at that?" Liam asked.

"That's what Sirius called Professor McGonagall while he was at school," Teddy said, "Harry was telling me about it a while ago. She always hated it."

"Speaking of, is she here?" Alexa asked, "I thought I saw her, but I could be wrong."

"No, she is," Teddy said, "She always comes early to help out. I think she misses seeing Harry and Ginny at school, even if they did cause her a bit of trouble."

"She always was proud of him," Victoire said, "Aunt Ginny too. It's only logical that she'd want to be here."

Liam grinned. "Dad always talks about how excited he is about these parties. I think he misses all of his school friends."

"Well, I mean, half of our parents worked together, or were on the Quidditch team together, or something," Teddy said, "I'd imagine that they really enjoy having time together that doesn't involve worrying about being killed."

"That's a bit blunt, but I agree," Victoire said, "They deserve a normal life filled with friends after all of the things that they went through."

"They really do," Alexa said, "I mean, my parents were in the States for it, but they certainly heard about it. Mum had a hell of a time convincing Dad that he needed to stay with her instead of coming over here. Good thing she did too, he was Muggle-born and they would have killed him on sight."

"This is a depressing topic for Christmas, can we move on?" Monica asked, "Lex, come help me find Molly."

"Sounds good," Alexa said, "Come on, Liam." She looked at Victoire and Teddy. "See you two later."

Victoire smiled. "Sounds great, Lexa."

The trio walked away, leaving Victoire and Teddy standing by the wall. Teddy leaned against it, raising his eyebrows at Victoire. "Nice outfit."

She spun around. "Like it?"

He grinned. "I do. As usual."

"Good," she said, "By the way, Mister Lupin, you still haven't given me a hug yet."

Teddy laughed. "I suppose you're right, Miss Weasley."

Before she could stop him, he picked her up and spun her in a circle. She smiled against his neck as he held her, and made a face at him as she felt her feet hit the ground. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he said, "You should probably go be social, Miss Weasley."

"So are we sticking with the polite names tonight, Mister Lupin?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Until I get bored," Teddy said, "Miss Weasley."

He offered her his arm. She laughed and slipped her hand through his elbow. "Mister Lupin."

He led her through the people that had started to arrive, and she smiled at everyone as they passed. The attendees were used to their antics, and didn't bat an eye at the sight of the eldest Weasley child being escorted on the arm of Harry Potter's godson.

It had just started to get dark out when more people began to arrive. The ballroom was soon filled with whirling couples, and eventually Teddy pulled Victoire into the mass of people. They began to cut a path through the dancing couples, and Teddy grinned at Victoire.

"What?" she asked.

"I guess our practice was helpful," he said, spinning her.

She laughed. "A bit, yeah."

Teddy rolled his eyes. "More than a bit, I'd say."

"Bored of Miss Weasley already?" Victoire asked.

"Not a bit, Miss Weasley," Teddy said, winking at her.

"You are a prat."

Teddy grinned. "But I'm a prat that you love, so it's all good."

"True, true," Victoire said, "You're lucky that you're handsome."

"Oh, I am, am I?" Teddy asked.

"Always have been," Victoire said, "Except when you do stupid things with your nose."

Teddy chuckled. "I'll try not to do stupid things with my nose, then. At least, not unless you ask me to."

"Well, at least you know who's in charge here," Victoire said.

"When a lovely lady such as yourself is involved, you're always in charge," Teddy said, smiling softly at her, "Miss Weasley."

He lowered his head. Victoire braced herself in anticipation, only for Teddy's head to shoot up again.

"TEDDY LUPIN."

Victoire looked towards the edge of the room. A tall, dark-haired girl stood there, holding out her hand.

"Come on, Vic," Teddy said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the dark-haired girl.

Victoire's eyes widened at his use of her usual nickname. He had never called her that, not since they were little, not unless he was angry with her, and even then, he almost never stopped calling her by his nickname for her. She followed behind him, only for her eyes to narrow as he dropped her hand and took the hand of the other girl.

"Gianna," Teddy said.

The pretty girl smiled. "Teddy Lupin. I should have known you'd be here."

"What are you doing here?" Teddy asked, "This party is for friends and family, and while you're lovely, Gi, you're not exactly either."

Gianna laughed. Like everything else about her, the sound was perfect, high and clear. "I thought I'd drop by for a visit, and Harry wasn't opposed to the idea of me sticking around."

Concluding that Teddy wasn't going to introduce her, Victoire lightly touched his hand. "Teddy, I'm going to go-"

"Later, Vic," he said, making a shooing motion with his hand.

Her eyes watering, Victoire walked away from the pair. She hurried through the ballroom, her head down, and when she reached the door she wanted, she slipped into the massive library and pulled the mahogany door shut behind her. After removing the Santa hat from her head, she threw it in a corner and sat down in one of the overstuffed armchairs.

"What's wrong, Vic?"

Victoire looked up to see Dom standing there, arms crossed. "What are you doing in here, Dom?"

"The better question is, what are you doing in here?" Dom asked, "Shouldn't you be out there having fun with Teddy?"

"Mister Lupin is otherwise occupied," Victoire said, "I figured I'd come in here."

"What's he doing?" Dom asked.

"Some girl showed up," Victoire said, "She's sort of familiar, but I don't remember why. She called him out of the dance and he essentially told me to go away."

Dom raised her eyebrows. "What's her name?"

"Gianna?" Victoire said.

"Oh."

"Why oh?" Victoire asked.

Dom sighed. "Do you remember that girl that Teddy dated when he was in fifth year?"

"You mean the one that he was completely hung up on until she broke up with him right before Valentine's Day?" Victoire asked, "Yeah, I remember. The prat was heartbroken."

"That was Gianna Simmons," Dom said, "Her sister Yasmin is in Ravenclaw, in Teddy's year."

"What would she be doing here?" Victoire asked.

"Honestly, Vic, I have no idea," Dom said, sitting down in the chair across from her sister, "She probably heard that Teddy's turned into quite the catch and decided to show up and see if she could snag him."

"Why would he just let her though?" Victoire asked, "I remember how upset he was."

"She's pretty, she was his first real girlfriend," Dom said, "She graduated last year, they haven't seen each other, and you know the whole time heals all wounds thing."

"But what about me?" Victoire asked, her voice quiet, "Don't I mean anything?"

"What did he do, exactly?" Dom asked.

"Dragged me off the dance floor, proceeded to start talking to her, and didn't introduce me," Victoire said.

"Well, he might have assumed she already knew-"

"I told him that I was going to leave and he didn't let me finish my sentence," Victoire said, "He waved me off instead. He was calling me Vic, Dom."

Dom exhaled swiftly. "Oh. That changes things. He never calls you that."

"I know," Victoire said, "Which is why I've got a huge problem. I don't really care about dating him, Dom, but he's my best mate and he's not supposed to just forget about me like that."

"Vic, you do care about dating him," Dom said, "You're bloody in love with him."

"No I'm not," Victoire said.

Dom rolled her eyes. "Sure, Vic. Anyway, continue."

"Well, I do care about dating him, okay," Victoire said, "But I'm not jealous, Dom. I don't care if he likes someone else, as long as he's happy, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Dom said.

"I just…" Victoire sighed. "He's my best mate, Dom. We do everything together, and he's never blown me off like that before, least of all on Christmas."

"We're going to solve this problem," Dom said, "Starting with you."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"Go upstairs and get changed," Dom said, "Time to take out your emotions with some snowballs."

Victoire laughed. "You're probably on to something with that."

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Victoire, Alexa, Monica, Molly, Roxy, Tara, and Dom were facing off against Sam, Liam, Nick, Jack, Matt, James, and Fred.

"YOU ARE GOING DOWN," Molly yelled, ducking behind the wall they had built as Sam pitched a snowball at her.

"Keep dreaming, sweetheart," he called back.

Victoire grinned at Molly, whose eyes had narrowed. "He's going to get it, isn't he?"

Molly nodded slowly. "Oh, he is."

Victoire watched as her cousin stood, aimed, and threw in one smooth motion. The sound of a shout let Victoire know that the snowball had made its mark.

"Face?" Victoire asked.

"Face," Molly said.

"You are a cruel, cruel girl," Victoire said.

"He needs it sometimes," Molly said, "He'll survive, he's a Beater, for Merlin's sake."

"I don't doubt it," Victoire said. She picked up a snowball from the arsenal they'd built and stood, throwing it hard and square. Her Chasing skills paid off, and it struck James hard in the chest. The eleven-year-old's eyes narrowed, and Victoire ducked swiftly as he threw a snowball at her. It hit the ground behind her, and she chuckled.

"NICE TRY, JAMES."

"You're asking for it, Vic."

Victoire grinned at Jack. Nick's close friend was laughing, his green eyes bright.

"I know," Victoire said, "And you're setting yourself up for it."

She threw the snowball she was holding. It struck him square on the side of the face.

"Oh, it's on," he said, wiping the snow from his cheek, "You have started a war, Vic, and you're not going to win it."

"Keep telling yourself that," Victoire said.

A moment later, she felt herself begin to fall. She landed in the snow, Nick and Jack's best friend Matt on top of her.

"And you set yourself up for that," he said, grinning at her, "You should be on your guard more."

"Get off me, you lump," Victoire said, shoving him. Before she could stand, Dom had seen what was happening.

"PILE ON VICTOIRE!" her sister yelled.

Soon enough, everyone had piled atop Matt and Victoire.

"Guys, can't breathe," Victoire wheezed, "Please move."

"Ah, get off her," Sam said. He stood up, and started to pull everyone else up as well. Victoire sat up eventually, coughing.

"You do realize I probably weigh no more than a fifteenth of what was just piled on me, right? Probably less?"

"Yeah, we should've thought that one through more," Jack said, "Sorry about that, Vic."

She waved him off. "I mean, I've had worse, but ow."

"Shall we continue our war?" Nick asked.

"Sounds good to me," Monica said.

They went back to their forts. Finally, at eleven, after two hours of their intense battle, they gave up and decided to go inside and get some hot chocolate (However, this only happened after Monica had made the boys swear that the girls had won).

Victoire stopped in the alcove outside the door to the kitchen, looking out at the grounds. Aside from the area that they had been playing in, everything else was pristine and beautiful. Snow was still falling, and the light coming from the house caught the flakes in a shower of glitter. Victoire sighed, the cold air turning her breath into a cloud in front of her face.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Victoire turned to see Hermione standing there, wrapped in a coat, a Gryffindor scarf and hat on. The older woman smiled at her. "I've been visiting this house for nearly twenty years, I lived in it for four, and it still amazes me."

"It's lovely," Victoire said, "It makes me feel…"

"New," Hermione said, "At least, that's how it makes me feel. You should have seen Ron and Harry and me the first winter that we were in this house. The snow was like an eraser, scrubbing out all of the bad things that had happened to us. It's so clean, a blank canvas, it makes everything seem a lot more hopeful."

"That's scarily accurate," Victoire said, looking out over the lawn. She sighed.

"What's wrong, Vic?" Hermione asked.

Victoire looked at her aunt, who was watching her intently. "It's… Nothing."

"Is it Teddy?" Hermione asked.

"It's stupid," Victoire said.

"It's not stupid, Vic," Hermione said, "I know the feeling better than you might think."

"I don't know what the feeling is though," Victoire said.

Hermione sat down on the only stair that hadn't been covered in snow. She patted the area beside her, and Victoire sat down.

"It's called loving someone who doesn't seem to see it," Hermione said, "It happened to me with your Uncle Ron. You know the story."

"But I thought he saw it," Victoire said quietly, "And I know this makes me sound so stupid and naïve, but…"

"It's not stupid, or naïve," Hermione said, "You've known him so long, Vic. Don't give up on him so easily. I know Gianna Simmons, she's a trainee in my department. She's beautiful and she gets what she wants. She should've been in Slytherin, if you ask me, but I won't question the hat."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Victoire whispered, "Did it hurt like this, Aunt Hermione?"

Hermione sighed. "Dear, I'd imagine it hurts you worse, because he acted like he saw it. But yes, it did. As for what you should do… I won't tell you to fight her for him, because you shouldn't. What I will tell you is to make sure that Teddy knows how you feel. I've known that boy longer than you have, remember, and I know him quite well. You're the most important thing in his life, Vic."

"So why did he ignore me?"

"Men do stupid things when they see a girl that they thought loved them," Hermione said dryly, "Or at least, a girl that convinced them that they were good enough."

Victoire leaned her head against Hermione's shoulder. The brown-haired woman hugged her tightly. "It'll be alright, Vic, I swear. You just have to talk to him."

"I hope you're right," Victoire said.

After a short while, she sat up. "Is there any hot chocolate?"

Hermione laughed. "Ginny made a pot for the lot of you, it's on the stove."

"Great," Victoire said, "I think I'm going to get some and turn in for the night."

Hermione nodded knowingly. "Normally I'd tell you not to miss all of the fun, but right now, that's probably what's best for you."

"Thanks, Aunt Hermione," Victoire said, standing.

Hermione stood as well. She smiled kindly at her niece. "I'm always here if you need to talk, Vic. You know that."

"I do," Victoire said.

She followed her aunt into the house. After fetching herself a mug of hot chocolate, Victoire approached her sister and three best friends.

"I'm going to go to bed," Victoire said, "I'll see you three on New Year's, I guess, and Dom, I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll pop in tomorrow if I get the chance," Alexa said, "I need to bring you your gift and all."

"And I'll see you for dinner," Molly said, "Remember?"

"Right," Victoire said.

"I'll probably join Lex," Monica said, "You go to sleep though, Vic."

"Goodnight, guys," Victoire said, "You know that you're the best friends a girl could ask for?"

The three girls smiled. "We know."

"Night, Dom," Victoire said, tugging her sister's ponytail.

"Night, Vic," Dom said, "You sure you're alright?"

"Positive," Victoire said, "I just don't really feel like being in there anymore."

"Understandable," Dom said, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep," Victoire said.

Dom half-smiled. "Love you, Vic."

"Love you too, Dom," Victoire said.

She said one last goodnight and then went upstairs. Once she had put on her pajamas, she slid under the covers of the huge canopy bed. She stared at the cloth above her as she drank her hot chocolate. Just after she had finished it and turned out the light, the door opened and shut. She heard someone walk quietly toward the bed, and she rolled over to face the opposite wall.

"Vi- Tori?"

Victoire clenched her teeth, pressing her lips together firmly.

She could hear the floorboards creak as Teddy came closer, and then the slight squeak of the bedsprings as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Tori?"

It was all she could do to keep herself from turning to look at him, but instead, she stared intently at the curtains that were filtering moonlight as it entered the room.

"You should be downstairs, Tori, not up here. It's Christmas Eve still, please come down."

She didn't respond.

"Tori, there's only another fifteen minutes left. Come downstairs, please."

She tucked her chin to her chest, counting silently in her head.

"I said I had the best present for you. Let me give it to you down there."

She exhaled.

"I'm begging you, Tori."

Breathe in. Breathe out. One, two, one, two.

"Please, Tori, it's Christmas Eve. You can't do this."

That did it.

She sat up, whirling toward him. "Ted Remus Lupin, don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do."

He was silhouetted in the moonlight, and she saw his eyes widen. "Did I do something?"

She laughed derisively. "Did you do something? I don't know, you tell me, Mister Later, Vic."

"Oh."

"Yeah, Teddy, oh."

"I'm sorry, Tori, it was just that it was Gianna, and I haven't seen her in-"

Victoire glared at him. "No, you aren't allowed to apologize for blowing me off like that, and don't call me Tori. Do you not remember what she did you when you were in fifth year?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Teddy, there are no buts here. She destroyed you when she broke up with you fifth year. I was there. I picked up the pieces. And don't you dare tell me I'm overreacting. Teddy, you could have introduced me to her, at the very least, but what do you do instead? Start talking to her, and when I try to tell you that I'm going to leave, you don't even let me. You just tell me later. Well, Teddy, when is later? Is later tomorrow? Two days? A week? I don't care that you were talking to her. I don't care who you talk to. It's your life. What I do care about is the fact that you didn't even bother to introduce me. You forgot about me the minute you saw her, and if you expect me to be okay with that, you're kidding yourself. You're my friend, but you are not allowed to do that, not even for your stupid ex-girlfriend."

Teddy sighed. "What can I do to make this better? I messed up big time, I know that."

"Just go, Teddy," Victoire said, lying back down and staring at the wall again, "I don't really want to deal with you right now."

"But I want to deal with you."

"Seriously, Teddy, leave me alone," Victoire said.

"No."

"Why? So that I have to wallow in misery in public?"

She felt him shift his position on the bed. "I understand that I ignored you, but why would that make you wallow in misery? It's me. I do stupid things. Quite frequently, I might add."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, alright? Can you please just go away?"

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

She felt him move closer to her. "Because I'm not going to let you spend the end of Christmas Eve alone in a room while everyone else is having fun downstairs."

"Did you ever think that I might want to spend the end of Christmas Eve by myself in a room?"

She could feel him lay down before he spoke. "I don't think you want to, Victoire, because I know how excited you were about today, and because I know what I wanted to do."

The way his voice caressed her name made her shiver slightly, but she kept her voice level and cool as she spoke. "What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to give you your gift, and watch your face once you'd opened it and saw what it was. I wanted to spend the evening dancing with you, and I wanted you to crush me in the snowball fight like you always do, and then I wanted to kiss you at midnight, and I screwed that all up because I'm an idiot and Gianna Simmons is attractive."

"Well, at least you got one part of that right."

"What do you mean?"

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah, I am."

"At least you admit it."

He sighed. "Can I at least give you your present now? I want to do at least one part of this right."

She took a deep breath. "Fine. But if I'm still angry with you afterward, you have to leave, and you're not allowed to argue."

"If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do. Can you at least face me?"

With a heavy sigh, she rolled over to face him. He handed her a small gift wrapped in scarlet paper and tied with a gold ribbon. She unwrapped it slowly and carefully, only to see a black, velvet covered box. After taking a deep breath, she opened the box. A silver bracelet glinted in the moonlight, and she gasped. "Teddy, it's beautiful."

He nodded. "My dad bought it for my mum, before they… Anyway, there was a note that said that he was going to give it to her on their one-year anniversary. Uncle Harry found it in my vault a few years ago, and he told me to save it for the right person, so I did."

"You're making it awfully hard for me to be mad at you."

He smiled slightly. "Does that mean I can stay?"

"Only if you put this on me," she said, holding up the box.

He chuckled quietly and removed the bracelet from its bed. After carefully fastening it around her wrist, he pressed a gentle kiss to the pulse point of her wrist.

"I really am sorry."

She sighed. "You're forgiven. But don't do that again, Teddy, please, it really did hurt."

"I know, and like I said, I'm sorry," he said, "I'll be honest with you, all I wanted to do when I took you over to her was show her that I had you, but that plan didn't go so well."

"You could have told me that was what you wanted to do," Victoire said, "I would've waited then."

"I don't know," Teddy said, "I kind of like how this turned out."

"What, having to argue with me in a dark room while everyone else is downstairs having fun?"

He shook his head. "No, lying with you in a huge, comfortable bed, and making sure you know that I really do care about you."

Before she could respond, the house began to ring with the sound of the bell that Harry had charmed to ring at midnight.

"You know what they say about midnight on Christmas Eve, don't you?" Teddy said.

Victoire smiled coyly. "I don't, why don't you tell me?"

"You have to kiss someone," Teddy said, before he pulled her to him and kissed her.

She was conscious of every place their bodies were touching as she melted into his grip. He pulled back as the last chime faded, brushing her nose with his.

"Yeah, I definitely like how this turned out."

A/N: So I lied, I finished it. I wasn't going to, but I had to. I couldn't bring myself to go to bed without finishing it, so here it is.

I'm going to write the next chapter tomorrow, probably, and I might post it early because I'm really really really enjoying this, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, and look out for the next one!

I'm off to bed now, but I hope this is a satisfactory update for you.

I love all of you x